Leda Stockly (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
walkabrokenline) wrote2016-06-24 09:25 pm
walkabrokenline) wrote2016-06-24 09:25 pm
Entry tags:
About the Character
Leda Stockly is a 30-something blues-rock musician with a minor gift for foresight. The kind of minor gift that's far more trouble than it's worth. She had a decent local career for a while. Currently she's playing hobo, essentially traveling from tiny gig to tiny gig across the country.
Something of a free spirit, Leda's friendly but enigmatic, more interested in learning about you than teaching you about herself. She'll join in round of drinks and pool at the bar, share stories around a commune campfire, hit the sheets with a guy she just met and be on the bus the following morning. She's a good soul but there's pain in the world and she's seen enough of it to be hesitant to let anyone or anything pin her down for too long.
APPEARANCE Leda has Marleen Lohse's face
She's on the taller side of average and has three tattoos and a lot of freckles.
BIOGRAPHY
Leda Nolene Stockly was born in 1983 in Russell Springs, Kentucky. An only child, she grew up living with her mother (Magda) and grandmother (Nola). Magda was something of a wild child, having been the youngest by ten years and raised solely by Nola. She was attending college -- studying subjects as diverse as biology, philosophy, and journalism -- when she became pregant with Leda. She left college and moved in with her mother, refusing to ever reveal the identity of her baby's father.
Magda had a pretty voice and an artistic bent, and music was very much a part of Leda's early years. She began guitar lessons at an early age, and her music teacher at school encouraged her singing. After gaining some local recognition as a talented young singer, Leda attracted the attention of an agency specializing in younger performers. By this time, Magda had been diagnosed with cervical cancer, and encouraged Leda in this direction in the hopes that her daughter might be able to make a comfortable living for herself. Although treatment caused the cancer to go into remission, it returned a few years later, spreading to her bladder. Magda succumbed to the disease when Leda was 17.
It was during Leda's pre-teen years that she began to experience another talent aside from music -- prophetic dreams. Nola and Magda both had the gift as well, but neither chose to learn to develop it. While Nola buried it as much as possible and attributed the rest to her faith, never speaking of it, Magda turned to everything from drugs to mysticism to try and understand her dreams. She finally decided to think of them as nothing more than glimpses into people's lives that she was privileged to see but not obligated to use for any purpose.
Leda's own version of the gift was never exceptionally powerful, and she has no control over when or why it might surface. The dreams are never straightforward, and often Leda's unable to tell them apart from vivid but perfectly normal creations of her own mind. The best clue she has that she's having what she simply refers to as 'one of those dreams' is the subject matter. The dreams always show something that will happen to a person in the future, although generally not far in the future. Sometimes unpleasant things like accidents or deaths, sometimes positive things like awards or weddings, sometimes seemingly innocuous things that don't seem important at all. Leda isn't very good at interpreting the ones that aren't very obvious to her, and unfortunately the negative ones tend to be the most obvious.
During the period while Magda was battling her cancer for the second time, Leda had signed a short-term contract with the agency and traveled to California to record as part of a country music album featuring unknown and new artists. Despite Leda's strong interest in the blues and rock scene, it was in country and western where she first cut her professional teeth. While Leda was in California, she received a phone call from her gran and learned of her mother's death. Sadly, it didn't come as a surprise; Leda had sent her mother a postcard just a couple weeks prior, begging her to stay away from trains and the ocean. What she hadn't understood at the time was that the symbolism, almost never literal, wasn't showing her anything that could ever have been avoided.
Immediately following her mother's death, Leda disappeared on her own for three days that she has no recollection of. When she resurfaced, Nola brought her back to Kentucky, but the arrangement didn't last long. A week later, Leda packed a bag, left a casserole in the freezer for her Gran and ran away. She returned to the agency and decided she was serious about music, embarking on a brief career on the tour circuit, doing small to medium performances, occasionally opening for other acts. Leda recorded three singles of her own during this time, including one she wrote in the weeks after her mother's death. The song was brief popular but never broke any top 40 lists. Gradually Leda was able to move further into the blues-rock / southern rock genres and develop her own style. Tall for her age and with a voice that matured early, it was easy for her to pass for older than years.
At the age of 22, Leda became engaged to Tinashe Fortier, a sound engineer who worked with her on some of her studio recordings. Second thoughts, and a series of prophetic (and unpleasant) dreams about him, led her to break off the engagement and leave town. She hasn't spoken to him since. This was the first time that Leda decided to live "on the road" for an extended period, doing pick-up gigs, performing at festivals and even on street corners, and occasionally taking a job that her old manager might throw her way.
When Nola was Nola was diagnosed with Alzheimer's and moved into a care facility by her remaining children, Leda returned to Kentucky to try and live nearby, staying for almost a year. Her gran's mental condition deteriorated fairly quickly and she rarely recognized who Leda was. Unable to deal with this, Leda went on the road for the second time, this time putting together a series of scheduled performances that would take her across the country. She sent postcards back to Nola from every town she stopped in. Dreams took her back to see her Gran after a year - during this visit, Nola told her to "touch the desert before you die". Leda took this to heart and set out on the road to travel through the West and Southwest. Nola died a couple weeks later.
At present time, Leda is 33 and living a fairly hand-to-mouth existence on the road. She still writes songs but rarely performs them, generally doing covers instead. For years she tried to control/suppress her dreams - drugs, meditation, various religions, even hypnosis. None of those things worked and now she just goes with the flow. If she starts having dreams about someone she recognizes, she usually just pulls up roots and moves on.
Musical Influences
Joni Mitchell
Bonnie Raitt
Patti Smith
Billie Holiday
Janis Joplin
Tracy Chapman
Nina Simone
Carly Simon
Lucinda Williams
Heart
Fleetwood Mac
Dusty Springfield
Something of a free spirit, Leda's friendly but enigmatic, more interested in learning about you than teaching you about herself. She'll join in round of drinks and pool at the bar, share stories around a commune campfire, hit the sheets with a guy she just met and be on the bus the following morning. She's a good soul but there's pain in the world and she's seen enough of it to be hesitant to let anyone or anything pin her down for too long.
APPEARANCE Leda has Marleen Lohse's face
She's on the taller side of average and has three tattoos and a lot of freckles.
BIOGRAPHY
Leda Nolene Stockly was born in 1983 in Russell Springs, Kentucky. An only child, she grew up living with her mother (Magda) and grandmother (Nola). Magda was something of a wild child, having been the youngest by ten years and raised solely by Nola. She was attending college -- studying subjects as diverse as biology, philosophy, and journalism -- when she became pregant with Leda. She left college and moved in with her mother, refusing to ever reveal the identity of her baby's father.
Magda had a pretty voice and an artistic bent, and music was very much a part of Leda's early years. She began guitar lessons at an early age, and her music teacher at school encouraged her singing. After gaining some local recognition as a talented young singer, Leda attracted the attention of an agency specializing in younger performers. By this time, Magda had been diagnosed with cervical cancer, and encouraged Leda in this direction in the hopes that her daughter might be able to make a comfortable living for herself. Although treatment caused the cancer to go into remission, it returned a few years later, spreading to her bladder. Magda succumbed to the disease when Leda was 17.
It was during Leda's pre-teen years that she began to experience another talent aside from music -- prophetic dreams. Nola and Magda both had the gift as well, but neither chose to learn to develop it. While Nola buried it as much as possible and attributed the rest to her faith, never speaking of it, Magda turned to everything from drugs to mysticism to try and understand her dreams. She finally decided to think of them as nothing more than glimpses into people's lives that she was privileged to see but not obligated to use for any purpose.
Leda's own version of the gift was never exceptionally powerful, and she has no control over when or why it might surface. The dreams are never straightforward, and often Leda's unable to tell them apart from vivid but perfectly normal creations of her own mind. The best clue she has that she's having what she simply refers to as 'one of those dreams' is the subject matter. The dreams always show something that will happen to a person in the future, although generally not far in the future. Sometimes unpleasant things like accidents or deaths, sometimes positive things like awards or weddings, sometimes seemingly innocuous things that don't seem important at all. Leda isn't very good at interpreting the ones that aren't very obvious to her, and unfortunately the negative ones tend to be the most obvious.
During the period while Magda was battling her cancer for the second time, Leda had signed a short-term contract with the agency and traveled to California to record as part of a country music album featuring unknown and new artists. Despite Leda's strong interest in the blues and rock scene, it was in country and western where she first cut her professional teeth. While Leda was in California, she received a phone call from her gran and learned of her mother's death. Sadly, it didn't come as a surprise; Leda had sent her mother a postcard just a couple weeks prior, begging her to stay away from trains and the ocean. What she hadn't understood at the time was that the symbolism, almost never literal, wasn't showing her anything that could ever have been avoided.
Immediately following her mother's death, Leda disappeared on her own for three days that she has no recollection of. When she resurfaced, Nola brought her back to Kentucky, but the arrangement didn't last long. A week later, Leda packed a bag, left a casserole in the freezer for her Gran and ran away. She returned to the agency and decided she was serious about music, embarking on a brief career on the tour circuit, doing small to medium performances, occasionally opening for other acts. Leda recorded three singles of her own during this time, including one she wrote in the weeks after her mother's death. The song was brief popular but never broke any top 40 lists. Gradually Leda was able to move further into the blues-rock / southern rock genres and develop her own style. Tall for her age and with a voice that matured early, it was easy for her to pass for older than years.
At the age of 22, Leda became engaged to Tinashe Fortier, a sound engineer who worked with her on some of her studio recordings. Second thoughts, and a series of prophetic (and unpleasant) dreams about him, led her to break off the engagement and leave town. She hasn't spoken to him since. This was the first time that Leda decided to live "on the road" for an extended period, doing pick-up gigs, performing at festivals and even on street corners, and occasionally taking a job that her old manager might throw her way.
When Nola was Nola was diagnosed with Alzheimer's and moved into a care facility by her remaining children, Leda returned to Kentucky to try and live nearby, staying for almost a year. Her gran's mental condition deteriorated fairly quickly and she rarely recognized who Leda was. Unable to deal with this, Leda went on the road for the second time, this time putting together a series of scheduled performances that would take her across the country. She sent postcards back to Nola from every town she stopped in. Dreams took her back to see her Gran after a year - during this visit, Nola told her to "touch the desert before you die". Leda took this to heart and set out on the road to travel through the West and Southwest. Nola died a couple weeks later.
At present time, Leda is 33 and living a fairly hand-to-mouth existence on the road. She still writes songs but rarely performs them, generally doing covers instead. For years she tried to control/suppress her dreams - drugs, meditation, various religions, even hypnosis. None of those things worked and now she just goes with the flow. If she starts having dreams about someone she recognizes, she usually just pulls up roots and moves on.
Musical Influences
Joni Mitchell
Bonnie Raitt
Patti Smith
Billie Holiday
Janis Joplin
Tracy Chapman
Nina Simone
Carly Simon
Lucinda Williams
Heart
Fleetwood Mac
Dusty Springfield