Voice of the Chartered Lands . "People are the best show in the world - - and you don't even pay for a ticket!" . Private RP sideblog for the NPC personalities of the D&D campaign 'Fus Ro Yeah'.
13. How do they greet the world — what is their typical attitude towards life? How does it differ in different circumstances, or towards different subjects? Why do they take these attitudes, and why do they change? How do these tend to be expressed?
For the most part, with a sense of reliable distrust - or rather, trust in the fact that there’s always a reliable chance that things can go sideways very quickly. She rarely relaxes unless with people she loves - namely because she can count the people she loves on three fingers - and all three of them can take care of themselves in a scrap. She doesn’t feel a part of most communities - not even Forayne, where she stayed for years after her denouncement of Helm. Things might change after dealing with Ansel’s men, but.. for now, her home is in her loved ones and her friends.
You’ll mostly see dry wit, skepticism, and tough love from her in most situations. Battle calls for hard focus. Being with Julda usually results in a tenderness that had to be coaxed out over time and is based in complete trust - and she’ll also smile.
14. What do they care deeply about? What kind of loyalties, commitments, moral codes, life philosophies, passions, callings, or spirituality and faith do they have? How do these tend to be expressed?
She generally looks out for those suffering the worst times of their lives, as a sentinel and guide. This is due in no small part to the fact that she has, herself, been through hell. She may not present a typically nurturing front, but her drive is usually to help protect and guide those who have nowhere else to turn, or don’t feel worthy of saving themselves. These tend to be expressed in a very pragmatic sense - it could even be mistaken for hostility as she’s not really sure how to be soft, a lot of the time.
She tends to try and enjoy life, but she’s a bit of a workaholic in a sense. She takes her oath seriously and doesn’t deviate from it very often. Unlike her previous oath to Helm, this new oath upon which she redeemed herself carries a far more personal responsibility - and is not actually based in worship. It just so happens to follow the code of Helm too, and spreads a similar message to the one Helm’s followers would spread. Hence why she is still granted her paladin abilities.
One quote from the actual campaign is her saying to Rowan after the party talked her down from the valley wolves:
“These gods are not worth your life.”
This is a realisation that has taken her years to come to, and something that she never would have thought of as a young and confident worshipper of a God she barely knew. Shevra has learned the hard way that as a person she finds it more fulfilling to prioritize people, family, and your own sense of right and wrong over the word of an uncaring deity. So when she saw Rowan headed down a path she’d once walked, due to the actions of an uncaring god (i.e. the feud between Kossuth and Istashia causing Rowan’s torn identity given that her twin was so indebted to her deity’s rival), it was like seeing herself all those years ago - familiar grief and torment in her eyes that had only begun to leave her own not long ago. She cared more about Rowan living on and learning to come to terms with it, and living a healthy life, over the supposed wish of Istashia that all trace of Kossuth be wiped out - including Rowan.
She believes in people far more than any deity out there, even while fully acknowledging how terrible they can be.
Send me a # (questions for OCs) or a letter (questions for creators) and I’ll answer
QUESTIONS FOR YOUR OCs
What’s the maximum amount of time your character can sit still with nothing to do?
How easy is it for your character to laugh?
How do they put themselves to bed at night (reading, singing, thinking?)
How easy is it to earn their trust?
How easy is it to earn their mistrust?
Do they consider laws flexible, or immovable?
What triggers nostalgia for them, most often? Do they enjoy that feeling?
What were they told to stop/start doing most often as a child
Do they swear? Do they remember their first swear word?
What lie do they most frequently remember telling? Does it haunt them?
How do they cope with confusion (seek clarification, pretend they understand, etc)?
How do they deal with an itch found in a place they can’t quite reach?
What color do they think they look best in? Do they actually look best in that color?
What animal do they fear most?
How do they speak? Is what they say usually thought of on the spot, or do they rehearse it in their mind first?
What makes their stomach turn?
Are they easily embarrassed?
What embarrasses them?
What is their favorite number?
If they were asked to explain the difference between romantic and platonic or familial love, how would they do so?
Why do they get up in the morning?
How does jealousy manifest itself in them (they become possessive, they become aloof, etc)?
How does envy manifest itself in them (they take what they want, they become resentful, etc)?
Is sex something that they’re comfortable speaking about? To whom?
What are their thoughts on marriage?
What is their preferred mode of transportation?
What causes them to feel dread?
Would they prefer a lie over an unpleasant truth?
Do they usually live up to their own ideals?
Who do they most regret meeting?
Who are they the most glad to have met?
Do they have a go-to story in conversation? Or a joke?
Could they be considered lazy?
How hard is it for them to shake a sense of guilt?
How do they treat the things their friends come to them excited about? Are they supportive?
Do they actively seek romance, or do they wait for it to fall into their lap?
Do they have a system for remembering names, long lists of numbers, things that need to go in a certain order (like anagrams, putting things to melodies, etc)?
What memory do they revisit the most often?
How easy is it for them to ignore flaws in other people?
How sensitive are they to their own flaws?
How do they feel about children?
How badly do they want to reach their end goal?
If someone asked them to explain their sexuality, how would they do so?
QUESTIONS FOR CREATORS
A) Why are you excited about this character?
B) What inspired you to create them?
C) Did you have trouble figuring out where they fit in their own story?
D) Have they always had the same physical appearance, or have you had to edit how they look?
E) Are they someone you would get along with? Would they get along with you?
F) What do you feel when you think of your OC (pride, excitement, frustration, etc)?
G) What trait of theirs bothers you the most?
H) What trait do you admire most?
I) Do you prefer to keep them in their canon universe?
J) Did you have to manipulate or exclude canon factors to allow them to create their character?
5. How do they dress? What styles, colors, accessories, and other possessions do they favor? Why?
Typically in ornate black, gold, and auburn robes - she used to be of a fair rank amongst her chronomancer institution in the Grove of Shards, and she sticks to the past. Some would even say too much of her remains there. Her robes reflect the past, and old tradition. Slim, stylized brass instruments and clockwork toys, polished gold shaped into delicate molten swirls sit on her desk and shelves when she has them, as well as drawings of old families and new.
10. What energizes and drains them most?
Hannah is a natural leader, and she operates most efficiently when others turn to her for advice. She organises, delegates, and problem-solves, and listens to everyone in turn. She is at her best at the head of the table and her energy, patience, and resolve can stand up to almost anything. She will take a long time to consider a difficult problem and works tirelessly and happily on it if someone is depending on her.
What drains her? I mean physical activity tbh, she’s a squishy and soft mage. But on an emotional level, she doesn’t travel well and doesn’t like unfamiliar environments and people when she doesn’t have her own around her. She’s not anxious, per se? It’s more like, she has trouble reading people and reading conversational tones, and tends to be far too blunt - she can approximate after observing for a while but meeting new people isn’t her forté and it takes a lot of energy.
15. What kind of inner life do they have — rich and imaginative? Calculating and practical? Full of doubts and fears? Does it find any sort of outlet in their lives?
It’s hard to describe. Rich but also calculating. She has depth of so many years and the colour and variety and the pain that comes with experience. She is not led by her emotions, but she feels them intensely - so often her words carry their weight. She applies an extremely vibrant imagination to her magic, allowing her to easily grasp its concepts and even invent new spells and applications. This can distract and refocus, but when she just needs to blow off steam she tends to write. And write and write. No physical outlet - she creates the space in her own mind to release her torment or ecstasy or stress and lets it bleed into her parchment. It doesn’t make them go away completely, but it puts words to feelings and makes them more receptive to logic and reason, which she prefers.
20. What kind of individual relationships do they have with others, and how do they behave in them? How are they different between intimate relationships like friends, family, and lovers versus more impersonal relationships?
Not many personal relationships anymore, though once there would have been many. Her new connections form through a far more professional context even when things have crumbled so far past the need for niceties. Perhaps it comforts her. In terms of intimate relationships, Hannah can be a distracted but dedicated lover - i.e. may not necessarily work hard to spend a lot of time with you or even say the words ‘I love you’ in verbal form a lot, but will find other ways to express it, in other words and other actions. Sometimes she might simply need reminding to step away from her work.Friendships are easier for her to maintain, but even the unique perspective she has has put a dampner on that. Harris was different, and they survived together when so many they loved and depended on did not.
25. What do they need and want out of relationships, and how do they go about getting it?
Her only wish is for mutual respect and trust. She can give or take romance and intimacy, though she does enjoy the latter with someone she’s close with. She tends to ensure this by being straightforward, honest, and blunt. This…does mean she can come across as harsh at times. Hannah doesn’t dance around topics, but it means you can always rely on her to tell the truth. And if she doesn’t….well, there’s a very good reason for it.
30. What is their preferred level of activity and stimulation? How do they cope if they get either too little or too much?
Intellectually stimulated, a puzzle in mind, and a goal. When understimulated she tends to get complacent and overthinks. Too much stimulation and almost the same thing happens - but it’s honestly quite hard to overstimulate Hannah. She knows her limits and will cut off when she can. If she is forced to continue, she’ll work herself to the bone before she concedes just to ensure the safety of who- or whatever is at stake. Or for spite.
35. How and why do they internalize knowledge? What effect has that had on them?
Hannah internalizes knowledge far quicker than she memorizes it, and as a result can often get to the core of a problem at hand without having to go over every detail. This makes her incredibly useful in a crisis, but can mean the bypassing of more informed decisions. She still makes an effort to memorize too, however, though this is often more about other people - both teaching them, and her own ability to make an impression of competency rather than her own satisfaction.
40. What do they wonder about? What sparks their curiosity and imagination, and why? How is this expressed, if it is?
Anything related to the old ways of the chronomancers, before their persecution. She tends to become hyperfocused, passionate, and even angry in a slow, burning way if information is witheld from her. When without duty, she wonders about things so large she neglects the small but equally important. There are also some things that her imagination does not want to wander through, even if her curiosity is tapped. Such things lead to complicated feelings and repeated circles of thought and she may even forget to take care of herself. She’s… seen a lot.
"So, erm... you? Sorry I threatened to murder you, you seem rather alright. What *is* your name, anyway?" - Elariah @ Yuni (presumably at some point on the way to Valnaheim)
Yuni blinked out of his thoughts, having taken a second to realise she was addressing him and not a member of the rest of the party. The distraction was welcome - he’d been worrying about Springer again, her heading back to Mythelean amidst the chaos, amongst what felt like a thousand other things all demanding his attention the closer they travelled to Kastacil. Or, home, perhaps would be the word for it. Why did that still feel out of place?
He shot her a brief half-grin as he reached to give his horse a soft stroke down its neck. It flicked a pair of long, fey ears in response.
“Nothing to it. You’re not amongst even the first 50 or so to threaten me upon first meeting.”
Honestly, it was probably the most normal thing to have happened to him that day - and had Elariah not shown up in the first place.. He took a short, sharp breath as he remembered the crackle of purple bursting out from that mechanical creature, the swarms of its minions shrouding them like flies, the sheer, violent force of the blow that had struck him in the dark.
He shrugged a shoulder. “Side-effect of showing up unannounced in a fancy uniform, I reckon. I’m Commander Buteyuni. Call me Yuni.”
A pause. Yuni suppressed a yawn and shifted in the saddle, stretching his arms and flexing the cramp from his fingers before holding the reigns steady once more. After a moment, he spoke again:“And you. You’re rich, you’re magic, and you can pack a punch.” A useful combination. Yuni quirked a thick eyebrow at her. “What brought you to Mythelean, of all places? Didn’t seem like you were there to represent your house, eh?”
❛I’m sorry. For what happened to you. For the one who hurt you so deeply that you see things like friends and fondness as weapons instead of shields.❜ (Qir)
The tiefling’s fork clinked against the edge of the plate as she set it down. She sank back in her seat, her eyes fixed on the scraps of her meal in front of her as she reached for her drink and tried to untangle the uneasy knot in the pit of her stomach.
It was his eyes, she decided. They were the worst part. The eyes of a child burdened with too many harsh realities too soon. The eyes of a person possessed of knowledge and wisdom beyond his years, not because of insatiable curiosity and a passion for learning, but because it had been forced upon him - a suffocating weight he’d never asked to carry.
Every instinct told her to console him. To close the gap; physically, with a hug, or emotionally, with every assurance in the world that things would be alright, they were there for him, they’d figure it out. But it wasn’t her comfort to give. And assurances, no matter how kindly-meant, seemed hollow fabrications in the face of a boy who knew better than any of them that no futures were guaranteed.
Instead, she sipped her drink. Set down her glass.
“You have a kind heart, Qir.”
She tore a chunk of bread from the loaf, and mopped at the gravy on her plate.
“Hold on to it, if you can. This world needs more people like you.”
She was uncomfortable. He could see that. It made sense, for her - for what he’d said. He hadn’t meant to make her remember, nor had he even particularly been trying to help, this time. He’d just been thinking, and when the thoughts drifted in the direction of Nija there had been such a sudden, throat-gripping surge of desperate sorrow.
The words had been his own. He’d forgotten how that felt.
Qir shifted to fold a casual leg beneath him on the tavern seat, then promptly returned it with a cursory glance at Nija and the surrounding patrons. Father always said be polite and sit like a proper boy in public, as there was no telling who would use impropiety against you in Mythelean. It didn’t matter that they were no longer in Mythelean; even if Qir hadn’t known then what ‘impropriety’ meant, the message had stuck.
Father never taught me that.
He poked his remaining meat chunks with a fork, suddenly without appetite. He focused on Nija instead - not her history, nor her future, but Nija. Here, as she was. She was on edge, but keeping a cool head for now. She probably had a lot of experience doing that sort of thing. Qir had noticed the way she spoke - deliberately, usually heavy with implication or some charged emotion he couldn’t identify, but– it could turn on a dime. It could swoop up into cheeriness or glide smoothly into ice. Even her face, so carefully controlled an expression even at rest.
Maybe people don’t always hide things because they were bad. Qir did not mean to hide who he was from these people when he first met them, nor did he mean to lie to the Dawnforce when they asked him what happened that first time around. He had not wanted to remember his father standing there frozen, trying to prevent something he could never have hoped to affect.
Qir scooted closer to Nija and settled himself gently by her side, not bothering to move his plate with him.
Maybe people don’t always hide things because they were ashamed or afraid.
“You’re kind too.“ he said, staring up at her, searching her face. “I think one day you’ll be even kinder.”
Maybe, he thought, maybe sometimes people hide things because they do nothing but hurt.
Alignment:
True Neutral- A true neutral character does what seems to be a good idea. He doesn't feel strongly one way or the other when it comes to good vs. evil or law vs. chaos. Most true neutral characters exhibit a lack of conviction or bias rather than a commitment to neutrality. Such a character thinks of good as better than evil after all, he would rather have good neighbors and rulers than evil ones. Still, he's not personally committed to upholding good in any abstract or universal way. Some true neutral characters, on the other hand, commit themselves philosophically to neutrality. They see good, evil, law, and chaos as prejudices and dangerous extremes. They advocate the middle way of neutrality as the best, most balanced road in the long run. True neutral is the best alignment you can be because it means you act naturally, without prejudice or compulsion. However, true neutral can be a dangerous alignment when it represents apathy, indifference, and a lack of conviction.
Race:
Humans are the most adaptable of the common races. Short generations and a penchant for migration and conquest have made them physically diverse as well. Humans are often unorthodox in their dress, sporting unusual hairstyles, fanciful clothes, tattoos, and the like.
Primary Class:
Wizards- Wizards are arcane spellcasters who depend on intensive study to create their magic. To wizards, magic is not a talent but a difficult, rewarding art. When they are prepared for battle, wizards can use their spells to devastating effect. When caught by surprise, they are vulnerable. The wizard's strength is her spells, everything else is secondary. She learns new spells as she experiments and grows in experience, and she can also learn them from other wizards. In addition, over time a wizard learns to manipulate her spells so they go farther, work better, or are improved in some other way. A wizard can call a familiar- a small, magical, animal companion that serves her. With a high Intelligence, wizards are capable of casting very high levels of spells.
Secondary Class:
Sorcerers- Sorcerers are arcane spellcasters who manipulate magic energy with imagination and talent rather than studious discipline. They have no books, no mentors, no theories just raw power that they direct at will. Sorcerers know fewer spells than wizards do and acquire them more slowly, but they can cast individual spells more often and have no need to prepare their incantations ahead of time. Also unlike wizards, sorcerers cannot specialize in a school of magic. Since sorcerers gain their powers without undergoing the years of rigorous study that wizards go through, they have more time to learn fighting skills and are proficient with simple weapons. Charisma is very important for sorcerers; the higher their value in this ability, the higher the spell level they can cast.
“Did I do anything last night that suggested I was sane?” [nija, probably to someone on the boat ride back from the isle of erren]
“I mean, a point of reference is key here.” Raj said, fastening a rope to the deck on a tight brass buckle, before straightening up. He dusted off his hands and squinted at her through the mid-morning sunlight.
“Far be it from me to judge a woman for purposefully tracking a rotten king down to his castle and burning him alive, while simultaneously destroying his whole operation and taking your friend’s sister hostage.”
1. How do they move and carry themselves? Pace, rhythm, gestures, energy?
So a lot of these answers are going to begin with ‘it depends on the situation’. But for the most part, quite carefully. He’s aware of what holding a badge of status can do to people’s perception of you and while he doesn’t actively mistrust a good portion of the population, he watches carefully for the first signs of trouble. Ready for it, but not seeking it out.
The image I keep getting of him when I’m getting in character is if he’d shown up to arrest or investigate some corrupt noble. They’d open the door and see him standing there perfectly at ease and with a sort of wry smile, hands behind his back as he gives a lowkey ironic respectful gesture, never taking his gaze off of their face. He doesn’t lose his cool and in a very friendly tone, orders his people to check around inside while probably communicating a bunch of other nonverbal stuff to them by the by. Meanwhile, while he’s placating this noble with ‘official speak’, he’s probably also focusing a section of his mind on sensing any magical activity nearby, and seeing if he can use that as a pressure point to draw them out. He doesn’t ignore a single aspect, especially if he’s told it’s not important. Thorough, while taking pains to maintain a laid back exterior to lower their guard.
If it’s someone he knows is innocent or vulnerable, he won’t necessarily try hard to make friends with them. This is because 1) he’s not overly affectionate, and 2) Again, the official uniform. Usually the way he gets through to the more closed-off people is by asking them directly, no-nonsense attitude, listening to them and following up on things they suggest in order to make them feel more valued. Judgements can be applied from there. He’s not overly expressive when doing this, but often he can’t help giving a friendly smile or relaxing a little when the rest of the crew is around.
Around personal friends, he’s a hell of a lot more expressive and high-energy than in his professional life - and back home he was a pretty hyper kid and teen. Things kinda happened to dampen that a bit, and his energy became applied toward a long-term goal in the form of perserverance and belief in I guess something he’s not entirely sure is even possible.
With the party? It’s tricky. They’re not friends, they’re not colleagues - at the moment, they’re sort of charges? But charges that are more powerful than him and run in circles he hadn’t even thought existed. For the most part he’s professional but doesn’t feel incapable of deferring to them, or even acting a little more uninhibited than he normally would on a job. He’s not trying to maintain a veneer of perfection or unshakeable cool where he ordinarily might. Besides which, the party’s already seen that break down multiple times. The first session he was in, he talked about his own dilemma back home because you earned his personal trust so quickly even I was taken aback. The second session the party saw him physically and literally brought to his knees by some heckin’ strong magic that the rest of you barely felt. The third, they saw him try to get Qir out of the room and get one-shotted by the Quarut. The fourth, you saw him challenged and frustrated when Nija began to state theories that undermined Yuni’s own judgement of a situation he’d thought to be rock solid.
You’re past the point of a professional facade, but not at the point of true honesty and connection like that which exists between Yuni and his crew members. So for the most part, still medium energy, careful pacing, but some moments of levity. In terms of gestures, Yuni learned to be formal and mostly holds his hands still when he talks - the most expression usually comes through on the face.
Movement? I guess he walks fairly deliberately and surprisingly gracefully, actually. He walks like he acts in combat with his dual blades - one after the other in one smooth motion and as though he practiced it for years.
2. How much physical space do they use, active and at rest?
Not much when active, moreso at rest. When active, he likes to remain noticeable but unobtrusive if possible, as per his initial training as a guard. Unofficial training, but training nonetheless.
When at rest, he stretches out. In the most casual setting, he’s the guy who would use the entire couch and point you to an armchair. I mean obviously he’d move if you asked, but a part of him is still a little shit tbh. It also depends what the day entailed, how tired he is, and the company he’s with.
With the party, he tends not to do this and instead only truly relaxes when alone or with Springer.
3. How do they position themselves in a group? Do they like to be the center of attention, or do they hang back at the edges of a crowd?
Depends on the context of the crowd. He’s trained to keep an eye out, so if it’s something good or neutral he’ll probably be content at the sidelines. If it’s something bad, he’s putting himself between it and anyone else without a thought. If it’s something that directly pertains to him or someone he knows, he’s at the front anyway, probably walking right up to it and demanding to know what’s going on.
4. What is their size and build? How does it influence how they use their body, if it does?
He’s lithe and not extremely tall. I believe he’s about 5′9′’ or 5′10′’, and he’s pretty in-proportion, though perhaps his limbs are a little longer relative to his torso. This combined with his high dexterity and his lightweight (but sharp) shortswords, allows him ease of movement when following one attack with the other, or switching targets mid-battle, dodging and retaliating, moving quickly to get another attack in before the enemy’s hammer blow falls. He’s good at controlling his movements, especially at high speeds which, as mentioned above, influences the way he walks.
5. How do they dress? What styles, colors, accessories, and other possessions do they favor? Why?
At home he mostly wore purples, blues, and whites, with really no other accessories. Simple but fitted clothing, practical boots, stuff you could very suddenly hop onto a horse with and not ruin them. I can’t say he puts a lot of thought into his appearance - I think the only time he does is with his hair, keeping it in tight, relatively short tied-back dreadlocks partly for style, but also to keep it out of the way.
Now that he’s working for the Scholars, he wears the same armour every day, so it’s usually just a cheap dark purple shirt from home underneath.
6. What are they like in motion–in different environments, and in different activities? What causes the differences between these?
I’ve already kinda covered this above, I think. Usually it’s a sense of duty or professionalism that determines how he moves. On the battlefield he’s quick, smooth, and decisive. In a social situation he typically stands relatively still, and what few gestures he makes when talking often are small, quick, and deliberate, but he does look around as though surveying the area quite frequently. If someone is directly addressing him, he’ll give an almost intense amount of attention to them.
Sometimes when it’s cold he can walk with an ever so slight limp which interrupts the rhythm of his pace a bit but doesn’t seem to cause him any pain.
7. How do they physically engage with other people, inanimate objects, and their environment? What causes the differences between these?
In general, Yuni’s not a physically interactive guy except with like, one or two people in the entire world. This goes for new environments, typically he lets his vision, hearing, and magic sense do the exploring while often reminding one of his crew not to touch anything before he’s looked at it. He doesn’t initiate contact but will often acknowledge it with a small gesture in return, like if someone pats him on the shoulder he’ll nod or pat their arm/hand very briefly. He doesn’t dislike physical contact, it’s just not something that occurs to him to do very often.
8. Where and when do they seem most and least at ease? Why? How can you tell?
With his best friend and basically sister, with his crew, and…..that might actually be it. He stops putting on graces and gestures more, his accent can even get stronger depending on the company (especially sister person), he smiles a heck of a lot more. In other company Yuni might look amused quite often but he rarely actually gives a genuine smile.
9. How do they manifest energy, exhaustion, tension, or other strong emotions?
Tension, by going quiet and excusing himself for self-reflection. I literally tried to imagine Yuni shouting or lashing out in anger and I could not. I mean, I can but it would take a lot. A lot.
Energy and exhaustion, actually he does the same things for. Yuni basically pretends he’s not exhausted and thinks that works. It does, to a point. Jaya and Springer both have had to put up with his bullshit at times where it wasn’t really enough to pretend he wasn’t fricking exhausted or injured. He’ll usually try to shift the focus off of himself. Similarly when he’s highly energized he’ll focus on others rather than himself.
The guy actually needs to be more self-absorbed sometimes like jfc too selfless for his own good.
10. What energizes and drains them most?
Sparring, folk music, being around crowds and being with Jaya energizes him.
Magic, magic, magic, magic, and people who don’t care about other people drain him the most. He’s very used to the Aacroan magic intolerance stuff so that doesn’t bother him as much as it probably should, as that only physically drains him and these days it’s much easier to manage. When he started out he had to be extremely careful but was taken under a mentor’s wing to strengthen his constitution. Not his literal CONmod, I mean. But trying to explain or having to explain his motivations to people who don’t really care about other people is frustrating and will end up going in circles.
11. How are they vocally expressive? What kind of voice, accent, tones, inflections, volume, phrases and slang, and manner of speaking do they use?
I sort of imagine a mixture between an upbeat Krem from DA:I, Trevor Noah, and just my own voice at its lowest. I can’t quite imitate it as well as I’d like, but I’m happy with the voice and accent I give him in-session. It sounds vaguely like a strong Johannesburg SA accent (but probably slips into NZ from time to time for unknwon reasons). And what his physicality lacks in energy, his tone usually makes up for. Undercurrent of amusement most of the time, but a downbeat tone of professionalism. Can get very high in pitch when scandalized or incredulous.
I can’t use a SA accent and not use ‘eh’ from time to time, so he does that (”We’ll figure it as we go, eh?”), but other than that I can’t think of any, like, signature phrases or slang that he uses other than like the names for a few things and his pronunciations of certain cities like Kastacil or Valnaheim. His accent has a tendency to strengthen briefly when speaking Common or Elvish right after having said a Telma word or sentence, Telma being his native language. But only for like a second.
12. How are they bodily expressive? How do they use nonverbal cues such as their posture, stance, eyes, eyebrows, mouths, and hands?
Eyebrows, my dude. He has thick and expressive eyebrows which often work in tandem with the corner of his lips to express amusement, disbelief, and derision. With negative emotions, his face just tends to go blank except for a slight frown. He also does a sort of subconscious tell when he’s getting frustrated with a person and that’s looking away and putting them in his blind spot, like facing his eyepatch towards them - always that side.
His posture is okay. It’s not great, but it works. He’s never been one for a ramrod straight spine. Usually his hands will find their position behind his back when addressing a person of nobility, but otherwise he’ll fold them or have them loose and ready by his side.
Due to both his striking eye colour, eyepatch, and decisive and steady attitude, Yuni can hold a pretty intense gaze on a person when needed, and rarely looks elsewhere throughout as he’s able to listen and attune his magic sense without shifting his gaze a milimeter. Given this, his crew can pick up on any small gestures he makes on his face or behind his back, and have done so in the past.
PHYSICAL PRESENCE AND GESTURE.
1. How do they move and carry themselves? Pace, rhythm, gestures, energy?
2. How much physical space do they use, active and at rest?
3. How do they position themselves in a group? Do they like to be the center of attention, or do they hang back at the edges of a crowd?
4. What is their size and build? How does it influence how they use their body, if it does?
5. How do they dress? What styles, colors, accessories, and other possessions do they favor? Why?
6. What are they like in motion–in different environments, and in different activities? What causes the differences between these?
7. How do they physically engage with other people, inanimate objects, and their environment? What causes the differences between these?
8. Where and when do they seem most and least at ease? Why? How can you tell?
9. How do they manifest energy, exhaustion, tension, or other strong emotions?
10. What energizes and drains them most?
11. How are they vocally expressive? What kind of voice, accent, tones, inflections, volume, phrases and slang, and manner of speaking do they use?
12. How are they bodily expressive? How do they use nonverbal cues such as their posture, stance, eyes, eyebrows, mouths, and hands?
DISPOSITION AND TEMPERAMENT.
13. How do they greet the world — what is their typical attitude towards life? How does it differ in different circumstances, or towards different subjects? Why do they take these attitudes, and why do they change? How do these tend to be expressed?
14. What do they care deeply about? What kind of loyalties, commitments, moral codes, life philosophies, passions, callings, or spirituality and faith do they have? How do these tend to be expressed?
15. What kind of inner life do they have — rich and imaginative? Calculating and practical? Full of doubts and fears? Does it find any sort of outlet in their lives?
16. Do they dream? What are those dreams like?
17. Are they more shaped by nature or nurture — who they are, or what has happened to them? How have these shaped who they’ve become as a person?
18. What kind of person could they become in the future? What are some developmental paths that they could take, (best, worst, most likely?) what would cause them to come to pass, and what consequences might they have? What paths would you especially like to see, and why?
CONNECTIONS WITH OTHERS.
19. How do they behave within a group? What role(s) do they take? Does this differ if they know and trust the group, versus finding themselves in a group of strangers? Why?
20. What kind of individual relationships do they have with others, and how do they behave in them? How are they different between intimate relationships like friends, family, and lovers versus more impersonal relationships?
21. What kind of relationships do they tend to intentionally seek out versus actually cultivate? What kind of social contact do they prefer, and why?
22. How do people respond to them, and why might these responses differ?
23. How do they respond to difficult social moments? What makes them consider a social situation difficult?
24. How do they present themselves socially? What distinguishes their “persona” from their “true self”, and what causes that difference?
25. What do they need and want out of relationships, and how do they go about getting it?
26. How do they view and feel about relationships, and how might this manifest in how they handle them, if it does?
ACTIVITIES AND PREFERENCES.
27. What do they strongly like and dislike, in any category? Why?
28. What are they likely to do if they have the opportunity, resources, and time to accomplish it? Why?
29. What kind of activities, interests, and hobbies do they have? What significance and impact do these have in their lives, both positive and negative?
30. What is their preferred level of activity and stimulation? How do they cope if they get either too little or too much?
31. Is there anything that counts as a “dealbreaker” for them, positively or negatively? What makes things go smoothly, and what spoils an activity or ruins their day? Why?
32. Do they have any “props” that are a significant part of their life, identity, activities, or self-presentation somehow? What are they, how are they used, and why are they so significant? How would these props’ absence impact them, how would they compensate, and why?
THINKING AND LEARNING.
33. How do they learn about the world–what is their preferred learning style? Hands-on learning with trial and error? Research, reading, and note-taking? Observation or rote memorization? Inductive or deductive reasoning? Seeking patterns and organization? Taking things apart and putting them back together? Creative processing via discussing, writing about, or dramatizing things?
34. How do they understand the world–what kind of worldview and thought processes do they have? Why?
35. How and why do they internalize knowledge? What effect has that had on them?
36. How much do they rely on their minds and intellect, versus other approaches like relying on instinct, intuition, faith and spirituality, or emotions? What is their opinion on this?
37. Have they had any special education or training that colors their means of learning about or understanding the world? Conversely, do they lack some kind of education considered essential in their world? What kind of impact has this addition or lack had on them?
38. Is there anything they wish they could change about their worldview or thought processes? What, and why?
39. What sort of questions or thoughts recur in their lives, either specifically or as a theme? Why are these never answered, or answered permanently to their satisfaction?
40. What do they wonder about? What sparks their curiosity and imagination, and why? How is this expressed, if it is?
FREE FOR ALL.
41. What associations do they bring to mind? Words or phrases, images, metaphors or motifs? Why?
42. I have a question of my own!
Lab partner: Yuni. See, Ori and Mello would mean well and they’d sure as heck be entertaining….but both would probably end up getting twitchy and be looking around for things to do within 5 minutes of starting. Don’t even get me started on Mello and preparation. I’m sure Mello would try their best, but they’d end up derailing and losing focus. Ori would approach the practical tasks with gusto but perhaps not quite grasp the theory behind it, and thus sometimes make huge errors. In a lab partner, especially at university level, you kind of just want to get on with it and get your data and go home and figure out what you need to learn next, but still bond with your partner if possible. Yuni would be the type to read up on the protocol beforehand extensively, message you out of lab hours to clarify points and analysis w/ the data afterwards, suggest ideas to optimize the protocol, make plans a month in advance, all the while bantering with you and getting to know you during the actual lab time. Yuni would probably be the ideal lab partner - organized, sensible, still has a great sense of humour.Employee trainer: Ori.Ori would be the most inspiring and upbeat trainer are you kidding me. Ori can make a job at McDonalds seem like an adventure and would be very forgiving of mistakes made by new trainees. They’d probably even take the blame for any made by younger or inexperienced employees, personally sort out problems they’re having, chat with them, make sure they remembered the fact that the new girl is called Linda and she has 5 dogs and a brother in uni, etc. They’re also very good at positive reinforcement, clear explanations, and have excellent social skills. In their modern verse, they’re literally a park ranger who does a ton of community engagement. Stuck in an elevator for 10 hours: MelloMello is unbothered by most things and would probably view this with a shrug of the shoulders. Personally if I were trapped with someone for 10 hours, I’d feel that surpasses the threshold where you can no longer ignore them like any other stranger. So I’d appreciate Mello’s likely questions and mad hatter thoughts and occasional (excellent) singing. If they had their instrument with them there’s that too. You could even start learning how to play it. Ori would start to get antsy being kept still for so long, and Yuni would probably just be so calm as to be boring. Mello would make a point of palling up with you and by the end you’d either be best friends or you’d fuckin hate each other. Either way - more interesting than the other two.
get them randomly assigned as your lab partner for a whole semester, get trapped with them on a broken elevator for ten hours, and they’re your employee trainer for your new job at McDonalds
the important rule to this version is that no matter who is with you, you HAVE to be stuck in the elevator for the full ten hours. I don’t care if you’re in there with Thor himself. You can’t get out.
11. How are they vocally expressive? What kind of voice, accent, tones, inflections, volume, phrases and slang, and manner of speaking do they use?
Imagine a soft Māori one but probably more geared towards a regular Wellington-sounding accent with a twist of irish. I guess right now they basically sound a bit like Taika Waititi, minus the irish. I knew how I wanted it to sound but it came down to what I was able to imitate in the end. Eventually I’ll be able to mimic Mello’s actual voice.
Mello’s tone is typically amused deadpan because most of what they say is one long dry joke, though the delivery prevents it from becoming cynical. Otherwise, it can sound quite manic, with many peaks and valleys in their speech and many a waggle of the eyebrow. This voice almost always comes out when trying to persuade someone (imagine Miguel from The Road to El Dorado), but Mello is also extremely good at imitating other accents, and will often choose a suitable one for interacting with someone in order to get the best amount of cooperation.
They usually incorporate a lot of slang from their society but don’t tend to take the time to explain it. They do also use slang from others too, but not to the same extent. Usually ironically.
12. How are they bodily expressive? How do they use nonverbal cues such as their posture, stance, eyes, eyebrows, mouths, and hands?
Eyebrows, hand gestures, shoulders are the main tools for expression with Mello. They can be a very physically expressive person, which gives their dry joke deliveries more weight. Oddly enough their face isn’t extremely expressive - they usually just keep a fairly consistent level of ‘wickedly amused but detached’ painted on. Unless they have a plan. Then the only thing you’ll see is their gigantic toothy grin.
17. Are they more shaped by nature or nurture — who they are, or what has happened to them? How have these shaped who they’ve become as a person?
Nurture, for sure. They used to be a dick when their family were nobles. When their family was kicked down to become simple merchants after a misunderstanding, they learned the value of relying on and supporting others and being part of a community. They learned how people lived, and not merely how they acted. They learned how to live without money and without airs and graces. They were, essentially, kicked to the dirt.
Honestly, they still haven’t gotten up from that dirt and still live with a great deal of self-loathing which was caused in no small part by one of their best friends during their formative years. They also canonically have depression - which I guess would be nature in Mello’s case.
In terms of facets such as gender - the reason they’re labelled as nonbinary is because that was the easiest label to give when moving over to non-Sun Elf communities, as sun elves in Taran’gaal don’t have the concept of gender the same way we do. Their pronouns are based on status and trade, which makes them confusing as heck to outsiders, but logical to people in the know. So Mello chose the one that fit best when they learned that some people determine gender on their bodily anatomy and most determine it on how one views oneself.
32. Do they have any “props” that are a significant part of their life, identity, activities, or self-presentation somehow? What are they, how are they used, and why are they so significant? How would these props’ absence impact them, how would they compensate, and why?
They have an orange braid in their otherwise jet black hair which denotes their status as a merchant of the lower town. It reminds them of home and constantly reminds them to be humble and not return to the person they were during their noble upbringing. Taking that away would be like removing a limb. It’s the only thing they’ve kept from home - even their name (Mellawan Feloris) has been cast aside for a nice and simple ‘Mello’.
Otherwise, no. Mello travels light and likes to remain unattached wherever they can.
21. What kind of relationships do they tend to intentionally seek out versus actually cultivate? What kind of social contact do they prefer, and why?
Yuni is an extremely easy guy to get along with. One of the reasons this is true is because he’s super not picky about his relationships and sees almost any decent person as friend-shaped. If you have respect, a sense of humour, and a drive to better yourself, he’ll respond positively to you and welcome you with open arms. In terms of romantic relationships, he basically seeks out the same thing but with more *clementine voice* kissing stuff. He prefers camaraderie first, closeness second. He’s not a very physically affectionate person but he likes someone who he can easily check up on. That said, his most recent relationship with Corvyssikovo (’Kovo’) was a very physically affectionate relationship - cuddling, playfighting, kissing, random touches and gestures. This was not Yuni’s plan, but he found himself enjoying it.
Kovo had no qualms about taking the piss out of Yuni, but Yuni returned it with equal affection. But after the worsening of the Corvyss curse and the incident at Mari’s Tribune where Yuni ended up seriously, almost fatally hurt, and where he lost an eye on Kovo’s behalf, things got…less familiar. Kovo didn’t notice, for reasons. Yuni did, and it hurt. Before that, Kovo had been the guy he’d planned to spend the rest of his life with.
29. What kind of activities, interests, and hobbies do they have? What significance and impact do these have in their lives, both positive and negative?
Interacting with Jaya reminds him to take a load off and appreciate the ‘underling’. He may never have experienced a life living from bread crust to apple core, but that doesn’t mean he can’t help. He connects with Jaya on a basis of inherent loyalty, kinsman-ship, and a deep shared pain of loss that cannot be helped nor cured. Until, quite possibly, now.
Other than that, he’s a dab hand at most tactical card games; his mind works on a level wherein he can, in many situations, sit there and reel off the cards you hold in your hand and be absolutely correct. Other than that, he plays a small set of pipes. He barely remembers why they’re relevant. But he knows they are; they were given to him.
36. How much do they rely on their minds and intellect, versus other approaches like relying on instinct, intuition, faith and spirituality, or emotions? What is their opinion on this?
Yuni trusts his gut a lot, but it doesn’t have the final say. First and foremost his mind will take precedence and establish a reason for potentially believing a theory, and his gut will let him know how to proceed. It was his gut that told him to trust the party, and his mind that told him to trust his gut. His interest in faith and spirituality can be put down as solely academic. He knows the deities exist, but has never really cared for them or assigned meaning to their teachings. His emotions don’t come through often, but when they do they come through strongly and he often has to reconcile his thoughts when things change quickly against expectation. Before certain events, he might have been a dreamer. But then he got a lot sadder and a lot more cynical. Don’t get me wrong, he’s still a ray of sunshine (in a totally different way to Ori, oddly), but you should’ve seen him before. He was a lot more home-based and a lot more optimistic and less thrill-seeking.
Mostly quite mundane, but when you were searching for Hamma they were filled with anxiety. Nightmares in the hardest sense. She’s not an extremely imaginative person and neither is her subconscious - so the nightmares were just achingly happy snapshots of life she no longer had.
Now that Hamma is back, the dreams are better. Not very memorable. Normal. Y’know.
19. How do they behave within a group? What role(s) do they take? Does this differ if they know and trust the group, versus finding themselves in a group of strangers? Why?
Dotta strikes first and trusts later, so in a group of strangers she will constantly be on guard and not let up until she personally connects with one or two of them. In a group she does trust, she will often take the sideline - the role of the bodyguard. She doesn’t have enough trust in her intellect or experience to take a leading position, and with you guys she even had a sort of mother/aunt figure travelling with you. She may have motivated the trip out of sheer ferocity, but she never took point.
28. What are they likely to do if they have the opportunity, resources, and time to accomplish it? Why?
She’d like to become a city guard, like her mother - doesn’t really care where, as long as it’s within reasonable distance of Hamma. She wishes she’d spoken more to Eiri, an actual living former city guard, about that ambition, but she was distracted at the time with looking for her brother, naturally.
