Dramatis Personae - Tumblr Posts
Personae
@the-wip-project Day 11
How do you create your characters? Do you make a profile of them? Do you know your character before you start writing the story?
I've tried several tools, from the basic bullet list of characteristics on the first loose paper I could lay my hand on, to an intricate mind map of the story cast with pictures, places, dates, etc.
Since a lot of the creative process goes through an insanely vast amount of daydreaming time, my characters are quite happy with budding and growing in my imagination. Their features existing already, only some details become more precise over time. But overall, I like to respect canon in that regard.
But it's the writing that really gives them the consistency I'd like their personalities to have. And this is when the magic happens because I'd be at a loss to say with precision what they're like before I actually start writing. As the letters, words and sentences flow on the blank document, their profiles take shape; the traits which are meant to be set, revealing de facto those that are going to follow the arc of development and evolve along with the plot.
@the-wip-project Days 12 & 13
Prompt:
Unfortunately, things never go according to plan around here.
Indeed they don't.... I NEVER INTENDED TO WRITE THE FIRST CHAPTER OF A NEW WIP IN THREE DAYS!!! I'M SHOUTING BECAUSE I'M SUPER EXCITED!!!
Look at your characters, maybe even the one you created yesterday, and be honest. Do you have a type?
I've been scratching my head about this question. I don't know if I have a type of character. I certainly have a recurrent type of plot though lol.
What I could say is that my main characters are meant to complete each other one way or another and to meet half-way on their individual paths. My stories revolve a lot around building bridges, facing trauma, sweeping unpleasant truths from under the rug, starting personal inner journeys. So my characters are flawed from the start, aware or not of their own missing pieces and weaknesses (but soon to be) and I guess this is the type of personae I enjoy staging and following along the relative unknown of the plot, the encounters it brings about, self-discovery and retrieving some balance after their life being more or less disrupted.
I realise it may sound super heavy 😅, but it's not necessarily the case. It matches fluff as angst equally.
Dramatis Personae - Book 1: Gridanian Prelude
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Yenifer Falle
Age: 21 Pronouns: she/her Our protagonist; Yenifer has lived her whole life in the small hamlet of Quarrymill, one of a small community of refugees far from home. When desperation meets hope, she takes the gamble to join Gridania's renowned Lancers' Guild... and unwittingly becomes a part of a cosmic war for the survival of the star. Impulsive, brave, and good-hearted, Yenifer is trying to find a way forward not just for herself, but for her people as well.
Ala Mhigans of Quarrymill
Aebba Falle
Age: 36 (†) Pronouns: she/her Mother to Yenifer, Aebba raised her daughter through the collapse of Ala Mhigo and their dangerous escape to the Twelveswood. Alongside the other refugees, she worked to build a good a life as possible in this new land - and alongside other refugees, she died during the Calamity.
Meffrid Noward
Age: 38 Pronouns: he/him A former member of the Ala Mhigan Resistance, Meffrid has traded his sword for a laborer's tools. The leader of the Ala Mhigans in Quarrymill, he works tirelessly to keep his people alive malms from his homeland.
Scions of the Seventh Dawn
Papalymo Totolymo
Age: 42 Pronouns: he/him One of the foremost members of the Scions, Papalymo has been the liaison between the organization and Gridania for summers. Erude, quick-witted, and perhaps a little mad, the thaumaturge has seen the city-state through many crises... but fears that the next is near on the horizon.
Yda Hext
Age: 31 Pronouns: she/her A hot-blooded pugilist and member of the Scions, Yda hails from conquered Ala Mhigo and now works to protect her new home in Eorzea. Alongside her friend Papalymo, she has defended the people of the Twelveswood from danger. Beneath her mask, however, lies an unspoken secret.
Gridanians
Mother Miounne
Age: 36 Pronouns: she/her The owner of the Carline Canopy, Mother Miounne has run the tavern and inn for summers, despite the devastation wrought by Bahamut.
Beatin Mainrocquet
Age: 30 Pronouns: he/him Timbermaster of the Carpenters' Guild, Beatin is a perfectionist by nature. Constantly coated in the debris of his labors, nothing but the finest of work is allowed to be sold.
Thya Epocan
Age: 18 Pronouns: they/them One of Gridania's many forgotten faces, Thya does their best despite being on the city-state's lowest rung.
Residents of the Twelveswood
Bremondt
Age: 48 Pronouns: he/him An enigmatic figure in the Twelveswood, Bremondt has been running cargo, passengers - and contraband - up and down the Black Shroud for summers. Despite his many days in the forest, he is a surprisingly unsuperstitious man.
Kuplo Kopp
Age: Not telling, kupo! Pronouns: he/him... if he finds it amusing, kupo! One of the Twelveswood's many myths, Kuplo Kopp is perhaps one of the more talkative Moogles - and a friend of sorts to Yda and Papalymo.
Sergeant Galfrid Mossback
Age: 34 Pronouns: he/him A member of Gridania's army, the Twin Adders, Galfrid is tasked as being one of the organization's many liaisons with the Wood Wailers - and, in a pinch, the leader of a manhunt.
Lancers, Guild or Otherwise
Ywain Deepwell
Age: 36 Pronouns: he/him Guildmaster of the Lancers' Guild, Ywain has worked stoically for summers to turn trainees into fighters. As a new crisis darkens Gridania's sky, so to does a nemesis emerge out of the shadows to challenge both him, the guild, and his prize student: Yenifer.
Foulques of the Mist
Age: 34 Pronouns: he/him An enigmatic figure and rogue lancer, Foulques bears an axe to grind against the Lancers' Guild; one that he is perfectly willing to bury into a skull or six if it gets the point across. Obsessed with bravery, in Yenifer he has found a rival - and potential ally - in his mission.
Jillian Little
Age: 20 Pronouns: she/her The receptionist of the Lancers' Guild, Jillian is herself a lancer, though has taken on the hard work of handling the considerable paperwork that shuttles in and out of the Wailing Barracks on a daily basis.
Wood Wailers & Gods'bowmen
Bowlord Lewin Hunte
Age: 54 Pronouns: he/him One of Gridania's elder warriors, Lewin has led the Gods'bow against the Ixal, bandits, and worse for many summers. The Calamity casts a shadow over his heart, and the emergence of a new crisis will only redouble his fear that the city may not withstand another storm.
Sergeant Albert Miller
Age: 38 Pronouns: he/him A member of Gridania's police, the Wood Wailers, Albert is one of the more honest members of the organization - and, due to chance circumstances, becomes a strange friend of Yenifer in her time of need.
Wailer Mordin Sawyer
Age: 18 Pronouns: he/him A young member of the Wood Wailers, Mordin Sawyer was destined for an unexceptional career... but a growing emergency changes his course perilously.
Gods'bow Okhi Lanbatal
Age: 19 Pronouns: she/her One of the elite Gods'bow, Okhi was willing to blend into a sea of faces and uniforms... but war changes many fates.
Padjal and their Keepers
Seedseer Kan-E-Senna
Age: 28 Pronouns: she/her The spiritual leader of Gridania, Kan-E-Senna is the city-state's figurehead and commander of the Twin Adders. As one of the almost mythical Padjal, she is frozen in age - and by fear. Beneath that glass, however, lies a different woman, one who is trapped by the duality of her responsibility and the weight it bears.
E-Sumi-Yan
Age: Around 230 Pronouns: he/him A fellow Padjal, E-Sumi-Yan is the guildmaster of Gridania's illustrious Conjurers' Guild. Despite his incredible age, E-Sumi-Yan remains humble, and marries his wisdom with a wry sense of humor.
Keeper Roger Goodfellow
Age: 26 Pronouns: he/him One of Kan-E-Senna's elite bodyguards, Roger cuts an unusual figure alongside his more traditional companion. Beneath his stern public façade, however, lies a secret that ties his life to the Seedseer's forever.
Keeper Bernon Ouraux
Age: 28 Pronouns: he/him Kan-E-Senna's other hand, Bernon is a child of Gridania and is so proudly. Stern, restrained, and a little arrogant, he would still suffer any indignance on behalf of the woman he has sworn his life to.
Dramatis Personae - Book 2: White Towers, Deep Waters
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Yenifer Falle
Age: 21 Pronouns: she/her Our protagonist; once merely just an Ala Mhigan refugee living in the hamlet of Quarrymill, Yenifer's time in Gridania has thrust her into circumstances well beyond any she could have imagined. Bearer of both the Echo and a Crystal of Light, Yenifer has become Gridania's envoy on a diplomatic mission across Eorzea. Brave, adventurous, and foolhardy, Yenifer is exploring a star she has never seen - but knows terribly well that a great danger lurks in its shadows...
Scions of the Seventh Dawn
Y'shtola Rhul
Age: 32 Pronouns: she/her The Scion liaison to the pirate republic, Y'shtola Rhul prides herself on her intelligence, her sharp wit, and her skill with conjuration. With a cool demeanor, Y'shtola has guided Limsa Lominsa through many a crisis... though she may be as much an island as Vylbrand is.
Dutiful Sisters of the Edelweiss
Jacke Swallow
Age: 27 Pronouns: he/him The leader of Limsa Lominsa's respected and feared Rogues' Guild, Jacke Swallow works in the dark to preserve a fragile peace. Clever, quick on his feet, and kind, Jacke is the guild's face, such as it can have one... but he is also its sharpest point.
V'kebbe the Stray
Age: 23 Pronouns: she/her A senior member of the Rogues' Guild and one of Jacke's most trusted lieutenants, V'kebbe has learned Limsa Lominsa's streets unlike any others. Despite, or perhaps because of, the comradery between her and Jacke, she finds no small amount of pleasure in ribbing him any way she can find.
Lonwoerd
Age: 20 Pronouns: he/him A junior member of the Rogues' Guild, Lonwoerd's task is to protect the entrance to their enclave by any means necessary... though perhaps the responsibility should land on another's shoulders.
The Admiralty
Admiral Merlwyb Bloefhiswyn
Age: 42 Pronouns: she/her The leader of Limsa Lominsa through storm and civil war, Merlwyb feels the weight of the star on her shoulders. Cold, uncompromising, and perceptive, Merlwyb has never been afraid of hard decisions... a fact she proved when she was much younger.
Grand Storm Marshal Einzahr Slafyrsyn
Age: 58 Pronouns: he/him The leader of Limsa Lominsa's military operations, Einzahr has decades of experience at his back that he uses to the fullest for the sake of his home. Not all of that experience, however, was on the right side of the law...
Lominsans
Vivail Aikiria
Age: 50 Pronouns: she/her A far-flung traveler from distant Othard, Vivail came to Eorzea to tame a mysterious power inside of her. Instead of finding answers, however, she found herself tied to another. Kind-hearted, strong, and driven, Vivail has done her best to make Limsa Lominsa her home... though she knows, at any moment, she could lose herself to the red.
Yellowjacket Captain Milala Mila
Age: 29 Pronouns: she/her One of Limsa Lominsa's redoubtable Yellowjackets, Milala Mila works every day to maintain order in a city that thrives on chaos. Her stringent nature makes her not the most popular member of her organization... and has left her with an eternal grudge against the man whose role mirrors hers.
Captain Maramu Taramu
Age: 47 Pronouns: he/him Captain of the good airship, the Enduring Profit, Maramu is playful but blunt. Despite his decades of experience on sea and sky, he has yet to lose his sense of wonder for both... nor his willingness to play jokes on his passengers.