C &C profile
[PLAYER INFO]
NAME: Ni
AGE: 26
JOURNAL: papirini
IM: drpapirini10839
E-MAIL: papirini@gmail.com
RETURNING: Hikaru Kurotsuki, Aki Izayoi, Mar'i Grayson
[CHARACTER INFO]
CHARACTER NAME: Officially, PRINCESS Tiana. But she will just call herself Tiana.
FANDOM: The Princess and the Frog
CHRONOLOGY: Very near the end, after beating the monster and becoming a princess and human again - but just before her restaurant opens
CLASS: Heroic Disney Princess!
SUPERHERO NAME: N/A. Because Tiana doesn't care to have a secret identity. She didn't have one back home and she got by mostly fiiiiiine in her opinion.
ALTER EGO: Tiana, bonafide culinary genius and aspiring entrepreneur. And Disney princess of Maldonia. Fffff.
BACKGROUND:
Tiana was born in 1907 to James and Eudora (last name not given) in a Disneyfied New Orleans, Louisiana. In Disneyverse, New Orleans is an exciting Southern city where the women are pretty and all the men 'deliver'. Unfortunately, no amount of Disneyfication can erase (and thankfully doesn't) two important things which would help to define Tiana's experience growing up, and to put Tiana's 'fairy tale' into perspective: she was born black, and New Orleans was practically the birthplace of the early 20th century disfranchisement of blacks thanks to Plessy vs. Ferguson. Jim Crow laws and racism still exist in Disneyverse New Orleans, albeit not as obvious, but it's not any less harsh. As a result Tiana grew up in the poorer sections of town, seemingly destined for a life of disappointment and marginalization.
Because of this, from the earliest age Tiana was instilled with the belief that hard work would bring a person closer to fulfilling one's dreams, especially given that her father worked himself close to exhaustion every day and her mother was a seamstress whose work was brought home numerous times. Her belief was in contrast to that of her friend, Charlotte La Beouf, the spoiled young white daughter of a prominent sugar baron (their friendship was made possible by the fact that Charlotte was a consistent customer or Tiana's mother), who believed that simply wishing on the evening star was sure to make all of her dreams come true, just like in the many fairy tales she liked to read. Though even Tiana's father believed that wishing on the evening star had a hand in helping with dreams, in time Tiana would shed any and all belief in fairy tales.
Her father's own dream would never come true during his lifetime. James had always talked about opening up a restaurant inside an old abandoned sugar mill right on the banks of the Mississippi River, and Tiana, turning out to be a gifted cook even at a young age, decided that she would be a part of that dream and that she and her father would open up that restaurant together. She made that vow when she was five, in 1912. Five years later Disney the United States drafted James into the army to fight on the Western Front in World War I. By the end of the war a year later, all that was left of him was a portrait of him in his army uniform and a Distinguished Service Cross for his actions in battle. From then on Tiana vowed to work as hard as she could to fulfill her father's dreams, no matter what the cost.
As soon as she was old enough to work, she started working at various restaurants, doing double shifts at every chance and literally saving up every penny she earned. The closer she got to her goal, the harder she worked, driving herself slavishly every day and every night, sometimes with no sleep for days on end. She sacrificed many things that other took for granted, such as free time and even friendship, to get her restaurant. Most of the people she worked with and most people in her neighborhood either mocked her for working so hard for a dream that seemed impossible, or attempted to try and get her to stop and take a breather with little success. Even her mother became concerned that Tiana was focusing too much on getting what she thought she wanted, as opposed to getting married and settling down for a little bit, which Eudora did despite her own heavy work schedule. But Tiana wasn't to be swayed - her dream was to own a restaurant and to fulfill what her father started, period. And by Mardi Gras 1926, she finally had enough money to make the down payment for the sugar mill that was to be 'Tiana's Place'.
But just as her goal was in grasp, her restaurant was suddenly yanked away from her. The real estate agents who were selling the property suddenly found a bidder offering the full amount for their property; unless she topped the bid in three days, she would lose her dream entirely. However, the more likely, crueler truth implied was that her 'background' (Disney slang for her skin color) was the actual reason; the real estate agents had figured because of that she would never really manage to get the money for the down payment. When she did, they made up the new bidder, as they had never intended to give her the property whether or not she had the entire payment ready.
The realization that she'd been played and would not get her restaurant after all crushed Tiana, and the letdown was made worse by the fact that her friend Charlotte's dreams were rapidly coming true by merely wishing on the evening star. Almost immediately, Charlotte had gotten the attention of a visiting prince, Naveen of Maldonia, and was well on her way to marrying him and becoming a princess, which she always wanted since she was a child and read "The Frog Prince", her favorite story. As a result, for the first time in years, Tiana decided to wish on the evening star for a miracle - for anything - to get her restaurant.
And that's when the talking frog appeared to Tiana. It introduced itself as Prince Naveen of Maldonia - despite the fact the prince was supposedly with Charlotte at that very moment as well. Despite this, somehow the frog convinced Tiana to kiss him. It was less the fact that the frog was supposedly a handsome prince cursed by magic (as Tiana didn't like frogs and hadn't since childhood, ironically because of "The Frog Prince") than by the fact the frog promised monetary compensation to Tiana for doing so. So, Tiana, desperate to get her restaurant and not knowing what else to do, puckered up and kissed the frog.
...And promptly turned into a frog herself. As it turned out, the requirement to break the spell on Naveen (as the frog actually was Prince Naveen) was that the kisser had to be a real princess. Naveen had asked for the kiss on the mistaken belief that Tiana was actually a princess based on her clothing; unfortunately, the dress she was wearing was actually Charlotte's, which she changed into after her previous dress was ruined during the confrontation with the real estate agents. As this had all happened during a costume ball thrown by Charlotte's father, Big Daddy La Bouff, for Prince Naveen's arrival, the mistake was understandable, but it did not make a difference for Tiana (who was rightfully pissed off) or Naveen (who should have actually asked Tiana whether she was an actual princess but never did). They ended up having to flee the La Bouff estate after accidentally ruining the costume ball, and ended up lost in the bayous of Louisiana.
Soon enough Naveen revealed exactly how he had become a frog. He had been a rich and privileged prince, but had been cut off by his parents due to his philandering and free-spending ways. He had come to New Orleans because he wanted desperately to have money again, and the way to do it was to marry a rich heiress - in this case, none other than Charlotte La Bouff. Before he and his servant got to the mansion, however, they were intercepted by Dr. Facilier, known by the people of New Orleans as 'The Shadow Man'. A priest of the darker, more perverse aspects of voodoo, Facilier managed to trick Naveen into accepting his fortune of needing 'the green', and was turned into a frog upon contact with a talisman given to Facilier by the dark voodoo gods, known as the 'Friends on the Other Side'. As to why, Naveen didn't know. Nor did he know where his manservant, Lawrence, went.
This, of course, did not endear him to Tiana, who thought he was an idiot for getting mixed up with Facilier and pretty much told everyone the two frogs befriended as much. All Tiana wanted was to turn back into her human self and get her restaurant. To this end, Tiana and Naveen, aided by an alligator named Louis (whose dream was to be human and play trumpet with famous jazz artists) and a firefly named Ray (who was smitten with Evangeline, who was, of all things, the evening star everyone in the movie liked wishing on, thinking it was a firefly), went to find the ancient voodoo queen of the bayou, Mama Odie. She informed them that the only way to be turned back was to be kissed by a princess - and as it happened, Charlotte was to be the princess of the Mardi Gras parade, but would only be a princess until midnight, so their time to get to her was limited. Before Tiana and Naveen left for New Orleans, Mama Odie also warned them that there was a difference between what she and Naveen wanted, and what they needed. They wanted to be human, but did they know what they needed?
Naveen realized he needed Tiana because he was falling in love with her and that she was a good person. Tiana...thought she needed to work even harder to get her restaurant once she became human. She ended up being so fired up by the idea that she was blind to the fact that Naveen wanted to propose to her - in fact, Naveen decided not to marry Tiana because her heart was so set on her restaurant. Instead, Naveen decided to marry Charlotte in order to secure the money Tiana needed for her restaurant, sacrificing any chance he would have of being with her. Soon enough, though, Tiana found out Naveen loved her from Ray, and realized she might like him too. But when she went to try and find him to confess at the Mardi Gras parade, she saw him - as a human - about to marry Charlotte. Heartbroken and lost, Tiana ran into the Lafayette Cemetery, where she cut off Ray by telling him his beloved Evangeline was just a ball of gas in the sky. She was certain what she saw was real and that she would never be human again, but then minutes after yelling at him Ray returned with a necklace. On it was a voodoo talisman - the very same one which had been used on Naveen.
As it turned out, the 'Naveen' she had seen was really Naveen's servant, Lawrence, who was being used by Dr. Facilier to to marry Charlotte. When they were married, Facilier intended to kill Big Daddy La Bouff with a voodoo doll, making Lawrence - and by extension himself - the richest, most powerful man in New Orleans. Then Facilier would sacrifice the wayward souls of New Orleans to his 'Friends on the Other Side' as a means of repaying the unholy debt he had accrued over the years by using the resources and magic of his 'Friends'. The talisman Tiana was being given was a powerful illusion-casting item - when fed a person's blood it allowed its wearer to take on that person's appearance. The real Naveen had been transformed into a frog in order to allow for the blood transference to be continually applied, but he had escaped and thus met Tiana; he was again kidnapped by Facilier after he dropped his proposal to Tiana, and had been locked inside a church after he and Ray disrupted the Mardi Gras wedding, preventing the marriage from happening.
Realizing the talisman was important to Facilier's plans, Tiana took the talisman from Ray and tried to run, only to be trapped in a corner of the cemetary by Facilier. Suddenly, she became a human again - Facilier had used some magic dust on her to transform her and to create a powerful illusion to entice her to return the talisman. The cemetary turned into her dream restaurant, the crown jewel of the Crescent City, and she was dressed in furs and dripping with diamonds. All the while, Dr. Facilier circled her, telling her how he could help her achieve her dream with one easy move, and how he knew this was what she had always wanted, how everyone had doubted her and mocked her ideals. Then, he told her how her father had worked hard for the same dream, only to have it taken from him; but if Tiana took Facilier's deal, she could give her father all he had ever wanted - a restaurant and fame and fortune.
It was then that Tiana finally figured out what Mama Odie was trying to tell her - what she wanted was a restaurant, but what she needed was the love and support of the people who cared for her. Even if she ultimately failed to get her restaurant, if she had the love of her family and friends, and of Naveen (who was not in her illusion), she would be more fulfilled. Hence, her father never got his restaurant, but he had her, and he had never lost sight of the fact that her happiness - and his - was the thing that truly made him special. With that, she rejects Facilier's deal and is promptly turned back into a frog - but then she grabs the talisman with her tongue and smashes it. Without the talisman, Facilier is forced to reckon with the 'Friends', as without he he has no way of repaying his debt to his hellish masters. The Shadow Man is then dragged into hell, the only trace of him a tombstone with his horrified face on it.
Realizing she has to make amends to Naveen, she returned to the French Quarter and witnessed Lawrence being arrested, as well as Naveen making sure Charlotte helped to pay for Tiana's restaurant once he and Charlotte were married. Before Charlotte can kiss Naveen, Tiana finally manages to convince Naveen that she needed him more than she wanted a restaurant, as her dream was meaningless without him. Unfortunately, this confession ends up causing Charlotte to kiss Naveen too late; the pair are stuck as frogs. The night is made worse by the fact that Ray had fended off Facilier's shadow minions after giving Tiana the talisman, but was attacked and then stepped on by Facilier. After being found by Louis and brought over to Tiana and Naveen, Ray died.
Tiana and Naveen went to give Ray's body a proper funeral in the bayou - and minutes after his body disappeared in the mists, a second star suddenly appeared next to Evangeline. Ray had been turned into a star, right next to his beloved, and no one could believe it. The somber occassion turned into a joyous one, as Ray was finally with the one he loved. In that atmopshere, Tiana and Naveen decided to honor their friend's faith in them by getting married by Mama Odie. And lo and behold, once they kissed, they were transformed into humans - by marrying Naveen, Tiana had become a princess, thus fulfilling the requirement to break the spell. Once they had what they needed, Tiana and Naveen were given what they wanted! Funny how Disney movies work like that.
Though they were later given a more formal wedding where their familes and friends in the human realm could attend, Naveen and Tiana immediately set out for their next goal: getting the sugar mill from the real estate agents who had scammed Tiana due to her color, with a little help from a very intimidating Louis. Then the two newlyweds set to work renovating their new property for the grand opening of a real 'Tiana's Place'...
...And in the middle of the renovating Tiana randomly found herself in the City.
*finally takes a breath*
PERSONALITY:
Tiana is not a normal Disney princess, not by any stretch of the imagination. Most Disney princesses of the modern age films (especially the official ones) are touted as being STRONG MODERNESQUE SPUNKY WITTY SASSY FEMALES, only for each to turn out in the end to be...a damsel-in-distress who suddenly loses their intelligence and wit and apparent ability to fend for themselves when it counts the most. Oops. Thankfully, Tiana is not in that category of princess. It probably helps that Tiana was not born as a princess or even as a person of social distinction, unlike almost every other Disney princess. She is also based into a much more realistic setting (even for Disney standards), which would naturally call for a much more realistic female character.
The big thing that defines Tiana first and foremost is her work ethic. She believes in hard work and working hard, that putting in everything you got and focusing on your dreams will get you places, that taking the easy way out will result in unfortunate consequences. Unfortunately, for a good amount of her story her work ethic is practically the only thing she can focus on; Tiana is a full-blown workaholic and very little can dissuade her from working herself to the bone. Granted, after she returns to being human she certainly eases off on working herself to death, but this isn't to say she doesn't work hard ever again. On the contrary, she's shown to thrive on her work, taking it on herself to completely renovate the sugar mill into Tiana's Place (with Naveen's help) as well as to manage her own restaurant and finances with little to no help from others. A lot of this ethic stems from her circumstances; as a black woman in the Deep South in the early 20th century it was almost imperative for someone like Tiana to be tough and self-reliant in order to get by with basics, much less do anything substantive in the community. She faces racism and sexism, and of course does what she can to fight it, even if the fight seems impossible. At some points her determination to better her circumstances can border on desperation; she may make a silly mistake when that happens or do something ridiculous, especially if it seems like there's no other alternative.
But, most times, she is usually level-headed and resourceful, intelligent and witty. Of course her wit was once covered by the fact she was too busy working for others (and maybe even herself) to realize she had a wit. Thankfully, this is (mostly) no longer the case. And though obviously she's a little less skeptical about the fantastic (because, well, she was turned into a frog among other things), she's still quite grounded in reality (especially in comparison to her friend Charlotte) and has finally learned to appreciate what she has and what she's earned, as well as not to be too ensnared in easy luxuries (as Naveen is a prime example of what happens when one does that in her world). Still, she's learning to relax and not be so uptight about her dreams and feelings. She's also very, very loyal to the people who are her friends and family, and knows when to give respect when respect is due. Of course, she does expect some respect in return, though, since respect is a two-way road, after all. People who disrespect her or her friends - especially those who mock her race and her hard work, or worse, both - will draw her ire. She won't resort to violence, and certainly the world she lived in would have frowned on it, but as shown with her use of Louis on the real estate agents, she knows how to get her own back in her own little way if she needs to.
POWER:
Cooking Mastery OVER 9000 - It can be argued that Tiana's cooking prowess practically is superhuman. There is little doubt Tiana is pretty much the greatest cook in Disney canon ever and makes guys like this and this look like fast food employees in comparison. Even debatably this guy might not be able to hold a candle to her.
Tiana is capable of making super-amazing food, as well as turning any culinary disaster wrought by others into the best thing they've ever tasted. Primarily, Tiana is a chef of Cajun and Creole cuisine (basically New Orleans food) but is shown to be learning how to cook other types of foods as well. She is able to make improvised versions of various different recipes and even knows how to make her own homemade tabasco sauce. Basically Tiana is an unstoppable culinary behemoth and dear god this jumbalaya needs some peppers...
Animal Comprehension - When Tiana was turned into a frog she gained the ability to understand animal language, which she learned she had when Charlotte's dog talked to her. She seems likely to have retained this gift even after turning back into a human, mainly due to the fact she has Louis with her and Naveen and not, say, Random Crocodile #528163. Also because she is a Disney princess and all Disney princesses must know how to understand animals in some way.
[CHARACTER SAMPLES]
COMMUNITY POST (FIRST PERSON) SAMPLE: [Someone is pressing a lot of buttons. Someone clearly does not know how to work the comms. It's on, but the person working it doesn't seem to realize it.]
This is more confusing than a telephone. Is this some kind of new radio or somethin'?
[A frustrated sigh. The person speaking is clearly female, and her accent is Southern. She starts to talk, her heels clacking on the floor, back and forth as she mumbles to herself.]
Oh, whatever. Come on now, evening star, this is just ridiculous. I've already had enough adventure in the past several weeks to last me several lifetimes and then some. I need to get back home, and I need to finish what I started, and I need to-
[Ding. She was in an elevator, and now she's out of it. And still talking to herself.]
I don't know what in the world this place is, or how that woman was able to talk on that theater screen, or where that music on the elevator was comin' from, but Naveen, if you've been talkin' to voodoo men again, I swear I will--
[And then the door to the outside world opens. All talking suddenly stops, save for a very audible gasp just before there is a loud THUD. The comm has been dropped to the ground, and upon impact the video turns on. Standing above the comm is an African American female, her eyes wide and her jaw pretty much to the floor. And what is she looking at? Well. Everything.
Several minutes pass, with her just...staring at the city around her. Finally, she speaks, her voice almost squeaking in shock.]
What...in the...
WHERE....AM I!?
LOGS POST (THIRD PERSON) SAMPLE: She had gotten there. She had been so close, so close to opening her restaurant back home, and suddenly, it was taken from her once again. So, here, Tiana was back at square one. No restaurant, no money, no Naveen or Louis or Charlotte anywhere in sight. She was alone.
That she would return to New Orleans and to all of the things she had back home was only a small comfort in comparison to all of the questions swirling in her mind. What would she tell anyone about what happened to her, and would they believe her? (No, scratch that. Naveen and Charlotte would probably believe her about the City.) What if she didn't return home at the moment she disappeared? And then, the most important question: what would she do here?
Tiana looked down at her hand as she played with her wedding ring. As she did, the worry began to dissolve into resolve. Yes, she was alone and starting from scratch. But she'd done that before, hadn't she? Twice, even. First when her daddy died, then, when she met Naveen and kissed him...despite that, her father had had faith in her, her mother had faith in her, the La Bouffs and Naveen and Louis and Ray as well, all had faith in her. That she would do the right thing and not lose sight of the important things in life.
And what was important was...to make sure their faith in her and their love for her wasn't unfounded. Her fist clenched. So she didn't have her restaurant. Well, she couldn't sit around and wail about it! She'd make Tiana's Place in the City. She'd save up the stipend, and get a job or two to compensate and get by - but she'd take it easier this time around. At least try to. Those 24 hour shifts probably weren't a good idea. Besides, it was the 21st century out here, so who knew what she could get a job as and what was possible! (They had tobasco in space for crying out loud!) And when her restaurant finally did open in this City everyone really could come from everywhere and taste her food and come together and--and if the people from home came to the City...Tiana and Tiana's Place would be there for them, as if they'd never left home.
"...Yes."
The wedding ring slid back onto Tiana's finger as she stood up straight. Putting her comm back into her pocket (she really did need to figure out how to use it properly one day), she looked back down to the golden band and firmly nodded. Time to put her nose to the grindstone - the classifieds wouldn't know what hit them!
FINAL NOTES ABOUT YOUR CHARACTER:
Tiana is front the 1920's. She is unfamiliar with a LOT of technological advances made since then, history, civil rights, etc. pretty much everything since 1925, just as a warning. That's pretty much it?
NAME: Ni
AGE: 26
JOURNAL: papirini
IM: drpapirini10839
E-MAIL: papirini@gmail.com
RETURNING: Hikaru Kurotsuki, Aki Izayoi, Mar'i Grayson
[CHARACTER INFO]
CHARACTER NAME: Officially, PRINCESS Tiana. But she will just call herself Tiana.
FANDOM: The Princess and the Frog
CHRONOLOGY: Very near the end, after beating the monster and becoming a princess and human again - but just before her restaurant opens
CLASS: Heroic Disney Princess!
SUPERHERO NAME: N/A. Because Tiana doesn't care to have a secret identity. She didn't have one back home and she got by mostly fiiiiiine in her opinion.
ALTER EGO: Tiana, bonafide culinary genius and aspiring entrepreneur. And Disney princess of Maldonia. Fffff.
BACKGROUND:
Tiana was born in 1907 to James and Eudora (last name not given) in a Disneyfied New Orleans, Louisiana. In Disneyverse, New Orleans is an exciting Southern city where the women are pretty and all the men 'deliver'. Unfortunately, no amount of Disneyfication can erase (and thankfully doesn't) two important things which would help to define Tiana's experience growing up, and to put Tiana's 'fairy tale' into perspective: she was born black, and New Orleans was practically the birthplace of the early 20th century disfranchisement of blacks thanks to Plessy vs. Ferguson. Jim Crow laws and racism still exist in Disneyverse New Orleans, albeit not as obvious, but it's not any less harsh. As a result Tiana grew up in the poorer sections of town, seemingly destined for a life of disappointment and marginalization.
Because of this, from the earliest age Tiana was instilled with the belief that hard work would bring a person closer to fulfilling one's dreams, especially given that her father worked himself close to exhaustion every day and her mother was a seamstress whose work was brought home numerous times. Her belief was in contrast to that of her friend, Charlotte La Beouf, the spoiled young white daughter of a prominent sugar baron (their friendship was made possible by the fact that Charlotte was a consistent customer or Tiana's mother), who believed that simply wishing on the evening star was sure to make all of her dreams come true, just like in the many fairy tales she liked to read. Though even Tiana's father believed that wishing on the evening star had a hand in helping with dreams, in time Tiana would shed any and all belief in fairy tales.
Her father's own dream would never come true during his lifetime. James had always talked about opening up a restaurant inside an old abandoned sugar mill right on the banks of the Mississippi River, and Tiana, turning out to be a gifted cook even at a young age, decided that she would be a part of that dream and that she and her father would open up that restaurant together. She made that vow when she was five, in 1912. Five years later Disney the United States drafted James into the army to fight on the Western Front in World War I. By the end of the war a year later, all that was left of him was a portrait of him in his army uniform and a Distinguished Service Cross for his actions in battle. From then on Tiana vowed to work as hard as she could to fulfill her father's dreams, no matter what the cost.
As soon as she was old enough to work, she started working at various restaurants, doing double shifts at every chance and literally saving up every penny she earned. The closer she got to her goal, the harder she worked, driving herself slavishly every day and every night, sometimes with no sleep for days on end. She sacrificed many things that other took for granted, such as free time and even friendship, to get her restaurant. Most of the people she worked with and most people in her neighborhood either mocked her for working so hard for a dream that seemed impossible, or attempted to try and get her to stop and take a breather with little success. Even her mother became concerned that Tiana was focusing too much on getting what she thought she wanted, as opposed to getting married and settling down for a little bit, which Eudora did despite her own heavy work schedule. But Tiana wasn't to be swayed - her dream was to own a restaurant and to fulfill what her father started, period. And by Mardi Gras 1926, she finally had enough money to make the down payment for the sugar mill that was to be 'Tiana's Place'.
But just as her goal was in grasp, her restaurant was suddenly yanked away from her. The real estate agents who were selling the property suddenly found a bidder offering the full amount for their property; unless she topped the bid in three days, she would lose her dream entirely. However, the more likely, crueler truth implied was that her 'background' (Disney slang for her skin color) was the actual reason; the real estate agents had figured because of that she would never really manage to get the money for the down payment. When she did, they made up the new bidder, as they had never intended to give her the property whether or not she had the entire payment ready.
The realization that she'd been played and would not get her restaurant after all crushed Tiana, and the letdown was made worse by the fact that her friend Charlotte's dreams were rapidly coming true by merely wishing on the evening star. Almost immediately, Charlotte had gotten the attention of a visiting prince, Naveen of Maldonia, and was well on her way to marrying him and becoming a princess, which she always wanted since she was a child and read "The Frog Prince", her favorite story. As a result, for the first time in years, Tiana decided to wish on the evening star for a miracle - for anything - to get her restaurant.
And that's when the talking frog appeared to Tiana. It introduced itself as Prince Naveen of Maldonia - despite the fact the prince was supposedly with Charlotte at that very moment as well. Despite this, somehow the frog convinced Tiana to kiss him. It was less the fact that the frog was supposedly a handsome prince cursed by magic (as Tiana didn't like frogs and hadn't since childhood, ironically because of "The Frog Prince") than by the fact the frog promised monetary compensation to Tiana for doing so. So, Tiana, desperate to get her restaurant and not knowing what else to do, puckered up and kissed the frog.
...And promptly turned into a frog herself. As it turned out, the requirement to break the spell on Naveen (as the frog actually was Prince Naveen) was that the kisser had to be a real princess. Naveen had asked for the kiss on the mistaken belief that Tiana was actually a princess based on her clothing; unfortunately, the dress she was wearing was actually Charlotte's, which she changed into after her previous dress was ruined during the confrontation with the real estate agents. As this had all happened during a costume ball thrown by Charlotte's father, Big Daddy La Bouff, for Prince Naveen's arrival, the mistake was understandable, but it did not make a difference for Tiana (who was rightfully pissed off) or Naveen (who should have actually asked Tiana whether she was an actual princess but never did). They ended up having to flee the La Bouff estate after accidentally ruining the costume ball, and ended up lost in the bayous of Louisiana.
Soon enough Naveen revealed exactly how he had become a frog. He had been a rich and privileged prince, but had been cut off by his parents due to his philandering and free-spending ways. He had come to New Orleans because he wanted desperately to have money again, and the way to do it was to marry a rich heiress - in this case, none other than Charlotte La Bouff. Before he and his servant got to the mansion, however, they were intercepted by Dr. Facilier, known by the people of New Orleans as 'The Shadow Man'. A priest of the darker, more perverse aspects of voodoo, Facilier managed to trick Naveen into accepting his fortune of needing 'the green', and was turned into a frog upon contact with a talisman given to Facilier by the dark voodoo gods, known as the 'Friends on the Other Side'. As to why, Naveen didn't know. Nor did he know where his manservant, Lawrence, went.
This, of course, did not endear him to Tiana, who thought he was an idiot for getting mixed up with Facilier and pretty much told everyone the two frogs befriended as much. All Tiana wanted was to turn back into her human self and get her restaurant. To this end, Tiana and Naveen, aided by an alligator named Louis (whose dream was to be human and play trumpet with famous jazz artists) and a firefly named Ray (who was smitten with Evangeline, who was, of all things, the evening star everyone in the movie liked wishing on, thinking it was a firefly), went to find the ancient voodoo queen of the bayou, Mama Odie. She informed them that the only way to be turned back was to be kissed by a princess - and as it happened, Charlotte was to be the princess of the Mardi Gras parade, but would only be a princess until midnight, so their time to get to her was limited. Before Tiana and Naveen left for New Orleans, Mama Odie also warned them that there was a difference between what she and Naveen wanted, and what they needed. They wanted to be human, but did they know what they needed?
Naveen realized he needed Tiana because he was falling in love with her and that she was a good person. Tiana...thought she needed to work even harder to get her restaurant once she became human. She ended up being so fired up by the idea that she was blind to the fact that Naveen wanted to propose to her - in fact, Naveen decided not to marry Tiana because her heart was so set on her restaurant. Instead, Naveen decided to marry Charlotte in order to secure the money Tiana needed for her restaurant, sacrificing any chance he would have of being with her. Soon enough, though, Tiana found out Naveen loved her from Ray, and realized she might like him too. But when she went to try and find him to confess at the Mardi Gras parade, she saw him - as a human - about to marry Charlotte. Heartbroken and lost, Tiana ran into the Lafayette Cemetery, where she cut off Ray by telling him his beloved Evangeline was just a ball of gas in the sky. She was certain what she saw was real and that she would never be human again, but then minutes after yelling at him Ray returned with a necklace. On it was a voodoo talisman - the very same one which had been used on Naveen.
As it turned out, the 'Naveen' she had seen was really Naveen's servant, Lawrence, who was being used by Dr. Facilier to to marry Charlotte. When they were married, Facilier intended to kill Big Daddy La Bouff with a voodoo doll, making Lawrence - and by extension himself - the richest, most powerful man in New Orleans. Then Facilier would sacrifice the wayward souls of New Orleans to his 'Friends on the Other Side' as a means of repaying the unholy debt he had accrued over the years by using the resources and magic of his 'Friends'. The talisman Tiana was being given was a powerful illusion-casting item - when fed a person's blood it allowed its wearer to take on that person's appearance. The real Naveen had been transformed into a frog in order to allow for the blood transference to be continually applied, but he had escaped and thus met Tiana; he was again kidnapped by Facilier after he dropped his proposal to Tiana, and had been locked inside a church after he and Ray disrupted the Mardi Gras wedding, preventing the marriage from happening.
Realizing the talisman was important to Facilier's plans, Tiana took the talisman from Ray and tried to run, only to be trapped in a corner of the cemetary by Facilier. Suddenly, she became a human again - Facilier had used some magic dust on her to transform her and to create a powerful illusion to entice her to return the talisman. The cemetary turned into her dream restaurant, the crown jewel of the Crescent City, and she was dressed in furs and dripping with diamonds. All the while, Dr. Facilier circled her, telling her how he could help her achieve her dream with one easy move, and how he knew this was what she had always wanted, how everyone had doubted her and mocked her ideals. Then, he told her how her father had worked hard for the same dream, only to have it taken from him; but if Tiana took Facilier's deal, she could give her father all he had ever wanted - a restaurant and fame and fortune.
It was then that Tiana finally figured out what Mama Odie was trying to tell her - what she wanted was a restaurant, but what she needed was the love and support of the people who cared for her. Even if she ultimately failed to get her restaurant, if she had the love of her family and friends, and of Naveen (who was not in her illusion), she would be more fulfilled. Hence, her father never got his restaurant, but he had her, and he had never lost sight of the fact that her happiness - and his - was the thing that truly made him special. With that, she rejects Facilier's deal and is promptly turned back into a frog - but then she grabs the talisman with her tongue and smashes it. Without the talisman, Facilier is forced to reckon with the 'Friends', as without he he has no way of repaying his debt to his hellish masters. The Shadow Man is then dragged into hell, the only trace of him a tombstone with his horrified face on it.
Realizing she has to make amends to Naveen, she returned to the French Quarter and witnessed Lawrence being arrested, as well as Naveen making sure Charlotte helped to pay for Tiana's restaurant once he and Charlotte were married. Before Charlotte can kiss Naveen, Tiana finally manages to convince Naveen that she needed him more than she wanted a restaurant, as her dream was meaningless without him. Unfortunately, this confession ends up causing Charlotte to kiss Naveen too late; the pair are stuck as frogs. The night is made worse by the fact that Ray had fended off Facilier's shadow minions after giving Tiana the talisman, but was attacked and then stepped on by Facilier. After being found by Louis and brought over to Tiana and Naveen, Ray died.
Tiana and Naveen went to give Ray's body a proper funeral in the bayou - and minutes after his body disappeared in the mists, a second star suddenly appeared next to Evangeline. Ray had been turned into a star, right next to his beloved, and no one could believe it. The somber occassion turned into a joyous one, as Ray was finally with the one he loved. In that atmopshere, Tiana and Naveen decided to honor their friend's faith in them by getting married by Mama Odie. And lo and behold, once they kissed, they were transformed into humans - by marrying Naveen, Tiana had become a princess, thus fulfilling the requirement to break the spell. Once they had what they needed, Tiana and Naveen were given what they wanted! Funny how Disney movies work like that.
Though they were later given a more formal wedding where their familes and friends in the human realm could attend, Naveen and Tiana immediately set out for their next goal: getting the sugar mill from the real estate agents who had scammed Tiana due to her color, with a little help from a very intimidating Louis. Then the two newlyweds set to work renovating their new property for the grand opening of a real 'Tiana's Place'...
...And in the middle of the renovating Tiana randomly found herself in the City.
*finally takes a breath*
PERSONALITY:
Tiana is not a normal Disney princess, not by any stretch of the imagination. Most Disney princesses of the modern age films (especially the official ones) are touted as being STRONG MODERNESQUE SPUNKY WITTY SASSY FEMALES, only for each to turn out in the end to be...a damsel-in-distress who suddenly loses their intelligence and wit and apparent ability to fend for themselves when it counts the most. Oops. Thankfully, Tiana is not in that category of princess. It probably helps that Tiana was not born as a princess or even as a person of social distinction, unlike almost every other Disney princess. She is also based into a much more realistic setting (even for Disney standards), which would naturally call for a much more realistic female character.
The big thing that defines Tiana first and foremost is her work ethic. She believes in hard work and working hard, that putting in everything you got and focusing on your dreams will get you places, that taking the easy way out will result in unfortunate consequences. Unfortunately, for a good amount of her story her work ethic is practically the only thing she can focus on; Tiana is a full-blown workaholic and very little can dissuade her from working herself to the bone. Granted, after she returns to being human she certainly eases off on working herself to death, but this isn't to say she doesn't work hard ever again. On the contrary, she's shown to thrive on her work, taking it on herself to completely renovate the sugar mill into Tiana's Place (with Naveen's help) as well as to manage her own restaurant and finances with little to no help from others. A lot of this ethic stems from her circumstances; as a black woman in the Deep South in the early 20th century it was almost imperative for someone like Tiana to be tough and self-reliant in order to get by with basics, much less do anything substantive in the community. She faces racism and sexism, and of course does what she can to fight it, even if the fight seems impossible. At some points her determination to better her circumstances can border on desperation; she may make a silly mistake when that happens or do something ridiculous, especially if it seems like there's no other alternative.
But, most times, she is usually level-headed and resourceful, intelligent and witty. Of course her wit was once covered by the fact she was too busy working for others (and maybe even herself) to realize she had a wit. Thankfully, this is (mostly) no longer the case. And though obviously she's a little less skeptical about the fantastic (because, well, she was turned into a frog among other things), she's still quite grounded in reality (especially in comparison to her friend Charlotte) and has finally learned to appreciate what she has and what she's earned, as well as not to be too ensnared in easy luxuries (as Naveen is a prime example of what happens when one does that in her world). Still, she's learning to relax and not be so uptight about her dreams and feelings. She's also very, very loyal to the people who are her friends and family, and knows when to give respect when respect is due. Of course, she does expect some respect in return, though, since respect is a two-way road, after all. People who disrespect her or her friends - especially those who mock her race and her hard work, or worse, both - will draw her ire. She won't resort to violence, and certainly the world she lived in would have frowned on it, but as shown with her use of Louis on the real estate agents, she knows how to get her own back in her own little way if she needs to.
POWER:
Cooking Mastery OVER 9000 - It can be argued that Tiana's cooking prowess practically is superhuman. There is little doubt Tiana is pretty much the greatest cook in Disney canon ever and makes guys like this and this look like fast food employees in comparison. Even debatably this guy might not be able to hold a candle to her.
Tiana is capable of making super-amazing food, as well as turning any culinary disaster wrought by others into the best thing they've ever tasted. Primarily, Tiana is a chef of Cajun and Creole cuisine (basically New Orleans food) but is shown to be learning how to cook other types of foods as well. She is able to make improvised versions of various different recipes and even knows how to make her own homemade tabasco sauce. Basically Tiana is an unstoppable culinary behemoth and dear god this jumbalaya needs some peppers...
Animal Comprehension - When Tiana was turned into a frog she gained the ability to understand animal language, which she learned she had when Charlotte's dog talked to her. She seems likely to have retained this gift even after turning back into a human, mainly due to the fact she has Louis with her and Naveen and not, say, Random Crocodile #528163. Also because she is a Disney princess and all Disney princesses must know how to understand animals in some way.
[CHARACTER SAMPLES]
COMMUNITY POST (FIRST PERSON) SAMPLE: [Someone is pressing a lot of buttons. Someone clearly does not know how to work the comms. It's on, but the person working it doesn't seem to realize it.]
This is more confusing than a telephone. Is this some kind of new radio or somethin'?
[A frustrated sigh. The person speaking is clearly female, and her accent is Southern. She starts to talk, her heels clacking on the floor, back and forth as she mumbles to herself.]
Oh, whatever. Come on now, evening star, this is just ridiculous. I've already had enough adventure in the past several weeks to last me several lifetimes and then some. I need to get back home, and I need to finish what I started, and I need to-
[Ding. She was in an elevator, and now she's out of it. And still talking to herself.]
I don't know what in the world this place is, or how that woman was able to talk on that theater screen, or where that music on the elevator was comin' from, but Naveen, if you've been talkin' to voodoo men again, I swear I will--
[And then the door to the outside world opens. All talking suddenly stops, save for a very audible gasp just before there is a loud THUD. The comm has been dropped to the ground, and upon impact the video turns on. Standing above the comm is an African American female, her eyes wide and her jaw pretty much to the floor. And what is she looking at? Well. Everything.
Several minutes pass, with her just...staring at the city around her. Finally, she speaks, her voice almost squeaking in shock.]
What...in the...
WHERE....AM I!?
LOGS POST (THIRD PERSON) SAMPLE: She had gotten there. She had been so close, so close to opening her restaurant back home, and suddenly, it was taken from her once again. So, here, Tiana was back at square one. No restaurant, no money, no Naveen or Louis or Charlotte anywhere in sight. She was alone.
That she would return to New Orleans and to all of the things she had back home was only a small comfort in comparison to all of the questions swirling in her mind. What would she tell anyone about what happened to her, and would they believe her? (No, scratch that. Naveen and Charlotte would probably believe her about the City.) What if she didn't return home at the moment she disappeared? And then, the most important question: what would she do here?
Tiana looked down at her hand as she played with her wedding ring. As she did, the worry began to dissolve into resolve. Yes, she was alone and starting from scratch. But she'd done that before, hadn't she? Twice, even. First when her daddy died, then, when she met Naveen and kissed him...despite that, her father had had faith in her, her mother had faith in her, the La Bouffs and Naveen and Louis and Ray as well, all had faith in her. That she would do the right thing and not lose sight of the important things in life.
And what was important was...to make sure their faith in her and their love for her wasn't unfounded. Her fist clenched. So she didn't have her restaurant. Well, she couldn't sit around and wail about it! She'd make Tiana's Place in the City. She'd save up the stipend, and get a job or two to compensate and get by - but she'd take it easier this time around. At least try to. Those 24 hour shifts probably weren't a good idea. Besides, it was the 21st century out here, so who knew what she could get a job as and what was possible! (They had tobasco in space for crying out loud!) And when her restaurant finally did open in this City everyone really could come from everywhere and taste her food and come together and--and if the people from home came to the City...Tiana and Tiana's Place would be there for them, as if they'd never left home.
"...Yes."
The wedding ring slid back onto Tiana's finger as she stood up straight. Putting her comm back into her pocket (she really did need to figure out how to use it properly one day), she looked back down to the golden band and firmly nodded. Time to put her nose to the grindstone - the classifieds wouldn't know what hit them!
FINAL NOTES ABOUT YOUR CHARACTER:
Tiana is front the 1920's. She is unfamiliar with a LOT of technological advances made since then, history, civil rights, etc. pretty much everything since 1925, just as a warning. That's pretty much it?