"Good laws have their origins in bad morals."
âAmbrosius Macrobius
âAmbrosius Macrobius
Full Name
"Primrose Evangeline Hathford-Willis. Is that enough, or should I go into the titles I should technically have inherited? What about extended family names? Traditional inheritances? No, don't answer that. It's called sarcasm."
Since her parents divorced, she goes only by Primrose Evangeline Hathford.
Aliases
"Rose will do. It's formal enough."
- [+] Rose
[+] Prim (Familial)
[+] Prissy (Childish)
[+] Prinsley (Familial)
[+] Rosie (Diminutive)
Age
"Twenty-two. Young? Yes. Too young? Certainly not."
- [+] 15 (Age at high school equivalency graduation)
[+] 17 (Age at entrance into college.)
[+] 19.5 (Age at completion of American Bachelor's Degree.)
[+] 22.5 (Current age.)
Gender
"One would think it's obvious that I'm female. Do I come across as masculine to you?"
Sphere [&] Abilities
"Sphere? What sphere? Is there some information you haven't cared to enlighten me of at this moment? Do, tell."
- [+] A girl's best friend is her law book. Though young, Rose has graduated law school with flying colors. She's currently taking work as a paid intern at one of the most prestigious law firms in Australia. The story of her coming to her current position is a long one, but it can be summarized somewhat succinctly: with lots of study. Rose worked hard to get where she is. Though doubtless a child prodigy, it took her no less effort than the average law student to gain admission to her law school of choiceâ admittedly, not the crĂšme de la crĂšmeâ and to keep an edge over all the other students. She hasn't taken life's easy route by any consideration.
[+] I play by the rules. Having studied, studied, and studied throughout college, Rose knows law, international and otherwise, inside and out. The fruits of her countless hours in the library have already begun to grow ripe, as she's constantly finding legal loopholes in the technicalities and the wordings of the laws she spent so many hours studying. In order to gain an edge over the other, highly competitive law students, Rose memorized entire passages, word-for-word, and played them at face valueâ exactly at face value. She takes the law, and all other rules, by the letter and nothing more, bending the meaning to fit her will in a way that's sure to leave an airtight conclusion.
[+] Oh, the things you'll learn. Rose has the uncanny ability to memorize nearly anything word-for-word, no matter the length, given the right amount of time. She has an extremely elastic memory and has the willpower of a bull. With those two skills combined, she's memorized entire epic poems at various points in her life. She does tend to forget all but the most striking of passages, though, over the course of time.
[+] Hell hath no fury. Rose is extremely sharp-tongued and has no problem tearing apart those who oppose her. She does her research before meeting anyone, making use of many of her father's connections to earn leverage she herself wouldn't normally have. That said, Rose can use almost anything to roast an opponent, from sheer force to a well-structured counterargument.
- [+] Bookworm. Throughout her childhood, teenage years, and her somewhat brief college years, Rose has always been reading. The pursuit of academic knowledge has always seemed lucrative. As such, Rose, with her uncanny memory, can act like a walking encyclopedia at times. She looks at everything through the lens of technicalities and little-known facts, using this, as well as anything else, to gain whatever edge she can in life.
[+] Daddy, daddy. Having just recently moved off her father's property, Rose is still extremely close to the man who made her what she is. A South African making his fortune in old money and blood money alike, he's extremely supported of his twin daughters, especially the more academically successful Primrose, who takes after him more than he's comfortable admitting. He's a very powerful man who's extremely devoted to his children. Most don't want to mess with Rose's family even if they can.
[+] The one I'll never let go. Though it's not as good as her rifle, Rose is never without her .22 handgun.
- [+] Sweet Naïveté. Though well-read, Rose has experienced little in her life, so she can be a bit naïve at times. Because of this, she sometimes has trouble discerning the emotions of others and can be insensitive, cruel, and act without regard for the people she should care about. It should be noted that this isn't intentional, but it is a large flaw in her personality that she's lost to more than she'd like.
[+] The call me old-fashioned. While she hardly stands up for stereotyped gender roles at all, Rose has a very old-fashioned sense of manners. She always does her hardest to be polite, and though she hardly goes out of her way to help others, she believes that she's entitled to the same amount of 'respect' she dishes out to others. She feels entitled to a lot of things, however, and she doesn't handle not getting what she wants very well.
[+] Child of the light. Rose was born into a privileged family. Though she has had to work to get into college and to garner a position at the law firm, she isn't used to working in the more manual sense and can come across as bratty. One way or another, Rose has always seen her dreams come true, so she doesn't take well to failure and will do whatever it takes, expending whatever resources possible, to get what she wants. There's nothing Rose wouldn't do to get her wayâ except break the law.
[+] Keeper of the peace. As a lawyer, Rose plays by the rules. That, however, doesn't mean she'll always do the right thing. Rose has an uncanny way with getting away with things, able to separate wording from actual meaning and use anything she can to her advantage. Rose will often find loopholes and missteps that rules have made and use that to 'break themâ' and then argue her way out on the premise that she never actually did anything wrong.
[+] Eyes and ears. Rose has access to large amounts of information the average person wouldn't normally be able to use. As such, she tends to know more about those she meets with than they do about her. Through her networks, she'll often find instances and mishaps she can use as leverage to get what she wants from a person. No one is truly an enigma, given enough time before the meeting.
Appearance
- Clean-cut, well-dressed, and with her hair pulled back in a tight bun, Rose is the very image of the young, serious businesswoman. Though there's still a hint of child in her face, she has a drawn-out, feminine figure with a narrow waist and hips that perfectly match her rather-average bust. Tall, standing at 5'7 even without her ubiquitous black heels, she can seem an imposing if not regal figure in any light. Sharp green eyes gaze out from behind slim, rectangular glasses perched atop a very European nose even though the rest of her features are hinted with a touch of African mixed somewhere in her discerning blood.
Rose typically dresses only in womens' business suits, though she does own a few dresses for the more formal occasions she attends. She prefers not to wear skirts for the purposes of both practicality and equalityâ she's found that she tends to be taken more seriously when she wears pants, so she does. As a young woman, there are a lot of things she's able to get away with, but the only risk she takes is with her heelsâ always black, always high, but quite varying in style. From pumps to open toes, Rose likes to play with her shoes, sometimes straddling the line between what's professional and what's not but always covering it up with darkness and the bottoms of her pants.
Tempering out the small risks taken with the shoes, Rose dresses professionally, otherwise, pulling her black hair black into a sleek bun that smooths out any of the slight waves she might have. Her bangs are thick but clean-cut, preserving her youthful appearance.
- Rose considers herself a proper lady. Tutored and held to a strict standard since birth, she accepts nothing short of perfection in all that she does. Having learned to read earlier than most, Rose can hardly remember a time when she wasn't studying or doing research. She never had time for fun. Rose is serious, studious, logical, and practical, with no desire to partake in frivolities like dating and video games.
Some might say she has no social life, no hobbies, but that's certainly not true. Rose's hobbies include learning and playing the violin, which she, with her aptitude for learning the small details and committing them to that sterling memory of hers, happens to be a master of, technically. She no longer gives public performances anymore, but she still does occasionally ride on her bit of childhood fame gained from the instrument. Years of strict conditioning and practice have left her a very talented player, and, having played it since she could follow instructions, she takes to it naturally. It should be noted, however, that her musicality is put second to technique.
Now that she's out of law school, Rose doesn't do much because she doesn't have much to study anymore. She would have taken up reading, but twenty years of reading has left her with few worthwhile books she hasn't read. Rose doesn't much care for fiction or sensationalized nonfiction. Sometimes, she rereads the works of the great philosophers, but she disagrees with them, so they sometimes annoy her.
While it should be noted that Rose is naturally an intelligent girl, she is by no means 'extremely brilliant,' naturally. Years of intense practice have made her what she is. Rose is dedicated and will sit down and learn things no matter how unpleasant or how long she has to spend to do it. Because of this, Rose is somewhat underdeveloped emotionally and can come off as cold and cutting around othersâ she didn't have friends as a child, and it shows. She goes through the motions of social interactions like a robot. And she deadpans sarcasm like no other. Rose lacks a sense of humor and doesn't really laugh much.
Because of her lack of understanding of her own and others' emotions, Rose had found much success in the world of law. She's cutthroat and intense, a girl who knows the books in and out who has spent the better part of her life being held to a standard too high above her head to see. For the moment, she doesn't much care that she has nothing to do in her free time when there's no more studying to be done (aside from memorizing more passages).
...well, and then there's Bec, too. Even cold, unfeeling Prim had a childhood crush, and, though she'll never admit it, she still has feelings for her eccentric islander best friend. Even she can see that he's everything she isn't: wild, free, raw, and unconstrained to her own, heavily cultured self. Most of their communication uses Skype, but they have met up when Bec was in town. The two can talk for ages. Bec's really the only person Rose will let her metaphorical hair down for (because obviously, she wouldn't let down her real hair). She's so out-of-touch with her own emotions, however, that she doesn't quite understand what she feels for himâ only that she a) isn't going to say a word about it, b) she's going to keep him forever, and c) no one else is getting him anytime soon.
[+] Quiet.
[+] Reading.
[+] Philosophy.
[+] Proper grammar.
[+] Polished manners.
[+] Shooting.
- [--] Accents.
[--] Disorder and mess.
[--] Physical work.
[--] Losing her glasses.
[--] Having to actually do something with her hair.
[--] Fashion and dressing up.
[--] Her sister.
History
- Born the second of two twins to a South African 'businessman' and an American model, Primrose and her sister, Violet, were sheltered from the day they were born. On their father's sprawling property on the seaside, they were kept indoors and tutored rather than being left outside to play in the sun. This, however, was just the first of a seemingly endless stream of nannies and tutors to raise her in the stead of the mother who wanted nothing to do with the children who'd ruined her perfect body with the remnants and scars of pregnancy.
The twins themselves, however, were extremely close. They'd developed their own sign language before they were able to fully form spoken sentencesâ both precocious young girls, they did get themselves into a bit of trouble in the early years. At the age of three, it was decided that the girls would be raised separately. Rose's father knew all too well the dangers of becoming too emotionally attached in his harsh, blood-filled world. Rose, who was never much the talkative one, grew quieter, receding into her books to fill the void. She's never quite gotten over that feeling, though she doesn't remember that part of her life very well. At that age, she also began the violin and her ballet lessons.
The girls were classically trained and raised from that age. From across the house, Rose could hear her identical self practicing the piano, and she would sometimes call back with a musical response of her own, but their parents did the best they could to keep them apart. Even at a young age, Rose lost herself in her studies, forming the habit that would later make up her entire life.
Little happened between the ages of three and ten. Rose and Violet's parents' marriage was in the beginning stages of falling apart, but they kept it from the children as much as they kept themselves from them. Rose grew ever more distant from her sister, who was training herself to become a singerâ opera, at first, able to pick among the highest notes with the ease of a dancer. Rose had given her first public performance at the age of seven and had given a few since, giving musical momentum to her own name, but she was torn between her academic and her musical studies. Continuing both, she found herself making something of a name for herself in the higher music circles. A few of her compositions, released when she was twelve, made some rounds, and she gave a few more performances before temporarily giving up the instrument at thirteen. At this age, she also met Bec through her parents, who were, unbeknownst to her, looking for possible men to prod their daughter to marry in later years.
Rose finished the requirements for high school studies at fifteen. Too young to be accepted by most worthwhile universities, she continued her studies. Her sister, on the other hand, was accepted into a prestigious French musical conservatory for piano and classical voice. Violet was working on her first album, which was relatively successful but nothing notable.
In the interim, Rose let up on her studies a bit more and took up the violin again while continuing her training in classical ballet. She auditioned for a number of national and international orchestras, and within a year's time she was called upon to travel. Knowing she couldn't tour on both schedules, Rose gave up the ballet opportunity to play with the international youth orchestra. While she continued to practice, a knee injury from hauling a cello prompted her to quit it altogether so she could focus on getting more to put on her college application. On arriving home, she found that her parents had gotten a divorce.
College and law school were a blur of studying like mad, and somehow, Rose ended up where she is today. She isn't quite sure how.
None.
