#psuclarington

DAISY CLARINGTON

☆ FULL NAME: Daisy Cecelia Clarington ☆ GENDER: Ciswoman ☆ PRONOUNS: She/Her ☆ AGE: 32 (May 11th, 1992) ☆ TYPE: Half sibling; solo ☆ HOMETOWN: Chicago, Illinois ☆ JOB: Baker at Get That Cake! ☆ SCHOOL: PSU Alumni ☆ SEXUALITY: Pansexual ☆ FACECLAIM: Ana de Armas

ABOUT DAISY

[TW: SEXUAL ASSAULT, PHYSICAL ASSAULT]

If there was one thing that Monica Clarington did not know how to do, it was how to protect her family. Her eldest daughter, the product of an affair– but kept it secret enough because thankfully, Daisy “passed” for Walter’s daughter. She couldn’t really understand her path in life, and knew inherently that she was some kind of different. Daisy always found herself sort of falling by the wayside up until her mother walked in on her seated at the piano, playing a song Monica had never heard before. When asked where she’d learned it, Daisy simply replied that she had made it up.

Immediately, Daisy was enrolled in piano and guitar lessons, but what she really always wanted to do was sing. Now, when she made up a song, she made up her own words to them, too. As a child, they were complete nonsense, but as she got older, Daisy’s voice and songs became much more prophetic. She entered and won several songwriting contests in the Chicago area, and spent the rest of her time scribbling anything she possibly could into a notebook. Throughout her life, Daisy would fill many tiny books with her own wonders and imaginings, from doodles to snippets of lyrics to several attempts at writing stories.

Daisy became completely devoted to her musical studies, as she got older, so much so to the point that her parents enrolled her in a performing arts high school in Chicago. Not only did she spend her time songwriting, but she auditioned for every type of musical or performance opportunity that she could. This, Daisy had reasoned, was the big time– instead of getting a traditional education, she was taking voice lessons, instrumental lessons, and had an after-school job as a secretary at a record company. It was hard work but, for all of her flaws, Daisy didn’t simply want to be known as someone who rode off of her family’s coattails. If she was going to make it in the industry, Daisy wanted it to be on her own terms.

At nineteen years old, Daisy was hired as a songwriter in Sunshine Records stable, one of the youngest that the studio had ever seen. Even though Daisy wanted to write her own music and sing it too, she had great fun writing music for other artists. Several of her songs made it onto the charts, even if she wasn’t the recording artist who officially sang them. When she was twenty two years old, Daisy was finally signed to her own recording deal. Considering she’d had a lifetime of songs to write, Daisy had nearly three album’s worth of rep, plus an entire Broadway musical in her songbook. Her sound was singer-songwriter driven, piano-influenced, with some elements of pop-soul and jazz. Daisy also does play guitar and ukulele very well. She was known, at the time, for her incredibly stripped-down covers of pop songs.

The trouble started happening when the studio changed hands. A new CEO and executive director meant that obviously, the studio was going to be undergoing a massive overhaul. It  Originally, when Daisy met Declan Clifford, he promised her that he was going to make her a household name, a one track onto the A list with as many movie offers and Grammy’s as she wanted. She could win an EGOT, he reasoned, with enough training, and honestly, that was all Daisy wanted. She fell easily for his charm, his good looks, his empty promises, and his lies. He spent the better part of four years manipulating her and it wasn’t until she was left beaten after a night out at a record party, and she simply couldn’t continue.

The case of Jane Doe v. Declan Clifford rose its way through the courts on account of sexual assault, battery, gender violence, negligence, and several other crimes. The court case gained quite a bit of fame, and as a result, Daisy’s music took a backseat in favor of the scandal. She found herself unable to write for months, unable to handle the sheet anxiety and devastation of what happened.

Daisy is humiliated, and even though she’s proud of herself for finally standing up for her career, she’s beyond upset over what’s happened. At twenty seven years old, the last thing she wanted to do was start over, but she had no choice. Daisy’s musical career officially ended when she enrolled at PSU originally as a biology major, but two years later, she decided that she wanted to take a more active role in the care of those who were physically sick. She took a couple of years to figure out what she wanted to do with herself, including taking weird jobs at a bakery (she still has that one!), making her own jewelry, sourdough bread, hiking, and yoga. She’s almost finished with her degree, and while she’d never admit how much she misses being a songwriter, she’s content. Or trying to be.

FAMILY BACKGROUND

Walter Clarington comes from old money and used that as a means of funding his own career in film directing. In contrast, Monica Clarington (nee Peters) is an award-winning photographer who was hired to work behind the scenes for many of Walter’s projects. The two of them eventually married and began popping out babies whenever it was convenient for them career-wise. Any actual love they shared fizzled out when their children were still young, and arguments were a common occurrence behind closed doors.

Eventually, Monica had enough and left the family without another word. Walter struggled to balance his career with the children he was no longer sure he even wanted. He was financially present but his temper often turned towards him yelling at the kids, and they were largely on their own for a couple of years when it came to their emotional wellbeing. In 2002, their paternal grandmother stepped in and took over caring for them. Walter used that as an excuse to become even less involved.

PHOEBE CLARINGTON

☆ FULL NAME: Phoebe Renee Clarington ☆ GENDER: Ciswoman ☆ PRONOUNS: She/Her ☆ AGE: 29 (August 7th, 1995) ☆ TYPE: Full sibling; solo ☆ HOMETOWN: Chicago, Illinois ☆ JOB: Owner of Second Chance Animal Rescue ☆ SCHOOL: PSU Alumni ☆ SEXUALITY: Pansexual ☆ FACECLAIM: Madelaine Petsch

ABOUT PHOEBE

By the time Phoebe was born, her parents’ marriage was well and truly on its way out the door. She’s heard from various family members that they used to be in love, but the few memories she has of them together involve shouting matches that would otherwise warrant an Olympic medal. During these times, Phoebe recalls hiding in the hallway or shuffling into her siblings’ rooms in some attempt to feel safe. While there was never any physical violence, she learned from a young age to tiptoe around her parents’ moods, lest they decide that yelling at each other wasn’t enough. She would never say it out loud, but her mother leaving was probably the kindest thing Monica could have ever done. Sure her dad became angrier, and the house felt significantly emptier. But it was better than the alternative.

Her grandmother became an active presence in the Clarington children’s lives just before Phoebe’s 7th birthday, and her world only improved because of it. She can’t speak for any of her siblings, but Phoebe’s grandmother is the most important person in her life, the first adult who made her feel like she was allowed to exist as a person and not just a familial accessory. She encouraged all of Phoebe’s interests, including the passion for animals that she had displayed her entire life.

She would stop to pspspsp at every stray cat they saw, ask the owner of every dog on the street if they were friendly enough to pet. She begged their dad for horse riding lessons and then spent most of the time back at the stables brushing coats instead. On one notable occasion, she kept a squirrel hidden in her room for a week after finding it half starved outside of the family home. Her dad and grandma found out and made Phoebe take it back outside, but joke’s on them because that squirrel continued to visit her on a weekly basis for the next four years. As they got older, to deal with her father’s absence and her mother’s occasional reemergence, Phoebe dedicated her time to volunteering at local shelters, racking up community service hours and learning everything she could about proper care.

She had originally wanted to pursue veterinary sciences, but changed her mind after looking into the mental health crisis within the field. College was more draining than psychologically rewarding, but after six years Phoebe got exactly what she set out for: an MBA. From there, she used herfamily’s privilege to start up their own rescue. For the Love of Juno, named after her childhood cat that passed away at the age of 15 during Phoebe’s second year of college. As the rescue grew and they obtained space for a proper shelter, she renamed it to Second Chance, although there is still a portrait of Juno hanging up when you first walk through the front doors. Their primary mission is to help connect senior animals to their forever homes, but Phoebe will be damned if she doesn’t do everything in her power to give each animal a fighting chance.

These days, Phoebe is not quite living her best life, but she’s certainly working towards it. Her father probably couldn't tell you what she does for a living, nevermind the fact that she is excelling in an area she loves. As for her mother, every time she comes back around, Phoebe hopes that this is the time she’ll stay. All this does is result in her breaking her own heart every couple of years, wondering what about her isn’t enough for Monica to want to be in her life. Phoebe wants to be angry, and on multiple occasions, she has bitten back the urge to show that she is her parents’ daughter. But Phoebe also remembers what it feels like to be scared and powerless, and she’s promised herself she’ll never make another person feel like she once did. She wakes up every single morning and chooses kindness, in spite of her upbringing. She has her siblings, her grandmother, her friends, and hundreds of adoptions under her belt that prove to her that the world is in fact worth loving.

FAMILY BACKGROUND

Walter Clarington comes from old money and used that as a means of funding his own career in film directing. In contrast, Monica Clarington (nee Peters) is an award-winning photographer who was hired to work behind the scenes for many of Walter’s projects. The two of them eventually married and began popping out babies whenever it was convenient for them career-wise. Any actual love they shared fizzled out when their children were still young, and arguments were a common occurrence behind closed doors.

Eventually, Monica had enough and left the family without another word. Walter struggled to balance his career with the children he was no longer sure he even wanted. He was financially present but his temper often turned towards him yelling at the kids, and they were largely on their own for a couple of years when it came to their emotional wellbeing. In 2002, their paternal grandmother stepped in and took over caring for them. Walter used that as an excuse to become even less involved.

LOGAN CLARINGTON

☆ FULL NAME: Logan Oliver Clarington ☆ GENDER: Cisman ☆ PRONOUNS: He/Him ☆ AGE: 36 (September 30th, 1988) ☆ TYPE: Full sibling; solo ☆ HOMETOWN: Chicago, Illinois ☆ JOB: Firefighter EMT; part-time Fire Science and Paramedic Studies Professor ☆ SCHOOL: Other ☆ SEXUALITY: Closeted Homosexual ☆ FACECLAIM: Chris Evans

ABOUT LOGAN

(tw: war related violence)

Logan is the eldest of the Clarington siblings and it’s the role he was born to play. He was lonely for a few years there, but quickly flourished as a big brother and human being the second his siblings were brought home. Logan was a happy and fairly popular kid during his childhood, forever playing the role of protector for his younger siblings, but also never missing an opportunity to tease them and pull the occasional prank. He was something of a jock, playing both hockey and basketball in middle and high school thanks to both his height and natural athleticism, but he also learnt to play the guitar and liked to bake, seen as something of a gentle giant amongst his peers.

Family life in the Clarington household isn’t easy, and Logan tries to protect his siblings from the worst of it, but when his mother abandoned them, Logan found himself with a lot of anger. He’d tried to keep his family together, tried to play peacemaker, tried to keep them all happy, but she’d just left with barely a word. It got worse as father proved exactly how useless and pathetic of a parent he was, and by the time they moved in with his grandmother, Logan started getting into fights at school, became sullen and withdrawn, and had, in a fit of anguish and rage at the whole situation, smashed the guitar that his mom had bought him for his eleventh birthday into smithereens. It was his grandmother that found him sat on the floor with his knees pulled to his chest, sobbing into his hands and surrounded by the remains of his guitar, and she’d said nothing, instead pulling Logan into her arms and hugging him tightly until he finally stopped crying.

Logan got a lot of therapy to deal with his parent’s abandonment (and a new guitar courtesy of his grandmother who joked that next time he got mad he should try smashing something a little less expensive to replace), and by the time his high school graduation rolled around he was in a much better place mentally than he once was. Despite his respectable B+ average and basketball scholarship, Logan really wasn’t interested in academics so rather than heading to college, he looked for an alternative, and settled for joining the army.

Logan became a Ranger, and while being away from his family was a little tough, he took comfort in the fact that they were proud of him because really that’s all he’d ever wanted out of life. His first tour of duty was largely uneventful, but towards the end of his second Logan’s company hit an IED in their vehicle and the aftermath was disastrous. Logan lost all but one of the members of his team, took a huge blast and chunk of shrapnel to his left side that sliced through his Kevlar vest like a hot knife through butter, and left him with some pretty gnarly scars. But his injuries were the least of his concern in the moment as he crawled across the sand towards where his friend lay bleeding out, his leg blown clean off, knowing that if he didn’t act quickly he’d lose a hell of a lot more than a limb. Logan managed to fashion a torniquet and did indeed save his friends life, returning home as a hero even if he didn’t feel like it.

He accepted an honourable discharge after six months of recovery and intense physio, having no desire to put himself in the line of fire like that again. He wanted a quieter life for a little while, or at least lower stress, and while it was nice to be back with his family again, Chicago was entirely too busy and loud for him when all he wanted was a little peace and quiet. After feeling a little listless and lacking in direction now that he was home too, Logan decided to take up an army buddies offer to stay with him for a while in Connecticut. It was far removed from the high stress environment of a warzone and the bustling inner city of Chicago, practically suburbia, and while initially bored, Logan found himself landing a job as a 911 dispatcher. It was initially supposed to just be a placeholder job, something for him to do while he figured out what he wanted to do next, it turned out that it was actually something he was quite interested in and passionate about.

He still felt uneasy though, and while he knew some of that was the PTSD he was starting to acknowledge and get help with, it was also partly down to the fact that sitting back and letting someone else do the rescuing didn’t sit right with him. So, he enrolled in the fire academy and took a paramedic course, becoming a firefighter EMT in the space of eighteen months. It was the nearest he came to his army days, and Logan found there was a similar comradery in being a firefighter as there was in being a soldier.

It was on his first run as a fully qualified firefighter EMT that Logan finds himself at the residence of a young woman who was not, in fact, trapped in a burning building or seriously hurt, but is instead a flustered and irritated woman who burnt her toast and couldn’t reach the smoke alarm to silence it. The woman was one Penny Sylvester, and before he left her home he made sure that he gave her his number just in case there was anything else that she couldn’t reach and needed a hand with. They started seeing each other almost immediately, and Logan found that not only was Penny objectively incredibly attractive, she was also sweet and funny, and seemed to understand him in a way that no-one else had ever seemed to no matter how hard they tried. She wasn’t just his girlfriend, she was his best friend too, and maybe that was why he proposed to her in less than a year. They were happy, blissfully so, Logan finding himself with everything that he’d ever wanted: a job that he loved and was passionate about, a wife that he adored, and the promise of a bright and wonderful future in front of him where he’d do everything that he could to be a better partner (and hopefully one day, parent) than his mother ever had been.

Moving to LA with his wife wasn’t the easiest decision, he loved his company in Connecticut, but knowing he’d be back around his family again helped the transition, as did living with his best friend. Logan settled in easily in his new firehouse, but rather than spend a hundred percent of his time out in the field (mostly in attempt to ease Penny’s anxiety over his job) he decided that teaching Fire Science and Paramedic Studies at PSU would be a great way of giving back to the community and inspiring the next generation of firefighters. But it was in LA that cracks started to show in his relationship with Penny.

You see, Logan had been pushing down a lot of emotions and feelings for a very long time now. He couldn’t put his finger on it for the longest time but there was something… off about him. Sure, perhaps the biggest bone of contention between him and Penny was the fact that he really wanted to be a dad, prove that he could it far better than Walter and then some, while she seemed to not have any interest in being a mom, but there was almost something about being with her that felt… wrong. Like he was lying to her, to himself every time he kissed her cheek or told her that she was the hottest woman he’d ever met. Penny was objectively incredibly attractive and sexy, and yet Logan didn’t feel that way about her anymore… not that he’d ever admit that out loud.

Still, life in LA wasn’t that bad, and Penny had placated his paternal urges by letting him get their beagle Zoë, so things were pretty good right now. Logan still bakes, still plays guitar, he surfs and plays volleyball, unable to admit that he fills his time with activities and chores to make sure he doesn’t stop long enough to think in any great amount of detail about how messed up his marriage has become. After all, he’s the eldest of his siblings, he’s the one that’s supposed to be leading by example and showing his siblings the right way to do things, and the right way to do things is wife, 2.5 kids, a dog, and a picket fence. Anything less than that would be letting all of them down and proving Walter right when he said that he would never be man enough to be a father himself.

FAMILY BACKGROUND

Walter Clarington comes from old money and used that as a means of funding his own career in film directing. In contrast, Monica Clarington (nee Peters) is an award-winning photographer who was hired to work behind the scenes for many of Walter’s projects. The two of them eventually married and began popping out babies whenever it was convenient for them career-wise. Any actual love they shared fizzled out when their children were still young, and arguments were a common occurrence behind closed doors.

Eventually, Monica had enough and left the family without another word. Walter struggled to balance his career with the children he was no longer sure he even wanted. He was financially present but his temper often turned towards him yelling at the kids, and they were largely on their own for a couple of years when it came to their emotional wellbeing. In 2002, their paternal grandmother stepped in and took over caring for them. Walter used that as an excuse to become even less involved.