#characterization cheat sheet

~Body Language and Physicality~

General: Self-assured and relaxed, almost lazy at times. Arms held loosely at his sides, fingers often twitching restlessly. Lots of grins (few of which are actually genuine or even remotely friendly) and laughter, Shukaku is a pretty happy individual until he isn't. Completely at ease in the spotlight even though he rarely seeks it out. Shu's resting expression is an unorthodox mix of a scowl and a smile. His walk is somewhere between a swagger and a predator stalking its prey; head held high, all fluid grace and easy confidence. Watch out, Shukaku will bite if even mildly inconvenienced, and he bites hard.

With friends: Not much different than normal. More genuine smiles instead of malicious grins. Maybe a little less likely to bite? Friends do get his undivided attention, though. Shukaku is incredibly loyal and affectionate with people who are "his", and he will always be there for them no matter what.

Flirting: No sense of personal space, leans in real close and uses his height to his advantage where applicable. Lots of teasing remarks and playful touches (things like tucking hair behind their ears or trailing a finger down their chest).

With an established romantic partner: Very tactile, he wants to be near them as much as possible. Holding hands, brushing legs, putting his head on their shoulder. Shukaku will take any excuse to be touching his partner. At all times, if possible. He loves to splay himself over his partner's lap and fall asleep. Like a giant cat (he even purrs like one).

In combat: Loud. Joyful. Erratic. Lots of laughter and taunting of his enemies. Shu's movements are unpredictable and twice as deadly for it. He jumps around the battlefield bringing loss of life and limb wherever he goes. He prefers to fight with his bare hands and claws (and teeth) but he'll also use two-handed weapons and swing them around one-handed like it's nothing.

~Dialogue/Speaking~

Voice: Mostly Ryomen Sukuna (Jujutsu Kaisen) with a dash of Solf J. Kimblee (Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood) mixed in for the raspy voice quality

General: Blunt. Doesn't give a damn who he's talking to, he will say what he's thinking. Foul-mouthed. His favorite word is fuck. Teasing. If he senses weakness he goes in for the kill. Not literally, in this particular case. Overly familiar with everyone. Does not care one iota about giving respect to authority figures. If Shukaku thinks that you're being a dumb, stubborn motherfucker, he is going to tell you. In those exact words. Lookin' at you, First Warden Jowin Glastrum.

With friends: Not really too much different than normal. Biggest thing is he tends to give silly nicknames to friends. But only if he knows it'll annoy them. Like calling Davrin "soldier boy".

Romance: His voice lowers and gains a tender pitch, making it a bit less abrasive than normal. A Shukaku talking to his love is overall softer and quieter. They're still not immune to being bitten if they really get on his nerves, though.

Humor: His sense of humor is pretty broad, to be honest. Shu obviously finds the suffering of his enemies hilarious, considering the fact that he laughs like a lunatic while gleefully disemboweling people. But he'll also laugh at Sovran's sleazy pickup lines, Leon's snarky quips, and Kamaria's dad jokes. So it's not just violence that he finds amusing.

Anger: Shukaku's speech patterns deteriorate more and more the angrier he gets. He will leave off the ends of words and/or slur his speech. Eventually he goes completely silent. That's when you know that you are well and truly fucked.

Cursing: Shukaku curses frequently and unashamedly in every language he knows (which is all of them)

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Looks:

Around 5' 6", hourglass figure with some softness, but also muscle that would be considered typical of a mage Watcher. Very pale, doesn't go outside much. She has bright cherry blossom pink eyes and a very expressive face (very easy to read). Her hair is chocolate brown and falls in fluffy waves. She knows she should tie it back but she's lazy and doesn't like the way it feels when it pulls on her head. If not in her armor, she prefers comfortable clothes that are easy to move in. She's generally lightly armored in combat situations, as she prefers to be light and mobile. Has a long scar across her nose from her assassination of Baron Van Markham in the War of the Banners. Her ears are more angled up than angled out.

General Likes: She LOVES snacks more than anything, especially sweets. Her favorites are anything involving chocolate. She also likes whole fruits (like pears and peaches). Her favorite color is turquoise, but more like a sea green than the stone color. She likes to read books, especially murder mysteries.

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Skills: 

Combat Skills: Necromancy (spirit-focused), manipulation of life force (healing and harming), spirit healing, can use both staff and dagger but prefers the rapid in-and-out of the orb/dagger.

Other Skills: Battle tactics (in-the-moment decisions), academic analysis and debate, singing, piano (but only for fun, she's not particularly talented), intricate anatomy knowledge, a LOT of random trivia, drawing (mostly plants)

Languages: Nevarran, Trade, a little Elven, a little Tevene

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Body/Physicality

General Behavior: Cheerful demeanor, prone to laughter. If in conversation she is always 100% invested in listening and processing what people are saying. Observant of people's behavior, tone, and demeanor and will adjust as necessary. She'll match energy in the sense that if someone is high-energy, she'll push herself to be more energetic. If someone is low-energy, she will stay calm and lowkey. Her main focus in any interaction is to make people feel welcome and comfortable around her. Will always validate people's observations and feelings, even if she disagrees- validation first, gentle pushback after. Likes to keep the conversational air light. Will generally avoid getting too deep into her own feelings or emotional experiences- she prefers to keep the focus on others, especially if there's a problem to fix.

Flirting: Nervous, endearingly fumbling. She likes to tease but if things get too close to the truth she'll shy away. She's not practiced in flirting and often does it without realizing (if she's interested in a person, which is rare). When she DOES realize, she'll clam up again. Often painfully sincere.

With Established Romantic Partner: Obvious glances, big adoring smiles. Will readily accept PDA but will only initiate small touches and general closeness. She's shy, even in an established relationshp. Much more obvious teasing and emotional trust. One of the only times she'll divulge deeply personal information. 

With Friends: The most comfortable she is usually. Relaxed posture, more willing to push boundaries with jokes and poking fun at people. Also painfully sincere, she doesn't hide her opinions with friends and will risk saying more vulnerable or "embarrassing" things to try to connect and reassure them. Will be more freely contradictory or negative, but still always focused on being supportive. If a friend is having a problem her gut instinct is to fix it, and she will dedicate all of her energy to doing so, with too much intensity at times.

In Combat: Often focused on battlefield control. She starts in the back setting up fields of necrotic energy to sap groups of enemies and then leeching their life when they're on death's door. Tends to dash in and out of clashes, using bigger spells to take advantage of the time she's at a distance. She doesn't relish violence. Her kills are often not quick, but partially because she will weaken living opponents and allow them to surrender if they wish. She's primarily accustomed to fighting undead, and thus is sometimes prone to forgetting how quickly living opponents can react.

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Dialogue/Speaking

Voice: Light and breathy, she's generally soft-spoken. Her delivery is often bright and cheery. She tries not to speak expressively, preferring a neutral cordial tone, but her expressive face usually gives her away. It's not difficult to figure out how she's feeling most of the time, though she won't always answer truthfully as to why she's feeling that way.

Humor: Light teasing, bad puns, weird inside jokes based on arcane information she knows. Will never make off-color jokes or disrespectful ones, especially about the dead. She loves a good play on words or absurd statement.

With Friends: Keeps conversation flowing with ease. She's very easy to get onto an academic topic, and will freely offer random trivia. Laughs a lot, smiles a lot, will indulge friends in any topic of their choosing and in fact loves asking questions and learning about their interests.

With Romantic Interests: The most comfortable she is with silence. She likes to just soak up their presence. Quiet humming, honest answers, even softer spoken than usual. Her affection for them really shows in her voice.

Anger: Will often go quiet when she's truly angry. She's not good with showing negative emotions because it can make people uncomfortable. This is one of the cases where closeness really matters- if she's with good friends or a romantic partner she'll share more of her thoughts. If she's not close, she's more likely to keep the feeling close to her chest, smile through it and give people a "give me a second" so she can get herself under control. She's one of those people that's more prone to being wordy when she's angry- she'll go from casual language to Thesis Level Speech Giving as soon as her thoughts are together. Will only raise her voice when she feels safe enough to do so.

Cursing: Very rare. She has those Necropolis manners down to a T. She'd have to be VERY stressed or angry.

Looks:

Approximately 5'9/175cm, white hair cut in a blunt bob (longer at the start of the game, she cuts it after weisshaupt, so you'll see both), green eyes that have a brown outer rim, red lips, scar on her chin, tattoo in the middle of her chest. She wears medium and heavy armor. When not in combat she dresses in academia looks, typically tailored trousers, some sort of button-up shirt, and an underbust bodice or corset belt (or vest), or clothing/looks with clean lines and structure. She does not have pierced ears (not practical as a warrior in her opinion ) but loves all the rest of the mourn watch jewelry styles. Ruk's typical color palette is Black, brown (neutrals), dark purple, dark green, wine red, and bronze/gold.

General Likes: Ruk is a sucker for flowers. She also loves cats, perfume, puzzles, and books. Food, she loves wine, patatas bravas (really anything with potatoes), goat cheese, strawberries, baklava (honey pastry).

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Skills: 

Combat Skills: Sword and shield mainly, proficient with two-handed scythes or dual wielding. Can tap into a small amount of magic to fuel reaper abilities.

Other Skills: Battle strategy, puzzle solving, political analysis/advising, flirting, snark/sarcasm, giving the middle finger, floriculture, piano

Languages: Nevarran, Common, conversational in Tevene and Orlesian, can read some Tomb Script. 

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Body/Physicality

General Behavior: Confident, chin up, chest out. Cocky grins and half smiles. Her eyes are always assessing. Ruk prides herself on her observational skills and they’ve saved her life a time or two. Likes to talk and outwardly she’s warm, but deep down, she doesn’t fully trust most people not to let her down eventually, so she prefers to ask others about themselves over talking about her personal life.  Puts a lot of effort into her appearance, but mostly because she enjoys being underestimated. Isn’t afraid of confrontation or a debate. 

Flirting: Constantly, sometimes without realizing it. Relaxed, open posture. Arms spread along the back of their chair, leaning in to them, eyes looking from eyes to lips back to eyes and not hiding it. Low-cut or scandalously unbuttoned tops. Sly smiles from across the room. Trailing her fingertips along her neck and clavicles to see if they’re watching. Small touches. Perfume. Lipstick kisses on notes. Not afraid to walk away and (hopefully) leave them wanting more. 

With Established Romantic Partner: More physically affectionate than verbally. Hand holding, arm in arm, pulling them into her lap, kissing you in public. Kissing pulse points. Scratching their scalp, playing with their hair. Picking them up and carrying them to bed (in both spicy and sleepy situations). 

With Friends: Loud laughter and free smiles. Animated talking with hand gestures. She tends to be less observational and on guard in these situations. Friendly verbal or physical sparring. Will roast you out of love.  

In Combat: Keen awareness of her surroundings. Narrowed eyes and glares. Protecting her allies, sometimes at the risk of her safety. Shit talking, cocky taunting. Until Weisshaupt, she sorely lacks caution and tends to overestimate her odds in a fight. Will throw anything within reach at someone (although it’s usually her shield). Bathed in green light when she unleashes her reaper abilities and relishes in her connection with death when using them. 

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Dialogue/Speaking

Voice: Her speaking voice sounds like Zahra Hydris from Critical Role. Will change the inflection of words occasionally to emphasize or change the meaning. She can come off as blunt initially, but will talk more the more she gets to know you.

Humor: Usually a mix of snarky sarcasm, some subtle off-color jokes, and some exaggerated silliness thrown in for flair.  Loves to lightly tease. 

With Friends: She’s fairly easy to make laugh, and may accidentally snort (much to her horror). Her speech can get loud sometimes if she’s excited or has had a few glasses of wine. Will turn into a certified yapper if you get her going about something she’s interested in or knowledgeable about. She’s also comfortable in silence and typically does not feel the need to fill it with talking unless she’s nervous. 

With Romantic Interests: Soft murmuring, pressing her lips against their hair and talking low to them. Still gets uncomfortable with how vulnerable verbally communicating affection feels, so is not good at it, and is not in the habit of doing it often. She is more comfortable with writing romantic sentiments than saying them aloud. She does like a nickname or pet name for her partners. For more intimate situations, she is comfortable talking through and about those situations, and will tease and prompt her partners to communicate their wants and how they feel. 

Anger: She has a hard edge to her voice when angry. She will speak in shorter, clipped sentences. She tries not not speak as much as she would want to when angry to prevent saying something she will regret, but she sometimes loses that battle. Is not afraid to be direct about why she is angry and where she believes the fault lies. 

Cursing: Years of training with warriors and soldiers have given her a decently foul mouth. She can tone it down when she’s in the Necropolis and is trying to be proper, but the simple answer is yes.  

Combat: Will taunt her opponents, especially if she knows it will keep the attention on her and protect anyone with her and her adrenaline is high (she also just loves shit talking). Will bellow, growl, curse, etc. Will call out commands, observations, or yell to check in with companions during combat. Will celebrate a good hit or takedown (her own or others).

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BONUS:

My personal last name canon: Ingellvar: The name given to the Mortalitasi’s wards, orphans raised in the Necropolis. Ingellvar is the last name of the watcher, Rosamund Ingellvar, who saw too many children end up on the streets of Nevarra City and surmised that there might be a better way, thus the necropolis ward program was created. Under the program wards are given schooling and training as Mortalitasi, and possibly later on as watchers, but also have duties to perform to cover room and board. It is a last name that marks them for what they are, and it is on occasion used to “put them in their place”, especially around Watchers, both junior and senior, and other Nevarrans that claim nobility as lineage.

Nicknames: Cam, 'Rook'(Varric & the rest of the group), Tesoro Mio(Canon Lucanis), Anjo(Teia), Idiot mosca cojonera(Viago)

Age: 25(almost) - 9:27 Dragon, 31st of Harvestmere

Lineage: Human - Tevinter, born in Vyrantium

Gender: Honk

Pronouns: They/He Them/Him

Height: 190.50 cm(6'3")

Weight: 15-16 stone(210‐224lbs)

Class: Mage - Spellblade/Altus Somniari

Nationality: Antivan

Faction: Antivan Crows(9:36 Dragon)

Personality: Sarcastic, Playful, Easy Going, Impulsive, and when it comes to work- Vicious

Appearance:

Eyes: Honey Brown

Hair: Black, long and usually kept pulled up away from his face.

Scent: Smells like Citrus due to the soaps/lotions/serums he uses. If someone has a Spirit/Demon attached to them that scents people

Happy: Oak and Cinnamon

Sad: Rain and Ash

Angry: Copper and Bitter Almond

Love: Spiced Honey and Clover

Scars: Burn scars on the right side of his face and on his neck. A multitude of long slice-like scars all over his body. (Camris is insecure when it comes to the scaring on his face, though he does his best to act otherwise)

Tattoos: Small snake on his forehead. Antivan tattoo's on his chest, right arm and the back of his ankle.

Skills:

Cooking, Research, Stabbing things in the face with magic, ending up in bad relationships, combat, non-emergency stitching and first aid. Annoying Viago, Anatomy/Alchemy(work purposes). Dream Hopping(Somniari), a pinch of blood magic(contract purposes only), singing, piano.

Languages:

Antivan(fluent), Trade/Common, Tevene, Qunlat(fluent), Elvish(can get by)

Body/Physically:

General Behavior: 

Always watching, always listening. Relaxed stance even when stressed.

Flirting:

Tends to lean on things(walls/chairs/etc), Will try to be around more often, random glances, blushing, occasional foot scuffing if nervous and standing.

With Established Romantic Partner:

Running fingers through their partner's hair/having the same done to them. Hugs from behind(receiving and giving), hand holding, forehead kisses. Ear nibbles, random kisses, neck/shoulder bites. Will happily let their partner play backpack or pick them up and carry them both playfully and seriously. Cuddling/snuggling, Light lingering touches. Palm tracing, neck/wrist/palm kisses, shoulder massages. 

With Friends:

Expressive/jovial, talks with their hands. Shoulder squeezes, back pats, hair ruffling if allowed. Platonic snuggles/naps(comfort seeking).

In Combat:

Highly focused, very situationally aware. Always moving, twisting, sliding, turning and rolling(gotta put those dance lessons to good use). Happily levitates and slams enemies, prefers his dagger/orb. Max number of healing tonics possible on him. Always tries to watch out for his teammates and does his best to keep them safe. Occasionally tunnel visions and pushes himself too far without realising it.

Dialogue/Speaking:

Voice:

Masculine one low, but with a deep Antivan accent.

General: 

The way he speaks fluctuates depending on what he's doing. Similar to Viago when working. His default outside of work is a little bit smartass, and a little flirty(even with enemies).

With Friends:

His tone is relaxed and jovial. More informal speech. 

With Romantic Interests: 

Same as with friends, but his tone is lower, with compliments coming more often. Almost purrs when talking to them. If the interest is returned, more intimate whispers and endearments. Any sign of disinterest and he backs off/moves on.

Anger: 

Sharp words, snarky/cutting expressions. He will snap, regularly snorts.

Cursing: 

Does so regularly, but it's an odd mix of actual cursing and just random words thrown in.

Combat:

Full Name: Alana de Riva [born REDACTED], aka Lana, Rook, Trouble, The Essential Crow, Sparks, Idiota

Age: 30-something [exact age unknown]

Gender: No thanks (non-binary)

Pronouns: They/Them (Ele/Loro in Antivan dialects)

Lineage: City Elf

Nationality: Antivan

Faction: The Crows Send Their Regards!

Skills: Combat Skills - Electrical, fire, and necrotic magic. Knife and sword fighting. Hand to hand combat. Stealth and Subterfuge. Field Medic First Aid. Other Skills - Cooking. Playing the elven bass. Clothing repair.

Languages: Fluent in Common/Trade, Antivan (mainly Trevisan and Salle dialects), Elven. Basic Proficiency in Orlesian and Tevene. Some Qunlat (mostly swears to be honest).

Body/Physicality

General Behavior: Tense body language, always on alert, aware of their surroundings, always looking for the exit. Never sit or stand with their back to an open door. Find it hard to stay still, often fidgeting or stimming. Can mimic "socially acceptable" body language but always feels a bit awkward. Will make eye contact, but mostly when angry.

Flirting: Jokes, jokes, and more jokes. Suggestive comments, "accidental" touching, finding flimsy excuses to spend time together.

With Established Romantic Partner: Opening up, tenderness, gentle touch, intense kisses, soft eye contact, sincere expressions of love.

With Friends: Less tense, but still always ready to spring into action. Sharing activities together like cooking, reading, going for walks. Parallel play. Jokey, but not sarcastic. Occasionally Alana shows genuine emotion, then looks away immediately.

In Combat: Acrobatic, leaping in and out of the fray, using Fade-Step a lot to get close then retreat from attacks. Preferred weapons are Mageknife and orb, they have a staff but use it only as a last resort. Alana sees combat as a way to blow off steam and vent some of their rage. They lose themself in the moment and sometimes forget about their injuries and need for healing. Other companions find them a bit scary in the battlefield.

Dialogue/Speaking

Voice: In-game, Erika Ishii (American femme voice) with the low pitch. In reality, very similar pitch and intonation, with a soft Antivan (Italian) accent, but not a strong one. Alana has worked on making their voice neutral to better blend in for undercover work. They have a tendency to be loud when they're having fun or getting angry, but drop to a husky whisper in romantic or emotional situations.

General: Hiding emotions behind sarcastic jokes and deflecting with humour. Takes a long time to get them to open up and trust you with genuine emotion. Alana talks a lot, mostly to fill the silence and distract from whatever situation they're currently facing.

With Friends: More relaxed, laid-back tonality. Still joking, but less sharp and acerbic. Will ask about your interests and remember them for later, to show friendship with gifts or thoughtful comments.

With Romantic Interests: Low, seductive tone, slower speaking, suggestive comments but overall less joking. Giver of compliments, but not a good receiver of them.

Anger: All the time. Seriously, Alana's got rage. It's usually kept down, and comes out as snappy comments, ice-cold insults, and an unusual calm in stressful situations that gets mistaken for confident leadership. When Alana really goes for it, they will rant and rave in Antivan and gesture wildly. Or just punch someone.

Cursing: Alana can swear in about half a dozen languages, and they make sure to use that knowledge to pepper a conversation with colourful terminology.

Full Name: Robin Denvius Rinden

Age: 38

Gender: Trans Male

Pronouns: He/Him

Race: Dwarf

Nationality: Nevarran

Faction: Mourn Watch

Skills: Climbing, sewing, slight of hand, tracking

Languages: Nevarran (fluent), Tevene (literate only because the sisters said he needed to learn another language to boost his chances at jobs)

Body/Physically

General Behavior: Reserved and always watching the room. Never really getting comfortable just in case he needs to leave suddenly. That being said he is friendly if approached but does not seek interaction unless asked to.

Flirting: He has a negative flirting score. Man gets too flustered to even think about flirting. When he is feeling more confident in himself or the relationship he will bring out the dad jokes and bad puns.

With Established Romantic Partner: Cuddles are a must and he will just curl himself in their lap just to hear them breathe. Will have the most love stricken look on his face when he is near his romantic partner.

With Friends: We’re friends? You get a big hug. Oh you need help with something? I’ll be right over. Feeling lonely? You’re always welcome and the key is under the rock on the porch.

In Combat: Head first into combat, he’s quick enough and good at dodging, he knows he has the best chance of defeating his opponents. Though he does keep an eye on his team, disengaging and sprinting over if needed.

Dialogue/Speaking

Voice: He has a deep rumbly southern drawl

General: Relaxed but not displaying true emotions

With Friends: Chipper and humorous

With Romantic Interests: Soft and slow

Anger: Loud and harsh

Cursing: Rhythmic