Post by phephe on Oct 10, 2011 22:59:11 GMT -5
OPHELIA FRANCES “THE PHOENIX” CARLYLE
"Trust me, I'm a liar..."
[/size]"Trust me, I'm a liar..."
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Alias: well, round here, folk used to call me Chess
Other Characters: none
Rewritten City Found Via: being a member before
Contact: MSN, AIM, YIM, PM
Comments: I missed this place...I've been watching it ever since I left and I regret having left in the first place...damn University life and all that >_<
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00I. full name Ophelia Frances “The Phoenix” Carlyle (other nicknames include Phe, Phe-Phe and Frankie)
0II. canon or original canon, Shakespeare's Hamlet
III. years of age recently turned twenty six (nearly 3 months ago)
0IV. orientation (optional) bi-curious
00V. social status high
0VI. occupation formerly a high class business lawyer, now shadowing as a musician...or so it seems
00I. play by Lauren Peralta
0II. body type slender and toned, yet seemingly delicate
III. height appearing 5'4”-5'5” (depending on her shoes), actually 5'2”
0IV. eyes color hazel green
00V. description Despite her somewhat delicate appearance, Ophelia presents herself with an air of confidence that could be misconstrued as arrogance in the right company. Either way it is taken, it is apparent that she doesn't really care. She tends to hold herself proper in posture in order to appear taller than she actually is, believing no one would truly take her seriously otherwise. In a professional environment, she presents herself as such, making sure to cover up the inked designs that spatter over her skin. Her signature, particularly in court, is a deep red shirt underneath any design of black suit – the shirt attached to the symbolism of her nickname. Appearance may not be everything, but it certainly does help as far as she is concerned. Outside of that environment, she just wears whatever takes her fancy, but it generally has to be form fitting, though not necessarily something on trend.
00I. overall personality Ophelia Frances Carlyle, as sweet as her name sounds, is anything but that. She had started out as such a bright and bubbly little girl, but as she got older and learnt to focus on school and the like, she quickly became quite cold and calculating. On the flip side of that, she can still be that bright, bubbly person she once was...when it suits her. She has a sharp mind and an even sharper tongue, which means she certainly isn't afraid to say what she thinks. She is quite influential in her field, but that could honestly just be down to her manipulative nature and the already quite well established reputation she has to uphold. That being said, Ophelia likes to live in today: yesterday is the past and the future isn't here yet, so why dwell on either? Although, leaving the past in the past is hard to do when you have so many questions like she has formulated in her head.
Throughout her life, Ophelia has had various “wild streaks”, which, amazingly enough, have never properly interfered with her eduction or her career, being able to talk her way out of practically anything. She loves a good party and a night out as much as the next 'upstanding' New Yorker. She had a long running, truly wild streak that seemed to last from the last year of high school all the way up until she went to work in London. Thankfully, she's growing out of it, realising that, yes, perhaps she could continue to get away living like that as it hasn't gotten in the way before, but she's getting older now and society will start to notice her frivolous side. As much as she tries to live in the present, she is holding onto that hope that there's something so much better for her, somewhere. If she were to just seek it out, she would find it. It's in her nature.
She supposes that part of her still has that sort of Peter Pan complex and she doesn't really want to grow up properly just yet, realising that the childhood she lead was that of a young protégée, not that of a little girl. Having returned to New York and trying to uphold her reputation as The Phoenix – so dubbed because she worked each with such a fiery, yet brutal passion and even managed to revive countless 'no hope' cases (and win them, obviously) – Ophelia has started to separate out her work life from her social life, trying not to let on who she actually is to new people that she meets for a sort of fear of them knowing the stories behind her and potentially being repelled by that, thus allowing her to not adjust fully to being back in New York. This is the major reason that she has started playing with a band part time, partly as a cover up, but also to pursue an unlived dream.
Most people may not be comfortable living the lie, but Ophelia is starting to find it difficult to remember which are the lies and which are the truth, so being comfortable can't even begin to be a factor for her at the moment. She promised herself she would never get this messed up, but she's still passionate about her work, yet, she has lost so many friends because of it and been so hurt by it all, that it's becoming difficult to deal with because she's turning into what she never thought she'd become. She wanted to be the balanced person, but having moved to London had allowed her to focus more on work, tipping the scales and now she's struggled to get them to balance again. If only she could learn to actually trust even one person, then maybe that scale would work it's way back to level, even if it took a while. It's something she's willing to work on at least, even if it kills her.
To offset the generality of the negative qualities of Ophelia's personality, those qualities which she is trying so hard to keep on the job as she tries to re-establish her life in New York, she's not actually that bad a person. The 'Frankie' side of her life is the part she has taken a greater preferential to. Outside of the courtroom, outside of the freshly pressed suits, Ophelia's personality has greatly soften since she had originally left for London, becoming more of a friendly sort of social butterfly than the kind with venom on her wings. She learnt that not everyone was out to get her, but that not everyone could be trusted. It was during the early days in London that she saw a lot of herself in a couple of her colleagues and she could imagine the people that they would become and she didn't want to be one of those people. Getting a taste of her own medicine was also a great factor into her choice to change. She honestly wishes she could just be Ophelia again, that girl that people actually liked.
When she was first stretching out 'Frankie's' legs, she was a bit of an awkward kind of person, a bit of a wallflower, if you like: she didn't really know how to associate with people without being cruel, but, after as while, it became second nature to flash a winning smile and loosen up into having a good time. 'Frankie' is how Ophelia was as a child, only amplified to how she should have been as an adult: a bubbly, young creature who's friends have become a big factor in her transition into an actually quite likeable person. The few friends she does still have in New York are the ones that she knew throughout her life and know both sides of her and believe that 'Frankie' is more true to the person she is than the person she was. Leading a double life was not something she was cut out for, everything starting to fall away at the seams. If she's not careful, she's going to get hurt and there will be no one there to help her and that honestly scares the living day lights out of her.
0II. strengths She can be quite manipulative, which, in her line of work, is obviously pretty handy. It's a part of her personality that she developed early on in her life and is something that has gone a long way to her to where she is today and, well, she may not be proud of it, but it's not something she's going to give up easily. She's not a big worrier. Most people may seem that as her being heartless or whatever, but the less she worries about things, the less things that can get to her and break her focus. She can adapt easily to change and she's certainly trying to change herself. She can't carry on like she had been doing and since she's been back in New York, she's certainly doing alright for herself. She's persistent, which is why she has done so much in her life in, comparatively, such a short amount of time and how she continues to achieve so much.
III. weaknesses She honestly had a bit of a reputation as a heart breaker, something that is starting to take it's toll on her. What was once a strength of hers, particularly back in high school and even more so in university, she now regards as a weakness, particularly since she's finding it hard to leave the heartbreaking to her time the courtroom, even though she keeps promising herself that it will stop soon. That or she'll just be a bit sociopathic for the rest of her life, who knows. In all honesty, the 'heartbreaking' is down to a bare minimum. She could give up any day now. She also has a weakness for the unobtainable. If she can't have it, she wants it and will try her damnedest to get it. She finds it very difficult to trust anyone, even her family, particularly since her return to New York, her head filled with questions they won't answer. She can occasionally be quite impulsive and it's generally at the worst kind of times.
0IV. goals Ophelia actually wants to start her own law firm and has done since she was at school. However, she honestly isn't sure if that would begin in New York. She'd have to find a really good, new reason to start a venture as big as that in the same old town. It may sound stupid, but Ophelia would also appreciate having a few more people around her. It was moving back to New York that made her realise that she was beginning to turn into a bit of a social recluse again, having changed social circles to fit around her ever changing work colleagues and the few people she still knew from school and growing up in general. She wants to know what happened in her childhood that has caused her to forget to much about it. She was always told how things were, but now that's she's older, she's a little wiser to the lies that could potentially be floating around.
00I. notable family & friends
- Francis Carlyle, grandfather, deceased - Francis was obviously a big influence in Ophelia's life, which is largely why she has become someone she has started to genuinely hate and started to greatly change. His passing was another factor in that change – she realised that so few people actually liked him for who he was as a person and more associated with him because they were afraid of him as a businessman. Her own father warned her that was what she would turn out to be if she wasn't careful.
- “Polonius” Carlyle, father - due to Ophelia's focus on pleasing her grandfather, she and her father quickly grew apart. There was a point at which she wouldn't even acknowledge him. Another factor into their apparent 'distance' is how her grandfather never thought much of the company his own son worked for: HCJ & Associates, Harry Chandler Jr.'s company (neither her grandfather nor her brother thinking much of the guy). It was her grandfather's passing that brought them back together.
- unknown, mother, unknown
- “Laertes” Carlyle, older brother - her brother, despite the person she became during the time she spent as her grandfather's little protégée of sorts, remained protective of her as any true for of big brother would. He was not overly impressed when he found out how his father had introduced Ophelia to a character such as Harry Chandler Jr., trying desperately to help her change as much as she needs him to and knowing that even knowing that kind of guy would be bad for anyone.
- Harry “Hamlet” Chandler, associate - Ophelia was introduced to Harry by her father, who believed knowing the right sort of people would get her back on track. She's only ever spoken to Harry properly once and that was when her father introduced her to him. She's had a few dealings with him outside of that, but either one or the other (hell, sometimes even both of them) were not in such a state or environment to carry a real conversation that stemmed beyond short, sharp exchanges. She actually can't deny that she is thoroughly intrigued by him, he's the sort of 'challenge' that she finds herself drawn to, but he continues to annoy her through certain little things that he does more than anything else, particularly with him calling her Ophelia – knowledge he obtained from her own father talking about her and when he introduced her to Harry, despite her insistence of him not introducing her as such. She's just thankful he chooses to call her as such during their little exchanges.
0II. overall history Born on July 25th in 1985 in Manhattan, New York, Ophelia Frances Carlyle didn't have the faintest idea what a roller coaster her life would eventually be, blissfully unaware of the sort of person she would become because of the various things that would shape her being. Initially just named after her grandfather, it appeared Ophelia's mother had everything to do with her first name being Ophelia, even if she didn't have anything to do with her after the fact...at least, Ophelia doesn't remember her as such. 'Ophelia' was not a name she carried commonly after the age of about 10 – only her family now know her by that name and she has never found herself trusting enough of anyone outside of that circle to let them in so close that they would find out her proper name (not that 'Frances' can be disregarded as her proper name – it's her middle name after all).
Ophelia honestly doesn't recall her early years in New York, all she knows are the things she has been told. She knew it couldn't have been that bad when she still had her father, brother and grandfather around, raising her to be a proper young lady even during the early days. She was raised in a high class household, so she rarely wanted for anything, but she never allowed that to turn her into a spoilt brat. She may have occasionally acted as such (and still does from time to time), but her family tried their best to keep her level, despite their financial advantages. It was quite apparent early on that this impeccably bright young girl had a head for book smarts, a heart for passion and a soul for survival. It was her grandfather who really took note of this, putting her through her paces and making sure she got the best out of everything she attempted at school.
Early on in her school life, Ophelia was a little bit anti-social, to say the very least, believing that other people were the greatest form of distraction any one person could have and would make her stray from being everything her family wanted her to be. It was only when she got a little older, when she started high school really, that she realised that she was perfectly capable of balancing an actual social life with her hard working ethic. She started getting noticed a lot and found it relatively easy to wrap a lot of people around her little finger, which would be an intricate part of how she would become a great lawyer. During high school, thanks to the bitchiness of the average high school girl, Ophelia's manipulative nature went relatively unnoticed...apart from by other manipulative types, of course. It takes one to know one and all that jazz.
When the time came around, it was actually because of her grandfather that after the toils of regular schools that Ophelia went on to university, majoring in Law and Criminal Justice and minoring in Business. It had been a career her had pursued and one she had taken a deep interest in over the years. It wasn't until she graduated University and was offered a place in a half way decent London firm that anyone started to take her seriously as a lawyer. Moving to London, for a lot of people, would have come as a big decision and would have taken a considerable amount of time to actual finalise on, but not with Ophelia. The moment she was given the offer, her calculating mind got her quick tongue to snap up the offer. It gave her a chance to get out of the United States for a while to a city that, to her at the time, was full of promise.
Now that she is older, Ophelia's becoming more and more curious about why there's such a blank space in the memories of the early years of her life, a space that her family were so willing to fill way back when, yet now it seems like they were far too eager to fill it. She's a big girl now and she's going to be looking for real answers soon enough. After just over a year and a half at the firm in London, they gratefully set up a transfer to send her back home to New York to work for the same company, only this time in a much higher position, having worked up somewhat of a reputation back in the United Kingdom. So, Ophelia Frances Carlyle with those dulcet New Yorker tones left the Big Apple a little law intern and Frances “The Phoenix” Carlyle with her firm, Londonesque purr returns to New York as a big, bad assliarlawyer...
III. sample postHead held high in confidence with her sly, signature smirk settled on her pale face, Frances 'The Phoenix' Carlyle made her way down the courthouse steps, fellow lawyers and various different journalists in tow, each one as curious as the next as to how she had manage to pull off another flawless court appearance. “If I told you,” she began, pausing dramatically as she opened the car door before her, turning back to the group of followers. “I'd be out of a job,” she said finally, giving them a universal, flirtatious wink as she let herself into the back seat of the unmarked, black car that had been waiting for her at the bottom of the steps. Quickly shutting the door, safe now behind the darkened glass, Ophelia Frances Carlyle was allowed to escape, letting her case slide into the opposing foot well, her smirk wane into an overall quite tired expression and her head drop back against the head rest.
Her driver questioned her having completed another successful case, conversationally, of course. By now, she had relaxed back into the seat and closed her eyes and her only response was a single nod, one that she knew her driver would understand. She had grown so used to him and, seemingly, him to her that little gestures such as the one she had just managed were general parts of interaction between the pair of them. He acknowledged the gesture before the sound of the visor closing announced him closing them off from each other. He was a great driver. He always did what she asked, no question, and responded to her, even when she wasn't in the greatest of moods. Right now, it wasn't so much that she wasn't in a great mood, it was down to her lack of real sleep the night before. She had partied too hard for too long and had almost forgotten all about today's court appearance.
What had snapped her back into reality last night was some guy, obviously quite innocently, saying that Frankie couldn't be her real name. That had been enough for her to make her excuses and leave, leaving the guy with her third phone number – that phone was the one she may or may not check on at some point, soon or maybe not so soon, but he didn't need to know that. She might have been juggling two lives, but Ophelia had three phones: her business phone where she was 'The Phoenix', super attorney, which was actually the same number her family members contacted her on; her personal phone where she was bubbly little Frankie to the right kinds of guys; and her other phone which she honestly only turned to when she was desperate little Frankie, but that didn't actually happen at all now, so that guy last night had no chance.
What was his name again? Jerry something? No, Jeremiah something. Yeah, it was definitely Jeremiah...what a stupid name that was. She should have made her excuses to leave earlier, which she probably would have if he hadn't been the one buying her drinks. She didn't really need anyone to buy her drinks, but it still felt oddly good to let other people waste their money on plying her with drink from time to time. She was just thankful that that was down to a minimum. She was trying to find new ways to socialise with new people, away from drink, dingy bars and strobe lit clubs. Granted, part of her sort of 'cover' as fun loving Frankie was that she was in a band, so she couldn't truly escape the drink, the bars and the clubs for long. In fact, she suddenly reminded herself, that was what she was going to be doing with her evening.
While her underlings flipped through the endless reams of today's paper work, she would be with her band, performing in some bar that she honestly didn't know if she'd heard of before. The band did try to reassure her that everyone went to this bar, that it was going to be worth the time and effort, that they might even see a few of the high class types in their tonight if they were lucky (the rest of her band members seemingly blissfully unaware that she herself never struggled with money and that was how they figured their 'high class' rankings). They had been insistent and she couldn't let them down. Music may not have seemed like her first 'love' as such, but it was certainly up there with the various things she held dear to her, to try and keep her on the right path to levelling the proverbial scales of her life.
SYR INTEGRA of CAUTION 2.0 created this, modified by Yols with Shakespeare lines.[/color]
I'm sure Harry and Ophelia will drive each other crazy 