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.
Monica has made a comeback in her children’s lives multiple times over the years, but has never stuck around long enough to give the impression she actually wants to form a relationship.