Character Development - OOC
And I also wanted to do this for Alcuin, because I get a lot of questions about his characterization.
Book Canon: Alcuin is a minor character in the book, and even dies halfway through the first book in the trilogy. But he's an important character, since the main character still misses him twenty years later and into the first book of the next trilogy. He's supposed to be remarkably beautiful, since Phedre (who was raised in a den of pretty people, among a nation of pretty people) is stunned by the pretty the first time she sees him. He has a pale complexion and hair that is literally white as snow. The hair is never explained, but it is clear he's not an albino because of his dark eyes. My own theory is that the early childhood trauma of having his parents killed (possibly before his eyes?) and his village destroyed caused his hair to turn white, which is physiologically possible.
He is adopted by Delaunay and raised to be a Servant of Namaah, a very high class prostitute with religious and societal respect in Terre d'Ange. Alcuin adores Delaunay and would do anything to please him, but knows nothing about sex, even despite his training in pleasure. He is also trained to be a spy, and is remarkably intelligent. He speaks six languages near fluently and has an astonishing memory. He grew up in the habit of serving Delaunay's, especially to pour the wine, and took a lot of pleasure in serving others (there's a line about how the guests would drink more wine so that Alcuin would refill their glasses, just to see the pleasure of serving light up his eyes).
Alcuin ended up hating his life as a prostitute, but hid this from Delaunay so that he could ferret out some information Delaunay wanted. This self-sacrificing stupidity nearly got him killed, and it did get his bodyguard killed. Interpreting this as I do, Alcuin has an inability to gauge danger to himself, and has an odd conviction that he won't be harmed in pursuit of his goals (which are usually unselfish). He's right more often than not, but if he's wrong he has a tendency to get himself or others killed.
Motivation: Alcuin's greatest aspiration is to make Delaunay happy, and his greatest desire is for Delaunay's attention and affection. But aside from Delaunay, he enjoys making anyone happy, and usually puts others before himself. He has a love of serving and is almost completely unselfish. He knows his own desires and will follow them (like his love for Delaunay), but puts people he cares about ahead of himself. He also likes fixing people, and will do anything in his power to put things right, even if this is sometimes misguided (and in rare instances gets someone killed).
Interpretations:
Sex - This is a big issue. A lot of people disagree with my interpretation of Alcuin specifically because of the sex thing. In canon, it's incredibly clear that Alcuin hates being a Servant of Namaah (prostitute), and this is often translated (logically) as a hatred of sex. My defense is that there are also instances in canon where Alcuin clearly enjoys sex. One of them is with another, female, Servant of Namaah who is gifted to him for a night (Mirielle no Somebody, I forget), and the second is with Delaunay. When he finally ends up in bed with Delaunay, he seems to stay there nightly until they die. So my interpretation of this is that he likes sex, he just only likes it with people he trusts. Some of his patrons are decidedly creepy and have pedophiliac tendencies, I'd be more creeped out if Alcuin did like sex with them. But I figure that's no reason not to like sex at all, especially when it's clear he likes it canonically--with certain non-creepy people.
Relationships - This is a lot of a DF issue. Alcuin's had really bad luck with relationships since he arrived here, and has had a few breakdowns. I base a lot of this around this logic: Alcuin's motivation is seeking the affection and attention of Delaunay. Since there is no Delaunay at DF and never has been, Alcuin has been not sure what to do with himself since the beginning, and has had severe issues with depression and loneliness. This is an issue that I was forced to interpret, since in the book Alcuin is never away from Delaunay and thus never deprived of the love and attention he so desperately wants. Here, there's no Delaunay, so I had to choose a way to deal with it. I could have made Alcuin a stoic, devoutly loyal to Delaunay, and Alcuin himself does strive for that, but I see Alcuin as too emotionally fragile to actually pull that off. He can only be truly self-sacrificing if it makes someone else happy, and without the presence of the other party, Alcuin's resolve crumbles.
So he dealt with it by looking for replacements. Deprived of Delaunay and something of a lost puppy naturally, Alcuin tends to crush on anyone who is kind to him, especially older men (Delaunay was twice his age). He fell first for Haldir, and still maintains love and loyalty for him, since Haldir gave him one thing more than Delaunay could: Alcuin was Delaunay's second love, and never matched up to Roland. Haldir was willing to give Alcuin his whole heart, whereas Delaunay's had already been given away.
During a period of hiatus for the typists, Haldir and Alcuin went off to Lorien and lived happily ever after. The only problem is that when I came back, Alcuin came with me, and immediately proceeded to break down in lack of Haldir. He still has occasional breakdowns, often resulting in cheap sex which only makes him feel worse and hate himself afterwards. So he jumped eagerly into a relationship with Elrohir, which then went horribly wrong for OOC reasons.
Eternally searching for Delaunay and Haldir, and still driven by that need for love and affection, Alcuin's a bit of an emotional powderkeg when he's left alone.
Baking - This is completely OOC for him, many people remark on it as soon as they meet him or as soon as they've read the books. Canonically, Alcuin never even went near the kitchen. The reason I use it is as a replacement for his love of serving. In order to distract himself from the lack of Delaunay, he buries himself in his studies, but he still has a driving need to please others. I had the character wander into the kitchen and take up baking, because it allows him to serve and please others, and it seemed like the kind of activity that would come naturally to such a sweet and gentle character as Alcuin. So Alcuin bakes, and has for almost as long as he's been at DF, to the point where it's become an essential part of his character to those who know him.
Questions, comments and feedback are welcome.
Book Canon: Alcuin is a minor character in the book, and even dies halfway through the first book in the trilogy. But he's an important character, since the main character still misses him twenty years later and into the first book of the next trilogy. He's supposed to be remarkably beautiful, since Phedre (who was raised in a den of pretty people, among a nation of pretty people) is stunned by the pretty the first time she sees him. He has a pale complexion and hair that is literally white as snow. The hair is never explained, but it is clear he's not an albino because of his dark eyes. My own theory is that the early childhood trauma of having his parents killed (possibly before his eyes?) and his village destroyed caused his hair to turn white, which is physiologically possible.
He is adopted by Delaunay and raised to be a Servant of Namaah, a very high class prostitute with religious and societal respect in Terre d'Ange. Alcuin adores Delaunay and would do anything to please him, but knows nothing about sex, even despite his training in pleasure. He is also trained to be a spy, and is remarkably intelligent. He speaks six languages near fluently and has an astonishing memory. He grew up in the habit of serving Delaunay's, especially to pour the wine, and took a lot of pleasure in serving others (there's a line about how the guests would drink more wine so that Alcuin would refill their glasses, just to see the pleasure of serving light up his eyes).
Alcuin ended up hating his life as a prostitute, but hid this from Delaunay so that he could ferret out some information Delaunay wanted. This self-sacrificing stupidity nearly got him killed, and it did get his bodyguard killed. Interpreting this as I do, Alcuin has an inability to gauge danger to himself, and has an odd conviction that he won't be harmed in pursuit of his goals (which are usually unselfish). He's right more often than not, but if he's wrong he has a tendency to get himself or others killed.
Motivation: Alcuin's greatest aspiration is to make Delaunay happy, and his greatest desire is for Delaunay's attention and affection. But aside from Delaunay, he enjoys making anyone happy, and usually puts others before himself. He has a love of serving and is almost completely unselfish. He knows his own desires and will follow them (like his love for Delaunay), but puts people he cares about ahead of himself. He also likes fixing people, and will do anything in his power to put things right, even if this is sometimes misguided (and in rare instances gets someone killed).
Interpretations:
Sex - This is a big issue. A lot of people disagree with my interpretation of Alcuin specifically because of the sex thing. In canon, it's incredibly clear that Alcuin hates being a Servant of Namaah (prostitute), and this is often translated (logically) as a hatred of sex. My defense is that there are also instances in canon where Alcuin clearly enjoys sex. One of them is with another, female, Servant of Namaah who is gifted to him for a night (Mirielle no Somebody, I forget), and the second is with Delaunay. When he finally ends up in bed with Delaunay, he seems to stay there nightly until they die. So my interpretation of this is that he likes sex, he just only likes it with people he trusts. Some of his patrons are decidedly creepy and have pedophiliac tendencies, I'd be more creeped out if Alcuin did like sex with them. But I figure that's no reason not to like sex at all, especially when it's clear he likes it canonically--with certain non-creepy people.
Relationships - This is a lot of a DF issue. Alcuin's had really bad luck with relationships since he arrived here, and has had a few breakdowns. I base a lot of this around this logic: Alcuin's motivation is seeking the affection and attention of Delaunay. Since there is no Delaunay at DF and never has been, Alcuin has been not sure what to do with himself since the beginning, and has had severe issues with depression and loneliness. This is an issue that I was forced to interpret, since in the book Alcuin is never away from Delaunay and thus never deprived of the love and attention he so desperately wants. Here, there's no Delaunay, so I had to choose a way to deal with it. I could have made Alcuin a stoic, devoutly loyal to Delaunay, and Alcuin himself does strive for that, but I see Alcuin as too emotionally fragile to actually pull that off. He can only be truly self-sacrificing if it makes someone else happy, and without the presence of the other party, Alcuin's resolve crumbles.
So he dealt with it by looking for replacements. Deprived of Delaunay and something of a lost puppy naturally, Alcuin tends to crush on anyone who is kind to him, especially older men (Delaunay was twice his age). He fell first for Haldir, and still maintains love and loyalty for him, since Haldir gave him one thing more than Delaunay could: Alcuin was Delaunay's second love, and never matched up to Roland. Haldir was willing to give Alcuin his whole heart, whereas Delaunay's had already been given away.
During a period of hiatus for the typists, Haldir and Alcuin went off to Lorien and lived happily ever after. The only problem is that when I came back, Alcuin came with me, and immediately proceeded to break down in lack of Haldir. He still has occasional breakdowns, often resulting in cheap sex which only makes him feel worse and hate himself afterwards. So he jumped eagerly into a relationship with Elrohir, which then went horribly wrong for OOC reasons.
Eternally searching for Delaunay and Haldir, and still driven by that need for love and affection, Alcuin's a bit of an emotional powderkeg when he's left alone.
Baking - This is completely OOC for him, many people remark on it as soon as they meet him or as soon as they've read the books. Canonically, Alcuin never even went near the kitchen. The reason I use it is as a replacement for his love of serving. In order to distract himself from the lack of Delaunay, he buries himself in his studies, but he still has a driving need to please others. I had the character wander into the kitchen and take up baking, because it allows him to serve and please others, and it seemed like the kind of activity that would come naturally to such a sweet and gentle character as Alcuin. So Alcuin bakes, and has for almost as long as he's been at DF, to the point where it's become an essential part of his character to those who know him.
Questions, comments and feedback are welcome.