DoB, age: February 4th 1845, 19-21 years old. Birthplace: Temperance Manor, Temperance (fictional town that nearly boarders on Wales), England. Ethnicity: English-German, British citizenship. Current place in time: 1864-1866.
Appearance
Hair: A golden blonde color in a simple wavy style parted in the middle. Is consistently waist length. Never styled properly and is at most brushed through. Face: Pale blue and large round eyes, round cheeks, a pointed chin, tiny doll lips and a well proportioned nose. High hair line. Short, thick and nearly impossible to see eyebrows. Long, heavy eyelashes. Dark around the eyes from lack of sleep, anemia and several years of failed medical treatments, with brightly colored lips, giving her a painted look common in portraits. Most of her fat hangs in her cheeks, making her face somewhat childish and lively as contrast to rest of her corpselike appearance. There's a small space between her front teeth. Body: Anorexic thin, bones show when undressed and she's quite flat overall with a surprisingly thin waist even with corset training (for a good visual on her waist google Queen Maud of Norway/Maud of Wales, though Lieselotte can still very much function without a corset). Sickly pale. Almost hairless aside from the little on top on her head. Overall dressing style: Lieselotte wears pretty much anything you hand to her without preference, but if she does get the choice she instantly goes for anything green and covered in ribbons. Lieselotte loves ribbons. Health: Lady Luck isn't on this girl's side... Due to some medical treatments, Lieselotte has rapidly lost weight, leaving her looking anorexic. Even after she stopped taking the medication and came home, she's had a problem eating her weight back. Her anxiety issues (a product of all the torment and insecurities) are causing her never ending stress and strain on her body, leading to insomnia, anemia and overall poor health. She's allergic to pollen on top of everything. Visual references:
Scrambled bio
Lieselotte was born into a wealthy family of Lehmann, together with her identical twin sister. Each of them seemed to be favored by the other parent because of their personalities, and their upbringing varied greatly despite living in the same house. As Lieselotte grew up, she began to discover more and more demonic monsters living around her. They would all wary in shapes and sizes, but all seemed to have the same goal; torment and tease her in every way possible. Bloody hallways, moving objects, shaking beds and shattered mirrors wasn’t all that unusual. Lieselotte’s mother, Marianne, made it a little easier to deal with the evil by whisking them away with her hands. It was thanks to her that Lieselotte was able to keep her sightings and experiences a secret as long as she did.
On Lieselotte and Anneliese’s 7th birthday, Marianne passed away in a strange and almost staged accident. During her mother’s funeral, Lieselotte realized the creatures weren’t just limiting themselves to the house, but that they followed her around. She tried explaining what she saw to several adults, asking desperately for help, but was largely ignored. Childish imagination, a fragment of a nightmare is what they all probably were. The poor girl was obviously traumatized by the whole ordeal. As life returned to normal at the Lehmann household, Lieselotte began her attempts at whisking the creatures away, specifically the Grinning Man, but discovered much to her dismay that he wouldn’t disappear. In response he bit off her favorite toy’s head to demonstrate how easily he could kill her should she do it again. Lieselotte has since been finding comfort in her sister’s and nanny's bed, as the creatures don’t seem to eager to follow whenever she had close company. This would develop into her greatest defense mechanism.
As Lieselotte got older, the creatures became more and more daring, even going as far as to tease and play pranks on people visiting the Manor to give her a real scare. Around her 16th birthday, Lieselotte was admitted into a asylum by her father after a episode where she ran off in her nightgown and hid herself inside the church, screaming at invisible creatures to leave her be. For almost three years Lieselotte went on odd, untested medical cures and treatments, causing her to rapidly lose weight in the last few month. The trip to the asylum only confirmed what she already knew; she wasn’t insane, the creatures were real. Though Lieselotte’s health was heading downhill and she became as pale as a ghost, she was declared mentally stable enough to return home on a trial. She has since then, together with her caretaker Ella, been silently struggling with the creatures to avoid ever having to return.
So what is Lieselotte?
Well, in the AU Lieselotte is a descendant of a witch tribe and the creatures that haunt her are the remains of it, but in the canon universe she's something called a Scapegoat. What is a Scapegoat? It's a living being who's born with a specific purpose; to attract all things evil and negative to let those around them prosper. Basically they pay everyone’s bail and take the damage should something negative happen. A plague was supposed to wipe out the entire area? Well, that won't happen as Randomville has a scapegoat who'll get sick and die instead of the towns people. Anything can be a Scapegoat; a cat, a dog, a human... the only thing Scapegoats have in common is that they carry out the same duty and must be of flesh and blood. Scapegoats are born randomly around the globe, so there's no pattern on how to track them down or any way to really abuse their presence. A Scapegoat does have a reasonable chance of breeding another Scapegoat though, so it's not too terribly unusual to find two in the same town. Another thing that comes along with the whole SG thing is the ability to keep evil at bay. Normally a SG can throw away the evil that haunts them like a boomerang for some peace and quiet, but for dramatic plot reasons Lieselotte lacks this trait completely. Not only that, but the evil that haunted her mother is going after her in addition to that of her own, so the wickedness in her life is double of the normal SG with no way of dealing with it. You can imagine how troublesome that is. BUT HEY! DRAMA! Lieselotte currently isn't aware of this information... for dramatic reasons. DRAMA!
Personality and general about
Personality and some other things:
Suspicious – Lieselotte doesn't really know how to deal with kindness and compliments, and has been this way from she was a child. She finds it completely unnatural to give out praise or offer assistance without having some ulterior motive, and when she's on the receiving end you can bet your butt she'll attempt to avoid the individual in the future to save herself from having to “pay back”. Any mention about her appearance or intelligence is assumed to be mockery, though she'll accept some modest flattery about her clothing on a good day. Kind actions beyond proper etiquette (such as men opening the door for women or offering assistance) are often met with a baffled look and a desperate attempt to create distance. But being suspicious has brought about some good though; Lieselotte has an incredible eye for detail and is quick to analyze people, picking up on quirks, social class, education and what they've been doing for the past few hours almost instantly.
Sarcastic and on the offense– Lieselotte might not have a lot of things going for her, but her tongue is that of a sword towards the common folk and unsuspecting. Despite having modesty and meekness showed down her throat from birth, she enjoys being snarky and making sarcastic remarks. It's her way of getting frustration out of her system, and having given up on the dream of becoming a graceful high class lady she rarely holds back unless she can get into mighty big trouble. Thanks (somewhat) to the Voices influence, Lieselotte has devolved a rather nasty trait; the things she says are nearly tailored to get to you. She knows exactly what to say to get under your skin. Unless you know what she's doing or you're of a similar kin, she can almost set a timer on when people finally explode.
Playful – Lieselotte loves to play, be it boardgames, cards, guessing games or tag. She's totally into it and thinks it's a lot of fun to roll around in the snow and wrestle till you nearly faint from exhaustion. She does have a somewhat childish, competitive spirit left from the old days. But the games she plays nowadays aren't all that pleasant. Having to come to terms that chasing dogs around isn't socially acceptable over the age of 10 and being the bitter girl she is, she often results to insult-games when confronted with strangers that she finds less than tolerable. She frequently tries to crack jokes, but as it turns out her humor has gotten a bit dark and morbid over the years as a result of being constantly haunted, leaving her audience quite confused and borderline horrified. Mostly nobody notices them though.
Intelligent sponge – There are a lot of things Annaliese is superior in, but intelligence isn't one of them. Lieselotte's 'education' is beyond that of the average high society gal. She's decently versed in economics, medicine and warfare in addition to music, literature and history. Most of this have been things she's been reading behind her fathers back or learned by trial on error while she was visiting the asylum. Keep in mind that girls during this era weren't exactly fetching boys for their ability to run their husbands business, making Lieselotte a rarity. She's been terribly scolded by her twin for taking inn such manly and inappropriate info (Hans has given up on the issue as it seems to be soothing the child), but Lieselotte appear to have no intentions of stopping and blocks out all noise that even dare to suggest she should play the piano instead. Willful ignorance and stupidity are among the few things she can't tolerate in the slightest, and her drive to learn to to eliminate this fault in herself. That said Lieselotte often makes poor decisions. Just because you know doesn't mean you take it into practice. Surprisingly enough she's very willing to admit she's wrong without the slightest complains, as long as it's not about people. She also enjoys teaching, but hasn't really had the chance to do it for the past few years after she was labeled nuts. She very rarely swears, as she considers it a sign of low intelligence. It's an excellent conversation starter if you want to get her talking.
Dependent and independent – Lieselotte prefers to do everything herself, unfortunately she's heavily dependent on others. It's no understatement that Lieselotte isn't a big fan of people in general, mostly because she feels horribly degraded by the majority, but the only way to deal with a lot of the creatures that follow her is to take shelter under someone's wing. Already feeling like a failure for not being able to do what her mother could (banishing and sending the monsters away), having to follow her sister, father and caretaker around like a baby duckling simply adds to the humiliation. While her self confidence is balancing on a springboard, she does have a stubborn pride that keeps telling her she can get through it if she just keeps going at it, leaving her in a rather peculiar situation where she's desperate for guidance and help, but refuses to ask for it 'cause she's stupid like that. Honestly she'd be super productive if the things she did succeed, as almost all her current waking moments are spent thinking of how to deal with the chaos... with the occasional days where she simply sits around staring at the wall wondering what the hell she's doing 'cause face it; you'd have those too.
Loyal and family oriented? - You'd think this pessimistic, rude lass was somebody who didn't give a damn about others, and while that is somewhat true, Lieselotte is heavily devoted to her family. She can draw the family gryphon crest from memory (though she's a terrible artist and can't write or doodle to save her life), she knows the names, birthdates and location of all her current living family members (a feat not even Hans and Annaliese can manage), she's often put in charge of finding gifts should an aunt or uncle visit, writes letters to her grandmother every 14 days, and has taken the liberty of educating herself in the family business of accounting, finance and investing. Just because she's making mean remarks doesn't mean she doesn't love you. To her friends (yes, they exist.. I think...?) she's a loyal dog, refusing to believe anything ill of you unless she has experienced it herself. She's not afraid to bring the ol' war ax to defeat your enemies should it come to that.
Long fuse, but quick to annoy – This is another strange quirk; while Lieselotte quickly bores of people and gets easily annoyed, it's nearly impossible for a human being to get her furious. After Lieselotte discovered that people would leave her alone if she acted a little more aggressive and agitated than she actually is, she's been abusing this knowledge like drinking water. The family and staff has long since learned to distinguish real anger and annoyance from the fake one, but it can be somewhat intimidating to strangers and might take a while to get used to. Should she go too wild, a chloroform rag is often taken into use to sooth her. This is usually administered from her father, or Edward who's can control the dosage far better.
Likes:Sweets – It's no secret that Lieselotte has a sweet tooth. This is a very acceptable peace offering, should you manage against all odds to offend her.
Adventure novels – One of the few things Lieselotte collects. They're a good thing to have when she wants to turn her brainbox off.
Ribbons – Lieselotte sticks ribbons on a lot of her valuables. It's her way of telling what belongs to her, since her twin owns a lot of items that are identical to hers. Usually they're green, as Annalise isn't a fan of the color.
Loves:Coffee - Nothing can stand between Lieselotte and her coffee. She takes it plain. Tea is for losers.
Dancing – We got a secret jitterbug on our hands. Lieselotte has never in her life rejected a man, woman or child who have asked her for a dance. Be it waltz, pretend ballet or just jiggling, Liselotte will gladly join and be the most graceful butterfly on the planet.
Horrible puns – Puns. Puns everywhere. Lieselotte got this old pun book she's been writing in since she was 8. It's getting thick.
Dislikes:People – She dislikes people. End of story. Especially doctors. Yuck, doctors.
Shopping – The few times she gets dragged into town, Liselotte is forced to join her sister to do some girly shopping. That takes hours. Lots, and lots of hours.
People who insist their problems are worse than hers – Really? REALLY?
Being introduced to strangers – This is always awkward...
Hates:Animals – The hatred here is quite mutual. No living dog, horse, bird, bug or fish like Lieselotte. They flee from her, she flees from them. They bite her, she makes snide comments. This issue will never be resolved. Why do they dislike her? They sense the evil about her.
Flowers – I'm pretty sure flowers and trees hate Lieselotte for the same reason as animals. Being horribly allergic towards them doesn't make it any better. Besides; she really doesn't get the whole custom of giving the things as gifts. Really? They just sit there and rot. Yes, they smell nice, but so does perfume. Why can't we just spray some perfume around instead?! Not to mention that it's mostly people with suspect intentions that send them...
Swimming – You'd never believe it, but swimming used to be one of our leading lady's favorite activities as a child... till some underwater demon-spirit-thingy decided to nearly drown her the summer she turned 10. She hasn't been able to go out to the lake and bath for almost 10 years because of that thing! ARGH!
Being talked to like she's a child – Liselotte's stamp of madness has been interpreted in many ways. Some avoid her outright, some ask stupid questions, and some become overly friendly and helpful like she's some helpless child. Worst is when they assume she's less than intelligent and can't understand complicated speech. You'd be surprised how many have tried to take advantage of the girl because of her 'illness'. No end to stupidity.
Habit list:
When thinking – nail biting, hair chewing, foot tapping, double checking that she's been covering the mirrors she passes and talking out loud in incoherent sentences. When nervous or stressed – Darting eyes, quick head movements, circular pacing, lip biting, looking under all tables, closets and corners, and asking a sudden array of questions only to stop half way and answer them herself. When relaxed – Mild humming and taking dance like steps.
Most of the creatures are, in fact, nobody specific. They all have different shapes and sizes, vary in color, scent and everything else. What the creatures are specifically is hard to tell, but Old lady Kelly describes them as demons and souls of the damned… whatever that is. Some are more harmless than others, but they all have one goal; to make Lieselotte’s life miserable and humiliate her in every possible way. It’s not teasing. It’s bullying at its best. She’s not just braking down mentally, but physically too. While most of the creatures appear and disappear forever, some stay and have been named by Lieselotte for convenience as she figures out how to somewhat deal with them. The below will very briefly tell about some of the most normal occurrences and creatures.
Bloody hallway
What is it? – The bloody hallway is pretty much as it sounds. When Lieselotte walks around the Manor on her own, blood sometimes drip from ceiling or the cracks on the walls. It will flow after her as she walks past. During the worse episodes, Lieselotte ends up with bloody hand prints on her dress or slips on it. There have been some occurrences where new people that are introduced to her in the hallway end up having two or three blood drops on their shoulders. Ella has several times cleaned up the mess, but mostly it disappears as soon as somebody starts calling for Lieselotte or she starts yelling for somebody to come fetch her. There are some evidence that this occurs. Some paintings have bloodstains on the back that are often mistaken for grease or paint.
Who does it affect? – Lieselotte, Ella and sometimes visitors.
How to detect it before it happens? – 85% of the time, it comes as a surprise. The rest Lieselotte is able to smell. It she starts sniffing and whining with her head tilted upwards, you know it’s coming.
How to deal with it – There’s no efficient way to deal with it. It comes and goes as it wants. You can somewhat keep it at bay by singing. It doesn't appear to like a whole lot of noise.
The breaking mirrors
What is it? – The sudden breaking of mirrors usually happens when Lieselotte is in front or near one. Normally it just cracks a little bit, but sometimes seems to mold away if she continues to use it. It only shatters when Lieselotte is alone, or when nobody is looking. The worst mirror attack happened when Lieselotte was at the asylum; the shattered pieces flew off the wall, causing Lotte massive trauma and blood loss.
Who does it affect? – Lieselotte only.
How to detect it before it happens? – Uncovered mirrors often vibrate if Lotte comes too close, allowing her some space to back away to avoid breaking it or escape flying shards.
How to deal with it– Lieselotte often requests someone, usually Ella, to go in front of her to either cover the mirror or stand in front of it as she passes by. As long as she doesn't have her face turned towards it, and there's someone or something in between, all is well. Thankfully other reflective surfaces such as glass windows or polished cutlery aren't affected.
Voices
What is it? – The voices are what they are; voices. Usually it’s just some low mumbling coming from different corners of the house. Most of them are name callings and catch phrases that make her feel distressed, insecure or angry. They're quick to change their tune though, sometimes insisting what they're doing is for her own good. Some of the voices are really out to get her though, and whisper some ugly and suggestive things into some of the staff’s and visitor’s ears to make them dislike her. Lieselotte can unintentionally pick up a lot of gossip and clues from the Voices should she manage to keep her calm or upset them herself.
Who does it affect? – Lieselotte and anybody who tries to get close to her.
How to detect it before it happens? – Unable to detect.
How to deal with it – Lieselotte has to throw a fit for them to shut up, but others can just ignore or even walk away from. Playing music often drowns them out.
The Grinning Man
What is it? – The Grinning Man is the creature that has been around Lieselotte the longest. According to Lotte's mother, she too had seen it many times long before Lieselotte and Anneliese was born, but he became a regular when Liselotte turned 4.
It’s a little difficult to tell what he really looks like as he only appears in the dark. He has large glowing eyes, a grin that reaches from literally ear to ear with a set of shark sharp teeth, a dark coat and scissor hands. He has the ability unhinge his jaw and bite over anything, tearing apart even steel with his mouth. The things he's eaten includes; toys, glass mug, a bed stand, all the corners of a four corner bed, a bible, two history books and Marianne’s wedding dress that he still coughs up bits of. He normally stands right next to Lieselotte wherever she’s sleeping, staring her down. He sometimes hums to himself with joy if she can’t get any rest or he knows something bad is about to happen. He's been known to sit on top of Lieselotte, staring at her with only an inch between their faces, causing her to violently wake up. He's very light and quick moving from the looks of it.
The Grinning Man is the only creature one can have a coherent conversation with. This goes for both Lotte and every other unfortunate soul who happen to stumble upon him. When he does talk to Lieselotte, it’s often comparisons to her mother. Usually its how she’s prettier than Marianne, but inferior to her in every other way. Where that is coming from is a mystery, and it's hard to tell if there's truth behind his worth or just plain mocking Lieselotte's poor self esteem. Ella has seen the Grinning Man only once, and it was when he was clawing at her neck one Christmas night, claiming he needed her to wake up Lieselotte so he could have some entertainment.
It is implied he has a deep connection with Marianne and Scapegoats in general, but it’s impossible to tell what it is. He's strangely protective of Lieselotte despite his monster act, and depending on the circumstances Lotte is sometimes able to ask him for assistance as he has quite a lot of hatred towards all the other creatures inside and outside the Manor. She can't get much help out of him besides him telling her if something or somebody has entered her home, but a mocking alarm system is better than none. He's willing to become violent should someone attempt to remove Lotte from the town of Temperance. Some disappearances around town can be attributed to him.
Inherently playful, the Grinning Man can always be coaxed into bets and games for fabulous prizes, though he has to be the one to set the rules and terms. He'll never go along with something unless he has the advantage.
Who does it affect? – Potentially everybody, but mostly Lieselotte.
How to detect it before it happens? – The Grinning Man can be detected by using two mirrors, where one of them needs to be big enough to see a part of the room you’re checking. Stand with your back to the large mirror, and use the other to look into the larger one. He will be seen clearly.
How to deal with it – Lieselotte often hides away one of her mother’s earrings, while wearing the other one with another earring that clearly doesn’t match. This will also work with shoes. (Gotta point out though that the item HAS to belong to Marianne and that it must be hidden during the day, so that he doesn’t follow with.) This drives oddly enough the Grinning Man mad, turning his grin into a most disturbing frown. He will look for the missing item and won’t return until he finds it and present it to her with a foul smile, only to force her to put them on. If she dares to remove it for a couple of days, she'll get in trouble with him. What is meant by trouble varies, but it's often unpleasant and will linger for days. If somebody else hides it, they go missing. Most likely he eats them. He still returns the item. Visual ref - The Grinning Man in broad daylight - boop
The drowning hands
What is it? – A pair of corpse white hands that try to drown Lieselotte, usually from below. Only appears when she's near a big water source, such as a lake or the sea. Lotte might be able to see ghostly traces of them while she baths in her tub, but they usually leave her alone there as long as she doesn't fall asleep.
Who does it affect? – Lieselotte.
How to detect it before it happens? – Impossible to detect.
How to deal with it – There’s no efficient way to deal with it. Avoid large bodies of water at all costs.
Nibbling Imps
What is it? - The Nibbling Imps are wrinkly, naked and grey, flat faced creatures no lager than a squirrel. Despite having rather tiny mouths that can barely fit a small berry, they like to bite and nibble on feet and ankles of everyone in Temperance Manor. They also ruin furniture, carpets and perfectly good curtains.
Who does it affect? - Eeeeeeverybody in Temperance Manor.
How to detect it before it happens - These little suckers are almost as sneaky as the Grinning Man. If you hear some strange shuffling or tiny, but quick foot steps you can be sure they're around. Regular checking under the beds, in closets or any other possible hiding space keeps them away from certain areas.
How to deal with it - Kick them. No, seriously. They're small. Just kick them. And wear shoes that cover your ankles or thick stockings. Walking around barefoot is just asking for it.
The White Crow
What is it? – The White Crow is a rather new addittion to Lieselotte's group of monster, and holds a rather peculiar position of being benign in nature. Normally Lotte would think very little of a bird, but since it talks like a man... it's tough to ignore.
It's main goal appears to be providing Lieselotte with new perspectives and ideas, as it only appears at nights where she questions or thinks heavily about a problem. If it's of any help or not depends what you're seeking.
Sir Whyte, as he's often called by Lotte, will hardly ever introduce himself and always opens the conversation with the same phrase : "For three riddles, three answers". He is kind enough to answer questions though due to his lenient personality, but always loudly complains for a long time when it's not phrased as a normal riddle. "That is the most awful riddle I've ever heard" is his most said phrase.
Who does it affect? – Lieselotte
How to detect it before it happens? – If there are prints of crow feet in the dust around the house, he will come pecking at Lieselotte's window that evening to talk.
How to deal with it – If one has no interest in speaking with the bird, one may tell him that birds don't talk, shut the window, and go to bed. He will appear another time. Otherwise continue the conversation.
Delrick Atteberry, the Goat Man
What is it? – DelrickAtteberry is a rather odd creature: he has a man's body, average height and weight, with a goat's head. Nothing overly monstrous, not exactly human, but abnormal regardless.
He's awfully British; he fancies himself both a musician and an intellectual, likes his polite phrases and good manners, enjoys and incites small talk, and is unintentionally prone to snobbery and scoffing at the working class. Quite frankly it's more correct to label the man an uninvited guest rather than a haunting due to his harmless nature. He is however prone to teasing, "clinging" and pranks, so he's not entirely free of devious intentions. The most notable thing about him though is how charming and romantic he is. He is a delightful gentleman; he entertains with his violin, he is updated on his poetry and politics, he's not afraid to compliment the ladies in an appropriate manner, and most of all he carries himself with dignity and respect - not because he was raised that way or need to stand above others, but because he is that way by nature.
Unlike the rest of the roster, Delrick can glamour himself to look like a regular human and interact with normal mortals. Funnily enough this was how he met Lieselotte. His other abilities include running on the ceiling and walls without making a sound, run like the wind, incite or suppress emotions with the use of music, and generic demonic things like creating barriers, moving objects, mess with the lighting... note: he has to sing his spells because he fails otherwise.
His intentions are... flimsy and vague at best. He likes pretty women, and he likes company. What more of a reason could he need? As a result Delrick is all over the place: one week he's in London doing a job, the other he's in Scotland running away from a scorned woman. He does always return at some point though, much to Mr Grin's dismay. A friendly creature willing to assist Lotte is the most dangerous thing there is...
As a hilarious sidenote: the name Delrick Atteberry was given to him by Lieselotte herself, as giving his real name would give the girl too much power over him. The name annoys the Grinning Man to no end as it sounds too human, and Lieselotte is willing to speak fondly of him. Needless to say that when Delrick is at the door, Mr Grin has a problem and a rival to deal with.
Who does it affect? – Whoever he wants to.
How to detect it before it happens? – Delrick likes to knock on doors to announce his arrival. If he's being dramatic and funny, he'll sing or play some music. Because he can.
How to deal with it– Delrick can't enter a house without being invited in first, even if he's been there before. If you don't want him or his company, simply don't answer the knocking or open the door.
Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2014 5:16 am
Supporting cast
This lil thing is currently under construction, but should cover the basics.
Marianne Bennet, Lieselotte’s decreased mother – Just like her daughters, Lady Marianne was a rather tiny blonde filled with spunk. She married rather late, and it was a miracle according to the doctors that she was able to get pregnant as quickly as she did, as she was well in her 30's before she debuted. Just like her daughter, Marianne was able to see the horrible creatures as she was a Scapegoat as well. Strangely enough she failed to mention this, or withheld the information deliberately. Why she would risk leaving her child so vulnerable and ignorant about the evil that surrounded them, seeing as Liselotte completely lacks a defense or a way to deal with it, is a mystery. She could have at least bothered to tell her husband about it but NOPE. While she had a good relationship with Annaliese, it was quite obvious to Hans and the staff that she favored Lieselotte, spoiling the child horribly and going along with her every whim while the other twin got scolded for not minding herself and weeping over little things. She died a tragic but odd death on the girls' 7th birthday while crossing the road. Nobody actually saw what happened despite the place being crowed like crazy and a few of her items were later discovered scatter all over Temperance Manor's gardens.
While Marianne was alive she was a witty and friendly woman, seemingly gliding across the floor with the grace of a ghost. Her humor was at best questionable and difficult to understand as she often ended up blurting out the punchlines in Welsh by accident, and she always failed to translate as she laughed at her own jokes way too hard to say anything coherent afterward. Ever gown she owned was in white, the purest being her wedding gown that the Grinning Man has long since eaten.
The staff describes Marianne and Hans' relationship as magic. The two fell in love at first sight and shared a kiss only 20 minutes later. Hadn't it been for Hans' proper friend the girls would have been conceived on that same evening. Their romance was a hopeless one, and their marriage worse. How many rooms of flowers had Hans sent to the woman, and how many love letters had she written back? They could spend days staring at one another, each of them claiming to love the other more. Lieselotte still remembers their sickening morning routine where they'd spend a good 5 minutes just listing up their cute nicknames, making them one word longer every week. Why Annaliese finds this charming and romantic is beyond our protagonist. Still, there's little information about Marianne before she met Hans. It's almost like she didn't exist before then...
Hans Lehmann, Lieselotte’s father – Hans is a large man, almost identical to a gray bear in a suit and eyes of a proud lion. His beard is all over the place, making up for his early bald spot. He’s a rather silent man and enjoys a good, intelligent conversation. He is an unstoppable force though when angered and with warriors blood coursing though his veins there is much to fear about him. He's got quite a soft spot for his family, and is quite the teddy once you get to know him. Hopeless romantic with nimble fingers.
In the girls' childhood Hans was the one who took responsibility for Annaliese, as Marianne was too busy with the oddball Lieselotte. He never quite understood it and quite frankly it upset him a lot. He loved their baby girls so much. How could his wife pick a favorite? But being as deep in love as he was he never dared to question the special treatment, and let his focus fall upon the gentle and sweet Annaliese. In later years he began wondering if Marianne had sensed Lieselotte's madness and began devoting her life to tame their child's imagination, but with almost 15 years gone past Hans is tired of what-ifs and speculations.
Hans himself grew up as a boy in Germany, and moved along with his father across the pond as a teenager in hopes of expanding the family business. The goal was Scotland, but the beautiful countryside of Western England won them over and they settled in the town of Temperance. Having a good knack for language and other scholarly things, Hans moved into London to get some degrees at the age of 20 and winded up staying there for 10 years while creating a rising empire (with some hobby studying of medicine on the side... ya know; for fun!). Then our story began with the meeting of Marianne at a friend's birthday party. While mr. Lehmann's backstory might not be the most exciting thing on the planet, the family history is filled with saints, lords and other head-crushers. Sometimes they're all at the same time. It can get real confusing sometimes. Temperance Manor is one of the things Hans received as a wedding gift from his father by the way. The more ya know.
Hans' relationship to Annaliese remains a strong one, even though she's been married away and she barely has time to speak with him. He's proud to present her as his daughter and he frequently boasts about her charity work to all who visit. They can have deep conversations and tell each other anything. His relationship to Lieselotte however is a bit more difficult to describe. He loves her to death and is willing to go through hell and back for her, but he can't seem to approach her or make a connection. Though Annaliese has picked up a lot of the personality traits of their mother and her elegance, it's Lieselotte who he sees as a mirror of Marianne. It's almost frightening, like a ghost roaming the hallways, despite the fact that he's aware that she's her own person. And the likeness is piling up as the year pass. It's like she her chance to keep a father-daughter relationship with her father went straight out the window the day Marianne died.
Annaliese Lehmann, identical twin sister– If it wasn’t for the length of the hair, Lieselotte’s thin body and paleness of the skin, it would be impossible to tell the two girls apart. Their personalities however are as night and day. Annaliese rarely worries about anything, and is the prime example of how a young, social woman of her age should be. A mild temper, graceful movements and never caught off guard. She was quickly married away and still a huge favorite among the bachelors and ladies alike.
She's a little jealous of her sister for her bold nature, but is at the same time terrified of what the future might bring. Lieselotte has always been clinging to her, and it's not stopping. Whenever her sister begins to explain what she's seeing, she can't help but feel that she might have to cut all ties with her at some point unless she was to become better. After all her madness might spread, and what would happen if Annaliese's future children were to hurt by their aunt? The drama is real... not to mention that she suspects that Edward might still have feelings for her Lieselotte.
From what you've heard till now, you can imagine that the relationship between Annaliese and Edward might have a few cracks in it... They hardly fight and they're each fulfilling their duties as husband and wife, but Annaliese is the one who keeps the marriage going. How did this come to be? Edward and Annaliese's relationship began as a one sided love from her side. They met at her own debut party at Temperance Manor at the tender age of 16, and following in her parent footsteps she fell head over heels in love at first sight. Edward on the other hand wasn't on the page. “This is the most beautiful, charming and graceful woman I've ever met and I'd be stupid not to return her affection and attention. WE SHOULD TOTALLY BE FRIENDS”. This didn't discourage our young lady though, and she kept dropping hints here and there that they should totally get married or something. What she didn't see coming, however, was how the meeting between Edward and Lieselotte would go. Aiming to introduce her potential husband to her family, and perhaps make herself look a little bit more attractive, she set up a private tea party. Unfortunately something went wrong in the kitchen, and for a good 10 minutes Annaliese had to leave Lieselotte and Edward alone in the living room. By the time she got back her groom-to-be was cracking the same dark jokes as her sister, and fawning hopelessly over her. A good blow to her self confidence, but she hardly felt threatened. She had made it very clear to Lieselotte that she liked this man, and knew that her lil sis wouldn't be so rude as to steal him. Besides; Liselotte wasn't a fan of so much attention, it was really just a matter of time before he came crawling back to Annaliese to our his heart out. And he eventually did, and most likely out of spite and a desperate need for comfort he agreed to marry Annaliese as soon as she became 18. Well... not a marriage out of love, but it certainly benefited them both... I guess? Annaliese got the love of her life, and Edward got all the money and comfort he'll ever need.
Edward Yorker, Annaliese’s husband – Edward, much like Hans, has a passion for medicine, and now that he’s a newly educated doctor and heir to a large sum of money, he’s not afraid to flaunt his position. An intelligent fella with a convincing mouth, he has a way of manipulating others, and often does it unintentionally. While his stern attitude and cold calculated actions might make him out to be rotten to the core, he's surprisingly willing to play clown and is quite generous with his money. His humor is eerily similar to Lieselotte and the two of them had some pretty paralyzing laughs till their friendship turned sour. If it wasn't for his envious mean streak he'd probably be universally liked as the misunderstood douchbag. He's roughly meant to be 5 years older than the Lehmann girls.
Mr. Yorker here has had a picture perfect childhood. He was raised by his father, a doctor, and his mother, a part time piano teacher, on the finer streets of London. Straight A's, adored by his classmates for his comebacks and athletic skills, always a guy of style and a rising star in the medical world. His stay in Temperance and the arrival at Annaliese's debut party was an accidental one. He meant to get off a station earlier, but fell asleep on the train. After he stepped off at Temperance in other to catch a cart going in the opposite direction, he ran into an old friend who wouldn't stop talking about the pretty girl up by the Manor. Realizing nothing was headed the way he needed until tomorrow, Edward decided to let loose and drink a bit to rid of some stress.
Edward's dislike toward Lieselotte is an understandable one, though his bitterness has pulled things a little too far. As previously mentioned Edward met Lieselotte at a tea party Annaliese had set up, and he instantly fell in love with her snarky and sarcastic personality. She seemed so much more intelligent and fearless than her sister, though her appearance was much less lifeless, he found her enchanting. Never had he experienced such a thrill and challenge from a woman, and the fact that she wasn't all that interested was simply a hurdle that would make their future life together that much stronger, but her madness was something of a problem... but he was studying to be a doctor! Surely there was some solution to this? For half a year he kept visiting Lieselotte at the asylum, being as sweet, understanding and helpful as he could, but her being in the worst shape of her life, tired and angry with all the doctors getting no help at all, she snapped. She tore his ego apart with ease, leaving his heart in shambles. How could she? How dare she?! And a deep bitterness was born, fueled with extra gass from the Voices to make sure he'd be a torn in her side. This is something he'll never be able to let go... even though he tries for Annaliese and his own sake. Urk... Life isn't all that simple. Lieselotte's attitude towards him really hasn't changed since their first meeting in the slightest. He can crack a good joke, but ultimately he's a selfish douche of no worth. She ignores him completely, much to his dismay.
And before we move onto the next profile, it's time to mention his relationship to Hans! So, how is it? Excellent! They get along just peachy. He's able to wiggle himself out of the whole “Lieselotte” thing every time by the skin of his teeth, but otherwise they have a lot in common. Edward has an old soul going on.
Old lady Kelly – A strange and ancient looking old woman who wanders around the local town. Where she lives nobody knows, but she obviously knows a lot about the occult. She speaks in riddles and rhymes, driving her long nails into people unlucky enough to pass by to tell her fortunes and warnings. She normally brings good news and herbs with her, despite her wicked appearance. But when she sees the face of evil, she won’t stay silent. She’s been calling Marianne nothing but a witch while she was alive, and condemns Lieselotte as the soulless spawn of the Devil. “The demons you see are your own kin! Be gone, and mingle with the hellish ghouls somewhere else!” is what she usually hisses and calls after Lieselotte. She doesn't do much, really...
Ella, Lieselotte’s caretaker – A tall raised slave woman from America, with a shaved head and pointy fingers. She was hired at the Manor the year Marianne died, and immediately took over the role as Liselotte’s mother and protector. Ella, unlike the rest of the staff at Temperance Manor, is convinced that Lieselotte is haunted, even if she’s not religious herself. She too has experienced, and more importantly seen some of the horror Lieselotte goes through every day. Ella is her normal ‘bed buddy’ (a term to describe those who Lieselotte share bed with for protection at night), though everyone sees it as a huge bother and she has strict orders from Hans not to have such close contact with his daughter. She doesn’t really mind the threats at all, as she cares more about the young girl’s safety more than anything else. It’s rather difficult to believe that Ella was a former slave. Her attitude is rather rough, closer to a man, and she lacks fear of authority. She’s even brave enough to get herself into fist fights with monsters. Is she needs to sacrifice and arm herself to get her way, she will do it without a second thought. While I'm at it I might as well note that Ella's previous owners had French roots, and the woman speak both American English and French. Her history is a mystery to Lieselotte, but Hans seems to know it well and has agreed with the woman not to speak of it.
Just a collection of different AUs with Lotte, from the simpler times to WTFs.
tweenLotte ||| just a tinier version of Lieselotte, really, before she became a bitterbutt
tweenLotte is a simple gal : it's a tinier Lieselotte!
Okay, so maybe it's not that simple. There are some minor changes here and there.
tweenLotte is anything between 10 and 12 years old, rather ignorant about the world around her, with full reins to play, be goofy and still in the middle of her education. There's a rutine, she and her identical twin sister, Annaliese, follows it and they live very much like normal girls. There are teachers coming inn and out of their home, and there's always a new guest to inspect or pull a prank on for the children to entertain themselves with.
Lotte is a bright child with perhaps too many questions. She has just about figured out that she doesn't know anything, and everything is interesting. But not boys, yuck! Annaliese on the other hand is busy with her first crushes.
The monster gallery is... much smaller than it is for adult Lotte. There's the Grinning Man, the Imps and the Drowning Hands. Not many regulars, and she's discovering many things now for the first time. It seems that the bigger her world becomes, the more it's filled with anxiety and fear.
Still hopeful that someone will eventually come to her rescue, Lotte isn't shy when talking about the things she sees, or what she dreams about. She's being heavily corrected by her father now though, and she's slowly being taught that such speak is shameful and silly.
Naive, Lotte isn't that bothered by strangers, though she seems to be fearful of tall people and teeth, asking people to close their mouth when they're not speaking.
Lotte's relationship with the Grinning Man is about to take a turn - rather than covering in absolute terror and being dictated around on his whims, Lotte is learning how to "negotiate" and "play" with mr Grin, staying up late at night trying all sorts of exorcisms, summoning and symbol collecting to see what works, what doesn't and what she can do to keep him appeased. Needless to say that this is around that time where people start to realize that there isn't something quite right about that Lehmann girl...
witchLotte ||| so what would happen if Lotte had magical abilities and could raise the dead?
In this alternate universe the existence of witches has been common since the dawn of time. Rather than being burned at the stake for their abilities, they're extremely integrated into society despite their natural short numbers. They're basically treated the same way we treat modern day professors, doctors and other people who has specialized within a role. As witches and other magic users normally can only master one branch of magic within their lifetime, they're not often viewed as a threat unless they're warlocks.
Witches are predominantly female and human, though there have been instances of wizards (the formal name of men with magic abilities) throughout the ages, as well as troll witches, elf witches and mermaid witches. The reason for this favoring by nature is still ongoing within the witch council.
Shamans have their own system, as they don't actually have magic abilities, but are still able to communicate with spirits and provide help with knowledge about the magical. Each town or tribe are in charge of those.
The witch council is in charge of providing formal education to witches and anyone else capable of magic, regardless of their social standing and race. The leader of the council enjoys the title of Baba Yaga, and is expected to act as the mother and protector of all witches and their interests. There's a formal voting every time the Baba Yaga dies, and all witches who have been written down in the registry are expected to turn in a favoring note or chip. The council cannot do a formal election without the participation of everyone, which is why... things... tend to take forever whenever something comes up.
Witches receive a basic education from age 8 to 21, and choose a branch to follow when they're 14. At age 16 they're allowed to pick a familiar - a creature who will follow the witch and act as her or his companion until the witch dies. Humans are optional as familiars, but it's not considered a common or smart choice as anything more intelligent than a bird tends to be difficult to command in the long run. Upon graduation they all receive the classic witch hat in their choice of design and color. Many witches spend years gathering ideas for their own hats, while others prefer to get a plain one and sew things onto it as they grow into their roles.
The most common branches are:
Warlocks : a witch who is duel specialized in explosives, combat strategy, basic offensive pyro magic and healing. Their role is to provide support on the battlefield, focusing mainly on getting troupes and wounded soldiers off the battlefield for all sides involved. They're neutral on paper, but many tend to take sides when push comes to shove. Most warlocks have no advanced potion education.
White witch / red cloak witch : a witch who has specialized in "white" magic. Healing, exorcisms, spell breaking and anatomy. Their signature outfit is a white dress of their own design, and a special handmade red cape with a hood and white embroidery. They most often enjoy the title of midwife or doctor, and have the legal right to move in an out of all houses and homes as they please.
Earth witches / farmers witch: a witch who can control plant life, specializes in botany, potion making and care of animals. Commonly known as the farmer's witch, they often provide assistance with crops, act as veterinarians, make potions that red cloak witches and black hats order, and otherwise keep pests away from villages. They formally dawn a brown mantle and a set of big keys that give them access to most farms.
Pyromancer / cryomancer / weather witches : a witch who has specialized in elemental magic, either fire manipulation or ice manipulation. Despite sounding like nothing but trouble makers who only cause destruction, their job is to help people fight the elements where the weather is at its' most extreme. Hence the nickname weather witch. They calm blizzards, they warm up towns, they prevent forrest fires, they save people when there's been an avalanche... the best description for them really are the rescue teams of the witch world. As their major is so specific, they're often educated in potion making, hexes and good natured spells to even out their resume.
Clairvoyant / black hats : a witch who has specialized in telling the future, reading tarot cards, spirit communication, summoning and spells. Perhaps the closest to what we think of when we think of a witch - someone who can ride a broom in the dead of night, curse the neighbor and give you advice about your future husband. Funnily enough these ladies tend to be the weakest of the bunch, relying on how the universe is feeling that day and strict rule following when making arcane circles and whipping up spells. All clairvoyants have a black hat of sorts.
Necromancers / witch of decay: a witch who specializes in taking care of the decreased, reanimating the dead, potion and poison making, anatomy, criminology and ancient text reading. Anything dead is their business, which is why they act as coroners, funeral arrangers, criminal investigators and have the obligation to raise the dead when the paperwork goes through. Contrary to popular believes, that's as far as their knowledge goes. They can't curse the heck out of you, nor do their eat babies. They just tend to take the jobs that nobody else wants.
Once a witch has been educated and she has received her hat, they're sent out in the world to perform their tasks like a clog in a wheel. After a three year trial, the witch is reevaluated and depending on the result she may be allowed to further her education, continue her job or choose to start her own family.
Lieselotte has just gotten her hat, and she's damn proud of being a necromancer. Unfortunately she's still a suspicious and bitter person, but as the story progresses she overcomes it and learns to care about mankind as a whole. She treats her job like she does a hobby - passionate, but only when it suits her, and her opening hours tend to be all over the place. Many burst into her office and home while she's still in her morning robes or napping on the cold floor to sleep better.
While she likes to pretend that her familiar is the white talking raven, mr Whyte, her real companion is an illmannered shapeshifter demonic-esque thing named the Grinning Man. She took him inn on pity really - he was so frail and weak when she found him. Dying, actually. Believing him to be a black fae, Lotte bound the thing to her soul to keep it alive... unfortunately it just turned out to be... well... mr Grin. Now they're both stuck with each other for all eternity, or so it feels like. Thank goodness this version of mr Grin is willing to help her with her issues. Having a monster from the underworld is surprisingly helpful when you familiarize yourself in darker arts. He usually acts like Wikipedia. It's great.
Uh, what else? Um...
Lieselotte has taken up residence in an abandoned mill and done some excellent work with it. She can make her own potions there, sells magical trinkets to help whoever stops by, helps out with the paperwork the townsfolk need to fill out to reanimate their loved ones, plays detective when the time comes, shows people to the right witch when she can't help and solves all issues like a champ. She feels very useful.
The area she lives in now is downright flat, kinda gray, typical farmland by a deep, dark forest type of place with plenty of superstitious folk. To make matters worse, Lotte took over from a famer's witch, which has made her quite unpopular with some of the older citizens. What are they supposed to do with a necromancer? And so most people who stop by Lotte's shop are people who are desperate, come from a town over or happen to be travelers in search of something. It's basically Lotte's everyday life until she becomes experienced enough to upgrade her education. She has no wish to stay where she is right now.
