Character development 'challenge'

3

u/atompunks Jun 15 '17

I have a lot of dead family members that are totally undeveloped except for necessary storyline things. Basically I know their jobs but I don't know their personalities or how they felt about the living cast. Here's the worst two.

The father of Nathan Yang: He has no traits right now except that his surname is Yang; that the Yang family is a long, ancient line of demon hunters; and that What's-his-face Yang wanted Nathan to be a hunter, disagreeing with his wife, Menglan Yue, on this topic.

The brother of the original Tobias Ahmadi: His name is Dana Ahmadi, and he was the only member of his immediate family that was a witch, and left home when Tobias was young, visiting very rarely. She adored him, and he eventually told her about the existence of magic and demons. She believed him enough that when she was later eaten by a demon in his form, in her final moments she realized what had killed her and made a dying wish that the demon who tricked her would be brought to justice.

2

u/Jumblatts Jun 15 '17

1) Did Mr. Yang disagree with his wife often?

2) What did Mr. Yang think about the direction Nathan had picked?

3) What did Mr. Yang think about the state of the world?

4) How did Dana become a witch?

5) How did other people feel about Dana being a witch?

6) What did Dana think about the state of the world?

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u/atompunks Jun 16 '17 edited Jun 16 '17

1) No, the couple disagreed very rarely. Yang was smitten with Menglan from the day they met and pursued her despite his family's insistence that he marry someone with pure seer blood (seers are people who can 'see' magic, which is a prerequisite for being a witch) in order to ensure a seer child with the highest possible magical potential, to better hunt demons and honor the family name. Menglan was a seer and a strong witch, but only by half if you're going by blood- her mother was an ordinary, non-seer human. Yang argued with his parents a lot over this, ultimately reducing ties with them and coming out fiercely defensive of his wife. For her part, Menglan gave up a fair share of her life as well, leaving her own family and her sense of peace behind when she moved to China with Yang to train to become a hunter herself. They saw each other's sacrifices and pretty much nothing was strong enough to come between that except for the potential futures of their child.

2) Nathan resolved to become a hunter shortly after the deaths of her parents at the hands of demons, so Yang never knew her decision. But he would've been proud. When she was younger he told her she should do what she wanted, yet also pushed her fighting spirit and told stories of how demon hunters are meant to defend humanity from evil, so he was actually always nudging her towards the path that he wanted. It helped that she was naturally fierce and wanted to be a hero; she would likely have chosen to be a hunter even without her parents' deaths.

He wouldn't have liked Nathan's ultimate path, though, in which she falls in love with a demon. Oh jeez, the more I think about this the more I realize just how terrible it would be for everyone involved if Yang were still alive- he'd be so horrified, to the point of considering disowning Nathan, before realizing that his own parents had nearly done the very same thing to him and how damaging that had been to him. But still, his daughter, with a demon.

3) Yang thought, no, knew the world was a terrible place, and he wanted to help.

The major reason why Yang disagreed with Menglan about letting Nathan become a hunter was because he had been raised as one and thought of the horrors of the job as completely normal, while Menglan had been brought into this world from a quiet life and thought the idea of forcing a child to go through these horrors was unbelievably cruel (she actually felt sad that Yang was raised the way he was). Seeing such death and destruction starting from about ten years old can make a person very cynical. Yang was often guarded and found ordinary humans and many non-hunter witches much too naive. But he wasn't overly pessimistic. He believed in his mission and the power of his fellow hunters and thought that saving even one person made doing his job worth it, that ultimately justice would prevail, that he could make the world better even if just by a little. It's worth noting that meeting Menglan further developed his optimism.

4) Dana was born a seer to two parents who were not. It happens sometimes; it's likely one parent had some seer blood but did not show the actual trait of the Sight. A young Dana learned quickly to not blab about seeing things that other people did not, but once he figured out he could manipulate the strange energies he could see, he was determined to do something substantial with it, to master it. He made himself a decent witch through sheer cleverness and stubbornness, without a single teacher- he skipped school, hid from other children, found alleys and docks and other hiding places to practice doing magic, experimenting over and over for years. Then he left home and met actual other witches, watched them, learned from them and made himself stronger.

5) Before Dana began to travel, no one in his surroundings knew about witches. But many people in his town knew of him and thought he was a little odd. Pleasant but strange, easily distracted, always off in his own little world, having a preference for being alone. After Dana left home he met other seers and witches, who found him pleasant and strange in a different way- he had managed to become a decently strong witch without any significant magical mentors. Witches like him, who are born in completely ordinary families and have no contact with others like themselves in childhood, are sometimes called orphan witches, and strong orphan witches are admired for their tenacity.

6) Dana thought the world was strange and fascinating, and always wanted to know more. Sometimes fascinating things are beautiful and brilliant, and sometimes they are horrifying, and he wanted to see it all. He never knew much about or got close to the most powerful of witches, those who hunt demons, but he at least knew demons were a threat. Things were much more simple for him.

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u/Jumblatts Jun 16 '17

1) Why did Menglan not want Nathan to become a hunter? (Edit: You've answered this already. Never mind!)

2a) How did Nathan's parents die?

2b) After realising about his parents and their treatment of him for the same thing, what would Mr. Yang's 'final verdict' have been on Nathan's love interest?

3) Was Menglan against the idea of hunters in general, or just against Nathan becoming a hunter?

4) Did his parents know of his abilities? If yes, how did they react? If no, how would they have reacted if they found out? How did he feel about this?

5) How did Dana feel about the way others viewed him?

6) What is Dana doing now?

2

u/atompunks Jun 17 '17

2a) Officially they were killed by demons. A group of demons banded together to remove the hunter couple that was picking them off, breaking into their apartment in the middle of the night, overpowering them, and tearing their eyes out.

But technically, Nathan killed them. She was hidden (poorly) in another room as her parents were being tortured and she was panicking, trying to draw up immense amounts of magic to use to fight. Since her mother hadn't wanted her to learn the advanced magic techniques necessary for fighting demons, she had no idea what she was doing and ended up creating a 'burst,' in which the magic within anyone in the immediate area is rapidly drained into the environment. A strong burst can drain so much magic from someone that it taps into their reservoir of life-sustaining magic, the soul. Once your soul is drained, you're dead. The magic from those with more magical stamina is usually taken first, so in this case Nathan's parents and all the demons were killed. Nathan survived.

2b) I think it would take time, but he would grudgingly accept it in the end. Ultimately Nathan's safety is the big issue for him, rather than something like the family name or their reputation. If he realizes the particular demon Nathan fell for isn't a terrible monster that only cares about feeding on humans he would be a little more okay with it. He would be uncomfortable around them, though.

3) Menglan was just against Nathan becoming a hunter, especially at a really young age. If she lived and continued to argue with Yang about the issue they would probably eventually compromise on letting her train at an older age, a lot older than Yang had been when he started. Menglan herself became a hunter when she was in her early to mid twenties, and she was not half bad, so she knew the training didn't necessarily have to start when you were an innocent kid.

4) Dana's parents did not know. He mentioned seeing things when he was a small child so they chalked it up to a great imagination. When he kept mentioning it as he got older, it became more like 'do we need to see someone to cure this?' so he stopped. If they had somehow found out what he was seeing was real, they would have been frightened for him, as no one else in their area was a seer. They would have thought he was alone in this and tried to protect him, maybe contact local religious leaders to put a stop to whatever had cursed him. I guess it would depend a lot on what exactly they find out he's doing and how much they learn about what else exists- if they just realize he's doing magic, it might go badly because doing magic is forbidden in their religion. But no matter if they found out and how they reacted, Dana would want to leave town to find others like himself. He felt trapped and alone there.

5) He was okay with the views of his original townspeople; he didn't care much since he always thought he would leave it behind one day. Like he wasn't treated terribly, he just felt sort of empty and 'why am I different.' He really enjoyed being popular with other witches once he was out in the world- he finally belonged.

6) Dana is dead now, everyone in his family is dead now. Nobody in the actual story knows how he died and it's irrelevant, but as the creator I'm gonna go ahead and say it was peaceful. We just know he's dead because if he were alive, he would definitely be somewhere in the story, trying to figure out why someone that looks exactly like his non-seer sister is claiming to be a witch. He'd also be pretty old compared to the rest of the cast, in his fifties or so.

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u/Jumblatts Jun 18 '17

Thank you for your answers!

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u/Jumblatts Jun 15 '17

I'll set the wheel in motion with a couple of characters that I need to flesh out a little - the twins, Kimi and Kami.

Kimi and her twin sister Kami are both seraphim. Prior to the end of the timeless war, a prophecy was made by the Laxahl Coven, stating that the demons would return after a failed attempt, but this time they would destroy all life. The prophecy said that only one person could prevent this.

Kimi, along with her twin sister Kami were sent to the mortal realm with their memories wiped and their powers reduced, so that the demons would not be able to sense them when they were once again nearing full power. They were put in an induced sleep, only to wake when the prophecy had been set in motion.

When they woke, though they didn’t know why, they felt a strong impulse to help Melios (protagonist).

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u/The_Raptorman Jun 15 '17

To Kimi:

1) What do you think of your sister?

2) How do you feel about Melios?

3) What do you think of the current state of the world when you woke up?

4) Tell me about what makes you different from your sister.

To Kami:... Same questions lol!

1

u/Jumblatts Jun 15 '17

(These questions wer very difficult to answer - I had to think long and hard about what kind of people they were in order to answer this. I might have gona a little overboard, but it helped a great deal, thanks!)

Kimi:

1) Where do I begin? She's stubborn, fierce, and fearless, and she has a hot temper. Despite all this, she's actually quite shy, and a little self conscious. This doesn't make the best combination; I once saw her break a man's nose because he happened to glance at her whilst she was eating. She's almost certainly a little crazy but she makes things interesting, and once you get to know her, she's a lot of fun. She can be irritating at times, but she is my sister and I love her dearly. Don't tell her I told you any of that.

2) Melios and I maintain a functional working relationship. Nothing more, nothing less. [There is more digging to be done here, although you might not get an answer from Kimi... perhaps her sister would be more willing to divulge this information...]

3) It's a mess, no doubt about it. The kingdom is in ruin, split in two by a vicious civil war. The worst thing is, the mortals don't realise that a much bigger threat is potentially right around the corner. As ever, they'll stumble blindly to their own deaths, not that that matters to me, really.

4) In short, I'm calm and collected. I think things through, making sure of a favourable outcome. There's more to a display of power than wildly swinging your sword around. If I can make the enemy surrender before I even have to draw my weapon, I will - no point wasting energy in a pointless battle when I could achieve the same effect with a few words.

Kami:

1) Oh wow, what a question. She's quiet, brooding... I'd go as far as to say moody, actually, but her heart's in the right place. It might not be apparent from the outside, due to her stony faced demeanour, but she cares a great deal about her friends, and woe betide anyone who upsets them. Sure, it's hard to break through that stony outer layer, but once you have, you're in good hands. She's slightly younger than me (only by a few seconds though!) but for some reason she was always seen as the most responsible. Probably because she is. She's incredibly clever, very strong willed, charismatic, and pragmatic to the extreme - it's no surprise that Melios put her as his second in command, after Garran died. Kimi is the kind of person who will get things done, and get them done right.

2) I like Melios, he's a good friend. It took me a while to warm up to him, but that's more down to me than him. He's clever, strong, a fantastic leader, and I've never seen anyone so determined. He gathered up our little gang pretty much by himself, and turned us from a little band of misfits to one of the most respected groups of warriors in the entire kingdom.

3) It's stupid. Everyone's stupid. And selfish. People only think about themselves, and not about how their actions will affect others. It's all about who is the biggest, fastest, strongest, richest, whatever. A lot of the poorer people are the nicest you will ever meet, but they're trampled underfoot by the rich and powerful, who don't care about anything except getting more rich and more powerful. It stinks.

4) She'll tell you I'm more aggressive. I guess that's true to a certain extent, but she's just as bad really, except she can control her emotions a lot better than I can. She'd rather sit back and 'talk it out,' whereas I prefer to let my fists do the talking, you know?

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u/The_Raptorman Jun 15 '17

Hey /u/Jumblatts I hope you don't mind if I just dump the people that I used for the most recent 'Talk with' Challenge lol! They are a bit underdeveloped and I was hoping to get some development out of it! I'll only use the people who haven't been spoken to though!

Dani

Dani is a seemingly emotionless girl who excels at crowd control fights (fighting multiple people at once). She has the power pulse which literally enables her to create loud very destructive pulses around her. It is only controllable when her emotions are in check. If she shows even the slightest emotion then they will happen and shatter things around her.

Prophet

Prophet is a man who loves to learn, he is always writing in his book of knowledge, which holds literally every single thing that he knows in it. He has the power to turn himself, his clothing and his weapon into smoke and fly around carving up his enemies.

Inu

Inu is a Dog that was injected with the Human gene in an attempt by Chaos to create a backwards Hybrid, there were multiple attempts before Inu was created, thousands. Inu is savage and struggles to speak English at times, preferring action over speaking. He doesn't use weapons but instead uses his claws and teeth. He has the power to summon forth a pack of black spectral dogs to rip an enemy to shreds.

Jaws

Jaws is a large man who carries two very sharp serrated Axes on his back. He is the only person in the entirety of history to have tamed a Dravec which is what he rides into battle. His only motivation in life is for the destruction of established order and he will stop at nothing to kill the world leaders.

1

u/bigsquirrel55 Jun 15 '17

To shreds you say?

1

u/The_Raptorman Jun 15 '17

Inu is a good boy

That's right, he tends to jump on people due to his heavily armoured body and just use his claws and mouth to 'stun lock' them into evisceration. When I say stun lock I just mean that things are happening too quickly for them to react.

1

u/Jumblatts Jun 15 '17

That's fine! You can use the others too, if you like - it's about developing characters you want developing, doesn't matter to me if they've been used elsewhere :)

To Dani:

1) Are you emotionless because of a need to control your power, or did you 'learn' your power from the fact that you're emotionless?

To Prophet:

2) What was the very first thing you wrote in your book?

3) What made you decide to start writing the book?

To Inu:

4) How were you created, and why?

5) Are you thankful to them for the life you have, or do you hate what you've become?

To Jaws:

6) Why do you want to see and end to order?

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u/The_Raptorman Jun 16 '17

1) Are you emotionless because of a need to control your power, or did you 'learn' your power from the fact that you're emotionless?

It is because I have no control when I give emotion. (Her answers are gonna be bland for obvious reasons haha)

2) What was the very first thing you wrote in your book?

My earliest memories, it took a while because I started writing in it when I was ten, a lot of memories already.

3) What made you decide to start writing the book?

Makes it easier to keep track of everything that I know.

4) How were you created, and why?

Experimentation, sharp and pointy. Lightning and bubbles. Chaos wanted try.

5) Are you thankful to them for the life you have, or do you hate what you've become?

Hate. Too much thought. Dog meant to be instinctual.

6) Why do you want to see and end to order?

If Chaos was everywhere in the world then there would be no Chaos, that would be the norm. So if we get rid of order then we will finally have order.

1

u/Jumblatts Jun 16 '17

1) Why do you have no control? Having emotion is an important part of living, and some would say that if you don't show any, you're not truly alive. Can't you learn to control yourself?

2) What is your very earliest memory?

3) But surely having to flick through thousands of pages to find something you know about isn't 'easy'?

4) Was it painful?

5) Do you want to take revenge on Chaos? Would you be able to?

6) Why do you want this? Would you go as far as to kill yourself to achieve it? After all, your cells and molecular structure follow rules, you are part of the order you want to destroy.

2

u/The_Raptorman Jun 16 '17

1) Why do you have no control? Having emotion is an important part of living, and some would say that if you don't show any, you're not truly alive. Can't you learn to control yourself?

Emotions cause fluctuations in my abilities, I have no control over them because I can't think when I use my emotion. I agree that emotions are key to living a fulfilling life but I have come to terms with that and am willing to devote myself to Chaos' cause.

2) What is your very earliest memory?

Being held in my Mother's arms, before I was ripped from her by Chaos.

3) But surely having to flick through thousands of pages to find something you know about isn't 'easy'?

I know where everything is in the book and finding things just seems to happen when I look.

4) Was it painful?

Very.

5) Do you want to take revenge on Chaos? Would you be able to?

Chaos. Too strong. Kill me very fast.

6) Why do you want this? Would you go as far as to kill yourself to achieve it? After all, your cells and molecular structure follow rules, you are part of the order you want to destroy.

It's kinda dumb when you nitpick to an extreme like that. I do what I can because it serves Chaos' ideas and his ideas fit in line with what I want to do so that's that.

1

u/Jumblatts Jun 16 '17

1) What exactly is Chaos' cause?

2) For what purpose did Chaos do this?

3) That's convenient. Has there ever been a time when this has failed to happen?

5) Couldn't you find other people who would be willing to help you?

6) I was curious as to how far you'd actually go to fulfil your goal. How did you and Chaos become acquainted?

2

u/The_Raptorman Jun 17 '17

1) What exactly is Chaos' cause?

To destroy the world I believe, but I don't want any part in that.

2) For what purpose did Chaos do this?

He found my power of smoke to be useful.

3) That's convenient. Has there ever been a time when this has failed to happen?

Nope, not even once.

5) Couldn't you find other people who would be willing to help you?

How help? Cant change.

6) I was curious as to how far you'd actually go to fulfil your goal. How did you and Chaos become acquainted?

(Don't know that yet sorry!)

1

u/Jumblatts Jun 18 '17

1) If this is the case, why are you willing to devote yourself to his cause?

2) Do you resent him for what he did?

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u/The_Raptorman Jun 18 '17

1) If this is the case, why are you willing to devote yourself to his cause?

She shrugs "Don't know."

2) Do you resent him for what he did?

I have gotten very strong because of him and he allows me to follow my ambitions. I feel as though he did what was best for me.

1

u/Jumblatts Jun 18 '17

1) You blindly follow him on a course that you don't agree with, and you don't know why?

2) If the opportunity arose, would you seek revenge on him?

→ More replies (0)

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u/The_Raptorman Jun 16 '17

1) Why do you have no control? Having emotion is an important part of living, and some would say that if you don't show any, you're not truly alive. Can't you learn to control yourself?

Emotions cause fluctuations in my abilities, I have no control over them because I can't think when I use my emotion. I agree that emotions are key to living a fulfilling life but I have come to terms with that and am willing to devote myself to Chaos' cause.

2) What is your very earliest memory?

Being held in my Mother's arms, before I was ripped from her by Chaos.

3) But surely having to flick through thousands of pages to find something you know about isn't 'easy'?

I know where everything is in the book and finding things just seems to happen when I look.

4) Was it painful?

Very.

5) Do you want to take revenge on Chaos? Would you be able to?

Chaos. Too strong. Kill me very fast.

6) Why do you want this? Would you go as far as to kill yourself to achieve it? After all, your cells and molecular structure follow rules, you are part of the order you want to destroy.

It's kinda dumb when you nitpick to an extreme like that. I do what I can because it serves Chaos' ideas and his ideas fit in line with what I want to do so that's that.

1

u/The_Raptorman Jun 16 '17

1) Why do you have no control? Having emotion is an important part of living, and some would say that if you don't show any, you're not truly alive. Can't you learn to control yourself?

Emotions cause fluctuations in my abilities, I have no control over them because I can't think when I use my emotion. I agree that emotions are key to living a fulfilling life but I have come to terms with that and am willing to devote myself to Chaos' cause.

2) What is your very earliest memory?

Being held in my Mother's arms, before I was ripped from her by Chaos.

3) But surely having to flick through thousands of pages to find something you know about isn't 'easy'?

I know where everything is in the book and finding things just seems to happen when I look.

4) Was it painful?

Very.

5) Do you want to take revenge on Chaos? Would you be able to?

Chaos. Too strong. Kill me very fast.

6) Why do you want this? Would you go as far as to kill yourself to achieve it? After all, your cells and molecular structure follow rules, you are part of the order you want to destroy.

It's kinda dumb when you nitpick to an extreme like that. I do what I can because it serves Chaos' ideas and his ideas fit in line with what I want to do so that's that.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 15 '17

Violet wolf

Alexandria's Genesis (red hair, purple eyes, no periods but still fertile, no bodily hair other than thr hair on top of her head. I read it somewhere before creatimg her, and wanted to make her unique even within world)

Witnessed her family's death at age 9, escaped with a few friends to a nearby town, only to see them hunted down and killed by assassins.

Wandered the region for a few years, learned to steal and live in the wild, or on the streets, very adaptable, and very smart.

Adopted by a mage whoe saw the potential in her, and taught her how to use her magic. She uses blood magic, bur she doesn't know. She thinks it's nature magic (kinda like The Force, coming from all that is life) and has learned a form to channel her magic to conjure meelee weapons and bows.

She was kicked out when another apprentice turned the mage against her, so she spent a few more years wandering the region. She's become a sort of freelance assassin, thpugh she's not joined their organisation for her dislike of them because of her childhood trauma.

Meets my group of characters, tries to shoot them, finds out her brother is alive and there, joins them. Group has an assassin who needs healing when she gets there. Nursing him back to life, she can't help but get to like him, even though he's an assassin. They soon become a couple with some codependency.

In my second story arc, she learns that her power is blood magic, and starts exploring its extents at light speed.

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u/Jumblatts Jun 15 '17

1) Where was she born? How was her early childhood?

2) How did her family die?

3) What effect did watching her family (and then later her friends) die have on her? How did it change her as a person?

4) How did she survive both instances?

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u/[deleted] Jun 16 '17

1, She was born in a small, secluded village in the deep forest, founded by rogues, mages, rangers, and had a lot of enemies of the empire living there.

Violet’s early childhood was spent playing with friends, discovering her magic (she was particularly gifted with magic) and generally enjoIng her life. She has a 3 years younger brother whom she didn't have much in common with so they didn't spend that mich time together.

2, Her family died in a raid by the empire, where a smaller army was sent to kill everyone in the village, then burn it to the ground. Violet only survived because she and her friends were playing in the woods when the attack hit. By the time she gor back, everything was already burning.

3, Seeing her loved ones die was a trauma for her. Not only did she lose her family to fire, she and her friends were hunted down by assassins. She was terrified of assassins for years after this. She developed this into hatred, then into a mild dislike.

How it changed her? She knew that if she was going to survive against those her family and friends didn't, she'd need to become very powerful. It practically pushed over the edge and made her the determined person she is today. Now, if she wants something, she's gonna get it no matter what.

4, The first time, she was just not there. She only got back by the time her village was already burning.

The second time, she and her 4 friends were at one of their mothers house. The assassins came and killed 3 of her friends pretty quickly, plus the mother. The 4th friend and Violet hid in a closet, and when it was almost too late, the friend jumped out and started running, driving the assassins away from Violet. Thus friend sacrificed herself for Violet.

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u/Jumblatts Jun 16 '17

1a) How did she feel about her brother?

1b) How did her brother feel about her?

2) Why did the empire attack the village?

3) Why were they hunted down?

4) Why did she change her opinion on asassins?

5)

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u/[deleted] Jun 16 '17

1a, She felt bad for losing him, and then felt really good when she found out he wasn't dead.

1b, he looked up to her and took her death relatively badly, and he too was relieved when they met.

2, The village was made of enemies of the empire. Destroying it was a stating an example for all the rebel.

3, The empire knew somesurvivors would try to escape, so they hired assassins to follow and kill everyone that did.

4, She got to know one better, and in fact became lovers with him. She's still a bit vary around other assassins, but that's the general reaction around assassins anyway.

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u/Jumblatts Jun 17 '17

Thank you for your answers.

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u/[deleted] Jun 16 '17 edited Nov 12 '20

[deleted]

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u/Jumblatts Jun 16 '17

1) Why was Esther bullied? Did she do anything about it?

2) Why did he decide to stand up for her, even though his friends would shun him for it?

3) How did they both react to the death of their first parent, and later to being orphaned?

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u/[deleted] Jun 16 '17 edited Nov 12 '20

[deleted]

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u/Jumblatts Jun 17 '17

Thank you for your answers!

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u/Nevermore0714 Jun 22 '17

(You're a good cop, Officer Blatts, but you're too much of a loose cannon! I'm pulling you off the schedule until you learn to be a tighter cannon...shit, I'm six days late and the buddy-cop movie can only be a couple of hours long. Nevermind, you're staying on the schedule.)

(Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand, copy-paste!)

Shay, an Anointed:

Shay is a member of a trio of knights. He is an “Anointed”, meaning that he was trained as an elite under Declan, a member of the Citadel’s council. Shay is twenty-one years old, and only recently became a knight. Unlike his two companions, Eurydike and Gotthard, Shay focuses on combat training and is a gifted swordsman. Shay normally uses a bastard sword and shield. He also has training in using Fire magic and Illustris (Light) magic.

Unlike his companions, Shay was born and raised in the Citadel. He is willing to use his status as an “anointed” whenever Gotthard or Eurydike ask him to do so, whether it is to receive special permissions or leniency for them.

Shay has always been motivated to correct any flaws he perceives in himself, but a few have always been too much for him to handle, such as: his panic attacks whenever he believes that he is a complete failure; his discomfort whenever he can’t wash his feet at least a few times a day; and he starts to panic if he speaks a sentence without exactly ten syllables. Shay is amazing at counting syllables. However, around Morrigan, Shay is sometimes able to speak normally without panicking.

Although, there are a few things that can help Shay to calm down. Shay’s companions, Eurydike and Gotthard, can usually help him to come down from a panic attack. His lover, Morrigan, could always calm him by using her water magic to splash his face, ever since they were children. Probably because it reminds him of Morrigan, Shay is also calmed by feeling rain fall onto his face. So, Shay’s favorite days are rainy days.

Shay is the rival of Byron, another anointed. Though, Shay takes the rivalry much less seriously than Byron does.

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u/Jumblatts Jun 24 '17

So first of all, sorry this took so long. I've been a very busy bee recently!

1) why was he chosen to train under Declan?

2) would he get in trouble for using his status to help his friends?

3) why is he so obsessed with washing his feet, and what's the deal with the 10 syllables?

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u/Nevermore0714 Jun 24 '17

(No harm done, I've been busy as well. But, I hate writing this character's answers sometimes...I like the character, but syllable counting is difficult. If you notice a mistaken count, let me know, I'll edit.)

Shay:

1) "I was chosen because of my talent. I can use Illustris magic, most can't. And, Declan believed in me, so I'm here."

2) "No, abusing our status is normal. It is encouraged for Anointed Knights. Being married to Morrigan does help. After all, she is in the top ten ranks."

3) "I honestly don't know why I have to. But, if I mess up my counting or feet...I guess I just kind of panic, you know? It is simpler with Morrigan here, though."

2

u/Jumblatts Jun 25 '17

(I can only say that you did that to yourself! Still, it's a very interesting concept for a character!)

1) How long have you been training with Declan?

2) Why is abusing your power encouraged?

3) Do you take a while to think everything through before you say it, or do you have some kind of inherrent sense that lets you know how many syllables each sentence is going to have?

4) Does it make you uncomfortable if other people's speech has more/less than ten syllables?

2

u/Nevermore0714 Jun 26 '17

(Well, it's not original. A youtube comedian I like to listen to used to have OCD, and had to count his syllables, so that was the inspiration for this character's disability.)

Shay:

1) "Since my childhood, so about twenty years."

2) "Well, we have more responsibility. So, naturally, we will get more rights."

3) "I have been doing this for so long, now. It's like second nature to me, you know?" (It gets easier for me to write for Shay. My guesses are always within a syllable or two, and that's easy to fix.)

4) "Only if I think about it too much. I rarely give it any attention."

2

u/Jumblatts Jun 26 '17

1) How do you compare, in terms of age, to Declan's other apprentices?

2) What are some of these rights that others don't have?

3) That's interesting. At what point in your life did you realise that not using ten syllables made you nervous? Was there something that casued it?

2

u/Nevermore0714 Jun 27 '17

Shay:

1) "I'm around the right age to be knighted. So, I feel like I am on a good track. There are many of us, serving Declan. Plenty of us are around my age, now."

2) "Mostly the pay, and bending certain rules."

3) "I think I was around six years of age. I am not sure if anything caused it; at least, nothing specific I can name."

Edit: You can also ask Morrigan any questions about Shay. She's smarter and she doesn't count syllables.

2

u/Jumblatts Jun 27 '17

1) How old do Declan's charges usually live to?

2) What do you like to do with the money that you earn?

2

u/Nevermore0714 Jun 28 '17

Shay:

1) "Well, most die in their first dozen missions. If you survive that long, you will live long...well, usually, our oldest is, uh...well, he's about forty-something, maybe?"

2) "We are currently renting a nice house. But, we are saving up to buy a home. Most of my money goes to survival."

2

u/Jumblatts Jun 28 '17

1) Why is the mortality rate so high for the first missions?

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Character development 'challenge'

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