Random facts about Helena Bertinelli
Feb. 18th, 2012 08:24 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
joyfulfeatherI've been trying to get my head into a writing and RPing mode again. To that end, I've done "random facts" about a couple of characters. "Random facts" just means I thought about the characters, their past and present, what makes them tick, wrote down something that came to me and elaborated on it as much as I felt like. Rinse, repeat, until you run out of steam. I may add to these later. Note that these are entirely my view of them -- what isn't textual canon you can assume is my own personal canon for the character. (Meaning if I'm RPing them, like I am Helena, these are some assumptions I'm making.)
1) She can't really put into words why she hooked up with Question. Why she likes him. Why she fell in love with him. He's definitely the reason she hasn't gotten out and dated here on the island, and that's kind of annoying. If she had to answer the question (heh)... Maybe it was as simple as the fact that she liked weird and charming. Maybe it was because he understood her. She didn't really understand him, but she didn't have to. He searched, and she supported him where she could. Not with the crazy stuff, like how many ice cream flavors does baskin robbins really have, but stuff like Cadmus. And she almost didn't mind the deeper questions he asked. They weren't directed at her, usually, but they made her think. He made her think. And... Oh, who the hell can define love, anyway? He was a weirdo, and she loved him for it.
2) She hasn't dealt with what happened with Mandragora. That's part of why she hooked up with Q that first night. Sex is a great way of not dealing. Really, between the options of taking a deep, hard look at yourself and feeling horrible, on the one hand, and feeling really good and all kinds of not thinking on the other hand, there's no contest. After that, there was Q, and Q's Cadmus quest, and Gotham when she wasn't with Q. Then Cadmus happened, and there was the fall-out from that – mostly meaning nursing Q back to health while trying not to kill him when he was a pain in the butt about it. Then it was back out in Gotham for her, and stalking – no, keeping tabs on Canary. And then she was here, and island beaches that turn into London and back to the tropics are way more interesting than anything going on in her head. So no, she hasn't dealt. But it's been a while, now, and she's going to have to sooner or later.
3) When pressed, what does she think of that night? Was it a failure or a success? Q had actually asked that question that night, while they were lying in his bed. She'd shut him down, telling him crossly that she wasn't about to talk about it now, that – that she needed time. And then she'd gone to work distracting both of them. But when she does have to answer the question, when it finally comes up... In the end, it was a draw. Success would have meant Mandragora's death. Failure... probably would have meant her own death, or giving up. Backing down when the Martian had told her to. Failure would have been not trying. But she'd been there. She'd stood there with her crossbow in hand, Mandragora literally at her mercy. No one was going to stop her. But she had had to make a choice, one she never expected to face. Q's question still haunts her dreams sometimes: Is this what you truly want? The truth was, she was too close to it. She didn't know what she wanted. In the end,... her family's blood simply could not be answered. Not after so long. Not when the simple answer was so complicated. In the end, the Huntress found her prey, and she saw him humbled. It wasn't success or failure, it was simply... an ending.
4) Being fired from the League really did hurt – a lot. It was so unexpected, too. She shouldn't have been surprised. The surprise was that they asked her to join in the first place. Or maybe it was the fact that she actually joined. She did it in part because it'd be easier to find and get to Mandragora with the League's access, but that wasn't all of it. If asked, she'd have said it was mostly because she was bored, but the truth was that she'd been kind of... lonely. The quiet got to her. The lack of communication with other people. Being part of the League was both good and bad in that regard. Good, because she did get to actually interact with people. Bad because some of those people were annoying and most of them didn't get her. It wasn't like she really made friends in her time there. But the rejection of getting kicked out... That stung. Getting together with Q was a huge save for her, though. By the time Canary offered to get her back in, Helena was able to be honest when she said she was fine on her own. The League wasn't the place for her, regardless.
5) She respects the League. They're a bunch of overpowered goody-two-shoes, but they deal with crap people like her can't handle on their own. And they do provide a home for a lot of people who don't have one. It might not have been the place for her, but for others, it's perfect – after all, where else could someone like Shining Knight really go?
6) After her parents were murdered, she was taken in by her cousins – her mother's family – in Italy. They were assassins, and they taught her the trade when she was old enough to draw a bow. She has fond memories of Italy, though not as much of her family (except Sal), but Gotham is her true home. She came back when she came of age and began the hunt for Mandragora – not that she didn't know where he was or how to find him, but hunting is about a lot more than knowing where your target is. You have to know how to get to it, first. So she became Huntress and put her time to good use taking down criminals while always keeping one eye on the prize.
7) Naturally, she had her run-ins with Batman. He never really approved of her, but he let her be once she made it clear that she was not leaving. He might even have respected her a little – she suspects he was the one who suggested her invitation to the League. (He probably thought it would be good for her discipline. So much for that.) She met the two Robins and Batgirl at random times, and encountered Nightwing once or twice, but she kept her distance for the most part. It was always best if she stayed out of the Bat's path. He does know her real name, but she doesn't know his and that's fine with her. Ditto the sidekicks.
8) She used to run into Catwoman, too. When Helena first started making her mark on Gotham, Catwoman – Selina – approached her. Trying to figure out what side she was on, maybe. They were never really friends, but they knew each others' names and weren't enemies.
9) Helena is bi, and she likes sex. Men are easier to pick up, so most of her experience is with them. She's had the occasional female fling, though, and she'd tumble Canary in a heartbeat. (Wonder Woman, too, if she's being honest about it, but that'd be like having sex with a goddess. Talk about feeling inadequate.)
10) Her cousins made sure she got a good education. She can speak fluent Italian and French, and is a pretty good student of history. Well-enough read that she could occasionally surprise Q by understanding some of his obscure quotes or philosophies – it wasn't something that was important to her, but the knowledge stuck with her. She has a thorough understanding of chemistry, too, but that wasn't just from her boarding school. Her family of assassins made sure she knew poisons and antidotes of all kinds. She also knows anatomy pretty damn well, human and beast alike.
11) She has never killed a man. She knows she's capable of it, physically and mentally. She knows, from talking to her cousin Sal, that it changes you. What it would do to her, she doesn't know. Maybe take some part of her soul that isn't already dark. In that moment when she'd thought she'd killed Mandragora in his bed, her adrenaline was running too high and the moment was over too quickly – what should have been the realization of his death turned into the realization she'd been conned. If it came to it again – not with Mandragora, barring some unlikely turn of events – if it came to a man's life and her arrow, she knows she'll be able to pull the trigger. Anything after that will probably depend on the circumstances.
This is also a test of a) posting to DW from LogJam, and b) cross-posting from DW to LJ. Fingers crossed on all counts!
1) She can't really put into words why she hooked up with Question. Why she likes him. Why she fell in love with him. He's definitely the reason she hasn't gotten out and dated here on the island, and that's kind of annoying. If she had to answer the question (heh)... Maybe it was as simple as the fact that she liked weird and charming. Maybe it was because he understood her. She didn't really understand him, but she didn't have to. He searched, and she supported him where she could. Not with the crazy stuff, like how many ice cream flavors does baskin robbins really have, but stuff like Cadmus. And she almost didn't mind the deeper questions he asked. They weren't directed at her, usually, but they made her think. He made her think. And... Oh, who the hell can define love, anyway? He was a weirdo, and she loved him for it.
2) She hasn't dealt with what happened with Mandragora. That's part of why she hooked up with Q that first night. Sex is a great way of not dealing. Really, between the options of taking a deep, hard look at yourself and feeling horrible, on the one hand, and feeling really good and all kinds of not thinking on the other hand, there's no contest. After that, there was Q, and Q's Cadmus quest, and Gotham when she wasn't with Q. Then Cadmus happened, and there was the fall-out from that – mostly meaning nursing Q back to health while trying not to kill him when he was a pain in the butt about it. Then it was back out in Gotham for her, and stalking – no, keeping tabs on Canary. And then she was here, and island beaches that turn into London and back to the tropics are way more interesting than anything going on in her head. So no, she hasn't dealt. But it's been a while, now, and she's going to have to sooner or later.
3) When pressed, what does she think of that night? Was it a failure or a success? Q had actually asked that question that night, while they were lying in his bed. She'd shut him down, telling him crossly that she wasn't about to talk about it now, that – that she needed time. And then she'd gone to work distracting both of them. But when she does have to answer the question, when it finally comes up... In the end, it was a draw. Success would have meant Mandragora's death. Failure... probably would have meant her own death, or giving up. Backing down when the Martian had told her to. Failure would have been not trying. But she'd been there. She'd stood there with her crossbow in hand, Mandragora literally at her mercy. No one was going to stop her. But she had had to make a choice, one she never expected to face. Q's question still haunts her dreams sometimes: Is this what you truly want? The truth was, she was too close to it. She didn't know what she wanted. In the end,... her family's blood simply could not be answered. Not after so long. Not when the simple answer was so complicated. In the end, the Huntress found her prey, and she saw him humbled. It wasn't success or failure, it was simply... an ending.
4) Being fired from the League really did hurt – a lot. It was so unexpected, too. She shouldn't have been surprised. The surprise was that they asked her to join in the first place. Or maybe it was the fact that she actually joined. She did it in part because it'd be easier to find and get to Mandragora with the League's access, but that wasn't all of it. If asked, she'd have said it was mostly because she was bored, but the truth was that she'd been kind of... lonely. The quiet got to her. The lack of communication with other people. Being part of the League was both good and bad in that regard. Good, because she did get to actually interact with people. Bad because some of those people were annoying and most of them didn't get her. It wasn't like she really made friends in her time there. But the rejection of getting kicked out... That stung. Getting together with Q was a huge save for her, though. By the time Canary offered to get her back in, Helena was able to be honest when she said she was fine on her own. The League wasn't the place for her, regardless.
5) She respects the League. They're a bunch of overpowered goody-two-shoes, but they deal with crap people like her can't handle on their own. And they do provide a home for a lot of people who don't have one. It might not have been the place for her, but for others, it's perfect – after all, where else could someone like Shining Knight really go?
6) After her parents were murdered, she was taken in by her cousins – her mother's family – in Italy. They were assassins, and they taught her the trade when she was old enough to draw a bow. She has fond memories of Italy, though not as much of her family (except Sal), but Gotham is her true home. She came back when she came of age and began the hunt for Mandragora – not that she didn't know where he was or how to find him, but hunting is about a lot more than knowing where your target is. You have to know how to get to it, first. So she became Huntress and put her time to good use taking down criminals while always keeping one eye on the prize.
7) Naturally, she had her run-ins with Batman. He never really approved of her, but he let her be once she made it clear that she was not leaving. He might even have respected her a little – she suspects he was the one who suggested her invitation to the League. (He probably thought it would be good for her discipline. So much for that.) She met the two Robins and Batgirl at random times, and encountered Nightwing once or twice, but she kept her distance for the most part. It was always best if she stayed out of the Bat's path. He does know her real name, but she doesn't know his and that's fine with her. Ditto the sidekicks.
8) She used to run into Catwoman, too. When Helena first started making her mark on Gotham, Catwoman – Selina – approached her. Trying to figure out what side she was on, maybe. They were never really friends, but they knew each others' names and weren't enemies.
9) Helena is bi, and she likes sex. Men are easier to pick up, so most of her experience is with them. She's had the occasional female fling, though, and she'd tumble Canary in a heartbeat. (Wonder Woman, too, if she's being honest about it, but that'd be like having sex with a goddess. Talk about feeling inadequate.)
10) Her cousins made sure she got a good education. She can speak fluent Italian and French, and is a pretty good student of history. Well-enough read that she could occasionally surprise Q by understanding some of his obscure quotes or philosophies – it wasn't something that was important to her, but the knowledge stuck with her. She has a thorough understanding of chemistry, too, but that wasn't just from her boarding school. Her family of assassins made sure she knew poisons and antidotes of all kinds. She also knows anatomy pretty damn well, human and beast alike.
11) She has never killed a man. She knows she's capable of it, physically and mentally. She knows, from talking to her cousin Sal, that it changes you. What it would do to her, she doesn't know. Maybe take some part of her soul that isn't already dark. In that moment when she'd thought she'd killed Mandragora in his bed, her adrenaline was running too high and the moment was over too quickly – what should have been the realization of his death turned into the realization she'd been conned. If it came to it again – not with Mandragora, barring some unlikely turn of events – if it came to a man's life and her arrow, she knows she'll be able to pull the trigger. Anything after that will probably depend on the circumstances.
This is also a test of a) posting to DW from LogJam, and b) cross-posting from DW to LJ. Fingers crossed on all counts!
