Lirien Afriyie

Lirien ready for anything

Lirien Afriyie (born 24th August 33:134) is a Junior Investigator with the Bajmeher Investigator's League. She is well known as their prodigy, easily the hardest worker and with a number of solved cases attributed to her despite not, technically, being allowed to independently investigate yet. She is a proud single mother for her adopted son Cowry.

## Backstory

Lirien's parents Esi and Kwame Afriyie grew up in Nkenaa as long-time friends, and married quite late in life. Esi was a weaver and Kwame joked that he was a secret superhero, disappearing on odd jobs often. Esi had Lirien's older brother Renege in 33:128, and then Lirien in 33:134. Both pregnancies were difficult, and she was slightly distant from both children due to post-partum depression. Lirien grew up much closer to Kwame, who would often play memory and observation games with her, and develop her language skills with alphabet games. She was a quick learner, but tended to become discouraged when she couldn't immediately master something.

Component magic is deeply taboo in Nkenaa, and when Lirien started showing some aptitude for the practice in her teenage years, Esi quickly stomped it out and forbade her from continuing to study. Lirien ignored this decree but did transition to learning in secret, and found herself drawn to botano-chemistry. Kwame helped her start her first herb garden, and assured Esi that redirecting Lirien's interest to something more harmless was less likely to backfire. It still did, but he tried.

Lirien adopted her son Cowry when she was nineteen in a fit of impulsive compassion. This deepened the feud between her and Esi, but she resolved to be the best mother she could, and focused all her attention on the two-year-old, wanting to be an inspiration for him like Kwame was to her. When Lirien was twenty, Kwame mysteriously disappeared, and it came to light that he had been working with organised crime, and not a superhero as Lirien had been led to believe. This placed the family in a dangerous position, and Esi made the decision to move from Nkenaa to Bajmeher in 34:11, as she knew she could teach her family Talian Trade and start a new life there. Lirien begrudged both her parents for the upheaval and the complicated emotional turmoil, but the two-month sea journey brought her and Esi to some form of tolerance.

Upon arriving in Bajmeher, Lirien had trouble with immigration assistance, as unlike her mother and her brother, she did not have a clear profession or ambition that could be realised. Her gut instinct to become a police officer was short lived, as Bajmeher has no law enforcement agencies. In the end, her assistance worker gave her a letter and told her to try the Investigator's League, a tiny semi-social work group with a middling reputation.

Lirien struggled to adapt to the League and to Bajmeher initially, getting along poorly with the League's leader Anjali and with her supervisor, Pradip. However, she made friends outside her work, in particular the local kopitiam owner Shahar bin Ori. His relentless cheer reinvigorated her, and she determinedly threw her all into her investigative work, revealing an incredible knack for helping people. She stood out from the other investigators due to her compassion and optimism, which did lead her to make several promises she oughtn't've, but that also reshaped the League into something more constructive and caring.

## Personality

Lirien is bright, bubbly, and incredibly earnest. She cares deeply about people and about helping them, and shows a great deal of empathy. However, she is often stubborn about helping them the way she thinks they need to be helped, and has to actively work on listening and respecting their prerogatives. She is generous and devoted to her friends, and her enthusiasm often encourages others to open up and follow suit, making her a role model.

She has a lot of complicated parental issues, and simultaneously gravitates towards parental figures while resenting them for perceived condescension or control. Like most adolescents, she convinces herself that her plans and ideas are justified, and tends to become very fragile if things don't work out because of her anxiety and perfectionism. Nevertheless, she perseveres. She craves validation and reassurance, and she is learning to assert herself as someone to be respected because of, not despite, her happy-go-lucky demeanour.

## Relationships

### Esi Afriyie

Lirien and Esi have a fraught relationship. While it has improved since her teenage years, there is still a great deal of unresolved trauma between the two, and their personalities clash. Both Lirien and Esi are reserved with feelings they feel might impose on others, and this leads to them holding back more than they should. However, since moving to Bajmeher, they have started learning to communicate and are finding ways to spend time together that remind them to try.

### Renege Afriyie

Lirien is closer with her brother Renege than her mother, although since he moved out, she has seen less of him. She thinks his work as a primary school teacher is deeply inspiring, and values his soft temperament. She puts a lot of stock in his good opinion of her, but secretly always worries that he might be more like Kwame than she knows, and let her down someday.

### Pradip 'Pip' Monsoon

Lirien was initially very resistant to Pip's being her supervisor, seeing his cynicism and apathy as frustrating, defeatist, and a sign that he both disapproved of her work and didn't like her as a person. However, after working together for some time they grew to understand each other, and Pip's exhaustion with her enthusiasm shifted to a fondness and a strong protective streak. In turn, she recognises the attitude for the trauma it stems from, and is a positive force in his life and learns a lot from his intelligence.

### Shahar bin Ori

Shahar is Lirien's bestest friend in the whole wide world, and Lirien is Shahar's wonderful dearest friend in all the galaxies. They are Kashima and Mikorin. There is no more to say.

## Appearance

Lirien is very tall and slender, at just over six feet. She has deep dark skin with red undertones, and wears her hair in microbraids with beads clasped to the ends. She has brown eyes, paints her nails to match her brightly-patterned dresses, and has a collection of ridiculous earrings. She prefers strappy sandals and heels, and you *know* she can run in them.

## Cultural Touchstones

Lirien is Asante and inspired by Mma Ramotswe, Tsukino Usagi, Masumi Sera, and Dot Williams. Her appearance is based off Ghanaian model Hamamat Montia. Her father is named after Black Power leader Kwame Ture, and inspired by Aaron Davis. Her mother is a Kente weaver, and Lirien wears Ankara fashion, often using patterns and cloth made by Esi. Her energy and arc draws on a lot of shoujo tropes. She's a Virgo, because of course she is.

## Gallery

Lirien AfriyieLirien in her DressLirien InvestigatingLirien in LemonsLirien ChibiLirien TragedyLirien and Pip
## References

1. ↑ https://www.helpguide.org/articles/anxiety/anxiety-disorders-and-anxiety-attacks.htm
2. ↑ https://www.goodtherapy.org/learn-about-therapy/issues/perfectionism
3. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monthly\_Girls%27\_Nozaki-kun
4. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashanti\_people
5. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The\_No.\_1\_Ladies%27\_Detective\_Agency
6. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sailor\_Moon\_(character)
7. ↑ https://www.detectiveconanworld.com/wiki/Masumi\_Sera
8. ↑ https://miss-fishers-murder-mysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Dorothy\_Williams
9. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/iamhamamat/?hl=en
10. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stokely\_Carmichael
11. ↑ https://marvel-movies.fandom.com/wiki/Aaron\_Davis\_(Into\_the\_Spider-Verse)
12. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kente\_cloth
13. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sh%C5%8Djo\_manga