#cioffi

@mystery-salad

Yeee absolutely, ty!! :D :3

❓ - Estranged family/relatives they've never met

This made me realize that I'd never thought about Cio's family besides her parents (Prusa and Ziff, both killed by destroyers when Cio was a baby) and Pliarr (her brother, for anyone reading this who doesn't know)! But I've thought about it now!

Ziff was an only child, and his parents passed away long before Pliarr and Cio were born. Prusa, on the other hand, was a triplet with two sisters, Aunnu and Molla. Despite Prusa's intense focus on destroyers (which some considered admirable and others considered foolish), she was considered the most "normal" one of the three. Aunnu was extremely clever and curious. She was determined to see as much of the world as she could and left home quite early (around age 13, despite her parents' attempts at keeping her from doing so). She sent letters for the first year or so, but then the letters stopped coming. Eventually, the family assumed she'd been killed somehow, but they really to this day have no idea as they were unable to find her--and they did try. Molla didn't take this well (understandably) and became withdrawn from her remaining sister and her parents. Instead of joining a college, she left for Lion's Arch when she turned 18, hoping to trade and see the world and maybe one day find Aunnu. In doing so, though, she became estranged from Prusa and the two fell out of touch.

Cio and Pliarr barely know their aunts exist, and they only know that much due to Pliarr investigating their family tree as best he could once he became an adult (purely out of curiosity). It's possible they have cousins they've never met as well.

🌹 - First relationship

I think I might have mentioned this vaguely in the past (a while back, like years ago, and if I did mention it I've forgotten what exactly I even said), but I'll make it less vague now regardless! Cio's first romantic relationship was with another progeny around her age named Konni when they were in school (around 16 or so). It wasn't anything super intense, and it didn't last too long--only a few months or so. They remained awkward friends afterwards.

💢 - Person they can't stand

sei il connubio tra la terra e il mare

se ti chiamo, trovo spento

è troppo presto e chiedi indietro il tempo

di una vita

un po’ amara

sola in stanza ascolti Albachiara

Laura sveglia, non sei sola.

@mystery-salad

Cio hours :D!!

Will answer under the cut <3

@mystery-salad

Yes, absolutely! :D :)

15. Do they trust each other? Why or why not?

Yes, they do trust each other!

To answer why, I'm technically also answering the "how did they meet" question, but the first time they met each other was as members of two different Orders looking into Zhaitan's undead scouts prior to Claw Island. Neither Cio nor Kerra was inclined to mistrust the other solely based on Order--Cio's brother Pliarr is with the Order of Whispers like Kerra, and Kerra was still pretty new to her Order (and didn't choose it due to a dislike of the Priory or the Vigil). They both lost someone at Claw Island, but Kerra helped get the remainder of their team to safety and then vowed to come back, retake the island, and kill Blightghast. And (thanks to Cio's help, along with Nisha and Minei and the other Whispers/Vigil/Priory members) they did, in fact, do that.

They continued to work together closely as the Pact came together and formed a friendship/trust that way. They're not each other's best friend, but they're close enough that Kerra trusts Cio to watch her child and that Cio trusts Kerra to have her back against almost anyone. They've never really had anything break their trust earned from Claw Island.

23. Do they have any mutual friends? Mutual enemies?

Yes for sure!

Some mutual friends: Pliarr (Cio's brother, a Whispers agent who's worked with Kerra on more than one occasion), Nisha (one of Cio's best friends, one of Kerra's partners), Rel (a close friend to them both), Minei (also on Claw Island with them), Tanza (someone Cio takes under her wing, so to speak, and who ends up working alongside Kerra as well), Ari (a Pact airship pilot who Kerra knows as a coworker and then works more closely with/befriends during HoT when Ari and Cio survive the fleet crash together; also now Cio's partner), Taimi (ends up seeing Cio as an additional mentor, part of Dragon's Watch and close with Kerra)

Some mutual enemies: besides the (antagonistic) Elder Dragons (particularly Zhaitan would qualify here as a mutual enemy), I think funnily enough maybe the biggest one is Phlunt. Neither of them can stand the guy.

26. How would these characters react to being stuck in a small room with each other?

<3 Happy to be back! :) And yes, absolutely!

1. What was the original thought that led to the creation of this character?

From what I remember, I was looking at creating an asura character (my first one at the time), and I was trying to figure out what their deal would be. I remembered the whole asura-Primordus situation and then thought, "You know, we don't really see Primordus corruption because that's not so much how he works usually, but what would that look like if we did?" And then Cio formed from there!

7. What is an aspect of their appearance that you like the most?

Her eyes are super neat to me (I love the idea of eyes looking like they're burning/on fire in a literal sense, plus the way they fit with the rest of her face design)! Not the only thing I like about her appearance for sure, but it's one of them!

Honorable mention goes to her hair, mostly because of its change due to her connection to Primordus (in terms of going from significantly too hot to just warm after Primordus' death), though I do like her hairstyle as well.

10. What is their main character arc in the story? Where do they start and how do they develop? Do they get a happy ending or is their story a tragic one?

Cio's arc is in a couple different directions. The first, and most overarching, is her journey from thinking that she's a monster in some way because of her connection to Primordus -> pretending that she doesn't think that because it's better than letting people see that she's vulnerable to that sort of insult -> truly believing that she's her own person regardless -> extending that to others struggling with similar things as she is.

There's a secondary arc in there related to her dealing with grief, which is a little less straightforward. Her parents died before she was old enough to remember them, but her older brother Pliarr does, and his grief and their absence shapes her childhood even though that's not what he wants to happen. Then, when she joins the Priory, she falls in love with Sieran, loses her at Claw Island, and has to deal with her own grief for the first time. I say this is less straightforward because I can point out a path with the first bit, but this one is mostly just her learning to live with and move past grief. For example, she eventually falls for Ari, but that doesn't mean she doesn't still carry grief for Sieran. (Hopefully I'm phrasing this in a way that makes sense!)

He grabs his pencil from where it was tucked behind his ear and flips open a battered notebook.

“Who’s first? Goin’ to Charrbucks, if that makes a difference.”

(invitation for as many oc starbucks orders as u please!)

(Oooh, oc starbucks orders, excellent excellent!!)

Kerra looks up and smiles. "Oh! Thank you, much appreciated. One of the iced tea lemonades, if they have it--peach is good. And a muffin? I don't care what type."

Rel raises a hand. "Black coffee with extra espresso for me. However much extra espresso they'll put in."

Minei considers for a moment. "Dark chocolate mocha?"