you've kirked your last wall

Name: Terra Branford Date of birth: 18th October Place of birth: Esper World Gender: Female Pronouns: She/Her Sexuality: Ace lesbian (in my portrayal) Combat style: Able to cast powerful magic (has a particular talent for fire) & uses swords. Career: Looking after orphans. Family: Maduin (father), Madeline (mother)

Enneagram: 9w1 Basic fear: Discord Basic desire: For a better, peaceful world.

Additional notes

Personally, I prefer for Terra to have green hair like her in-game sprite. But alas, all of Amano's art has her as blonde so that's what you're seeing. She has green hair in my portrayal though, trust!

Terra is 18 in FFVI. This does close her off for shipping. She's also an asexual lesbian in my portrayal because that is my honest read on her from ff6.

Name: Roshni Mercar Nicknames: Rook, Ros Date of birth: 4th Molioris (Bloomingtide), 9:16 Dragon Place of birth: Ventus (Quaranus), Tevinter Gender: Female Pronouns: She/Her Combat style: Mage (specialises in fire & frost elemental magic) Career: Surgeon. Magically assisted, but largely practical medicine.

Enneagram: 8w7 Basic fear: To be under the control of outside forces. Basic desire: Personal control and freedom, for both herself & others.

Additional notes

Roshni's main involvement in the Shadow Dragons began with her running an underground clinic for Tevinter's poor & helping runaway slaves.

She's not a very patient Rook & heavily dislikes authority. Not that she lacks humour but she's a more serious person overall. A bit of a loner who prefers to deal with shit by herself and now she's got to put together a team lmao.

Saves Minrathous innit.

Name: Ffamran Mied Bunansa Goes by: Balthier Place of birth: Archades, Archadia, Ivalice  Gender: Male Pronouns: He/Him Sexuality: Bisexual Family: Cidolfus Demen Bunansa (father), several currently unnamed brothers

Combat style: Machinist / White Mage. Equips two-handed guns, but also is experienced with healing, green & time magicks. Also boasts a fast, fluid fighting style. Enneagram: 7w8 I think Basic fear: Of being limited / controlled Basic desire: Freedom

Portrayal notes

Inspired by the unused model of a younger him with glasses, Balthier is visually impaired and simply refuses to wear glasses. Is it out of spite & so he looks less like his father? Is it all to aid the sky pirate persona? You decide. Either way, it's a factor in my portrayal.

So, Balthier is (allegedly) only 22 during FF12, and was made a Judge at the young age of 16. I'm not sure whether the former will change or not in my interpretation, but just know that it won't be coming up. The latter, however, is set in stone. I will yap about the nepotism of it all another time.

My Balthier is a transgender man & his transition goes hand in hand with becoming a sky pirate.

Name: Matthew Michael Murdock Aliases: Daredevil Nicknames: Matt / Red, DD, Hornhead Date of birth: 21st October Place of birth: Hell’s Kitchen, New York Gender: Male Pronouns: He/Him Family: Jack Murdock (father), Sister Maggie Grace (mother)

Combat style: Acrobatic, a blend of martial arts & street boxing. Wields a set of billy clubs & also particularly adept with a staff. Non-lethal.  Enneagram: 1w2 Basic fear: Of being corrupt Basic desire: To maintain integrity & personal moral code.

Portrayal notes

Yes, Matt is Catholic, but he is not devout. Lapsed is a far better word to describe him. Matt was raised Irish-Catholic & is deeply rooted in Irish American cultural identity, so his Catholicism is deeply important to him. But I dislike when people make assumptions that he’s devout or brings it up constantly, or even that his Catholicism would define his politics or worldview. 

I also dislike the common notion that Matt is promiscuous. Like with his faith I feel this is an aspect of the character that gets overblown (and imo I feel there’s some ableism at play). He’s certainly not above casual sex but the vice lies far more in the way he gets into serious relationships he cannot fully commit to (or end tragically). 

Yes, Matt is blind. Ugh I can’t believe I even need to say this, but I see WAY too much ableism about it. In how I write him, his radar-sense is composed entirely of pieces built from other senses (sound, smell, touch, taste, a sense of spatial awareness). And in my portrayal, this sense is something he needs to be able to focus on to some extent. So yes, he does need the cane when in his civilian identity and he is not “faking a disability.”

I’m well versed in both comic & tv Daredevil. This portrayal is built upon both versions of the character, and is neither of them. Instead, I've compiled my own 'self-canon' for my Matt, utilising a mixture of Daredevil media.  

Verses

I. TO PUT ON A MASK . . . (ages 25-26): Freshly graduated from law school and interning for a prestigious law firm, Matthew Murdock can't sleep. He notices things other people never seem to, & perhaps its his strong sense of justice that compels him to start fighting crime in a makeshift costume / primary inspirations are very early Daredevil comics, Frank Miller's Man Without Fear & the early vigilante activities implied by the Netflix show.

II. TO TOPPLE A KING . . . (ages 26-27): His conscience compels Matt to convince his best friend Foggy Nelson to start their own legal firm together, alongside their first client (office manager Karen Page). While his actions as Daredevil escalate into something bigger. The devil begins to uncover a twisted web of crime that all leads back to a man in the shadows: Wilson Fisk. Using a mixture of law, bloodied fists & the power of the free press (thanks to a newfound ally in Daily Bugle reporter Ben Urich), the upstart lawyers somehow manage to dent an empire, and Fisk is sent to prison. / primary inspiration is series 1 of Daredevil. most major changes revolve around Ben Urich.

III. TO BE A MAN WITHOUT FEAR . . . (ages 27-29): The plucky young lawyers are the talk of the town & for a while everything seems... good? Cue a series of run-ins with the Punisher, with a ninja organisation known as the Hand and his ex-girlfriend Elektra. And more! Consider this one a baseline verse. This is Daredevil how you expect him. / primary inspirations are Daredevil (series 2) & Frank Miller's run of Daredevil. Do not assume anything in series 2's plot happened verbatim.

IV. TO BE BORN AGAIN . . . (age 29-30): From prison, Wilson Fisk has been working behind the scenes in his long-game: a plan to take down the lawyers who put him away. And another thing comes to mind too, that of Daredevil, and what his real identity might be. So, he begins to test the waters. Matt Murdock wakes to frozen assets, his apartment foreclosed and false accusations of corruption. As Fisk is released into FBI custody, Matt sinks lower. Homeless, beaten and bruised, he finds himself cared for by a nun by the name of Sister Maggie, only to discover Fisk is back & trying to reclaim power. He even manipulates an FBI agent into dressing as Daredevil to discredit the hero. Ultimately Daredevil does return though innit, and Fisk is put away yet again. Probably. / primary inspirations are Daredevil (series 3) and the Born Again comic arc, by Frank Miller (which it was based upon). Typically uses the TV sequence of events, but uses the comic's angle of Fisk trying to ruin Matt's life.

V. TO PROTECT THE KITCHEN . . . (30-32): To rebuild his life, Matt finds work at a diner & finds it quite satisfying indeed. He goes back to being Daredevil and probably fights Bullseye a lot. Eventually sets up a legal advice clinic/charity too. Largely, this is another "baseline" era for Matt & Daredevil, but in my version he does not properly become a lawyer again. Towards the end of this he becomes a legal professor at Empire State University. / general inspirations are the Ann Nocenti, D. G. Chichester eras, as well as early volume 2, and then borrows the conceit of the newest Daredevil run by Stephanie Phillips.

VI. TO SATISFY THE MASSES . . . (32-34): A newspaper headline shocks Matt's world: Daredevil is Matt Murdock??? Wilson Fisk swears on his life that he didn't leak it, and Matt has reason to believe him. But who? With his career on the line and even the possibility of legal ramifications, the blind lawyer fervently denies being Daredevil. Which um... goes as well as you'd expect. / primary inspirations are Brian Michael Bendis & Ed Brubaker's runs.

Name: Elora Ashsong Nicknames: El, Ellie, Lora Date of birth: unknown, never celebrated Place of birth: The Temple of Bhaal, Baldur’s Gate Gender: Female Pronouns: She/Her Sexuality: bisexual Family: Bhaal (creator, ‘father’), Orin (‘sister’ of confusing relation), literally any other Bhaalspawn (I'm being lazy rn), 'adopted' by two families during her youth (one poor & loving, one wealthy & cruel. both dead by her hand).

Combat style: Rogue (assassin, later multiclassed with college of swords bard). Skilled with knives, daggers, short-swords & longbows. Enneagram: 2w1 Basic fear: Being unloved/unwanted Basic desire: To be loved

Additional Notes

As of the start of BG3, Elora is visually impaired (especially & most notably in her left eye) likely as a result of Orin's attack, though she doesn't quite remember the details. This eye is later removed by Volo (despite it being the right eye in-game & in my screencaps. It just makes more sense to me that she'd let him operate on the bad one). She has monocular vision, which limits her field of view. But often finds her vision to be hazy & limited in general.

Furthermore she suffers from chronic headaches.

Elora's appearance changes throughout the course of the game. Initially, she has long black hair, worn with some intricate braids and blood-red highlights (maybe from real blood? Who knows?). After discovering her true identity on the road to Baldur's Gate, she chops it to her collarbone & opts for a softer, mauve colour palette. In my head this was a fun girls night with Shadowheart.

As a bard, her instrument of choice is the lute, but she's not a bad little singer & can kinda make the lyre sound nice too.

Name: Aerith Gainsborough Nicknames: flower girl Date of birth: 7th February (1985) Place of birth: Icicle Inn Gender: Female Pronouns: She/Her Sexuality: Bisexual (in my portrayal) Family: Elmyra (adoptive mother), Ifalna (mother), Gast (father) Combat style: Wields a staff & specialises in using magic Enneagram: tbd Basic fear: xx Basic desire: xx

Portrayal notes

As a baseline, I don't particularly see Aerith’s feelings for Cloud as romantic. They are deeply complicated, born out of Aerith’s grief and feelings towards Zack, and confusions around Cloud’s identity. It is 100% her disposition to be flirtatious towards him, and I adore their dynamic for what I view it as. But it’s an undeniable fact that she never truly knows Cloud. 

While my characterisation of Aerith will 100% be coloured by the remake games, I don’t yet know if I’m going to lean into that series’ meta-narrative of the lifestream ‘plot’ ghosts, at least until part 3 clears everything up. I say this because I do think Aerith is connected to what’s happening there & it colours what she seems to be aware of. 

Name: Valeria Hawke Nicknames: Val, Hawke Date of birth: 3rd Cloudreach, 9:08 Dragon Place of birth: Somewhere in the middle of Ferelden Gender: Female Pronouns: She/Her Sexuality: Bisexual Family: Malcolm (Father); Leandra (Mother); Bethany (Younger Sister); Carver (Younger Brother)

Combat style: Mage. Specialises in blood magic & electricity-based magic Career: Mercenary; formerly a bartender; mostly just vibing. Enneagram: 1w9 Basic fear: Being an unethical or corrupt person. Basic desire: To make the world a better place.

Name: Natia Brosca Nicknames: Nat, Natty Date of birth: 17th Haring, 9:11 Dragon Place of birth: Dust Town, Orzammar Gender: Demigirl Pronouns: She/They Sexuality: Bisexual Family: Kalah (Mother); Rica (older sister)

Combat style: Rogue. Specialises in poisons & one-handed finesse dueling.  Career: Criminal, Commander of the Grey Enneagram: 7w6 Basic fear: Being trapped, abandoned or deprived.  Basic desire: To meet her needs & experience as much as possible.