MEEKS, Themis Aveline

[themis aveline meeks]

THEMIS AVELINE MEEKS

FULL NAME: Themis Aveline Meeks.
NICKNAMES: N/A.
AGE: 25
GENDER: Female
SEXUALITY: Straight.
STATUS: Single.
GROUP: Citizen.
GRADE: N/A.
MAJOR: N/A.
JOB OCCUPATION: Casablanca Dancer.

HAIR: Technically, it is black, but with highlights and dyes, her hair appears brown, dark, but clearly treated by a good stylist. She needed a change up in her teens and stuck with it. She keeps it long, but the style she wears it in changes depending on her mood and circumstance.
EYES: Dark brown.
SCARS/BIRTHMARKS: Thankfully, most have faded, but when she’s without makeup one can still be made out in the right corner of her mouth, extending outwards like a crack. It’s faint, but obvious when she’s bare faced..
TATTOOS: None.
PIERCINGS: Just her ears the once.
PLAY-BY: Alicia Vikanda!

LIKES: straws, beer, beetroot, dancing, travelling in the backseat, making playlists, being barefoot, organising her apartment, thick crust pizza, colours, quirks, art classes, keeping up with technology, soft fabrics, house plants, masks, ice cream sundaes, cocktail cherries, late night walks, iced coffee, hot chocolate with extra whipped cream, bedtime reading.
DISLIKES: Having a very sore throat, horror movies, hospital beds, bullies, beige, feeling too hopeful, sugary cereals, full milk, vivid dreams, The Simpsons, fighting, feeling upset, being underestimated, the ocean, gumdrops, missing posters, flickering lights, weird nicknames, orange juice with pulp, snobs, anchovies.
FEARS: Someone hurting her again, spiders, being buried alive.
SECRETS: She doesn’t talk about how the school bullies were the cause of her vocal damage. She just keeps it keeps it as something that happened in her childhood. However, it’s easy to see that she’s on edge around chemicals or cleaning supplies, and won’t let anyone get her a drink if she doesn’t completely trust them.
PERSONALITY: Themis might look like a gentle soul, but she’s extremely stronger than most people give her credit for. She chooses to be as quiet as she is, not only because it helps medically, but it’s easier to stop rude strangers prying. Plus, she’s come to enjoy being mysterious. She’s very independent, and chooses to do a lot for herself while coming across as mildly distrusting of many people around her; this stems from a childhood of bullying that culminated in the permanent damage to her voice. Themis is a very feminine, and if she could get away with it she would spend every day in fancy dresses and costumes. At the same time she doesn’t enjoy standing out unless she’s on the stage; dancing gives her the confidence she savours, and without it she would be completely lost. Themis doesn’t enjoy getting angry or upset, just because she can’t vent it like so many others without it leading to more frustration and bother. Typically, Themis’ dark emotions lead to tears and solitude more than anything else. Themis is a sweet girl, with something of a romantic side. However, many of her relationships are shortlived because of her lingering trust issues, the secrets she keeps, and how different she chooses to be.

MOTHER: Amber Rose Meeks, 55.
FATHER: Cain Victor Meeks, deceased.
SIBLINGS: Ronan Oliver Meeks, 28.
OTHERS: Linzi Carbine, 26, school bully.
Darlene French, 25, school bully.
PETS: Alfonso, Siamese cat of four.
Kandy, Persian cat of two.
HOMETOWN: Budapest, Hungary.
HISTORY: Cain and Amber met when Amber went to California on holiday. It was a girly getaway with the friends she had gone through university with. Many were settling down now, husbands and children on the horizon. Amber had been busy with school for so many years that she hadn’t given herself time for any of that. Cain didn’t think himself anything special. He was originally from Vermont, but had come to Budapest as an ambassador for the global company he worked for. It wasn’t entirely the life’s dream he had hoped for himself, but meeting Amber threw some sparks back into his life. It was something or a whirlwind holiday romance, but when it was time for Amber to return to California she had already booked a flight back to Budapest. They played with long distance for a year, flying back and forth to see each other, and relying on poor technology and unfriendly timezones the rest of the time. Eventually, Cain had enough and simply asked Amber to marry him. It seemed to be written in the stars because a few weeks after accepting his proposal and planning to move to Hungary, she discovered she was pregnant.

Their first child was a son, and born in the middle of the chaos of the move and wedding planning. It was a mad, beautiful time for both of them. Ronan lit up their lives, but once the dust settled and they both had routines and jobs in Budapest, Amber found herself desiring it all again. She had enjoyed her pregnancy, but wanted to be able to savour it without the chaos. So they tried for another child, and this time they had a daughter. Themis was a quiet infant who rarely appeared to be upset. She grew to love dance and Amber enrolled her in dance classes at the first chance after seeing how her little girl would twirl and skip around the house, often ignoring the box of toys in favour of music.

Themis was obsessed with dancing. She was talented, too. She could steal the stage in a heartbeat once she began to perform. Her father encouraged her to focus on her academic life as well as her passion for dance, which Themis did. Amber, however, saw her daughter as a rising star, and wanted to push her further and further in that direction. There were times when it caused friction in the household, especially if it would mean Themis would miss school, or began to believe that she was able to get away with things Ronan never ever could. Eventually, when Themis was twelve, it was decided that everything could be solved by sending her to an Arts school. That way she could dedicate herself to dance, while also having to commit herself to the studies Cain wanted his daughter to be knowledgeable in. He was just aware, and fearful, that her gift wouldn’t last forever.

There were problems right from the start. Themis started after so many other students had formed their little cliques, and for Linzi and Darlene, Themis was public enemy number one. She was pretty and sweet, and extremely talented. Teachers praised her, encouraged her, and other students offered her help to find her way around the posh manor which had been converted into the Arts school. When Themis got the lead in the Easter show for their class, Linzi decided that was enough. She set out to make Themis’ life hell. It started off with taunts and rumours, but when none of them got to her, Linzi and Darlene began to hide Themis’ things, cut up her belongings when she was in rehearsals. Themis refused to let it get to her, because her place in the school and her ambitious was worth more than a few bullying girls. She didn’t think it would go on like it did. She thought they would get bored when they realised they couldn’t bring her down. She did, of course, cry at home when she was alone, and have self-doubts about whether it was worth putting up with the abuse. Teachers noticed from time to time, but their attempts to stop it were in vain. If anything, it only spurred the two bullies on more.

When Themis was fourteen, things reached a shocking conclusion. She put up with the bullies, developed ways to slip by them, but Linzi and Darlene were beginning to become more brutal. Themis was worried they might try to end her dancing career somehow; that’s how severe it was getting. One day they narrowly missed tripping her down the stairs after her friend caught her.

They were all in rehearsals for the winter show. Themis was being put through her paces by their dance teacher, while the rest of the dancers waited for their turn. Linzi and Darlene took the opportunity to strike. Linzi had read something in the news about making people sick. She could think of nothing more humiliating that making Themis throw up in front of the whole class, and with something that could make her severely ill. Linzi told Darlene that much, but she wanted more. Her jealousy of Themis was borderline psychotic, and she wanted the girl gone from the school, no matter the cost. She found Themis’ water bottle and mixed in a lye cleaning solution with the drink. Of course, when Themis was dismissed from her dance, the first thing she did was go straight for her water bottle. Chaos descended as Themis began coughing up blood, wheezing and the school was forced to declare a medical emergency.

Her mouth, throat burnt like someone had stuck a lit match down there, and nothing seemed to help. Teachers forced water into her, complying when she gasped for more, but nothing quenched the fiery pain. Themis barely remembered the ambulance ride, the hospital or the doctors, but when she came to a few days later, finally fully conscious after slipping in and out of exhausted delirium she discovered that her voice was damaged and her only survival had come from the sports drink in her bottle diluting most of the deadly lye solution. It was agonising to speak, even rasp, and food didn’t taste the same. Everything was bland, and doctors weren’t sure if that would ever change. Themis had to learn sign language, and attend speech therapy to strengthen her vocal chords again. It was a long recovery and her parents wasted no time in pulling her from the school that had caused this. Linzi and Darlene were expelled, and arrested, prosecuted by juvenile services for what could have been an attempt on life.

Amber wanted the family to have a fresh start once Themis was home and at the end of her recovery. It was determined that her voice would likely never be more than a low, smoky rasp, a whisper if she didn’t push. Taste came back, but only for things that had a strong taste. The family moved to Eureka, California, close enough to where Amber originally came from, but somewhere entirely new for them all. Cain thought that was important. They got new jobs, started new schools, but Themis was determined to continue to dance. Dancing hadn’t been the thing that hurt her. She was determined to show that, and throughout her recovery that was all she had wanted to get back to. If anything, once she was back in classes, she felt stronger for it. She was more focused than ever on proving that it was worth it, on showing that nothing was going to hold her back now.

In her new school she made friends, and people there quickly whispered about the girl who lost her voice in a tragic accident. Themis still had appointments and therapies to attend throughout high school to ensure everything was okay, and she made a conscious decision not to talk as often as she could. It made her throat sore to chat for long whiles, and it was gentler on her body to write messages, or use sign language depending on who she was with. This developed into a habit that stuck with her over time.

Themis wanted to spread her wings. Ever since they came to California she felt like she was being smothered by her parents and brother. She knew they were only worried and had every reason to be, but she was okay and needed to prove that. So she applied and accepted an offer to AMDA in New York City. Her mother worried and fussed, but Cain understood what Themis needed. He supported and encouraged her decision while trying to calm his wife.

The move was thrilling, amazing, and all she had ever dreamt of. As was the programme she signed up for. At first Themis survived waiting on tables between classes, but after graduation a burlesque club in the city caught her eye. Full of confidence and strength now, Themis auditioned for it, and was thrilled when the owner, Iliza gave her a job. Sure, her classmates might have been aiming for the stage, but Themis had her heart on choreography one day. Before then though, she wanted her own quiet fill of performing. The stage gave her strength, a quiet confidence that Linzi and Darlene had tried and failed to take from her all those years ago.

YOUR ALIAS: Kim.
RULE WORDS: kidnappedbykim.
WHERE YOU FOUND US: Under the troll bridge.
SAMPLE:

No, thank you.

[kim]