Backstory
This Part's the Easy One:
Name: Blythe Merrick
Age: 22
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Brown
Blythe Merrick was a relatively normal girl. She was born into a typical family in a suburb off New York City with a brother four years older than she was. She adored the outdoors, even at a young age, and loved visiting parks and forest preserves. Her elder brother, Garrett, took her under his wing and taught her how to climb trees and swing from branches as soon as he learned himself. They were an odd couple - an eight-year-old laughing with his friends as his little sister cartwheeled along behind. But it worked. They were happy.
This all changed when Blythe went to school for the first time. In a normal family with normal kids, no one expected much from the little girl. But she began to pick up things taught at school at an alarming rate. She merely had to glance at the alphabet a few times, and she could easily form letters. She had a fast mind, and a wonderful memory. Addition and subtraction? Easy as pie. She was, in other words, a brilliant little kindergartner.
Her parents started small. They urged her to get straight As as soon as she was old enough for it to matter. It was a breeze for her, though, and she barely noticed. Regarding her love for playing outside - they put her in a rigorous gymnastics course, subtly nudging her towards the Olympics once she grew old enough.
Her brother was forced to undergo the transformation as well. Suddenly, his kid sister was seemingly the favorite child - but for some reason, he had to endure the punishment as well. At least, that’s how it looked to a twelve-year-old’s mind. Getting straight As? Was a push, for him. And he wasn’t interested in sports at all. In fact, he wanted to pursue a career in music - a big no-no, as far as the parents were concerned. Music was a high-risk job; music didn’t ensure you a salary.
As she grew older, Blythe slowly began to notice something was wrong. Getting a 98% on a test started to become a problem, rather than something to celebrate. Missing a single flip in gymnastics was unthinkable. And she didn’t have friends. Between homework, extra credit projects, and gymnastics - sometimes up to four hours a day - she didn’t have time to hang out with girl friends after school, or head to the mall.
And so, she took solace in her older brother. Her parents could curb every other part of her life - but they couldn’t keep her from asking Garrett for help on homework, or talking to him at night. The two were still as close as always; perhaps even closer. He still cherished her, though she’d indirectly caused him so much stress.
The years passed. Middle school was worse than elementary - everyone was judgmental of smart kids, and very few people really tried to get to know her. Those who did? Were immediately put off by the fact that she never seemed to reciprocate those efforts. But even worse than that was high school. Blythe was a short, pretty genius - in other words, a recipe for disaster. She was simultaneously flirted with and bullied, sought out and shunned. And so, she put up a harsh defense; sarcastic and dry comebacks to whatever people said. She became known as an outcast - someone who liked being alone - and the four years passed slowly.
In her senior year of high school, a bomb was metaphorically dropped on the Merrick household. Garrett, already four years into college, had changed his major from Marketing to Music, just as he had always wanted. There was yelling, and fit-pitching, and lots of time that Blythe spent with her ear at a keyhole. And then, Garrett was gone.
Her parents became ever more irate - finding him was going to be a waste of their time. The three figured that he would return eventually; how long could a boy hold a grudge? A week passed. Then two. Then it had been a month, two months, and finally, Blythe panicked. Her brother was really gone - her adored, charming, wonderful elder brother - and what were her parents doing? Nothing.
They had already realized, they protested, immediately when he left. He didn’t want to be found, and they knew he was a capable boy, that he’d be okay. But Blythe knew what they really meant - not having to deal with the grief or the guilt was a load off their minds.
It was the last semester of Blythe’s senior year - the time when most college results were released. Everyone was expecting Blythe to make it to Harvard, Yale, Stanford… the usual toppers.
Blythe was rejected from every single college. Little did her parents know that she had cracked under the pressure. In one huge act of rebellion, she had hashed together badly-structured essays, gotten recommendations from inconsequential teachers, and made designs with the answer sheets on tests instead of actually taking them.
Her parents were at a loss as to what to do. They lectured and they yelled and Mrs. Merrick had even broken down into tears. For one year, Blythe stayed at home, doing nothing more productive than a gymnastics routine in the backyard every day - after all, her parents couldn’t trust her to go to the Olympics. She began to think that she was the one at fault. After all, it was Blythe herself who didn’t love her parents enough to do her best, when they had done so much for her. It was Blythe who had ruined all their hopes and aspirations. If she had really loved them-
Well, she would’ve been a better daughter.
And then, her parents found out about the Deck. It was one last chance for their daughter to be successful, somewhere - and in she went, as a lowly Two of Hearts.
Knives were her specialty. Knives and martial arts, though she had much more of an aptitude for the former than the latter. After a month or two, she became Three. Then Four, then Five, then Six… she attained every single rank as she stabbed her way up to Ten, It took her two years, total. And then she stayed there, teetering in indecision. Even though her parents had tried to convince her otherwise, she had accidentally made friends here. The King, the Queen, the Jack, the Ace - all were wonderful, kind, loving people. She was a Ten - wasn’t that enough?
Her parents were appeased, but only slightly. Her mother still continues to push at her, trying to nudge her towards challenge her Jack. They routinely call every year, on the day that Blythe first joined the Deck as a Two. They check up on her, inquire about the Jack’s health, then promptly hang up.
They haven’t wished Blythe a happy birthday in three years.
Name: Blythe Merrick
Age: 22
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Brown
Blythe Merrick was a relatively normal girl. She was born into a typical family in a suburb off New York City with a brother four years older than she was. She adored the outdoors, even at a young age, and loved visiting parks and forest preserves. Her elder brother, Garrett, took her under his wing and taught her how to climb trees and swing from branches as soon as he learned himself. They were an odd couple - an eight-year-old laughing with his friends as his little sister cartwheeled along behind. But it worked. They were happy.
This all changed when Blythe went to school for the first time. In a normal family with normal kids, no one expected much from the little girl. But she began to pick up things taught at school at an alarming rate. She merely had to glance at the alphabet a few times, and she could easily form letters. She had a fast mind, and a wonderful memory. Addition and subtraction? Easy as pie. She was, in other words, a brilliant little kindergartner.
Her parents started small. They urged her to get straight As as soon as she was old enough for it to matter. It was a breeze for her, though, and she barely noticed. Regarding her love for playing outside - they put her in a rigorous gymnastics course, subtly nudging her towards the Olympics once she grew old enough.
Her brother was forced to undergo the transformation as well. Suddenly, his kid sister was seemingly the favorite child - but for some reason, he had to endure the punishment as well. At least, that’s how it looked to a twelve-year-old’s mind. Getting straight As? Was a push, for him. And he wasn’t interested in sports at all. In fact, he wanted to pursue a career in music - a big no-no, as far as the parents were concerned. Music was a high-risk job; music didn’t ensure you a salary.
As she grew older, Blythe slowly began to notice something was wrong. Getting a 98% on a test started to become a problem, rather than something to celebrate. Missing a single flip in gymnastics was unthinkable. And she didn’t have friends. Between homework, extra credit projects, and gymnastics - sometimes up to four hours a day - she didn’t have time to hang out with girl friends after school, or head to the mall.
And so, she took solace in her older brother. Her parents could curb every other part of her life - but they couldn’t keep her from asking Garrett for help on homework, or talking to him at night. The two were still as close as always; perhaps even closer. He still cherished her, though she’d indirectly caused him so much stress.
The years passed. Middle school was worse than elementary - everyone was judgmental of smart kids, and very few people really tried to get to know her. Those who did? Were immediately put off by the fact that she never seemed to reciprocate those efforts. But even worse than that was high school. Blythe was a short, pretty genius - in other words, a recipe for disaster. She was simultaneously flirted with and bullied, sought out and shunned. And so, she put up a harsh defense; sarcastic and dry comebacks to whatever people said. She became known as an outcast - someone who liked being alone - and the four years passed slowly.
In her senior year of high school, a bomb was metaphorically dropped on the Merrick household. Garrett, already four years into college, had changed his major from Marketing to Music, just as he had always wanted. There was yelling, and fit-pitching, and lots of time that Blythe spent with her ear at a keyhole. And then, Garrett was gone.
Her parents became ever more irate - finding him was going to be a waste of their time. The three figured that he would return eventually; how long could a boy hold a grudge? A week passed. Then two. Then it had been a month, two months, and finally, Blythe panicked. Her brother was really gone - her adored, charming, wonderful elder brother - and what were her parents doing? Nothing.
They had already realized, they protested, immediately when he left. He didn’t want to be found, and they knew he was a capable boy, that he’d be okay. But Blythe knew what they really meant - not having to deal with the grief or the guilt was a load off their minds.
It was the last semester of Blythe’s senior year - the time when most college results were released. Everyone was expecting Blythe to make it to Harvard, Yale, Stanford… the usual toppers.
Blythe was rejected from every single college. Little did her parents know that she had cracked under the pressure. In one huge act of rebellion, she had hashed together badly-structured essays, gotten recommendations from inconsequential teachers, and made designs with the answer sheets on tests instead of actually taking them.
Her parents were at a loss as to what to do. They lectured and they yelled and Mrs. Merrick had even broken down into tears. For one year, Blythe stayed at home, doing nothing more productive than a gymnastics routine in the backyard every day - after all, her parents couldn’t trust her to go to the Olympics. She began to think that she was the one at fault. After all, it was Blythe herself who didn’t love her parents enough to do her best, when they had done so much for her. It was Blythe who had ruined all their hopes and aspirations. If she had really loved them-
Well, she would’ve been a better daughter.
And then, her parents found out about the Deck. It was one last chance for their daughter to be successful, somewhere - and in she went, as a lowly Two of Hearts.
Knives were her specialty. Knives and martial arts, though she had much more of an aptitude for the former than the latter. After a month or two, she became Three. Then Four, then Five, then Six… she attained every single rank as she stabbed her way up to Ten, It took her two years, total. And then she stayed there, teetering in indecision. Even though her parents had tried to convince her otherwise, she had accidentally made friends here. The King, the Queen, the Jack, the Ace - all were wonderful, kind, loving people. She was a Ten - wasn’t that enough?
Her parents were appeased, but only slightly. Her mother still continues to push at her, trying to nudge her towards challenge her Jack. They routinely call every year, on the day that Blythe first joined the Deck as a Two. They check up on her, inquire about the Jack’s health, then promptly hang up.
They haven’t wished Blythe a happy birthday in three years.