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[ application: original characters ]
IMPORTANT! We are officially in endgame until August 31, 2020. Applications are on a rolling basis. There is a small "block" period from the 1st through the 4th of every month to allow a bulk of apps to be submitted, and then applications can be submitted at any time during the month. Notices will be sent out all at once after the first "block" period, and then between 24 hours to the end of the weekend depending on how many and our schedule. Applications are guaranteed to be processed during the weekends.
IMPORTANT: Only the following types of original characters are allowed to be applied for—
The following would not be allowed:
Before applying, please be sure to read the following:
We have compiled sample applications from our players to show what the mod team and the application moderators are looking for in terms of writing quality and depth. We hope you find these samples useful!
⌈ PLAYER SECTION ⌉
Player:
Contact: Journal/Plurk/AIM — anything to help identify since someone might share your name handle.
Age: You must be at least 13 years old to apply.
Current Characters: If a new player, just put "N/A"
⌈ CHARACTER SECTION ⌉
Character:
Age:
OC Type: Indicate whether this OC is a Pure, MMO, or Blank Protagonist type of OC. If it is a Blank Protagonist, indicate the canon here.
Point Taken: A sense of time when the character is taken. More applicable to MMO and Blank Protagonist OCs.
World Building:This is separate from the character's personal history. This section is to provide us with information about the character's “canon” in general. We will have no idea what kind of world that the character is coming from, and this is the only place we can learn about it. We don't want an encyclopedia, but we will need to know important details about it so that we can understand the culture the character is coming from and how that will affect how they think and behave. What countries are important? What kind of geography or political climate? Are there any social conflicts that would impact the character or would influence how they view others? For MMO and Blank Protagonist OCs, linking us to wikis will suffice, but feel free to add more to it.
Backstory: While we don't need a play-by-play, what we would like to see includes how the character lived, what choices they've made and why, what events occurred that developed them, and other important facts that will help us understand the character. For MMO OCs: Most MMORPGs will have a set storyline that the player character has the opportunity to play through. Keep in mind that rather there being a singular "Great Hero," all MMO OCs are to be seen as a part of a large group of heroes if you choose to follow the main storyline. Also keep in mind that all MMO OCs will have to follow their game’s canon lore. For example: A character could not save the NPC that canonly died, nor could a mission fail if it is set to succeed. However, your character could have died and or had difficulty fulfilling the mission. It is also possible that your character had no part in the overall game's story and had their own adventures in the world instead. Finally, there can be no romantic or familial relationships with named NPCs.
Personality: We're looking for how they think, why they act the way they do, their strengths, their weaknesses, their thought processes, their opinions, their conflicts, what makes them feel the way they do, their significant traits. When writing your character, be careful! We want to avoid characters that are the super invincible almighty hero that can do no wrong. The one who can charm anyone with a smile, can easily trick and deceive, has the power to bend wills with ease. All characters have flaws—no one is perfect. But more importantly, such infallible characters are not interesting to play and interact with. In short, the character should be realistic, balanced, and well thought out. If we feel that your character does not meet this standard, then we may ask for a revision or reject if it cannot be changed.
Abilities: If there are any particular abilities the character has supernatural or otherwise, list them here. Referencing to a wiki list is acceptable if applicable. However, if there are any particular abilities that need to be weakened or removed, note them here.
Alignment: Please refer to the Alignment entry to choose which alignment your character would most likely fall under. Include a brief (a couple of sentences max) just to help explain why you think your choice is the best fit.
Other: Anything else you'd like to mention.
⌈ SAMPLE SECTION ⌉
Sample: We have two sample requirements.
General Sample: We should see examples of the character's dialogue as well as some introspection or additional narrative to further show how you intend to write the character. This is the most important part of the sample and where most of the weight will be.
Emotion Sample: This is our "game setting" requirement. Essentially we want to ensure that you have a basic grasp of the game's premise, especially with the use of emotions. It can be a small scene, even incidental to the main sample. A reminder that apathetic characters will also create effects, such as loss of color, surface distortion, holes forming. This section doesn't have to be lengthy, but the effect must be clear for us to see.
The emotion sample can be part of the general character sample. If so, please link directly or directly quote that portion so that it's easier for us to quickly find it.
The samples can be "written" in three different ways and you can choose which one will work best for you:
Format wise, you can use either [ brackets ] OR narrative prose. We do require that the writing at least be coherent, have proper sentence structure, and is mostly grammatically correct (we realize that writing styles can be loose/creative in [ bracket ] form so we're giving a bit more leeway). One last suggestion we have is try to have the character interacting with the environment and try thinking of the sample less of a narrative piece but more like a post or thread prompt you might make in the game. That will help the sample show not only how you will write the character, but also how you will play them in practice.
Questions: If you have any questions, ask them here.
Clean copy and paste form here:
IMPORTANT: Only the following types of original characters are allowed to be applied for—
- Pure OC. These are the typical kind of OC that everyone is familiar with. They are characters that are the player's own creation with their own world that is also of the player's design. There is zero relation to any pre-existing canon.
- MMO OC. MMOs, or Massively Multiplayer Online games, particularly those with a lot of roleplay and character build-up, have existing world building and lore that they have to follow. These characters are created by the player and can have their own story, but they have to follow the rules of the game lore. We consider "main hero" characters as those who are one of many in a great group that influenced the storyline, rather than the singular Great Hero character. This is to help multiple MMO OCs from the same game to have stories that mesh well together. In the sake of fairness to current FFXIV OC players and consistency with previous mod teams' decisions, we do not currently allow FFXIV Warriors of Light.
- Blank Slate Canon Protagonists. For our criteria, these types of characters are those which you control throughout the game and essentially make the player the main character. They may have a name and a couple of personality traits, but everything else is up to the player to interpret. Examples of these are most of the main characters from Dragon Age, Skyrim, Pokémon, etc. Important: Please note that this category ONLY pertains to the protagonists of canons. This does not allow side characters or other support NPCs as they have set stories and personalities. This section has nothing to do with how much headcanon is used and is only about the purpose and design of the protagonist character.
The following would not be allowed:
- Fanon/AU OCs. Characters that are based off pre-existing canons or an alternate version of the canon. We would not allow these OCs not because we are against them on principle, but it could cause unwanted confusion and complications with current existing casts. This type of OC would have needed to be allowed from the very beginning so players would know what they were getting into.
- Game Native OCs. Currently the game is not ready for such a type of character, as it would introduce other complications and worldbuilding that the interested player would have to be aware of. In addition, it would require more close connection with us the mods than we are currently ready for.
Before applying, please be sure to read the following:
- Read the Rules and the Game Information.
- RETURNING PLAYERS! You only need to submit any old application. Does not matter how long ago, as long as it was accepted and you have good standing (ie, not banned), it will be valid.
- Suggestion: Find some character sheets that have questions directly related to character building. These will help flesh out your application and give some guidelines as to how to write about your character.
- Feel free to use the most recent test drive both for practice as well as to use for samples. IMPORTANT! If you submit threads as samples, you must submit the application with that character journal. This is the only way we can ensure that the samples are from you and not someone else.
- Linked samples must have been made within the past year.
- You may apply for up to two characters per cycle.
- Do not plagiarize. If we find that the information provided was directly taken by either another player or some other source material, the application will be rejected immediately. If we find this after processing the application, we will revoke the application and have you removed from the game with potential ban.
- Reusing your own applications from other games is allowed. We only ask any original written samples to conform to our game. That is, we don't want to read samples that are set specifically for another game's premise. Note: this does not apply to threads linked from other games used as samples.
- If you are rejected, you cannot reapply for the same character for two weeks. However, you can apply for a different character in that same period.
- Those accepted must fill out all of the required entries within a week to be considered part of the game. Otherwise, we will consider it a revocation of the application.
- Fill out the form and comment to this entry! All applications must be posted directly to this entry; no linked-in applications allowed.
We have compiled sample applications from our players to show what the mod team and the application moderators are looking for in terms of writing quality and depth. We hope you find these samples useful!
- Sun Wukong (RWBY)
- Luke Skywalker (Star Wars)
- Goro Akechi (Persona 5)
Player:
Contact: Journal/Plurk/AIM — anything to help identify since someone might share your name handle.
Age: You must be at least 13 years old to apply.
Current Characters: If a new player, just put "N/A"
Character:
Age:
OC Type: Indicate whether this OC is a Pure, MMO, or Blank Protagonist type of OC. If it is a Blank Protagonist, indicate the canon here.
Point Taken: A sense of time when the character is taken. More applicable to MMO and Blank Protagonist OCs.
World Building:This is separate from the character's personal history. This section is to provide us with information about the character's “canon” in general. We will have no idea what kind of world that the character is coming from, and this is the only place we can learn about it. We don't want an encyclopedia, but we will need to know important details about it so that we can understand the culture the character is coming from and how that will affect how they think and behave. What countries are important? What kind of geography or political climate? Are there any social conflicts that would impact the character or would influence how they view others? For MMO and Blank Protagonist OCs, linking us to wikis will suffice, but feel free to add more to it.
Backstory: While we don't need a play-by-play, what we would like to see includes how the character lived, what choices they've made and why, what events occurred that developed them, and other important facts that will help us understand the character. For MMO OCs: Most MMORPGs will have a set storyline that the player character has the opportunity to play through. Keep in mind that rather there being a singular "Great Hero," all MMO OCs are to be seen as a part of a large group of heroes if you choose to follow the main storyline. Also keep in mind that all MMO OCs will have to follow their game’s canon lore. For example: A character could not save the NPC that canonly died, nor could a mission fail if it is set to succeed. However, your character could have died and or had difficulty fulfilling the mission. It is also possible that your character had no part in the overall game's story and had their own adventures in the world instead. Finally, there can be no romantic or familial relationships with named NPCs.
Personality: We're looking for how they think, why they act the way they do, their strengths, their weaknesses, their thought processes, their opinions, their conflicts, what makes them feel the way they do, their significant traits. When writing your character, be careful! We want to avoid characters that are the super invincible almighty hero that can do no wrong. The one who can charm anyone with a smile, can easily trick and deceive, has the power to bend wills with ease. All characters have flaws—no one is perfect. But more importantly, such infallible characters are not interesting to play and interact with. In short, the character should be realistic, balanced, and well thought out. If we feel that your character does not meet this standard, then we may ask for a revision or reject if it cannot be changed.
Abilities: If there are any particular abilities the character has supernatural or otherwise, list them here. Referencing to a wiki list is acceptable if applicable. However, if there are any particular abilities that need to be weakened or removed, note them here.
Alignment: Please refer to the Alignment entry to choose which alignment your character would most likely fall under. Include a brief (a couple of sentences max) just to help explain why you think your choice is the best fit.
Other: Anything else you'd like to mention.
Sample: We have two sample requirements.
General Sample: We should see examples of the character's dialogue as well as some introspection or additional narrative to further show how you intend to write the character. This is the most important part of the sample and where most of the weight will be.
Emotion Sample: This is our "game setting" requirement. Essentially we want to ensure that you have a basic grasp of the game's premise, especially with the use of emotions. It can be a small scene, even incidental to the main sample. A reminder that apathetic characters will also create effects, such as loss of color, surface distortion, holes forming. This section doesn't have to be lengthy, but the effect must be clear for us to see.
The emotion sample can be part of the general character sample. If so, please link directly or directly quote that portion so that it's easier for us to quickly find it.
The samples can be "written" in three different ways and you can choose which one will work best for you:
- Test Drive. You can utilize our test drive to cover both requirements of the sample. So long as there is enough character portrayal and a scene with an emotional reaction, be it within the prompt or done during the thread, then it can be used for both.
- Link out + Written. You can link to threads/entries from other games, memes, or museboxes to show character portrayal, and then write an additional short scene for the emotion portion of the sample.
- Original Sample. You can write a complete sample that shows both character portrayal and a scene involving emotion use. This can be one sample or two separate samples. If you opt to write an original sample, you are welcome to use any prompts from any of our Test Drives, Intro Logs, Task Board, and even past events. You are also free to change things up and are not restricted to any of these prompts. They are just here to help offer ideas.
Format wise, you can use either [ brackets ] OR narrative prose. We do require that the writing at least be coherent, have proper sentence structure, and is mostly grammatically correct (we realize that writing styles can be loose/creative in [ bracket ] form so we're giving a bit more leeway). One last suggestion we have is try to have the character interacting with the environment and try thinking of the sample less of a narrative piece but more like a post or thread prompt you might make in the game. That will help the sample show not only how you will write the character, but also how you will play them in practice.
Questions: If you have any questions, ask them here.
vin | original character
Player: Owl
Contact:
Age: 27
Current Characters: None.
no subject
Character: Vin
Age: 23
OC Type: Pure.
Point Taken: After getting away from a long journey into the desert, Vin has finally caught the scent of Hollendyr, and one of its Church’s top agents.
World Building: The parallel world Saval is a planet of untold magic and critical faith. While slightly more considerate and progressive by some means, the world is largely dominated by the Solenne faith, a religion that worships the stars as gods and the sun as the primary god. All life is considered born from the dust of stars and thus, all life is considered holy. Astronomy is a prized tool used for everything from research to divination and to go into the profession is the same as becoming a priest for the faith. While Solenne preaches that all life is equal, and that one must do good unto others for good to be done unto them, the church is domineering, militarized, and acts as a higher form of government for the entire world. Alternative faiths are discriminated against at best and wiped out at worst. Magic and supernatural abilities unrelated or unapproved of by the church are hunted relentlessly and stamped out. While the Solenne way is good to some, it is oppressive and cruel for others, and hard to get past. This doesn’t mean there aren’t ways to escape the all-seeing eye of the church, but punishments for disobeying can be extreme. While most of the world lives unaware of non-believers, some fight for their beliefs and practice in secret.
The planet has a strong variation of different lands, made up of 5 different continents and several countries. For the sake of simplicity, the main ones touched on are Hollendyr, the origin and lead country of the Solenne faith, Jökla, the snowy continent and Vin’s homeland, and Oaze, the mostly-desert country to the far south of Jökla and on the other side of the world from Hollendyr.
Jökla was relatively untouched by the Solenne faith for many centuries due to the difficult to traverse climate and terrain. Jökla was home to the Somnis people, a unique race of humans with the ability to walk through dreams during slumber. Somni had powers to influence someone during their dreams by planting subliminal thoughts and emotional cues that would surface when they woke up, a power that would aide them in manipulating their foes to keep them away. Jökla had been a snowy continent that spent nine of its twelve months in complete, unforgiving winter. There were only two seasons considered by the locals, winter and summer. Summer was spent aggressively foraging, cultivating, and hunting to prepare for the winter months and spending the harshest ones indoors for the duration of months on end. People would still go out and socialize, share information, and visit family— they would simply do so in their dreams. Each Somni is born with a unique full-body tattoo just beneath the skin that glows when their powers are used, in slumber.
Jökla’s culture was an indoor one that supported the survival of one another through the winter and persisted through the ages. Contrary to the Solenne faith, the Somni followed a more individual code and preached finding faith and beliefs as a personal matter. It was not specifically blasphemous, but it would later be painted as such when Hollendyr would start its invasion. However, said invasion would be put off for several years due to the unpredictable winter and the inability to fight and conquest for more than a few months before winter drove them out. Jökla was able to stay peaceful even with global pressure breathing down their neck to convert or suffer the consequences. Eventually, the leaders of the Somnis people thought to start sending several of their own to start negotiations, with the ulterior motive of ‘dreamwalking’ in their foes’ minds while they slept, in order to influence their decisions in the coming talks in the next few days and keep them mostly at bay.
It worked for quite a while, until the secret was found out through the use of spies. Deciding the supernatural power the Somni possessed was too dangerous and too influential to let continue to exist, the next summer Jökla was raided and massacred for its transgressions with great vengeance. The new law enacted proposed that no one with the dreamwalking power would be allowed to live ‘for the safety of the rest of the world’, and men, women, and children of all ages were killed. Jökla became an uninhabited, barren wasteland once the military moved out, and none were known to be left alive. It was said that bodies were left in their homes once the soldiers slaughtered everyone and moved on, and that all the cities and towns left are riddled with corpses. Due to the compromised ports and lack of a general military, there was no opposing army or ability to flee. The Somnis people hadn’t yet branched out into the world, nor had many open ports for trade, so when it’s mentioned that none were left alive, none truly were.
Hollendyr would continue to hunt down and demonize the Somni as a godless race who used their powers cruelly to trick and manipulate others, which is just about almost all the world knows about them. Nothing of their peaceful, isolated lifestyle would survive the erasure. They would be popularized as a source of nightmares while children would be reassured none were left to terrorize them.
Except for one.
Backstory:Vin grew up far away from the villages and cities that dominated Jökla in a large, two story cabin with a mother, father, and two older sisters. They were a solitary but unified bunch, working together to make it through the winter and growing fast crops during the summer. As the baby of the family, Vin was used to both being teased and doted on, but didn’t grow up without love. His sisters had exceptional prowess with their gifts, being able to travel miles upon miles in their sleep and visit other kids during their slumber. Vin’s powers were still there, but he didn’t grow up learning the ins and outs of them. What few lessons he does carry from his youth are basic, and discovery with his powers are always a new thing. Vin’s young childhood was spent learning the folklore of his people, old stories, things a child was able to understand. He was a creative but shy child, who took quickly to what was given to him. Had he lived a long life on Jökla, he probably would have been an influential upstart. Like a lot of things in his life, however, it just wasn’t meant to be.
Naturally, living isolated, his family did not experience the bloodshed the way the rest of the Somni did, but word did travel to them in their dreams of the slaughter. Vin, whose powers had only just began to awaken, would listen to the screams and tears of the terrified, the ones in hiding, and the dying. He could not understand what was going on then, but it had occurred to his family that they needed to get out of the country as soon as possible. Packing up what they could, they traveled according to the instructions of the brave few who had dared to contact them. There was likely to be one port still left unused, and one family left with a boat there. If they could make it there in time, the two families could leave together and escape to Oaze, which was something of a melting pot of culture. It would be easy to blend in and vanish after a while.
Just before the boat had cast off, soldiers had made it to the small port. Only Vin and the captain of the boat, Nella, were onboard while the families made last minute preparations. Forced to make a drastic decision and one Vin would wrestle with for the rest of his life, Nella pulled the ship out of the docks while Vin’s father and her son fended off as many soldiers as they could while the rest of the family scattered back into the forest. Knowing no one could last long when compared to the might of an army, the two said goodbye to their former lives in tears as the boat sailed into the Camille ocean, heading southward.
It would be the start of a long journey. Vin was only four years old.
It was hard to manage one boat with a distressed toddler underfoot, but Nella was made of tougher grit than most. Rationing their reserves of water and food, carefully managing the ship day and night, it was by the grace of the stars that Nella managed to navigate the boat southwards. Vin had drawn into himself for the majority of the trip, having never seen the ocean before and fearful of going above deck. It wouldn’t be for several days that Vin would make one last contact with his family across the dreamscape. His mother had survived but lived in fear of pursuit, but spent her last hours asleep, chasing him out over the ocean and comforting him. This would be the first lesson of Vin’s young life. Before her attackers caught up to her, she would insist deeply that Vin could never give up. That he was a part of something bigger than himself, and everyone who died back there did so knowing there would still be hope for all of them if he survived. The most important thing was to live.
Disappearing on the horizon, that was the last Vin saw of his mother. In the few, spacious hours that Nella would sleep, she would give news to the small boy and start telling him more about what he saw in his dreams. In the dreamscape, all the lights on the clear, crystal horizon were other Somni. Like the sun setting, they had all begun to fade until only a scarce few were left. You could follow someone’s light on the horizon in order to catch up with them, and very accomplished Somni could tell them apart. With hope, others would escape and the lights on the horizon would continue to last, but the Hollendyrians were thorough, and each passing day weathered the old woman with bad news. It was a long while before they reached Oaze’s shores, half starved and weak.
Though soldiers were looking for them, no one had a definitive visual on what they looked like, so there wasn’t anything to go off of. Nella had quickly sold the boat on arrival and used the money to buy shelter and food for the two of them. No matter what, she was determined to look after Vin while coping with her own grief, something Vin wouldn’t understand for the rest of his life. She worked in a popular restaurant’s kitchen day and night, while Vin spent time learning all that he could without being put into a local school. He was still a fearful child, and was slow to make friends. He’d wait eagerly in the evenings for Nella to come home and help him with his learnings while she relaxed from a rough day.
It would be this way for a long time, until Vin turned eight. By then, he’d grown a bit more social and had become a bit more worldly, but still relied on the older woman for support quite a bit. As most things in his turbulent life, nothing was destined to stay the same way forever, and when Jöklan documents were found aboard the ship Nella had sold four years ago, the purchasers turned the information over to the Hollendyrian army. They weren’t without blessings, though. A neighbor warned them beforehand that the foreign officials was coming, even if they didn’t understand why. Nella thanked them and hid Vin in a chest quickly before answering the door. When they interrogated her, they demanded to know if she was the only one left. She insisted she was, and when they were unable to find traces of anyone else, they took her away.
Vin, afraid to come out, had fallen asleep in the chest after hours and hours. He’d seen her light go out on the horizon after chasing after it, and realized he was finally alone. Knowing that it wouldn’t be safe to stay when the Hollendyrians could come back and ransack the place, Vin took what little money Nella had saved beneath her mattress and fled the small apartment they lived in. It was either by oversight or mercy that the other residents didn’t think to turn him in right after, but Vin hid on the back of a caravan that was moving out of town that night, and it began his first year of being alone.
Survival was ingrained in him, and nothing would ever drag it out— Instead of turning to an orphanage, he learned to scrub floors and find safe places during the night. He saved his money meticulously and whenever there was a chance he could be found out, he would catch the fastest moving thing out of town. He met plenty of friends, co-workers, and people who would take advantage of him. He learned the value of protection, and would stick around people who may not have been kind, but would look after their own. He became something of an insomniac in those few years, reluctant to let anyone see him sleep. He’d grow out his teenage years working on a farm and sleeping in their attic. He’d spend his time reading and learning as many languages as possible, so he could pass himself off as a local if he ever had to skip town again. People would call him wiry and constantly nervous, easily scared and intimidated. But he’d live.
Living, as it turns out, was more important to Vin than being happy. Most other people wouldn’t have it that way, but it was important to him. He had belonged to local organized crime groups before, pledging his loyalty as long as he got to stay alive. Very few people learned his secret, and some prized him when they did. Sometimes, running for safety from the Church would have him betray these people, and in turn, they would turn over all the information they had of him to the authorities. His trail never went cold, because while he was a mighty survivor, Vin wasn’t brilliant. The farm he worked for would eventually find out his little secret and feel betrayed that a Somni was hiding beneath their roof all along. He’d flee to the next town, and eventually to other countries. While his memories from his youth were broken apart by the haze of time, he still remembered bits of it vividly, and as he traveled, the more he would remember, the less he’d feel like he’d understand of himself.
By the time he turned 23, Vin would be traveling on camel back again through the desert, to the remote oasis town of Deluna. He’d be tired by then, wanting nothing more than to finally rest after years of running. The middle of the desert felt like a fair compromise, but not even long after arriving, he’d be met by an agent of the Church who wasn’t even looking for him— one who merely saw his suspicious behavior and chased him down.
That’s where Vin comes from now. A life spent mostly on the run.
no subject
His strengths lie in his quick thinking. While he’s bad at long term planning and plotting things through, he’s excellent at making snap judgments from pressure and procrastination. These aren’t always good for the long run, but they’re usually suitable for just surviving in the moment. He’s not very self sacrificing— if it came between him and another person, Vin would most likely save himself. Self-preservation is so key to him that he hardly even understands what he’s living for. Let’s be honest, with a backstory that unnecessarily tragic, what else is there in life? Vin desperately wants to find that out for himself. Despite having every reason to, he’s never caved into despair or deals with feelings that embitter him to the world. He doesn’t have any long term goals aside from living, but the desire to make them is there.
He’s both hardened to tragedy and not, in a way. He’ll sympathize and empathize with characters going through struggles and try to do his best to help them, but it’s hard to make him sad. Panic and sadness are not quite the same thing, so while he has the former in abundance, actual mourning and grief are less so. He very much lives in the present, and tries to encourage others to do the same. While he hasn’t kept friends longer than a few years at a time, he’s proven himself to be an adept listener and helper to other people’s problems. He’s used to providing an unbiased point of view (unless being biased is important, right then) and can usually help people out with their troubles. Normally, though, no one asks Vin’s opinion of anything, so he keeps to himself. He’s particularly soft-hearted about animals, however, and will take care of strays if he has the means to do so. The jobs where he could take care of animals were usually the ones he enjoyed the most.
Vin isn’t unwaveringly loyal; he will occasionally make hard-hitting decisions to sacrifice for other people but never to the point that puts him in harm’s way. He’ll be close to you, sure, and he might even make friends with you, but it takes a lot of love from Vin’s side for him to become loyal. Overcoming his survivalism is a tough gambit and it would take only the most patient of people to inspire him to reciprocate loyalty. He’s decent at reading people from the years of working with shady people; he’s got a keen eye for manipulators and people out to use others for their own gain, so he’ll always keep people like that at arm’s length. People who are unfailingly kind and trustworthy almost make Vin kind of sad, and make it tough for him to get close. He doesn’t want to use anyone who he’ll hurt by abandoning in the end. This makes Vin fairly manipulative of his own relationships himself, and kind of hard to get along with sometimes.
Vin’s kindness, once you’ve earned it, is shy and reluctant, but ever-present. The only person he truly made friends with for a long time was the daughter of the owner of the farm he worked on, and he would constantly go out of his way to help her and make her life easier. He’s maladjusted, no doubt, and his only ideas of friendship are born from trying to help out as best as you can and not burdening another person. There’s also the fact that he thinks all friendships end sooner or later and sometimes it’s better to be sooner than later, especially if there’s a chance he could hurt them by running away.
There’s also the odd trait that Vin can be a bit… well, people who know him consider him to be a funny guy. This is entirely on the exterior, the combination of him being both jumpy and clumsy has had more than a few people poke fun at him. He takes it in passing, and doesn’t usually get defensive about it. After all, how could he explain why he is the way he is? It’s much easier to roll with the explanation that he’s a funny guy than a somewhat traumatized one. It can make for an interesting mask to use, to disarm other people to keep them from asking too much about his history. Vin prefers that to letting people know anything extra about him.
Vin’s relationship with his powers is a strained one. After all, his dream walking ability and status as a Somni is the reason his mentor, family, and just about everyone he could relate to is dead, and probably why he’ll die young. His status as an insomniac in his later years pushed him away from using his abilities more than he had to, even though Nella would preach to him never to be ashamed of where he came from. As he’d grow older, he’d learn to appreciate them more for the subtle power that let him manipulate others for his own safety. He’d only use it when pressed into a corner or if the situation was too tense not to, but there was also danger in being found out. The fact that his powers make him vulnerable while asleep is also a downside. In a setting where he could explore them more freely, he might adapt and learn from his powers as time goes on.
There’s also the relationship with his history. Vin’s memories of his early childhood are spotty at best, combining his young age and the trauma of everything that happened. He doesn’t remember much of his family, and while he intensely remembers his mother’s parting message, there’s little else of that he understands. What Nella taught him is what stuck with him the most. She would retell old Jöklan stories and folklore while he was growing up, and while he was expressly forbidden to repeat it, he’s memorized and taken all of those stories to heart. Vin has written most of them down according to memory in a little brown leather journal he keeps with him at all times, for the express purpose of revisiting his memory and identity. It’s a dangerous little book to keep, but it’s one danger he can’t live without. Even if he partially resents some of his identity, he desperately wants to keep the good memories as close to his heart as possible.
Vin is a complex guy and definitively simple at the same time. While kind and empathetic, the only side he’s ever on is his own. He’ll always have trouble with that, and it would only be with the help of others that he might unlearn that notion.
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