Alex Claremont-Diaz

⏵ player information
name and pronouns: Daisy (she/her)
age: Old. Full midlife crisis elder millennial with back pain.
contact: seasided or PM the character journal

⏵ character information
name: Alex Claremont-Diaz
canon: Red, White and Royal Blue (Novel)
age: 21
canon point: A few weeks after the New Year's Eve party.


history: Wiki link! But as a quick breakdown: Alex was born, grew up in a working-class family. His mom got into politics when she was in her late 20s, and his father is also a politician, so he was exposed to the whole political life of public service from a young age. Alex has also been a campaign aide for another politician Rafael Luna, and maintains a close friendship with the older man. His parents divorced when he was young, and his mother has since remarried. Almost four years ago, Alex's mom was elected President of the United States, so he's been pretty much flung straight into the international spotlight ever since, and is still figuring out how to navigate that. Thankfully he has the help of his older sister, June, who is very close to. He's also become close friends with Nora, the Vice-President's granddaughter, and the three of them are often seen at functions and social circles together. 

Several years ago at the Rio Olympics, he first encountered Prince Henry in person. It was not a great first impression. Henry made a deliberate quick exit, and Alex never really forgot that reaction, seeing the prince as stuck up, entitled, rude, and unfriendly. Basically just a royal ass hat. This probably is no helped by the fact that he has been a little obsessed with Henry since coming across an article and photo of the young prince in his sister's teen magazines when he was 12. So, things are tense between them to say the least.

At a wedding for Henry's older brother, Prince Philip, Alex has a little too much to drink, tries to engage Henry in conversation and, well, things get hostile. Heated. And a giant wedding cake that cost £75,000 wound up toppling over on top of both him and Henry.

It causes a small international kerfuffle, and Alex is basically ordered into a charm offensive strategy to repair relations. He and Henry are now close personal friends, and Alex finds himself trotted out for photo ops and interviews with the prince where they two of them are expected to act like the best of pals. A good deal of needling and sniping with smiles ensues. It's only later when they're interrupted by the sound of "gunshots" and shoved in a closet together while visiting a children's hospital. The gunshots turn out to be firecrackers, but the forced proximity means that the two men actually have to talk. They talk about their first meeting, and Henry explains that was a tough time for him in general due to his father's recent passing, and that he hadn't meant any of it personally. Alex feels his opinion of the prince start to change, and he begins warming to him.

Since then, Alex and Henry have grown closer, becoming actual friends and not just fake-for-the-media friends, texting and phoning one another often. There's still a good deal of making fun of each other and snarking, but now it's downright friendly. Fond. Very fond. And suddenly very confusing because Henry kissed him out of the blue on New Year's and then basically ran away and stopped talking to him. Good times.
In the meantime, Alex is trying to take a bigger role in his mother's reelection campaign as well, though is fighting an uphill battle on being seen as an actual contributor and not just the president's kid.


abilities: Alex is a charismatic extroverted yapper. He's good at speaking publicly and working the room. Sure, all the confidence and charm hide deep-seeded insecurities and anxieties, but hey. Fake it until you make it right? Right.

Alex is a smart man, having been valedictorian of his highschool class. He's currently attending Georgetown and doing well in his classes there too. However, he's also a raging dumbass. Balance in all things. During high school, Alex was captain of the lacrosse team, so he's decently athletic.
Other than that, he's just a normal run of the mill human with the world's prettiest eyelashes.


personality: Alex Claremont-Diaz is a vibrant person. He's all energy and excitement, all passion and action. He leaps first and looks several minutes after, if he looks at all. 

Growing up, Alex was taught the value of working hard and earning your living. This creates both a strong work ethic in the young man as well as something of a chip on his shoulder when it comes to people he perceives as privileged and elite. It also creates a mental friction about the fact that now he is in a position of privilege and living the life of the elite as the son of the President. He sometimes seems to feel judged as well, as if those around him will see him as not belonging in these social circles. He initially bristles at being compared to Prince Henry, as Henry has lived in these milieus his entire life and knows the unspoken social rules as if they're quite literally bred into him. He is also aware of the barriers he faces that Henry has never had to worry about, given that Henry is as white as they come, and Alex is half Mexican.

Despite sometimes being prone to snap judgments, Alex is also willing to reevaluate and change his mind when he's given reason to. However, he also certainly is capable of holding a grudge.

Alex prizes freedom. AMERICA!!! But no, it's more than American fervor. Alex is passionate about politics, yes, because he wants to help people. He believes in ideals, and those drive a foundational passion in him. He's not afraid to voice his mind and fight for what he wants, once he's figured out what that is.

The FSOTUS is outgoing and gregarious, a natural extrovert who likes being around people. He enjoys partying, enjoys drinking, and occasionally enjoys getting himself into trouble -- mostly harmless trouble. Actions and consequences are things he's still working out though, and he can be incredibly stubborn about going for what he wants regardless of what is in his way. This comes up against Henry's much more duty-bound lifestyle. As impossible as their relationship seems, Alex is more than willing to fight like hell for it.
He cares deeply about his family and friends, even if sometimes he's painfully oblivious. Despite his own experimenting with his male best friend in his past, it never occurs to him that the fact that he has been obsessing over Henry, talking with Henry constantly, talking about Henry constantly, that he might actually be attracted to him. Until Henry kisses him and suddenly it dawns on him that he might be not entirely straight. Go figure.

Alex is a bundle of energy and passion. He's a doer and a list maker, and he definitely chafes at being kept from what he truly wants and believes in. He's quick to joke, enjoys people who are a challenge for him, which is one of the reasons he's so drawn to Henry. The two of them have conversations like fencing matches, trading blow for blow. For a very intelligent man, he can be an absolute idiot, but that's probably part of his charm. He's friendly and outgoing, empathetic and earnest and trying his best, even if that means he makes new and fascinating messes in his wake.


samples:  
TDM threads