Yet another installment in my "A Rat's Empire" series! This one is a family portrait of sorts of the VanRodine (pronounced "Van-RO-dine", as in "rodent") clan. If you thought that the DeRatry clan was one of those Big Screwed Up Families, believe me, the VanRodines are quite possibly even screwy-er.

Let's start from the top of the stairs and work our way down:

First off is Simon VanRodine, the family patriarch. Some of you might recall that Clint DeRatry is the 2nd richest rat in all of Ratropolis. Simon is the first. However, unlike Clint, Simon was born with his wealth (the VanRodines are currently in their 13th generation), he isn't the self-made success that Clint is. And what's more, Simon is also not the dynamic, charismatic business-rat that Clint is; if he were to ever strike out and try to make his own business, he wouldn't be nearly as big a success as Mr. DeRatry. Not only that, but as you all can clearly see, Simon is not quite as good-looking (or not in as good a shape) as Clint. So there is a jealousy between them, although there are much deeper reasons than meets the eye...

Standing next to Simon is his lovely wife, Simone. Simone VanRodine is one of the richest, most influential, most stylish and most beautiful ladies in all of Ratropolis, yet she's still an unhappy person. She has a borderline loveless marriage, a controlling mother-in-law, and children who, though she loves them all very much, cause her a great deal of worry as none of them seem to treat their futures very seriously. Plus, she is forced to watch as her own children are passed over in inheriting the family business so it can go to her nephew.

Edward, the nephew, is next down the stairs. He is the son of Simon's brother and Simone's sister (more on that later), yet he's been raised in his uncle's household. Edward had always been a quiet, obedient, studious young creature, and grew up to be, what Ferin DeRatry would call, "a stick in the mud." Despite this, Edward has quite the hots for Ferin (most males do), and does all he can to grab her attention, wanting nothing more than to have her as his wife. This might seem strange, given her highly dismissive attitude towards him, but if one were to consider what Freud said about what people look for in a spouse has to do with one's relationship with their parents, then it makes more sense.

The lady in orange is Isobel, Simon and Simone's oldest daughter and child. Like Edward, she was the studious type, but she got along much better with Ferin than Edward, mostly because she enjoyed partying more than he did - but she still managed to be one of the top students in her school. Isobel is quite possibly the family's "Only Sane One", as she is easygoing and friendly with few hang-ups. Out of all the socialites in Ratropolis, she is second only to Ferin when it comes to how many boyfriends she has (she is also one of the few females who actually gets along with Ferin, though that's partly due to the fact that they are related: both of their mothers are cousins). At 23, she has received three proposals but turned them down, claiming to still be too young to want to settle down. Like Robert DeRatry, Isobel isn't certain what she would like to be doing with her life, but at the moment she's content with enjoying her life as it is.

The fella in the off-white suit is Isaac, Isobel's twin-brother. Even though he is Simon's only son, Isaac is not first in line to inherit the family business, VR-Inc., mostly due to his flighty nature. Isaac, however, does not mind this: he is the total opposite of Edward's all-work-no-play attitude, enjoying the delights of being a billionaire playboy with many cars and eager young ladies at his disposal. Both Simon and Simone worry about their son's behavior, although they are both proud of his proficiency in sports (baseball, basketball, soccer, football; he's won trophies in all of them).

Last rodent on the stairs, the bubbly pink blonde, is Bonnie, the baby of the family. She is sweet sixteen, and possibly even more flighty than big brother Isaac. Bonnie has a pleasant disposition, yet aside from that, there's really not much to her. She is unconcerned with serious things like schoolwork, and has no plans or goals for what comes after school - aside from shopping and partying. All her life, Bonnie has never had to work, and with the way things are going for her, its quite possible she never will.

Skulking in the corner is Clarissa VanRodine, the mother of Simon and in some cases the true head of the family. A bitter old lady, Clarissa rules the household with iron claws, undermining her daughter-in-law at every turn, manipulating her son, and criticizing her grandchildren (she is extremely harsh with Isobel and Isaac, although she is noticeably easier on Edward and Bonnie - particularly Bonnie). She is notorious for having only bad things to say about other creatures, although she is not above giving out the occasional compliment to anyone she deems worthy. One such creature who has been on the receiving end of Clarissa's compliments is none other than Clint DeRatry. It's no secret that Clarissa VanRodine has lusted after Clint ever since she first laid eyes on him, although Clint has never reciprocated or encouraged her behavior.

Seated next to Clarissa is Winifred "Wendy" Crawzford, the mother of Edward and half-sister of Simone. A lady with a complicated background, Wendy left her son to be raised by Simon and Simone when he was little, only she ends up returning later on.

Hovering over Wendy's head is the portrait of her deceased first husband Peter, the twin-brother of Simon. The portrait was made of him while he was still young.

Side notes:

~The wallpaper is more obviously "rat-patterned".
~I wanted to try and add in some fancy shading, but deviantart muro kept on shrinking the image, so I gave up because I wanted everyone to understand just how huge this picture really is (working on this caused my computer to freeze up more than once I'll have you know). I could have put more work into having the wallpaper 'curve' with the staircase, but by that time I was too tired of working on this to give it a try.
~If Simon were human, he'd be bald.
~Simon wasn't originally intended to be fat-bellied; he just came out like that, haha.
~Simone's color scheme is meant to represent her wealth, and to give reference to a Queen Bee.
~Isobel's favorite color is orange.
~Isaac's pose is taken from a photo of Tony Gillingham from "Downton Abbey."
~At first I considered having Isaac's vest and bowtie be pink as a joke, but then worried that might give the wrong impression about him.
~Bonnie's favorite color is pink.
~Bonnie looks exactly like how Clarissa did when she was young; that's mostly why Clarissa favors Bonnie above her other grandchildren, although she does simultaneously resent her as well.
~Clarissa's dress isn't gray, but a very subdued and faded purple; that's meant to nod at her advanced age as well as her high status.
~Clarissa's pose is modeled after Violet Crawley from "Downton Abbey" but her dress is based off of Mary's from "The Thorn Birds."
~Wendy's pose is also based off of a character from "The Thorn Birds", Meggie.
~Peter was Simon's main rival all his life; both their parents set them against each other, albeit for different reasons: their father wanted them to fight for control over the family, while their mother wanted them to fight over her love.
~Simon is the same age as Clint DeRatry (55); Simone is the same age as Vivian, Clint's first wife (42); Edward is 25; Isobel & Isaac are 23; Bonnie is 16; Clarissa is 79; Wendy is 41.