#vsmp arin

Grass by @grassthewatcher

Grass was having trouble breathing. It all was too much. Everything was too much. She couldn’t breathe. She needed to run. If she stopped running she would get hurt.

I’m so excited to see what you write!! Ehehehe!

9. What do you have to lose?

Their freedom, their people, *and their joy*. Arin has no belongings besides what they carry on them and those who they’ve left an impact on. They choose to travel so they can control their life freely and meet new people. The loss of that freedom feels visceral wrong, but not nearly as painful as losing what attachments they do have. Arin has a few towns/locations/people that they revisit time and time again; those places don’t feel like home, but they love seeing those familiar faces light up in recognition. It’s never a guarantee to those people that Arin will return, but they usually promise they will. They’d be horribly sad to break that promise. Above all else, though, Arin relies on their ability to stay optimistic. Even in the depths of worry, they try to find a reason to dance and smile. Because if they don't, why is life worth living? If that joy that keeps them going is lost, they're lost.

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1. What brings you to Oakhurst?

Arin was traveling between towns, as usual, but was taking a new route/shortcut when they stumbled across the ruins of Oakhurst.

2. What skills do you have?

Storytelling, playing the violin/fiddle, charisma, sewing, butchering, various farmstead skills (chopping trees, tending to crops, taking care of animals), various basic survival skills.

3. What are you bad at?

Arin is garbage at PVP, they either freeze up or try to talk their way out of it. It’s not that they aren’t strong enough, they just don’t have the coordination and forethought for it. They also have a hard time forming strong permanent attachments with people - when becoming friends with someone they often think about how it will end before anything else.

4. How are you with other people?

Great! They’re a laid back and open person who tries to look on the bright side of things, making people generally look towards them for hope. However, they will tailor their words to suit someone if they think they’ll get something out of it.

5. What secret are you hiding?

I can’t really decide on how canon this is, so it’s the author’s choice here on whether or not to incorporate it BUT… Arin maybe ate a companion to survive one time. They got lost in the middle of nowhere with a buddy of theirs, and it was becoming winter. That buddy got injured and was really worse for wear, meanwhile Arin was starving. So.. one night they cave. Arin kills off their already dying friend and cooks them for meat. Their butcher skills came in handy that day. They never want to talk about it and feel immense guilt for doing so, but also it was maybe the best meal of their life (when you’re starving, anything tastes good). If they get turned, they might have some odd feelings about drinking blood and feeling very very hungry again. Arin will do what it takes to survive, and that scares them. For secrets besides that, go to question 6.

6. What do you want from Oakhurst? From others?

Arin wasn’t intentionally going to Oakhurst, but now that they’re stuck here they would really love it if everyone could work together to get out of there. Alas, that won’t happen. Deeper than that, Arin has been the only one to consistently look out for Arin, so they semi-secretly crave someone(s) who would take care of them instead, someone(s) who could let them rest, feel like a permanent home. They unconsciously try to get people to look out for them by entertaining them, being charming, and if all else fails, making themself useful to them. This has worked for most of their life, but they travel too much for those bonds to be anything besides short-term. Also validation/being wanted, being an unwanted child growing up kinda messed with their self-perception. 

7. What do you tell people you want?

To entertain of course! Arin just wants to bring smiles to faces and learn new stories! Beguiling an audience is such great fun! Perhaps Oakhurst could serve as inspiration for some new ballads. (This isn’t a lie, it’s just not the full truth either.)

8. What do you tell people about your past?

Arin’s quite open about their past, they grew up as an affair child in a small village, left town and have been traveling ever since. They love to share any anecdotes they’ve picked up along their travels. They see no reason to lie (unless it’s about the cannibalism thing)

9. What do you have to lose?

Their freedom and their people. Arin has no belongings besides what they carry on them and those who they’ve left an impact on. They choose to travel so they can control their life freely and meet new people. The loss of that freedom feels visceral wrong, but not nearly as painful as losing what attachments they do have. Arin has a few towns/locations/people that they revisit time and time again; those places don’t feel like home, but they love seeing those familiar faces light up in recognition. It’s never a guarantee to those people that Arin will return, but they usually promise they will. They’d be horribly sad to break that promise.

10. What are you willing to risk in order to win?

That’s tough, considering they’re really hesitant to risk anything. They want to like and get along with everyone around them (and possibly gain a long term friend) so risking others/their bonds with others would be a huge deal to them. They’d be fine risking themself in the moment alongside any morals they might hold but they’d never risk their darling violin. It’d also be a huge sacrifice if they were stuck in Oakhurst forever BUT if it meant they could live in a state of peace, they’d accept it. Basically: They’d be fine losing what they had to lose, so long as they gain something (peace, friends, a home). 

11. What is your stance on vampires and the supernatural?

Arin loves stories of the supernatural and knows many, including vampire stories. However, they haven’t encountered any proof of vampires/the supernatural so they think they’re just another story people tell each other. If someone is claiming there are vampires, they’d approach with curiosity instead of rejection (perhaps they could get a good story out of whatever that person has to say)

12. Would anyone come looking for you/would anyone miss you if something happened?

No one would come looking for Arin. There would be many people who would suddenly remember them and wonder where they went, but none who’d go looking. Everyone knows they traveled a lot, that they’re a free-spirit like that. Maybe they just died on the road, or maybe they settled down somewhere far away, no one can say. All they’ll ever know is that they disappeared one day, and it’d be like chasing wind to try to find them.

13. If you discovered vampires are real, what would you do?

Arin would immediately ask questions. Like. They know the stories. They want to know what each got wrong and right. They’d want to learn all about the life of said vampire, and what their thoughts on things are. Arin feels some trepidation at the thought of being around a vampire, but not enough to stop their curious mind. 

14. If you became a vampire, what would you do?

There’s so many ways this could go depending on the context. If they previously committed cannibalism: They would recognize that hunger/thirst and be in complete shock. It’d force them to confront the fact that they’ve already been this bad once before and they’re not sure how to feel about it again. This could either go one of two ways, they reject the vampire lifestyle and never feed on humans; They will try to be better this time. Alternatively, they could go the exact opposite way; they embrace feeding on humans and become somewhat feral in their frenzy to feed with the thinking that they were always meant to be this awful. They might still try to learn people’s stories before feeding on them but idk. They’re redeemable/changeable at that stage, it’d just take some doing.

Besides the whole cannibalism thing: They’d get more morbid, they’d look at humans and see their deaths first. To cope with that, they try to learn the stories of the mortals around them as much as possible so that those mortals could live on in some way. They’re very sympathetic and somewhat pitying to humans in that way. Arin will ignore personal boundaries and pry because they think they’re doing a good thing. Besides that, Arin is thrilled and terrified at the idea of immortality; they take solace in the fact that they could still die with enough effort and the fact that the powers are fun. If they’ve adopted the whole “if I stop smiling/being joyous, the vampires win” mentality before getting turned, I think they’d… for lack of a better term, go a bit joker-mode. They might wind up trying to kill everyone as an act of mercy. Honestly, this is all up to whatever dearest Solar wants to write about/what the story needs!

15. What would you do to stay alive?

Arin is a team player by choice and a survivor by instinct. If given time to plan, they will try to help as many as they can, if they need to make a decision immediately, they’re saving themself. If they needed to become some vampire thrawl to live, they probably would wind up desperate enough to do it. If they knew that in the heat of the moment, sacrificing someone would guarantee their safety, they would, without thinking, do it. (Though if they were given time to mull it over and think about it, they’d try to figure something else out.) 

16. How well do you lie? How good are you at perceiving lies?

Arin’s a performer, their whole craft is lies for the sake of entertainment. So if they need to lie about something, they can usually improv their way through it. However, Arin is remarkably bad at lying about themself - it’s just their instinct to be honest regarding themself. When it comes to perceiving lies, they can only sniff out when something is suspicious, in which case they might confront them about it later (likely one-on-one) Arin likes to take people’s words in good faith.

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I hope this is helpful info for you! If at any point you feel like changing up any of these facts to better suit you, DO IT! I want you to feel like this is a fun project and not a chore. If I wanted to have an Arin that was 100% everything exactly as I had envisioned it in my head, I would have just written my own thing. This is your puppet to move around and play with as you please :)

Arin info!

Name: Arin - Age: 27 - They/Them

I’m personally aroace (and this is based on me) but I don’t mind if they wind up in some doomed toxic yaoi situationship. Sorry for how long this is gonna be lol

Core traits:

* Mirthful

* Fascinated by stories and songs

* Easygoing/chill

* Carefree, but only because most good things in their life have been temporary

* A traveling musician/storyteller!!

* Tries to find joy and beauty in everything

* Can play the violin/fiddle

* Seemingly well adjusted? They have a wisdom that doesn’t feel like their own at times and a hopeful spirit that seems unbreakable

* Maybe has eaten a man to survive idk

* Wants to have long philosophical talks with vampires, despite their best interests.

* Creates memorials for the (fully) deceased

* Sings and hums to themself all the time

* NOT A FIGHTER. A lover, certainly. But garbage at pvp.

* Clothes are well worn (likely second hand) but you can see that they could have been fancy at some point. Some embroidery (likely done by them to pass time)

Recent past:

* Has traveled and stayed with all kinds of folks- notably fortune tellers, farmers, and taverns

* They have traveled with multiple traveler cultures/ethnic groups

* They also have traveled with fortune tellers (how they learned tarot!)(they would share stories, and in return they got taught)(eventually they would tell stories based on card pulls)(they only ever memorized major arcana)

* They traveled with a circus for a year or two also

* They have stopped in and stayed with farmers for periods (in return for doing physical labor usually)

* In general they’re a jack of all trades- they have had the opportunity to learn many skills but they also need to in order to scrape by.

* They will sing whatever they need to make coin. They frequently traded their craft for a nights rest and a warm meal. Will sing religious songs near churches, despite not being religious.

Childhood:

* Grew up as a well known affair child- everyone was nice enough to be polite around them but when they started to become a teen (12ish) that faded.

* Once they were old enough to work (like 8??) they worked at the local tavern/inn

* They left town at 15 because of the townsfolk shaming/being ashamed

* Is like… 27 when they arrive at oakhurst

* Parents were a Butcher and a Tailor, both were nice enough to show them the ropes at their jobs but both clearly were awkward/somewhat resented their existence.

Various ideas of how oakhurst could change them:

* As oakhurst gets more and more dire the more they force themself to dance and smile and sing —they think the vampires win (metaphorically) if they stop.

* Also as oakhurst gets worse, they might end up painting a smile on (or having it carved if they’re vamped up)

* Will also start to doubt that they’ll make it out alive if things are going bad

* If turned after having the whole “if I stop smiling they win” revelation they totes become crAzY and unhinged- they will yearn to slaughter their brethren

* If turned before that, they pry intensely into everyone’s (especially the humans) history and lives- so that their stories will be preserved.

* Especially as things in oakhurst get rough, they invite people to dance with them all the time- even with no music.

Here’s a Minecraft skin I made for them!! I don’t have a dedicated Vampire skin but I do have a general vampire-like skin that would give you an idea of they would/could look like

I hope Arin serves you well in your writing endeavors :) have a great day!