* ◟ : 〔 ruth wilson , cis-woman + she / her 〕 claire stone , some say you’re a forty one year old lost soul among the neon lights. known for being both conscientious and emotional , one can’t help but think of you keep me crawling by aurora when you walk by. are you still the ceo of stoneage inc , even with your reputation as the liability ? i think we’ll be seeing more of you and crumbling behind closed doors, intense glares of dissatisfaction and creased silk blouses, although we can’t help but think of jeanine matthews (divergent), rachel duncan (orphan black), and rebecca bunch (crazy ex-girlfriend) whenever we see you down these rainy streets.
oh look, it’s me bringing more morally grey female muses with daddy issues (now never to be resolved) and an obscene and overwhelming amount of power....
triggers: mental illness tw, abandonment tw, abuse tw, just very bad parenting in general tw, death tw, mention of pregnancy tw, ivf tw,
claire, the first and only (known) child of multi-billionaire damon stone. born somewhere in the south of england, conceived in a ‘dingey bar’/a quaint countryside public house, and not a particularly wanted asset by her parents. her parents had been allies that supported each other’s work and had similar ideas about the future, they got on but were hardly romantic. perhaps their sexual affair had been because of loneliness or driven by their own narcissistic tendencies. both brilliant minds in their own right, they never really stopped working or striving for the future, thus, leaving their child somewhat neglected.
an emotional child wasn’t something that was ideal for either of them - a massive inconvenience. claire would cry and cry only to be met with logic when all she needed was some contact, a hug from either of them. it was her mother who particularly despised her crying when she was trying to work, so much so that she would resort to physically gripping her daughter a little too tightly, not the type of contact she wanted. damon hadn’t seen his partner cracking but she was.
claire’s mother had become so consumed by research that she was unable to think about anything else. her obsession with technology, specifically artificial intelligence, had consumed her and lead her to constantly write journals (ones that would never be published under her name). obsession turned into delusions and resulted in her early death. her mother’s passing deeply affected claire, not so much damon. she was old enough to understand that something had been wrong but not how or why. one minute she had someone whom she called mother, the next she hadn’t.
her mother’s journals were punished under damon stone. they brought about new opportunities for him and investments started coming his way. from a young age, claire had shown an interest in her father’s work because she quickly saw it as a way to garner affection from the man and get that ‘quality time’ she wanted. prodigy wasn’t an accurate description of claire but it was the words used when she attended university at fifteen. her entire life had been studying and was a compliant child - the thought of exams had terrified her but she had listened to damon and applied what he had taught her (or what she had overheard in passing).
it was an investment that paid off for him - she would stay with someone else and that freed up his time to devote to research. he hadn’t even told her that he had moved to the usa until she had turned up (as a surprise) at her now former home only for someone else to answer the door. luckily for her, the strangers had the right temperament to calm her down but she feared being abandoned and she had felt like it had happened. damon assured her that it was not the case but what kind of parent would not only move but move countries and not tell his child? damon’s selfish actions had preyed on her insecurity of only having him and losing him just as easily as her mother seemed to go.
it upset her and her father couldn’t understand why. he had seen a fatal flaw in her, a weakness that he had a severe distaste for. while her academics remained at the top of her class, multiple professors advised that she was too young for the institution, that it was breaking her and that she should be withdrawn from the course. they made a point of it to damon but he declined. the professors spoke to claire but she’d burst into tears and say that it couldn’t happen, that she needed to do this. if she wasn’t able to keep up with damon’s intellect, she felt she’d lose him completely.
nepotism would serve her well as she assumed a role in stoneage inc. at straight after completing her phd, at the age of twenty two. her academic would quickly be washed away by the inside hatred others would have for her, claiming the ‘special treatment’ due to the blood in her veins. at this point, her personal and professional life had fully merged into one. as stoneage inc. had more and more success, damon would only treat her as a colleague and would ridicule her, perhaps worse, for her emotional outbursts. he had always made them worse but he had hoped that if she received poor treatment, it would deter her from making the same mistake. claire wasn’t ‘strong’ like he was - all it did was knock her down.
to an onlooker, she was the classic spoilt prodigy nepotist baby in new york city. she would go out and party, would always take it too far and would even accidentally injure herself in the process. reckless and spoiled. when damon came to pick up the pieces, it was the only time he was kind and actually took care of her. however, he would take notes and label her as a liability in his mind and also spread it among his most trusted advisors.
damon kept her away from his dodgy dealings and somewhat forced her into motherhood when she assumed responsibility for sabine. the man made sure she was approved and that further lead her away from the research field. to claire, sabine was just someone that needed someone - who was she to argue with that? she wouldn't realise that it had been a calculated move, a rather misogynistic one from her father. claire quickly became attached to sabine. she cried and claire would have the natural instinct to run to her and give her a hug, to give her something she never got growing up (or rather rarely). AT SOME POINT, claire did become an overbearing mother and her control issues definitely started influencing their relationship with each other. it's not something that she realises she's doing but she is a stone after all - can you really fight your nature?
over the years, claire would continue her research but would be kept at arms length. damon wanted her to remain out of the corruption and tensions, to keep her at arms length personally so she wasn’t a distraction. no one would know why mr. stone kept her so distant when also writing her as the sole inheritor of stoneage inc. (keeping her in the dark would do his legacy and multi-billion dollar empire a favour in the future).
she would also develop her own unwanted feelings towards androids. they were emotionless, efficient, everything her father wanted her to be. perhaps that was why he was so obsessed. the woman found herself wishing far too many times that she was one - maybe appreciation would come with that. it was a thought that she’d run away with, primarily while drinking alone in her exquisite penthouse. it was so easy to just erase a models memory, to reinvent it for a particular purpose. it felt like dangerous territory and she knew it. claire envied them but her interest was peaked if they could be capable of taking on a particular emotion, a download of her own negative feelings onto a drive. it didn’t seem realistic but it also didn’t seem impossible. however it was only a thought, one that turned into several but none ever actioned or analysed.
multi-billionaire damon stone drops dead. that would be the headline. an unexpected death at a crucial moment in trial talks with the government, a bereaved claire steps in to close the deal. cause of death remains undetermined and foul play has not been ruled out. a surprise and expected, claire stone assumes the role of ceo of stoneage incorporation as well as inheriting her father’s fortune. it was a partnership that would be described as destined. she had failed at winning her father’s affection and she wouldn’t fail again. that was easier said than done.
there is a period when it seems the woman doesn't care about her dear father's passing - she was thrown into the deep end and wanted to do well, finally given the chance to prove her worth. it was odd how little tears she shed given her past emotional outbursts. there was a lot she needed to be doing. there was a lot of pressure on her but for the first time in her life she not only accepted it but thrived on it. it was like a temporary high for her. with damon out of the picture, claire's life felt better and that didn't feel like it was stopping.
people would think it was the wrong time to try for a child shortly after her father's passing and her peaking in her career but claire felt like it was the perfect time - everything was going right. someone had donated and her ivf treatment had succeeded after a few rounds that had made her ill. she'd push through. of course, the maternal image does not go without stoneage capitalising on it, to show that it is just as about people and the new generation as it is about ai. claire doesn't believe everything that comes out of her mouth, she hates everyone telling her she's glowing when she feels absolutely terrible but it was good for business. the woman who's got it all - that would be a frequent headline.
at the end of june, claire has another daughter at a birthing centre surrounded by trusted confidants and a small selection of vetted staff members. the high from it all is beyond her. she names her celine but hopes no one will call her cece for short but lina instead. so many emotions are going through her during that first week and the room is silent after she utters the words 'i can't wait for him to meet her'. it's like she's been hit with a dose of reality, it finally sinking in that her father isn't here, neither is her mother. the memory of her and damon in the theatre clapping for sabine comes to her, they'd been so proud of her but she was unable to imagine that situation for the baby up against her because it was unattainable. finally breaking down in tears follows that, an extremely delayed reaction but an action, nonetheless. claire felt like she had destroyed her own happiness by making that statement, it forcing her to acknowledge what was happening, what had actually happened to her?
now comes the time where claire feels like she's pushed herself too hard. every thought somehow leads her back to him and nightmares start up in her very little sleep time. her subconscious has blocked something out and she can't uncover what. at the same time as trying to care for celine, she feels like sabine is the one that needs the most attention from her. she does as much as she can from home because she feels like lina's too tiny to be taken into that place - she wants to keep her from it.
to those outside, claire stone is a formidable force but others within the corporation know that it’s only a matter of time before she cracks, and when that happens they will be there to assume the inc. for themselves...
THE UNKNOWN
the something that she has blocked out entirely and at this stage doesn't know about. the first model of replicant stoneage put out was an C1AI.re, a replicant that had been modelled by the couples own daughter with some modifications on the features that they thought weren't attractive/wouldn't 'sell'. the models were suddenly discontinued several years after their release, previously being a model to be upgraded. it was when damon had grown to despise his own daughter.
C - Claire
1 - first
AI - what it says on the tin
.re - replicant
perhaps some plots??
honestly looking for anything and everything but here are some ideas
people who work for meta news - perhaps they’re old friends that have spoken in a professional setting before? someone who ran a succession story on claire without permission, someone who’s been trying to get her to do that tasteless all-about-me interview after the death of her father? an ally that has buried stuff (can be discussed) for her in the past?
sentient androids that, you know, want her gone. self-explanatory. also perhaps a privately hired android? only the best, of course.
someone under her wing - we all know after reading my ramblings claire is a mess but would be nice if she had people under her wing, most likely started before she assumed her new role in the incorporation. what their intentions are is utp. maybe even her own protegé? someone with potential?
i’m tired right now so i’m stopping here but i love brainstorming and would love to get plots with you. this probably wasn't all of it but i love to muse!!
