#She's a difficult character to write because she's Hasidic so she's really observant and struggling with it

[percabeth4life]

Hi! I really enjoy ATLOP and since you updated I've been reviewing it trying to remember all the details. I noticed you have an observant Jewish Character named Fiona. I was wondering if you might be up for sharing more information about her? Like how did she get her name (Fiona isn't a name I would expect for a Chasidic character so I'm wondering how it came to be)? Also like, how does she deal with Shabbos (and holidays)? How much does her family/community know? How comfortable are they?

Hi! I'm glad you like it. I have a few Jewish characters but yes, Fiona is the one most observant.

She got her name from her dad, who actually wasn't observant (the Gods don't go to those worshiping another religion). Unfortunately her dad died when Fiona was very young, so she was taken in by her grandparents. They are very observant and thus have raised Fiona to be so as well.

Fiona goes back home for the holidays, Mr. D ensures safe travels, and the camp does it's best to assist the Jewish campers in celebrating the Shabbos, though it of course won't be exactly like being at home. They are excused from all labor related activities for the day (which they let the Jewish campers define, to make sure that they don't mix anything up). The camp does it's best to accommodate those raised in other religions, though there may be some differences.

Her father did know about the Gods, a bit. His feelings were complex about them, he wasn't sure what to believe about them. The rest of her family is not informed on the Gods, Fiona doesn't know how to even begin to explain it all. She's going through a major crisis of faith because of everything she's seeing and is trying to cling to her beliefs while being informed that she's the daughter of another God.

As she's been raised Hasidic it is particularly difficult for her. She's got a large conflict with her beliefs that might be easier to reason if she wasn't so observant. She will be leaning on her community a lot as she goes through her crisis of faith, though I won't be giving it huge coverage as she's not a main focus 😅, I will be sure to give it some focus as it's relevant.

Regardless, her family believes the camp is a place her father wanted her to go, Athena took steps to ensure Fiona would be able to learn how to protect herself by going for at least a time. It'll be up to Fiona if she wants to continue attending later once Athena is sure she has the basis of knowledge and skills to protect herself.