#fithrain

1. Does your character have good aim?

Several characters have very, very good aim. Among them are Naviyd, Mitra, Khalil (but not with an actual ranged weapon; he can throw rocks) and Serran, who is granted but a wee tyke. Middling aim is the threshold of people like Alena and (two of) her cousins, who have training but not a natural inclination or perfect eye.

Oceanus’s is just bad.

5. Can your character cook?

Most of the non-noble characters can. They’re not professional-level unless that’s their specific job, but those who grow up outside of a staffed household need to get by however they can.

7. Do any of your characters have depression?

Several, but the example who comes to mind immediately is Riyaz.

10. Would your character give up the chance to come back to life as a god so that someone else could be saved?

Riyaz, Tirane, Arno, and Serran would.

The rest of the cast is a bit vaguer and more “well, who’s coming back” about it.

12. Would your character marry someone their family didn’t approve of?

Alena most definitely would. Lumina definitely did. So did Naviyd, though that marriage went sour. Ismene would have, but circumstances went pear-shaped before the question was ever popped.

Khalil would probably ask who the hell he was marrying who managed to piss off his dad without annoying him first.

13. Do/Did any of your characters have large ears they had to grow into as a kid?

Arno did, and so does Serran.

14. Are any of your characters nonverbal?

Not that I can think of right now.

15. Did your character ever want to be a cowboy?

Khalil would if he knew what that was, but then would get bored and move on.

16. How does the way your character present themselves in public differ from how they are in private?

Khalil acts way more trollish than he actually is, though he has a fairly sharp sense of humor when he feels like expressing it. He’s also cunning, which someone who only sees the big-spending, brightly-grinning Mishik kid wouldn’t know immediately.

18. Is your character pro or anti union?

They don’t know what a union is, but they do understand guilds! Most of them look favorably on guilds that aren’t out to kill them.

19. Does your character like carrots?

Serran does!

21. Do any of your characters have heterochromia?

In previous editions, Mitra did. Now, she and Khalil are just on opposite ends of the extreme shades of Mishik yellow-green…but he’s managed to wander all the way into turquoise, somehow. They were both born with yellow-green eyes.

Zinnia also had heterochromia, but now her eyes are just wine-red.

25. Does your character experience sexism for the job/title they hold? (ie: she’s a girl, she can’t be x,y,z because only boys can be)

Yes, though the most obvious example was with regard to the Brandt twin sisters. Luxana facced severe opposition before taking her position as Empress, and there were multiple attempts to unseat her in favor of more established candidates due to her age, her “illegitimate” infant daughter, her commoner background, and her gender. She dealt with all comers by setting an awful lot of fires, so anyone who disparaged her directly had a very short life expectancy.

Her sister Lumina, on the other hand, faced similar opposition earlier when she was dragged into the Royal Kaltekan Army as a teenager and ended up busting more than a few heads as a direct result of other people’s pigheadedness.

27. Does your character know how to tie different kinds of knots?

Zahara, Naviyd, Mitra, and Khalil all do, whether because they worked on ships or are accomplished travelers. Oceanus also does, because he grew up in a fishing community.

31. How much does your character care about their appearance?

It depends. The higher the person’s social status is, the more likely they’re forced to care about and expend a lot of time and effort maintaining their appearance. People like Oceanus, who grew up poor in harsh conditions, had to keep themselves alive through whatever means necessary, so any personal grooming had to adapt to circumstances.

Lumina is probably the highest-ranked character who would actively prefer to tromp around in a suit of armor and chase down monsters all afternoon.

35. Naptime, yes or no?

Most of the characters enjoy naps when they can get them. Usually in bright sunbeams or while under about five blankets.

37. Did any of your characters have a fever they almost died from as a child?

Riyaz did.

41. Do other people around your character dictate their life or do they get to choose for themselves?

It depends on the character. The most independent characters are Zahara, Khalil, and Fithrain, who follow their path and damn the consequences. Few people can claim to have a real hold on them unless they allow it.

Tirane is somewhere in the middle, choosing to seize control of her life at a vital moment.

The characters most likely to succumb to pressure from others are Alena, her cousins, and Riyaz.

And Naviyd is a character who went from one extreme to the other, and then to the middle.

45. Would your character kill someone to get what they want?

A lot of them would.

47. Has your character ever stolen anything?

Khalil ought to have been arrested many, many times for pickpocketing, carnie chicanery, and other little schemes.

Naviyd stole enemy intelligence, which officially makes him a spy and not a thief.

52. Would your character prefer to have history know the truth or have many different versions of their life?

Khalil wants as many wildly differing accounts as possible. He finds the idea hilarious.

Contrast, say, Luxana, who wants her rule correctly documented.

53. What if the furthest your character has ever walked in a given stretch of time?

Khalil has walked the width of the continent before!

54. Would your character prefer to visit a new city or stay at home?

Khalil wants to run around and visit the big city.

Naviyd would rather stay in Gabilan and retire there.

56. Do any of your characters have step-family?

Alena definitely does, though mainly in the form of her half-sister and her stepmother (and her children. She’s not met the latter.  

58. Does your character prefer the ocean or the mountains?

Everyone from Gabilan: Mountains.

Everyone not from Gabilan: Oceans.

With the exception of Riyaz, who would rather burrow into the mountains and not come out.

61. Have any of your characters struggled with addiction?

Not that I can recall offhand.

65. Is your characters energetic?

Of the main characters, Khalil and Tirane win this hands-down.

67. Would your character be willing to do something they consider morally wrong in order to achieve their goals?

Mitra would. She’s employed as a government assassin/enforcer/spy, so she kind of has to be willing to get her hands dirty.

And Luxana is a champ at this kind of behavior.

70.  Does your character have any guarded/secret guild knowledge or family recipe?

Naviyd knows a lot of Mishik-specific sciences as a result of growing up with one foot in his father’s scholarly world and the other in his mother’s nomadic one. He also knows all the Order signs from his days serving the Sky Mother’s Tears, which helps him keep track of potential assassination plots when and where they spring up.

After all, he was one.

Oceanus knows his mother’s cooking recipes, even if he has a hard time finding the correct ingredients in places without permafrost.

72. Would your character care for someone who needed it if it meant being ostracized from their society?

Lumina has, did, and got left to die for that exact choice.

73. Has your character been to/ ever explored any ruins?

Naviyd has. He was not impressed by the dust of ages.

So has Zahara, after which point she sneezed and stole every scrap of the burial goods that looked sellable.

Khalil almost fell off a giant statue once. It was awesome.

74.  Are any of your characters associated with flowers?

Zinnia! (Because I have been told that is a flower. In my defense, her name was originally Zina.)

76: Would your character like to live on a farm and raise sheep?

Riyaz would, right up until he realized that sheep swarm.

78. Have any of your characters been exiled from their society?

Lumina was, and didn’t regret her decision to follow her own path. She promptly clambered her way back in later.

Zahara was never formally exiled, but even government-sanctioned piracy is frowned upon, generally speaking.

81. Does your character look like what others think they should from their reputation?

Nobody has any idea that Naviyd likes wearing riding outfits if they know him first as Lumina’s spymaster. There’s an in-universe concept of a spymaster as a noble in a creepy hoods.

85. Has your character ever been led down the wrong path because of their anger?

Luxana and Lumina have, but before them Sinrajin was the sterling, shining example right before he got fully possessed and started turning everything into an epic winter wonderland nightmare.

87. What are your character’s nails like?

Oceanus’s are rough and a little warped, due to malnutrition and lack of care.

91. Does your character engage in gossip?

Naviyd has to. He’s so into listening in on other people’s business that his summon contract in another world is for messenger pigeons.

95. If given total rule over a country, would your character step aside to turn it into a democracy?

Luxana: No.

Lumina: Needs to be introduced to the concept.

Naviyd: Fucking abdicates to not be in the spotlight and runs.

97. Do any of your characters have a tendency to dislocate joints?

Not really.

100. Are any of your characters queer?

Baaaaasically everyone except Sinrajin, Stratus, and Luxana.

102. Are any of your characters d/Deaf or HoH?

Not that I know of. Tells me several someones ought to be.

102. What is your character’s greatest source of guilt?

Khalil left Oceanus alone during his manic phase in the hopes of keeping him out of the blast radius, and then things went horribly for him.

Luxana failed to protect her family from the outcomes of her imperial ambitions.

Oceanus ran when his mother told him to, leaving her alone during the raid on his village.

Lumina couldn’t stop the Scourge of the South from possessing one of her fellow soldiers and wiping out most life too close to the nightmare zone.

Naviyd couldn’t keep his marriage from falling apart or his children together.

103. How well does your character deal with their anger?

Khalil starts messing with other people in small ways. Once, some of Lumina’s noble guests started making racist remarks toward his father, and he dumped the entire contents of her cosmetics drawers on them.

He was banned from using powders and the like afterwards.

Oceanus tends to sit and fume until he has more control.

Lumina beats up training dummies and occasionally sets them on fire.

104. Do any of your characters have pottery as a hobby?

Not that I can remember.

106. Do any of your characters have noticeable acne?

Not that I’ve mentioned.

108. Are any of your characters dogs?

Ash and his siblings! Sort of. They’re called bladewolves. Also, Hyung is a jindo dog and great at hunting foxes. He also hunts alongside a human partner who can understand him.

109. Would your character blackmail a god?

Most of them would if they had a chance! It’s kind of hard to pull that off, though.

120. Do any of your characters have PTSD?

Several! Among them, there’s Oceanus, Ismene, and Riyaz.

122. What is your character’s greatest secret?

123. Did any of you characters have nannies or governesses growing up?

Alena did.

124. Does your character workout?

Most of the characters with warrior training do so in their spare time. The noble children also practice, under the careful eyes of tutors.

126. Are any of your characters on good terms/still friends with an ex?

None of them besides Khalil.

128. Has your character’s home ever been destroyed?

Characters with flattened hometowns: Oceanus, Ismene, Sinrajin, Lumina, Luxana, and Tirane.

129. Has your character ever had to compromise on what they thought was right in order to maintain peace?

The noble-born characters often have.

Lumina’s most terrible one was letting Sirsha live past the end of the war.

130. Do you have any characters who are retired?

Some! Lumina is technically retired from soldiery, but she can still take up her weaponry again. Similarly, Naviyd is a retired assassin.

As for people who are just enjoying life after work, not so much.

132. Who is the precious cinnamon roll?

Alena! Also Serran, her cousin.

Khalil is a sinnamon roll.

133. Have any of your characters ever been caught in a fire or explosion?

Lumina! The fact that it didn’t burn her was a surprise for everyone.

Also, Khalil was banned from experimenting with flour at the age of twelve.

134. Has your character ever been alone in a hostile environment and been forced to travel a long way to reach a safety that wasn’t for sure?

Well, there was this one time that Khalil found Oceanus after a no-good very bad week and had a sudden feeling that Oltose Was Not Safe. So they trekked across the entire country to find Gabilan in the hopes that neither of them would die on the way.

Khalil’s main concern regarding Gabilan, though, was that his dad would assume he was dead.

136. Has your character ever been forced to deal with the ‘I want to speak to your manager” kind of person?

Lumina. A lot.

Being the Empress’s sister can suck sometimes.

138. How good is your character with money and accounting?

Lumina does her own finances and is teaching her kids and nieces how to do them too.

139. Has your character ever survived a fatal wound?

Naviyd has, through the power of Arno’s tremendous healing magic.

140. Can your character play an instruments?

Most of the nobles can.

142. Do any of your characters use wheelchairs, transportation devices, or mobility aids?

Nimbus actually has a prosthetic leg.

143. Has your character ever had some part of their culture made illegal?

It turns out that hunting without a royal decree in pre-Empire Kaltekas is illegal. Puts a real cramp in Naviyd’s trained hunter-gatherer style.

144. Are any of your characters adventurers by trade?

Khalil would raise his hand if asked. At least when left to his own devices and wandering the continent.

146. Were any of your characters disowned or abandoned by their parents?

Riyaz, Tirane, and Mitra were.

Oceanus was more like…lost.  

148. Do any of your characters have an eating disorder or food contamination phobia?

Not that I can recall.

149: How good is your character at lying?

Khalil and most of his family are highly talented liars, which can come down to unreadability or confidence on a case by case basis.

160: Do any of your characters have asthma?

Nimbus and Zinnia.

162: Has your character ever thrown a tantrum over things not going their way?

Oceanus, Alistair, Oriana, Nuri, Brigid, Sirsha, and a number of other characters have. Some are deadly.

163: Are any of your characters autistic? (If so, do they have special interests and what are they?)

Probably Alena and Serran.

Serran’s special interest is archery, followed by magic once he’s old enough that his reading lessons sink in and the theory starts to make more sense. Or he can just forge his own path—his empathic powers are different from the showy magic his family uses, so he may have to.  

Alena, meanwhile, is kind of like a tiny blonde Belle from Beauty and the Beast. She has a ravenous need to learn about any skill she sees others use to help people, from sewing to healing and agriculture. She exists in a particular hell where her social status is up in the air, which makes it very hard to tell what rules she ought to follow.

164: Are any of your characters tinkerers or inventors?

Copernicus and Gabilan’s blacksmiths and jewelers are.

166: Are any of your characters blind or visually impaired?

Riyaz and Oceanus both need sight-correcting lenses, though they’ve not been diagnosed for a decent chunk of time. I also can’t remember which one is far-sighted and which one is nearsighted.

Nimbus also wears spectacles,

168: Is your characters easily embarrassed?

Alena, Oceanus, and Mitra are.

Riyaz is oblivious or uncaring about most things that embarrass normal people, Tirane has precious little shame, and Khalil has none at all.

169: Are any of your characters married to the sea?

Nope.

175: Are any of your characters badass (lesbian) pirate queens?

A: Aptitude

Grand Duke Arno Lambert, who has basically reinvented himself to be Lumina’s Duke Consort, really.

1. what are your oc’s natural abilities, things they’ve been doing since young?

Arno is a born healer. As a Trugiln, he’s always been a decent tracker, guide, and hunter when necessary, but his preference is always to care for the people and animals who stumble their way to his home. He’s also pretty good at math.

2. what activities have they participated in?

Arno, back when he was under a different name, used to be a champ at drunken arm wrestling because he was chronically sober.

3. what abilities do they have that they’ve worked for?

Herbalism, rather than healing, was something he had to learn. He also practiced with throwing axes and hammers as melee weapons back in the day, to mixed success.

4. what things are they bad at?

I never said he was any good at throwing weapon. Only that he tried to use them.

5. what is their most impressive talent?

Arno can heal with enough skill—and a touch of divine providence—to revive the recently-dead.  

B: Basics

Here we have Brigid Rime, a villain!

1. what is their hair color?

Her hair is white, which she dyes different colors when the mood strikes her. It’s been a very lovely nigh-prismatic purple before.

2. what is their eye color?

Deep brown. There’s something a bit odd about the way her eyes appear in bright light, though… (Her pupils are actually square.)

3. how tall are they?

About 5’4”.

4. how old are they?

Somewhere between 25 and 32.

5. how much do they weigh?

137 lbs.

C: Comfort

Cirrus, Gabilan’s master-at-arms.

1. how do they sit in a chair?

He prefers to sit in a chair the way chairs are meant to be sat in, and gets a little annoyed with everyone else deciding that “furniture” is the same as “climbing wall.”

2. in what position do they sleep?

Cirrus sleeps on his side or back, occasionally rolling from one to the other and landing squarely on the floor.

3. what is their ideal comfort day?

Cirrus would definitely prefer to spend the day in three major sections: sparring with everyone in Gabilan, then visiting a steam house to relax after a workout, and finally reading a good book late into the night.

4. what is their major comfort food? Why?

Jellied eel, because his mother used to make it. It doesn’t actually taste appealing.

5. who is the best at comforting them when down?

Cirrus prefers to visit the stables and check in with the horses, because he feels more relaxed around them than around his brothers sometimes. Of said horses, his favorite is named Silverstream.

D: Decoration

Dazma Kiltaea, master sorceress. Probably not human.

1. how would they decorate a house if they had one under their name?

Dazma has the correct total lack of taste to appreciate white marble columns in home decorating, in some 40-room manor that was impressive enough before cultural grave-robbing kicked in.

2. how would they decorate their child’s room?

Not her problem. She doesn’t have one of those anymore.

3. how do they decorate their own room?

Gold. So much gold. She wants to be a dragon of yore. She would also like an arcane workshop within easy reach to help with the obtaining of more things her real self missed out on. Also, she’s rather fond of floor-to-ceiling mirrors.

Light hitting the room is like as not to blind visitors.

4. what type of clothes and accessories do they wear?

Picture a woman-shaped swathe of white, blue, and black fabric. Anything past that point is a mystery.

5. do they like makeup/nail/beauty trends?

Trends are for people who care what other people think. Her nails are sharp enough to cut, exactly as she likes them.

E: External Personality

Evander of Oltose, not exactly Mr. Personality.

1. does the way they do things portray their internal personality?

No.

2. do they do things that conform to the norm?

He certainly seems like a model soldier. Obeys orders, never asks questions…

3. do they follow trends or do their own thing?

He kinda tends to go along with the crowd, whatever that might entail.

4. are they up-to-date on the internet fads?

The internet doesn’t exist.

5. do they portray their personality intentionally or let people figure it out on their own?

The latter. Less effort that way.

Interestingly, every thing said by or about him is almost guaranteed to be a lie. Evander’s original personality and identity was entirely overwritten by a creature from the Dreamscape years ago, whose central personality tenet is “Deceit.”

F: Fun

Fiamma of Kingsroad, the Red Shirt of the Royal Kaltekas Army, Magical Operations.

1. what do they do for fun?

Fiamma prefers to organize large parties with friends if at all possible. If not, she used to be the one who kept track of betting pools, card counters, and weighted dice.

2. what is their ideal party?

50+ attendees with free-flowing alcohol, games, and at least one fantastic musical performance. She wants to have a concert.

3. who would they have the most fun with?

She prefers hanging out with people like Zahara, rather than the party poopers of the world like Lumina.

4. can they have fun while conforming to rules?

Yes!

5. do they go out a lot?

Under better circumstances, yes!

G: Gorgeous

The Gumiho, also known as one of the walking, talking Dreamscape dangers.

1. what is their most attractive external feature?

Silky black hair seems to appeal!

2. what is the most attractive part of their personality?

The Gumiho can make any part of its personality attractive, from sense of humor to ambition to the urge to devour human flesh. It’s in its nature as a predatory trickster to adapt to anything that might convince prey to relax. Then come the teeth.

3. what benefits come with being their friend?

Not getting eaten.

4. what parts of them do they like and dislike?

Nothing of note.

5. what parts of others do they envy?

Nothing of note.

H: Heat

Hokide, Dreamscape born-and-raised. Which causes problems.

1. do they rather a hot or cold room?

Cold. Hot rooms have a bad relationship with Hokide’s lack of thermoregulation. His species has a much easier time in the wintry parts of the world.

2. do they prefer summer or winter?

Winter. So much.

3. do they like the snow?

Sort of?

4. do they have a favorite summer activity?

Does “not dying” count?

5. do they have a favorite winter activity?

Exploring glaciers to make maps and sketch landscapes. It’s fascinating!

I: In-the-closet

Ismene Nikos, Oceanus’s mother and healer extraordinaire for the Royal Kaltekas Army.

1. what is their sexuality?

Heteroflexible, I think.

2. have they ever questioned their sexuality?

Not especially. Ismene didn’t really think her early life gave her many opportunities to experiment much with her sexuality, and life in the army came to a pretty spectacularly horrible end. After the fallout, she decided none of it was worth the trouble.

3. have they ever questioned their gender?

After speaking with Fithrain and accidentally getting introduced to the concept, yes. After some thinking, Ismene shrugged and came to the conclusion she was a cis woman.

4. would/was their family be okay with them being LGBT?

She doesn’t think they would have been.

5. how long would/did it take for them to come out?

Closest she ever got was explaining to her son that he didn’t have be ashamed of being attracted to some of the village boys instead of just girls. Oceanus, being about seven at the time, never made the connection between his mother’s acceptance in that moment and anything past that.

K: Kill

Keyah, the head of scouting in Gabilan!

1. have they ever thought about suicide?

Yes.

2. have they ever thought about homicide?

Definitely. It’s a part of her job description as a former Army scout, though not exactly a recognized aspect of being a courier.

3. if they could kill anyone without punishment, would they? Who?

Probably people who threaten Gabilan, because she’s done it before.

4. who would miss them if they died?

Her friends in Gabilan, her extended family, and her boss.

5. who would be happy they died, anyone?

No one?

L: Lemons

Lucretia Araceli, would-be knight!

1. what is their favorite fruit?

Cherries.

2. what is their least favorite fruit?

Peaches.

3. are there any foods they hate?

Jellied eels.

4. do they have any food intolerances?

She can’t stand beans, but isn’t intolerant or allergic.

5. what is their favorite food?

Oltosian wheat bread.

M: Maternal

Mitra bint Naviyd ibn Copernicus al-Fulan, one of the people least suited for this.

1. would they want a daughter or a son?

If forced to address the question of children, she’d say one of both. Or neither.

2. how many children do they want?

None, generally speaking.

3. would they be a good parent?

Yes.

4. what would they name a son? what would they name a daughter?

“Omair” and “Fatimah.”

5. would they adopt?

Probably not.

N: Never Have I Ever

Nimbus, schoolmaster of Gabilan.

1. what would they never do?

Get married.

2. what have they never done that they want to do?

Climb to the tallest peak in the Spine and plant a flag there.

3. is there anything they absolutely can’t believe people do?

Read anything written by “S. Burat.”

4. what is the most embarrassing thing they’ve done?

Fell asleep on his desk, directly onto a still-wet document. Woke up with writing all over his face.

5. have they done anything they thought they’d never do?

Yeah: Live to see forty.

O: Optimism

Oceanus of Seabridge, one of our main protagonists.

1. are they optimistic or pessimistic?

Oceanus is deeply pessimistic.

2. are they openly optimistic, throwing it on others?

Nope. And nope.

3. are they good at giving advice?

Absolutely horrible. Most of his advice is phrased in a way that comes off as sarcastic or just blunt even when he’s trying to help.

4. is there anyone in their life that throws optimism on them?

Khalil and Alena both do, but Khalil is the more insistent one by far. Alena is a quieter presence.

5. were they always optimistic?

Fuck. No. And never have been.

P: Personality

Pyrrhos Razen, low-level tyrant.

1. what is their best personality trait?

He would say his business sense and pragmatism are the most useful to him and everyone around him. He’s proud of every moment he gets one over on someone else, and celebrates.

2. what is their worst personality trait?

Complete and utter disregard for human rights. The guy’s a mid-level crime lord, and what scruples he has don’t apply to anyone but himself and Brigid Rime, his partner in crime.

3. what of their personality do others love?

Brigid is most fond of his confidence. Others like the fact that when bought, he stays bought like a good mercenary. Or at least he honors deals made with him personally.

4. what of their personality do others envy?

Confidence, generally.

5. do they hate anything about their personality/about other’s personalities?

Pyrrhos despises indecisiveness and doesn’t understand the point of altruism. Which on its own means he doesn’t understand altruism in general.

Q: Questions

Quillyn, proprietor of the Evening Primrose in the Oltose town of Lysand.

1. do they ask for help?

Not really.

2. do they ask questions in class?

What’s “class?”

3. do they answer questions that make them a little uncomfortable?

Sure, though it’s hard to really put a brothel madam off her game.

4. do they ask weird questions?

Mostly, she’s asked weird questions.

5. are they curious?

Not especially. It’s not a survival trait in her world.

R: Rules

Radovan of Stalmo, Alena’s long-missing biological father.

1. do they follow rules?

Pretty much. He’s a mercenary, so in many ways his life is a series of changing rulesets to go along with employers.

2. would they be a strict or laid-back parent?

As evidenced by his other actual children later on? He’s a laid-back dad insofar as he doesn’t do punishments.

3. have they ever been consequenced for breaking a rule?

No.

4. have they broken any rules they now regret breaking?

“Don’t sleep with the boss.”

5. do they find any rules they/others follow absolutely ridiculous?

He doesn’t understand why anyone would make rules against looting. Don’t they know that’s how bonuses happen?

S: Streets

Sinrajin of Skytear.

1. are they street-smart?

Not especially. One gets the impression he was raised by wolves—in fact, he was raised by spirits. As such, he sees the world entirely differently than the Kaltekans do.

2. would they give money to someone on the streets?

Yes, he would. Spirits don’t have much of a concept of money, really.

3. have they ever gotten in a fight on the streets?

Not once! It turns out that looking like a Trugiln bloodseeker is good street cred, because people assume he’d remove their faces with his teeth if angry enough.

4. has anything happened to them on the streets?

Nothing notable.

5. are they cautious when out?

Not a bit! Someone made the mistake of pointing out that Sinrajin was unlikely to be robbed by anyone unwilling to face the reality that he could probably break them in half, and he runs with that assumption.

T: Truth

Tirane of Queen’s Crossing, the token uninvolved human who is suddenly in the midst of shit.

1. are they honest?

Sort of. She does tend to qualify her statements by admitting she’s not really telling the whole truth, ever, but she does try to do people a good turn.

2. can they tell if someone is lying?

Absolutely. It’s a part of her magic skillset.

3. is it obvious when they’re lying?

She’s not especially good at it, so yes.

4. have they lied about anything they regret lying about?

Nope.

5. have they told truths that have been spread against their will?

Probably.

Y: You

1. how old were you when you created them?

It varies. A lot of these characters have been around since I was eleven or so, and some have been around for less than a month. Such is author life.

2. what inspired you to create them?

I really, really wanted to tell a story.

3. were they different when they were first created?

Oh boy, yeah. Some of them have had total personality flips. Others have been molded to suit their roles. Others stayed mostly the same, or at least their one-word summary did.

4. do you enjoy writing them more than other characters?

Some of them?

5. what’s your favorite thing about them?

They’re all great in different ways. Or despicable. But at least they’re running around in a created world and doing what characters do.

Z: Zebra

Zinnia Veritos

1. what’s their favorite animal?

Songbirds, especially small ones with bright colors.

2. do they like animals?

Yes.

3. cats or dogs?

Cats.

4. what’s their dream pet?

A housecat that won’t eat her bird friends.

5. do they have any pets at the moment?

1: How do you view the general public?

“I presume you mean the human masses, whose concerns are ever at the forefront of my mind. In truth, I cared little for them, though individual stars shone bright enough to be useful. Yet there are those who claim my actions have been their salvation, so perhaps this human imagining has worth.”

2: Do you have a mentor? or someone to thank for getting you where you are?

“I have predecessors, those who discharged their duty with great alacrity. I was not fortunate in my tenure, and have spent the centuries redeeming myself for my lack of foresight. Remaining in human form is an acceptable reminder of my failure.”

3: What’s your preferred method of punishment? 

“One needs little assistance when allies spring forth from the Dream. When I called, two of my like-minded kin answered and bound their minds to the forms I needed. Rebellious souls were quelled without need for further intervention on my part.”

4: What’s the biggest sacrifice you made to get where you are?

“I sacrificed flight. I relinquished my hold on the Dream. And, in the end, I give what remains of my truncated future to guarding the Root, as I had before.”

5: Do you consider yourself a liar?

“I speak, and mortals believe what they wish. I masqueraded as a human only long enough to complete my duty. The need for such deception is past, now.”

6: Do you have any unusual skills?

“I am told I have a talent for navigation. Following the sun is not difficult.”

7: How’s your relationship with your family?

“I have none. Perhaps this body did, once, but I became me the instant I sprang fully-formed from the Dream.”

8: Do you have any close confidants?

“I have no need of them.”

9: Do you like to be around people? Who?

“I prefer to spend my time near the Guardian spirit of the Root. Yttress is as taciturn as the Root itself.”

10: Are there any rumors about you that are completely false?

“I am not a god. I am neither cruel nor monstrous, nor did I intend the end of the world mortals call home. I have only ever wished to return the world to what it has always been, before mortal arrogance destroyed the bonds between the Dream and the Waking World.”

11: Is there anything you and your enemy can agree on?

“What happened when the creature dubbed ‘Frostwing’ entered the world was not the grand design, nor was it ideal. Past that, I have washed my hands of his mischief.”

12: Is there anything you admire about your enemy?

“I do not have enemies.”

13: In your opinion, what’s your biggest flaw?

“I spend far too long toying with mortal laws and allowing mortals to play their games. Had I the resources, I could have undone the damage caused centuries ago long before the true trouble began. But not all reunions are joyous. Some are difficult, but a reconciliation was necessary and inevitable.”

14: Are you in your position by choice? Would you take an out if you could?

“I have retired from the world of mortals and gods alike. I have no further concerns.”

15: How will you know when you’ve won?