DENVERS, Vale Marie

[vale marie denvers]

VALE MARIE DENVERS

FULL NAME: Vale Marie Denvers.
NICKNAMES: None
AGE: twenty-seven
GENDER: Female
SEXUALITY: Straight.
STATUS: Single.
GROUP: Citizen.
GRADE: N/A.
MAJOR: N/A.
JOB OCCUPATION: Stage Actress.

HAIR: Brown and long. She likes keeping a curl in it when she’s wearing it down.
EYES: Brown.
SCARS/BIRTHMARKS: None.
TATTOOS: None.
PIERCINGS: Ears once.
PLAY-BY: Samantha Barks!

LIKES: Knitwear, musicals, singing, karaoke bars, breakfast smoothies, caramel, jigsaw puzzles, It’s a Wonderful Life, vanilla lip balm, black clothes, turquoise, vintage style jewellery, conversations solely in gifs, yellow roses, hanging with friends, record stores, caramel macchiato, yoghurt covered raisins.
DISLIKES: Bullies, “bad boys”, overpriced items, having a sore throat, knowing people in the audience, white flowers, pessimism creeping in, lavender scent, heavy drinkers, pears, social media, dropping her phone, movies or books without a happy ending, lending things to others (she rarely gets her belongings back), aisle seats.
FEARS: Losing her voice, being alone, maggots.
SECRETS: Vale was accepted to Julliard, but turned it down in order to stay at home and help her father recover and care for her siblings.
PERSONALITY: Vale is incredibly generous and considerate. She’s been selfless most of her life, putting her whole life on hold to look after those she loves. She’s a sensitive soul, easily prone to becoming emotional during both the good and the bad times. She’s strong and typically people underestimate her because of her sweet nature. Vale’s been through hell and back though, so she knows the value of hard work and of family. She’s not easily pushed around, though some expect her to be, and she understands the difference between helping someone and being used by them; even if it is a fine line. She’s imaginative, often coming up with unusual ways to solve her problems and those of others. She’s the girl in the bathroom at 2am helping another drunken girl fix a broken heel or snapped necklace. Friendly, Vale gets along with most people, unless they’re any kind of –ist. She’s a social butterfly as much as time and life will allow her to be. Unfortunately, Vale has had a habit of falling for all the wrong guys in her past. She’s been broken hearted three times, and had a few near misses with guys she envisioned her life with before she quickly discovered they were useless. Vale is still a romantic, and she still falls fast and hard, but she does try to remember to be wary about men, and not jump in head first to a new relationship. Her intensity has been a reason why some guys don’t call back.

MOTHER: Deborah Leanne Goodwin, 50
FATHER: Roderick James Denvers, 56.
SIBLINGS: Howard (Howie) Luke Denvers, 21.
Clyde Francesco Denvers, 17.
Half-Siblings
Amelia Grace Goodwin, 14.
OTHERS: Gregory Newall, ex-boyfriend, 28.
Daniel John (DJ) Harvard, ex-boyfriend, 29.
Nicky Ranger Powell, ex-boyfriend, 32.
Earl Seamus Goodwin, 52
PETS: A bengal kitten named Sari.
HOMETOWN: Brooklyn, New York.
HISTORY: Deborah was younger than Rod when they met. She was excited that she, a lowly sociology college student, had caught the attention of a man who had an engineering career mapped out. Rod loved her enthusiasm and optimism, which was a lot different from the broken home he came from; and by broken home he meant that he had lived in a dilapidated old house with parents who were frequently absent or sleeping with people they shouldn’t have been. Rod had promised himself a better future, had worked hard to get a good job and hoped – eventually – to have a happy life with a big family. Deborah was the only woman he had ever and would ever love, which set him on the road for disaster.

Deborah was freshly graduated, working in an office as she looked for something more in line with her dreams when she suddenly found out she was pregnant. Rod was a little more excited than she was, but Deborah seemed happy enough and spoke vividly and often about their future together. Vale was born in October, and as she celebrated her second birthday, Deborah started to lose it. She had been declining for a while after Vale was born, tired of changing diapers while her friends were out partying. On the nights when Rod was home or they had a sitter, she never once checked in to see how Vale was. Rod, on the other hand, often called home when he was working away just so he could speak to the infant who likely at times didn’t really know what was happening. The breaking point came when Deborah stepped outside to gossip on the phone to a friend, leaving Vale ambling around the home. She managed to tip over a small end table, sending a decorative ashtray and coffee mug crashing to the ground. She cut herself, was left with a few bruises, but the fallout from it saw Deborah finally confess to hating her life. She hated that she had settled down so young. She hated it when Vale interrupted her because she wanted something. She hated watching other people live out her dreams while she fulfilled one of Rod’s.

She packed her things and left to stay with a friend, leaving Rod with Vale. Rod had to then make the biggest choice of his life; his climbing career, or his daughter. He chose Vale in a heartbeat. It meant he wouldn’t one day be working in Silicon Valley, but rather would spend his life in middle management at an installation company. It provided enough stability for him and Vale, and often he could work from home, too. Vale missed mommy, but it didn’t seem to last all that long. She was daddy’s little girl and happy enough to run around with him and entertain him with princess tea parties as she got a little older.

Deborah came back onto the scene when Vale was five. She had sporadically popped in before then, but never planned, and always for weird little things; like bringing Vale a birthday present in August because she didn’t think she’d be available for that second week of October. For a brief spell, Rod was lulled into thinking they might have a second chance. Deborah would spend the night, talk about family trips and dinners. It seemed with some of her friends settling down she thought she’d go and do the same. Alas, one more pregnancy later and she was a flight risk. Howie wasn’t a happy baby. He had been a few weeks premature and became sick rather easily. He fussed and cried far more than Vale did, but often when Deborah was alone with the kids, she’d toss Howie into Vale’s lap and expect her six-year-old daughter to deal with him. Rod told her to shape up or get out and Deborah quickly chose the latter. Rod was devastated but kept up appearances for his children. A neighbour stepped in to help out, having a toddler of her own. She was happy to take Howie during the day and make sure Vale got home from kindergarten. Her husband and Rod were good friends, and she had longed for more children of her own, but that would come with a risk. She joked that babysitting allowed her to live out that dream for a few hours.

Deborah visitations were spotty for the next four years, but she showed up again on Vale’s tenth birthday. At this point Deborah knew that she had Rod wrapped around her little finger, despite how much he would protest and yell at her. They ended up having a one night stand, and that resulted in Clyde. Deborah kept him for a little while, but then she met Earl who was a charming man who didn’t want to be someone’s dad. So then Clyde was dumped on Rod. It wasn’t a bad thing; he had been pushing for custody anyway since he was starting to think Deborah was incapable of looking after him.

Vale loved being a big sister. She was good at it, and frequently helped Howie and Clyde with games, food and eventually homework. Rod constantly said he didn’t know what he would do without her. She was helpful, quick to offer to babysit, and loved her brothers even if they stole her things and drove her mad sometimes. Vale was a good kid, had plenty of friends, and teachers seemed to like having her in their classes. In middle school she started taking an interest in drama, having small roles in school plays with the teachers encouraging her to try for larger roles the next year or in high school. And she did. In high school she was a full blown theatre kid, loving every chance she had to get on the stage. Vale had a natural talent, and a powerful voice – something her family had commented on before. She had potential to go a lot further in her acting, but almost lost it when bad boy Gregory Newall decided he wanted to make her one of his conquests. It never went that far – thankfully – but Vale still considered him her first love. She was crazy about him and for a spell skipped classes and snuck out to be with him. Then she heard him talking about how she’d be another notch in his bedpost and she ended things. Having a broken heart somehow pushed her back into performing at a much better level. She reckoned it was because she understood the heartbreak behind some of the songs, that some of the characters shared.

With her father’s encouragement, Vale auditioned for Julliard during the college application process. She never in a million years thought she’d be accepted, so when she was the family – quite rightfully – made a big deal about it. They went for dinner at her favourite restaurant, had a party with family friends, and Rod even bought Vale a Vespa to get around on, since she had never been big on driving a car in the city. She was all set for this new adventure in her life when Rodney had an accident. It was a freak accident at work involving cables, power tools, a ladder and some maintenance guy. Vale didn’t really understand what had happened, just that her father was in hospital, unconscious. He was out for four days, and when he woke up there had been some severe nerve damage on his left side. He wasn’t completely paralysed but he couldn’t walk or hold things. The doctors were confident that with time and physiotherapy he could regain his mobility. His company offered to pay for the medical bills, as well as ensuring the family had a generous payout if they didn’t pursue it in court. Rod agreed, understanding that sometimes accidents happen. Vale was a little more furious and Rod later told her that he didn’t think he’d seen his boss look so stunned and afraid than when she let rip into him about what had happened.

Vale never went to Julliard. It took time for Rod to be in a position to come home and her siblings needed support. Rod tried to talk her out of her decision, but Vale was stubborn. She got a job working in a record store, explaining her situation to the boss so he would be a little flexible with her shifts. She was a hard worker, helped shape the shop into a better business, and then she went home to cook dinner for her family and make sure everyone had what they needed. Rod’s pay out meant they had money for bills and groceries without worrying too much about everything else, but Vale was going to contribute to the household too. She insisted upon it.

At the store she met DJ. He seemed like a nice guy with dreams and ambitions. She fell for him almost immediately after their first date. He seemed to have the world figured out. He made her laugh and left her little tokens to brighten her day. She thought he was wonderful…until she met his mom by chance one day and suddenly all of his worldly ambitions were blown away. Almost everything he had said to her had been a lie. He wasn’t successful in the club industry – he was a bouncer who covered when someone else was sick or on vacation. His friends weren’t successful either, but mostly stoners who bummed around his mom’s house. Heartbroken again at twenty, Vale dumped his ass and instead focused on her family. Rod was getting better, but she wasn’t ready to stop taking care of the apartment. Not to mention there was Amelia – her half-sister – who would occasionally be palmed off on Vale like she owed Deborah something. After the break up, Deborah showed up at the record store to dump Amelia with her older sister so she could go on a date night, but Vale simply exploded. She called Deborah for everything she had never been. It culminated in Vale saying she was happy to keep a relationship with Amelia, but in no way, shape or form did she ever want to see Deborah again. Amelia continued to show up from time to time, simply tired of her parents leaving her or wanting advice from Vale. Deborah’s parenting hadn’t improved one bit, but since everyone else her age had kids by that point, there were ample opportunities to abandon Amelia at sleepovers and parties.

Rod wanted Vale to chase her dreams again. He was pretty much back to full strength, aside from a muscle spasm that occasionally caused him to drop anything in his left hand. Vale assured him that she would…once she knew what they were. A career of performing seemed so far away, almost out of reach. She hadn’t had time to work on another plan. Thankfully, fate had it all worked out for her. One night, at a karaoke bar with old high school friends, she performed Summer Nights. It was supposed to be a silly nostalgia trip based on their final high school show being Grease. Afterwards, a man approached her at the bar. He was a new director, putting together a small show of Guys and Dolls. He thought Vale would be perfect for it and gave her the time and location of the auditions. Her friends talked her into going and she landed the role of Sarah. Her father was thrilled. It was only in a small rundown theatre, but people came to watch her and one of those people happened to have bigger and better connections.

A few years and a bad relationship with serial romancer Nicky, Vale found herself working the Off-Broadway circuits. She lost out on some roles due to her lack of professional training. No one cared if you were accepted to Julliard, you had to go and graduate from there to be considered for some shows. Vale never let it put her off, and she had friends in the business who helped her out sometimes. She continued to work at the record store for the most part, enjoying the change of pace there. Vale is slowly but surely making her dreams come true and though she doesn’t fantasize about her name up in lights, or becoming “famous”, she’s happy to keep chasing this dream to wherever it may lead. She just hopes somewhere along the way it leads to a man who won’t break her heart or see her as a prize.

YOUR ALIAS: Kim.
RULE WORDS: kidnappedbykim.
WHERE YOU FOUND US: On the noticeboard.
SAMPLE:

No, thank you!

[kim]