Chané Laforet

Chane Laforet (シャーネ・ラフォレット Shāne Raforetto) is the daughter of Huey Laforet and Renee Paramedes Branvillier. She was one of the Lemures who took part in the hijacking of the Flying Pussyfoot in 1931.

In the aftermath of the 1931 incident, Chane joins Jacuzzi Splot's bootlegging gang and grows to care for them deeply. Chane is reunited with her father in 1935, and meets her sister Leeza Laforet for the first time.

Eventually, she marries Felix Walken and they start a family. Both of them are alive and in their nineties in August 2002.

Appearance
Chane resembles Huey far more than she does her mother. She has his black hair and golden eyes, his pale complexion and lean build. Even her hairstyle resembles his in the way it splays out on either side. However, Chane's features are more pronounced and angular than either her father's or her sister's.

She usually wears a Spanish-styled strapped dress.

Personality
Thanks to Huey's brainwashing from birth, Chane is devoted to Huey almost to the point of fanaticism when she is first introduced in the series. For a long time, she sees herself solely as a mere tool for her father to use and does not seek his affections (in contrast to her sister Liza, who craves his affection).

The events aboard the Flying Pussyfoot (including her run-ins with the Rail Tracer and Ladd Russo) would affect Chane greatly. She started to doubt herself, her lifestyle, her actions. This was exacerbated when she fell in with Jacuzzi Splot's gang, whose kindness initially confused her. As she got to know them, she found her world expanding; suddenly her father was not the only person in her life--here were people wanting to be friends with her, here was a man who claimed to love her. Away from Huey, Chane began to develop into an individual, and for the first time in her life she found herself caring about others.

She changes to the point where she goes so far as to openly side against the Lamia, one of her father's factions. However, Chane still loves and remains loyal to Huey, and she looks forward to the uncertain day when her father is released from prison. Although she is loyal to Huey, she does not share his immoral personality. In fact, she was openly opposed to the idea of taking an entire train hostage despite the fact that it was for her father's freedom.

Biography
(Note: This section will eventually be completely revamped.)

On December 19, 1931 Chane gathers with the other Lemures in an abandoned factory under the orders of Goose Perkins. During the meeting, Neider Schasschule attempts to betray Goose and fails. Chane severs his right hand with one of her knives.

On December 30, Chane boards the Flying Pussyfoot along with the Lemures, a cult that wishes to free her father from prison. The Lemures plan to hijack the train and take hostages, whom they intend to use for negotiation purposes. Chane does not approve of the terrorists' methods, and knows that they really only want her father in order to learn his secret of immortality. She is also aware that the Lemures plan to kill her on the train; however, she goes along with their plans in order to see how much they can accomplish.

While aboard the Flying Pussyfoot, Chane kills a White Suit that is threatening Mary Beriam, whom she captures and delivers to the Lemures. Later, she fights with Ladd Russo on top of the train. Their second encounter is interrupted by the Rail Tracer (Claire Stanfield) who takes a liking to Chane and proposes to her. She is shocked by the proposal - it is the first time someone has told her that they love her. At the Rail Tracer's request she carves her answer to his question in the roof, telling him that she will be in Manhattan. She proceeds to leap off the train and into the river, so as to avoid arrest.

Several members of Jacuzzi Splot's gang fish her out of the river and bring her to their temporary residence. Chane is confused by their kindness towards her, and she remains aloof for the first few days she is with them. While in their company, she is kidnapped by Graham Specter, (who believes she is Eve Genoard). At Graham's warehouse, she swipes at Graham with her knife and he realizes his mistake. He is impressed by her fighting prowess, and is excited at the thought of fighting her. Jacuzzi's sudden arrival interrupts the fight, and he offers himself up in exchange for Chane's release. Nice Holystone and the rest of Jacuzzi's gang show up soon after, along with Claire.

Chane is flabbergasted that they would go out of their way to come for her, that Jacuzzi would willingly sacrifice himself for someone he barely knows. When Claire proposes to her again, she accepts.

By 1933, Chane has become a full fledged member of the gang, and has grown to think of them as friends. One day in the Genoard Mansion, she sees Tick and Maria walking through the garden. Thinking that they mean her friends harm, she rushes to the garden and attacks Maria. When she hears Jacuzzi scream, she reenters the manor and witnesses Dallas Genoard regenerating. She is further alarmed when she hears Tim talking about making people immortal. She knows that the more immortals there are, the greater threat there is of her father being devoured. She charges Tim but is blocked by Adele, who cuts her face. They proceed to have a stand-off.

Later, Chane fights alongside Claire against Christopher Shouldered and Liza Laforet - although Chane is not aware that Liza is her sister.

In 1934, Chane has an unwelcome encounter with Spike, who was part of the Lemure faction aboard the Flying Pussyfoot in 1931. Chane also becomes friends with Miria Harvent when the woman stays with Jacuzzi's gang at the manor--she is grateful that Miria readily accepts her muteness and abnormalities.

Chane reunites with her father in 1935, and formally meets her sister Liza for the first time. The two sisters go on patrol together near Ra's Lance in February. During the patrol Chane spots Neider and attacks him, remembering how he betrayed her father in 1931.

Abilities
Chane is one of the most capable combatants in the series, capable of going toe-to-toe with Ladd Russo, Graham Specter, and Maria Barcelito, all of which are highly powerful fighters in their own right. She specializes in knives. She is athletic and light on her feet (able to fight on top of a moving train with ease), and sports superior reflexes - dodging Ladd's bullets and blocking them with her knives to name the most impressive examples.

She was responsible for numerous White Suit deaths aboard the Flying Pussyfoot, and the Lemures considered her their trump card against the over faction.

Relationships
Huey Laforet is Chane's father, and supposedly the only person to show her any form of love during her childhood. As a result, she was completely devoted to him and voluntarily gave up her voice for his benefit. She was involved in her father's work from a young age, helping him to recruit others to his side and aiding him in his experiments. She is aware that her father sees her nothing more as a tool but loves him anyway. Huey's attitude is somewhat apathetic towards her -- he view her as an experiment, and is really only interested in her from the viewpoint of a clinical researcher. Huey has never told Chane that he loves her. And he doesn't.

Liza Laforet is Chane's younger sister. The two meet in 1935, and Chane is largely uncertain about how to act around her newfound sister - how to relate to her, how to talk to her, how to feel about her.

Claire Stanfield (Felix Walken): Chane and Claire's initial meeting on board the Flying Pussyfoot was...odd. While Claire fell in love with her immediately, Chane was bewildered by his sentiments and felt threatened by his solipsism. When she arrives in Manhattan, she decides to kill Claire (believing him to be a threat to Huey). Her resolve wavers when she receives a gift in the mail from Claire; it is the first time someone other than her father gave her a gift. She changes her mind about Claire when the two reunite at Graham's factory, and they start courting. Chane is the only one allowed to 'call' him Claire after he changes his name to Felix Walken. The two eventually marry and start a family.

Chane's mother - Chane has never met her mother, but it should be noted that Renee has been persistently asking Huey to let her 'reclaim' Chane (likely for one of her experiments.

The Lemures - Though the Lemures respected her combat prowess, it is clear that the cult does not value her life nor respect her as a person. She in turn has no affection for her comrades.

Jacuzzi Splot's Gang
Chane is initially bewildered by Jacuzzi and co.'s kind treatment of her--they don't seem to want anything from her like the Lemures did. They don't want to use her either, an idea that she finds totally foreign. Eventually she warms towards their concern and realizes that she thinks of them as friends. It is an entirely new relationship for her: while her relationship with Huey is borne out of one-sided love, this relationship is built on reciprocity, on mutual love and trust and respect.

She becomes fiercely loyal to her new 'family' and is determined not to let harm befall them. If a member of the gang is in danger, she will immediately rush to their defense. For example, Chane hurries to protect Fang Lin-Shan as soon as she arrives at the factory and sees Maria advancing upon him with a katana (1933). She cares about them to the point where she will go against her father if they are in danger because of him.

Trivia

 * Chane's first name means "oak-hearted" in French.  Her surname "Laforet" literally translates as "the forest."
 * Chane shares similarities with Celty Sturluson, a character from Narita's light novel series Durarara!!. Both characters are mute and communicate via the written word.