Goldie Henderson

[stillgoldie1899]

Amanda Marie Henderson

NAME: Amanda Marie Henderson
NICKNAME: Goldilocks / Goldie
AGE: 17
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA

PERSONALITY

Goldie, at first glance, is a sweet, cheerful girl, always ready with a sarcastic joke, or dry observation. She's not overly outgoing, almost a wallflower, easily fading into a crowd, if need be, capable of being nearly invisible. Goldie's a keen student of human behaviour, reading people easily, and bending who she is to what they think she is, or should be. A little eager to please, but never quite letting anyone in.

Because Goldie doesn't trust anyone, not strangers, not friends, not her 'family', and least of all herself. Under her mask, she's fragile, and broken, and terrified that one day, the other shoe will drop, and she will find herself trapped by her past, and what little freedom, what little joy she's found will be taken away.

Goldie is equally terrified that people will discover her dark secrets, the least dark of which is that she can't read. But she also knows how to pick a pocket, how to drug someone just enough to make them pliant but not harm them, how to sweet talk her way out of trouble, and if failing that, how to deal with someone trying to hurt her, permanently. She doesn't want anyone to know that she knows any of it, least of all people she admires and generally likes.

Goldie longs for a family, a real one, to belong to something, anything, but she since she won't let anyone in, at best she'll only ever be on the edges. She knows it, and she hates herself for it, but has no idea how to change it. What she doesn't know, what she would be aware of if she turned her keen observation onto herself, is how easy to use her longings and fears make her. Perfect prey for anyone who can read people at least half as well as she can.

HISTORY

Born the unwanted by-product of her teenaged mother's profession, Goldie grew up with very few things certain in her life. There was no way she'd ever know who her father was, she was never quite sure if she'd get anything to eat, and if she was to hear her mother at the door to whatever squalled room they were living in at the time, she'd better be hiding in a wardrobe, or trunk, or be climbing out the window so the room was empty before her mother and whoever she'd brought home with her made it inside. Nancy Henderson wasn't the worst mother of all time, she did try to protect her daughter, but she was a child herself when she had Goldie, and once the entertainment value of having a baby wore off, she became neglectful.

Though Goldie was unaware of it, her mother had tried to pass her off as the child of the man she answered to, and Andy, in his way, was the only father figure Goldie really knew, although he was not her father. Nancy was one of several girls he had working for him, and all of them, at one point or another, had taken care of her, as had Andy, although grudgingly. Even so, Goldie grew up mostly on the streets around whatever building everyone was living in at the time, one of a small pack of brats born to Andy's girls. It was often cold, and they were often hungry, and if they bawled or got too rowdy, one or another of Andy's girls was likely to drug them to shut them up. Laudanum was favourite pacifier, for everyone from infant to adult, and Goldie had felt it's effects more times then she cared to admit to.

The boys in the little pack of brats Goldie was part of tended to run off when they got old enough, joining the armies of homeless children that roamed New York, but the girls somehow never managed, and Goldie was no exception. The moment Andy felt she was old enough to be working, she was working, and Nancy did nothing to stop it. It was only luck that kept her from repeating her mother's story, luck and Andy's untimely end at the hands of a rival. There was no loyalty among the girls, not even among mother and daughter, as Nancy kissed her daughter goodbye, and split. Everyone scattered, most finding other men like Andy to take care of them, or if they were lucky, someplace warmer to work, inside.

Goldie, though, had seen enough, and wanted nothing to do with it anymore, taking what little she had, and fleeing the grimy streets she knew to other, equally grimy ones. If pressed, she would admit to where she grew up, and if pressed harder, might even eventually admit to what she had been. But now that she was free, she was never, ever going back to it, unless she had absolutely no choice.

Who are you?

Name: Maria / Ria, Age: 28, Time-Zone: EST, Desired Member Group: I put myself in your capable hands, o Admins!, Characters You Play: None, yet.