OC Monday is the brainchild of penbrydd on Pillowfort, who shares questions each week for creatives to answer about their original characters.
Today I'm going to talk about Sain and Isak from the Witch-Confessor series, since I just spent all of last week editing one of their stories, and also about Konstantin, Cat, and Nic from Something More Than Honor, since I just spent last week editing some of their chapters.
What is [x]'s least closely guarded secret (they don't publicize it, but they don't mind if someone finds out)?
This is such a fun question because most of my characters have secrets they guard with a death grip (often it is a case of life or death for them, or a least social death).
Cat's least guarded secret is probably her agoraphobia; she doesn't volunteer it to strangers, but finds it more annoying than embarrassing or painful.
I've always had the headcanon that when growing up, Konstantin did some very silly or innocently gross things on a dare from his fellow squires (the healthy version of "boys being boys"), and he might even enjoy watching people react with impressed horror to these.
I'm not sure if his friendship with Nic counts as a secret or not; he'd enjoy sharing it with anyone he trusts with information about his life generally, but he doesn't have many of those.
What kind of laugh does [x] have (snort, cackle, soundless, infectious, etc.)?
Konstantin's sincere laugh is very musical and sweet. Cat is more of a smiler than a laughter, but she's warming up into short chuckles. Nic's is probably infectious though he's not above a dismissive snort when the occasion calls for it.
Sain's laughter tends to be scoffing or sarcastic-sounding even when he's genuinely amused. Isak is just relearning how to laugh after years as a Confessor (priest/torturer), so his is probably quite rusty and quiet.
What does [x]'s family name mean? Does that have any significance in their culture?
Nic Miller's family does indeed own a mill (at least his parents do and his eldest brother will in time. He and his middle brother need to make their own way in the world).
Konstantin Eadinford and Cat Wardlow both have names based on their noble families' holdings. The barony of Eadinford is named for a ford on the river Eadin (pronounced ayy-den, a bit softer/quicker than the name "Aiden" would be). Technically Cat should be Catilyn Eadinford, given coverture, and she'll one day be Baroness Eadinford, but she's somewhat attached to her own family and she and her husband are inventing feminism from first principles, so. (It's probably a spoiler but they'll one day think of themselves as Konstantin Miller and Catilyn Miller.)
Sain Tamovar has a family name that's just a name so far as we know. He briefly took on the name of the man who adopted him as an heir before that man died under suspicious circumstances, and if that kind of resembles coverture in marriage, well, that's not unfitting.
Isak does not have a family name - he gave it up when he became a Confessor. His family still loves him but would be pretty nonplussed if he returned to them, not least because it might mess up inheritance of the farm. This also makes my life slightly easier in that I have one less name to have to create.
If [x] goes by multiple names or nicknames, which name do they most like to be called?
Catilyn is Cat, not Cattie. It's what she calls herself and answers to from her beloved elder sister and eventually from Konstantin and Nic, who she sometimes calls "her dear boys" or individually, "dear one."
Konstantin will answer to "Kon" as a short form from Cat or Nic, but probably prefers "Kostas" as a diminutive - however, that's the diminutive he answered to from his mom and is still called by his sister; and he'd find it unnatural for a romantic partner to call him by it. "Konstantin" is your best bet and already a shortened form from "Konstantinos." Really, he's just glad to be acknowledged. (Later on, Nic takes to calling him "love" in private.)
Nic prefers Nic and finds "Nicolas" an over-formal mouthful. (Konstantin has a way of pronouncing "Nic" that makes it an endearment.)
Sain already has a one-syllable name and doesn't want a nickname. He's a bit uncomfortable when Isak reveals that in some cultures his name means "blessing."
Isak uses Erik when he's going in disguise. In addition to his actual name, Sain likes to call him "Confessor," which Isak has mixed feelings on.
What sort of underwear does [x] wear, if any?
Just for the record, I have read up on medieval (and Tudor/early Modern) underwear for story research but then decided to just write around it in both stories. Everyone probably has smallclothes. Cat has some lovely chemises. And the mens' poofy-sleeved white linen shirts are basically lingerie.
Is their current job what [x] expected to be doing at this point in their life? Are they better or worse off than they expected?
Sain is between careers at the moment (by which I mean he's a witch on the run from the law and the Church). He doesn't plan ahead so he's not surprised, although for a while there he hoped he could live off an inheritance instead of being a vagabond scrambling for work as a laborer and servant.
Isak wanted to be a humble mendicant Confessor, got recruited as a Witch-Confessor (aka torturer), and then ran away to become a fugitive disguised as a humble mendicant Confessor. He reports it's not even a pay cut.
As the baron's second son, Konstantin thought he'd grow up to be the commander of his brother's garrison and general assistant around the castle, but his brother died and now he's heir to the entire barony. He feels unprepared and wants to be more competent and generally useful. Likewise, Cat's job has changed from "wife of second son" to "wife of heir," though this doesn't change a lot of her day-to-day work helping to run the household alongside her sisters-in-law. (Helene, the elder brother's widow, is actually rather happy to go from future baroness to castle herbalist and musician, things she enjoys and is good at.)
Nic is the disabled, unmarried youngest son in his family, and after being quasi-outed by an ex's weird behavior, he went from living with his parents and helping in their household to living with his elder brother and helping with his household in various capacities (from home repair to woodcarving to fishing to agricultural work to childcare). He's made his peace with that change (or says he has); he may be more surprised by his current shift into the "friend, lover, and advisor to the heir and heir's wife" position.
