Draper | Whitman

PERMISSIONS

INFO

IC

OOC

NAME Don Draper
CANON Mad Men
CANON POINT S2.01 'For Those Who Think Young">

INFO link
MOONBLESSING Sanguis

AGE 36
SPECIES Human
GENDER Cis!Male
APPEARANCE link
HEIGHT 6'2
BUILD Stocky
HAIR Black
EYES Hazel
VOICE 'The Carousel'
FEATURES tattoos, scars, etc.

PLAYER Carolyn
TIMEZONE PST
CONTACT Discord#1234, CarolynsGeekOut

HUGGING
yes/
KISSING
yes/
FLIRTING
yes/ (He's apt to flirt with you first after some adjustment)
ROMANCE
yes/
SEX
yes/
FIGHTING
yes/
INJURY
yes/
DEATH
(Ask me)
MIND-READING
ask me (only because it'll reveal a lot of terrible stuff)
MANIPULATION
yes/ (it goes both ways)
OTHER
Don is very, very good at what he does with sales but other then that he's so behind everything in the game that it's going to take him time to get adjusted - be patient.

BACKTAGGING
yes/
THREADHOPPING
yes/
FOURTHWALLING
yes/
CRAU
Yes! Why not?
OFF-LIMITS
non-con. Reach out to me for anything else.
OTHER
Don's backstory can be pretty triggery (and he's a triggery character). Consequently I have an Opt-Out post. Screened comments, no judgement if you don't want me to tag you.

OPT IN
Yes. But again. If he's a problem - please opt out of me tagging you.

KINKLIST

FAVORITE

YES

MAYBE

NO

• Transformation
• Biteplay
• Soft Dom/Sub Relationships

• Vanilla Sex
• Bondage (give or receive)
• Aftercare/animal anatomy

• kink 1
• kink 2
• kink 3

• kink 1
• kink 2
• kink 3

▶ PLAYER
HANDLE: Carolyn
CONTACT: plurk @ CarolynsGeekOut
OVER 18? Yep
CHARACTERS IN-GAME: N/A (yet)

▶ CHARACTER
NAME: Donald Francis Draper (Born Richard 'Dick' Whitman)
CANON: AMC's Mad Men (from Lionsgate and AMC)
CANON POINT: Beginning of Season 2 'For Those Who Think Young'
AGE: 36
BACKGROUND: AMC's Mad Men deals with a turbulent time in American History. Don's backstory contains trigger warnings for the following: Abuse, assault, addiction, and mental illness. He canonically never discusses his backstory with anyone in the early seasons and post canonpoint he probably wouldn't - because he actually learns some common sense.

His opt out post is Here. Comments are screened.

Wiki Entry

PERSONALITY:

Donald Draper is an American businessman, a slick salesman, a person who crafts American culture with the snap of his fingers. He is also Dick Whitman, a poor man who grew up with less then nothing who strove to become Don Draper - considering himself a self-made man doing whatever it took to get ahead. Don Draper, and by route Mad Men, is about the lengths that people will go to escape their personal history and achieve things in America, often at the cost of their health, their sanity, and their own souls. One of the first shows to become "prestige" television, the show hinges on it's protagonist during a turbulent period in American history.

Who is Donald Draper? He's an American veteran, father of two, married, has a house in the suburbs, he even has a dog. Beneath that he lives in fear of people finding out that he's Dick Whitman and is willing to do whatever it takes to prevent people from finding out about it including shutting out his own biological brother Adam - declaring that "My life only goes in one direction. Forward." The notion of a life going forward, one that doesn't care about others, is a contradiction in and of itself because while Don moves forward his actions betray that he wants to stand still and reach out to the people around him.

The contradiction is a very American one. He achieved the peace he has in his life through violence. As Dick Whitman he stole the real Don Draper's identity, stealing his dog tags on the battlefield after he was blown up in Korea. Now that he's achieved stability - a wife and family, a successful job, he finds himself incomplete and constantly striving to find more of a connection with others. He's shot himself in the foot - while there was no way to get out of his living situation and personal history perhaps - he'll never be wholly comfortable as Don Draper. He needs to confront his trauma and make peace with his past before finding the connection he desperately craves.

In the 1960s, that's unlikely, and Don is very much a product of his time. That said, he considers progressive ideals, just with difficulty. He finds therapy pointless, but he sends his wife to it when Betty Draper has anxiety issues. He acts in ignorance about marginalized groups, but still treats his female coworkers with respect and considers the wants and needs of marginalized communities. Don's not motivated by inherent goodness, the only real God and morality he follows is currency and money and in the series he must reckon with that and decide where he stands since the series postulates that capitalism alone can't bring someone happiness. (His fate is ultimately left ambiguous.)

Despite his exterior persona and his heinous actions, he adheres to a code of personal ethics. He does at least consider progressive ideals, he stands between his wife and his daughter when Betty becomes angry with her. By his canon-point he's promoted Peggy to junior copywriter at the firm and apart from his familial issues he's doing his best to make an effort to live his life post the events of season one and the death of his biological brother.

At his canon point, he has an incredible sense of control over his vices. That dissolves over the seasons as he gives into anxiety and paranoia - as well as becoming a functional alcoholic. His only source of self control becomes his desire to maintain control of his Don Draper identity. He tells his subordinate Peggy that she can walk away from anything and start a new life - regardless of what it might cost her and those she loves. That's how Don Draper has lived his life, making the barest of connections with others out of fear, hiding it beneath a sense of toxic masculinity.


POWERS/ABILITIES:

Don Draper is a master salesman, the ideal American male, and the personification of the 1960s 'alpha' man. His strength lies in his mind, his creativity, and his sense of being able to read people. He can read a room, take charge of it, and is used to supervising a bullpen of rowdy creatives. For the time period he's remarkably progressive, but that doesn't mean he fails to fall prey to natural conventions of the 1960s.

Don's real strength is in his creativity. He has a greater understanding of the human condition then most people (except his protege Peggy Olson) and he uses it to manipulate the public and shape the understanding of American reality. To do so he's ingratiating, friendly, and creative. He knows what people want and loves his job. He's a natural leader, protective of his coworkers, and can produce products (and has so for businesses like Kodak)

Physically he has the strength of a middle-aged American male. He can throw a decent punch and, thanks to his military training, he can use a rifle and is familiar with basic 1950s American military procedure. Outside of that, he is familiar with a shotgun, a slingshot, and basic farm equipment.

Don Draper's biggest strength is his sexual prowess. There are reasons for that (see - his wiki entry). He is the modern Don Juan, seducing multiple women regardless of their feelings. At the entry to the game he's at the top of the tower, but slowly feeling the cracks of someone who is in danger of falling. No one can outrun their past, and Donald Draper, Don Juan, is no exception.

INVENTORY: Don comes with the following: /One pack of Lucky Strikes/One lighter
/One change of clothes/One copy of meditations in an emergency/One Hershey Bar

MOONBLESSING:
Sanguis

▶ SAMPLES

link #1
link #2

[Unknown site tag]

Mad Men is a story about the American dream in all of its highs and lows and how it affects the person who most benefits from it - the American male. At the center of a cast of characters who make their living manipulating the truth is Donald Francis Draper, king of a crumbling castle. Mad Men isn’t just about Draper, but his actions influence his friends and family. His mistakes, lies, and manipulation, move his coworkers and motivate them to get through the 1960s and 70s, some of the most volatile periods in American history.

Who is Donald Draper? Donald Francis Draper is an amalgam of two people, Donald Draper - a lieutenant in the Army, and Richard ‘Dick’ Whitman, a poor man who escaped abject poverty and abuse to become Draper. In a way, Draper doesn’t exist, representing the American dream for everyone - unobtainable yet seemingly perfect. It’s a testament to Dick Whitman as a person that he can come close to achieving what Donald Draper represents. He did achieve it, he had a perfect house, a perfect nuclear family, and a powerful job full of influence and power. The problem is the toll it took on him, his family, and his friends. Ultimately Dick Whitman became lost, isolated, angry, secretive, and manipulative. He fell prey to alcoholism and anxiety, hiding his emotions because having all of this is difficult. Mad Men asks if the so-called ‘American Dream’ is even possible for those it is supposed to benefit most.

Dick Whitman’s Biggest Gambit Underneath anger is any number of emotions. For Dick Whitman, underneath his anger was fear. Anger spurs people to action and it was fear becoming anger that led to Dick Whitman escaping his family. Originally born the son of a prostitute, Dick was raised by his father until his father’s death when he was 10 years old. Abused by his step-mother and neglected by his family, he buried his fear under anger and fled, joining the Army and heading off to the Korean war. He was so afraid he left behind his half-brother Adam, going so far as to steal Donald Draper’s identity when the lieutenant is killed by a bomb overseas. His anger dissolves into total fear which makes him willing to manipulate and threaten people to keep what he’s fought for. As Donald Draper he can get to New York City, get a job, use his considerable intelligence to study - and actually make something of himself - as Donald Draper. He thinks of himself totally as Donald Draper and regards that name and the identity as his own.

There’s a reason for this. He has the blessing of the original Donald Draper’s wife who he considers family. Afraid he’d been found out, he confessed everything to Anna and the two developed one of his most complex relationships on the show. She’s technically “his” ex-wife but she and he are more friends than lovers since Whitman fell in love with someone else, Betty Hofstadt, also known as the future Mrs. Draper.

It’s All In the Friends and Family Don Draper has a very clear image of the American ideal in his mind - Camelot. The perfect family illustrated by the Kennedys. Don reached for that with Betty Hofstadt, marrying her after boldly courting her. They have two children at the canon-point he enters the game - Sally and Bobby. Trying to maintain a normal family life is where the first cracks come in. Don’s never been able to talk about his history and heal from his trauma - he has no basis for a healthy home life. Consequently, he does his best to love Betty and the Kids but he has very little basis for how to do it in a healthy way. That leads him to seek out love from multiple women, putting his marriage on the rocks. At his canon point however, the first episode of season two ‘For Those Who Think Young’ Don is making an effort to try and make up for his infidelities because he senses there’s something wrong. He keeps his true character carefully guarded however, something that will make the efforts unsuccessful.

The people who know him the best are the people he works with at Sterling Cooper, the advertising firm he works for as creative director. To those with a healthy grasp on being a decent person, Don is manipulative, selfish, and secretive. With his colleagues however, he keeps everything strictly professional and they come to respect him for it. He’s able to turn manipulation into salesmanship and selfishness into an understanding of what the American wants. That doesn’t make him perfect. He’s so good at his job, even he buys into the deception and the manipulation and selfishness become what they are again. He manipulates Roger Sterling into giving him a job (taking advantage of him being drunk) and he thinks only of his own pleasures.

The secretive part of his nature is what will be his undoing. He is so undone by his trauma, that he has adopted a nihilistic perspective on life. His fear about being found out and losing what he’s gained has led him to become anxious and mildly depressed about his future. He tells one lover that “this is all there is” and makes love to her with her consent when she chides him that “that’s just an excuse”. Eventually his anxiety and fear will lead to his salesmanship slipping into manipulation.

The Good Side of the American Dream Mad Men isn’t a bleak show, despite its character’s difficulties. Every single person who works at Sterling Cooper and is connected to them ends up in a relatively positive place by the end, even Don himself. They’re just people, and despite Don’s deep fear and the various ways it manifests, he has it in him to be a very good person. Don is no stranger to the prejudices of his time. He doesn’t like strong women (initially), he makes racist and sexist comments, but he is a hair more ‘liberal’ than his counterparts. He promotes his secretary to copywriter and mentors her career (their relationship will eventually blossom into respect and true friendship). He makes peace with his trauma. He has always regarded his colleagues as his friends, and ultimately they become his true family. They’re a wide and varied diverse group of people who illustrate that the American dream shouldn’t benefit just one person. To do so might be that person’s undoing.