World Building: Pilouette is coming from a Modern Earth setting in 2010; every major event that has happened in Earth’s history has happened in this universe. The only real difference is alternate versions of most popular culture, though this is mostly to avoid fourth walling. For example, while the original fairy tale Snow White exists, the Disney movie (and Disney itself) does not. Instead her world’s Disney Equivalent made a movie about Little Red Riding Hood which serves the same role in history.
Backstory: Originally from Lille, France, Pilouette was born in 1994 to Armand Bonheur and his wife, Camille, who met while working for the same company, though they worked for different branches. An exceptionally serious woman, Camille lacked a sense of humor, so when Armand made a joke about naming their infant daughter after his childhood dog, Camille went ahead with it.
Since her parents worked a lot, Pilouette spent much of her formative years with her grandparents in Lille, while Armand and Camille worked, both overseas and in Paris. She would often go weeks at a time without seeing either of her parents and as a result became very attached to her grandmother, a retired kindergarten teacher, and her grandfather, a doctor specializing in athletic injuries. Not long after Pilouette turned three, Armand was transferred to the US branch of the company he worked for and, along with his wife and child, moved overseas to Key City, New York, a city several hours outside New York City. Being so attached to her grandparents, Pilouette was very anxious about the move, more so than she would have been just moving to another house or city.
It was at this point that her parent's marital problems began. Little by little they began fighting about one thing or another and eventually got divorced. Shortly after Pilouette's fourth birthday, the two were divorced. Camille, for personal reasons that still remain unknown to her daughter, decided to sign over her parental rights and give her husband full custody. Not long after, she was transferred to the company's Chicago office and would begin living there.
From this point on, Pilouette and her mother had little significant contact. Armand, thinking he was doing what was best for his daughter never offered an explanation because she never asked and having no explanation offered, Pilouette found herself afraid to ask. Feeling as if she was rejected by her own mother, Pilouette became a very shy child and had a hard time making friends with other children when she started school. It was in kindergarten that she met Peter Hartell, an equally shy boy who had difficulty making friends due to his unintentionally angry –looking way of holding his face and generally quiet nature. Since neither had made much progress in the way of socializing with the other children, the teacher encouraged Pilouette and Peter to play together and the two gradually became close friends. Within a few years, the Hartells became almost like a second family to Pilouette and she would often stay with them when her father was working late. It was during this time that Pilouette developed an interest in baking after watching Mr. and Mrs. Hartell testing out recipes for their cafe. As she became older, this interest in baking became something Pilouette would consider making a career of later in life.
Many years later, just before Pilouette hit middle school, her father was promoted into a position that required him to make regular business trips to Paris. He and his daughter moved to a neighborhood across town that was a little closer to the local branch of the company he worked for and Pilouette was transferred to an all-girls private school that was closer to their new home. Pilouette was initially upset about the move since it would prevent her from seeing the Hartell family, especially her best friend Peter, quite as often and her shyness began to increase. While across town may not necessarily be terribly far, to ten year old Pilouette it was quite a long distance, especially since she was going to a new school with no friends.
However, it was at this new school that she met Patty Summers who had just moved to town (coincidentally in the same neighborhood as Pilouette) and the two became friends. Patty, who was a little more outspoken and positive than Pilouette, helped her new friend become more outgoing, eventually leaving a good deal of her shyness behind, though she still remained awkward when meeting new people and in unfamiliar situations. In an attempt to make herself more likable, throughout her middle school years and into high school she would become something of an “unofficial club member,” willingly helping out and taking on tasks from clubs and other extracurricular school groups when they needed extra help, despite not actually being a member of any of them and, at times, not having any actual “friends” in a particular club.
Shortly after she turned fourteen, she convinced her father that she would be alright on her own while he was away on trips, though he initially only allowed it because Patty's parents would offer to check in on her every now and then. However, over the next two years these check ins would become less frequent. Though Pilouette wished to prove how mature and adult she was she was by taking care of the house on her own, as she came to believe that being an "adult" was something desirable and respectable, she simultaneously wanted him to be home more and secretly resented the fact that he seemed to constantly put his work before her. However, believing that a “mature person” would not feel that way, she insisted she didn’t mind despite many missed or cancelled plans and a general lack of parental presence.
Part 2
Pilouette is coming from a Modern Earth setting in 2010; every major event that has happened in Earth’s history has happened in this universe. The only real difference is alternate versions of most popular culture, though this is mostly to avoid fourth walling. For example, while the original fairy tale Snow White exists, the Disney movie (and Disney itself) does not. Instead her world’s Disney Equivalent made a movie about Little Red Riding Hood which serves the same role in history.
Backstory:
Originally from Lille, France, Pilouette was born in 1994 to Armand Bonheur and his wife, Camille, who met while working for the same company, though they worked for different branches. An exceptionally serious woman, Camille lacked a sense of humor, so when Armand made a joke about naming their infant daughter after his childhood dog, Camille went ahead with it.
Since her parents worked a lot, Pilouette spent much of her formative years with her grandparents in Lille, while Armand and Camille worked, both overseas and in Paris. She would often go weeks at a time without seeing either of her parents and as a result became very attached to her grandmother, a retired kindergarten teacher, and her grandfather, a doctor specializing in athletic injuries. Not long after Pilouette turned three, Armand was transferred to the US branch of the company he worked for and, along with his wife and child, moved overseas to Key City, New York, a city several hours outside New York City. Being so attached to her grandparents, Pilouette was very anxious about the move, more so than she would have been just moving to another house or city.
It was at this point that her parent's marital problems began. Little by little they began fighting about one thing or another and eventually got divorced. Shortly after Pilouette's fourth birthday, the two were divorced. Camille, for personal reasons that still remain unknown to her daughter, decided to sign over her parental rights and give her husband full custody. Not long after, she was transferred to the company's Chicago office and would begin living there.
From this point on, Pilouette and her mother had little significant contact. Armand, thinking he was doing what was best for his daughter never offered an explanation because she never asked and having no explanation offered, Pilouette found herself afraid to ask. Feeling as if she was rejected by her own mother, Pilouette became a very shy child and had a hard time making friends with other children when she started school. It was in kindergarten that she met Peter Hartell, an equally shy boy who had difficulty making friends due to his unintentionally angry –looking way of holding his face and generally quiet nature. Since neither had made much progress in the way of socializing with the other children, the teacher encouraged Pilouette and Peter to play together and the two gradually became close friends. Within a few years, the Hartells became almost like a second family to Pilouette and she would often stay with them when her father was working late. It was during this time that Pilouette developed an interest in baking after watching Mr. and Mrs. Hartell testing out recipes for their cafe. As she became older, this interest in baking became something Pilouette would consider making a career of later in life.
Many years later, just before Pilouette hit middle school, her father was promoted into a position that required him to make regular business trips to Paris. He and his daughter moved to a neighborhood across town that was a little closer to the local branch of the company he worked for and Pilouette was transferred to an all-girls private school that was closer to their new home. Pilouette was initially upset about the move since it would prevent her from seeing the Hartell family, especially her best friend Peter, quite as often and her shyness began to increase. While across town may not necessarily be terribly far, to ten year old Pilouette it was quite a long distance, especially since she was going to a new school with no friends.
However, it was at this new school that she met Patty Summers who had just moved to town (coincidentally in the same neighborhood as Pilouette) and the two became friends. Patty, who was a little more outspoken and positive than Pilouette, helped her new friend become more outgoing, eventually leaving a good deal of her shyness behind, though she still remained awkward when meeting new people and in unfamiliar situations. In an attempt to make herself more likable, throughout her middle school years and into high school she would become something of an “unofficial club member,” willingly helping out and taking on tasks from clubs and other extracurricular school groups when they needed extra help, despite not actually being a member of any of them and, at times, not having any actual “friends” in a particular club.
Shortly after she turned fourteen, she convinced her father that she would be alright on her own while he was away on trips, though he initially only allowed it because Patty's parents would offer to check in on her every now and then. However, over the next two years these check ins would become less frequent. Though Pilouette wished to prove how mature and adult she was she was by taking care of the house on her own, as she came to believe that being an "adult" was something desirable and respectable, she simultaneously wanted him to be home more and secretly resented the fact that he seemed to constantly put his work before her. However, believing that a “mature person” would not feel that way, she insisted she didn’t mind despite many missed or cancelled plans and a general lack of parental presence.