BASIC INFORMATION:
NAME: Cassandra Acton. AGE: 35. PLACE OF BIRTH: Oxford, United Kingdom. AFFILIATION: Neutral. Government. OCCUPATION: MP for Poplar and Limehouse. (Tower Hamlets) FACE CLAIM: Margot Robbie. AVAILABILITY: TAKEN.
BIOGRAPHY:
Cassandra Acton had been a spur of the moment decision.
With her older sister having upped and left home for university, her mother—a woman who got everything she wanted without question—decided that she needed another child to fill the void. Unfortunately, the novelty wore off quickly. The notion wasn’t lost on Cassie, either. Even though she wasn’t a mistake, she absolutely felt like a burden.
Despite the fact Elizabeth had a seventeen-year head start on her, Cassie was always made to feel like she was lagging behind when it came to her successes. Elizabeth went to Oxford. Elizabeth became a solicitor. Elizabeth got married. Elizabeth became an MP, Home Secretary, Leader of the Conservative Party, fucking Prime Minister. Unlike her mother, however, Cassie’s father tried to avoid pitting his two daughters against each other; he wanted her to be herself, not spend her life fighting her way out of her sister’s shadow.
Elizabeth wasn’t a bad sister. In fact, quite the opposite; endlessly supportive, and quick to point out their mother’s poisonous attitude. That made it worse. Cassie couldn’t even hate her. Even though their relationship wasn’t necessarily bad, it certainly wasn’t healthy, either. Their mother’s words started to resonate, that she would never be what her sister was, and the only way that she could think to deal with it was to cut her parents off altogether. And so, when she finally escaped to study at LSE (with an enormous fucking inferiority complex in tow) she did just that.
It was the first time she felt free. It was also the first time she started to realise that actually, just because her own talents didn’t necessarily align with her sister’s, didn’t mean that she had none.
Even though she’d always imagined herself becoming a journalist who wrote about the economy, the Goldman Sachs internship that her lecturer had coaxed her into applying for proved to be life changing. The last thing she’d expected was to be on the trading floor, holding her own against the best of them. Finally, her loud mouth came in handy. Cassie was fucking talented, unorthodox, and despite having to work harder than her male peers to be respected for the same job, they did respect her. They respected that she wasn’t afraid to be cutthroat to get the result she wanted; that she was fucking smart, too. Yet, still she found herself in a constant state of comparing herself to Elizabeth.
Could she have done this, too?
The hours were unsociably long. When the work wasn’t mind-numbingly tedious, it was so stressful that it was no wonder so many people in their world burnt out. Cassie, on the other hand, was absolutely in her element. Pressure fuelled her. Finally, it seemed like her life was pulling together. She had a job that was tailor-made, she’d cut out her poisonous mother’s influence, and she’d even gotten engaged to the most perfect human on the planet...
Then, suddenly, things weren’t so perfect anymore.
Cassie’s soon-to-be husband—a British army captain that had survived three tours of Afghanistan—was killed with two others in a Russian terrorist attack in central London. As if mourning him wasn’t hard enough, she had to watch as the press had a field day at her expense. Home Secretary’s sister loses fiancé to attack on home soil? It was as though the papers wanted Cassie to blame her for letting it slip through the cracks. For a little while, she did. Then she just shut down all together.
For the first time, Cassie was starting to think of life instead of success. Second guessing every decision she’d ever made and berating herself for them was far easier than grieving. Whilst she loved her job, did she really want to work her whole life to make other men rich? Why couldn’t she do something more profound? Help people the same way Harrison had?
What better way was there to do just that than to follow her sister into representing them?
It was a brief campaign, but due to being Elizabeth’s little sister, the press exposure was enormous. Perhaps that was why she’d polled so high on General Election Day, 2015. It had been such a long shot, the victory was unexpected. Surreal. Whilst her sister moved in to Number 10, Cassie became the newly elected representative for Poplar and Limehouse. Leaving Goldman had been a huge decision for her. Even though she misses the buzz and people of her old lifestyle sometimes, there’s something far more rewarding about what she’s doing now. Losing Harrison was hard, but she can at least deal with the feelings by accepting that one good thing came out of it.
At least he would have been proud of her.
Almost four years in, and the press is still kind to her as a whole, although she can’t help but notice that they play she and her sister off each other much in the same way her parents used to. This time, however, she has much better footing. Despite Elizabeth’s success, Cassie is pinned as the more charismatic, relatable half of their political duo. There is no one better at putting on an amiable front. Inside Westminster circles, however, she’s known for being just as cutthroat as she was back at Goldman. Well, that and fucking the Leader of the Opposition, anyway.
Cassie always puts her constituents first, and she is hugely popular amongst them for her ‘honesty’ and tendency to say what’s on her mind. Politics is not about power, and she is just as unwavering in her goals and ambitions for the country as Elizabeth is revered for. The only difference between the two is that she’s far better at sugar coating the uncomfortable things to keep the public on side.
The only ambition Cassie has beyond serving her constituency and the charity she created in Harrison’s name, is campaigning against the HCA—the terrorist group responsible for her fiancé’s death—and the Russian Mob that arm them. Little does she know that that particular fight is about to land very close to home. How she will deal with the Russian Mob is obvious. How they will deal with a very vocal critic who has a very significant public platform, however, is yet to be seen.
SOCIAL CONNECTIONS:
RELATIONSHIP STATUS: Silas Agreste (fiancé), Adam Hassan (ex-boyfriend), Harrison Menzies (ex-fiancé, deceased) FAMILY: Elizabeth Acton (sister, unplayable) CONNECTIONS:
Spencer Berkeley: Best friend. Whilst it’s quite possible he’s the biggest bitch in the entire city of London, he is by far her favorite. They’ve been friends since their university days, and he’s so fiercely loyal of both Cassie and the political party they dedicate themselves to, she can’t help but love him anyway. Someone has to put up with him. Might as well be her.