Before They Were Orphans

[notquitenecessary]

The word 'Orphan' can be turned into a vowel for a reason, simply because one needs to be orphaned to be an orphan. What were the children before they were orphans?

Let's start with Diana. Simply looking at the way she acts, dresses, and speaks, she's very proper for a simply orphan. Think of it: all of the other characters who have speaking roles have somewhat lower-class accents. Hoffman, Martha, Amanda, and even Olivia (for her one line) speak in a way becoming of the early-19th-century british lower-class. Diana does not, speaking with a somewhat regal tone to her voice. Meg's accent is somewhat indifferent, perhaps stemming from her worship of Diana or her extreme intelligence and Eleanor just doens't talk. At all. Throughout the entire game. Alright, once in text, but damn it, they didn't even bother to hire a voice actor!

Now, let's follow up on this: she's an orphan, and seems to come from a higher status than the rest, cut from a better mold if you will. This leads me to assume she might have been of royal status before her orphaning. Not like heir-to-the-crown royalty, but perhaps the bastard child of a Duke or Dutchess. It's quite possible that she was raised among the royalty and then sent to the orphanage when either her parents died or she became too much of a bother to keep a secret.

Think on it, and it's not too far-fetched. She acts in an extremely entitled manor, she's a born leader (if not exactly benign), she (with Wendy) set up a system of royalty in which she is nearly at the top, and she's beautiful. Royalty is not always necessarily beautiful, but they certainly trendsetters if you look at the past.

And onto Eleanor. I don't really have much here, but I think I believe that she hadn't been at the Orphanage long when Jennifer came along. She's quiet, as one who recently lost her parents would be, and she just lets life 'happen' as is usual for one depressed. Also, she's looking for a 'miracle cure' for her sadness, as one is wont to do, in the form of a bird.

Jennifer must have come from a high-class family, as she was aboard the airship when it crashed, and flying wasn't exactly common back in the day.

Any other ideas?

[bucketknight]

Um, I don't know what you mean by orphan as a vowel. I think you mean adjective right?

Anyways, on to the meat. I do not think the way any of the kids act has any bearing on their previous lives. After all, Diana is obviously the oldest child since Clara moved up to the helper position. Her personality could just be from the fact that she has held the oldest child position for a while, and that she's really into being the Duchess. And since she's the oldest, she gets clothes that are less worn out and thus she gets more selection (anyone who grew up as not first born in a household that does not carry a $1000 debt from GAP kids knows what I am talking about). I've seen this all the time in the daycare. The younger sibling wears more worn out clothes and has less to choose from because they are hand-me-downs. And if you look at Diana's dress, it isn't anything nice. It's worn and old too.

As for Eleanor, Meg, and, frankly, every kid, I've seen enough kids like her (I've seen enough of all these kids really) to say that their personality is not unique to orphans.

Now, the big question, after I said all this, how does Wendy get her hands on such nice clothes? Well, if you think about it, it's pretty easy. There are only four other people who matter in this question. First, Diana. She's too big. Next, Jen. Right size, but she's hated. Then, Meg and Eleanor. Neither seem to be too picky about what they wear. Lastly, Wendy is the Princess. So she gets first pick.

Jen is definitely at least upper middle class (maybe her dad owned a shop), because she got onto the airship, got to see first class (no lower class would get to see this), and she has a pretty nice dress on (no, this is not just my opinion cuz of the color, it is a pretty nice dress compared to what a 'commoner' would wear).

So basically, I don't think how any of these kids act would tell much about their past. In fact, I think anyone from nobility would be attacked since they had it so much better (look at Jen).

[empressjess]

I have to agree with bucketknight on this one; I don't think that how the kids act necessarily reveals anything about their pasts, since (in my own mind at least) they've been in the orphanage long enough that it is their family/home. Though it would be rather ironic if Diana were to come from a Duke and Duchess.

And Eleanor did have a spoken line--a horribly out of character line, but one nonetheless.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4ydSnXxpEg

Jennifer did have a bit of cash though, considering the whole "getting to ride an airship" thing.

Also, I get the feeling Eleanor came from money, mostly because I read it somewhere online and thanks to the clues during the Bird of Happiness, where they talk about family and the husband borrowing 80 pounds from his wife's 365 pound account or whatever.

[spookythings]

did the person who uploaded that clip change meg's voice? when she says 'its into the onion bag for her' her voice seems to deepen and slow down, the way they always do when someone's just been posessed by satan.

topic: i agree that jennifer was a poor little rich girl. maybe she got lucky and was adopted by another rich family following the media frenzy surrounding the massacre.

[empressjess]

You know, I've always kind of wondered what exactly Jenny's been doing between Gregors' suicide and her getting off the bus. How does she support herself? I can't really see anyone as nuts as her being able to hold down a job, but...I dunno.

As to the clip, naw, that's all Meg's VA. I distinctly remember feeling incredibly uncomfortable the first time I watched that scene because of how creepy it sounds.

[bucketknight]

empressjess said:

You know, I've always kind of wondered what exactly Jenny's been doing between Gregors' suicide and her getting off the bus. How does she support herself? I can't really see anyone as nuts as her being able to hold down a job, but...I dunno.

As to the clip, naw, that's all Meg's VA. I distinctly remember feeling incredibly uncomfortable the first time I watched that scene because of how creepy it sounds.

I remember reading somewhere that Jen is 19, so she could support herself however 19 y.o.'s do so. She probably ended up at another orphanage, adopted, or back with some other family. Plus, if she was able to, she probably picked up an inheritance from her dead parents. Otherwise, it doesn't cost much to get a bus ticket when you really care to discover a part of your past that you forgot about. And to be frank, Jen might have delusions, but that doesn't mean she acts nuts. Did you know 1% of the population has szchio?

Good point by empressjess. Eleanor's family is at least middle class, since they had over 300 pounds in the bank. Who knows what happened there. Her mom might have dumped her off after realizing she couldn't take care of her. That could lead to her introvertedness, since the only person she could depend on betrayed her.

[empressjess]

1%? Really? Man, that's high.

As for Jenny, I was just trying to picture her in a factory job or something and failing miserably.

[bucketknight]

I picture Jen as an office lady secretary that everyone dumps their work on and she just takes it and goes home to her small apartment and cries herself to sleep. Makes you wonder whether or not it was better that she survived. She should've toke the advice me and the scissors gave her about how it might hurt more to know the truth.

[spookythings]

bucketknight said:

I picture Jen as an office lady secretary that everyone dumps their work on and she just takes it and goes home to her small apartment and cries herself to sleep. Makes you wonder whether or not it was better that she survived. She should've toke the advice me and the scissors gave her about how it might hurt more to know the truth.

have you ever seen the movie 'office killer'? thanks to you, i now envision jennifer sitting in her basement surrounded by dead girl scouts, her dead mother, and dead co-workers, talking to them like they're her dearest friends.

but then again, who could blame her?

[empressjess]

Dead girl scouts...

I'm now picturing the RCA coming to my door selling cookies.

[PrincessJennifer]

Diana wanted to be a lady, so it could she praticed playing the part.

Jennifer might have been placed with relatives once they discovered who she really was.

[empressjess]

That actually makes perfect sense; after the airship crash and Gregors' kidnapping, any extended family would have thought her dead and so she would end up at the ophanage without anyone knowing...

Wow, good suggestion, Princess Jennifer!

[notquitenecessary]

empressjess said:

1%? Really? Man, that's high.

As for Jenny, I was just trying to picture her in a factory job or something and failing miserably.

I could see her as a schoolteacher in a small town. For some reason, the thought of little girls kidnapping and torturing a schoolteacher just seems to fit better.

[empressjess]

notquitenecessary said:

empressjess said:

1%? Really? Man, that's high.

As for Jenny, I was just trying to picture her in a factory job or something and failing miserably.

I could see her as a schoolteacher in a small town. For some reason, the thought of little girls kidnapping and torturing a schoolteacher just seems to fit better.

Kids do seem to harbor a lot of anger toward teachers; remember when you were a kid and everyone on the bus would change the lyrics to "On top of a mountain" to be about clubbing your teacher to death?

[notquitenecessary]

My personal favorite was directed towards my sixth grade english teacher.

Mr. Dunford went to town, riding on his Mother
Every time he hit a bump he had another Brother....

I can't seem to remember the whole thing.