You were not born into royalty, rather it was thrust upon you, with marbled tiles and mahogany shelves. You took to it like a fish in the water, slotting into the role with grace and ease. You’ve always the perfect child, you have to be, slowly blossoming into the heir your parents have yearned for. The pressure surrounding you might be crushing, pushing out everything innocent about it, but in the end, isn’t it all worth it?
BIOGRAPHY
Adopted at an age too young to remember your previous life, your family was quick to fill your head with new rules and lessons. You’re a Griswald now, someone who was plucked from obscurity and give a life filled with everything your heart could desire. You can do nothing but be grateful as your parents shower you with gifts and affection, as they show you a standard of living that most people will only ever dream of. You’ve never had a choice, you were going to make your parents sure that they chose the right baby girl, that they were going to have the perfect heir. There was never a doubt in your heart as you grew from a precocious toddler to the little girl that was enrolled in dance classes and piano lessons. And although you had a brother to rely on, to prop you up when you were feeling low, someone to confide in; some part of you always wanted to do a little better than him. To prove to your parents that you were the right child for them. There’s a future for you here, one where you carry on all the hopes and dreams that the Griswalds could have wanted when they adopted two children for their legacy, and it’s one that you’re privileged to be a part of.
The conservative opinions that flew around you seemed to be just another part of the lifestyle. You repeated what your father said without understanding the meaning, without pretending like you cared to know. What mattered was the look of approval on his face when you repeated what he said, how you enthusiastically nodded along to the conversations of friends, even when you were too young to really know what they were saying. There was a moment when you could have been corrected, when someone could have explained what they really meant, what this elite one percent stood for, but that moment passed and you were left with the hollow mantras and no real beliefs. There’s a future where your company is run by the statement ‘although all people are equal, humans are more equal’ and you can’t see a way around that.
Such thoughts were only cemented by the boarding school that you were sent to, all the kids around you whispering what their parents said and teachers nodding as if there was no way to go against those who paid their salaries. The role of a leader was one that you seemed born to play from the start, you were the president of clubs, a group of silly girls always behind you- propagating you as a leader, telling you that you were brave, that you were smart. Which would have filled your heart with confidence, had you any idea what you were really doing here. There was a loneliness at your core, that seemed to grow even as people told you that you were popular and well-liked, that you were going to succeed in this life. Your grades were immaculate, always held up to compare with your brother’s, although you tried your best to ignore those comments. He seemed to be your only real friend in the world, you wouldn’t let school come between the two of you, not for anything in the world. There’s a future for you, where people respect what you say, because you’re the one who said it, and that started when you yelled at people to leave the Griswalds alone or face your wrath.
But he still seemed to pull further and further away from you, into a world that you couldn’t see and couldn’t understand if you had. You were left more and more alone, the people who surrounded you didn’t really know you, they couldn’t understand that you needed to prove to your parents that you were the right choice. That out of all the kids they could have adopted, you were the one that was going to carry on their legacy. You may not have every really believed in what your parents stood for, but you were going to repeat it until it sounded like you did. You were going to go to the school that they wanted you to, and study the major they believed would further your career. There’s a future for you, one that’s going to see you married, having children, working at a job that will support you for the rest of your life; it’s a future that your parents picked out but they know what they’re doing.
Although having every aspect of your life dictated for twenty years, and following to the letter, is hardly the way for a girl to grow up. Even as you said that you were happy with this life, that you didn’t mind your brother leaving, that you were glad to see a clear future ahead of you- you were slowly crushing from the weight. Leaving for New Mexico wasn’t you waving a white flag, you told your parents it was the opposite. That you were going to further your own education and help your brother see the error in his ways. And after all this time, how could they not believe you. The last thing that you wanted was the announcement of a council, something for your parents to call you up and give you their rules for. You were going to be a pro-human advocate, that’s what you always told them you believed in, and you’ve never disappointed them. There’s a future where you’re going to carry on the Griswald name and everything it stands for even if it hollows you out and leaves you burning with what could have been.
CONNECTIONS
THE SCHRÖDINGER: Partners in crime since childhood, your sibling has always acted as your best friend and confidant throughout times good and bad. You’ve seen the company they keep, the types of people they sneak out at night to meet. Of course it’s not the right types of people, they couldn’t possibly do anything to alleviate the burden you bare. You’ll have to be the perfect child on your own.
THE CACHE: You begrudgingly work with them, despite the clear superiority of humans in your field. It’s clear they don’t want anything to do with you, going out of their way to avoid you in all aspects. In a way, you need them, because without someone else to beat down on you’ll be stuck with just your mediocre engineering skills and a disappointed family.
THE RASTER: Off again, on again; their childish behavior has earned more than just your annoyance, often it earns your scorn as well. The second a drop of liquor enters your bloodstream, your drunken self finds them endearing. It’s not good for either of you, to go round and round between love and hate. Though, making up your mind isn’t what you’d like either.
THE BINARY IS PORTRAYED BY SAOIRSE RONAN AND IS CLOSED
ADMIN CAMERON: I’ve said before that I love twins and Poppy and Jesse are no exception, even if they aren’t related by blood. Poppy is both a stand out on her own, from her outer shell of sorts to her inner core, and compliments her sibling as well. This all-American princess certainly will find new stomping ground in Roswell.
You’ve been accepted as THE BINARY with the faceclaim of SAOIRSE RONAN. Please follow all rules and regulations as laid out by the Roswell Town Council, especially concerning any non pre-approved biologic. All UFO’s outside of city limits must be stickered or will be towed. Enjoy your stay in the first city of extraterrestrials.
OUT OF CHARACTER.
NAME/ALIAS + PRONOUNS:
jen
AGE:
21, got my license changed and everything
TIMEZONE + ACTIVITY:
CST, im never active, i don’t know anyone here
TRIGGERS:
removed for privacy
ANYTHING ELSE?:
i love being unhappy and suffering so heres a second app
IN CHARACTER.
SKELETON TITLE:
the binary
FULL NAME:
poppy helene griswald
GENDER + PRONOUNS:
cis-female, she/her
SEXUAL + ROMANTIC ORIENTATION:
biromantic bisexual
DATE OF BIRTH + AGE:
november 12th, 2038. twenty two.
OCCUPATION:
trust fund baby // the griswald family fortune keeps her comfortable, and she’s definitely one of those people who wouldn’t have to work a hard day in their lives if she didn’t have such expectations sitting on her shoulders.
student // poppy is currently studying economics at columbia university but spent her second semester at the university of new mexico as a way to get ahead of the political curve. she has the hopes of becoming the cfo at some company she gets into based on connections alone in the future, or so she’s told.
drug kingpin // she started a hand in the cocaine trafficking that runs through the city, and has expanded into all the new variations of pills that are popping up as more and more people move here. while she’s not the most feared on the street, she’s far more powerful than your local drug dealer, and has no problem with issuing orders. all of it goes through a second phone that she keeps on her person at all times, and she tries her hands clean as much as she can. it’s something that she wants to leave behind once she goes back to new york, but right now thinks of it as a rebellious double life that she can lead without much scrutiny.
FACECLAIM:
saoirse ronan
screw u ais
BIOGRAPHY:
Adopted at an age too young to remember your previous life, your family was quick to fill your head with new rules and lessons. You’re a Griswald now, someone who was plucked from obscurity and give a life filled with everything your heart could desire. You can do nothing but be grateful as your parents shower you with gifts and affection, as they show you a standard of living that most people will only ever dream of. You’ve never had a choice, you were going to make your parents sure that they chose the right baby girl, that they were going to have the perfect heir. There was never a doubt in your heart as you grew from a precocious toddler to the little girl that was enrolled in dance classes and piano lessons. And although you had a brother to rely on, to prop you up when you were feeling low, someone to confide in; some part of you always wanted to do a little better than him. To prove to your parents that you were the right child for them. There’s a future for you here, one where you carry on all the hopes and dreams that the Griswalds could have wanted when they adopted two children for their legacy, and it’s one that you’re privileged to be a part of.
The conservative opinions that flew around you seemed to be just another part of the lifestyle. You repeated what your father said without understanding the meaning, without pretending like you cared to know. What mattered was the look of approval on his face when you repeated what he said, how you enthusiastically nodded along to the conversations of friends, even when you were too young to really know what they were saying. There was a moment when you could have been corrected, when someone could have explained what they really meant, what this elite one percent stood for, but that moment passed and you were left with the hollow mantras and no real beliefs. There’s a future where your company is run by the statement ‘although all people are equal, humans are more equal’ and you can’t see a way around that.
Such thoughts were only cemented by the boarding school that you were sent to, all the kids around you whispering what their parents said and teachers nodding as if there was no way to go against those who paid their salaries. The role of a leader was one that you seemed born to play from the start, you were the president of clubs, a group of silly girls always behind you- propagating you as a leader, telling you that you were brave, that you were smart. Which would have filled your heart with confidence, had you any idea what you were really doing here. There was a loneliness at your core, that seemed to grow even as people told you that you were popular and well-liked, that you were going to succeed in this life. Your grades were immaculate, always held up to compare with your brother’s, although you tried your best to ignore those comments. He seemed to be your only real friend in the world, you wouldn’t let school come between the two of you, not for anything in the world. There’s a future for you, where people respect what you say, because you’re the one who said it, and that started when you yelled at people to leave the Griswalds alone or face your wrath.
But he still seemed to pull further and further away from you, into a world that you couldn’t see and couldn’t understand if you had. You were left more and more alone, the people who surrounded you didn’t really know you, they couldn’t understand that you needed to prove to your parents that you were the right choice. That out of all the kids they could have adopted, you were the one that was going to carry on their legacy. You may not have every really believed in what your parents stood for, but you were going to repeat it until it sounded like you did. You were going to go to the school that they wanted you to, and study the major they believed would further your career. There’s a future for you, one that’s going to see you married, having children, working at a job that will support you for the rest of your life; it’s a future that your parents picked out but they know what they’re doing.
Although having every aspect of your life dictated for twenty years, and following to the letter, is hardly the way for a girl to grow up. Even as you said that you were happy with this life, that you didn’t mind your brother leaving, that you were glad to see a clear future ahead of you- you were slowly crushing from the weight. Leaving for New Mexico wasn’t you waving a white flag, you told your parents it was the opposite. That you were going to further your own education and help your brother see the error in his ways. And after all this time, how could they not believe you. The last thing that you wanted was the announcement of a council, something for your parents to call you up and give you their rules for. You were going to be a pro-human advocate, that’s what you always told them you believed in, and you’ve never disappointed them. There’s a future where you’re going to carry on the Griswald name and everything it stands for even if it hollows you out and leaves you burning with what could have been.
HEAD-CANONS:
long hcs:
1. although she thought that she loved the busyness of new york, once she moved to albuquerque something in her has calmed down a little bit. it might be just a placebo, something about getting farther away from a family who could hover over her shoulder every minute of the day, but she’s found that she’s able to sleep longer and handle daily life far better. it may only be a momentary internal relief, and she certainly doesn’t see the feeling translating towards any of her daily interactions. but when she’s alone in her penthouse, she’s actually found herself playing music and singing along, dancing in her pajamas, generally being much more comfortable in her isolation.
2. she has a fish tank in her apartment that she had installed before she moved in, and it’s stocked with beautiful tropical fish. she feeds them and loves to stand and watch them all swim around, it’s the most calming part of her day. were she actually to have people over the fish tank would be the first thing that she showed them, pointing to all the different fish that she has and making general comments about the upkeep. the conversation would be intensely boring but she has a love for the tank that knows no bounds. she even has a service come in once a week and check the tank and the fishes health to make sure that there are no problems, because were they suddenly all to become sick she’d probably freak out. it’s undeniably the focal point of her apartment.
3. she really wanted to study english in college, she could already see the long nights reading bronte and austen, arguing with people over tartt and patterson. she even went as far as to apply to columbia as an english major and was accepted. but the moment her father saw the application she was instructed to change her major to something more feasible. with jesse already going to new mexico, they couldn’t take any chances with her and the classes that she took were heavily scrutinized before she started. her sophomore year she was able to sneak in one literature class and loved it, but unfortunately it doesn’t seem like that’s going to be the life for her.
quickshots:
sleeps on white sheets, has a white goose down comforter, her bed is just the softest
likes to dry and press flowers into albums, there are yearly editions
can’t stand the taste of coffee, drinks it anyways and has come to prefer espresso
she likes going to restaurants very late at night and ordering overpriced appetizers
favorite book is the secret garden
donates monthly to the extraterrestrials for equality campaign in her brothers name
will use anything lavender scented, bubble baths are an indulgence
once dyed her hair brown, but didn’t enjoy it at all and has let her hair go back to it’s normal dirty blonde. it was her only visual act of rebellion
wishes on falling stars
cannot speak any other languages, but has been struggling to learn french her entire academic career. she’s genuinely terrible at it.
GENERAL PLOTS
i think right now poppy’s got it stuck in her head that she’s the all-american sweetheart, and that there’s nothing wrong with her. she’s so overly concerned with her public image and how people see her that she doesn’t want to come off like she’s ever been through a rough time. her home life has been kind of toxic since jesse left, and so she’s definitely recovering from a lot of that the longer she spends time in new mexico. there’s still the chance to get her off the path that she thinks is so important to follow. she doesn’t really believe in the anti-alien rhetoric that her parents spew, but she feels very much like she doesn’t have a choice expect to repeat in and smile for the camera. because she sees it as being one facet of the perfect persona that she needs to put on there’s totally potential for her to be redirected and set on the path of neutrality if not advocating peace.
at the same time i don’t think that just because in her head she doesn’t quite believe what she’s saying that makes her somehow unblamable for it. i, personally, totally blame her for every racist thing she’s ever said. there’s clearly a path she can take where she doesn’t generically spew this hate, her brother took it. she’ll put up a hell of a fight but someone calling her on the rhetoric that she’s been propping is definitely a direction that at least one of her connections could go. just because she thinks of the stance in terms of how her relationship with her parents is going, doesn’t suddenly forgive the position that she’s taken.
the main thing i see with poppy is the kind of thing that can only come out through interactions with other people: something’s not quite right. in fact i think the more she interacts with people the more it would become clear that she’s just barely holding back a lot of repressed anger and feelings. she’s had to bury a ton of stuff to create a persona that she thinks her parents are happy with. if there’s nothing done to help her, i see a much colder (is that possible? we’ll see!) and disrespectful version of poppy who’s not able to handle the expectations that are building on her.
CONNECTIONS
i see jesse as an introvert imploding, and poppy as an extrovert exploding. the two of them were so close and are both trying to deal with the same family issues and yet they can’t go to each other. i want to salvage their relationship and allow them to have the same closeness that they had in the past. because of their ages they were raised practically as twins and that’s the kind of bond that can’t be shaken. i think she feels a lot of betrayal from the fact that jesse left her behind in new york to deal with all the expectations of her parents, but she wouldn’t go so far as to admit that yet.
in terms of other connections, there’s definitely room for people to get in her business about the political ideals that she propagates, especially as more and more council drama kicks off. tell her she’s wrong! yell at her! show her kindness, shake her to her core. there’s so much room in the area of growth for her political beliefs that anyone could take in any direction. she’ll fight back obviously, she hasn’t spent this long to have a sudden change of heart just because someone gives her a hug, and she’ll definitely have a whole cache of statements to say, but in the end she is still a young girl who’s struggling with who she is. kick her down, do something.
a friend!! damn i know she’s the worst but if poppy had a friend that she could start to trust and confide in, someone who she didn’t think was taking advantage of her or out to backstab her, she would probably chill out, like a lot. it seems unlikely considering the level of pretentious rudeness she’s going to start out with, but that’s what character development is for. a slow burn friendship, that’s what she needs.
