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lizzybeth1986 · 5 years ago

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Quick Thoughts on TRH Book 1 Chapter 9

• So in some ways this chapter is a refreshing change from the Walker Ranch, for the other...it does seem a little shoehorned-in and last minute to me. And...if the only chapter where Hana gets substantial content is one that sounds kinda last minute - that's usually not a good sign.

• Here is what you can block if you don't want to see this on your dash: #trh quick thoughts, #trh qts, #trh qt reblogs, #long post.

• TW: Discussions on controlling parenting, brief mention of infertility, rambles about my visits to my therapist and what I learned there - also connected to controlling parenting.

• Screenshot Credits:

Hana: The Abhirio YouTube channel and @youruinedmylifebynotbeingreal

Drake: The BizzysChoices YouTube channel

Maxwell: @itsbrindleybinch and @ladatheimpaler

Liam: @callmetippytumbles and me.

• I was happy to see Olivia but could the writers just...not make Hana sound so confused, to make Olivia's route look more appealing? Olivia may be more at home with some of these tactics but if Hana did as much research as her eloquent monologue on the Auvernese Hot Stones suggests she did, she wouldn't just be standing there going "me scared". I know logically Olivia's option needs to be the one having an edge, but there are ways you can work around that better.

• Title: Ladies' Night

Alternative Title: This is How Hana Does Her Research:

And This is How Isabella Does Her Research:

• "Just us girls", Isabella says. I'm going to get a headache from the number of times she says that while trying out new torture techniques on me.

• Liam warns the MC that this might be a test, Hana offers to come with the MC, and whoever her LI is, seems reluctant to send her off (though I have yet to see the Maxwell version of this, since in his friend route he seems encouraging of it once Hana steps up to be with us).

• Let's be honest, Hana is coming because she knows that more often than not her advice has been the only thing that had saved our asses. She KNOWS.

• Hana is also the genius who found the loophole in that message.

• DRAKE is the one suggesting Olivia as backup for our trip (I see a pattern here. Drake is the only one who recognized Olivia when she pranked him, now Drake is the first one recommending her name for this trip. What gives?).

• So I've played this chapter both with Olivia's diamond option, and without. Her duchy takes pride in its warriors and in shows of military strength, so she is more than used to their rhetoric. There is also an interesting juxtaposition given between fire (Auvernal) and ice (Lythikos), as one can see in the hot stones scene. The chapter is clearly set up in the expectation that you will buy this scene.

• Hana is fascinated by the architecture and modern glam of the place, but it is Olivia who hints that Auvernal may be facing financial difficulties, wondering what may be "hiding behind the glitter and polish".

• We finally meet Queen Isabella, and for a royal who wants to prove that they can do diplomacy as well as they can do blustering shows of machoism (like her husband), she seems to be failing big time.

• For all the "research" Isabella seems to have been doing on the ladies in the court, all she knows about Hana is that she has a penchant for horseriding, had a failed engagement, and wasn't chosen by Liam.

• What? Practically everyone has seen how well Hana performs at court. In my playthrough, her fighting skills both at the boutique before the wedding, and her role in defeating Anton, have become legendary. She became a Guardian of the Realm. If you're married to the MC she is a freaking duchess and I'm pretty sure the woman who married her would know deep down that Hana deserved that title more. Hana is a freaking fashion icon (as you can tell by what Ana says at her engagement photoshoot and when little Valerie from Lythikos tells her in Chapter 3). Like...like...this stuff is common knowledge. Isabella doesn't HAVE any other excuse besides "I suck so bad at reading up that my term paper would end in a single paragraph and be marked 'F'. Same goes for my pathetic excuse of a research team."

• Also why is Hana the only person getting dragged for not getting chosen? Even Madeleine and Olivia don't face this as much, and one of them was dumped twice by two Princes!

•

(Top three screenshots are mine, the second row is from @callmetippytumbles playthrough, and the third is from @youruinedmylifebynotbeingreal Hana playthrough).

The first choice calmly has the MC list Hana's best qualities, while the other two clearly call out Isabella on her clear lack of respect for Hana, who is a guest in her home that she should have researched about properly. The last option not only speaks of her best traits but also of her being the MC's wife (and by extension, a prominent duchess).

• Isabella and her pathetic excuse for an "apology". "I'm sorry, I didn't realize that would be such a sore subject". That's a non-apology, a "sorry you're so thin-skinned" apology. She isn't even admitting she's clearly wrong and hasn't done her homework. She's still saying that Hana is merely all of the things she mentioned - just snidely placing the blame on them for being so sensitive instead. Like...fuck you Isabella.

•

I think Olivia should remember that she's lucky Hana "happens to be the forgiving sort" too, because that's how she got away with saying exactly the same thing last book. I like Olivia, but...hypocrisy much?

• LMAO @ Isabella when she says Olivia that she recognizes her because "might recognizes might", and Olivia is like "funny. I don't recognize you". THIS TEA IS SCALDING.

• "There's more to Auvernal than Bradshaw's blustering", she says...after she's left a less-than-favourable impression two minutes into our conversation. Even Theresa Sutton from D&D Book 1 would do this better than you did, and there was literally no filter between her mouth and her brain.

• Isabella presents an over-the-top, flashy silver gown for the MC to wear, stating that wearing a dress from an Auvernese designer, in a modern Auvernese style, would signal to people the beginning of their "alliance" (jumping the gun there a bit, aren't you, Isabella?)

• Gaww at the LI reactions!

(Screenshots: Drake's from BizzysChoices' Youtube channel, Maxwell's from @ladatheimpaler, and Hana's from Abhirio's YouTube channel)

• Olivia's best moment in the chapter comes when she has to complete the saying "when all you have is a hammer" ("smite them with the hammer!" Olivia offers enthusiastically). They're talking about Bradshaw, who Isabella's telling us would rather strong-arm people into doing his bidding. Babe you're not exactly very different in that respect 🙄

• Isabella lays two major tests to us - one is to have us give her military troops (who greet the guests with a parade) an impromptu rousing speech, and the second is to withstand the punishing heat of the famed Auvernese Hot Stones massage treatment. Of course, she hides her plans behind her "all shared between friends!" demeanor.

• What Olivia does throughout is draw upon her knowledge of warrior mentality, to explain what Isabella has in store for you. This meeting isn't just a message sent to the MC to remind her who she is dealing with - it's a way for Isabella to gauge whether the MC really will count as an ally in terms that they are familiar with. Remember - Auvernal who is perhaps in not as great a financial state as they lead us to believe - perhaps needs Cordonia more than Cordonia needs them - so in their eyes the alliance is falling through anyway, but Isabella is also going to figure out who she is dealing with.

Which is why Olivia - who lives and thrives in a similar type of community - is able to capture the pulse of what Isabella is doing to them.

(First four screenshots are from a playthrough where I chose Olivia's diamond option, and second from a playthrough where I didn't)

Hana's own mentality differs to a large extent from this. She is competitive, she has the ability to put up a good fight and defeat an opponent (esp one who underestimates her)...but her larger attitude doesn't exactly favour war. In a lot of ways both she and Liam operate on similar mindsets - yes war is necessary, yes when the situation calls for it we can put up a good fight...but at the end of the day both of their belief systems lie in a King Fabian outlook of "safety is important but a society thrives when there is space for art and culture to thrive".

In some of Olivia and Hana's exchanges you can see that Hana is the more artistic and whimsical of the two - which is why her ace move at the end involves both introducing Isabella into an aspect of their own culture, and on wine, which Hana is more than fairly familiar with. Her interests lie elsewhere and so she may not be able to get into their heads and suss out their motives as well as Olivia can, but I'm pretty sure if she's researched so much that she knows about their Hot Stone spa treatment, she would have at least a more generalized knowledge of this than the screenshots suggest.

• We're now at a plaza where Isabella has arranged for the Auvernese military troops to do a parade for the Cordonian guests. It's both a way of convincing the MC to pick them, and it's a veiled threat if she doesn't.

• My failplay of the speech brought up this gem:

Poor Hana, having to cheer for us even when we fail. She's the real MVP!

• So basically getting the speech right is simple, whatever is rabble-rousing and reminds the troops that the Cordonians also admire strength and valour and bravery, works for them. If you fail in this task, then Isabella takes over and rouses the troops on her own before dismissing them.

• Isabella FINALLY admitting that Hana's a skilled diplomat and does amazing research. LMAO bitch she even knows what your favourite fucking vintage is and all you know about her is her failed engagement? Admit it Izzy, you're a failure.

• The next is the traditional Auvernese Hot Stone spa treatment, which Hana tells us is tied to the geography of this country. There is a fair bit of natural volcanic activity in Auvernal itself (no wonder they're a people that operate in metaphors of heat and fire!) and the hot stones used in this therapeutic massage treatment come out from that. (they're most likely referring to basalt stones, which are used in hot stone therapy in a lot of different cultures. And it's true, the heat and the medicinal nature of heated basalt stones are supposed to relax muscles, help with pain management, stimulate the circulatory system, among other things. In Ayurveda, the treatment is called Shila Abhyanga and is done with circular stones of different sizes).

• There is nothing therapeutic about this trip, though, sadly. Very often this kind of treatment is used at particular spots on the body (most of the time I've seen these stones placed along the length of the back). It's not "grab someone's forearm and burn it with a stone". Isabella's attempt is clearly to expose us to pain and see how much of it we can take.

• Some of the MC's "stronger" responses are 🔥 🔥 🔥 lol, like "I've read Twitter takes hotter than this".

•

The MC and Olivia has come far enough in their relationship - either as friends or as people who grudgingly respect each other - that Olivia will stand up for her even when she shows weakness.

• Interestingly, if you do succeed in this "test", the narrative describes Isabella's face as lighting up with a "small smile...and she eyes you as if seeing you in a new light" (the fail option shows her looking smug). Which...given her behaviour in the wine scene, I think requires closer inspection!

• One of my favourite lines this chapter is when Olivia tells Isabella that she can endure hotter stones but chooses not to, because "Lythikos warriors prefer ice in their veins". I can of like the juxtaposition of geographies used in their language - Auvernal seems to have volcanic activity, so heat features more in their language, Lythikos is situated close to the Alps, so snow, ice and winter are their signs of endurance. Basically both communities operate based on the logic that endurance to pain is what heightens your strength. "If you can breathe you can stand, if you can stand you can fight".

• Hana struggles with the hot stones, in a scene that reminds me of Book 1 where she struggled with her first bite of a Cordonian apple. Hana tends to be quite open when she has a strong reaction to something, and is often not able to hide it even if she wants to. Which honestly I find quite refreshing about her.

• Isabella in a fail play can be a real asshole, making snide remarks and then flipping the blame onto the people who react to what she says. When she insults Hana and the MC reacts, she doesn't bother to admit she is wrong - instead flips the blame on them so that it seems more like they're the sensitive ones. If you don't succeed in the hot stones test, and Hana and Olivia respond to her jabs, she tells them "there's no need to get defensive. It's all in good humour, of course", and makes them seem like the thin-skinned ones. Honestly it's that part of her attitude that is a problem, rather than the actual snide remarks. That she will create a negative situation then act like you were the cause.

• Now apparently it's time for petit fours (and I'm a little sore they only describe the vanilla buttercream coz I would have totally loved to see descriptions of those Auvernese sweets in detail!) and casual chatting. Olivia cautions us to figure out what the catch is, and Isabella is mildly impressed by the MC's directness, but she tells us about her intentions (to make the alliance official - including the parts where our child must be promised to one of their twins) either way.

• Isabella eventually softens as the conversations go ahead, confiding in the group that before the twins were born, conceiving was difficult for her. The MC has the opportunity to share a secret of her own (either homesickness, or feeling pressured into becoming a parent, or tiring of the politics and the pretence). Hana - married or otherwise - isn't allowed to say much here, to the surprise of absolutely no one.

• Olivia distracts Isabella at some point with barbed compliments post this confession session, allowing Hana and the MC to plan their next move. Most of this day has gone into Isabella testing us, seeing if we measure up, her games. Hana now gives us an opportunity to turn the tables on her.

• This is where Hana has a clear advantage. Just as warrior communities, battle strategy and defence is Olivia's forte - culture, cuisine and the arts are clearly Hana's. She knows about the Hot Stones on a cultural and geographic level even though the mentality escapes her, she has even read up on Isabella's preference for wine and has observed her closely enough to understand Isabella's competitiveness, and suggest a tactic that could help us gain an edge over her.

• The scene begins with Hana charming Isabella into showing them her wine cellar and suggesting a drinking game. In a callback to the Madeleine drinking game scene in Book 3, Hana mentions Cordonia's Most (which was what they played with Madeleine), but zeroes in on "Two Truths and a Lie instead". Here is what you see from each of the women:

MC:

Two Truths -

Being in love with Liam even when he was engaged to Madeleine/Coming to Cordonia for Liam then falling for her LI.

Second truth is dialogue dependent (never regretted coming to Cordonia/fended off her kidnappers with her own hands/impressed by Isabella (no)

Lie -

Never been blackmailed. Isabella however believes this one is true and loses.

Olivia:

Two truths -

Greatest fear is failure to be perfect

Counted every exit before entering the cellar

Wanted to kill the MC when they first met (Isabella assumed this to be a lie)

Lie -

Came to Auvernal unarmed because she trusts Isabella (she clearly didn't do her research with Olivia either).

Hana:

Two truths -

Greatest fear is failure to be perfect (Isabella assumes this to be the lie).

Always envied the MC

Lie -

Dyed her hair pink as a teen.

Isabella has two rounds of this. This is what the first round is like:

Two truths 1.0 -

Never wanted children

Married Bradshaw for money

Lie 1.0 -

Dismissed a servant for over-steeping her tea (what did you do then, kill him? 😱)

Two Truths and a Lie 2.0

Now, we don't know for sure which one is the lie, since that game is never completed (I suspect it's the one about being born into the royal family?) but we do know now that Bradshaw never actually has seen or done combat firsthand, even though he can strategize and order troops and he's won several medals for "combat". This is the state secret that the scene promises, which will give us an advantage in the future chapters.

• Thoughts I had while reading this scene:

- The one from the MC about fighting her kidnappers is very much a callback to TCaTF. A major development for Kenna's character in Book 1 is to prove she is different from her ancestors - that she will fight alongside her people, not make them fight for her. The turning point of her story in Book 1 is when she tells Gabriel - her guard and guardian - that that instead of depending on him, she will fight the leader of the mercenaries herself.

- Also, LMAO @ Isabella believing our guards defeated Anton for us. Izzy my courtiers and I literally used scissors and shoes and clipboards to defeat assassins in a boutique. Mara and Bastien could never.

- As I mentioned before, the drinking game tradition is a callback to Madeleine's scene. But with less of forcing Hana to butter up to the woman who abused her for our convenience, and more space for her to actually talk.

- I'm going to take notes of those exits, thanks Olivia.

- There is a whole bunch you learn about Isabella here and there are hints that she feels stifled in this environment. Her first choices for the game revolve around truths about her married life: the fact that it was a political alliance and that she never actually wanted children (which adds another layer to the pain she speaks about when speaking of the struggle she had to conceive, because then it comes from a place of immense pressure and probably means that she felt extremely isolated and alone at the time). When Hana talks about how conflicted she is, it's Isabella who offers her ways to release that fury and energy (screaming, breaking glasses). Interestingly, she speaks of these things as what she does when she "feels the walls closing in".

- One thing to notice as well, is Isabella's reaction after she has realized she's spilled out the truth about Bradshaw's military merits. She shrewedly notes what our intentions must have been, and calls us out on them, but there is little to no anger involved in the moment. She only notes that "Cordonia gets more and more interesting", and while the game does not continue, Isabella does seem eerily calm in the aftermath. I don't have any concrete ideas yet what it must all mean, but there are a few ways it could go. She could either be pushing back in her own way against Bradshaw and the Auvernese royalty, or have another card up her sleeve that she knows we don't have a clue about yet.

- Hana gets to elaborate on her 'truths and lies' if the MC asks: she speaks about her envy for the MC emerging from the fact that the MC is confident, bold and questions her self-worth a lot less than Hana has learned to. The other two are tied to the aftermath of the controlling parenting she has grown up with. With the pink hair option, she speaks of her parents as if they are still there, still can control her choices, as if she cannot remove herself from the fear that she will disappoint them even if they are physically away from her.

Hana: Are you kidding? My parents will kill me!

MC: I think you're a little beyond their reach by now.

There's a lot said there in so little.

My favourite, though, is the one on 'perfection'.

I love the idea of perfection as being something to be frustrated by rather than something to aspire to. Hana speaks of this striving for perfection starting out as something she did to 'earn' Lorelai's love, and how that became something she kept doing over and over until it became her default - leading to the point where she can no longer be imperfect even though she has the opportunity and the support system (even if it's really not that great of a support system). And with a lot of kids who survive that kind of controlling, emotionally abusive parenting - that's normal. I guess I could simply sum it up as: You can take Hana out of Lorelai's home, but it won't be that easy to take Lorelai out of Hana.

I'll come back to this later, because there's some things I'd love to expand on with regards to this.

- Which Olivia opening up is promised if she is around, she doesn't really do that. Most of the stuff she says in this scene is pretty much standard for what she's shown so far. But I'm alright with that, because let's be honest the times when Hana is given even a scrap of space over Olivia, are rare. The writers will be only too happy to give her other opportunities.

- At the end of the scene, you get to address what Hana said earlier, while you are cleaning up the cellar. You either tell her you'd love to see an imperfect Hana (which is the lighter option, where they think of crazy things she can mess up, like burning toast, putting cutlery in reverse order, or playing every note on the piano wrong. Silly stuff. I know it's meant to be a joke...and maybe that's the root to why she doesn't get to actually be imperfect and affected and stuff. Because even in a scene about imperfections, it still feels like the writers won't take her actual conflicts and issues very seriously, and will not leave her the space to actually be a mess about things that would weigh down anyone).

The second option is more serious, and I really like it. The MC speaks about finding it harder to forgive Lorelai for everything Hana has gone through. Hana is still uncomfortable with the idea of resenting her mother, even though she's at the stage where she knows how wrong Lorelai is. She reasons it by speaking about how everything good came from Lorelai the same way everything bad came from the same mother. I'll be getting back to this bit soon as well.

- There is a tiny romantic scene following this if you're married to Hana, mostly kissing.

• Now that our work in Auvernal is over, it's time to get back to the ranch. BECAUSE MAXWELL BEAUMONT IS STRESS-DANCING AND THAT IS NEVER A GOOD SIGN.

(Screenshots: Drake's from BizzysChoices YouTube channel, Maxwell's from @itsbrindleybinch and Hana's from Abhirio YouTube channel)

- Alright so in Liam and Drake's playthroughs they talk to the MC directly. Maxwell's too, and he is panicking and speaking in capslock. In Hana's, Maxwell is still the one the MC is talking to, since he is the one in charge of this one thing.

- I love how Drake thinks Maxwell "stress dancing" means things must be better now but Liam knows it's a bad sign 😅

- BBBB. Maxwell could've just simplified things for himself and called it B-Quadrupled or B^4 or something. Be like Karan Johar, who saw three Ks and one G in his film title (Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham)...and said "yeah. Let's call this K3G".

• So now I'm guessing the aim for the next chapter is to keep it a secret until the time Bertrand is expected to be at his party. Or something. Idk.

• We're going...from deep conversations and political maneuverings...to this. Okay. Okay 😐

• General Thoughts:

- Okay...so the thing Hana says about perfection and wanting to please her mother. Phew. That dialogue hit me. Pretty hard.

(Please don't take anything I say right here as hard scientific fact, I am merely saying this as a client to a therapist who learned something from her, and am applying something I've learned into this sequence solely because it speaks to me on a personal level)

I've been going to a new therapist this year. A very accomplished hypnotherapist, fantastic in her field. We've been doing a mixture of talk therapy and hypnotherapy because I have a LOT of issues and they're all tangled together and it's all a big mess at this point.

One of the things we talked about was how centered my entire concept of "worth" was around smartness. Intelligence. Intelligence the way my parents perceived it, the way I saw it in school. At some point I said something...something related to smartness and worth and how you couldn't be anything if you weren't smart idk...and she stopped. Stopped and said, "that sounds like a parent tape" (wish I remembered what my exact words were).

Now, this conversation happened around a month ago, and I'm no professional in this field, so I'm paraphrasing what she explained, but she did talk about how some things get embedded in your subconscious as "tapes" or "files", and how at some points they become essential beliefs. It could be a simple moment that was nonetheless important to the child, that crystallized into a life truth for them, even into adulthood. And that would go for things that you picked up or learned from your parents as well. Learned behaviours and mindsets...that you grow up to believe as fact - and to remove yourself from them would be to remove yourself from everything you have ever believed to be true. It would be a destruction of a belief system, and building yourself back from out of that rubble would be scary.

- I wound up seeing Hana's inability to turn off "Perfect Hana" through that lens. I feel like she grew up with that "parent tape": I must be perfect to be considered worthy. I must be perfect to be loved. The only way I can gain my mother's love is by being her perfect daughter. And part of why she can't switch it off is because it became an entire belief system, the foundation on which her parents build this personality she has. If that is destroyed, the Parent Tape must be saying, then what will be left of her?

- This may explain why she continues to explain, justify, make excuses for Lorelai. Lorelai is a HUGE part of her life. Was a HUGE influence on who she was and what she became. Even when she is going in a direction completely opposite to what Lorelai initially intended, Hana does it by overcompensating, by stressing over whether she is being controlling merely for planning the perfect wedding, by worrying about what kind of parent she will be to her own child. While she acknowledges freely that her mother was wrong and pushes back when she is able to, she is not really at the stage where she can fully accept the sheer levels of damage Lorelai (and by enabling and encouraging this type of parenting, Xinghai) has wrecked on her self.

- In a lot of ways, Hana is still that child. The one who craved her mother's love. The one who grew up constantly questioning her own worth. And learning to validate that child and give her a peaceful ending is going to be a long, arduous, painful process.

- You can bet I have been thinking about this more than Hana's own writers have. By now I just know it.

- There was a part of me that CHEERED when I saw the MC (finally!) stand up for Hana. There's a part of me that...honestly...just shrugged and said "too little too late".

- I'm tired at this point. Really, really sick and tired of how people in the books are allowed to underestimate Hana and talk shit about her, and how little space the narrative gives to letting her either push back against that, or to allowing us to stand up for her. This chapter is one of the rare times that happened without the focus being on how wonderful the MC is. And I mean very rare.

- Married to Hana or not, the MC is the woman who let Madeleine get away with her bullying. Who didn't bother to look out for Hana, and continuously used her. Who didn't bother to find out how Hana was in NY after Hana had fought with her own father and left his house for her. Who (optionally) allowed Olivia to get away with talking shit about her, and who didn't ask Hana if she was comfortable before including her in a conversation with her bully. Who (optionally) can cry about not getting pregnant soon enough (today of course, that role was filled up by Isabella)

- Also isn't it ironic how Isabella, the same woman who speaks about not being perfect and allowing yourself the space to let out your emotions...is the same woman who chooses to talk ONLY about Hana's failures? Who sounds A LOT like Hana's own mother? So while those words about imperfection are true, the person speaking them is a truckload of trash.

- When it comes to a foreigner insulting Hana, then somehow it becomes magically appropriate for the MC and Olivia to pretend to be offended. But at home? In their own court? Hana rarely gets that kind of support. And she rarely gets the chance to push back either. An Olivia can call her a failure and claim "Hana hasn't so much as touched the ladder while I'm at the very top", and all Hana is allowed to do is glower in fury and then it's conveniently forgotten. By the MC.

Like sure it's nice that the MC gets to treat Hana with respect this time around, and pay her some attention. But where was this protectiveness when Hana needed it the most?

I'd have liked a moment like this earlier, or if the narrative actually was fair in terms of their treatment of Hana. But her issues, her feelings, her pain, has always been on the backseat. I'm not going to be grateful for scraps like these.

- That's the other thing. This chapter...feels a little last-minute. Not only is the gown in this chapter a very, very recent one (an anon pointed out it was added only a week or two ago), the chapter itself is all over the place. Isabella claims to want to show the group that there is more to Auvernal than Bradshaw's blustering...but in essence what she's showing us is pretty much the same thing. She is still issuing us veiled threats, and strong-arming us into becoming allies. Her tactics are still scare tactics and they are not as subtle as she or the writers believe they are.

- Even in this chapter where another person is allowed to feel pain over her years of not conceiving, Hana is hardly given space. Think about that for a second.

To me...if this chapter was a recent addition - that means the only chapter where Hana actually gets a tiny amount of space to herself...is a last minute choice. And that's not a good thing. In fact it reminds me of Book 2, where Hana was given an AWFUL scene in Chapter 8 (the fashion show scene, which focused more on Penelope than on Hana) and no appearances in the chapter after, and then given two good scenes (patisserie scene and library scene). Those two good scenes...came before they virtually ignored Hana and her background to focus on literally anyone else (after which Hana was not even seen in NY). Just because Hana gets a decent scene (a scene that isn't even hers, actually, a lot of it is about Isabella) once in 9 (NINE) chapters, doesn't mean that she's going to get good development from now on. For all you know this could be a carrot conveniently dangled to keep people satisfied for another 5-6 chapters of the same ol' focus on the male LIs instead.

- Wonder what Olivia is upto and what Liam might know.

- Also wonder why we didn't get a lot of info on Eleanor in her own home.

- Also for a country that is the maternal home of Cordonia's king, there's precious little shown about their interactions with him. In fact there's very little space Liam gets to actually operate as a King - either in this series or the previous one.

- This week, I will not be doing my usual QT for Book 1. There's an essay I've been itching to do, about Kiara and Penelope, and I'm going to devote my weekend to diving into that! Would anyone like to be tagged??

- Anyway! Until the next chapter, guys.

#the royal heir #trh quick thoughts #trh qts #long post #hana lee #olivia nevrakis #controlling parenting tw #infertility tw

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ellinghamhq · 5 years ago

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Oyez, oyez! (Yes, I’m going to use this phrase as often as possible.) I know I’m a tiny bit late, but I’ve finally finished arranging the pairs + prompts for December’s mini pairing up event! Basically, how this works is that all the characters who were entered in the google form were paired up (in every pair, one is meant to write the starter, and you’ll see that mentioned in the list) and then given a little prompt! The rules for it are quite simple, really! All you have to do is, if you’re meant to write the starter, to try and have it up before December 18. You can message the person you’re paired up with beforehand to plot a little, but it’s not obligatory! Then, the other person will reply to your starter, and ta-da! New thread started! As far as prompts go, some are more detailed than others, but I recommend playing around with them to try and make them work for you. You can follow them completely, of course, but I don’t want you to feel forced to do that, you know? So, yes!

p.s. If you have to back down for some reason, or if you want to join in last minute, or anything else, please don’t hesitate to message me and I’ll try and fix something up!

p.p.s. Please tag all your starters for the event with #ellingham:mini2, but NOT #ellingham:starter!

pairs + prompts under the cut!

Ingrid Abernathy ( @iddyabernathy ) should write a starter for Christian Garnet ( @heartstorn ) !!

PROMPT: An old man dropped his wallet in front of the grocery store, and both Ingrid and Christian have noticed it.

Roxanne Leclerc ( @deneigement ) should write a starter for Dakota Hefner ( @dckotas ) !!

PROMPT: Roxanne is putting up the Christmas lights in front of her house and yells out to Dakota for help to reach a bit higher.

Adrien Liu ( @amourxdhiver ) should write a starter for Declan Cleary ( @heartstorn ) !!

PROMPT: Adrien throws a snowball at a friend but misses, and it accidentally hits Declan in the shoulder.

Astrid Carrigan ( @amourxdhiver ) should write a starter for Elijah Winters ( @elijahwintcrs ) !!

PROMPT: The two of them are at the open-to-all skate night at the ice rink, and both come up to the concessions counter to get a mug of hot chocolate at the same time.

Jeremy Atkinson ( @deneigement ) should write a starter for Elodie Davis ( @heartstorn ) !!

PROMPT: Jeremy and Elodie get stuck inside the Winter Café during a big snow storm that makes the roads are too dangerous to drive on.

Delphine Nadeau ( @deneigement ) should write a starter for Jaylah Star ( @cfsiilverliiniings ) !!

PROMPT: They both attend a charity event to help fund nature conservation in Ellingham, and end up meeting at the open bar.

Eason Rush ( @easonxrush ) should write a starter for Melody Townsend ( @cfsiilverliiniings ) !!

PROMPT: The bottom of Melody's grocery bag breaks and Eason witnesses it.

Bronwyn Clarke ( @lasaison ) should write a starter for Lydia Henderson ( @heartstorn ) !!

PROMPT: The two are standing on the same street corner when they witness someone dressed like Santa on a bike ignore a red light and someone in a car honking quite intensely at that person.

Arielle Nadeau ( @diaphsncus ) should write a starter for Micah Davis ( @heartstorn ) !!

PROMPT: The two of them were standing in front of the Winter Café when they got cornered by very insistant girl scouts trying to convince them to give them things for the Christmas toy drive.

Alexis Cerone ( @lasaison ) should write a starter for Monroe Oakley ( @ffsmonroe ) !!

PROMPT: Alexis and Monroe are both shopping for Christmas trees in the little Christmas tree farm in Ellingham when they notice a doe standing not too far away from them.

Stella Marinos ( @justroses ) should write a starter for Quest Pryor ( @cfsiilverliiniings ) !!

PROMPT: There was a disturbance caused by someone a bit too drunk at a small Firestorm charity concert for the Maison des Marguerites, and Quest is the first cop to show up and is greeted by Stella.

Evan Woods ( @evanvvoods ) should write a starter for Royal Ford ( @cfsiilverliiniings ) !!

PROMPT: They both reach for the same book at the library, which is currently decked out in decorations for Christmas.

Arrow Hart ( @brokewinqs ) should write a starter for Zander Carey ( @zanderhq ) !!

PROMPT: Arrow notices Zander drinking alone at one of Ellingham's few bars, not too long before Christmas.

Sage Cooper ( @heartstorn ) should write a starter for Gabriel Royer ( @lasaison ) !!

PROMPT: Sage goes into the record store Gabriel works at and has to ask for help to find a specific record (either for her or for a gift or something).

Lucas Fernandez ( @lasaison ) should write a starter for Esme Vidal ( @deneigement ) !!

PROMPT: Esme's car breaks down and she's stuck standing beside it on the side of the road when Lucas drives by and maybe stops.

Lia Tran ( @amourxdhiver ) should write a starter for Joe Whenham ( @joewhenham ) !!

PROMPT: Lia witnesses Joe wandering around drunk/tipsy in the Ellingham Christmas Market.

Sutton Gardner ( @heartstorn ) should write a starter for Blue Wesley ( @justroses ) !!

PROMPT: Sutton notices Blue looking quite intense whilst doing some research at the library, and has to walk past them and ask them to move to get to the computer next to them.

Brooke Putnam ( @heartstorn ) should write a starter for Analyse Mikaelson ( @brokewinqs ) !!

PROMPT: Brooke helps Analyse out with something that fell from the latter's basket at the grocery store when they hear on the speaker that the store is closing in half an hour.

Adriana Mercan ( @adrianamercan ) should write a starter for Oliver Beaulieu ( @oliiverbeau ) !!

PROMPT: Adriana notices Oliver looking completely overwhelmed in a fancy store's perfume section.

Veronica “Ronny” Jacobson ( @lasaison ) should write a starter for Elara Adams ( @elaraadams ) !!

PROMPT: Ronny and Elara reach for the same Christmas drink to-go at the Winter Café at the same time after it's called by the drink's name, and the name written on the cup is impossible to read.

Carson Forbes ( @heartstorn ) should write a starter for Kay Harris ( @detectivekay ) !!

PROMPT: Carson is walking around admiring the Christmas lights when she notices Kay in his yard, playing in the snow with his dogs.

Valerie White ( @forensicvalerie ) should write a starter for Eloise Leblanc ( @ellelbc ) !!

PROMPT: Eloise is waiting in line with her son to meet Santa, when something falls from her purse and Valerie, passing by, picks it up for her.

Étienne Bellegarde ( @deneigement ) should write a starter for Marigold Arias ( @brokewinqs ) !!

PROMPT: Étienne has to pass by Marigold whilst she's filming a video and isn't sure when/how to do that so he just stands there awkwardly waiting for her to finish.

Valentina Moreno ( @deneigement ) should write a starter for Rebecca “Beck” Pasdar ( @beckpasdar ) !!

PROMPT: Valentina's helping Firestorm out with a small charity concert, and meets with Beck a few days prior to discuss things at the Winter Café.

Liam Atkinson ( @lasaison ) should write a starter for Mallory Reed ( @heartstorn ) !!

PROMPT: Mallory and Liam have been waiting in a dentist's waiting room for over two hours because of a snow storm that's keeping the dentist stuck at his place, and them stuck at the dentist's office. Alone, now that the secretary has gone to the employees' room.

Marlow Wilson ( @marlow-wilson ) should write a starter for Talia Tremblay ( @deneigement ) !!

PROMPT: Marlow's in line at the grocery force when a tiny lil child runs into her legs. That child is Leo, Talia's 2 years old son, and not long after, Talia is picking him up and apologizing profusely to Marlow.

Mali Krimkul ( @malikrim ) should write a starter for Noelle Laurent ( @justroses ) !!

PROMPT: Mali and Noelle are walking on the sidewalk when a group of 7-8 year old kids beg them to help them build a snowman.

Sydney Moore ( @detectivesydneymoore ) should write a starter for Autumn Cheng ( @deneigement ) !!

PROMPT: Autumn and Sydney end up trapped in a store when there's a power outage and the doors of the store automatically lock and neither of them can figure out how to open them.

#ellingham:event #ellingham:mini2 #appless rp #mumu rp #winter rp

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shadowbrn · 2 years ago

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val's immediate response was to shrug her shoulders. ❝ i wondered the same thing, but you kept pushing me away. ❞ all val had wanted was to spend time with nini and build their relationship, and now they were both . . . alone. and for what?

shadowbrn:

❝ you didn’t want to be an us. ❞ val said, wrapping her arms around herself protectively, ❝ you were scared of what people would think. ❞

❝ why would i be scared of that? ❞ she asks, brows knitting together as she looks at val. ❝ i have two moms, that’s not out of the norm for me. ❞

#inspotlight #—— ic. valerie sutton #q.

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march2texas · 4 years ago

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Schedule for Stroll Thru Texas History May Event |

Schedule for Stroll Thru Texas History May Event

Friday, May 14 and Saturday May 15, 2021

Stations, Stage, Cannon, Sponsors & Map

Parking Location: Parking behind Acton Baptist Church at 3500 Fall Creek Hwy in Acton. Handicap parking only for wheelchair access.

Station # 1 THF Booth –

Welcome and Schedule

FIRST AID

Information, volunteer, donations

Guess How Many Beans Fundraiser

Extra Credit Stamp for a Grade

Selfie Contest: Bookmarks are available at the THF table with details, rules, and items to photograph. You need to be in the pictures with, or without friends. #StollThruTexas

Station #2 Stone Building (the oldest building in Hood County) Rotating every 30 Minutes.

The Story of the Texas Navy Association – Bob Satterwhite [1 lunch]

Stories and Songs – Martin and Murray [2 lunches]

Old-Time Music -Vanderveers (Saturday Only) [5 lunches]

Station # 3 (east of the stone building) Overview of the fight for independence.

Sam Houston – David Hansford has performed in movies since 2011. He is an accomplished character actor and as Two-Bit Pete is well known as a cowboy poet.

Bowie – Dink Thomas actor/model who has been in movies, television and commercials.

Travis – Brendan Hartman starred in multiple church musicals, written & directed shows, & studied theater at Collin College.

Station # 4

Mier Exposition & the Black Bean episode – Members of the Young Texas Hero Teen Board – Nathan, Jonathan, Corbin, Rachel, & Elizabeth, & sponsor Gail Heep

Texas Rangers – Jayson Lippert

Station # 5 Native Americans

Running Water – Frank Arellano overview Tribes of Texas, tools

Mr. Bishop arrowheads

Station # 6 Chuckwagon and Roping

Ron McWhorter & Longhorn Chuckwagon Ministry

Station # 7 The Rebels

Granbury Camp & Terry’s Texas Rangers Sons of Confederacy heritage group – Dickey Freeman, Jim Scott

Cannon- Mike Smith & Terry’s Texas Rangers

Women who fought in the War Between the States- Sandra Neeley [Friday only]

Station #8 Frybread and Native American Culture

Audricka Young frybread, & sharing culture

Station # 9 Crockett Family

Elizabeth Crockett – Lauri Matthews, 3 times great-granddaughter of David and Elizabeth Crockett

Station # 10

Davy Crockett, – Errol Flannery, 4 times great-grandson of David and Elizabeth Crockett

John McGregor – John McGregor, bagpiper and Alamo defender – Dr. John Taber

Station # 11

Sylvanus Castleman, a personal friend of Stephen F. Austin and member of the Old Texas 300 – Ron Sutton, a descendant of Castleman.

Station #12

Susanna Dickinson – Only American survivors to leave the Alamo alive – Teresa Sims, a THF founder

Station # 13

Juan Sequin – Texas Tejano Hero – John Luna

Patricia de la Garza De Leon – Built the first school and many churches & funded Houston’s army – Jeanne Luna

Station # 14

Station # 15 Texian Volunteer Army 1836

Other booths and vendors to visit:

Granbury Writers’ Bloc Authors

DAR & SAR

SRT & DRT

Vendors Friday & Saturday

Tea Punk Teas – merchandise

Chunky Monkey Shaved Ice –

Food Vendors

The Food Box DFW – Saturday only

On Patrol and at the THF booth:

John Campbell, Peggy Freeman, Valerie and Samantha Jones, Linda Speldos, Diane Munford

Stage Schedule

The stage area changes at times listed on the schedule and highlights different performers. The presenters will be at their station if not on stage.

9:00 – 9:20 Coffee with the Cowboys, get the events schedule and map.

Stage Area 9:00 Music with Martin and Murray

9:45 (At Station 7) Cannon Fire

10:00 Stage Area

Opening with Mc Gregor bagpipe and Stephen F. Austin

Sam Houston, Bowie, & Travis – an overview of the events for the fight for independence.

Crockett & Mc Gregor & A black powder salute to the heroes by the Texas Army.

10:45 Juan Seguin and Patricia de la Garza De Leon

11:15 Susanna Dickenson and John William Smith carried Travis’ letter to Sam Houston

11:30 (At Stage 7 ) General Granbury & Terry’s Texas Ranger Troops and firing the Cannon at noon.

12:10 (In the cemetery at the Elizabeth Crockett Memorial – Elizabeth Crockett & Bagpipe music.

12:30 (On Stage) Martin and Murry on Friday & Vanderveer Brothers on Saturday

1:00 (On Stage) Austin and the Old Texas 300 Ron Sutton

1:30 (On Stage) Juan Seguin and Patricia de la Garza De Leon John Luna and Luna

2:00 ((On Stage) Susanna Dickenson- only woman of European descent to leave the Alamo alive.

2:30 (On Stage) Houston, Bowie, and Travis – an overview of the events for the fight for independence.

3:00 (On Stage) McGregor and Crockett

3:30 (At Station 7 ) Generals Granbury & Terry’s Texas Ranger Troops

firing the Cannon at 3:45

3:30 Stage set up for Celebrate Texas Concert

3:45 – TShirt & book give away

Friday Concert Schedule

4:00 – Martin & Murray

4:40 Nin Hulett

5:00 – Ridge Roberts

5:30 – Mike & Alecia Echols

6:10 – Raffle Drawing

6:15 – Kristyn Harris

7:00 end

Saturday Concert Schedule

3:30 – Raffle Drawing

4:00 – Martin & Murray

4:25 – Raffle Drawing

4:30 -Vanderveer Brothers String Band

5:15 – Ridge Roberts

6:10 – Raffle Drawing

6:15 – Kristyn Harris

7:00 end

Texas Heroes Foundation Board Members

Errol Flannery, John Campbell, Laurie Matthews, Heather Flannery, Danny Shipman, Jayson Lippert, Linda Speldos, Valerie Jones, Peggy Freeman,

THF Photographer – Shad Ramsey

Texas Heroes Foundation Founders:

Cullen Crisp, Teresa Sims, Richlon Merrill, Chris (Boots) Hubbard

Gold Sponsors: Hood County Development District No.1,

Texas Champion: Diamond C, Signmaster’s

Texas Defenders: Chicken Express, Pearl St Station, Walmart, Gilbert Environmental, Hill Country BnB, Granbury, Live Oak BnB, Glen Rose,,Farinas, Board & Brush, Granbury Segway Tours, Pemberton Cellers & Winery, Fossil Rim, HEB

Friends of Texas (Sponsors and donations of over $100):

Carol and Bob Cook, Teresa Sims, Mikeal Long, James Veale, Grumps, Riverhouse Grill, Hammonds BBQ, D’Vine Wine, Sledge Distillery, Barons Creek Winery, Christian Brothers Automotive, AutoZone, BrightWorks Car Wash, Hill Country BnB, Granbury, Live Oak BnB, Glen Rose, Farinas, Board & Brush, Fossil Rim, Granbury Segway Tours, Pemberton Cellers & Winery, HEB

Map, Schedule and Legend will be available at the Texas Heroes Foundation station #1 and security station at the handicap entrance.

See map. If it is raining, we will have a short presentations and regular concert at Acton United Methodist Church Youth building across the highway.

Questions? Please call or text: Peggy Freeman 214-675-5752. First Aid: (see map)

2021 Stroll Thru Texas History is Dedicated to:

J.C. Campbell for his years of support to the Texas Heroes Foundation.

And to

Robert McMinn – educated & entertained as our 1860’s surgeon for several years.

Uncategorized on http://texasheroesfoundation.org/uncategorized/schedule-for-stroll-thru-texas-history-may-event/

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lawful-evil-novelist · 8 years ago

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Introduce your OCs. As many as you can. Salem seems cool especially.

All my ocs? I dunno anon, I have a lot of ocs. As a small numbers summary, my rogue kids ocs number at 25, my Gotham U kids number at 3, their friends and family number at 2 and this is not taking into account Black Mask’s weapons dealer and his bodyguards. I also have the Curtis family, the Tsath, and assorted Rogue family. And that’s just Batman OCs, which I’m assuming you want to know about, so I’ll list them as best I can.

Under the cut because that is over 45 OCs.

Tobias Bloom, or simply Tobi, is Mr. Bloom’s adopted son. He’s a small phytokinetic boy from South Korea and is a pretty happy and well-adjusted kid, you know, considering he’s the son of Mr. Bloom.

Dorothy Crane is Jonathan Crane’s daughter, she is also the daughter of Roxanne Sutton but she and her brother were mainly created with Jon in mind and thus it is closer to describe her as Jon’s daughter than Roxy’s. Her name is a really blatant reference to the Wizard of Oz and she takes a lot of her personality, including her snark and vindictive attitude, from Jon.

Pluto Crane is Dorothy’s younger brother. Compared to Dorothy he’s a lot more timid but a lot less vindictive. On the other hand, Pluto is a lot more prone to anger than Dorothy is, his temper is faster and like Jon’s it is violent. His name is a reference to “The Black Cat” by Edgar Allen Poe.

Ezekiel Dent, more commonly known as Zeke, is Harvey Dent’s son. At his core he is very much like his father, but he’s not well treated and has a low self-esteem and depression as a result. Zeke and Todd are a couple.

Evangeline Fries, or Eva, is the daughter of Victor and Nora Fries. While she primarily lives with Nora when she first realized she had ice powers she ran away and was found by Victor, who brought her home. Eva closely resembles Nora and Victor has, on occasion, mistakenly called her Nora when distracted.

Violet Harris is the daughter of Music Meister, and in her teens begins a job as a sidekick for Black Canary, due to them having similar meta-abilities. Violet is a natural musician, much like her father, but usually channels her energy in to ballet and violin, rather than singing.

Clover Isley is one of Pamela Isley’s plant children. Her appearance is largely based on that of Jervis Tetch and Mary Dahl, and is thus rather small and childlike in appearance. However, Clover is a rather spiteful child, and her personality is based largely on fair folk, being mischievous and full of bad ideas.

Lavender Isley is Clovers older sister, and her appearance is more closely based on Harley Quinn’s, though Lavender dyes her hair purple out of preference (Lavender lives up to her name), Lavender is much gentler compared to Clover, and a lot kinder. That said she is not without faults, and like her mother is prone to vengeful rages.

Ayah Jones is Waylon Jones’s daughter. She has a very mild form of Waylon’s condition, which surfaces in superhuman strength, reptilian eyes, and sharp teeth. Ayah is normally very cheerful, but she is fully willing to fight to defend people. Ayah is a trained boxer because she insisted on knowing how to fight.

Hunter Jones is Ayah’s older brother. He also has a form of Waylon’s condition, though along with Ayah’s symptoms he also experiences scale growths. These are located mainly on his face in spots where bone is prominent (jaw, eyebrow, cheekbones, etc), joints, and spots where the bone is very close to his skin, like along his spine. These growths are dark brownish green. Hunter is a lot calmer compared to Ayah, and can come across to some as timid or a pushover. Hunter and Leo are a couple.

Aiden Lynns is Garfield Lynns’s son. He’s pyrokinetic and is also diagnosed with autism. Aiden is normally very soft-spoken and shy, but is still very friendly. Most of the other Rogue kids like Aiden, even if they don’t like each other. He is also the youngest of the Rogue kids next to Gwen and Jeremy.

Aisling Machin is Lonnie’s only daughter and eldest child. She’s a lot more orderly than her father and is the most responsible of the three kids. She disagrees with most of her father’s views, but agrees that society needs to be reformed, largely because it creates people like Lonnie in the first place.

Maxwell Machin, or Max, is Lonnie’s older son and middle child. Lonnie is the least kind to Max, who is withdrawn and hostile towards most people as a result of Lonnie’s abuse. Max is a daredevil of sorts, and Batman has caught him in multiple illegal motorcycle races. Though hostile to most, Max is close to his siblings and protective of Niall.

Niall Machin is the youngest of Lonnie’s children, and his favorite. Niall is the closest to his father and often overlooks his poor treatment of Max because he’s treated well. He doesn’t ignore it outright, he knows Lonnie doesn’t treat Max well, but he also is willing to look the other way if it means he can keep a close relationship with Lonnie. Aisling and Max don’t like this in the slightest and think Niall is selfish, which he is, but they still care about their younger brother.

Sarah Menkel is Peter Menkel’s daughter. She’s a cheerful, friendly girl, a bit of a tomboy and an avid gymnast. Like her father she is hypermobile and a contortionist, both things she uses to freak people out. She’s much better at blowing off mean comments compared to the other Rogue kids.

Andrea Monroe is the daughter of Paige Monroe. She’s extremely optimistic, mostly in an attempt to keep her mother happy, often at the cost of her own happiness.

Eleanor Nygma, or Ellie, is the older daughter of Edward Nygma and Selina Kyle. She is a lot more like Selina in both appearance and personality, is proud to be the daughter of both. Selina is very elegant and smug.

Elizabeth Nygma, or Liz, is the younger daughter of Edward Nygma and Selina Kyle. She is very similar to Edward in appearance and personality, and similarly is just as haughty and prides her intelligence above most other attributes.

Barbara Quinzel is the daughter of Harley Quinn and the Joker and Todd’s twin sister. She’s nicknamed Barb and Babs by her brother Todd. Barbara is very cheerful and friendly, but shares a similar morbidity with her father. Barbara is named after and the goddaughter of Barbara Gordon.

Todd Quinzel is the son of Harley Quinn and the Joker and Barbara’s twin brother. He is cheerful and bubbly and acrobatic. Joker’s chemical damage has resulted in Todd having albinism and asthma. Todd has very bad vision and wears thick round glasses. Joker is very protective of him, as are Bud and Lou. Todd is named after and the godson of Jason Todd. Todd and Zeke are a couple.

Leon Sanchez, or Leo, is the son of Bane, he is half-Nahuatl. Bane’s venom use caused Leo to develop superhuman strength. Leo is a snarky, cynical young man, but comes off as smug and apathetic. Leo was born November 2nd, during Dia de los Muertos. Like Bane, Leo is extremely intelligent and multilingual. Leo and Hunter are a couple.

Gwendolyn Tetch, or Gwen, is the daughter of Jervis Tetch. She’s shy and quiet, often mirroring her father in manner and personality. Gwen has a meta-ability linked to mind control. Gwen is regularly assumed to be Jervis’s “Alice” but in contrast, her name is based on the White Rabbit. Gwen takes the assumption that she’s Alice as an insult.

Jeremy Todd is the youngest Rogue child and the son of Jason Todd. He is much closer to the Rogue kids than the Batfamily and considers himself part of the Rogue kids, not the Batfam. Jason doesn’t like this but the Rogue kids accept him willingly.

Cosette Walker is the daughter of Drury Walker, and splits her time between her father and her mother in France. Cosette is polite and well-mannered, and is rather flighty. She loves butterflies and birds and the color blue and singing.

Marcus Wesker is the grandson of Arnold Wesker. Because his parents abandoned him with Wesker and Scarface, Marcus grew up with a lot of verbal abuse from Scarface and ended up adopting his rude attitude as a manner of defending himself, which really only made Scarface more aggressive towards him.

Salem Jackson is a white witch from a rich family in Mississippi, and a psychology major at Gotham U. She has large black horns and interns at Arkham Asylum. Most people do not know much about her family in Gotham but there are rumors abound that she killed her parents in retaliation for being abused as a child.

Audrey Brenner is an anthropology major at Gotham U, but was born and raised in Metropolis. She prefers Superman to Batman and several rogues have taken a liking to her and protect her. Audrey works as a cashier at the gift shop of the Superman museum over breaks and deals with Lex Luthor on an almost daily basis because for some reason he has to visit the place regularly.

Valerie Spade, or Val, is a chemistry major at Gotham U and, essentially, a villain intern. She works for Penguin and he rents her out to various rogues. Val has superspeed and as a result has a boosted metabolism that means she needs to eat regularly.

Penelope Spade, or Penny, is Val’s older sister, though she has a meta-ability, she doesn’t use it often, and is an art student in Metropolis. Penny and Audrey get along and Audrey has convinced the Superman museum to commission her for their special exhibit posters.

Jack O’Reilly is Audrey’s best friend and the shift manager at the Superman museum gift shop. He goes to school in Central City and has dyed his hair green to emulate the Joker. He finds villains fascinating, which is a pretty reasonable reaction because he and Audrey attract them like flies.

Daniel Frei, or Dani, is a weapons dealer partnered with Black Mask, he is the youngest of Mask’s dealers at 19, and is part of a larger German crime family. Dani is cautious and avoids conflict with most of the Batfamily, though he has quite often flirted with both Nightwing and Red Hood.

Nathaniel Zhao, or Nate, is one of Dani’s bodyguards, he is half-Chinese and half-German. He is a chronic smoker and a survivor of severe abuse from his father. Nate regards most people rather bitterly, but after an accident where Batman lost his headset, he actually spoke to and befriended Oracle. Nate is 21.

Xavier Knight, affectionately nicknamed Xav, is Dani’s 17-year-old bodyguard. Xavier was born deaf and has severe damage to his vocal chords that prevents him from speaking without feeling pain, and instead almost always signs everything. Though he can hear due to a cochlear implant, he usually has headphones and reads lips like he did as a child. Xavier’s vocal chord damage is visible from his throat, and because he doesn’t want to ask any awkward questions about it, he covers the scars with a scarf.

Abigail Curtis is a forensics officer at GCPD and a college friend of Edward Nygma. She is vain, sarcastic, and temperamental, the latter of which is in large part due to her job. She hates Batman because he takes a large portion of her evidence for himself, but appreciates his work to clean up the crime in the city. She’s known to throw things and despite being small can take Lyle Bolton in a fight.

Jasper Curtis is Abigail’s twin brother and almost emotionally dead. As a child he was interred at Arkham due to mild depression and was psychologically tortured and experimented on by Hugo Strange. Jasper’s response was to retreat inward, his only really prominent emotions being irritation and apathy. The experiments gave Jasper the ability to remove his head without killing himself and pull his spine out of his back without losing its support. Both of these cause him chronic pain.

Melody Curtis is Jasper and Abigail’s older sister, a metahuman who can create living things from drawings. Melody doesn’t live with her siblings, but takes care of them as best she can. Melody has a personal vendetta against Hugo Strange.

Hazel Marsh is a half Tsath, half Atlantean woman best known for defending the Tsath against Atlantean purists, by killing the purists. Hazel’s Atlantean father almost never gets to see her.

Basir Mihael is the prince of the Tsath, He’s missing an eye because of the Atlantean purists, and lives in Gotham because he wants to learn how humans deal with Atlanteans. He is in a relationship with Jasper Curtis and is one of the few people who can make Jasper laugh.

Reagan Napier is the Joker’s older brother, he lives in Star City and is a bare knuckle boxer. Reagan is extremely protective of his brother and has threatened both the GCPD and Batman several times, he has also broken Lyle Bolton’s nose.

Ailish Napier is Joker’s mother. She still lives in Belfast where Joker and Reagan grew up, in their childhood home. Though she communicates with both of her sons by letter, she has avoided meeting Joker directly, a decision Joker urged her to make for her own safety.

Cinta Walker is Drury Walker’s mother, a Javanese woman who fell in love with Drury’s father, but only married him and moved to Australia with him after Drury was born. She still lives in Australia, even after Drury’s father died, but visits Drury in Gotham on occasion.

Chayton Crane is Jonathan Crane’s paternal grandfather. He didn’t know about his grandson until Jon was 19, but treats him as family nontheless. Chayton does not speak to Gerald Crane, and is furious that Gerald abandoned a child he concieved.

Ruth Crane is Jonathan Crane’s paternal grandmother. She is a very gentle, kind woman who taught Jon how to speak Crow and is very protective of her grandson. She carries a concealed firearm and has threatened Batman with a shotgun.

Leigh Crane is Jonathan Crane’s closest cousin, being about 15. Leigh is a nervous, shy girl and though she has been to Gotham to visit her cousin, clung to Jon the whole time and refused to leave him for a moment. Jon is very protective of her.

Lyndon Keeny is Jonathan Crane’s great great uncle and Marion Keeny’s younger brother, though he is almost 100 he looks about 23 because he has been in the Lazarus Pit. Lyndon is good friends with R’as al Ghul and is brave to the point of utter stupidity. For instance, he steals from Vandal Savage, regularly, for fun.

Lucio Kyle is Selina Kyle’s younger brother. He is a grad student at Gotham U, where he studies forensics. He is also Abigail’s current intern.

Vaite is Garfield Lynns’s childhood best friend, a young Maori boy. He is a cheerful, friendly young man and is still on very good terms with Garfield.

#asks #answered #ocs #batman ocs #oc #batman oc #i am not tagging 47 ocs by the way #nope #too many ocs #Anonymous

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