#♕ headcanons . everything is as I’ve planned

[queenoftheboard]

I know I have not been active on Eirene but I play PtN daily and am still so damn invested in this game and the lore - I finally got to play through Raging Sands since this was the only event that I missed out and I loved the tidbits on Eirene and Quinn here. These are just some screenshots, but they do validate some of my own headcanons (particularly the one where charities are upheld and funded by Quinn), as well as the fact that Eirene's reach outside DisCity is likely not comparable to her competitors. The final chapter with Eirene herself appearing ties in nicely with her role in Dreamy Bubble - between Raging Sands and the subsequent event, she has found out about the shackles, the way Black Rings operate, lucid dreaming and so many interesting things - there is no way she won't play a more relevant role in the canon story because she is setting up a long game and she allows herself to get arrested - plans on it, even. She knew she would be shackled. Anyway, I hope you have enjoyed my usual ramblings about my favorite queen and are equally excited to pull for the next disaster sinner (I am so excited for Don that I skipped both Eleven and Eve, I have wanted his gremlin ass since November).

[queenoftheboard]

I frequently get Eirene in my supervision incidents but hers were usually the two related to bureau management and the requests for new books. This is the first time, in almost a year playing the game, where something in relation to her father appeared. It frankly surprised me - Eirene has no love for her father, as the interrogations made very clear; Bryce Campbell fostered unhealthy and toxic competition between his children and has offered Eirene nothing remotely affectionate or good, judging by the special voice lines from her child attire. And yet - she couldn't bring herself to kill him and holds him in a cell under surveillance. Eirene also sends him flowers on his birthday and this is so incredibly interesting. She is greed personified, I am 100% convinced she will be trying to meddle with Paradeisos (after all, she has some incredible mental chess game going on with Langley) and people are mostly "pawns" to her, but deep down... She is still human. She is still capable of mercy. I don't think she likes being confronted with the notion that she has feelings or that she can do "good" things (when it wins her no advantage or leverage) but this just reinforces that, under a perfect combination of circumstances... Eirene can be more of a person and less of an ice queen.

[queenoftheboard]

♕ headcanon . forming attachment with others & expressing feelings

Given Eirene's complicated childhood with an abusive father, equally difficult siblings and losing her mother at a young age, it should be no surprise that she has difficulty forming attachment with others and acknowledging or working with her emotions in healthy ways.

This was made worse by the fact that Eirene was viewed as some sort of prized 'commodity'; as referenced here, the only reason that Bryce cared for Eirene was because of the 'asset' she represented to him - the right DNA combined with a very rational mind and a logical skillset. Eirene's sense of worth was built around being a 'Campbell' and needing to prove herself to Bryce and the other family members as 'the best of them all', as shown in the interrogations. Not even the notion that Bryce had hired bandits to have her killed (in principle) changed that.

The final straw was really the way he attempted to manipulate her sinner powers - and for the first time, Eirene had the chance to completely overhaul the board and take charge instead. Awakening as a Sinner was the best thing that could have happened to her - it offered Eirene the ability to break free of the invisible shackles her father had on her, becoming truly unstoppable with the backing of her name and fortune (which she later expanded with incredible success under Quinn).

Combining everything (her passion for chess; the preference for cold logic and long-term planning; her terrible examples at home), Eirene came to view people as pawns herself, replicating Bryce's view of the world to a degree. Although she is shown to be less ruthless than her father in relation to kin (by refusing to outright kill him despite everything) and aware that one can have the loyalty of others through different means, this doesn't change the fact that Eirene typically struggles with the notion of developing feelings and growing attached to anyone.

The first indicative that she has feelings for someone tends to appear in a rather possessive/territorial sort of way; this is a reflection of the fact that she sees people as 'things' in a way, and as they become increasingly 'precious' to Eirene, so does her tendency to 'protect' them (even if she masks it under some sort of entitlement - i.e. 'no only can hurt them but me', where she has a rivalry of sorts with someone).

It's not a coincidence that most of her sexual kinks and inclinations are almost always associated to control and dominance. Therefore, accepting defeat/surrendering control/willingly allowing others to dictate the pace or rhythm is another indication of some genuine interest - if Eirene has no emotions towards the other person with her in intimate moments, attempting to fight or subvert her orders ends with her outright leaving the room (and likely refusing any payment owed on the grounds of 'unsatisfactory service provided').

If these relationships are not interrupted in some way or form, Eirene will generally be confronted with the 'illogical' aspect of these connections at some point - she will be acting in ways where the risks far outweigh the rewards (in other words: in a pure selfless manner, which does not corroborate her greed alignment and overall modus operandi) and that is not something she can rationally explain... Because emotions and feelings are not always rational.

At these moments, Eirene's struggle to connect with her feelings (after all, she's no machine) will come collect the price: chances are that the woman will be momentarily incapacitated, given the emotional overload and crushing intensity of these feelings being finally allowed to emerge (or rather, acknowledged). Eirene has long considered these as 'weaknesses' in her mind, and realizing that there is a sincere bond with others will be an immediate vulnerability for her, leaving her usual mental abilities under strain and susceptible to some forms of manipulation, too.

Ultimately, whatever becomes of Eirene and the other person will depend on a case by case basis - in some situations, these bonds may fortify and empower her, showing that having these trusted connections are not problems but solutions; in other cases, however, she may ultimately decide to push those people away and sever ties, retreating into her prior (and familiar) way of operation through compartmentalization and still refusing to trust others.

In other verses where she is not a Sinner, the development of her emotional intelligence follows a similar pattern: logic and rationality were always weapons Eirene needed to survive a harsh environment, and the same preferences/tendencies will appear until she is forced to see the invariable truth before her eyes and make a decision on how to proceed (i.e. embracing versus rejecting that attachment).

[queenoftheboard]

♕ headcanon . the trademark Campbell eyes / heterochromia

As further elaborated here and as supported by Eirene's profile information, the girl was raised by her mother until she was taken under Bryce's wing. For my personal portrayal of Eirene, I headcanon that this was due to one particular trait that she had: the distinctive eyes of different colors (left one being blue and the right one being red) which is a Campbell genetic trait and which marks the 'true' identity of anyone belonging to that family.

Of course, Eirene being highly intelligent and a chess prodigy helped; but I don't think Bryce would have welcomed her into the family without being sure that he was, indeed, her father. I like to believe this has some significance in terms of identifying a Campbell (for better or worse) considering how Eirene is depicted holding sunglasses in more than one of her official artworks, as for example this one.

The trademark 'Campbell eyes' are, in short, a very obvious case of heterochromia iridium - the more scientific name for the case where there are color differences in relation to the eye color (the iris). The case for the Campbells is particularly remarkable in the sense that is genetic, benign and not associated to any sinner awakenings (in this flashback, Eirene is shown to have the same eyes before she acquired her powers). It's also a case of complete heterochromia, where one eye is different from the other (as opposed to the other variants where different colors may mix in the same eye or just affect a segment of the iris).

Considering how her eyes are very unique and easily recognizable as a Campbell trait, this is the reason I headcanon that Eirene will usually wear sunglasses when outside, in public, effectively keeping that bit of her identity concealed (particularly before she is willing to admit that she is, indeed, Bryce's daughter). Removing the sunglasses to interact in internal meetings or even during one on one conversations is usually a gesture with meaning: it either is done to imply she trusts the other party to an extent (by unveiling her origins) or to actually threaten them with the hidden power of the Fraser City's royalty and everything else it entails.

It should be noted that heterochromia appears to be more common in Path of Nowhere as it affects other Sinners (Luvia Ray being the other easy example), but her case is associated to the specific eye colors (electric blue and ruby red). In modern-based verses and outside of the Path of Nowhere world, her case would be less obvious - something more like it happens in real life with Mila Kunis, with one eye being light blue and the other being brown.

[queenoftheboard]

♕ headcanon . Eirene's timeline

With the courtesy of this tentative timeline from the PtN's reddit page (which outlines key events of the PtN's main story), I have used additional canon sources on Eirene (her interrogation and the profile details) to further build on a timeline for her to help with interactions with other muses.

Therefore, assuming that the game starts in N.F. 112 (more precisely, during August of that year), I've gone backwards through the timeline based on the clues offered by the game and got to these dates for the purposes of my profile:

N.F. 084 . Eirene is born in Fraser City, her parents being Bryce Campbell and Thalia Keane.

N.F. 091 (7 years old) . Eirene is taken to the Campbell estate and acknowledged as a Campbell by Bryce after seeing her perform in youth chess tournaments and realizing she inherited the trademark Campbell eyes.

N.F. 092 (8 years old) . An assassination attempt is performed on the life of Thalia Keane (disguised as a gas leak); Thalia survives, but neither Bryce (or Eirene) are aware of this and both believe the woman dead. Thalia goes into hiding and does not further contact Eirene, as elaborated here.

N.F. 100 (16 years old) . Eirene awakens as a sinner after an episode where Bryce hired desert bandits to kill his own daughter aboard a Campbell sandcruiser in the middle of the WhiteSands for a large sum of money (Eirene's interrogation, phase 2); she was 16 at the time (Eirene's profile).

N.F. 104 (20 years old) . Shortly after turning 20, Eirene moves to DisCity (seemingly under Bryce's orders or at his request, based on the intelligence available) and establishes Quinn. Although this was not known at the time, the incorporation of Quinn also marked the true change of control in relation to the Campbell family behind the scenes - this is confirmed by Eirene at the time of her interrogation by the Chief (interrogation, phase 4).

N.F. 110 (26 years old) . Six years later, Quinn is the largest private company in DisCity (Eirene's profile), something that was undoubtedly achieved thanks to her (secret) position as the Campbell's head of family and thus able to control their influence and wealth.

N.F. 112, August 12 (28 years old) . Start of the game (riot at the MBCC and Chief is instated as the MBCC warden).

N.F. 112, September 29 - October 04 (29 years old) . Events associated to the Sleepwalkers in Eastside are investigated (the Dreamy Bubble event), which involves Eirene just opening one of her business ventures (Midsummer Night's Club). Considering these events take part after September 22, Eirene's birthday would have gone by (Eirene's profile) and she would be one year older.

N.F. 112, November 26 (29 years old) . Likely date of Eirene's arrest after she voluntarily turned herself in to the MBCC custody (Eirene's profile). This assumes that the Dreamy Bubble's epilogue events occurred between October 04 and November 26, N.F. 112.

I would also like to note that these are just general guidelines to help plotting and establishing dynamics! Depending on certain plots/ships, I'm more than willing to tweak and adjust, as well as in the event of future canon details which may lead to changes to the elements above.

[queenoftheboard]

I am once more thinking about Eirene and the significance of her name and how I've always found it a little bit strange that the first thing that will pop up in any searches is the association to the Greek goddess of Peace, Eirene - mostly because PtN Eirene doesn't come across as a pacifist. There is also a nice thread on the PtN reddit from some time ago where some guesses for the names of several characters were ventured and although some appear more obvious (NOX, Langley, Kelvin), the only mention there for Eirene is a former empress of the Byzantine empire.

And while I am 100% in favor of queenly aesthetics for Eirene (given the chessboard motifs, Quinn, etc), I never really liked this rather obscure association (I doubt 'empress Eirene' is the first empress or female monarch that comes to anyone's mind these days). As a result, I went back to the Greek mythology and thought it interesting that one of the few surviving statues of Eirene is a Roman copy, which depicts Eirene holding an infant Plutus - the Greek good for wealth. Now - this is more interesting; Eirene is the dominating figure of the Greed libram, and it's what drives her.

That statue is considered to be an allegory for 'Plenty' - in other words, 'Plutus' prospering under 'Peace'; frankly, this makes a lot more sense: while it's true that during wartime there is a financial gain for some enterprises, usually this leads to significant strife for the economy of a country and increased debt to finance war efforts. From a purely business, broader economic perspective - peace is actually more profitable.

And while Eirene (as a character) seems to not be afraid to 'get her hands dirty' (her own beginning battle quote) to achieve what she must for Quinn, she didn't resort to war to get to where she is; in fact, Eirene's wealth accumulates from sensible business choices, trade channels, political connections... Eirene's empire is built on peace (or the illusion of it) rather than all-out war. And then, one last element for consideration made me realize this is actually a pretty damn good name.

Eirene's equivalent in Roman mythology is Pax - and the Roman Empire reached its golden age during the so-called Pax Romana, going as far as inspiring other similar periods in human history where one had domination over the world in terms of geographical reach, cultural matters, trade and so on. The Roman Empire prospered as it had never done so because peace (or what was deemed 'peace' at the time) allowed them to be the strongest they ever were.

In a way - this seems to be what Eirene is doing; she is not seeking to go to war against any government agencies (at least not on the outside). Eirene is effectively establishing her own empire, going from DisCity to Outlands, controlling trade routes, having fingers in all sort of pies in DisCity in several different business segments and benefitting from 'civility' and 'order'.

Honestly - I have no idea if Eirene's name is supposed to be that deep and if Aisno went for all these connections when naming her; but now my mind has done these links, I feel much more at ease with her being named after the Greek goddess of peace.

[queenoftheboard]

♕ headcanon . Eirene's main connections in Path to Nowhere

I have been going over the profiles for most Sinners for a while now, while revisiting the Dreamy Bubble segment with Eirene rather frequently and doing most interrogations available until now (I am missing very few of them). These bits of information have yielded interesting revelations when combined - particular the Dreamy Bubble stage where you see the 'shadows' of the main 'chess pieces' used by the Chief and Eirene.

This stage seems to imply that Eirene is associated to Mr. Fox, Cinnabar, Serpent and Mess. The entire setting of the special event and Eirene's interrogation, however, also seem to point to a connection with Langley. Therefore, based on the existing Sinners to date and everything presented by the game until now, I have elaborated a bit on the other relevant Sinners which I think could have realistic connections to Eirene:

Mr. Fox: this one seems almost too obvious - no worthy business conglomerate is built without the assistance of competent legal counsel, in-house or externally hired. It seems to me that Mr. Fox and Eirene would have professional connections given the way Eastside is set up - Fox is regarded as an 'unbeatable' attorney (thanks to his powers), Eirene is someone willing to stop at nothing to achieve success; this is a combination that would be incredible for both of them. Although I'm exclusive with @svnsworn's Mr. Fox on this blog, I don't think there is a world where these two don't meet and are acquainted with each other.

Cinnabar: another one that is offered by canon content, particularly the comic strip about dispatches and which also makes sense when you read Cinnabar's profile - she was the best among the best group of elite security personnel. Eirene is powerful enough to merit her own security detail - and where bodyguards are concerned, she wouldn't settle for anything less than the best. I also headcanon that Eirene hires bodyguards as part of her 'cover' to keep her Sinner identity hidden - it is in her benefit for people to think she's just smart and not incredibly dangerous.

Serpent: this one is a curious connection - Serpent clearly states that she was invited to perform at Midsummer Night's Club given her incredible entertainment skills and talents - and going by the reaction of people attending the club's opening in-game, she is quite unique. I can definitely see Eirene committing to finding something remarkable that would set her latest business apart from others; but the entire thing with Serpent seems to suggest that she also engineered this in a way to test the MBCC directly. The Chief points this out, too - Serpent is another 'chess piece' for Eirene, but one she speaks of fondly (as a 'friend', a hardworking and vulnerable soul who she likes very much). At any rate, Eirene suggests that she would be willing to trade her 'friendship' with Serpent for something else (and 'turn' Serpent over to the Chief) - something that is in line with one of her profile lines, too. It's a curious thing: Eirene was interested in Serpent's abilities, enough to offer her a very shiny, large stage for her ambrosia experiments while simultaneously: a) testing the MBCC's Chief; b) gaining leverage/favors with the 9th Agency; and c) being able to face herself in a chess game to escape real life boredom.

Mess: I genuinely think Eirene and Mess are not connected directly despite what is shown during that part in the relevant Dreamy Bubble stage; I think it's an indirect thing through Serpent, with Mess serving as the supplier and acting away from Eirene's sphere of influence (Mess is never inside the club or in contact with her). To be very blunt - I don't think Eirene deems Mess to be important enough; she's a tool to enable Serpent's reach to grow and for her experiment to be done and is treated as such from Eirene's perspective.

Langley: Between Dreamy Bubble events and Eirene's interrogation, I am convinced that her relationship with Langley is an old one and that they're both aware of each other's real identities. Chronologically, the MBCC was already under the command of the 9th Agency by the time Dreamy Bubble events took place, and then at the epilogue, you can clearly see Langley by the window after being briefed by her agent saying 'Tell that company president that I said thanks, and… That I really liked her little gift.' I interpret the 'company president' being Eirene, who was able to prove something/give significant intel over to the 9th Agency (the results of the ambrosia incident); she was also not within custody of the MBCC at the time despite knowing who the Chief was, and outing herself as a Sinner during the episode. We can reasonably establish that Eirene turned herself in after Dreamy Bubble events (as per own profile), and then during her interrogation, managed to force the Chief's hand (and the 9th Agency) in such a way that ended up beneficial for her. In other words: it appears to be some form of collaboration between Langley and Eirene, or at least a cat and mouse game. They know a lot about things most people don't (i.e. Black Rings, how they work, Parma) and seem to be involved in ways that go beyond superficial interactions. They're both very strong in terms of mental capacity and corruption levels.

Other people that do not have anything in-game officially pointing to ties to Eirene but who could nonetheless have something built off common grounds and/or origins in Eastside would be:

Chameleon: I always thought that Chameleon seemed to target the type of people that Eirene would like to see removed from Eastside's economic landscape, not to mention that there is also a 9th Agency/Langley connection here that could also be invoked. Further, I personally headcanon Eirene to be resistant to Sinners of the catalyst tendency as further elaborated here - I don't think she would be hypnotized by Chameleon (or not nearly as easily as others are) and this could make their interactions decidedly more interesting. I do like to think they could have a shared agenda and be friendly with each other.

Ariel: given their interrogations, I don't think Eirene would be aware of Ariel on an individual level (particularly how Ariel stresses that she's not 'successful' by her parent's standards) but I do think Eirene would know of the Spencers, particularly if they are from old money and people that would either be relevant customers/partners of Eirene's ventures with Quinn. While there is room for them to meet, I'm not sure Eirene would make the effort to befriend Ariel unless she wanted something out of the other woman.

Chelsea: similarly to Mr. Fox, it seems very likely that their paths would overlap at some point given their lifestyles (both are shown to be adept of a comfortable, luxurious routine). If not before at Eastside, then certainly afterwards post detention. It's curious that there is a very insane amount of fanart of these two together; I cannot tell if it's meant to be romantic or not, but people tend to think these two are close and I definitely see the potential, particularly if their foundations go way back in time or if they collaborate in some way to disrupt old Eastside power.

These are some of the references that I may use in character when writing Eirene; but they can also be ideas to be further pursued/discussed with any mutuals who are interested in starting new interactions. :)

[queenoftheboard]

♕ headcanon . Quinn's corporate structure, management and key business segments

I wanted to further expand a bit on how Quinn is structured in Path to Nowhere given the details offered by canon sources and which help put certain things into perspective. Eirene's beloved child, Quinn is a business conglomerate headquartered in DisCity and also the biggest private enterprise of the city (with tax revenue generated being over a billion, according to her interrogation). In other words: there is no other company with a similar turnover and/or importance for DisCity (and Eastside) such as Quinn.

In terms of corporate structure:

Quinn was founded by Eirene upon moving to Eastside, however it eventually went through an IPO and is currently listed at the local stock exchange. Shares for Quinn are therefore freely traded in the regulated market, making it a public company (see how Eirene remarks on the effects that her imprisonment may have on the stock price, as well as how her successful management of the sleepwalker incident boosted Quinn's corporate value and even how Eastside councilors were willing to use Quinn to break the monopoly on hypercube transportation).

This doesn't mean that Eirene surrendered her power - in fact, only Class A shares are available to be traded; Eirene is the sole holder of Class B shares which are exclusive for her (as the single founder) and have super voting rights - therefore, although Eirene has approximately 5% of the total shares, her Class B privileges grant Eirene approximately 25% of voting power.

The entity listed at DisCity's stock exchange is Quinn Holdings Inc.; Quinn Holdings is the sole shareholder of several different subsidiaries, which are operational and engaged in the actual businesses that carry the Quinn seal. Overall, the holding and its subsidiaries form the 'Quinn Group', which is the biggest private conglomerate of DisCity alluded to above ('private' in the sense that the government has no involvement rather than being privately held).

In terms of management:

Eirene is referred by canon sources as president (epilogue of the Dreamy Bubble event), CEO (her standard outfit image description) and director of Quinn (performance in serving team details). For the purposes of my portrayal and given how controlling (and frankly, workaholic) Eirene seems to be, I don't think Quinn would have different people serving as president & CEO - she has therefore retained both positions and reigns absolute over the company's management, while also having a seat at the board of directors.

Quinn has an one-tier board structure at the holding level and directors are appointed directly by shareholders - Eirene self-appoints herself routinely given the rights associated to her super-voting shares and Quinn's articles of association. Eirene also has a seat at the board of directors of all operational subsidiaries, however she doesn't get involved as much - people report to her on operational matters and she works in a more supervisory role.

In terms of key business segments:

The first industry that Quinn targeted was the hypercube one - however, considering how important it is and that only government companies are allowed to deal with mining and processing, Quinn invested in closely related activities that also made sense given the trade channels with Outlands - therefore, Quinn's first line of business is freight and transportation, including external (import and export from DisCity to Outlands and other settlements) and local (delivery and passenger transportation services within DisCity).

The second business line that Quinn joined and which grew to be incredibly relevant as part of the group portfolio was entertainment: as further confirmed by the archives in-game, Eastside is a 'never-ending party', and all forms of entertainment play a significant role. Quinn owns the Midsummer Night's Club, one of Eastside's most respectable locations, as well as several restaurants, nightclubs, bars and a record & production company for musicians (which is mentioned in Joan's profile).

The third segment that Quinn started to participate was the production of personal care items and fashion lines; Eirene herself is the greatest ambassador to her own brands (as indicated under the details for her files under 'performance in serving team') and they are all manufactured with high quality ingredients and materials, often sourced from exclusive distributors/suppliers and engaging a number of influencers and others famous actors and entertainers to showcase them.

This list is non-exhaustive; Eirene is, as shown in-game, always looking for new business opportunities, and is involved with minor activities such as financing and hospitality; however, the main three lines above correspond to approximately 90% of the group's revenue and have the strongest association to Quinn as a brand.

[queenoftheboard]

♕ headcanon . Eirene's mental state & natural resistance to abilities of the catalyst tendency

One interesting piece of information that was volunteered during the Dreamy Bubble event was the fact that Eirene seems to be incapable of being mentally manipulated into believing anything to be real... But reality itself.

As demonstrated during the conversations with the Chief, Eirene was fully aware of the effects of the ambrosia and willingly tested it to see if the substance could offer something that reality was unable to provide. Unlike Mess or Roulecca, Eirene was never 'trapped' in her own dreams or consciousness, and in fact allowed the Chief to escape her mind out of her own volition - particularly after she realizes the original attempt of the Chief to beat her at the chess games (the Chief never won; Eirene let them go).

The assessment of her abilities also indicates no signs of corruption and an extremely healthy mental state (the only comment on her profile is an extremely strong need to conquer - but nothing else). Eirene also managed to keep her Sinner identity concealed and turned herself in to the MBCC rather than being arrested (again, according to her profile), so I believe that Eirene's mental fortitude allows her to stay off the grid and avoid the alarms for Sinners in Eastside, as well as providing her with a natural shield towards any sort of mind games and manipulation.

In short: for the purposes of my portrayal, I consider Eirene to be resistant/immune to the powers of fellow Sinners of the catalyst tendency. With a strong and clear mental state such as hers, Eirene wouldn't be able to be hypnotized by Chameleon, to be swayed by Mr. Fox's words or to be distracted by Lisa's illusions. This, however, goes to all of them - she also cannot be 'healed' while watching Hamel perform or benefit from any other positive effects as long as these require her to see reality differently.

This makes her more vulnerable in certain field assignments and likely dependent on traditional means of healing (either by the Chief or by medical staff). This is not something that Eirene likes to publicly divulge, however - she sees it as some sort of strategic information, which both exposes her to additional danger and also creates an opening to extract intelligence from unsuspecting targets. However, depending on the closeness/relationship between Eirene and the other party, they will be made aware of such conditions.

An exception to the above might occur on a temporary basis if Eirene is overwhelmed by emotions: she has those (despite being a Sinner, she is only human), and her compartmentalization skills can go so far before she inevitably needs to deal with and process her feelings. In such cases, the prevailing logical side of Eirene's mind takes a back seat and she gets more susceptible to ailments of this nature, and could arguably be swayed/manipulated for a while until she regains her usual mental fortitude.

[queenoftheboard]

♕ headcanon . Eirene's mother and early childhood years

As per the canon sources available, Eirene was born in Fraser City (according to the interrogations, which I believe is also referred to as 'Campbell City' in Eirene's profile) to Bryce Campbell, the 5th patriarch of the Campbell family, and his mistress (who was also a chess professor). For the purposes of my portrayal, this woman is named Thalia Keane ('Thalia' is also the name of a Greek goddess, such as Eirene, and 'Keane' is also an Irish surname, such as 'Campbell').

As a bastard daughter to Bryce, Eirene wasn't immediately recognized as a potential Campbell - and during her very early years, she lived exclusively with Thalia in a modest house in Fraser City, surviving mostly with the salary received from teaching young prodigies here and there and also participating in certain tournaments and taking home cash prizes.

Despite not being wealthy, they were happy - Thalia was a loving mother, who did her best to provide for Eirene and always sought to make her daughter believe she could do anything she put her mind to. Affectionate, kind and nurturing, Thalia ensured the two of them could be close despite the lack of contact with the Campbells after Thalia got pregnant and therefore was seen as an 'undesirable' mistress in Bryce's eyes.

Ironically enough, it was Thalia's teaching and Eirene's admirable intelligence that brought her back to the spotlight - after winning a series of youth competitions in chess, Bryce looked for Eirene; and upon realizing she had inherited the Campbell trademark eyes, the patriarch took the girl under his wing, effectively separating her from Thalia and starting to raise her alongside her half-siblings once Bryce deemed Eirene to have 'potential' to carry on the Campbell legacy.

At such point, contact with Thalia was severed - not because Eirene requested it, but rather because Bryce did not allow it and considered such attempts as potential distractions. He was the great mastermind who shaped Eirene into the logical, ruthless and cold queen she would one day become: a man who taught her that any businessman should never lack the decisiveness to kill or bow down, and a decisive factor in such tutoring was making Eirene believe that Thalia had passed away.

There had been, in fact, a gas leak and a subsequent explosion at her old home; but what was never disclosed to Eirene (perhaps because Bryce himself was unaware of this) was the fact that Thalia survived. As a result, the girl grew up believing her mother to have passed (without ever being properly acknowledged by her father), and these news left Eirene with little to fight for but to prove herself before half-siblings and to demonstrate she was the best Campbell of them all.

But her iron-like determination to show she had what it took to be Bryce's favorite child dissolved when she was 16 years old and he hired desert bandits to kill Eirene in a sandcruiser, as part of the 'coming of age' ceremony for a Campbell. Eirene not only survived the experience but also experienced her awakening as a Sinner - and her new power was also the key to freedom.

From taking over control over the Campbells while maintaining the illusion that Bryce is still the leader to establishing herself as the celebrated president and CEO of Quinn, Eirene has showcased remarkable planning and strategic abilities, conquering cities as if they were chessboards. However, there is one thing she remains ignorant of: the fact that Thalia is alive, aware of her daughter's success and very much missing her precious and only child.

Thalia has never been able to approach Eirene - originally because Bryce was too dangerous (having gone as far as orchestrating an assassination attempt); and afterwards because Eirene blossomed into an almost elite individual, surrounded by subordinates, bodyguards and employees who would make any sort of contact almost impossible. Thalia doesn't want to bring any additional pain or misfortune to Eirene by revealing herself, but she cannot help but wonder: is Eirene happy? Is her daughter chasing her dreams?

And despite her extremely logical self and seemingly unkind nature, the fact is that the all-powerful owner of the Quinn Group never forgot her mother. It was her first teacher, and also the source of the rare caring and gentle sides from Eirene that can sometimes find their way to the perfectly polished surface of an intimidating sovereign.

After all - Eirene Campbell is no chess piece carved out of marble; as much as she pretends otherwise (or even has come to believe such things as the absolute truth), she's only the human daughter of a good woman and a despicable man.

[queenoftheboard]

♕ headcanon . Eirene's main connections for her RGG/Yakuza verse

For interactions set in the RGG/Yakuza verse (and which is likely to be the basis for any other modern verses set in the 21th century as opposed to the timeline where Path to Nowhere takes place), Eirene is the daughter of Bryce Campbell, an Irish mafia boss.

She is one of the many children by Bryce, born to Thalia Kane - Bryce's 3rd wife, and murdered on unproved and ungrounded suspicions of infidelity, created by Bryce's constant paranoia about those surrounding him (however the incident was staged as a car accident for all purposes). Her inner circle is composed of four individuals, which Eirene trusts completely and who may exercise influence in her decisions and/or be written as minor NPCs as required.

Desmond Keane (maternal uncle): Desmond is the older brother to Thalia, Eirene's mother, who died while Eirene was a kid (around 7 years old). Despite not being from a highly conventional family himself, Desmond never really liked Bryce and always suspected that Thalia was killed by her husband. He's always been close to Eirene and is more of a father figure than Bryce, but doesn't share his status or wealth. He follows Eirene to Japan because he has no ties to Ireland anymore (considering that all his other relatives have passed) and because he wishes to protect/keep an eye out for his niece in the new land.

Cormac O'Donnell (butler): A long-time Campbell employee who ended up following Eirene around; out of the Campbell children, she was always his favorite (mostly because he's also a chess player, a hobby Eirene inherited from her mother and which she continued to hone and improve with Cormac). He's extremely polite, devoted to the family and knows a great deal of secrets involving the family - including things Bryce is not aware that he knows, thanks to the butler's own connections outside the Campbells. He was sent to Japan to watch Eirene on Bryce's orders, but in fact follows Eirene's orders over her father's (particularly after confirming that Bryce had his 3rd wife - Eirene's mother - assassinated).

Muriel Higgins (personal assistant): A hard-working, energic and no non-sense personal assistant who Eirene met during her college years; a few years younger than Eirene, but not nearly enough for them to not share the same references and tastes in relation to hobbies, fashion sense and other things. Muriel was impressed by Eirene's ambition and drive - and once she got a job offer from her former college colleague after graduating, she took it without hesitation. Muriel is a fierce believer in Eirene's plans and thinks no one can stop her boss - and will do everything in her power to ensure their success.

Saoirse Monaghan (bodyguard): Growing up, almost every Campbell child was assigned a bodyguard to protect them against external threats, a task that usually was performed by Bryce. However, after the incident which led to Thalia's death, Desmond himself took charge of securing someone of his trust to look after Eirene, and hired Saoirse - a capable and discreet woman he had met during previous jobs. With a past in the government-led agencies and then working for the private sector, Desmond ensured an exclusive contract with her while Eirene was but a teenager - and Saoirse has followed the young lady since. She's Eirene's teacher for self-defense purposes, including minimal skills with firearms, daggers and knives, some close-combat techniques (mostly krav-maga), as well as riding (cars, bikes and horses - there was the intention of teaching Eirene how to fly a jet or a chopper, but they never got to it).

[queenoftheboard]

I will be slightly adjusting my headcanon post on Eirene's likely canon connections to include Levy there given the fact they're both wealthy business owners from Eastside, but I'm here again to rant about Levy and the details that make him so damn interesting to write opposite Eirene.

Despite the obvious connections, they have somewhat different approaches to how they go about in life. Eirene projects herself the way she wants to be perceived - an upstanding, law-abiding citizen with nothing but DisCity's best interests at heart and a paragon of those who believe in self-made success through hard work (even if in private she doesn't see people as anything more than pawns on her chess board - at least in principle).

Levy, on the other hand, is ridiculously adaptable - he will take on whatever role you expect him to have and perform it with such commitment that he will get defenses dropped and achieve his objectives with less resistance. Instead of pawns (or partners), Levy goes to the trouble of befriending others and using sympathy as his primary weapon instead of the arrogance that Eirene displays.

They have also gone through horrifying things at the hands of their families - in Eirene's case it is detailed in her interrogation while in Levy's it is more subtly alluded, and they have both acted to take revenge (arguably using their sinner abilities) in their own ways. While Eirene's case it led her to become someone obsessed with control and scheming and needing to be in charge of every single detail of her life, with Levy it blossomed into some nihilistic tendency and a rather cynical view of the world that could be almost labeled as 'cruel'.

And yet - in their own dark, distorted ways, they are capable of mercy; Eirene never killed her father (despite being able to); Levy offers his nephew absolute freedom in a soul-crushing way, but something he potentially wished for himself when he was younger and was not in a position to get it.

They're very different in how they operate (and I stand by my original point where Levy infuriates and bothers Eirene immensely given his dramatics and flamboyant persona and how unprofessionally he behaves) but deep down they have shared themes - money is either a weapon or their armor; people are just not to be trusted by default and what matters is how you control them for your ends (Eirene) or how they amuse you (Levy). At the end of the day - they're incredibly lonely, too, but will likely never admit that to themselves.