Patron bonus: Behind the scenes: Character sheets

Hey folks! It's about time I shared some bonus material for you awesome patrons. And if there's anything else you'd like in this vein, please let me know!

As the first tidbit, we have a few old character sheets, mainly for Tori/Inaris. 

This is mostly an old version from before I started writing the story, which means a few things might have changed or not appear in the story. I haven't really looked at it while writing, this was more for preparation. And yeah, it's a little disorganized. 

Here it is:

Character sheet: MC

General notes:

Possible names:

...

nickname like Tori, ...

Will probably use the other name mostly.

last name: Leri (?)

So, probably Leri Inaris

Appearance:

old:

(light) brown hair, a little chubby (but not technically overweight), medium height, blue eyes, white, unremarkable

new:

blond hair, bit more than shoulder-length, gray eyes, athlethic, about average height (a bit higher than average for mortals or ‘Asians’, a bit lower for ‘Western’ cultivators)

Parentage:

the Empress

purportedly her former main consort, according to rumors, not official

actual: the Greater Spirit (of the) Moon

she’s a spirit-child. … This will give her basically the benefits of a bloodline/constitution …

Characteristics:

a nerd. Interested in science. Also in fantasy, sci-fi, etc. Includes more recently popular types of stories

a genius, probably (IQ around 130)

Fears: Failure

Loss of control

Being "evil" / doing harm (more than good)

Generally a lot of self-discipline and self-control

Angry at: people being stupid, actually losing or making mistakes. Overconfident stupidity.

Pretty cynical, dim view of human nature and the eventual fate of the world. But also acknowledges the good sides. Sees it (especially human failings) more as a problem than inescapable doom or unworthiness.

Overall outlook on life is critically discerning, cynical and ironic

Talents: intelligence, magical (mostly), music

Arrogance. Is aware of it, but probably not to the right extent.

Personality:

introverted. Also, maybe a type 8 on the enneagram. Her ideal is truth, she fears loss of control.

She’s intelligent: in this world, she has a perfect memory, and an innate grasp of concepts (or similar special ability?). She likes/wants to analzye the world and experiment (… although maybe that’s more her ideal or image than what she really does).

She’s also cold and distant, to a degree. She’s learned to approach people and to some degree be open to them, but it doesn’t come naturally, and it’s more calculated or at least intention-driven.

She also has a mischievous/playful/snarky side, comes out especially with people she’s close to, like Al. 

She has a tendency to think too much.

- She can also be impulsive and make stupid decisions. Especially impulsive when she’s stressed.

Her motivation is complicated. Basically, she’s like a sociopath who has set a strict set of rules for herself. (Not actually a sociopath, though, but close).

Her morality is mostly consequentialist. She’s about maximizing good for everyone while minimizing harm. Maybe maximizing expected utility or some such.

She wants to make the world a better place out of genuine desire to be a good person — but most people would consider it a little twisted.

Now that she’s in such a position, she has to put her (previously mostly theoretical) morals/views into practice. She considers herself to be in a good position to help, and has the duty to do that. Basically, she thinks she could potentially do a lot to make the world better, and she feels obligated to try.

Not because she really wants to.

And it’s not really megalomania — while she is ambitious, being the Empress would bear a lot of responsibility.

Also, she wants to attain immortality, or at least have the chance to figure out if she wants to try. Especially after she realizes it or what it means.

Her relationship with her new family is half expedience and half genuine (desire for) connection. …

She’s unsure about the servants and guards. If she could, she’d send away the servants. But partly she tries to be like the old one and partly it’s expected. Probably not the guards, since they’re so strong there’s probably actual danger, and that’s more important than a bit of privacy.

---

And a few less extensive ones for side characters. I've looked at those even less, to be honest, except for one or two important additions.

Character sheet: Empress/Mother

name: possibly Acura? Leri Acura ?

She’s 130 years old. She underwent her soul journey at exactly 100. On Earth, she probably died in her thirties, was someone from the Western hemisphere, well-educated, maybe upper-middle class. (34? aftermath of a traffic accident?)

She broke through to the eighth stage of cultivation and became Empress shortly after, maybe a year (each)?

She retained relatively vague memories of her life.

Appearance: relatively similar to the MC. Probably dark hair, though. Gray eyes, white. Looks like she’s at most thirty, but not quite. Beautiful and regal.

She actually cares about her children, especially the MC, more than most know. Although she doesn’t let it show, the soul journey hurt her. Even if it’s the same soul (which she isn’t entirely sure of), her daughter lost her memories of her, is hardly the same person. That’s probably why she sees her less than before. But she’s also pragmatic. She knows the MC is the best candidate for an heir, and she supports her.

Addition: Towards Inaris, she has always been more distant, more demanding, than her other children. Inaris is her heir, and the one she conceived mostly for pragmatic, political reasons. She barely knows her father and certainly doesn’t love him.

What she might not be as aware of is that in some ways, Inaris is far more like her than either Alaster or Xiaodan. And her own childhood was quite demanding with a lot of pressure. While Inaris’ isn’t as bad, there might be some subconscious stuff going on … Or she just feels like the others belong more to her, not the Empire. Who knows?

Character sheet: Tenira

Leri Tenira

a third cousin once removed of Inaris. Her grandmother might be adopted, though?

She’s twenty-three, soul journey at twenty where she died at twenty-one. Low level genius.

Pretty. black hair and green eyes.

… Intelligent, curious, probably versed in technology, etc.

She’s quietly assertive? Doesn’t cower easily.

… [redacted for spoiler reasons]

Knows the people in the family.

Is she ambitious? … probably to some extent … Does she want to belong? Probably …

She’s very organized?