PACE, Serenity Amanda

[SERENITY PACE]

...serenity amanda pace*
*Only you can be the aching in my heart
My enemy, the only animal I couldn't fight
You hold me in the dark when storms arrive
Only you...*

[/size]

...basics*

name...

[/b][/size] Serenity Pace.
nickname...[/b][/size] She doesn't mind nicknames. At least, not out loud.
age...[/b][/size] Seventeen, going on eighteen.
gender...[/b][/size] Female.
grade...[/b][/size] Baum Academy Senior.
occupation...[/b][/size] She's looking for a job, though she really wants to work at Pipin' Hot Tea, her favorite place in the whole world. Or the Disney Store because she ges there so, so often. She's applied to both recently.
hometown...[/b][/size] Detroit, Michigan.
sexuality...[/b][/size] Pansexual.
personification...[/b][/size] Benvolio Montague.
status...[/b][/size] Dormant.
face claim...[/b][/size] Lucy Hale [/blockquote]

...appearance*

physical...

[/b][/size] The initial reaction to meeting Serenity would probably be a sharp angling downwards of your eyes. Standing at barely 5'0" tall, she's not quite so physically intimidating. She used to hate the fact that she was so short, seeing as her parents were taller, and would put all of her hair on top of her head when her mom would check her height, she stopped complaining when she found out the reason why.

What you might notice as you look down at her looking up at you is her eyes. They're large and hazel and very distinct. If you're the one to notice these things, you might say they're the windows into her soul, or at least into what she's feeling or thinking. Her tell when she's lying is that she can't look you in the eyes, a common one, but if you were to catch a glimpse, it would be all over her face, the guilt from having to lie in the first place, no matter how big or small of a deal it is. The rest of her could be described as 'baby-faced', with her eyes and lips big and her nose and the rest of her face smaller, almost out of proportion. Her skin is pale, though not from lack of tanning, and it almost adds to her appearance of fraility.

Though she seems like she would be weak, she considers herself wiry - likely from frequent visits to the gym and years of self-defense classes keeping her in-shape. She may seem like she's easily taken advantage of at first, but if she has to, she can defend herself by physical means. Serenity hopes that that's never the case.

clothing style...[/b][/size] Though she'd like to be a fashionista, and has a sense of style, Serenity's clothes are a little outdated. Nothing from before this century, but most of her clothing comes cheap from knock-off and secondhand stores, making her style a few years off. Now and again, if she gets money from her family for a holiday or her birthday, she'll go the mall and buy nicer, newer clothes but only every once in a while. Honestly, she finds nothing wrong with her outfits that mostly contain things like peace signs, hearts, flowers, and other positive symbols like that, or words alluding to those symbols.

She has nothing low-cut or overtly "sexy", as she doesn't approve of sexualizing or objectifying herself by exposing her skin to the public. You have to earn the right to see that. She does not, however, judge other girls for wearing things like that, and in no way does she think that women's choices in clothing affects men's sexual desire in any way. It actually infuriates her when people believe that what a rape victim wore set off her rapist. (there you go already, making sure everyone knows what you think so they can't accuse you of believing something you don't.)

defining traits...[/b][/size] Another reason she doesn't wear anything too revealing is that she has what appears to be a scar across her torso. It's actually a birthmark, and she doesn't know where it came from because, as far as she knows, nothing went wrong during her birth that could cause that sort of thing, apart from it being premature.[/blockquote]

...personal info*

personality...

[/b][/size] Serenity considers herself the new sheriff in town at Baum, though she's been there for a couple of years. With her status as a senior, she feels the need to stop every fight she sees, though she doesn't know why. She's the type to rush in and push the two fighters away from each other, avoiding stray punches and spitting and curse words. She knows it not her business, but she tends to not care about that sort of thing. Since she's gotten good grades and can generally calmly talk her way out of things, she hasn't gotten in a lot of trouble, save a few times when she got in the fight herself.

Sometimes, she knows it's necessary to fight fire with fire, though she doesn't like doing it, and will forcefully calm someone down by pinning them against a locker or something. Usually these are freshman boys who have no meat on their bones, because there is no way she could pin anyone bigger than her, even with her muscle. Her only advantage is that no one expects much out of her. She's never exceedingly violent and she's small. But she can hold her own until someone of actual authority comes to break it up completely, and in those cases she usually gets suspended. So she tries to stop the initial fighting enough to talk and use words to calm it down.

Whenever there aren't fights at Baum (they're not so common, it's a nicer school), she's usually found doing good-girl type things, like doing her homework or studying in the library. She does go the occasional party, however, and has gotten a bit drunk a few times, but she doesn't want anything to ruin her chances at going to college. She's not the kind to snitch on anyone because of this - if anyone wanted to blackmail her, they probably could. Serenity's a bit paranoid like that.

When it comes to academics, she's smart, but her best skill is probably problem-solving. In any context, whether it's math or mysteries or science experiments gone wrong, she can usually fix it or at least suggest a way to fix it if she can't herself. The only mystery she can't solve is her own, that poem given to her by her subconscious. She's not sure why it's so important, but it is.

Serenity considers herself fairly logical, but only because she can tell the difference between imagination and dreams and reality. Ending world hunger is a dream, but the reality is that it's likely never going to end, like racism or sexism. She can imagine herself with a boy or girl and being happy, but she knows if she never tries for it, it won't happen, and it's not guaranteed. An unfortunate downfall of this trait is that she'll break it to other people, and is a bit blunt when it comes to people complaining about things not being handed to them on a magic platter.

Another thing is that she's very... opiniated. She's not afraid to say her opinion out loud and make sure people know it, because one of her pet peeves is being accused of believing something she does not. She'll hand you a typed, 30 page essay on her opinion on whether or not the sky is blue if you challenged her. Which is why she's quite good at persuasive essays in language arts, and is on the speech & debate team at school. Some might say she likes to hear herself talk, but really, she just loves words and language. They're interesting to her.

Overall, though, she's not quite so 'bitchy' unless someone asks for it. Serenity lives up to her name until some idiot decides he wants to mess with her or take advantage of her, because she'll show them that they likely underestimated what they were getting in to.

life until now...[/b][/size]

born again to something that can never end

[/b][/center]

She was born at exactly 5:00 on May 3rd, just like her father before her. But she would never see her father's face. Her mother knew the curse that was affecting him, could see it in the deaths of his best friend, his sister's lover's cousin, his mother, leaving him so alone. So much death that she had to question it, and when he told her, she knew that she could not have that fate for her daughter. So she needed to get her away from that family, away from the curse. So before the baby was born, she put her up for adoption. A nice family from far, far away would take her daughter out of the curse. Though, somewhere in her heart she knew it wouldn't work, and the stress of that is likely what made the beautiful baby girl come a full month ahead of schedule. They were kept in the hospital until everything was all clear, and then the childless mother went home to tell her husband - who was not surprised or upset, only knowing - and the new family took the baby back to Milan, Italy. And everything was normal, for a while. She was given a name, Serenity Amanda Pace, literally translated into calm, love, and peace, which is what everyone wanted for her.

Serenity grew at a normal pace, even if she started out smaller. Her 'mother' measured her once a month, and she loved those times. Italy was beautiful, even if her parents were American immigrants, and she didn't remember her home country that well. She grew up speaking Italian and English at school and around the house, and favored neither language more than the other. Her mother and father were good to her, and raised her to be decent and peaceful and kind, and kept her away from violence. At least, they tried.

[/justify]

inevitability i can't comprehend

[/b][/center]

It's funny how your whole life can change in a single, seemingly ordinary day. Or rather, it should.

Nine-year-old Serenity came home from school, like she always did, and checked the messages on their landline. Usually, there wasn't any because her father came home before she did, but he was running late today. A message from an American number took her by surprise, so she listened.

Hello, this is Lillian Spearing, your adoption agent. I was just wondering how everything was going with Serenity, since it's been almost ten years... I guess I called at a bad time, but call me back at this number when you can. Thank you.

Serenity couldn't believe it. They had to have had the wrong number... but they called her by name.It was a mistake, she even looked like her parents (a coincidence) and they would never lie to her like this...

When they got home, she confronted them, and they told her everything but the curse. They made sure she understood that it wasn't that her real parents didn't want her, though, it was just that she wanted to keep her safe. And, never the one to be dissatisfied by any sort of truth, Serenity hugged her parents and told them it was okay, and that she forgave them. But she did want to know about her birth parents, and her imagination went wild with what they could possibly be keeping her safe from. Were they mobsters or spies like in the old movies? Maybe she was a princess that an evil queen was after, like in Disney movies, her favorite. She didn't know, but she liked to think that they were protecting her from that life.

But it wasn't so simple. They were protecting her from something they couldn't: tragedy.

[/justify]

a single shot can be forgot
- in the wake of what cannot

[/b][/center]

It was May 3rd, her tenth birthday. And as a 'surprise' (though, they did this every year, so Serenity knew it would happen), Marina and Charlie Pace would be waiting at home when Serenity got home from school. There would be a cake and she would open her presents and they would celebrate as a family. She didn't think it would be any different from the previous years, even with the news.

When she got home, though, she knew something was wrong.

The door was slightly open, and she winced from the splinters she got from pushing it open - the lock was busted from the wood. It was dark, too dark, and there was an awful smell... the air conditioning was off and it was hot. She called out for her mom and dad but got no answer, so she felt around the wall for the light switch.

What the light revealed, she will never forget.

It was something from those new crime dramas she never liked watching, because of the violence, but this was real. Very very real. The cake was still there, but she never remembered red splattered frosting on it, and it couldn't be strawberry because she was allergic. Her parents were behind the table, where they would usually sit, but they were leaning back too far in their chairs and they were too still. The wall behind them was red, too. Most of the valuable things around the house were missing, as were the presents she knew she had.

And when the picture finally sunk in, she screamed. Wailed. Howled. The neighbors couldn't have not heard her. She didn't stop screaming, even when the police came and found her, when they tried to comfort her, when they took her to the station until they knew what to do with her. When reporters wanted to interview her about the slaughter that appeared to be that of a spree of robberies / murders unconfirmed by the police. Only when her voice was completely hoarse did she stop screaming, and promptly fainted.

[/justify]

history repeats itself
over and over
until lessons are learned
but forgotten again

[/b][/center]

She woke up in a hospital, with two strangers and a little boy staring at her.

The first stranger looked a lot like her, with big eyes and dark hair and pale skin. She was smiling sadly at her, as if she was asking to be forgiven for something Serenity didn't know she had done. The second stranger, also a woman, was blonde with blue eyes and an aura of business, though she could tell she had a personal stake in whatever was happening. The little boy was almost her age, perhaps a little younger, and looked a bit like her, but not as much.

Her brother held their mother's hand, and buried his face in her side to hide from Serenity's staring. The other woman smiled sadly as well, and told her that her parents were no longer with them. She thought it had all been a nightmare, perhaps she had left on a station that played a horror film while she was asleep, but it was real. She felt the slight movement of the IV in her arm when she fidgeted, and heard the beeping along with her voice, detail that her dreams never reached.

This is your biological mother, Megan, and your brother, Rowan. You're going to live with them now, as per your adopted parents requests.

And so Lillian Spencer handed them the paperwork and helped to fill it out, and after Serenity was cleared, she was checked out of the hospital and whisked back to Detroit, where she found out her biological father had died of a stroke in his sleep on the same day her parents got that voicemail.

[/justify]

time heals all wounds
but opens them again

[/b][/center]

She adjusted well enough, due to weekly therapy sessions and daily trips to her counselor at her new American school. She got along well with her mother, though they were very similar and butted heads a lot, and became very protective over the brother she had only just met. She didn't know why, but she always felt like he was in danger, and that she had to protect him.

She found out why one night, years later. She was fourteen.

After the usual nightmare, she remained asleep for once. Serenity always woke up once the screaming started, but this time, it went to a different place. An old Italian city square. A skirmish turned into a brawl turned into a riot. And one man turned to her, only a few years older than she was, and spoke to her, a stream of words polluted by the shouts of the rioters. Everything else froze. She didn't know who the man was yet, but she sensed a likeness between them. And then the man he was fighting sliced his stomach, and her own ached. It wasn't deep and he was fine, she knew it.

It was just a senseless poem, but when she woke up, she remembered every word. She wrote it down, and kept the paper in her nightstand, then went back to sleep without dreaming. In fact, she hasn't dreamt since then.

In the morning, she read the poem over, trying to figure out what it meant, as she would every morning. The last line - "of more woe" - seemed... off. Like it wasn't over yet. There was still a piece missing.

[/justify]

the present...[/b][/size]

soon i feel it will unleash
the tragedy to end all tragedies

[/b][/center]

Megan and Serenity's relationship changed when Megan saw the birthmark she hadn't noticed before she sent her away. Megan became much more protective of both Serenity and Rowan, and tried her best not to fight with Serenity anymore. She didn't know what the big deal was, but she was glad to have less arguing in her life.

Her adoptive parents left a fund for her to go to a good school about ten times, so with Megan's approval, she chose one in New York City called Baum Academy. After a year, she decided she liked it, and asked Megan if Rowan wanted to go there, too. Rowan didn't mind, so his freshman year, he was attending, too. Megan moved to an apartment in the city to be close to them in case they needed her.

It's been two years, and Serenity's now a senior, with plans to go to Barrie University and become a language arts teacher. She thought of becoming a therapist, but decided that she didn't like her own very much - though he was very helpful! - and she didn't believe in the whole "wounded healer" aspect of it.

She still reads over that poem every morning, even though she knows every word. Serenity knew what it related to now, though. Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet. She didn't know what it had to do with her, but she thinks it's perhaps because she watched one of the movies at some point and her subconscious picked up on it. That's all.

[/justify]

other notes...[/b][/size] okay so fun facts i mentioned but for the record:
- she's allergic to strawberries
- she has a scar across her torso, a birthmark
- she HATES CAKE DON'T EVEN MENTION IT TO HER
- she doesn't like crime dramas or slasher flicks or really anything with too much blood but if it's in black and white it's okay
- she still loves disney movies
- she doesn't like celebrating her birthday much and doesn't tell anyone when it is (luckily many are distracted by the fact that it's almost cinco de mayo)
- just because i'm clever her birthday is may thrid because act v scene 3 is the last scene of the play and also when juliet dies, line 170, making her the last death and leaving benvolio to offcially be the last child of the montague / capulet families. line 170 translates to 17:00 which is 5:00 in regular time.
- if you're confused basically hers and another family of young people are cursed to all or have some tragedy happen leaving her alone somehow oh but nobody has to die [/blockquote]

...literature*

title... Romeo and Juliet aka ALL OF FRESHMAN LANGUAGE ARTS
backstory... Benvolio is the cousin of Romeo who hangs out with Mercution and Romeo on a regular basis. He's the first main character to appear on screen because he's a badass and is trying to stop a riot from happening from two peasants from Montague and Capulet houses arguing. Tybalt shows up and is basically the foil to end all foils to him here because while BenBen wants to stop the fighting, Tybee wants to instigate it and fight a lot. So they basically hash it out and more Caps and Monts show up and other villagers who hate them until Prince Escalus comes and shuts that show down, saying if anyone fights they are going to be killed because he's had enough of your shit, guys.

Benvolio comforts his whiny cousin Romeo who's upset about some girl and asks him to come with hinm and Mercutio to crash the Capulet party. After some convincing, Romeo comes and by default meets Juliet, and they hit it off and get married after like a day or two. After the Romeo / Mercutio / Tybalt showdown of the century, Benvolio drags Mercutio's dying body to indoors and tells everyone when he dies, which really sucks. And he covered fro Romeo killing Tybalt, too, but Lady Capulet's a bitch and had Romeo banished anyways.

So Benvolio kind of disappears because with Romeo out of town and he being the only youngin left that's not a Capulet, he's all alone. In some versions, he dies of ~mysterious circumstances~ along with Lady Montague, but in most versions he's important because he's the only kid left between the two families, and it's kind of his fault. Oh.

...the roleplayer*

tell us about you...

[/b][/size] do i look like a fucking covergirl to you

xoxo hedgie[/blockquote]

...writing*

freestyle...

[/b][/size][/blockquote]

[DANI]

Please feel free to post in FACE CLAIMS, INDEX, CANON, and ANY OTHER THREAD YOU WISH (: Welcome to OUAC.

YES, YOU LOOK LIKE A FUCKING COVERGIRL TO ME.

okay, can i just say, i want to accept this app for another hundred times. i love serenity so much, and everything is so well written and really thought out, and she's just absolutely lovely, and i can't wait to see her in action. <33 (and lyndee says she can def. work at pipin' hot tea, though cleo also wouldn't mind another disney store cast member, so y'know)