( ZION MORENO, WOMAN, SHE/HER ) JUNIPER βJUJUβ BLACKWELL the TWENTY-SIX year old is said to remind people of WEARING A FACE THAT DOESNβT BELONG TO HER & FEELING OUT OF PLACE. they are known to be CAUTIOUS and SELF-CENTERED which makes sense when you think about how they are a Blackwell.
trigger warning:Β parental death & ambiguous illness
Juniper Jubilee Blackwell was born to freshly college graduated Freya Acosta and pharmaceutical tycoon Terence Blackwell. Her life became one made not out of love, but of one lust-filled night. Turns out, that didn't really make her special in any way considering she had a slew of half-siblings.
Her mother was a flight attendant so Juniper grew up surrounded by teenaged babysitters and taught herself how to make mac and cheese to sustain herself way before any child should be using a stove. It's a miracle she never burned their apartment down!
Being a kid coming from a single income had its ups and downs, but nothing that truly affected Juniper. Sure, mom brought in some not-so-great guys and Juniper pretty much raised herself, but she never resented Freya for it. It was just how their life was.
At 18, Juniper's mom first fell ill. Her mom was so young, how could she have gotten sick? It was then that secrets began coming out of the woodwork, such as who fathered Juniper. Finding out that she was the child of one of the richest men in the world began to have its perks. She went to the Blackwell's, and confirmed her identity via paternal testing. She was able to afford her mom's hospital bills, got a whole new wardrobe of clothes, and as fucked up as they all were - gained a family.
A few weeks after Juju's 23rd birthday, Freya finally passed away after a years-long battle with her illness. In natural Blackwell fashion, Juju was at a party in Manhattan when it happened. She still beats herself up to this day about not being there more. Maybe that's why she's picking up the bottle more and more these days.
HEADCANONS
Juju has like, a totally successful fashion moodboard app! She's not a tech whiz by any means (that's what employees are for), but think of it as Polyvore meets magnetic paper dolls. You can upload a photo of your body and plan outfits based on pieces online or from your own closet.
If you've talked to Juju, you might notice that she sounds... just a little different than normal. Almost as if the spirit of Cali has somewhat possessed her. Maybe it's a weird coping mechanism or finally she's losing it. That's up to you to decide!
"Is it me, or do none of the Blackwell kids seem beside themselves?" Griffin said thinking out loud. His siblings annoyed him, but they were also everything to him. Nothing mattered more than family. Though, considering how close he was to the family one might expect he too would be beside himself and yet he just shrugged and hadn't shed a tear. Lose brain cells? What the hell was this bitch talking about. "The hot goss is your sister was murdered. Not much else to talk about." He replied before chugging his drink.
"I don't know," Juju hadn't really considered it. Maybe because they were beside themselves. It sort of seemed genetically hardwired in Blackwell blood to be selfish. They were close-knit, sure, but they all had their own desires and reservations. "I mean, like, I guess?" She cornered her eyes as if she was in deep thought.
"I suppose you're the last person I would want to go to for that," it's not like Griffin had gossip-mongerer written all over him like Juju did (and yes that was very much Lexi referencing Gossip Girl). She downed the rest of her drink, following suit, as if it were a competition (it wasn't). "I'm bored, are you bored?"
She could never sit in silence for long, which if she had to guess, was one of the things Griffin did not enjoy in her.
"Are you praying on my downfall?" He squinted at Juju in disbelief. The photo was awful. There was no way she actually thought he looked adorable and this was clearly sabotage. "How would you feel if I sent TMZ the most embarrassing and humiliating photo of you to publish? You would never be able to leave the house again, you'd delete all your socials and cry in your room every night." He huffed out of frustration. "If I have to live the rest of my life celibate now because nobody wants to fuck me I will never forgive you."
"And what if I was?" Juju callously asked, dipping her spoon back into her yogurt. It's not like, she had some vendetta against Leo. She was purely just having fun. What else was a girl to do in her day to day?
"Go ahead, try me," she tested. "Haven't you seen my skincare routine? I haven't had an ugly photo since puberty. But by all means, feel free to dig," she paused. "But just always remember who's detective skills are clearly superior," Juju grinned, her eyes fliting to the photo on his screen.
"Oh please, if I were able to make you celibate, the mayor himself would probably grant me a key to the city for ceasing any spawns you may have trotting around. I would be considered a total saint to the greater metro area."
Leo came storming through the doors of his dads home and power walked laps of the building until he found Juniper. "You did this didn't you?" He slammed his phone down onto the table in the kitchen and slid it across the surface towards her revealing an embarrassing picture that TMZ had posted. "I know it was you, Juju."
Since Juju had found out her lineage, she had taken to it like a moth to a flame. She had retroactively no problem moving into her father's home, spending his money, and making a name for herself all on the back of who she happened to be related to. And she had eighteen years of it to make up for. Sat atop a barstool, Juju munched down on some yogurt when Leo came waltzing him.
She blankly stared at the phone thrust towards her until a snicker came out of her throat. "Leo, why do you always have to blame me first?" She asked, unable to conceal the smile on her face. Juju never was a great liar.
"I thought you looked rather adorable in it," she teased, looking up at him. "Don't you agree?"
Griffin spit out some of his drink at Juju's response, "God Juju, could you say it any worse." he shook his head. "Also, I know this all already. I was one of her closer friends, dummy. As well as your brothers." Griffin spent a lot of time in the Blackwell house growing up. "Sure go ahead." He didn't really care to advise the girl to stop drinking or correct her behavior. He would make sure she was still alive by the time he left though.
"I just call it how it is," Juju stated, her shoulders shrugged and she faced her palms to him to hold her hands up like a surrender. There was no sugarcoating it to Juniper. Her sister was dead and that was that. She had shed tears, but she was more concerned about her own well-being. Was this just a one-off unfortunate occurrence or could it be something far more sinister? Was it even safe to go out anymore?
Was it ever?
"Obviously. I just didn't know if it was like, normal for you to lose braincells given your profession," she commented, taking a seat next to him, taking notice of whoever else he was sitting with - waving her fingers around to say hello.
Griffin shook his head as the other approached, "Whatever dumb drunk shit you are about to suggest, count me out. I am not spending the night in lock-up with my baby girl at home." He said as he nursed his tequila. "Can you believe this?" He muttered, jokingly, to the person on his other side.
"Oh my god, do you think I'd like, get you arrested?" Juju asked, completely guffawed at the idea. The only crime she ever committed was being a total Betty. And okay, she totally did steal from Sephora in her teen years, but that's just the gatherer mentality her female ancestors bestowed upon her. She was simply being a girl!
And even if she did, she was one phone call away from making bail.
"I don't know if you've heard but my sister's dead. And like, not in a sad My Sister's Keeper kind of way but in a Netflix Docuseries kind of way," Juju slurred, never having much of a way with words. One too many Tom Collins had gotten to the best of her. "And you're like," she sucked in a breath and elongated her arms to signify his height.
"Think you could keep an eye on a gal while she pounds away some cocktails? Because I'm not looking to join sissy dearest anytime soon."
my whole life is the one episode of Friends where Ross drinks all those margaritas and keeps telling everyone that hes fine when he clearly isnβt fine