#and I can't wait to write more w Perc'ahlia so I can put more of my Knowledge to good use lmao

[tameila]

For your character meme! Why not Pike, Gunnar and Fenris (and for a ship maybe Vex/Percy? :D)

Pike

answered!, but I’ll add one on here that I left off from that one ;D

Struggle with Her Religion/Goodness, A big facet of Pike’s character is that she comes from this Trickfoot line, a heritage of scoundrels and liars and ne'er-do-wells, and has been “chosen” essentially by this goddess of redemption to prove herself different. But, Pike’s not perfect. She’s not an angel or a saint. She struggles with anger and forgiveness as much as anyone, and it’s always been a part of her character that I love. Kindness is not easy. Making the conscious choice to be good takes strength. & Pike - she does her best.

Gunnar

Family, Gunnar’s relationship with his family is not only one of the most important aspects of his character arc but also deeply informs most - if not all - his actions. Gunnar had an oppressive upbringing with an emotionally abusive mother and an emotionally absent and honestly just absent father. Being both the eldest (by some years) and a boy (which reminded his mother of the son she’d given up before him), Gunnar felt the brunt of his mother’s abuse for years, and he willingly accepted the burden for the sake of his sisters. He practically raised them, since his mother was so beyond reason in his youth. He would do anything for them and still would. All of this childhood trauma is why Gunnar has trouble connecting with others in both senses - emotionally and physically. It’s why he’ll carefully package up all his baggage and repression to hell and back when his sisters are around to be strong for them and why, despite the fact that they are family, he can never truly be completely open with them.

Don’t Break Character, Everything’s an act to Gunnar. If you’re not his family, his Lady, or one of the few people he feels safe enough around, then you don’t really know Gunnar. He has a character that he plays. Someone who’s charming, collected, and free - unlike him. (Someone who also calls everyone ‘darling’, but that’s a whole other thing). Gunnar lives with a philosophy of “No one can truly hurt him if he’s not, well, him”. It takes a lot to break through to the real him, and even once you have, it takes a lot to keep him - the real him - still there.

Self-Sabotage, Gunnar’s worst “line of defense”. He would rather ruin something himself than let it ruin him. In a fucked up way, it makes him feel in control.

A Sense of Security, This is especially important when writing Gunnar when in scenes with other characters. Some might call it ‘trust’, but - for Gunnar, how safe he feels with a person determines how open he will be. If he trusts you, then he’ll be far more likely to let his overemotional, shaky self loose, but the more he doesn’t, the more likely he will fall back on his Don’t Break Character act.

Fenris

Past Abuse, Obviously, this is a HUGE part of his character. Due to what Danarius did to him, before Fenris met Hawke, he only ever knew the life of a slave and a runaway. That fucks with a person - to put it lightly. It’s always important to me while writing Fenris to not overlook how his abuse informs his actions in the present whether it’s his trust issues, his anger towards magic, or even smaller but no less important things like his self-care and sense of identity.

Trust, Another obvious one, I feel. When writing Fenris in a scene, especially one with a lot of characters, I want to consider how much he trusts each of them. Around Jakk, perhaps one of the few people in his life he fully trusts, Fenris is going to be far more open with his emotions and physical affection. Fenris has a soft-heart and a lot of love to give, but with all that’s been thrown at him in life, he’s not willing to give until he knows his feelings, thoughts, concerns will be validate, if not returned.

Moving Past Anger, Fenris’ character arc was all about him coming to terms with the anger he felt about what was done to him and how much it made him unhappy. It’s why Jakk, despite his usual ‘let others do what they will with their lives’, could not help but step in and stop Fenris from klling his sister, because he knew that Fenris, who wanted so much to not be angry anymore, would never forgive himself. Funnily enough, a Percy de Rolo quote comes to mind: “I do not want to die who I am. I want to live long enough to be someone else”. It feels apt for how I approach Fenris and his motivations. For me, I see Fenris as wanting to move towards nurturing, whether it be gardening or teaching, as he moves away from his anger.

Perc’ahlia (did my best to keep it as spoiler-free as possible, but there are a couple in here!)

No Judgement, [muffled Julia Michael’s ‘Issues’ playing in the bg]. Percy and Vex both have their fair share of issues and baggage, but neither of them would ever judge the other for their trauma and what it has or will cause them to do. They understand each other.

Ride or Die, Vex has vowed that she would fight for Percy’s soul against hellish demons, if need be. Percy told Vex that if she became evil, he’d be cool with that. People have often drawn parallels between them and The Briarwoods. Delilah was willing to break the world for her beloved, and Perc’ahlia show a similar devotion to each other.

Percy Only Listens To Vex™, self-explanatory, really. Words of pure truth from the mouth of the great Vax’ildan.

Forgive, Both Percy and Vex strive towards forgiving their abusers. Vex with her father and all of Syngorn that ostracized her in her youth. Percy with The Briarwoods and Ripley. Not for their abusers’ sake, but for their own, so that they can be happy without the burdens of that anger. The fact that they together are working towards that similar goal is just one of the many reasons they are, let’s be real, soulmates. “That’s the key, isn’t it? It’s the only way to really grow.” “I think so. It’s the only thing I’ve tried that’s made any sense so far.”