#mara.tag

the name of the protagonist is mara banks. she is the daughter of arthur and donna banks, who were, from the 1970s to the 1990s, a hollywood power couple. they acted a lot, arthur had a popular cowboy show and donna was known as a cult classic darling. they’re super cute (even though arthur had an affair and donna had a drinking problem) and they got married. they had a daughter named natasha and a daughter named mara

natasha didn’t get into the industry, but mara did. she had a few film roles and a golden globe-nominated role on a full house-esque show. she was a hollywood darling at age 10, everyone loved her bc she was sassy and cute and talented

when mara was 12, arthur and donna were killed in a car accident. she and her sister went onto live with different guardians, but mara got out of control (she already had some issues, and she felt suddenly totally alone in the world). she started staying out late and getting involved with sketchy men. by the time she was 15 she’d dyed her hair blue and was photographed doing drugs and she was dropped from all her upcoming film and tv projects

she does have a best friend! but he is a character who is written by a friend of mine and i don’t wanna put them on blast so i will talk about someone else who is extremely important to mara

his name is jack douglas. an absolute rat man, who i love. jack is a middle child (and it shows!); his parents fought a lot growing up, and when he was 14 or so, his dad finally left his mom. jack was left to help his mother and his siblings, picking up the pieces and becoming the man of the house. for ~escapism he’d watch reruns of this old cowboy show (starring none other than arthur banks!) and imagine himself as a cowboy :)

when he was in high school he met this girl named caroline (who is also important but not relevant). they fell in love and were high school sweethearts; as they grew up she realized she wanted to be an actress. he told her he’d be her manager, bc he was always interested in show business. they moved out to college together, they got married, and as soon as they graduated he started working on getting her auditions

caroline became very mildly successful, and as soon as she did, jack panicked. he felt insecure and threatened and jealous (jack is not a good person, which will become very clear soon). he divorced caroline, who was heartbroken but moved on and made her own way in the world

soon after, jack was at a bar and saw a 16 y/o mara banks take a seat beside him. he was a little surprised bc that was the daughter of his childhood hero! he chatted her up and was surprised at her seemingly mature worldview (although she was really just an edgy teenager). they got along very well, and he asked her if she was managed by anyone. she wasn’t, after a long string of controversies, so they made a deal for jack to act as her manager

jack, if you remember, has rancid vibes, and was relying on mara to make him successful, planning on manipulating her back into the superstar she once was, even though by now she was traumatized and rebellious, and she was planning on manipulating him just the same!

flash-forward to ten years later, mara is 28 and jack 36, they’ve lived together in a los angeles apartment for a while. they have a weird relationship. they have a lot of sex, mostly bc they’re each other’s last resorts, she’s had his abortion (which he kinda pressured her into), they are technically psychologically (and like, once a year, physically) abusive with each other. there’s no easy way to sum up their relationship. they cannot live without each other. they have their own silent language. yes they hate each other yes they think they’re better than the other when they’re not at all yes mara will crawl into jack’s bed when she’s hungover and she has no one else <3 they’d be a power couple if they didn’t hate each other so much. they’re kinda cute bc jack will come home and let mara crash on her drugs and slump against his chest but then the next day he’ll remind her that she will always end up alone bc she sabotages everything good in her life (the irony here is that the exact same thing is true of jack)

in main verse, mara is a disgraced child actress, who is only remembered by like. 3% of america. she’s gotten into a lot of trouble. she’s had sex tapes of hers leaked. she’s leaked other people’s sex tapes in an attempt to feel superior. she does a lot of drugs and drinks heavily and sleeps around a lot. she’s the type to be #cancelled bc she said something homophobic on twitter in 2010 (although not many people at all pay attention to her now so). she misses the limelight but she’s too paranoid and impulsive and controversial to become a Real Actress again. she’s a LOT of fun and kinda stupid. she misses her parents a lot and falls in love easily and is Baby but also kinda sociopathic. she has been complicit in a hit and run and if you ever tweeted “remember mara banks? she was so adorable” someone would reply “she’s actually problematic”

jack is still her manager but you wouldn’t know it bc she rarely acts anymore! he feels dragged down by her, but he also stays bc he has a regretful sentimental streak he’s never been able to shake. he’s always torn between being cold and efficient enough for hollywood and being someone who just wants a real family and friendship. sometimes he wants to cut mara off and leave her and sometimes he knows she’s the only person in the world who understands him (and he understands her perfectly, like no one else). he also drinks heavily and enjoys gambling and being a whore. he is a SNAKE but also not quite snakey enough to abandon mara. 

also just for fun it’s important that you know that mara’s animal motif is a hyena; she’s a lil crazy and misunderstood and always pecking for scraps <3 i love her

tl;dr; mara and jack are problematic faves. bicons. evil sons of bitches who want love and fame but don’t deserve it