FAIRCHILD, Penelope Ann

name Penelope Ann Fairchild
nickname She went by “Penny” in childhood, but now she will not answer to that name. Call her “Elle,” or there will be consequences.
age 23
gender Female
grade N/A
hometown Chicago, Illinois
sexuality Homosexual
personification Nick Carraway from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby”
status Dormant
face claim Carey Mulligan

hair color Dark auburn, usually kept short and neat. She was blonde for a while, and sometimes returns to that just to mix things up, but her real hair color is that dark auburn.
eye color Light brown and insightful.
build Slight. She’s petite, with small curves, and not too well-endowed, but it’s not something she’s ever been ashamed of.
height 5’2”
clothing style Coats with big collars, scarves, nice dresses. She dresses classy, sometimes a bit androgynously; it’s not uncommon to see her in men’s clothes, but it’s also not uncommon to see her in a dress.
distinctive traits A cute, dry smile and a memorable gaze.

personality
Elle describes herself as one of the most honest people she has ever known. Though capable of mingling in polite society, as soon as she is away, she has every sort of blunt or snarky comment to make about the vapid nature of her associates. Though not completely public with her feelings, she does not lie and is truly honest with herself and everyone around her. She has manners, but if you ask her for her opinion, she will not sugarcoat it; her mask of politeness and civility is really just that, a mask. Her perspective is a little cynical and her outlook sardonic. She has trained herself not to expect anything, not to dream. However, she also possesses a thirst for adventure, and to prove herself, something she felt she could not do in the Midwest. This desire stems from an ache in her that she is not a complete person, that she is only half a person, or that she is hollow. She has always felt this way: achingly incomplete. It has made her slightly insecure and thirstily motivated.

Logical and thoughtful, Elle possesses an unusual level of insight that allows her to analyze others easily and calculate how she should react. She seeks to do this with everyone she meets, as Elle has an enormous thirst to comprehend everything around her. She feels, to a degree, as if this will help to fulfill her, complete her. If she understands everything, then she can understand herself, something she has not yet been able to do. She does not believe in false hope or dreams or expectations. She is a realist, and impeccably down-to-earth in comparison to any of her peers. The first answer out of her mouth will always be straightforward and rational, and she more than often serves as a voice of reason to the flighty or uncertain. She does not like to give advice, but she would be good at it if she did.

Elle is an intensely poetic soul. Despite her generally cynical outlook, there is a part of her that finds beauty in the simplest things. Words are her passion. She is a poet and a writer, and she is exceptionally talented at both. The way she writes is colorful, imaginative, and passionate, something one might not expect from such a grounded girl like Elle. However, her writing also possesses an undercurrent of satire and a slightly sardonic edge, as she has a tendency to view the world sarcastically. She is disenchanted with the human race but finds inspiration in their vapidity. Long ago, she wished to be rich and famous as a way of proving her worth, but now that she is in New York City and seeking out that scene, she only becomes more and more disgusted by the vacuous nature of it. She isn’t a very good dancer and she isn’t fond of alcohol or crowds, so the night scene isn’t really her forte. She generally avoids drugs of any sort apart from caffeine, thinking they are foolish.

She is intelligent and witty, but Elle’s slight misanthropy can also make her seem patronizing or condescending, though never quite arrogant. She does not brag about herself or her accomplishments, and is a much better listener than talker; in fact, in general, she is somewhat quiet. She has connections to the rich and the famous, but she is not one of them and is a bit of a trespasser in their scene. At first, Elle seems almost plain, if smart, and it takes several conversations with her in order to get past the pretense of courtesy. Elle is guarded, as well, and though she is straightforward about her feelings most of the time, she has walls, and she doesn’t wear her heart on her sleeve. She has high standards for everyone else and for herself, and she takes pride in the fact that she always makes sure to maintain these standards for herself no matter where she goes.

Elle is not a very nice person. She can make nice with others, but when it gets right down to it, she is sassy, judgmental, and unkind. When she was young, before she adopted all the grown-up manners and mannerisms she developed today, she did not have many friends, as she was an unpleasant child. However, despite her past behavior, Elle is also very mature and at least seems to be very together. She considers herself to be well-rounded and has many talents in many different fields; for example, she is a very good singer as well as a writer, and knowledgeable about many things. She has a fondness for art and literature. Despite her insecurities, she has a somewhat high opinion of herself overall, and a strong sense of dignity. She refuses to compromise herself under any means, but tries not to be selfish. She’s a good bargainer, as well, and has a good memory, especially for faces.

Elle is responsible. She keeps her word when she gives it, and she is known to be very accountable. She has little interest in gossip, and when presented a task, she will complete it. Her beliefs are rather set and she does not allow them to be challenged; anyone who knows Elle also knows that it is pointless to try to shake her resolve when she has made a decision about something. She is not indecisive, and she has a sense of quiet leadership about her. However, she often must be asked to take the leadership position before she does so.

It may not seem like it, but really, Elle is lonely. She does not feel like she can find many peers, people who understand her, and she hates it. She absolutely hates, and is terrified of, being alone, which is why she has surrounded herself over the years with people she doesn’t particularly care about, just to have someone around. However, she has trusted very few people in her life. She does not trust very easily and keeps others at arm’s length mentally until they have wormed their way into her favor. It isn’t that she wants to be alone. She just has very high standards.

past
Elle was born into a respectable, well-to-do Midwestern family on December 1st, 23 years ago. Her parents, George and Melinda Fairchild, named their child Penelope Ann after her great-aunt and recently deceased grandmother. She grew up an only child in a two-story colonial house, and went by “Penny” very early on because she was unable to spell “Penelope.” She was a privileged child, as her parents were a well-off upper middle class family living in a nice suburb of Chicago. She went to a good school and got a good education, and though the blatancy of her character early on did not earn her many friends, she was a successful student, and her mother soon taught her manners.

Penelope was a talented writer and always received top marks in English. She was also above average at her other subjects, though she was no genius. She proved early on that she had a good memory for names and faces, and as she continued through her school career, her intelligence and newly-found guise of politeness earned her several awards. She formed a small circle of acquaintances with which she would go out and have fun sometimes on the weekends, but she never drank or smoked like her other friends. She would try each once or twice and then tell them all simply, “I just don’t like it,” and all her friends were so familiar with her resolve that they did not challenge her. As she grew up, she became the designated driver every night after wild high school parties, the responsible one, the mature one. Of course, though she went with her acquaintances to these parties and events, she rarely partook in them in excess, as she found the company a bit vapid.

Her father, a former soldier in the military and a real estate agent, told her that she should be grateful for what opportunities she had, because not everyone else in the world had the privileges she did. Elle took this to heart and attempted to make the most of the opportunities presented to her. Despite her growing pessimism, she was active and involved in her school community. She volunteered at school events, participated in donations, everything.

And it paid off.

After a normal but intrinsically boring childhood, Penelope, who had begun to call herself “Elle” (she found it more mature than “Penny”), wished to escape the Midwest. She was accepted to Yale, and she had enough scholarship money that attending the Ivey League school was not an enormous financial blow to her family (though, given, they did take some hits). She did well, though she did not graduate at the top of her class, and she majored in English.

By this time, though she was not particularly sexually active, it had occurred to Elle that she found women significantly more attractive than men. As her family had been fairly liberal and not very religious, the realization didn’t really bother her. Being honest with herself, she quickly came to terms with her homosexuality and moved on.

By the time she was out of Yale, Elle was 21 years old and desperate to prove herself. She was unsure if she had been wasting her time, if she hadn’t done anything worthwhile. She wanted to fulfill herself and make something of herself. So, she went to where many people go to chase their dreams: New York City.

present
After finding an apartment in New York, Elle now lives comfortably amidst the hustle and bustle of the city. Her family has connections to several of the bigger names in the city, but, having just moved there, she hasn’t taken much time to explore them yet. She now has a job as a journalist with one of the more prosperous newspapers, and is a low-ranking, if fast-advancing writer. Her boss is quite impressed by her writing. In her spare time, Elle investigates the city, makes nice with her associates, and writes creatively.

She still isn’t completely sure what her lot in life is supposed to be, and for her seeming stability, she is a touch uncertain. She doesn’t want to become involved in something that will be detrimental to her, but she thirsts for adventure and exploration. However, she isn’t really sure how to go about that, so she hasn’t really done as much exploring yet as she’d like. She has taken up drawing on occasion, and would paint the walls of her apartment save for the fact that her landlady would slaughter her. At the moment, she is apprehensive to begin her new life, but comfortable with where she presently is.

family
George Fairchild, father, 66, real estate agent
Melinda Fairchild (nee. Frasier), mother, 64, baker
(Daisy Buchanan), cousin, (age)

likes
Literature
Standards
Poetry
Art
Jazz and old-fashioned rhythm & blues
Cities
Comprehension
Information
Journalism
Honesty
Dogs
Logic
Sushi

dislikes
A fair amount of the people she meets
Things that are difficult to understand
Illogicality
Lies
Drugs and alcohol
Crappy poetry
Disorganization
Rural areas
Insects
Hot or humid weather
Skimpy clothing
Bright colors
Very sweet food

other notes If you want to win her heart, give her sushi.

book title The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
backstory Nick Carraway serves as the narrator of the book. He is presented as a respectable young man from the Midwest with connections to the upper class. He moves to West Egg in New York, which is right beside the much more fashionable East Egg, where his wealthy cousin Daisy and her husband Tom live. Nick lives next door to Jay Gatsby, who is known for throwing big parties, and he becomes involved with Gatsby, Daisy, Tom, and Daisy’s friend Jordan, with whom he becomes romantically involved. What happens on the East Coast, and what he experiences due to his relationship with Gatsby (whom he is oddly close to), change him permanently, and by the end of the book, Jordan claims that the once-honest Nick Carraway has become just as dishonest as everyone else there.

name ZELDA!
age Shhhhh.
gender Fffffemale?
rp experience A LOT.
how you found ouac Becko and Neopets and gosh you all know this story.
rp sample Erk. See any one of my six boys.