effinphd | titanic au; theo crain (Reply)

Theodora (Crain) Jackson, 1st Class Passenger on the RMS Titanic

Mostly amnesia'd about Deerington/her home, but will have moments of clarity (that'll be chalked up to "visions").

Born in Boston in the late 1800's to brilliant parents, her father was an architect and her mother was an intellectual (a rare thing for a woman in those days).

After her mother's death in Hill House, Theo and her siblings went to live with her aunt, who was a fervent member of the spiritualism movement, and wholeheartedly believed that ghosts were to blame for the death of Olivia Crain.

Theo's unusual gift of touch empathy was discovered by her aunt early on, and was exploited as part of a seance/medium act. Five sweet, innocent children who could channel the dead? Of course the act was a huge hit -- nevermind that really only Theo and Nellie had any sort of supernatural abilities, and most of it was smoke and mirrors. They toured the capitals of the US, and probably would've gone international, had Theo's aunt not died when she was a teenager.

As an adult, Theo resents the legacy of her childhood, and goes by her mother's maiden name -- "Jackson" -- to avoid anyone connecting her to the Crain siblings. She longs to go into the developing field of psychology, but again, as a woman this is frowned upon.

Despite her resentment of her history, Theo has survived off of the proceeds from the seances for most of her life, having taken her portion of the proceeds and moved to Paris as a younger woman. Now, however, these are running dry and she's taken her older sister Shirley up on her repeated offer to move in. After all, it doesn't look good to be a woman in her 30's, still unmarried.

Theo's spent most of her adult life in Europe, engaging in illicit affairs with the wives of various academics and officers, and trying to distance herself from her childhood. Unfortunately, the best way to make money has still been the Crain name, so she's occasionally agreed to sit in on seance's, or join in discussions regarding spiritualism. In her mind, it's all a means to an end -- once she's home in Boston, she'll be able to pursue her education and make an independent name for herself.

She'll be standoffish and somewhat cold, but she's always had a soft spot for children -- maybe due to her own exploited childhood -- and will be gentle and friendly to all of them, regardless of class.

Theo will continue wearing her ever-present long gloves to prevent what she sees as "psychic visions", though she's not above using her powers for her own gains.

And of course she's still a huuuuge flirt.