unwearied still, lover by lover, they paddle in the cold.
“Your brothers can be released,” said she, “if you have only courage and perseverance. ... But remember, that from the moment you commence your task until it is finished, even should it occupy years of your life, you must not speak. The first word you utter will pierce through the hearts of your brothers like a deadly dagger. Their lives hang upon your tongue.
Remember all I have told you.”
Name: Cygna Jones
Age: Twenty-five.
Birthdate: November 29, 1982.
Profession: Stagehand, works with wardrobe and props for stage productions. Currently attached to Curtains, at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre.
Location: An airy apartment in Morningside Heights, New York City, shared with Velvet Lyon.
Fairy-Tale Character: The Sister (The Six Swans)
Ability: None!
Status: Very open about her tale. She'll explain if anyone asks.
Personality: Cygna was born for the performing arts, and it shows. Years of timid silence eventually rolled over into a lively, chattering personality; the tall, quirky girl in the back of the class became a young woman who struts around the theatre like she owns it. She's vibrant and exuberant, with a colourful and larger-than-life personality - no one would dream of calling her pretentious or uppity, however, as Cygna's more than aware of her place. She simply enjoys making a farce of herself and making others smile. She enjoys that feeling of flitting around an environment that belongs to her, composed of colours and fabrics and design. But she lives for both the large and small delights in life, and 'humble' seems the descriptor of choice. You'll see her enjoying a hot dog stand on a New York street, just as much as a fancy black-tie restaurant. She'll take in the smell of a small flower by the side of the pavement with as much relish as the most expensive perfumes.
There's no mystery about her. Cygna lays herself bare to practically anyone she meets, which means she's incredibly easy to befriend, but also easy to hurt and deceive. It might seem like she's terribly naive, and almost childlike in the way she takes joy in the world, but don't let that fool you: she's got a sturdy foundation of iron-hard determination and a will to get things done, even though she might not know the best method to do so. It comes from growing up under the wing of some extremely practical people. Cygna is also frank and forthright, practically honest to a fault - there lies a core of somewhat old-fashioned sensibilities beneath her vivacious and open-minded exterior, and she hates deception. Deceit rankles her, she will tell the truth on as many occasions as possible, and it might even seem like she's genuinely incapable of lying about the important things. A lingering distrust of shapeshifting tales has also emerged as a result of this; she's unnerved by anything that can take on a shape not its own.
Cygna is well-known for her self-sacrificial nature, but despite her good intentions, that doesn't always work out well for others: when given a potential obstacle or situation to tackle, the woman risks becoming shortsighted and driven to the extent of obsession. She can become so intent on saving one person from the fire that she will be completely blind to the problems of other friends - 'neglect' is not the typical word to describe Cygna, but an in-depth familiarity with her habits reveals that it's neglect nonetheless. In the tale, the sister ignored her marriage with the king, lost all three of her newborns, and came close to her own death ... all for the sake of rescuing her brothers. It's a good thing for the people she's fighting for, of course, but it's more hurtful to the people she leaves in the dust.
Consequently, she's terrified of losing people like that again, or of driving people away. Every single person Cygna grows to love represents someone else who might get taken away from her. As loving and nurturing as the adoptive Joneses were, Cygna still has serious abandonment issues from the social services fracture, and from her years of never standing up to their stepmother. All of her mothering and fussing nowadays is an absurd over-compensation for her family past - she does more for her brothers than she has to, or ought to, because she is trying to make up for all the years that she wasn't there. And, not to mention, all the years she was there but didn't say a word to stop it - that's the reason she talks so much, too, and why her writing on the journals sometimes sounds like a free-flowing stream of consciousness. She's racing out the silence.
Another aspect of note is that Cygna is completely monogamous. Swans mate for life, remember? That isn't to say she'll only sleep with the man she marries, but she avoids one-night stands or hooking up after the third date. She prefers her sex with committed relationships, thanks.
Sexuality: Heterosexual
Turn-ons: She's a traditionalist: attracted to big, beardy men. Kingly types. Men who flip the tables and protect her, instead of vice versa.
Turn-offs: Pretty much anyone who fits better as a little brother-type figure.
Family: Adoptive parents Daniel and Sari Jones. Birth parents Edward Weiss and deceased wife. Stepmother Irene Weiss. Three Weiss brothers.
History: In the book of tales whose families have been torn apart by an evil stepmother, the swans are no exception. Cygna Weiss was born and raised in a small place in Queens along with her two brothers - and, of course, by virtue of being born female, she was instantly seen as diminuitive and in-need-of-looking-after. She was the girl, after all, and was protected and safeguarded by the boys about as often as she coddled and mothered them in return. Their ages were spread apart quite nicely: two boys and one girl made for a healthy and vibrant environment in the household, and life at home remained idyllic for a while. But as all things go, the fairytale crumbles. Edward and his wife expected another child a full eight years after Cygna, which would have been a happy event for the Weisses - but shortly after Noah was born, their mother died. The family economy held for some time, but then enter the stepmother.
She wasn't openly cruel to them. No, for a while Irene tried to make the children her own - there were presents, there were outings and excursions and a slow depletion of Edward Weiss' funds. She tried to win their heart. But throwing herself into a whirlwind marriage with a still-grieving widower and being saddled with four children not her own did not make Irene very happy; she did not fit the suffering saint role well, and her already-dwindling reserve of maternal empathy ran out soon enough. No matter what she did, the children were an unwanted financial burden, and they were the product of the other woman: a symbol of what was left behind and what she no longer wanted. Their mother's presence was still in the house as long as they lived - which was a comfort to Edward, but hardly a pleasant thought to his new wife.
Shortly put, the stepmother became abusive. She simply could not handle the demands and pressures of so many children, and soon verbal lashing turned to the occasional slap, which turned to raging arguments and thinly-veiled criticism. She piled emotional and physical abuse upon them - their father shrank away into his never-quite-healed shell, and Cygna turned basically mute. She did not talk, and she did not stand up for her brothers. She tiptoed on eggshells around her stepmother, fearing the temper and fearing the backlash of anger. Edward himself did realise that there were problems at home, and he remained quiet and unconfrontational. Both he and Irene worked longer and longer hours at work, and the children started spending more time with babysitters.
Finally, the school noticed. Cygna's lingering silence sent off warning bells, and they noticed the bruises on the children's arms from frustrated dragging and pulling; the school social worker took quiet moments to speak to each of the Weiss children, and then tacitly intervened with Child Services. The courtroom drama was surprisingly quick and efficient. No one talked much. It seemed to be a common theme those days.
So, at last, Cygna and the three boys were packed off to foster care when she was twelve. The family was scattered, and the children all placed into foster homes. Cygna got lucky: after only a couple years in foster care, she was swiftly picked up by a kindly old couple who made a habit of looking after and fixing troubled foster children. Normally, the Jones couple looked after them until they were old enough to be considered independent, and then let them go - but Cygna came late enough in their life that they considered themselves finished with the whole process. This girl was their last. They eventually adopted her, letting her become Cygna Jones.
They were a practical and old-fashioned type; she didn't start watching cable until she was eighteen, at which point she didn't really care about the medium. Cygna instead fell in love with books, music, performing, and playing out a life that wasn't hers. Everything had just gotten so much better from its previous state. Sure, maybe a king hadn't precisely carried her from the forest, married her, and lavished her with riches. But still, it was better.
Her realisation of her tale came at an opportune moment; it was only after she turned eighteen and started entertaining thoughts of finding her brothers again. When that happened, the old and ancient desire to reunite with them awakened. Her anxiousness to see her boys, to meet them again, to speak to them, to save them: it was a stronger emotion than anything she'd ever experienced, despite having been separated from them for so long. She had dreams of white feathers, and of being carried across oceans. The Atheneum tracked her down and extended her an invitation to the Pentamerone, which she gratefully took after graduating from high school. Cygna had big dreams of hitting independence in Manhattan, and the Pentamerone was at least one step closer to that. After some time living in their quarters, she met Velvet Lyon, and the two vagrants hit it off - they're now roomies, and having graduated with a degree in arts (specifically theatre), Cygna is making her first hopeful steps towards becoming a costume designer.
Chosen Portrayed-By: Liv Tyler
Appearance: Pale skin, dark hair, and long limbs seem Cygna's defining characteristics. She carries herself with a swan-like grace, mastered after years in theatre and some dancing lessons. She dresses colourfully and often in clothes of her own creation, with multiple layers, flowy skirts, and comfortable shirts. More often than not, her hair is worn long and loose across her shoulders, and a constant, beaming smile seems a regular feature of Cygna's. Her appearance is, above all, somewhat fragile; it's part of what gives her such allure on the stage. She seems quiet and composed, but it simply belies a bright and vivacious personality, and an utter love for life.
SOUNDTRACK
"have you met miss jones?"
"pittsfield" sufjan stevens
"you are my sister" antony & the johnsons
"if it be your will" antony & the johnsons
"bird gehrl" antony & the johnsons
"the professor & la fille danse" damien rice
"a better son/daughter" rilo kiley
"i want to sing" regina spektor
"fidelity" regina spektor
"both hands" ani difranco
Credit: Profile code ganked from sheyrena, with much gratefulness. :D