"A Bit Too Much Good Work" OC list
So, I've finally started to post the plotty By / Rish casefic I've been hinting about for a while, a.k.a. the story that I went hunting for immediately after finishing Captain Vorpatril's Alliance, discovered that it didn't exist, and then had to write myself. There was no way to write this story without massive numbers of OCs, so this post is intended as a sort of cheat sheet for anyone having trouble keeping track of all the names.
I've thought it best to make this a sticky post and edit and update it as characters are introduced, and to organize the list chapter by chapter, in order not to give away too much up front. (If, say, the cast of characters included "Lord Vorvyctym," "Lord Vorvyctym's brother and heir," "Lord Vorvyctym's wife," "Lord Vorvyctym's wife's lover," and "Lord Vorvyctym's butler," it would be a dead giveaway that Lord Vorvyctym was going to be an important character, and readers could make certain inferences about his role in the plot.) Characters will be listed under the chapter in which they're first mentioned by name, even if they don't actually appear for a while.
Generally, my standard for including a character in this list is "are they going to be mentioned again in a later chapter?" If someone doesn't make the cut -- like the two call girls in Chapter 1 -- you can safely assume that they're not at all important to the plot, although not everyone who makes the list is going to be particularly important.
Chapter One
Captain Eugene McSorley, Byerly's former training officer, now his long-suffering superior at ImpSec (the "man with a screwdriver" Ivan speculates about at the end of ACC). At work, McSorley is a dutiful officer; in private life, he is a man of borderline-radical political views and a strong streak of reverse snobbery. He is married and has three sons; the youngest, Leon, is decidedly gender-nonconforming.
Major Guillaume, unusually paranoid and humorless even by ImpSec standards.
Lev Brodsky, By's predecessor as high-society undercover informant, and his mentor. Lev is theoretically retired, but you don't ever really leave ImpSec, do you?
Souzana, an accountant.
Alain Anderson, By's closest friend at ImpSec and part of his network of contacts. Although they went through field operative training together, Alain ended up as a records office clerk, and has always wanted to do something more adventurous (this probably explains a lot about why he puts up with Byerly). Alain is married to Mira; they have two daughters, Sophie and Celyn.
Chapter Two
Vitaly Vorzohn, around forty, related to the discoverer of Vorzohn's Dystrophy, otherwise not terribly interesting.
Katya Vorzohn, Vitaly's much-younger and rather ill-matched bride, formerly a party girl, now trying to look more respectable.
Evon Margraves, Katya's boyfriend before (and possibly after) she married Vitaly. Evon is the son and heir of a very rich, and very socially conservative, dress-shop magnate; he has one sister. He is smarter than the rest of the set, and has a degree in Earth culture.
Chapter Three
Mick Vormeitner, a "noted connoisseur" (and occasional dealer) of recreational drugs.
Valentin Vormirov, young, unemployed, and mostly interested in playing holo-games. Valentin lives with his uncle ...
Count Simeon Vormirov, eccentric, reclusive, and highly suspicious of the modern world. Author of an interminably long memoir (three volumes in print, at least one more to come).
Sylvie Vorpennick, an antiques dealer who had an affair-of-convenience with Byerly about six months earlier, in order to provide grounds for her divorce from ...
Philippe Vorpennick, Sylvie's ex-husband, an art collector.
Chapter Six
Rudy Fairchild, a pop singer and former teen idol, currently suffering a downturn in his career that may be related to substance abuse issues.
Oliver Vorkyl, Rudy's penniless-but-very-beautiful boyfriend, who does not actually seem to be attracted to men.
Lex Vorlynn, host of a disreputable party.
Niko Vorprzhevalsky, a professional athlete who may be a wee bit obsessed with horses.
Chapter Eleven
Count Vorholland, Lady Donna's first ex-husband. He had a very brief affair with By after the divorce, although neither he nor By can remember why they thought that was a good idea.
Chapter Twelve
Charles Clement (CeeCee) Vorrutyer, Dono and Olivia's baby son.
Chapter Thirteen
Lady Nadia Vormirov, widow of Count Vormirov's younger brother and mother of Valentin.
Elysse Blanchard, Count Vormirov's research assistant, editor, ghostwriter, cook, and occasional laundress. Elysse is divorced and has one teenaged daughter.
Chapter Fifteen
General Vordrushky, Count Vormirov's one-time commanding officer.
I've thought it best to make this a sticky post and edit and update it as characters are introduced, and to organize the list chapter by chapter, in order not to give away too much up front. (If, say, the cast of characters included "Lord Vorvyctym," "Lord Vorvyctym's brother and heir," "Lord Vorvyctym's wife," "Lord Vorvyctym's wife's lover," and "Lord Vorvyctym's butler," it would be a dead giveaway that Lord Vorvyctym was going to be an important character, and readers could make certain inferences about his role in the plot.) Characters will be listed under the chapter in which they're first mentioned by name, even if they don't actually appear for a while.
Generally, my standard for including a character in this list is "are they going to be mentioned again in a later chapter?" If someone doesn't make the cut -- like the two call girls in Chapter 1 -- you can safely assume that they're not at all important to the plot, although not everyone who makes the list is going to be particularly important.
Chapter One
Captain Eugene McSorley, Byerly's former training officer, now his long-suffering superior at ImpSec (the "man with a screwdriver" Ivan speculates about at the end of ACC). At work, McSorley is a dutiful officer; in private life, he is a man of borderline-radical political views and a strong streak of reverse snobbery. He is married and has three sons; the youngest, Leon, is decidedly gender-nonconforming.
Major Guillaume, unusually paranoid and humorless even by ImpSec standards.
Lev Brodsky, By's predecessor as high-society undercover informant, and his mentor. Lev is theoretically retired, but you don't ever really leave ImpSec, do you?
Souzana, an accountant.
Alain Anderson, By's closest friend at ImpSec and part of his network of contacts. Although they went through field operative training together, Alain ended up as a records office clerk, and has always wanted to do something more adventurous (this probably explains a lot about why he puts up with Byerly). Alain is married to Mira; they have two daughters, Sophie and Celyn.
Chapter Two
Vitaly Vorzohn, around forty, related to the discoverer of Vorzohn's Dystrophy, otherwise not terribly interesting.
Katya Vorzohn, Vitaly's much-younger and rather ill-matched bride, formerly a party girl, now trying to look more respectable.
Evon Margraves, Katya's boyfriend before (and possibly after) she married Vitaly. Evon is the son and heir of a very rich, and very socially conservative, dress-shop magnate; he has one sister. He is smarter than the rest of the set, and has a degree in Earth culture.
Chapter Three
Mick Vormeitner, a "noted connoisseur" (and occasional dealer) of recreational drugs.
Valentin Vormirov, young, unemployed, and mostly interested in playing holo-games. Valentin lives with his uncle ...
Count Simeon Vormirov, eccentric, reclusive, and highly suspicious of the modern world. Author of an interminably long memoir (three volumes in print, at least one more to come).
Sylvie Vorpennick, an antiques dealer who had an affair-of-convenience with Byerly about six months earlier, in order to provide grounds for her divorce from ...
Philippe Vorpennick, Sylvie's ex-husband, an art collector.
Chapter Six
Rudy Fairchild, a pop singer and former teen idol, currently suffering a downturn in his career that may be related to substance abuse issues.
Oliver Vorkyl, Rudy's penniless-but-very-beautiful boyfriend, who does not actually seem to be attracted to men.
Lex Vorlynn, host of a disreputable party.
Niko Vorprzhevalsky, a professional athlete who may be a wee bit obsessed with horses.
Chapter Eleven
Count Vorholland, Lady Donna's first ex-husband. He had a very brief affair with By after the divorce, although neither he nor By can remember why they thought that was a good idea.
Chapter Twelve
Charles Clement (CeeCee) Vorrutyer, Dono and Olivia's baby son.
Chapter Thirteen
Lady Nadia Vormirov, widow of Count Vormirov's younger brother and mother of Valentin.
Elysse Blanchard, Count Vormirov's research assistant, editor, ghostwriter, cook, and occasional laundress. Elysse is divorced and has one teenaged daughter.
Chapter Fifteen
General Vordrushky, Count Vormirov's one-time commanding officer.