11-05-2024, 09:34 PM
Age: 24
Origin: Illinois, Currently: Moscow
Occupation: Pop Star
Psychological Description: Most people who have met Cadence in person have commented that she seems unusually shy based on her performance persona which is very outgoing and robust. In reality, Cadence experiences a significant amount of social anxiety that she tempers through fidgeting with the rings on her fingers and sometimes just through will. She has experienced trauma that sometimes impacts her relationships with others and has made it difficult for her to make friends.
Physical Description: Cadence stands at 5’10” tall. She has brown hair that extends just past her shoulders and hazel eyes. She has a dancers build.
Supernatural Abilities: Channeler
Current strength: 15
Potential strength: 25
Experience Level: Adept
Reborn God: Euterpe (Muse)
Biography:
*Trigger Warning: Cadence’s life story includes references to child abuse, neglect, abandonment, and mental health disorders*
Early Life:
Cadence was born in 2022. Her mother died in childbirth. Her father, Desmond, blamed the child for her mother’s death. As a result, she was often not taken care of and later in life was physically abused. Cadence spent much of her life in fear, keeping hidden in her room and not speaking much, scared that saying the wrong thing would anger her father.
As she reached school age, Cadence was sent to school. Desmond, seeing this as a way to at least get rid of his child for a while, sent her with gladness. It wasn’t long before her teacher was reporting abuse and neglect to Child Protective Services. An investigation was eventually conducted, but the system, still needing to be fixed, didn’t work in Cadence’s favor. Her father had talked his way out of it, mostly to avoid charges for himself.
That night, her father decided drunkenly that it wasn’t worth the effort to keep his daughter, picked her up as she slept, drove her to the nearby city of Naperville, dropped her off at a fire department, and left. He would later die of a drug overdose.
The fire fighters took her in reporting the abandoned child to the police. A female EMT named Ally, stayed with the young girl in case she awoke. When she did that morning, it was a struggle. The girl, confused, screamed, prompting the fire fighters to come. Ally shooed them out, realizing that they were scaring the girl more. A social worker was called, but Ally was eventually able to calm the girl down. Ally was able to figure out the girl's name - Cadence - and got her some food. She also found out the girl was six years old.
Foster Care and School
Cadence would eventually be put into the foster care system. It was yet another system that failed her. Throughout the next seven years, she would cycle through nine homes, and it wasn’t that the parents weren’t qualified. Cadence was a girl with such severe trauma, that they found themselves ill-equipped to take care of her drastic needs. Cadence was verbal, but had no trust for anyone. She was scared of most adults, especially men.
Despite these struggles, she excelled in school. She didn’t speak much and had a general mistrust of people. Because of this, she focused a lot on her studies, making good grades. The only negatives her fosters ever received was her social interaction, which was very little. She never did group work, choosing to work by herself, and being forced into it caused her anxiety and panic attacks.
The only teachers who never reported these things were her music teachers. One of them even commented that “if she didn’t have an IEP, I wouldn’t have realized she was anything but a normal, healthy girl.” Music teachers were the only ones blessed enough to see Cadence smile and participate fully in class, and she had a natural gift for it. She could hear a melody or rhythm once and repeat it back perfectly.
In the background, Cadence’s case worker, Erin, was fighting for her. Her bosses were continually telling her to get placed as quickly as possible, and she was constantly screaming back that she didn’t need a placement, she needed the right home and the right foster parents. Erin had trouble sleeping and prayed daily for Cadence to find the right place. Finally, when Cadence was thirteen, the perfect file came to her desk.
The Mathis Family, Channeling and Breakthrough
Erin opened the file, seeing the names Stephanie and Renae Mathis, a lesbian couple with experience with special needs fosters. Erin called them in for an interview. She spared no details, telling the two women everything. At the end, Erin begged the two to not take her if they didn’t think they could handle this. She wasn’t sure how long Cadence would survive the system if she kept getting sent back. They agreed and at thirteen, Cadence was taken in by the Mathis couple.
As Erin had told them, Cadence was not an easy child to raise. It was not because of behavior. In fact she was extremely well behaved, she just kept to herself, spending most of her time in her room, leaving only to go to school. There was always a deep sadness and fear around the child. Stephanie and Renae had decided to meet her where she was. They brought her food to her room, asked her if she needed anything, and always made sure to speak with her in a positive manner at all times. Every day, Cadence was greeted, wished good morning and good night, and most importantly was told she was loved.
Shortly after taking Cadence in, she turned 14, and the couple saw little progress. Months went by with no visible change. Discouraged and stressed, Stephanie eventually got sick. It wasn’t anything serious, but it was noticeable. The couple didn’t realize, however, that they were getting through to Cadence. Their constant positive affirmations had broken through some of her defenses, and Cadence was beginning to feel safe. Cadence had seen Stepanie and thought she looked sick and had also heard her throwing up. Cadence left her room to go to her parents and check on Stephanie, as she got closer, she heard their voices.
“I know it’s hard, but we can’t give up on her,” Stephanie said, sounding weak. “She’s had such a hard life for one so young, she just needs to know we love her so much.”
Renae sighed, “I know, and we won’t give up on her. It’s just discouraging and stressful sometimes.”
Cadence began to breathe heavier, trying to keep herself quiet. One time her father had caught her eavesdropping and had beat her, and she didn’t think she could handle Stephanie or Renae doing that. They were so nice to her. But as her thoughts continued, Cadence put it together. Stephanie was sick because she was stressed, and she was stressed because of Cadence. The tears began to fall down her face as guilt rushed up within her. The door opened and Renae stood there, Stephanie looking sick behind her.
“What’s wrong, Cadence?” Stephanie asked, looking concerned. “Do you need something?”
Cadence felt a light within her. She didn’t know what else to call it, but somehow she knew it was good. She reached for it, and it made her feel warm inside. She thought of Stephanie, how she didn’t want her to be sick anymore. Stephanie shouldn’t be sick because of her. Before they could hurt her, Cadence ran back to her room.
A few moments later, the door opened. “Is everything okay, Cadence?” It was Stephanie’s voice. Cadence was in her bed and covered herself with the blanket to hide. “If you need to talk, I’ll be right over here.”
That night, Stephanie slept in Cadence’s room, and never touched her. The next morning Stephanie was fine, but Cadence was very ill. Concerned they took her to the hospital. It was the sickness that had been mysteriously showing up. There wasn’t a cure and the women were afraid their foster wouldn’t make it. Luckily she pulled through.
After going back to school, Renae and Stephanie became worried when she didn’t come home after school. They went to call the school and received a phone call from her choir teacher, saying Cadence had come into a practice room and lost track of time. Relieved, the teacher continued to tell them how excellent Cadence was as a student, that in the practice room, she had begun playing through a piano book and had no training. She was a prodigy. Along with that - she always sang in class and would often volunteer to solo. She had a beautiful voice and she thought music might be good therapy for Cadence.
Stephanie and Renae found a piano and bought it, thinking to encourage her musical ability. Upon showing her the piano, Cadence’s eyes widened, and she began to play. After a few minutes, Cadence spoke her first words to her foster parents. “Thank you.” That night, Cadence ate dinner with them in the dining room for the first time as well.
Continued Growth
As time went on, Cadence realized anytime she felt guilty, she could find that light inside of her, and she took every chance to grab it. She began to learn that she could do amazing things when she was enveloped by the light. She could make things come to her from across the room. She could put water in a glass and make it cold. She smiled, having discovered she was some sort of wizard or something. It was further cause for frustration that she couldn’t use magic when she didn’t feel guilty.
Cadence made a lot of growth in that she was more often outside of her room, mostly playing the piano. Her skills improved greatly, and she began to sing as well. Hearing her voice was a common occurrence in the house and her foster parents would often listen as she played or sang. Cadence began to trust them more.
On her fifteenth birthday, her foster parents offered her a gift. They offered to officially adopt her. This was too much for Cadence. They had been so nice, and she had been nothing more than a problem for them. Cadence broke down in tears saying she didn’t deserve this. Guilt arose and as always, her light was there and she grabbed it. Fifteen years of pain began to pour out of her and she told her foster parents everything; her earliest memories of a father who told her she was why her mother had died, his abuse, and abandonment of her. She described to them the feeling of abandonment everytime a family decided they couldn’t take care of her, and she told them how guilty she felt anytime they treated her nicely and all she did was take and ignore them.
Immediately the women hugged her, assuring her that she wasn’t at fault for anything. She had done nothing wrong and had nothing to be ashamed of. The warmth of their love mixed with the warmth from her light, and as the guilt washed away, her light remained. From that moment on, she could find her light anytime and had begun to access her magic frequently when she was by herself.
After that, she was adopted officially and began to take therapy and counseling seriously. Recognizing she needed help, she made large strides. She even began to feel less scared around people, and even went on a few dates, although entering into actual relationships was hard. At eighteen she accepted an offer at Millikin University in Decatur for their vocal performance program, earning scholarships on piano and voice.
College Years and Rise to Stardom
As a music student she excelled, continuing to go to therapy for her emotional trauma. Her biggest concern was to learn how to cope with her limited social skills. Telling her therapist that the only time she didn’t feel social anxiety was when she performed, her therapist encouraged her to maybe do some open mic nights or other public performances. That weekend she went to a bar with an open mic night and sang accompanying herself on the keyboard.
The bar was silent for a moment before breaking into applause. They immediately demanded an encore. She wanted to leave the stage saying it was someone else’s turn, but the next person told her to go, giving her his slot. She decided to stay. She had only prepared one song, so quickly she took the first song that came into her mind and thanked god for her perfect pitch.
She played an acoustic version of the song “Bad Romance” by Lady Gaga. Someone in the audience decided to record a video and later that night a video appeared on YouTube entitled “Amazing Singer Slays at Jazzy Version of Bad Romance.” The video went viral, gaining close to 20,000 views within 24 hours.
Cadence continued going to open mic nights. More people recorded videos and she was becoming a face that people began to recognize. The first one reached over a million views quickly enough, that Lady Gaga even watched it and responded that this girl was going to make it.
Eventually, Marlise Taylor, an agent, went to one of these impromptu performances, and offered her representation, and the potential for a tour. Nervous not only about the social situation, but about possibly being hoodwinked, Cadence told her she was going to finish her degree. Understanding, Marlise gave Cadence her card, encouraged her to keep performing, and said when she was ready to call.
Cadence looked her up later, and saw that Marlise was the real deal, and upon graduating college with a BM in Vocal Performance, she called and began her career as a pop star in 2044. She was an immediate hit with three main factors attributing to her instant success. Her delay at becoming a professional musician while people continued to post videos of her increased anticipation of her musical career. Secondly her live performances were just that - live. Lastly, no one could watch her perform and say she wasn’t having fun. Joy radiated from her at every performance.
As of 2046, Cadence has now gone on two tours. The first “Bad Romance,” capitalized on the fame of her Bad Romance performance - although she performed it more like the original instead of the one in the viral video. She has released three studio albums and is currently working on the fourth as well as planning her third tour. She would move to Moscow after her first tour as it gave her access to more performance venues globally.
Past Lives
3rd Age: Kira Valyrios, Aes Sedai of the Yellow Ajah
5th Age: Euterpe, Muse of Music and Lyric Poetry
Origin: Illinois, Currently: Moscow
Occupation: Pop Star
Psychological Description: Most people who have met Cadence in person have commented that she seems unusually shy based on her performance persona which is very outgoing and robust. In reality, Cadence experiences a significant amount of social anxiety that she tempers through fidgeting with the rings on her fingers and sometimes just through will. She has experienced trauma that sometimes impacts her relationships with others and has made it difficult for her to make friends.
Physical Description: Cadence stands at 5’10” tall. She has brown hair that extends just past her shoulders and hazel eyes. She has a dancers build.
Supernatural Abilities: Channeler
Current strength: 15
Potential strength: 25
Experience Level: Adept
Reborn God: Euterpe (Muse)
Biography:
*Trigger Warning: Cadence’s life story includes references to child abuse, neglect, abandonment, and mental health disorders*
Early Life:
Cadence was born in 2022. Her mother died in childbirth. Her father, Desmond, blamed the child for her mother’s death. As a result, she was often not taken care of and later in life was physically abused. Cadence spent much of her life in fear, keeping hidden in her room and not speaking much, scared that saying the wrong thing would anger her father.
As she reached school age, Cadence was sent to school. Desmond, seeing this as a way to at least get rid of his child for a while, sent her with gladness. It wasn’t long before her teacher was reporting abuse and neglect to Child Protective Services. An investigation was eventually conducted, but the system, still needing to be fixed, didn’t work in Cadence’s favor. Her father had talked his way out of it, mostly to avoid charges for himself.
That night, her father decided drunkenly that it wasn’t worth the effort to keep his daughter, picked her up as she slept, drove her to the nearby city of Naperville, dropped her off at a fire department, and left. He would later die of a drug overdose.
The fire fighters took her in reporting the abandoned child to the police. A female EMT named Ally, stayed with the young girl in case she awoke. When she did that morning, it was a struggle. The girl, confused, screamed, prompting the fire fighters to come. Ally shooed them out, realizing that they were scaring the girl more. A social worker was called, but Ally was eventually able to calm the girl down. Ally was able to figure out the girl's name - Cadence - and got her some food. She also found out the girl was six years old.
Foster Care and School
Cadence would eventually be put into the foster care system. It was yet another system that failed her. Throughout the next seven years, she would cycle through nine homes, and it wasn’t that the parents weren’t qualified. Cadence was a girl with such severe trauma, that they found themselves ill-equipped to take care of her drastic needs. Cadence was verbal, but had no trust for anyone. She was scared of most adults, especially men.
Despite these struggles, she excelled in school. She didn’t speak much and had a general mistrust of people. Because of this, she focused a lot on her studies, making good grades. The only negatives her fosters ever received was her social interaction, which was very little. She never did group work, choosing to work by herself, and being forced into it caused her anxiety and panic attacks.
The only teachers who never reported these things were her music teachers. One of them even commented that “if she didn’t have an IEP, I wouldn’t have realized she was anything but a normal, healthy girl.” Music teachers were the only ones blessed enough to see Cadence smile and participate fully in class, and she had a natural gift for it. She could hear a melody or rhythm once and repeat it back perfectly.
In the background, Cadence’s case worker, Erin, was fighting for her. Her bosses were continually telling her to get placed as quickly as possible, and she was constantly screaming back that she didn’t need a placement, she needed the right home and the right foster parents. Erin had trouble sleeping and prayed daily for Cadence to find the right place. Finally, when Cadence was thirteen, the perfect file came to her desk.
The Mathis Family, Channeling and Breakthrough
Erin opened the file, seeing the names Stephanie and Renae Mathis, a lesbian couple with experience with special needs fosters. Erin called them in for an interview. She spared no details, telling the two women everything. At the end, Erin begged the two to not take her if they didn’t think they could handle this. She wasn’t sure how long Cadence would survive the system if she kept getting sent back. They agreed and at thirteen, Cadence was taken in by the Mathis couple.
As Erin had told them, Cadence was not an easy child to raise. It was not because of behavior. In fact she was extremely well behaved, she just kept to herself, spending most of her time in her room, leaving only to go to school. There was always a deep sadness and fear around the child. Stephanie and Renae had decided to meet her where she was. They brought her food to her room, asked her if she needed anything, and always made sure to speak with her in a positive manner at all times. Every day, Cadence was greeted, wished good morning and good night, and most importantly was told she was loved.
Shortly after taking Cadence in, she turned 14, and the couple saw little progress. Months went by with no visible change. Discouraged and stressed, Stephanie eventually got sick. It wasn’t anything serious, but it was noticeable. The couple didn’t realize, however, that they were getting through to Cadence. Their constant positive affirmations had broken through some of her defenses, and Cadence was beginning to feel safe. Cadence had seen Stepanie and thought she looked sick and had also heard her throwing up. Cadence left her room to go to her parents and check on Stephanie, as she got closer, she heard their voices.
“I know it’s hard, but we can’t give up on her,” Stephanie said, sounding weak. “She’s had such a hard life for one so young, she just needs to know we love her so much.”
Renae sighed, “I know, and we won’t give up on her. It’s just discouraging and stressful sometimes.”
Cadence began to breathe heavier, trying to keep herself quiet. One time her father had caught her eavesdropping and had beat her, and she didn’t think she could handle Stephanie or Renae doing that. They were so nice to her. But as her thoughts continued, Cadence put it together. Stephanie was sick because she was stressed, and she was stressed because of Cadence. The tears began to fall down her face as guilt rushed up within her. The door opened and Renae stood there, Stephanie looking sick behind her.
“What’s wrong, Cadence?” Stephanie asked, looking concerned. “Do you need something?”
Cadence felt a light within her. She didn’t know what else to call it, but somehow she knew it was good. She reached for it, and it made her feel warm inside. She thought of Stephanie, how she didn’t want her to be sick anymore. Stephanie shouldn’t be sick because of her. Before they could hurt her, Cadence ran back to her room.
A few moments later, the door opened. “Is everything okay, Cadence?” It was Stephanie’s voice. Cadence was in her bed and covered herself with the blanket to hide. “If you need to talk, I’ll be right over here.”
That night, Stephanie slept in Cadence’s room, and never touched her. The next morning Stephanie was fine, but Cadence was very ill. Concerned they took her to the hospital. It was the sickness that had been mysteriously showing up. There wasn’t a cure and the women were afraid their foster wouldn’t make it. Luckily she pulled through.
After going back to school, Renae and Stephanie became worried when she didn’t come home after school. They went to call the school and received a phone call from her choir teacher, saying Cadence had come into a practice room and lost track of time. Relieved, the teacher continued to tell them how excellent Cadence was as a student, that in the practice room, she had begun playing through a piano book and had no training. She was a prodigy. Along with that - she always sang in class and would often volunteer to solo. She had a beautiful voice and she thought music might be good therapy for Cadence.
Stephanie and Renae found a piano and bought it, thinking to encourage her musical ability. Upon showing her the piano, Cadence’s eyes widened, and she began to play. After a few minutes, Cadence spoke her first words to her foster parents. “Thank you.” That night, Cadence ate dinner with them in the dining room for the first time as well.
Continued Growth
As time went on, Cadence realized anytime she felt guilty, she could find that light inside of her, and she took every chance to grab it. She began to learn that she could do amazing things when she was enveloped by the light. She could make things come to her from across the room. She could put water in a glass and make it cold. She smiled, having discovered she was some sort of wizard or something. It was further cause for frustration that she couldn’t use magic when she didn’t feel guilty.
Cadence made a lot of growth in that she was more often outside of her room, mostly playing the piano. Her skills improved greatly, and she began to sing as well. Hearing her voice was a common occurrence in the house and her foster parents would often listen as she played or sang. Cadence began to trust them more.
On her fifteenth birthday, her foster parents offered her a gift. They offered to officially adopt her. This was too much for Cadence. They had been so nice, and she had been nothing more than a problem for them. Cadence broke down in tears saying she didn’t deserve this. Guilt arose and as always, her light was there and she grabbed it. Fifteen years of pain began to pour out of her and she told her foster parents everything; her earliest memories of a father who told her she was why her mother had died, his abuse, and abandonment of her. She described to them the feeling of abandonment everytime a family decided they couldn’t take care of her, and she told them how guilty she felt anytime they treated her nicely and all she did was take and ignore them.
Immediately the women hugged her, assuring her that she wasn’t at fault for anything. She had done nothing wrong and had nothing to be ashamed of. The warmth of their love mixed with the warmth from her light, and as the guilt washed away, her light remained. From that moment on, she could find her light anytime and had begun to access her magic frequently when she was by herself.
After that, she was adopted officially and began to take therapy and counseling seriously. Recognizing she needed help, she made large strides. She even began to feel less scared around people, and even went on a few dates, although entering into actual relationships was hard. At eighteen she accepted an offer at Millikin University in Decatur for their vocal performance program, earning scholarships on piano and voice.
College Years and Rise to Stardom
As a music student she excelled, continuing to go to therapy for her emotional trauma. Her biggest concern was to learn how to cope with her limited social skills. Telling her therapist that the only time she didn’t feel social anxiety was when she performed, her therapist encouraged her to maybe do some open mic nights or other public performances. That weekend she went to a bar with an open mic night and sang accompanying herself on the keyboard.
The bar was silent for a moment before breaking into applause. They immediately demanded an encore. She wanted to leave the stage saying it was someone else’s turn, but the next person told her to go, giving her his slot. She decided to stay. She had only prepared one song, so quickly she took the first song that came into her mind and thanked god for her perfect pitch.
She played an acoustic version of the song “Bad Romance” by Lady Gaga. Someone in the audience decided to record a video and later that night a video appeared on YouTube entitled “Amazing Singer Slays at Jazzy Version of Bad Romance.” The video went viral, gaining close to 20,000 views within 24 hours.
Cadence continued going to open mic nights. More people recorded videos and she was becoming a face that people began to recognize. The first one reached over a million views quickly enough, that Lady Gaga even watched it and responded that this girl was going to make it.
Eventually, Marlise Taylor, an agent, went to one of these impromptu performances, and offered her representation, and the potential for a tour. Nervous not only about the social situation, but about possibly being hoodwinked, Cadence told her she was going to finish her degree. Understanding, Marlise gave Cadence her card, encouraged her to keep performing, and said when she was ready to call.
Cadence looked her up later, and saw that Marlise was the real deal, and upon graduating college with a BM in Vocal Performance, she called and began her career as a pop star in 2044. She was an immediate hit with three main factors attributing to her instant success. Her delay at becoming a professional musician while people continued to post videos of her increased anticipation of her musical career. Secondly her live performances were just that - live. Lastly, no one could watch her perform and say she wasn’t having fun. Joy radiated from her at every performance.
As of 2046, Cadence has now gone on two tours. The first “Bad Romance,” capitalized on the fame of her Bad Romance performance - although she performed it more like the original instead of the one in the viral video. She has released three studio albums and is currently working on the fourth as well as planning her third tour. She would move to Moscow after her first tour as it gave her access to more performance venues globally.
Past Lives
3rd Age: Kira Valyrios, Aes Sedai of the Yellow Ajah
5th Age: Euterpe, Muse of Music and Lyric Poetry