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Amelia de Groot Blog Entry |
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April 26, 2024, 12:00:06 AM April 26, 2024, 12:00:34 AM 4/26/24: r/SketchDaily theme, "Free Draw Friday." This week's character from my anthro WWII storyline is Amelia de Groot, without hat (top drawing) and with hat (bottom drawing). She's a newer character though she's been around for some months now, just without a name. She's a rich heiress who fosters troubled children; she appears in Gold Rat's backstory, taking him in after the authorities remove him from his home, and helping him deal with his dyslexia. She's flamboyant and odd, but well meaning. There'll be more about her later in my art Tumblr and Toyhou.se. Regarding her design, based on Gold's approximate age I gave her a Twenties-type hairstyle. She's a bit overly glamorous and so often wears jewelry and ridiculous hats--the design of this one doesn't make much sense to me, but oh well. It's a modified version of the one from my "Fancy Rats" art. TUMBLR EDIT: I already covered most of Miss Amelia's (guess I'll call her that?) part in the backstory in Gold Rat's entry. I don't know her personal backstory yet, and possibly never will. I'm assuming, based on the details given in Gold's entry, that she, too, loses her family at a relatively young age, inherits their vast wealth, and is left with her own ideas on what to do with it all. She's an eccentric, outgoing sort, so I imagine she spends a good deal on herself first of all--she likely already owns the lavish family home, so she probably buys herself fancy clothes, throws parties, attends galas in her ridiculous hats and jewelry, all that. Lots of old money folks kind of look down their noses at her, but she's fun and well known. Somewhere along the way, though, she gets a new idea about how to spend her money: fostering children who need a special touch. There has to be some reason Gold, and the others, hit her so hard, though I'm not sure what it is. I have the feeling it's more personal than simply witnessing the suffering of others. Her knowledge of what exactly Gold's problem is, when she meets him at the group home, hints that she either knew someone else like him, or has similar issues herself. It's never indicated in his entry, though based on Gold's behavior, I suspect he has more than simple dyslexia going on; it often goes hand in hand with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, which also fits Gold pretty well. AND, Miss Amelia could fit such a description; she's superficially charming, yet seems to have difficulty forming meaningful connections to others (aside from her fosters); she easily covers up her insecurities and shortcomings by talking fast and tossing money at things. (Gold hasn't money to toss, but he's a damn good fast talker.) Anyone who doesn't know either of them well could describe both as frivolous, shallow, hyper, insincere, impulsive, scatterbrained, and desperately attention seeking, when none of this is the truth, these are just the side effects of the underlying issue. If Miss Amelia is indeed dyslexic, I think her case is milder than Gold's, and she copes with it better. I'm just about certain that at some point, however, either she or someone close to her was called stupid. And so when she first encounters young "Arthur," and learns how everyone has written him off as stupid, this hits home, and she's determined to make the most of him. As I said, for whatever reason, Miss Amelia decides to supplement her parties and social events with some good works, and she makes looking after problem foster kids her good work. Others are skeptical of this at first--she has no children of her own, no husband, doesn't seem to have a maternal bone in her body--but what she does have is lots of money, a huge brownstone, and perseverance. She uses her numerous connections to smooth out the foster process and be given access to children that might not otherwise be so easily granted; the fact that she targets difficult children who nobody else wants to deal with makes the process even simpler. She's just a silly rich lady in a big hat, what harm really could she do, especially since many of these kids come from abusive or broken homes. Luckily for them, she has no sinister motives, and many of her kids are grateful to be given a room of their own, three warm meals to eat, and to not be beaten or called stupid all the time. Miss Amelia soon proves to be up to the task. Due to her personal experience, whatever it may be, she has a magic touch when dealing with children and adolescents that others may have given up on or see as not worth the trouble. She fixes them up (though she herself would never use such language, never viewing her kids as broken or in need of fixing), then they move on, either back to more suitable family, or to official adoption. Miss Amelia doesn't keep them, she can't, as most aren't hers to keep--they have family still--and she isn't a motherly sort, so she doesn't adopt. She's always wistful to see them go, but keeps in casual touch when she can, and accepts it when family asks that she refrain. She keeps an album with photos of all her fosters (a picture from when they arrive, and one from when they leave) and browses it fondly from time to time, and holds on to and cherishes the crafts and gifts her kids made or gave her. The sadness she feels whenever her time with a foster comes to an end is offset by the good she tells herself she must be doing, based on the faces in the photos in her book, the heartbroken "befores" and the hope-filled "afters." Then, along comes Arthur, the boy with no one left to take him, the boy everyone has given up on, even his own father. Miss Amelia acts on impulse, because this time, it feels justified. Tells the quiet, withdrawn little boy that she can help him, if he comes to stay with her, and after she works her magic, and makes the words on the pages make sense, invites him to stay with her for good. (She does cover her bases by visiting his father to ask if he's indeed relinquished custody of his son to the state...his unequivocal response is given in Gold's entry.) The look on Arthur's face, as always, is what tells her she made the right choice. I'm not sure if she officially adopts him or not (his entry says she "officially takes [him] in," though the phrasing's a bit odd), but he effectively becomes her son, the only one of her fosters she keeps. He thrives under her care, comes to call her "Mom," and promises to keep in touch with her after he enlists in the military and heads off to war. And he does so, even though he's never been big on writing or reading letters. Miss Amelia's magic touch remains with Corporal (then Sergeant) Gold Rat during his time in service. He befriends Lance Corporal Mahogany Rat, whose social awkwardness often inadvertently offends others, and helps steer him in the right direction, without making him feel like an idiot, to avoid such complications. He treats rescued test subject Kolten, a proposed Nazi superweapon who's widely regarded with terror, with empathy instead, realizing that he has the mentality of a young child, and replacing his black badge reading "Blöd"--stupid--with a new patch emblazoned with his name. He chats with and gets to know Kolten's father, former SS Captain Otto Himmel, while transporting him back to his son following his trial; Himmel takes few of his belongings with him, but they include Kolten's art, the book Frankenstein (which Gold has read), and a box stuffed full of letters. In this one way, Himmel is Gold's polar opposite: He's extremely well read, fluent in multiple languages, and a prolific and gifted letter writer, having maintained a one-sided correspondence with his deceased wife for many years. Gold marvels over his dedication to the written word. Himmel, picking up on Gold's reluctance with the same, declines to treat him with disdain; "My Kolten can't read a word," he says, "yet he's the brightest person I know. He makes up for what he lacks with other talents. He's never once disappointed me." Gold recognizes the look he sees in Himmel's eyes--pride, and love so strong his heart must want to burst--because he remembers seeing the same look in Miss Amelia's eyes. He tells Himmel about her, how she wasn't his true mother, yet felt like she was; Himmel replies, "Some of the strongest family do not have to share blood." A more recent development is Gold meeting Miss Amelia again. He decides to remain in Germany after the war, having begun a relationship with Romani resistance fighter Mirela, yet makes plans to pay Miss Amelia one last visit in the States. Mirela's never traveled far from home, and helps care for her father Nikolas, so stays behind, though she's anxious whether he'll truly return or not. Gold sails to the US and disembarks in New York; while wandering the dock looking at the signs and trying to find the agreed-upon meeting place, he hears a voice advising him to take a breath and take his time to let the letters sort themselves out. He turns to find Miss Amelia--her formerly red hair much grayer now--and the two embrace. They spend his entire time there catching up and visiting familiar spots. Gold is wistful when the time comes for him to return to Germany; Miss Amelia surprises him when she asks if it's all right if she accompanies him. She already bought herself a one-way ticket. "My foster days are long over," she muses; "I don't have anything left keeping me here. I do, however, still have you." When Gold warns that the process of moving to Germany may be complicated--the country is being divided between the Allies, and the area Gold and Mirela live in is largely going to the USSR--Miss Amelia brushes this off, saying she has plenty of money and connections still that can help. (The Trench Rats have their own agreement with the Soviets.) She inquires if Gold doesn't want her to come along; she'll honor his request, if so, and take no offense--yet she means it when she says she'd like to go with him. Once he's sure she means it, Gold agrees, and they set off. Mirela is of course surprised when Gold returns with a fashionable older woman in tow; once he introduces her, however, she gives Miss Amelia a big hug. Gold has told her about Miss Amelia before, and Mirela knows just how important a role she played in his life. She introduces Miss Amelia to her father Nikolas, and he smiles and shakes her hand warmly. They stop by Himmel's house, where he lives with Kolten and a group of children he's adopted following the war--like Miss Amelia, he loves children, and his large house is constantly full of their presence. He and Miss Amelia, and Himmel's partner Johanna (a former schoolteacher), get along especially well. Gold doesn't mind that they enjoy discussing books together at length...even though he's not really into it himself. [Amelia de Groot 2024 [Friday, April 26, 2024, 12:00:06 AM]] [Amelia de Groot 2024 2 [Friday, April 26, 2024, 12:00:34 AM]] |