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anankc · 8 months

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Charlotte Li - An Introduction

Name: Born as Li Xiulan, but took the name Charlotte Li in her earliest ventures out of Chinatown, and has rarely used her birth name at all since leaving New York.

Title(s): Miss

Referred to as: Miss, Miss Li

Nickname(s): Char to those closest to her, Lottie to acquaintances in the world of entertainment, though she's not especially fond of the nickname.

Age: Thirty

Gender: Cis woman

Sexual orientation: Bisexual

Occupation: Lady's Maid to Lady Faye Manderley

Nationality: American

Religion: Chinese folk religion, only practiced in small, private ways

Class: Working

Place of birth: Chinatown, New York City, USA

Hometown: As above

Faceclaim: Jing Tian

Physical description

Height: 5'5"

Weight: 112lbs

Build: Slender, with soft curves, and strong calves and forearms

Distinguishing marks: Scars, moles, and the like.

Hair colour: Jet black

Hair style: Typically worn pinned away from her face, in gentle curls. Despite the fashion of the times, Charlotte has never been able to bring herself to cut it shorter than mid-back.

Eye colour: Deep brown, dark enough to appear black in certain light.

Clothing: While not especially stylish, Charlotte keeps up with the fashion of the times when not in uniform. She prefers clean, simple styles, mostly in neutrals and muted hues. She is loathe to throw anything away, and though she's far from an expert seamstress, is practiced at keeping older clothing looking smart.

Scents: Freshly washed linen, cut flowers, and a light spray of rosewater

Accent: Neutral American, and although she has worked hide it, her natural Chinese accent sometimes slips through when her guard is down.

Personality

Summary: Fitting of her assumed role as lady's maid, Charlotte, at least at a glance, may seem to slip into the background. With a timid nature and a sensitive spirit, in another life Charlotte may have scarcely left her native New York, let alone America. But oh, she is so desperately glad she did. Her travels have not made her bold and brash, and she has never possessed much in the way of charisma, but she has learned to hold her own in matters of business, if not in matters of the heart. Still, while she loves so dearly, there is a lonely, jealous streak in her that only seems to grow deeper with each passing season. Charlotte wishes she could rid herself of it, but, put simply, she never has been able to help her heart.

Virtues: Diligent, loyal, gentle, romantic, mild-mannered

Vices: Avoidant, critical, sensitive, indecisive, prone to holding grudges over even petty matters

Moral alignment: Neutral Good

Natal chart: Pisces in the Western Zodiac, born in the year of the Snake in the Chinese Zodiac

Habits: Humming while she works, mumbling to herself in Mandarin, saving scraps, rising early, daydreaming, lip biting, smoothing non-existent creases in her clothes

Character tropes: Elinor Dashwood (Sense & Sensibility), Sook-hee (The Handmaiden), Amélie Poulain (Amélie)

Family ties

Parent(s): Li Shufen (mother, deceased), Li Jianhong (father, estranged)

Sibling(s): None

Spouse: Unmarried

Child/ren: None

Miscellaneous headcanons:

Coming soon

Wanted plots

Crush. Charlotte can't quite help herself, her affections develop so easily. She rarely ever acts on them, but recently longing has become a more constant companion, and thus she might be a little less subtle with her warm glances, shy smiles, and pink cheeks. How the other muse feels about her affections, or if they've even noticed, is entirely up for discussion. Open to upstairs or downstairs, any gender.

Guide. Someone (probably downstairs?) willing to help Charlotte, who is not always in tune with the nuances of service and the workings of Manor Houses, navigate life at Montmere. Could be out of the goodness of their heart, or perhaps because there's something that they want from Charlotte or her employer.

Animosity. They've picked up on the fact that Charlotte simply does not have the formal training typically expected of someone in her position, and thus find her an unwelcome presence at Montmere. Could be quiet resentment, open disdain, or even actively trying to remove her from the estate. Open to upstairs or downstairs.

Unexpected Reunion. Friends, acquaintances or business associates met during Faye's European tours. Could be someone Charlotte quietly longed after, a short but meaningful friendship, someone she clashed with in financial matters, or anything else really.

#intro.#task.

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anankc · 8 months

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Title: Miss Full name: Charlotte Li (Li Xiulan) Age: 30 Occupation: Ladies maid for Lady Manderley Faceclaim: Jing Tian (City of Streamer)

❧ In some forgotten apartment in an impoverished corner of New York City’s Chinatown, a timid, awkward, little girl, feeling very small in this great big city her family calls home, met a girl who shone like the sun. Even then, Charlotte fondly remembers, she thought that she would follow her anywhere. The jagged skyline threatened to cut her open, the looming shadows seemed to swallow her whole, but in the light of her best friend’s starry eyes and starrier ambitions, Charlotte felt, for the first time in her short life, brave enough to face it. Hand in hand, they took on New York, then the Eastern Seaboard, and then the great, glimmering world beyond. Even as a child, Charlotte thought she would follow her best friend anywhere, and so she did. Oh, how she did.

❧ Timid by nature, Charlotte possesses neither the charisma nor the talent for stage lights and applause, but with a sharp eye for detail and a mind for numbers, she works diligently behind the scenes as Fei does upon the stage. For as long as they could keep it that way, their team was just the two of them, with Charlotte balancing the checkbook and managing the schedule, the two of them learning scrappy ways to stretch makeup, varnish buttons, and repair clothing. Though much better off now, Charlotte has retained her craftiness, and hates to see anything go to waste.

❧ Charlotte has taken well to acting as lady’s maid, as Fei’s first and most steadfast supporter, her success has always belonged to them both. She sometimes has to mind herself in Great Britain and on the continent, lest she appear overly familiar and thus improper. Her Lady Manderley has always been a friend first and an employer second, and thus the nuances of the relationships between those in service and the families they serve in places like Montmere have a way of evading her grasp.

❧ At heart, Charlotte is a romantic, though she tries and is somewhat successful at keeping it hidden away. Her affections are quick to develop, but rarely expressed. Many a crush she’s developed and then let go with little more than a shy smile and a parting glance exchanged. While she’s always been content to let her heart be filled with friendship, her best friend’s marriage has stirred up long ignored feelings. The quiet ache in her grows a little deeper, a hole in her life feels a little wider, and the pang of envy that’s found a home there becomes a little stronger. At Montmere, she secretly hopes she might find a romance of her own.

❧ Though soft-spoken and unassuming, Charlotte is not quite as delicate a creature as she might first appear. While unlikely to stand up for herself or assert herself in the private realm, she’s able to hold her own in matters of business. There is little she knows deeper than the value of a dollar (or a pound, as they’d say on this side of the Atlantic), and many a time she has smiled politely, clasped her hands before her, and explained to a fine gentleman that Ms. Mandrake would not be performing until she was in possession of the agreed upon fee. It’s a courage she wishes she was more readily able to summon, but in all other areas of her life, always seem to be just out of reach.

Relative(s): N/A

Ananke is taken

#intro.

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