Miss Persephone Circe Sinclair (a.k.a. Seph, CC)
'Even the people spoke of splendour. A ghostly looking girl in all white (even her hair!) chatted with a boy in a blue hanbok next to the ticket booth, while the ticket seller tried and failed to shoo them away.'
~ The Honourable Assault, Chapter One
'A pair of white stockings and polished black boots walked into Lucy’s field of vision. Another girl, white with long white hair and a lacy white dress, leaned over. She looked like a cloud, like smoke! Smoke -- oh god. Lucy blinked tears away as her bottom lip trembled. The other girl’s doll-like features twisted into annoyed distaste. So much for sympathy.'
~ The Honourable Assault, Chapter One
'He gestured to the girl who’d stabbed her hand. Clearly eccentric, but extraordinarily pretty. A bit like a porcelain doll: big, round ringlets and a small, pink mouth. The few hints of colour on her person came from her brilliant green eyes. The pair of them hardly seemed real. “This is my best friend, Miss Persephone Sinclair,” Jae-yon said. “She’s never had any responsibility.”'
~ The Honourable Assault, Chapter One
Physical Description
Small, thin, delicate. Technically healthy but extremely lazy.
Questionably pale, small and delicate looking.
Very pretty, doll-like features with big, round eyes and a small mouth. Most people coo over her as soon as they meet her. Unable to look more than mildly troubled, even at her most enraged.
Persephone resembles her father far more than she does her mother, aunts, or siblings -- all of whom have black hair and sharp, intimidating features. She envies them for this, since they can scare people off with just a look while she's forced to resort to creative threats.
Always strides as if she knows exactly where she's going, though she rarely does. Never outright asks for affection, and instead presents herself as permitting it to happen (eg. holding her cheek up for a kiss and saying that she'll allow them to kiss her).
Dresses in the fanciest and frilliest of white gowns and coats, hemlines rarely pass her knees. Cupcake-shaped crinoline. Shiny black boots, lace stockings. Wears a large hairbow at the back of her head. White gloves. Carries a lace parasol.
Mental characteristics
Persephone's father was murdered while she was in the womb, which The Aunts believe turned her hair white. Since it's suitably dramatic, she chooses to believe this. She misses her father in theory, but in practice, she doesn't give him much thought.
Growing up, Persephone didn't have very many friends. Her family's curse already chased most children away, and the addition of her own peculiarity meant that the rest were too scared to speak to her. She was not hurt by this, of course, and spent most of her childhood working on her art and spending time coming up with creative insults for her cousins.
When her brother married, Persephone found herself with a persistant suitor -- Aristaeus Tavoularis, her sister-in-law's brother. Persephone informed him in no uncertain terms that she was not interested in that sort of thing, and he accepted this. However, she realizes he still harbours affection for her. She pities him.
Unlike her elder siblings, Persephone chose not to go into medicine. This was because she had no interest in the subject, and because she refused to become responsible for anything. When they were hired on The Honourable Assault, the count invited Persephone along as his guest, which she accepted.
Persephone was introduced to Patience, the only other passenger, on her first trip up and spent most of her time with him, for lack of other options. The two have much in common, including a love of painting, talent for complaining, and the dislike of the count and the doctor's relationship. She endeared herself to him by purchasing several trunks full of clothing for him while they were docked in Spain, since she could leave the ship and he could not. Patience returned the gesture the following summer by posting expensive, Parisian clothing to her home in Canada.
While stopped in the Kingdom of Joseon, Persephone exited the airship dock and came across a Yangban's daughter, who she quickly determined preferred to be addressed as a Yangban's son. Sensing some discontent, she caused a fuss long enough to sneak him away from his bodyguards and bring him up to her stateroom.
She hid him there for two days, bringing him pastries and meals from the dining room. Despite the fact they couldn't really speak to each other, they got on fabulously. When he was discovered, she begged Anthony to allow her new best friend to stay aboard the ship. Anthony agreed. Persephone learned Korean from the chief rigger so that she could better understand her new friend, and because it seemed rude not to when he was going to all the trouble of learning English.
Persephone and Jae-yon frequently harass the London Airship Dock's ticket-taker, Stewart, because he made a rude remark to Jae-yon the first time they tried to board. She's determined to drive him to quit.
While aboard a routine trip to India, Persephone and Jae-yon encountered Lucinda/Luke Heulen on the promenade when the latter had a panic attack during the lift. Persephone did them the favour of jabbing them in the hand with her hatpin before gently guiding them inside the ship. They later met Jakab Heulen when introduced on the observation deck. They invited him to their tea-party, which he declined, but he did attend their tea on the way back to London. She boarded with the twins while they were in Calcutta, but as she spent most of her time aboard an elephant with Jae-yon, they didn't interact much.
Attended public school, falsely claims to have attended finishing school
Personality Characteristics
Persephone's motivations are questionable at best and generally unknown.
Incredibly talented portrait artist. Makes up for lack of skills in combat by giving it 125% and using her teeth. Accomplished pick-pocket, but usually doesn't bother trying to hide her actions.
Likes: Jae-yon, her sisters, Anthony, watching people fight, pastries, expensive clothing/toys, painting, the fog -- makes her seem dramatic
Dislikes: her sisters, Anthony, the sun, the rain, the heat, the cold, the snow, the hail, the smog, loud rooms, flirtation, poetry
Quick-witted. Well spoken. Clever. Quick to respond to a situation. Secretly assists others while denying it. Protective over Jae-yon. Takes full blame/credit for her actions. Confident in everything she does.
Melodramatic. Complete disregard for the feelings of others. Easily prompted to violence. Self-absorbed. Vain. Oblivious. Fond of harassing people for her own enjoyment. Possessive over people and property she considers rightfully hers. Openly insults people without remorse.
Lifts her nose in the air when acting haughty.
Cleanliness is next to godliness, and Persephone will do whatever she has to do to reach divine status. Always immaculate, but leaves messes in her wake. Her stateroom is a cluttered disaster likely hiding a lost civilization.
Social
Rhea Caras (maternal grandmother),
Camalus Lawder (maternal grandfather, deceased)
Hera Caras (mother),
Edward Sinclair (father, deceased)
Prometheus Sinclair (elder brother),
Lisa Tavoularis (fraternal sister-in-law),
Abelle Sinclair (fraternal niece),
Eileithyia Sinclair (elder sister),
Anthony Desmonda (sororal brother-in-law)
Pythia Sinclair (elder sister)
Hellenic polytheist and willing to fight a god.
Confident and self-absorbed, Persephone cares very little if people like her or not, and as such doesn't bother trying to impress anyone. A stickler for only the social conventions that appeal to her, she completely disregards it when it doesn't (despite the consequences). Will enforce social rules she herself has just ignored.
Portrait painting, parasol duelling
Speaks in an overdramatic manner at all times. Rarely divulges her true affections for people, except Jae-yon, who she does without provocation at inopportune moments. Doesn't tolerate swearing.
Brother-in-law (Important)
Towards Persephone Sinclair
Sister-in-law (Important)
History
Anthony and Persephone met when he interviewed her older siblings for a job aboard his ship. Even though Persephone had no intention of working, Anthony invited her along as his personal guest so that she wouldn't be left alone. He introduced her to his own son, in the hopes the two might become friends.
Persephone soon discovered Anthony's adoration of children, and realized that he was intending to court her older sister. These two facts combined meant that she only had to ask to receive nearly anything she desired, from clothes to toys to lavish pastries. She frequently jokes that how much she likes Anthony is directly tied to how much money he's giving her at any given time.
Outwards, Persephone maintains a strong dislike of Anthony, as she doesn't approve of his relationship with her older sister, with Eileithyia being only half his age. Inward, she doesn't care much either way. Occasionally she lapses in her ruse and shows Anthony daughterly affection, such as tilting her head up for a kiss on the cheek, or inviting him to her numerous tea parties. She would deny it all, of course.
Anthony, however, makes no effort to hide his fatherly adoration for Persephone. He sees her as the daughter he never had, and is too happy to dote on her. While she pretends otherwise, Anthony realizes that she never had a father growing up, and is happy to fill the role. He is, admittedly, softening her for the day he proposes to her sister. But if Eileithyia were to break off their relationship, Anthony would hope he would still be able to spend time with Persephone.
Nicknames & Petnames
CC to Anthony: 'Old man', 'Tony', 'Grandpa', 'You there, in the jacket'
Anthony to CC: 'Seph', 'Persephone, darling', 'sweetie'
Relationship Reasoning
Both are filling the role of a family member the other had long desired, as well as using the other for an ulterior purpose: Anthony needs her to like him before he can propose to Eileithyia, and Persephone can use his inexhaustible wealth as she likes.
Shared Acquaintances
Eileithyia, Patience, Jae-yon, and everyone else on the Honourable Assault
Legal Status
Related by marriage
Eldest Sister (Vital)
Towards Persephone Sinclair
Youngest Sister (Vital)
Towards Eileithyia Sinclair
History
With Eileithyia being the eldest sister and Persephone being the youngest, there's six years between the two of them. While Eileithyia and Pythia find disagreements in their similarities, most people think Eileithyia and Persephone couldn't be more different. The sisters would probably tell you the same. What could a family-focussed doctor and a globe-trotting artist have in common?
Really, quite a lot. Both refuse to believe that revenge is best served cold, so if you've earned their wrath, you'll know about it immediately. They're very headstrong, take charge in a situation, and neither are kept awake at night by the thought someone else might not like them. Both agree that Prometheus is too high-strung, and needs to stay out of their business. In addition, they both adore Anthony in their own way: Eileithyia wants to marry him, Persephone sees him as a surrogate father figure (not that she'd ever admit it). Both would prefer the other did not, in fact, think that.
Since Eileithyia is much older than Persephone, she feels much more sisterly and protective towards her than she does to Pythia, who is closer to her own age. Eileithyia finds Persephone's eccentricities amusing, and unlike their brother, encourages them when she thinks the end result will be entertaining. She doesn't worry too much about Persephone physically, content to let her dart around whatever exotic locales they visit without supervision. However, she does worry about Persephone emotionally, since she understands her apathetic facade is just that. In that vein, when Persephone's many unwanted admirers start getting a little too forceful in their attempts to woo her, they're sure to find Eileithyia dropping by for a quick chat. Very few are foolish enough to return after that.
While Persephone displays the same amount of respect and affection for Eileithyia as she does for almost anyone else (ie. none), she actually looks up to Eileithyia quite a bit, admiring many of her best and worst qualities alike. For instance, Persephone can appreciate Eileithyia's intelligence and maternal instinct as much as she appreciates how her brusque personality chases admirers away, and how her quick temper leads to entertaining drama. She's also jealous that Eileithyia got the Caras family looks of being tall, witchy, and striking while Persephone ended up with short and adorable.
Nicknames & Petnames
Eileithyia to Persephone: 'Seph', 'Sister'
Persephone to Eileithyia: 'Thia', 'Sister'
The Sinclairs are a rather middle-class family, despite Persephone's wardrobe, manners, and pursuits. Fortunately, Anthony adores her and is willing to finance her hobbies as a sort of bribe for the day he will one day marry her sister. She's gotten into the hobby of shopping on his finances without informing him, and completely ignoring the scolding she gets for it. While someone seeing Persephone for the first time might mistake her for an aristocrat's spoiled daughter, talking to her immediately reveals the deception.
