𝐌𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐄 𝐙𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐆.

FACECLAIM(S): Lola Tung & Melissa O'Neil
FULL NAME: Melody Zhang

NAME MEANING: Greek origin meaning "song"

NICKNAME: Mellie

BIRTHDAY: 02/17

AGE: 30

GENDER: Cis Female

PRONOUNS: She/Her

SPECIES: Human with Special Abilities (Aura reading)

SEXUAL ORIENTATION: Pansexual

ROMANTIC ORIENTATION: Panromantic

CURRENTLY LIVING PLACE: Studio apartment in Seattle

OCCUPATION: Freelance artist
SOCIAL STATUS: Middle-Class 

BODY BUILD: Athletic yet feminine; toned with visible definition in her arms and legs. Capable build with curves, broad shoulders, and a narrow waist.

HEIGHT:  5’9”

WEIGHT: 175 ~ 180 lbs

SKIN COMPLEXION: Warm, golden undertones with a healthy glow. Her skin is smooth and well cared for

HAIR STYLE: Mid-length, often worn in soft, voluminous waves or a stylish high ponytail. When she’s working, it’s pulled into a messy bun with pencils stuck into it absentmindedly.

HAIR COLOR: Deep chestnut brown, almost black with subtle caramel highlights that catch the light

EYE COLOR: Dark brown

DISTINGUISHING FEATURES: Small scar on her knuckle from a box cutter accident during an art show

TATTOOS: None.

PREFERRED CLOTHING: Effortlessly cool and casual, cropped jackets, graphic tees, high-waisted jeans, or cargo pants. Her wardrobe is neutral tones with occasional pops of color.

ACCESSORIES: Minimalist gold or silver jewelry, has a satchel filled with small sketchbooks and go-to art supplies 

PARENTS: Rachel Zhang (Mother, alive), Wei Zhang (Father, alive)

SIBLINGS: Elliot Zhang (Younger brother, alive)

FRIENDS: Tasha Ramirez (alive), Camille ‘Cami’ Lau (alive), Jin Park (alive)

CHILDREN: Considers her rescue dog Artemis (husky/shephard mix) as her child

SIGNIFICANT OTHERS: Julian Park (ex-boyfriend), Donatello King (current boyfriend)
RELATIONSHIP STATUS: In a relationship with Donatello King 

• Mellie grew up as a high-achieving student, with straight A’s throughout middle and high school. With her competitive nature, she excelled in academics and even participated in multiple clubs just to make friends and expand her knowledge base, aside from what she learned from her academics.

• Throughout high school, she discovered her love for visual storytelling high school art elective, but didn’t fully explore it until college.

• Originally, Mellie planned to pursue something “practical” like architecture or marketing, mostly to appease her father, and it felt like the “safe” option when attending college. 

• Upon meeting Tasha Ramirez during freshman orientation, a bold, free-spirited fine arts major, she encouraged Mellie to stop hiding her creativity, and their friendship became a turning point for Mellie. Switching from her Communications to Graphic Design, she also minored in Studio Arts to formally develop her skills in painting, illustration, and mixed media.

• Melody ‘Mellie’ Zhang first discovered her ability to read auras in her sophomore year of high school, an experience that was both terrifying and transformative. It began subtly; color shimmering around classmates, shifting hues that did not make sense until she realized they aligned with emotions. One of her classmates whom she was friendly with had put on a facade that she was happy, smiling, but to Mellie, she saw nothing but muted blue and ash gray. Mellie didn’t speak on it, but she watched and grew a friendship with that classmate and watched as those colors changed into something brighter. Naturally, as they got older, the friendship eventually fell off, but not out of anger, just two people going their own paths as normal teenagers do. 

• From that point forward, Mellie kept this ability a secret; however, her mother often suspected there was something more intuitive about her daughter.

• Mellie is the only one in her family with the ability; it had always made her feel a little out of place. As if she were a vivid brushstroke in a family portrait drawn in grayscale. Her connection to this hidden gift became the foundation of her love for art. In her eyes, people weren’t just faces, they were living color palettes, and art was the only way she knew how to translate what she saw. 

• Aside from maintaining her studies, in her downtime, Mellie practiced her artistic abilities in secret but never openly showed them. While sharing a close and nurturing bond with Rachel, who always encouraged self-expression, emotional vulnerability, her dynamic with her father was more complicated. Mellie couldn’t pinpoint the one moment that soured their connection, but there was always a quiet distance between them. Wei often seemed uncomfortable with who she was: too loud, too unpredictable, too much. While she knew her father was not a bad man, she couldn’t help but feel his love came with conditions. 

• However, in terms of the strongest bond, her young brother Elliot, who was nine years her junior and the clearly favored child in their father’s eyes, was the one she had the strongest relationship with. Elliot never let favoritism create distance between him and his sister; instead, he often served as the bridge between Mellie and Wei. He would often call out their father’s unfairness and defend Mellie in subtle but meaningful ways. Despite their age gap, their relationship felt more like a partnership; he knew her moods better than anyone, and she trusted him in a way unlike any other. 

• In terms of dynamics outside of the Zhang Family, Camille ‘Cami’ Lau came into her life. While Mellie represented warmth and movement, Cami was cool and controlled. A dream to be a tattoo artist, Cami lived life on her own terms, unapologetic and unbothered by expectations, the kind of life she dreamed about on her worst days. Despite the lingering envy, their bond was deep, honest, and unbreakable. Cami grounded her when her emotions became overwhelming, and Mellie would remind Cami how to feel things deeply. 

• In her college years, Mellie was introduced to the bold and outgoing fine arts major, Tasha Rojas, during her freshman year. In a way, Tasha was like the older sister that Mellie needed and wanted in her life. With Tasha added to the duo of Cami and Mellie, the three of them had an unforgettable time during their first few semesters. Throughout her time in college, Mellie was later introduced to Julian Park, a calm, soft-spoken pre-med student.

• Julian admired her passion and drive from the start; their relationship was filled with long nights in shared dorm rooms, her painting while he studied anatomy diagrams, but over time, cracks began to form. Julian couldn’t handle the unpredictable nature of Mellie’s life. However, Mellie refused to conform to his more structured world. Their breakup was mutual, but painful. Julian was her first introduction to real heartbreak. 

• After Julian, and with an aura-reading gift quietly guiding her, Mellie committed herself fully to art. She turned major to graphic design, and paired it with a studio arts minor, and never looked back, opinions be damned. 

• After graduation, Mellie relocated to the heart of the city of Seattle, balancing digital commissions with mural work and gallery pieces. Her art spoke for those who can’t, heals in subtle ways, and captures the emotional undercurrent that others often overlook. 

• It wasn’t until she got into a car accident while running late to an art show, she encountered someone who had an alluring aura. A general surgeon by the name of Dr. Donatello King, a man whose aura shone brightly in shades of gold and yellow, but his face was as cold as stone.

• As Mellie recovered from her surgery, Donatello spent a lot of time with her and learning about her and vice versa. Most of the time, he spent nights at the hospital by her side. She learned that if Donatello had to stop being a surgeon for whatever reason, he’d retreat to Italy and become a famous sculptor like the Donatello he was named after. Donatello learned that if Mellie couldn’t be an artist, she’d be a detective.

• As the months progressed, Mellie was determined to know Donatello more, so they came up with the routine of every day they text each other a random favorite thing they had. They called it the “Favorites Game.” Donatello learned that Mellie’s favorite drinks were energy drinks, but mainly from a beverage place that served coffee, hot chocolate, teas, lemonades, and other drink types that you could customize. Mellie learned that Donatello’s favorite music was classical music.