living off of Monster drinks to survive :)

Hourglass OC with her hair dyed for NRC (she's using some sort of spell to look like a male or whatever. She's watching Jamil organize another party for Kalim. She's mentally asking the Great Seven or whatever cosmic force is out there to make Kalim trip and fall down the stairs)

Hourglass OC with her natural hair color! This is what she probably looks like when not at NRC. She is distracted. She is considering whether to invest in a boombox for when she ruins her father and stepmother's lives. She looks just like her mother, and grows out her hair to style it like her mother so she doesn't forget how she looks. It's both a relief and a nightmare, because every morning she looks in the mirror and sees her dead mother, but she can't bring herself to "erase" her mother from herself.

Hourglass OC during Book 7 in her dream (Here, her mother didn't die at the banquet and she was able to prove her innocence, so OC got to keep her mama and never went to NRC). She does gardening with Mama, and copies Mama's appearance on purpose because it's pretty and she likes to match with Mama. :)

AND BEHOLD

Mama. OC is a carbon copy of her, dad's genes didn't even show up to fight. Despite being born from a wealthy bloodline, OC's mother always favored more elegant and less flashy jewelry (incredibly wealthy but doesn't flaunt it or spend needlessly), usually favoring a pearl necklace and not much more, maybe a flower.

The Lore:

Basically, the OC is based on the hourglass that traps jasmine, as a product of the lamp (mom) and the way it is being misused.

The lamp (mom) was the most important treasure in the cave, and in Twisted Wonderland was a wealthy young heiress who was married to the father (the Shiva-monkey statue). The family's wealth is between the Asim family's level of wealth and Prince Minajael's family's level of wealth, basically a wealthy old-blood nobility family, not the commercial and social wealth of the Asim family but an older and still very important family in the high society of the Scalding Sands.

The ruby that Abu grabs is the inspiration for the stepmother/homewrecker/other woman, because it represents the temptation of something shiny that distracted and tempted Abu when the real treasure was the magic lamp, as the woman tempts and then seduces OC's father who is already married (to his wife/magic lamp, the real treasure of the cave), as well as being the very thing that, when taken once the greed and temptation draws you in, is the reason the cave collapses and is destroyed.

The father, meanwhile, is inspired by the Shiva-monkey statue that holds up the ruby, seeming harmless to Abu as it then becomes the first source of the lava that destroys the cave of Wonders, just like OC's father destroyed the family with the influence of the woman, whom he elevates into a higher level of society by then marrying her, like the statue holding up the ruby so it is noticed by Abu.

The cave itself represents the OC's family, as the father betrays the mother by scheming with his affair (the ruby/the woman), being the cause for one of the incidents in Kalim's childhood where he was the target of poison as they planned it and then framed the mother by planting the vial of poison in her small wrist bag, the mistress (a lower noble who'd come along as well to the dinner and was a "good friend" of the father's) "accidentally" knocking the mother's drawstring wrist bag over and "discovering" the poison and the "culprit" with a shriek and a pointed finger, the father ordering his closest circle of the family's personal security to "seize" the mother in the panic after Jamil has collapsed from the poison while taste testing for Kalim a few minutes after trying it as it was believed it was clear, and then Kalim collapsing as well as the supposedly "all-clear" dish's poison impacts him as well, being a late-impact toxin.

But by seize, he had meant "pretend you're going to seize her and cause a commotion that leaves her dead so she cannot refute or defend herself". The mother, in the commotion, "tragically found herself stabbed by accident by one of the security's daggers when she tripped and fell", and is left on the floor bleeding out as the oc (the hourglass) is left on the floor holding onto her dying mother in horror. At the time, nobody steps forward to try to save the mother, as she is the one who poisoned the Asim heir and everyone is now panicking since it was an event with many high-profile individuals, including a teen Leona who had been forced to go as the Second Prince of Sunset Savannah instead of his brother the king, as it had been a high-profile event (can then be used for the interaction in Book 2 during the Housewarden meeting where Kalim mentioned how they might have gone to the same Spelldrive tournaments as kids and Leona dismisses him. This can then kind of be connected to how Leona saw the events of the banquet hosted by the Asims and how he perceives the hipocrisy of nobility and influential figures of society).

Leona, although he doesn't ever opendly talk or mention it, does remember that night. Specifically, he remembers his guards ushering him away to safety before his beastman nose caught the scent of blood and, turning around, he caught a glimpse of the supposed culprit on the floor as blood pooled around her in her mint-green dinner dress, nobody helping as the only person who is actually approaching is her tiny daughter in a matching dress (light pink) who collapses next to her, shaking her.

And of course, due to the fact that Kalim did end up being poisoned, Jamil was indeed severely scolded by his parents for the fact that Kalim almost died, adding another grain of sand to his resentment towards Kalim. In the end, the mother dies as the "villain", her wealth going to the father who then marries the mistress.

It's only a month after the tragic event that the child (hourglass) happens to overhear her father and new stepmother discussing this and laughing, as it dawns on the poor child that her own father and this woman caused and orchestrated the framing and then death of her beloved, kind mother. The house staff and citizens of the city this was in though, dearly adored the mother who, as a "terrible criminal", is not buried in the estate's family graveyard but rather in a common graveyard, that the child regularly visits to weep at her mother's grave. With her mother's death, the father and stepmother increase the taxes on the citizens, embezzling the money for themselves.

This causes discontent in the city (not Silk City, but a diiferent city where her mother's family has been for generations as the "landlords" of the land. Probably a more historically significant city with architecture and such instead of a commercial one like Silk City) and its citizens, which sets a stage where, once she carries out her plan and exposes her father and stepmother, the city will no doubt be on her side and support her as the daughter of the old Lady of the estate, whom most remember with sad fondness as she was kind and had, while alive, done the city multiple services, repairing damages such as potholes or buildings destroyed in unfortunate circumstances, and established and sponsored different orphanages and medical facilities for those of lower income with her family's massive, decades-old, generational wealth. The mother's family was old-blood rich nobility, from generations of survival and accumulated wealth as the bloodline had seen dozens of rulers rise and fall.

Over the years, she secretly ensures that the stepmother never becomes pregnant, with the help of the house staff still loyal to the late Lady of the House, whom add pregnancy prevention meds into the woman's meals. Of course, this is indeed tragic for the woman, as she keeps not getting pregnant and the few actual pregnancies ended pretty quickly through early miscarriages, but the girl honestly couldn't care less about "that woman" or how much she suffers.

And while it is deserved in her opinion and she couldn't care less, a bunch of people will probably find her incredibly immoral or cruel or downright monstrous for this, preventing pregnancies and causing early miscarriages, which is a horrible thing to do, making her the type of morally grey I want in this character, someone who has her tragic reason, but also does what is necessary for the sake of the end goal, no matter how many times she has to get her hands dirty.

True, she doesn't care about the stepmother's suffering with these things, and she doesn't need some brat born out of the two people she hates the most messing up her plans, but it's also to prevent a child entering the equation in general. Her own trauma from witnessing her mother's death deeply scarred her, and she is actvely planning how to destroy her father and stepmother and expose them as the true culprits of that night and their crime of framing and murder.

She knew from the moment she learned the truth that a baby would be an annoyance at least, and a victim of her actions no doubt. If a baby had been born and grown in the family, her plan of exposing and destroying her father and stepmother would no doubt heavily scar the kid, as she would be exposing the child's parents of commiting horrible crimes (poisoning the Asim heir, framing a noble, murder, embezzlement of the raised taxes), probably dooming the parents to a very severe punishment, and turning the child into the child of "monsters", which would strip the kid of any normal life. She knows that feeling, because that's how the Scalding Sands high society sees her, as the daughter of a woman who tried to poison a child and almost killed two.

She's perfectly aware that allowing a child to enter the equation would result in said child being both heavily traumatized and potentially vengeful, because she plans to fulfill her plan no matter what. But it's also because the baby born would be innocent. The only crime that baby would be guilty of is being born as the child of two horrible people.

While preventing a baby from happening does cause a sense of morbid retribution for her whenever she hears of her stepmother's misfortune with another failed pregnancy, it's also because she how cruel the high society of the Scalding Sands would be to the child when she exposes and destroys her father and stepmother, reclaiming the family power that came mostly from her maternal family's wealth. Ironically enough, the father is still supportive and loving towards the stepmother despite every failed pregnancy.

Most of the original staff was fired after the mom's death, of course, but the child refused to let her mother's head maid be fired, insisting on the elderly woman being her own personal maid. Said maid had raised her mother since childhood and tended to her, and quite a few of the new staff and all of the remaining staff is still loyal to the old Madam.

Everything the OC does plays a lot into her being based off of the hourglass that traps Jasmine, as even if she is a child when she starts to plan, she keeps control of the house even if the father and stepmother don't realize it, essentially becoming the "golden cage", as the father and stepmother bask in their wealth and success, unaware they're being kept in a metaphorical cage until OC decides to execute her plan, as she's been carefully gathering proof of their crimes.

Years pass, with the OC deciding to pretend to be a guy to attend NRC (in reality, she gets in by bribing Crowley like it is alluded with Kalim's family, using a substantial amount of money and the offer of a costly and quite large magestone, only she does it before first year starts as attending NRC is her goal, unlike Kalim who wanted to go there because Jamil had been accepted to NRC) since it is a prestigious academic establishment with useful top-notch classes that aren't regulated, controlled, or taught by people her father chooses. How she convinces her father? Playing the part of the dutiful daughter who got over her mother's death and accepted her "new mother" for years, accompanied with the fact that a school that prestigious will no doubt ensure she makes connections with influential figures that can be politically beneficial for the family. "Besides, didn't you hear, Father? The Second Prince of Sunset Savannah and the heir to the throne of Briar Valley already attend Night Raven College. Should I attend, my academic life would coincide with theirs. And, being in an educational environment as fellow students and peers rather than a politically-influenced one, the possibility of getting closer to these individuals as an acquaintance or even a friend increases, as it is much more likely that they view me as a peer instead of someone trying to get something out of them because of their socio-political status. A social connection like that, formed in an establishment as fellow students, will probably yield better results than outright approaching them at an event, Father."

The idea of having the chance of connecting to the very heir to the throne of Briar Valley? She knows her father is too greedy to pass up on an opportunity like that.

She secures a private room as well by paying Crowley, who makes this happen by citing "health issues" as a reason, as long as she maintains her gender a secret, as she uses her grandmother's (maternal grandma's) maiden name to not be recognized as part of her family, styling and dyeing her hair so carefully that everyone genuinely things "his" natural hair is red, instead of the same gold as her mother.

Now, this girl hates, and I mean HATES Kalim with a capital H, seeing him as the reason her father and "that woman" had the chance to kill her mother. And Jamil, as the attendant/retainer of that "blithering imbecile", isn't spared from the resentful treatment. So from the moment Kalim starts in NRC, she's not necessarily mean outright, but she's definitely very distant, cold, and arrogant no matter what he does, her personality having become very cold as her mother's death changed her A LOT.

Now, she doesn't flaunt her wealth, but she treats Kalim and Jamil (the literal housewarden and vice of the dorm she is in) very distantly and coldly, exploiting the fact that Jamil is a servant to treat him coldly, both before and after his Overblot, even when he plays the part of the dependable vice, making a point of usually calling him only "vice", "vice-housewarden", or if she's feeling particularly polite, "Viper".

With Kalim, "he" will reject the invitations to the dorm parties with a polite but ice-cold, "No thank you, Housewarden. Some students prefer investing in their future rather than gallivanting and flaunting wealth and meaningless achievements senselessly."

Kalim, of course, doesn't understand why, and is probably hurt and confused. While Jamil resents Kalim for his reasons, OC despises Kalim because she sees him as the very reason her mother is dead. Yes, he was a child and it's not actually his fault, he couldn't possibly have done anything, of course.

But for OC, her mother is called a criminal and monster for something she didn't do, her mother was killed at a banquet hosted by the Asim family, and they didn't even investigate the matter due to her father and stepmother framing it so perfectly, both the crime and staging the "accidental death", as the death is later seen as a tragic accident that happened in the middle of a panicked crowd, where OC's mother (who came from a bloodline known for strong magic) lost her balance or struggled, and the "frazzled" security of the family was just unlucky to have been holding the dagger the security group uses for close-quarters threats (as the "unfortunate" security members "hadn't known if she would attack with magic or if a secondary threat would emerge in the chaos") when, in the struggle, OC's mom ended up accidentally wounded by the blade and then bled out due to no one offering medical assisstance in the commotion.

So to OC, she sees Kalim's almost overbearing positivity and privilege as a privilege built on the memory and the corpse of her innocent mother.

And Jamil obviously finds himself irritated with the OC's constant coldness and the indirect reminders of his status as "below" Kalim as his retainer, seemingly for no apparent reason.

After the prefect, Grim, Kalim, and the Octavinelle trio save Jamil from his Overblot? She's watching coldly from the sidelines amongst the other scarabia students. So what if Viper Overblotted? Why should she care? (She actually hates it, even if she doesn't outwardly show it.)

He almost killed the Asim heir, but he gets a hug and the Asim heir's forgiveness? Mother didn't even have time to defend her innocence before she got a knife between her ribs! And what did the nobility of the scalding sands do after that?! They spit on her memory constantly since then, always "that woman" and "thank god they stopped her before she did the same to someone else".

And that stupid Asim boy… that stupid, privileged idiot… How can he smile and forgive Viper so easily?! How DARE he smile and forgive so easily, when he talks of his previous experiences of being poisoned multiple times with a smile?!

This actually was a very fun idea, since her hatred for the Asim family can be connected to the actual movie's events in Aladdin, as an external force (the Asim family/Aladdin, doing it for Jafar) is the cause for the lamp (her mother) being taken away as the cave (her family) collapses, due to Abu's greed (Kalim's position as the Asim heir and the event and banquet held by the Asim family, which presents OC's father and the future stepmom with a perfect victim to harm due to their greed, framing the mother) when he was tempted by the ruby the Shiva-monkey statue was holding (OC's dad and the woman working together to obtain the wealth of OC's mother for themselves while getting rid of her and securing a high-standing spot in the high society), which then led to the Shiva-monkey statue being the source of the lava that destroys the cave (OC's father destroying his family so violently for his own selfish desires like the lava destroyed the cave).

I also really like the idea of OC being a carbon copy of her mom, since both the lamp and the hourglass are made of gold and think of the angst, OC looking in the mirror and seeing her mom's face more and more easily the older she gets (I'm looking at you, "it's you. Despite everything, it's still you." memes), which also prompts the whole hair dyeing thing for extra disguise points along with some enchanted jewelry to slightly alter her appearance and make her seem a bit more masculine. But when she's in a dress and she's washed her hair? Boom, little clone of mama.

Which also plays into a scenario I really enjoy, which is when she starts stepping back into the eyes of the high society when she's preparing for the ultimate perfomance, the reveal of her father and stepmother's crimes and her mother's innocence, especially in a public setting or a high-class event. Can you imagine? This being at a high-society event where she lets her father and mother go ahead as she needs to touch up a bit. Their arrival is announced, and a while later the heir of the Kinz (كنز in Arabic, which means treasure) family is announced, as she gave the footman the name of her mother's family since this is where she's planning to make the big reveal. All the adults there? Confused, the last heir to the Kinz family was OC's mother before she married OC's dad. Maybe a mistake? Except in walks OC in one of her mother's old dresses, looking like her mother as a teenager come back to life. For everyone who remembers OC's mother, it's like a ghost walking into a room. And OC's dad is furious. What the hell is OC playing at? Except OC skillfully avoids him until the middle of the event, where she stands up to make a toast and with a big smile, casually exposes her father and stepmother's crimes.

"Oh but there's no proof-" Nope. Remember, OC has been compiling evidence for years. A carefully prepared email with a precisely scheduled sending time, being sent to as many of the people present in the event as possible, including the head of the Asim family, Kalim's dad. She knew if she just started making accusations, it would be brushed off as a hysterical child refusing to accept reality, her father would have time to get rid of evidence, and she would never be able to establish the careful control she has over her household or gain her father's trust. She has dozens of pictures of papers where money is going missing, pictures she took of emails between he father and stepmother, and the most incriminating thing of all? Audio files, between five to ten of them that she took with the old maid's phone while eavesdropping on conversations, as well as audio she compiled from placing microphones in the master bedroom. Conversations between her father and stepmother mocking her mother, discussing money, and talking about getting rid of evidence and incriminating OC's mom. Conversations between her father and the head of the family's personal security about how the narrative of the death of OC's mom could easily be manipulated into an "unfortunate accident" and how none of the men would be held responsible.

And the most incriminating one? A private conversation that took place a year and a half ago between the dad and stepmom in the master bedroom, where they talk about keeping OC around as a last resort heir, but discarding of her if a successful pregnancy happens and comes to term. Their words? Just stage a "driving accident", the brakes "tragically failing" when OC was being driven around while sightseeing on vacation in Pyroxene, it can easily be arranged. Play the part of the devastated family, but if OC dies, the Kinz inheritance has no heir, so as OC's father and the husband of the late daughter of the Kinz family, they could snatch it up easily. And if they can't produce a baby, just keep her around. If a baby comes, she's a placeholder until then, but if not then she can still be used and manipulated.

And while they and the high society don't know it, we know that no baby is going to be born anyway, thanks to the previously mentioned arrangements OC has carefully ensured over the years with the help of the staff not loyal to the dad and stepmother (which is a large percentage of the staff).

So now everyone has all this evidence on their phones, and OC is smiling at her dad and stepmom, who were also sent the email, and are currently frozen in place before trying to make excuses.

Long story short, OC loved her mama a bunch, and by overhearing that her mom's death was a game, a pawn to sacrifice for her father and stepmother's greed? Six year old OC decides to start an eleven-year long campaign to carefully overthrow and destroy the two people who killed her mama.

The city's citizens? Already super unhappy, will gladly start an uprising after the reveal happens to get rid of the people who have been economically exploiting them for eleven years and who apparently also killed the Lady Kinz who'd done so much for them when alive.

It's like killing Aunt May in the Marvel comics and then telling every New Yorker that X person killed Spiderman's only remaining family member and guardian. Not ideal. For the killer, that is.

Also, during book 7, OC's dream is basically if her mother had been able to prove her innocence. In the dream, since the most important person in her life wasn't killed, OC is completely different, happier, friendlier, trusting, basically a Kalim 2.0 with a (now) single mom and a safe and loving environment. Think Elle Woods from Legally Blonde. Also, since her mom is alive, NRC was never necessary since OC had no reason to escape to learn in a place where the teachers aren't handpicked sleazebags picked by her father, since in her ideal world, her father and th ewoman were caught, so it's basically impossible to get OC out of the dream, also considering the fact that OC is probably unrecognizable. She uses a more masculine first name and a different last name, is pretending to be a guy, dyes her hair red, is an absolute stone-cold person who doesn't like other people in NRC, and OC in the dream is a smiley girl in a pretty dress who is a carbon copy of her mama who she loves a lot, down to the golden hair and friendly personality.

And for interaction with NRC peers, I do like the idea of OC slowly coming to tolerate Jamil and eventually not completely hating Kalim too, especially after executing her plan. I love the idea of enemies to lovers with Jamil, where it's starts with OC hates Kalim so she hates Jamil by proxy and Jamil can't stand this guy who treats him like a cockroach despite being outwardly cordial enough with special emphasis on his role as a servant, to OC slowly starting to be less bitchy to Jamil and treating him more neutrally and Jamil noticing and being wary but at the same time being like "finally, I can't stand people like that" as he's viewed OC as a bitchy version of Kalim (someone with money and privilege, but without Kalim's personality and who actively acts like he's less because he's a servant) for quite a while but has been not completely outwardly bitchy either since they're probably rich, to OC being actually civil and Jamil slowly getting used to it and tolerating OC more, to OC actually trying to be a better person after realizing how rotten she acted (she winces when she realizes that she acted exactly how the nobles that insulted her mother's death would act) and Jamil trying to find the catch in this change.