WELCOME TO LOS ANGELES

    DETAILS –

age: thirty five

affiliation: citizen

occupation: con artist

pronouns: she/her/hers

bio triggers: none 

     There was a ten year gap between Cleo and her older brother, Clinton. For that reason, she never seemed to get along with him. He was always fighting with her over this or that. Her parents always took her brother’s side rather than her own. From that young age, Cleo realized that if she wanted to get something done, she was going to have to do it herself. She couldn’t count on others to help her, even her own family. She retreated back to books, teaching herself to read and write at an early age. Her parents barely realized their daughter was a genius. Although Cleo made she that she didn’t make any waves, being part of the background was fine with her. She didn’t need to be the center of attention. She was even more in the background once her sister was born. Clara was a bright young child just as Cleo was. Cleo continued to stick to herself, even though she and Clara were only four years apart. Cleo did what she was supposed to do, covering for her sister without making it seem like she was actually covering for her sister. School almost came naturally for her. Maths and sciences were her favorite, but she was also really talented at literature and theater as well. Cleo was a well rounded child, unlike her older brother who was only good at sports. When he went off to college on a full football scholarship, Clara became what the Baldwin’s focused on. She didn’t mind, of course.

     After graduating high school, she found a small job, beginning to plan her future before she even knew that her sister would be on board with her plans. It was better to start ahead of time instead of before there was no time. Cleo was twenty when her sister was sixteen and she finally confronted her sister. Clara was surprised that she wanted this, but Cleo was as sure as ever that she wanted to start conning people out of their money. She wanted a life where she never had to settle down and be normal— something that she never cared to do. The sisters began making plans— or making changes to the plans that she started. She was ecstatic to begin a lifestyle that she had dreamed of for years. Traveling and being out in the world was something that Cleo had always wanted, but it was a lifestyle that she was not able to afford. Not unless she took it for herself and luckily her sister was down to help her. Cleo realized that no matter how manipulative her sister was, she was twice as bad, and she was vengeful too. The young beauty was worse than her sister, but even so, she pretended that she was just a pretty face, because everyone trusted a pretty face. She was a self-made woman, who was vengeful, graceful, and she wasn’t afraid of danger.

     Her career started with the bank robbery. No one saw it coming, and they didn’t know it was even the Baldwin sisters who did it. The two of them escaped, and left no trail behind. Life on the road was not terrible. It was easy to con people out of money. Clara was her little doll. She could con money out of even the most frugal person. But it was never enough for Cleo, she wanted more. She needed more. So more is just what they did. The two sisters never stayed in a town for more than three or four weeks. Cleo got restless, and paranoid that they might leave a trail. After that time, they would pack their bags and move to another city. For years they did the exact same thing. MOVE, CON, MOVE, CON. It was like it was a lifestyle for the two of them. Cleo was happy, and Clara was too– at least from what she could tell. Emotions had never been Cleo’s best area. She was happy... happier with this life; she thought her sister was too.

     Then came Los Angeles and after their fail in Chicago she was ready for a change in cityscape. Cleo wasn’t an idiot; her sister had taken too much damage with their last con. She could see that her sister was hurting, but she wanted her sister to grow up and learn that bad things happened. Clara needed to get over what happened in Chicago. After establishing themselves in the city, they began to plan their next con. Their target the illustrious actress with a growing career. The blonde wouldn’t know what hit her. The sisters wanted to make sure that their con went off without a hitch. They wanted no problems. It took months to plan, but Cleo could tell that Clara was getting too attached to Alana Sommers, too attached to the city, too attached to everything. It angered Cleo. Once again Clara was screwing up. She had spent her entire life planning for this sort of career, her sister was not about to settle down when they worked so hard. So she came up with an elaborate plan, but a plan that even Clara wouldn’t be able to see through all the glamour and SHIT of. One that might have involved something entirely illegal-- but it’s not like Cleo cared.

     Cleo knew that Clara was going to set her up with Matthew Duke. The man was someone that worked close to Alana, the on set doctor or something, she didn’t know, she didn’t care. Her plan was set in motion. Cleo had always pretended to like him, although she was not that fond of him. But Clara thought that her sister had a soft spot for the man; which was all part of her plan. The night that Alana was going to the movie premier, Cleo went on her date with Matthew. Cleo bit her tongue, pretending to be a nice woman, not the manipulative bitch she actually could be. She laughed at his lame jokes, smiled and kissed him goodnight at the end. She wanted to throw up. Men were not her strong suit. She did not want a life with a man. Nor anyone for that matter. The date left a bad taste in her mouth, but apparently Matthew was not as perceptive as she was. He asked to take her on another date, and she said yes. Cleo had no idea what time Clara came home that night. The next morning the newspaper had a huge photograph of none other than Alana Sommers on the front page. Cleo couldn’t bite back the rage she felt. They should have conned the woman a long time ago, now she was missing and she had no way of ever getting hold of the woman’s fortune. They should have left the city a long time ago. Outraged, she yelled at her sister. Cleo didn’t mean it, but she was just very angry. She wanted to move, but she knew that Clara wanted to settle down here. Cleo was smart enough to know that. Everything had backfired. And it was due to a certain blonde woman. While Cleo might not have kidnapped the woman, she wondered what Alana could be involved in to make someone want to kill her. The dark haired woman wanted to find out. So perhaps she just needed to keep up that persona she had created while she was around Matthew. Because she knew she wasn’t leaving the city any time soon.

Not when the fortune of an actress was at the tip of her fingers.

     MIA VEGA. friend Cleo likes Mia. The other is much like her -- rough around the edges, yet Mia is much more tender than Cleo is. For some reason, Cleo wants to take the younger one under her wing. However, she knows that Mia is hiding something. Cleo doesn’t want to get betrayed by Mia, so she keeps her at a length. There’s just something about the other that makes the Baldwin really wants to get to know Mia. 

     CLYDE THERIOT. acquaintance  Clyde, despite being a younger fellow, is an old soul. Cleo loves that about him. The two have not shared many conversations, however, she does like getting to know him. Cleo spends a lot of time at his bar because a lot of rich people hang around the bar. She wants to get to know Clyde better, but she knows that she and Clara aren’t going to be in the city for much longer.

     FAIRA WALKER. annoyance  Faira is just so different. She’s kind and friendly. Everything that Cleo hates in a person. Faira is just the good to Cleo’s corrupted side. Cleo only met the young woman because Faira is a waitress at the diner that the Baldwins are close to. If there was another diner closer to their apartment, that’s where Cleo would go, but there isn’t one for miles and she just can’t justify going further than a mile out of the way. Faira wouldn’t bother her so much if she’d just quit asking questions. 

     VERA CLIFFORD. unlikely friend Vera is one of Cleo’s best friends. She doesn’t care for Vera’s fascination for the Sommers case, but Cleo knows that she’ll be useful. Cleo didn’t expect to actually like the woman, but Vera is quite friendly and easy to talk to. Although the woman doesn’t know much about Cleo, she’s honestly one of the first people she’d got to when she’s in trouble. Having her so interested in the Sommera care is actually beneficial to Cleo as well -- because she wants to know where the blonde actress is like all of Los Angeles.

     Additional Connections: Clara Baldwin, Cleo Baldwin, Matthew Duke

CLEO BALDWIN is portrayed by Hayley Atwell

She is currently OPEN

Her faceclaim is SEMI-NEGOTIABLE

     DETAILS -- 

age: thirty one

affiliation: film / citizen

occupation: assistant publicist / con artist

pronouns: she/her/hers

bio triggers: murder

     The Baldwin family was as perfect as a family could be. High school sweethearts, before they knew it, Mark and Elaine Baldwin were married with a child on the way before the ages of twenty five. Happiness came easy to them and although they wanted children, their first child a boy, perfect for keeping Mark’s company going. Then it was ten years before their eldest girl was born and another three years before their third born was on the way. Clara Baldwin was the third and final child born in the Baldwin family. Her older brother was ten years her senior while her sister only four. Clara was always the baby of the family. Except she never acted like it. She did not act spoiled, but some could argue that she never heard the word no. Which would be true, even at a young age Clara could manipulate anyone to do her bidding. At first it was harmless things, like getting candy at the store, or a new toy; the older she got, the more sly she got with her manipulative behavior. After all, a pretty face got more than an ugly one. By the age of nine, Clara Baldwin had everyone wrapped around her finger. And here’s the thing: she knew it. She used it to her advantage. Her teachers almost never gave her bad grades -- but she was a genius, so there was no need to be sly in school. She never got grounded— why would she when she got amazing grades and acted like the perfect child? Clara was the perfect child, with the exception that she was not by far a perfect person.

     She had always been sly about hiding how much she was manipulating people, but she was sixteen when Cleo finally confronted her about what she was doing and Cleo knew that she was manipulating their parents and everyone around them. Clara became afraid that her sister was going to tell everyone what she was up to, putting an end to her ways. However, she was surprised to find that Cleo wanted to join her. While their parents had focused on their eldest and youngest child, Cleo had managed to use her smart mind to stay in the shadows, the place that Cleo felt she could be deadly. Now they realized that they could be a team together. People would fear them and their names would be the talk of the town. Clara couldn’t help but think about the tag team she and her sister would be. So they planned and plotted; when Clara finally graduated, they made their move. The two went to the nearest town and robbed a bank, and they got away with it. The two sisters were smart. They used fake names and within twenty four hours, they were on a train to a new city. The dynamic duo knew they could get away with anything. Clara was the brains and carried out the plans, Cleo stuck to the shadows making sure Clara kept her head in the game. Both of them masters with their own type of manipulation. Both of them deadly, and both of them willing to do whatever it took to get the job done. Clara had a heart for the life of a con woman, or so she thought.

     For four years, Clara and Cleo went from town to town, making money by manipulating someone or conning someone out of every penny they had on their person. They’d carry out their plan and then move on to the next town and the next target. Clara loved the high she got from taking money from someone. On the eve of her twenty third birthday was the first time one of their cons went wrong. Trusting the wrong person— a man that Clara had fallen in love with— both women ended up getting hurt and they got out by just a hair, running as far away from the town as they could get. Clara would never forget the feeling in the pit of her heart for the man she had once loved— Sean. A man she had considered marrying, a man that she had to kill with her own hands to escape. Her heart was swollen up with pain and she wanted vengeance for the loss of her lover. Clara didn’t feel responsible for his death because it had been his partner that screwed it all up. She was softened by the man and yet she learned hardness from the loss of him. Clara quickly learned that loving someone would just cause her trouble, but as Cleo always reminded her, never make connections darling, they jut get in the way of everything. She would live by those words for the rest of her life. What was the point of falling in love when it always ended up in heartbreak?

     A few months on the run, the two sisters settled down at Los Angeles – a city they hadn’t been to before. Clara was changed by the loss of Sean. She wanted a life in the city and part of her wanted to settle down. For Clara, she felt the end of their conning career was over.  All the young woman wanted was to settle down with a life and eventually have children of her own. Love of a man didn’t exist in her opinion, but she could love a child of her own without the need for another man. Except, Cleo didn’t seem to want that. Within two weeks of being in Los Angeles, they already had a new target: Alana Sommers. The movie star was really just starting her career, but none the less her success was something that drew the Baldwin sisters towards the blonde woman. Clara was sent in to befriend her, though she didn’t know how much longer she could keep up this life style, particularly because she was starting to like Alana and the movie business. Hiding that from her sister was difficult, but she did her best. Clara began apartment hunting, and began a career at Victory Street Productions. Even if it was to get close to Alana, she began to pretend that she actually liked the job and would stay there for the rest of her life.

     The night they meant to pull of their con on Alana, Clara found some way to stop it from happening. Setting Cleo up on a date with a man named Matthew Duke, she had distracted her sister, feeling like she needed to protect Alana that night. There was a feeling that something was going to go wrong that night. Clara went to the bar with the blonde star, but the woman insisted that she was fine and nothing was going to happen. Still Clara stayed and tried to party along with everyone else and the few friends that she had. However she had no luck. She gave up shortly after Alana had left with Leonardo, knowing that the blonde would be safe with Leonardo. Boy was she wrong. Going home that night, she found her sister in a giddy state. Apparently Cleo’s night had gone better than her own had. Clara couldn’t sleep that night, finally falling asleep at around five in the morning. The next morning, she found the newspaper on the kitchen table. Cleo standing above her, anger in her voice that they shouldn’t have gotten caught up in a life here. They should have pulled off the con before anyone realized who they were. Clara irrationally snapped at her sister and felt anger like she’d never felt anger in her life. Her only friend now missing… and the plan of a failed con and her sister’s angry words echoing in the back of her mind.

Where the fuck is Alana Sommers?

     MATTHEW DUKE. unlikely friend Clara likes Matt. She thinks he’s perfect for Cleo, even if her sister doesn’t believe it. When Clara met Matthew, the man was kind and that’s something that she hooked onto immediately. He reminded her of her old flame,Sean. Of course, she doesn’t think that he’ll betray them and has done everything in her power to use him to get Cleo to settle down. Matthew might be nice, but Clara will never stop being manipulative. She knows that she’s using him, but honestly, she can’t help it. 

     KIMBERLY JOHNSON. friend Kimberly is someone that Clara is just getting to know. The blonde haired woman is a hoot to be around. There’s just something about Kimberly that Clara can’t let go of. If she didn’t lack trust of people, she’d probably confide in Kimberly. However, she knows better. For now the two of them will just be friends. It isn’t like Clara believes that Kimberly had anything to do with the disappearance of Alana Sommers. 

     NICOLI PAZZI. enemy It was almost a blow to the stomach when Clara saw Nicoli in Los Angeles. Had he followed them? Or worse, did he remember her? Clara and Nicoli only met once, but she’s heard so many stories about him. Nicoli was Sean’s best friend. The person that betrayed the Baldwin sisters. He must know that she is here. After all,why else would he have decided to come all the way to Los Angeles? So far, she has done her best to avoid him, but she doesn’t know how long she can do that before he recognizes her and Cleo.

     MEREDITH VERGES. interest  There is just something about the older Verges that interests Clara. Although she fell in love with a man, Clara has always held her ground that she doesn’t need a man. So what about Meredith holds so much of her interest? Clara wonders if there’s something inside her that wants to be with another woman, or it’s just a passing fancy. Either way, Meredith Verges is someone that she doesn’t just want to know, Clara needs to know her.

     Additional Connections: Cleo Baldwin, Dottie Kierson, Clarke Baldwin 

CLARA BALDWIN is portrayed by Crystal Reed

She is currently OPEN

Her faceclaim is SEMI-NEGOTIABLE

     I wanted to make a quick announcement that I have decided to change a few of the faceclaims around a little ! Since I would really like as many POC roles as possible in the group as possible ( and with the first batch having mostly been white ), I decided that the following characters will now have POC faceclaims: 

Kimberly Johnson will now be JESSICA ALBA

Matthew Duke will now be LEE JONG-SUK

Scott Castle will now be DANIEL DAE KIM

Yes ! However, only a few of the white faceclaims can be replaced with a POC faceclaim since most are POC anyway. The following are characters that can be changed to a POC, if you’d like: 

Clara & Cleo Baldwin - although keep in mind that they have a half sister with a Aubrey Plaza FC, so you’d have to make them Puerto Rican 

Peter Chamberlain - Though I’d like him to remain Mads, you are free to change him to any ethnicity 

Nicoli Pazzi - He’s of Italian decent ( and it’s heavily written into his biography ) so other than that, he’s got no restrictions 

Due to family relations though, the following families should remain white ( if this seems unfair, please note that that’s only eight out of 42 characters ) :

Petrov ( Salva, Valeryia, & Odette )

Volkov ( Alisa & Illya )

Walker( Faira, George, & Orion )

     DETAILS -- 

age: twenty five

affiliation: film

occupation: director

pronouns: he/him/his

bio triggers: none

    George Walker was brought up to love everyone. With two parents who embodied the idea that everyone was a human and therefore needed to be treated with the same compassion and understanding that he gave someone else, no matter who they were. George grew up on those ideals, and they were ideals that he was not afraid to tell other people about– no matter the scoffs that he got from others who did not feel the same way as himself and his family. From the young age of three, he was all smiles all the time. He thought it was easier to be happy than it was to be unhappy. His family always loved to see the boy because he was the face of joy. He was the perfect child, they couldn’t ask for a better little boy, even after his twin siblings Faira and Orion were born. From the moment he could talk he was always asking people how they were feeling and if they needed help. He had almost a knack for figuring out what someone was feeling by just the way they sat and the facial expressions they had. He never seemed to have any dark thoughts going through his mind and the more he grew up, the more he appreciated the life around him. Without a smile, he felt almost lost, helping people became almost a second nature to him. How someone felt meant a lot to him. By the time he was ten, he was easily one of the most charming people in the entire school, trying his best to make sure that everyone felt important.

    When he got older, girls flocked to him and fawned over him. However, George never seemed interested in them. He spent most of his time with his friend Jamison Bates. The two were best friends. They could not be separated; they did everything together. Rarely did someone see George without Jamison close behind him and vice versa. Jamison was an artist, and loved to build things, and George was a visionary wanting to create things and make them come alive. The two owned the theater department. While George never excelled in anywhere other than theater and the arts, he enjoyed it, and knew that eventually he wanted to direct films. Jamison always dreamed of being a set designer. The two made a pact that they would work together for the rest of their lives, and they would stay friends forever. At the young age of fifteen, that almost seems to be ridiculous, but nothing could break the bond between the two friends. George could not deny a physical attraction to his best friend, but he never said anything out loud because it was more trouble than good to admit those feelings. It was taboo in their society and he would not condemn the both of them for his possible one sided feelings. The boy just continued to be a friend. He never wanted to make a wave at school, except for some reason he felt that he was making a difference in the lives of the people around him. And he could not deny happiness about that. With his graduation, he and Jamison parted ways. Although George felt a little sick to the stomach at that, he did not say anything. They still had their pact to remain friends through everything and that was what was important to him.

    College went by in a flash, and before too long, he was working at Victory Street Productions. He was mainly doing small jobs, like assistant director and even was a cameraman for a little bit. He was the same George though, caring more about the people around him than his own self. The young man started working under one of the bigger directors at Victory Street, Scott Castle. The older man became someone that George could look up to. Working with Scott built up his credibility and before long, he was working on bigger projects. He met Dottie Kierson not long after the girl’s high school graduation. George was charming to her, and instantly drawn to her. She was sad and he wanted to help her as much as he could. He convinced her to stay in town, only because he cherished her as a friend. Their friendship meant a lot to him, especially after he stopped talking to Jamison. Dottie reluctantly agreed to stick around in Los Angeles. He got her a job as a publicist for Scarlet Moon Studios, which Dottie seemed grateful about, especially since she hit her stride there. Life was looking up for George. When he was asked to work on a film that would mean he was going to have to leave town, he accepted. He would be the lead on the project and he was ecstatic that his hard work and dedication was paying off. A few weeks later he was off to shoot a movie in Mexico. Although Dottie seemed disappointed, she understood. He promised that he would keep in contact with her while he was away.

    Mexico was one of the best experiences of his life. He got to explore a different culture and learn a lot about travel. The movie was a good experience for him, especially since he was the sole director of the movie, he had control over everything. Everything was panning out for George– which is usually when something doesn’t pan out. After a drunken night in Veracruz, Mexico, George found himself in bed with another man. He did not feel like he had done anything wrong, even if society deemed it that way, but the night scared him so much because what George realized about himself was that he preferred men. That scared him more than anything else in the world. So he packed up the crew and cast and they went back to Los Angeles. He had filmed enough on location and it was time to start editing the film. George felt no shame for sleeping with a man, there were other people like him – and he had always been taught to be accepting of everyone. The moment he got back to Los Angeles – 26 March 1972 – only two days after Alana’s disappearance. Except he did not tell a single soul that he was back. Not Scott. Not Dottie. Not the people at Victory Street Productions. No one– except Jamison. The two went out to catch up because it had been years since they had spoken. George had a pleasant night with his old best friend, and promised that they would speak again soon.

    It was two days after Alana’s disappearance that he actually admitted that he was back to the studio. He had come home to utter turmoil. LA PETITE FEMME needed work, Scott needed help, they needed a new lead, and a camera man -- and they needed to rework the script. It was Dottie that told him news that Alana Sommers was missing. His heart fell out of his chest. While he had never met the woman, he wondered what anyone could want with her. She was popular, and happy from what he had heard of her. Dottie was sure to have known Alana– he did not know that they had become good friends in the time he was gone, but George knew that he could not have a heavy talk to Dottie, not now. She was not going to understand and George could not lie to her, and he knows that telling her that he does not want to date women just might end their friendship for good. Luckily, with the mess the studio is in, he had found a way to become busy and avoid Dottie. George felt bad about it because he knew she took the disappearance harder than many of the other people in the studio. He knows that there is only so long before the woman notices that he’s avoiding anything more than a small chat.

     FAIRA & ORION WALKER. siblings All George wants for his siblings is for them to be happy and follow in their footsteps. He loves Faira and Orion with all his heart. Though they are much younger than him, he hopes that they do know that he loves them very much. George has always been a family man and though he has not come out to his siblings he does hope that they will accept him. George is as involved in their lives as he can be, especially now that he is busy helping Scott with the movie. The man knows that Faira will accept him, but he isn’t quite sure about Orion -- as his younger brother is a mystery at the best of times. George knows that above everything, his family is what is going to come first. 

     JAMISON BATES. interest George would do just about anything for Jamison, though he isn’t sure if the other boy feels the same way. George has always been more emotional and outwardly artistic than his counterpart friend. Though it has been several years since the two of them have connected, Jamison has been an important person in George’s life for a long time. Jamison is probably his closest friend and the only person George is comfortable talking to about everything. He’s sure Dottie won’t understand what he’s going through. The other boy is the only person that knows what happened in Mexico and lately George has been questioning if their relationship could possibly be more important to him than he originally thought. ( ooc: Although it is heavily implied that George & Jamison slept together the night George got back, it will be up to the players if that happened or not. )

    ODETTE PETROVA. annoyance She just won’t leave him or Jamison alone. The painter, while heavily talented, just isn’t someone that he cares to know. She’s friendly and way too bubbly for her own good, but it almost seems that she has something to hide. If only Odette would leave him alone. George does think she’s friend material, especially since she’s interesting, but he just wishes she would leave him alone sometimes. For some reason, she’s latched onto him and while he does want to be friendly and nice, sometimes he wonders if he was just oblivious to all women that acted like that prior to realizing his sexuality, or if it’s just Odette that bothers him.

     DENA ARYA. acquaintance  George is a frequent customer at the Railroad cafe. He finds Dena fascinating. Though he has only talked to her a few times, he wonders if she’s just interesting because he doesn’t know her very well -- or if she has a lot of cool stories that he’s yet to find out. The Railroad Cafe is one of George’s favorite spots in the city to hang out at and he’s looking forward to getting to know the Arya’s better. 

Additional Connections: Scott Castle, Dottie Kierson

GEORGE WALKER is portrayed by Julian Morris

He is currently OPEN

His faceclaim is SEMI-NEGOTIABLE

     DETAILS --

age: twenty seven

affiliation: citizen

occupation: waitress @ the railroad cafe 

pronouns: she/her/hers

bio triggers: abuse ( emotional & physical i

    Alisa Volkov may have been the youngest of the Volkov children, but she was never the baby. While her older brother was almost eight years older than her, she took care of him. Fragile Illya, little Illya. “Make sure you watch out for your brother,” her mother would say when they went out and played. It was enough to drive anyone out of their mind, but not Alisa. She quickly learned that the children that surrounded them were cruel and that her brother was different from everyone else. Growing up as a first generation American, her English was broken and horrible compared to the children that had grown up in America – with American blood running through their veins. Her parents had decided to come to the United States to give their children the best chance of success, but it seemed their attempts at that may have been futile. The Volkov family may have been small, but they were strong and had well-rounded abilities. Alisa’s father always made sure that there was enough food on the table and that his children had a fighting chance of surviving. Alisa grew being tough. She was unafraid to PUNCH someone to get something she wanted… or to defend her family’s honor. More often than not, the young boys had difficulty keeping up with her, as she ran faster, hid better, and was wittier than anyone else on their street. She grew to be someone no one wanted to mess with or they would face her WRATH. The only people that messed with her family – her brother – were people who were secretive about their bullying. Alisa Volkov became somewhat of a fireball and that was part of what made her different.

    As the young girl began to grow into a woman, she caught the eyes of people all around her. One of the more influential people in her class, people often looked to the Russian beauty for advice. She may have been tough as a child, but in high school she became softer. Even with her sharp mind, school had always been a struggle for her – much less than her brother, but none the less, school was difficult for a child who came from a Russian speaking family. Alisa did her best to keep up with her classes, and many of her teachers would sing praise of the young woman. Although she did decently in school, Alisa focused more on her social life. She wanted to go to college, but part of her realized that it would almost be impossible for someone like her. Neither of her parents had a lot of money to send her off, she was going to have to make do with just a high school education. Therefore, her social life flourished more than her academic career. It was in high school that her relationship with Illya became strained. Her brother, seven years older than her, though tried his best to make his own way through high school, without his sister by his side at every second, was weak and he dropped out. Alisa tried her best to stay close to him, but as the years went on, he began to shut even Alisa out. Much to her dismay, she stopped being able to talk to him. She was at her prime and when a college professor that had read one of her essays offered her a spot at their school for a cut of the tuition, Alisa took the bribe and headed off to college in a different part of the state. It seemed her brother had no intention of having a relationship with her.

    College was too difficult for Alisa, and in her sophomore year, she dropped out and came back to Los Angeles. She tried to make peace with her brother, but when he did not seem to respond to her, she eventually began to give up. He became more and more popular, and Alisa made a scrapbook of the headlines for the cases that he solved. She loved him as much as she could from a distance. Living on her own was difficult, although not impossible. Alisa found job after job, but nothing seemed to stick. It was almost as if she was cursed. The poor young woman had no one to turn to, with her parents both dead and her brother unwilling to help and meet her half way. The young woman began to do whatever she could to keep her head afloat. Eventually, she found a job at a local cafe, where she would be employed when she met her future husband. It was almost funny how Alisa met Salva Petrov. He was walking to meet a potential business partner, when he spotted Alisa. The young woman was crossing the street and she was carrying far too much; the charming young man wondered over to her and helped her carry her mess back to her apartment. She had no idea that Salva changed his entire life for her, but she would suffer the wrath for it later. He swept her off her feet. Only a year after they met, Salva proposed and the two of them married a few months later. Alisa was only twenty one – far too young to know what love was, but she was on her own.

    Married life was supposed to treat her well, but it did no such thing. The first year was great. Salva was charming enough and a wonderful husband, but after the second year, something in Alisa’s husband changed. He became a cruel man – a man filled with hate and disdain. There was something scary about him and although she had once been someone who STOOD up to her bullies, Salva only had to flash a smile and she would forget anything he had done. When she turned twenty four, she became pregnant with her first child; soon after the birth of the first Petrov child, she had a second baby. Alisa had two more mouths to feed, so she picked up more hours at the cafe, spending less and less time at home with her children. One evening she was coming home from work, Alisa angered her husband and he flipped a table, scaring her children that both walked downstairs. While her husband had never beat one of his children, he both abused her and her children verbally. She grew angry, the fire she had in her from when she was younger was reignited and DAMNED if she would let her husband continue to act that way and abuse her. She could have left him, but the woman knew he might possible get the custody of the children and knew she had to get as far away as possible. Too prideful to ask for help from her brother, she turned to someone else, a lawyer that she hired to help her through the legal process of putting her husband in jail and keeping him far away from his children.

    Only one other person knows the whereabouts of Alisa the night of Alana Sommers’ disappearance and she will go to the grave before she admits aloud that she was meeting with her lawyer. She is so afraid of what Salva might do if he finds out. The young woman has her suspicions that her husband is up to no good, but she has to get proof.  With Vivian Isaacs, she began to build her case against Salva. It was well after midnight when she got home, her husband still out. The dark haired Russian crawled into bed and fell into a deep sleep. The next morning with the news of the actress’s disappearance, and the smug look on her husband’s face, she began to think more into where her husband was that night. Alisa already knows he’s lying about something and he’s an abusive asshole. Putting her brave face on, Alisa went to work the next day, very distracted by everything that was going through her mind. More determined than ever to put her husband behind bars, she’s beginning to grow into the vicious woman she once was, but even more of a fireball than before. She was someone that everyone envied and wanted to be. How she transformed into a sniffling young woman who got bullied rather than the one who inflicted pain and humiliation. Alana Sommers will get her justice and so will she. Alisa Petrova is smart and she knows that Salva has something to do with the woman’s disappearance – just another reason that she wants to put him behind bars. She’s in for a world of trouble, especially because she has no idea just what kind of EMPIRE she is trying to bring crashing down.

     ALEXANDER PORTER. co-worker Although Alexander is much younger than Alisa, she has developed a soft spot for the boy. He really does seem like the sort of boy that she’d get along with. Alexander only wants to help her get what she deserves. Out of all the people Alisa knows, Alexander is probably the only one that knows everything about her. Her relationship with him is one of her most cherished out of everyone she talks to on a daily basis. Alisa loves Alexander’s friendly and attentive attitude. She knows he’s going to make an amazing person one day, as long as he doesn’t give up on his dreams. 

     REMY ISAACS. friend An odd choice in a friend, but Alisa knows that Remy is more than they seem. Although Alisa does not know everything about the young adult, she does know that Remy has a truly winning personality. Alisa does know that Remy tries to hide from their mother their involvement in the protests going on in Los Angeles. The young adult has high hopes and dreams -- reminding Alisa of herself at that age -- and Alisa will do whatever she can to help Remy along the way. Although they make an odd pair of friends, Alisa loves Remy almost as much as she would a sister.

     VALERYIA & ODETTE PETROVA. sister in laws Both Valeryia and Odette are people that Alisa is very close to. Despite coming from the same blood as her husband, they are nothing like the man. Valeryia is going to become a beautiful dance one day. Alisa has no doubt that Odette will make a wonderful painter. The Petrova family has at least two good seeds in their book, as far as Alisa knows. She spends as much time as she can -- whenever she isn’t working or taking care of her children -- with her sister in laws and tries to go to all of Valeryia’s performances and Odette’s art shows as she can.   

     ILLYA VOLKOV. estranged older brother If there is anything Alisa misses most in the world it’s her brother. She does her best to keep up with what he is doing. Alisa almost wonders if he’s lonely in his life -- as she knows his entire life is about his career, but he has yet to reach back out to her. Maybe one day they can be as close as they were as children, but for now, Alisa does all her admiring from afar. She keeps a scrapbook of some of his major cases, hoping that one day she’ll be able to present him with the scrapbook, as Alisa is and will always be proud of her brother’s accomplishments. 

Additional Connections: Vivian Isaacs, Salva Petrov

ALISA PETROVA is portrayed by Alicia Vikander

She is currently OPEN

Her faceclaim is SEMI-NEGOTIABLE 

      Welcome ! It’s been a long road, but THE FADE OUT is officially back. While the plot has changed just a tad bit to a new decade, the plot is still essentially the same. The 1970s offers a little more freedom for the plot than previously before. I am pleased to announce how excited I am to be back with this project, after several long weeks of preparation -- with a lot of revamping -- the group is ready for the tags once more. For those of you who remember the group the first time around, please have a look around. Feel free to send a message to the main & request some of the biographies !