#watcher alfaris

[aedyre]

raedric: says pretty much anything

alfie: 😡😡😡 🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪

[darkartofthesith]

new custom portrait for my watcher! i kind of hated the brushwork on the old one so even though i’ve barely used it, i decided it needed replacing.

here’s the watercolor version:

[aedyre]

i like how randos in defiance bay have already heard that alfie is a Very Honest Man even though he only just arrived there

did some sucker from gilded vale decide to go to the city ahead of him and be like “let’s make that nice aedyran fellow the talk of the capital!!” and succeeded too

[aedyre]

okay but he’s only been in defiance bay for a Day

is everyone just “oh is this the guy who shanked raedric? good work!!”? is it because he picked a fight with the doemenels to save verzano??

or... i mean in reality it’s just the limitations of a reputation based system but. what if i hc that the ambassador, duc and assorted high ranked people have already figured out that he’s a runaway prince trying to go on an “Adventure!!!! (oh shit i have new weird powers and they’re driving me crazy--)”

though that begs the question why his parents aren’t showing up to drag him home by the ear and lecture him about putting himself in danger 🤔

[aedyre]

Watcher Alfaris & Inquisitor Caolan + MBTI

[aedyre]

oc interview: watcher alfaris

cause i saw @persephonechiara​ doing it for her lovely ryder and it seems neat <3

name ➔ Prince Alfaris Kulklin of the Aedyr Empire, “Alfie” for short.

are you single ➔ Not at all.

are you happy ➔ I would say yes.

are you angry ➔ Right now? No. I save my anger for when i face the source of it. Spending every minute angry at the world and all the problems that need solving... No. That leads down a dark path.

are your parents still married ➔ Absolutely!

NINE FACTS

birthplace ➔ The Imperial Palace

hair color ➔ Blond.

eye color ➔ Vivid green.

birthday ➔ 3rd Inestu 2759 AI, making me 69 years old right now.

mood ➔ At the moment, rather good.

gender ➔ Cis Male.

summer or winter ➔ To be entirely honest, I prefer spring over both, but in this case... Summer. I don’t like the cold much.

morning or afternoon ➔ I don’t really care much, either way.

EIGHT THINGS ABOUT YOUR LOVE LIFE

are you in love ➔ Oh, definitely.

do you believe in love at first sight ➔ I... Yes. I know many people argue you cannot love someone until you truly know them -- but yes, you can. Whether it withstands the revelations or not is another question, but I don’t see how that makes the feelings you had any less real.

who ended your last relationship ➔ Uh... no one, really. I don’t think what I had before I met my current boyfriends can rightfully be called relationships, at least not in the same way as what I have now. It was good for then, though, and ending it usually a mutual decision, if it was more than a one night thing at all.

have you ever broken someone’s heart ➔ I hope not!

are you afraid of commitments ➔No. Life is full of them no matter what we do, and I shan’t be held back by worrying about what ifs. 

have you hugged someone within the last week? ➔ Yes. Does... psychically hugging someone I share my very soul and body with count? I think it should, and then I hugged someone just this morning, as I do every morning.

have you ever had a secret admirer ➔ Perhaps? I lived... more reclusive and sheltered than I might have liked for the first 64 years of my life. It’s possible someone admired me from afar and I never heard of it.

have you ever broken your own heart? ➔ Not in the sense you’re thinking.

SIX CHOICES

love or lust ➔ Love. I do enjoy a good romp in the bed, very much so, but if I had to choose? Absolutely love.

lemonade or iced tea ➔ Lemonade. My mother loves sour things and it appears to have rubbed off on me.

cats or dogs ➔ That’s just mean and I am not choosing. All animals are good babies.

a few best friends or many regular friends ➔ Both can be good, I think, but... I prefer my close circle of a few friends, though I have more that I am less close with.

wild night out or romantic night in ➔ Why not a romantic and wild night in?

day or night ➔ Day. I like getting things done and I sleep better at night... when I can sleep at all. All that light during the day bothers me whenever I try to nap.

FOUR PREFERENCES

smile or eyes ➔ Smile. Is there anything better than seeing someone you care about happy?

shorter or taller ➔ I don’t really mind either way. I’m tall for an elf and certainly taller than Aloth, but way shorter than Tekēhu. Can’t beat Aumaua when it comes to height!

intelligence or attraction ➔ As in... whether someone is physically attractive or intelligent? The latter rather depends on how you define it, does it not? So I think I’ll choose attraction here.

hook-up or relationship ➔ I would consider them equally valid, it depends on the person and what they need -- in general and right at that moment. As I said, the hook-ups I used to have were good for when I had them, and if my lovers were to ask me to invite someone else into our bed for a night, I wouldn’t be opposed to it. But I also wouldn’t want to miss what I have with them for the world.

FAMILY

do you and your family get along ➔ Absolutely. We all love each other very much.

would you say you have a “messed up life” ➔ No. Messy, perhaps, but no one is without struggle, regardless of the path they have chosen. I knew what I was getting with mine and I have not regretted it.

have you ever ran away from home ➔ Ah... Yes. I wanted to see more of the world for myself... and find out about certain things. My parents were too worried for my safety to let me go, at the time.

have you ever gotten kicked out ➔ They would never.

FRIENDS

do you secretly hate one of your friends ➔ No. To pretend at friendship seems quite mean spirited and frankly, I do not see the point. I have no interest in such deception.

do you consider all of your friends good friends ➔ No. I am friendly with and care about all of them of course, otherwise there would be no point in calling them friends -- but I am closer with some than others.

who is your best friend ➔ Hmm. ...Caolan, I suppose. It is very difficult to be closer than to share soul, body and to an extent, mind.

who knows everything about you ➔ My twin, Elwyn and my lover and past incarnation, Caolan. Not that I keep secrets from Aloth or Tekēhu, but... Elwyn has known me best since birth and as I just said about Caolan... I don’t think telling them quite compares, if I am completely honest.

[aedyre]

30 day Watcher challenge part 5

5. background: what’s your watcher’s culture and background? tell us a bit about their life before traveling to the dyrwood!

Aedyr and Aristocrat :D Specifically, well, Prince of the Aedyr Empire and youngest child of the Mecwyn.

For the most part, he has the education and training you’d expect from a Prince, the former coming in handy when navigating the more political aspects of his adventures as well as administering Caed Nua, the latter during the fights. Unfortunately for him, he didn’t nearly get to attend as many parties as the in game blurb for Aristocrat implies, thanks to the whole trying to hide his awakening and Cipher powers thing.

For the most part he actually spent his free time either with his family, reading or playing with the cats and dogs (and other animals) kept at the palace. Which is were his enduring love of all animals and tendency to collect any he comes across that look like they need a new caretaker comes from, as well as the reason why his parents decide to get him a (trained) lion companion after the first game. If he already insists he doesn’t wanna come home yet, they can at least give him a pet that will tear apart anyone who looks at him wrong, right?

The copious amount of books he’s read has also lead to him being well versed in a variety of subjects, though admittedly his favorites were fiction or fictionalized historical accounts centering around heroic figures and their deeds, which is where his enduring obsession with being a hero himself comes from, in part. A few of them his family actually outright commissioned as gifts for him.

[aedyre]

many a sleepless night

Decided to do something for @pillarspromptsweekly this week because keep meaning to write about Alfie’s family anyway :’D

----

The Mecwyn woke slowly, her mind struggling to pull herself out of deep, dreamless sleep, until suddenly the tiny hands shaking her and the desperate whispers of, “Mother!” penetrated her consciousness and she shot up.

Alfaris stared at her wide eyed and wet faced, his curly, blond hair standing away from his head in every direction “Mama”, he sniffled, and crawled up on the bed now that she was finally awake.

She helped him up and then pulled him into her lap and wrapped her arms around him. She was tired still, but exhaustion took second place to alarm. “What happened, Alfie?”, she asked and rocked the both of them back and forth. She knew the answer. She knew, but she still hoped it was something different this time -- an unexpected noise or movement in the dark that had just been a cloud snuffing out the moonlight, anything that had driven either of her other children to seek out their parents at night when they were Alfaris’s age.

“I-- I had the nightmare again”, he whimpered and clung all the tighter to her. She closed her eyes for a moment. Of course.

“I see”, she said and kept rocking. “Do you want to stay here tonight?”

He nodded against her chest and she moved a hand to card through his curls. Beside her, her husband stirred.

“There has to be something we can do”, the Ferscönyng said, one hand pulling at his beard as so often when something agitated him.

“But what? I’m not letting some animancer near my child. We banned them for a reason.”

Her husband was pacing restlessly, dark circles under his eyes from sleepless nights. The Mecwyn knew she looked just the same.

“What about a Watcher?”, the Ferscönyng’s wife suggested.

Her husband pinched his nose. “What would that do? I’ve never heard of a Watcher suppressing an awakening, just causing them.”

She sighed and moved over to the window. “If we don’t try anything, we can’t help him”, the Ferscönyng said and sounded as tired as she felt. He wasn’t the one woken in the middle of the night, but she knew he worried about Alfaris just the same.

She gazed out the window and spotted him playing with his siblings in the gardens, the three of them building little sandcastles together. Behind her, the others were still arguing; none of them were wrong and there seemed to be no good choice.

Tradition said anyone with an awakened soul was to be shunned, treated as a criminal might. She didn’t know why. Maybe because so many awakenings were tied to violent pasts and sometimes a violent present too. And it was no different with Alfaris, wasn’t it? What would the people think, if they knew their youngest prince dreamed of torture and death so vivid and foreign to his experiences it could come from nothing but memories of another life?

The faint taste of bile permeated her mouth. No. Her son-- he was as good and innocent as any child. How could he be to blame for the transgressions of another, shared soul or no? Below, Alfaris was getting distracted from his castle by a cat, one of the many that stalked the palace to keep the rats in check. It flopped onto its back when he reached for it and he enthusiastically started scratching its belly.

They couldn’t know. She wouldn’t allow him to face that. He would be happy and loved and safe, whatever it took.

“First of all”, she said and finally turned back to the others. “We make sure no one finds out.”

[aedyre]

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[aedyre]

30 day Watcher challenge part 4

4. sexuality & gender: how does your watcher identify? is this important to them, or have they never given it much thought?

A gay cis man. He hasn’t thought much about his gender, because he’s comfortable with being a man, but it did take him a while to figure out his sexuality because of his stunted social life and fewer chances to experiment. Then once it started to dawn on him that he hasn’t just not found a woman he’s really attracted to, he’s not attracted to women, period, there was some waffling about what he should do since being royalty usually comes with expectations regarding marriage and carrying on the line. Eventually he decided that since he’s a thirdborn child it’s not that important and informed his parents, who were like, “sure, that’s ok, baby”.

(Considering they had been purposefully keeping him away from people to help keep his awakening and cipher abilities a secret they were never planning on having him marry because trying to vet any noble family for whether or not they’d use that info to cause a scandal or other political maneuvering would have been a nightmare :’D)

(Fortunately for both the incarnation he awakens to is also a gay guy so the bodysharing never comes with additional issues there, they just become boyfriends instead 👍)

[aedyre]

Ohhh, I was about to go to bed when I saw @ariela-of-aedyr‘s ask meme :D decided to do it now and not wait for asks since well... bed, and technically it’s Thursday here already :’) also i just wanna babble about my baby

1. What did your Watcher make of the Deadfire Archipelago? Was it their first time there, or had they been there previously? 

First time! Alfaris had never actually left the Aedyr Empire before the start of POE1 and hasn’t even seen all of the Empire at that. His first impression was pretty much “ugh so much ocean and see travel I don’t like boats-- OH GREAT I’M ALREADY STRANDED. awesome.” He... still isn’t that keen on it by the end, though he gets used to it. He also doesn’t like how the archipelago is run very much and could do without everyone and their mother vying for power against each other instead of addressing the very obvious problems being had. He did like the weather though! At least better than the Dyrwood’s.

2. Did they have a favourite location?

Not... really. Neketaka probably comes closest by virtue of being the biggest city around, but it also has both the Gullet (which pisses him off because the Roparu have such shitty living conditions) and the Kahanga palace (which pisses him off because he does not get along with the Kahanga royals :’D). Other than that he liked visiting small, unimportant villages that just peacefully existed. And the Engwithan ruin the Wahaki live in, because of the Thaos mural.

3. How about a favourite companion? Or a favourite NPC? 

Of the new Deadfire crew, definitely Tekehu 😛 He’d endeared himself to Alfaris by the time they entered the Gullet together and Tekehu expressed his shock and dismay about how the people there are treated, and after that they got to comforting handholding really fast which was some wonderful gay shit. (...Also I just like it as a romance trope. Loved it with Aloth in the first game, loved it here, it’s good.)

As far as NPCs go... he rather likes Director Castol and Flaune Elette because he likes their idealism and vision. It’s why he very firmly sided with Castol during the company meeting, which should have been clear to the governor from the beginning -- “Ah yes, this extremely idealistic person who wishes to help people and has no interest nor need in making money (because he comes from money and is essentially never without it) will surely side with my profit oriented leadership over another idealist visionary!” ...Yeahhhhhh, no.

4. Was there a companion or an NPC that they just couldn’t stand? What was it about them that irritated your Watcher? 

None tbh. Alfaris is relatively easy to get along with and to go into the “I can’t stand you” category you need to be a huge dick. (And if your name is Thaos, even that isn’t enough :P) He’d butt heads with Vatnir and Ydwin over ideology, philosophy and theology --though in Vatnir’s case he’d mostly want to help get Vatnir away from Ryrmrgand and more comfortable -- with Ydwin he’s lowkey “well you’re wrong about the wheel but I guess you’re entitled to your wrong opinion :/”, but he doesn‘t dislike either of them. He also wishes Serafen would “talk normally” and Maia ends up leaving because he sides with the Vailians, but they get on well until then.

5. Was your Watcher glad to have Eder, Aloth and Pallegina back again (if indeed they did)? Was there any other companion that they would have liked to have back in their party? 

Yes!! I mean, Aloth is one of his bfs and Edér and Pallegina are his bffs. He wouldn’t mind any of the others except Durance back, though he especially misses Sagani and Kana.

6. What was your Watcher’s ship(’s) name(s)? Did they enjoy being Captain of a boat? Would they rather have been back at Caed Nua?

.....I can’t fucking settle on a name tbh. Last playthrough it was The Prince, named by his mum the Mecwyn when she heard that he would like a nice big ship with maybe a lot of cannons because there are pirates everywhere here, mother, can you believe it? But that wasn’t all that creative and is subject to change if I think of something I really like after all :D

He... didn’t exactly enjoy being a Captain, because traveling by ship is not his preferred method, but he also wouldn’t have preferred being at Caed Nua -- he was getting close to done with what he could do there to help and would have installed a steward before long anyway, and the Deadfire is where he was needed now.

7. Did they have a favourite quest or side quest? How about a least favourite? 

I’d say no real favorite -- there were moments he enjoyed, like being able to help Biha, or get medicine for the sick Roparu, but nothing where I would say “Yes this entire quest is something he loved”. Similarly there were a lot he really did not like, but it’s hard to point to a specific one -- shoutout goes to Nemnok’s though because he got really damn pissed about the whole “oh let’s sacrifice our children to our new god” thing. a) No!!! Just no!!!!, b) dammit Thaos, once again proof your entire plan didn’t work because people are *still* doing this shit. The sacrifices ended up being all right after all, but the spirit of it still made him mad :P

8. Did your Watcher find romance, or close companionship, in the Deadfire? If so, who did they get close to, and how did that relationship develop? 

HOO BOY does Alfie ever have companionship :D I don’t often care much for polyshipping, but he’s a big exception to that. Admittedly, hc wise he was already in a relationship with Aloth, because screw this dancing around your feelings for 5 years stuff in their case (and honestly, no way Alfaris wouldn’t have made sure to keep in contact with Aloth, while Aloth was off hunting down the Leaden Key!). He’s already close to his past incarnation too, though Caolan’s part of their soul ends up being kidnapped by Eothas and thus not around for a big part of the game.

And then there’s Tekehu, who, along with Aloth, is basically tailor made for Alfaris :P Sweetheart who wants to help people? Sad woobie who needs emotional support? A big sub? Yes. Good. Perfect. Alfie was making hearteyes at him by the time they left Neketaka together after dealing with the mess in the Gullet. Tekehu was similarly drawn to the Watcher rather quickly (he’s so easy to raise affection with...) and they talked a lot about the Deadfire and about the Huana and whatever was going on in their quest(s) at the time. Then his last fears that maybe Alfaris wouldn’t want to or couldn’t give him what Tekehu wanted were laid to rest when Alfaris revealed that yeah, actually, he is a dom and he likes taking care of people and giving them what he needs and literally everything Tekehu just described as seeking in a romantic and sexual partner is something he’s happy to give.

9. Which faction did your Watcher side with in the end, if any? Was there a particular reasoning behind their decision? 

The Vailians! The pirates were never in the running despite Furante’s attempts, Alfaris was already annoyed with Onekaza and her brother over the Gullet and Onekaza’s behaviour (please stop trying to do ~banter telepathically kthxbye), then she sent him on a menial errand to get Mairu (”I’m a visiting foreign Prince but ok, maybe this is some cultural difference I don’t get”) which resulted in him freeing the dragon and then him and Onekaza slinging insults at one another. “It’s a poor ruler who doesn’t recognize what is under her feet” gave me life and him too for getting it off his chest :’)

And when it came down to Rauatai vs the Republics, he decided that animancy was more useful to deal with the crisis at hand. Which admittedly was also helped by Pallegina being his bff and very much influencing his opinion of the Republics towards being more positive.

10. Where do you imagine your Watcher’s life takes them after the events of Deadfire? 

He would absolutely keep an eye on what’s going on on Ukaizo, considering how important rebuilding the Wheel is (especially since he’s such a big fan of reincarnation too!), but since he can’t exactly help the animancers fix it faster... I think he’d visit home, try to spread the truth about the gods more (which is helped, I imagine, by Eothas’s actions), help Aloth with the Leaden Key, and just generally keep an eye out for the next crisis to lend his hand, since his overarching goal is to make the world a better place and prove to Thaos that kith doesn’t need the gods for that and isn’t as bad as Thaos has come to believe.

(Though my money for a potential sequel plot would be something involving Yezuha considering the storms are now gone.)

[aedyre]

I’m trying to use the notes section as an IC travel journal this time around... Let’s see how long I’ll keep it up lol. Dating is wrong up to the Nonton entry, but I don’t wanna replay the start of the game again just to get that right :’D

@mistresstrevelyan have some alfie meta (sort of)? <3

[aedyre]

Alfaris blinked at at the ghostly figure slowly materializing in front of him. A woman, elven, with long dark hair, the left side of her face covered in one large burn -- ah. Yes. The woman from the trial -- Iovara. In the back of his mind he could feel his other incarnation’s unease turn into resignation. It seemed Caolan had expected to find her here.

“You’ve come back”, she said. “ I had thought to have set you on the right path ages ago. Or did I merely fail a second time?”

Anger bubbled up in him, vicious and terrible, almost overwhelming and not his own. Caolan, he said without speaking. Be calm. You don’t have to talk with her if you do not want to.

It was, perhaps, a bit ridiculous considering what Iovara had suffered through after Caolan had captured her for the inquisition, because Caolan had captured her, but even he had to admit that he was far from impartial when it came to his other half.

“You are so different now from who you were then, yet much remains the same--”

“I am not him”, Alfaris interrupted. “I am myself. Caolan is here”, he tapped his right index finger against his head, “but I don’t think he wants to talk to you.” He shrugged and gave her an apologetic look, though with everything she’d been through perhaps it was for the better, anyway.

“...I see”, Iovara said. “What is it that has brought you here, then?”

He smiled. “Caolan, of course. And… someone should really stop Thaos’s plans. I don’t think an empowered Woedica is what the world needs, right now or ever.”

Iovara shook her head. “That is what he collects these souls for? After all this time, he would still stand against the tide.”

Caolan mumbled something to himself that sounded suspiciously like he thought she was right, but didn’t want to agree with her on principle.

Alfaris sighed. “There’s something he -- that Caolan needs from him, but he doesn’t want to tell me what. Do you have any idea?”

That certainly garnered his other half’s attention, and he was none too pleased. No, he said. She doesn’t know anything. Stop wasting our time and go after Thaos already--

“I will tell you what I remember”, Iovara said. She studied him intently, like she was hoping to catch a glimpse of the incarnation she had known in his eyes. “I can see his influence, still hanging like a weight about your neck. So it always was. He had… inspired something in you. We spoke of him last time you were here also.”

Something!, Caolan scoffed. She doesn’t know what she’s talking about.

“It was just after the trial. You were… agitated. I think because you started to consider that what I was teaching may have been true.”

A sense of dread filled him, once again not his own. It seemed Iovara did know what she was talking about after all.

Her expression morphed into a look of pity and once again she studied his eyes, looking for something. Alfaris remained impassive. If his other half felt so volatile when faced with her, he would be the rock needed.

Eventually she sighed. “That the gods aren’t real.”

...Oh.

He blinked again and furrowed his brows in confusion. Caolan had suddenly gone quiet, like he was afraid of shattering something if he made even a single noise, let loose a mere wisp of emotion. Distantly, Alfaris could hear his friends’ reactions, but he barely listened.

No. It made no sense. He’d spoken and quarreled with the gods and even struck a deal to get down here in the first place.

When Iovara continued he snapped out of his thoughts. “What I taught was that the gods whose faith we had been spreading were not gods at all, but something else entirely. Something created by people.”

“Engwith”, he said quietly and she nodded.

And with that the memories suddenly came, and with them understanding, like this had been all that was needed to break Caolan's control over them, if he ever even had any in the first place.

Alfaris couldn’t help but laugh.

"That is what all this has been about? Whether or not gods are really gods if they were mortal once? Ridiculous!"

Iovara frowned. "Caring about the truth is ridiculous?"

"The truth I see is that we could argue about whether their apotheosis counts as one until the world ends and do nothing but waste our time."

Caolan perked up at this, and Alfaris could feel him getting increasingly excited, like this was what he had hoped for, but not dared expect. Silly. He knew Alfaris. What else could he think?

"The truth is that it doesn't matter what their origin is, but that they failed, be it as guides or as rulers."

This time, the anger he felt was all his own; at the purges of Eothasians and the events at the temple in Gilded Vale, at Raedric's actions in Berath's name, at the Skaenites in Dyrford, at the murder of the Pargrunen, at the Hollowborn curse and Thaos's foolishness in bringing it about.

"And I would stop them just the same were they born divine instead."

There was a moment of silence that seemed to stretch on forever, then Pallegina laughed. "Verus!", she said and clapped him on the shoulder. "I would expect nothing less."

Iovara stared at him, like this was the last reaction she had expected and maybe it was. Her truth had been important enough for her to die after all, important enough to face torture and eternal imprisonment. "How", she started, "how does he… How does Caolan feel about this?"

Alfaris cocked his head and reached out to his other half, but Caolan still steadfastly refused to face her. Very well. He’d play messenger then.

"He… doesn't care either."

She closed her eyes for a moment. "So… That is why he sided with the inquisition? Because he doesn't think the truth matters?"

Alfaris studied her. Where before there had been a slight stoop to her shoulders, now it was much more pronounced. "No", he said eventually. "He did that because he trusted Thaos more than you."

"Oh", she said.

"You could never have convinced him, Iovara. He cares about results, not philosophy. If the gods had kept their promise of making the world better, that would have been good enough for him."

She let out a long breath and it occurred to him how odd it was that a soul would breathe. "Then what is it you -- he needs from Thaos? If that is not what you are divided on?"

No, Caolan said.

You did cause her to be imprisoned here, Alfaris pointed out. The least we can do is answer her questions.

"Thaos never trusted him back enough to tell him about this. Not even… Not even when he asked, after the last time you talked to him."

Once again Iovara’s expression turned to pity and she shook her head. "He never will, no matter what you do. But… You are a Watcher in this life, I see. Perhaps when he can no longer defend himself against that…"

That was enough to cut away whatever excitement had built in Caolan earlier. He didn't want to fight Thaos, even now. He wanted things to go back to how they had been; impossible as that was, and not just because he had died and was sharing this body with someone else.

"We'll see", Alfaris said. He knew what to expect now, knew finally what questions he needed to answer so his other half could have peace and time was running out -- but. "What about you? I could free your soul from this prison."

"No", she answered immediately. "The gods need to be reminded that we have a spirit and that spirit is proof against their power. They have the power to manipulate and confuse and ruin us, but not to change our will. I will remain here until the world crumbles and fades from existence with joy in my heart, knowing I've shown them what they truly are."

Alfaris couldn't stop Caolan’s laughter that bubbled forth at that and if Caolan finally wanted to talk to her he wasn't going to stop him, not when she had looked at him like she’d rather speak to the person she had known instead.

"I'm sure they feel very humbled by you playing their powerless prisoner, Iovara", Caolan said, sarcasm dripping from every word. ""Oh, whatever shall we do! Iovara is still obediently submitting to our sentence! She won't even take the chance to defy us and truly free her soul when offered! Oh, woe is us, she really showed us.""

Iovara had blanched at the sudden outburst. "Caolan-", she started but he shook his head.

"You want to hear why I didn't side with you from me? This is it. Why would I ever put the fate of the world in the hands of an idiot like you?"

"Caolan!", Alfaris interjected. "Enough!"

His other half snorted. "She asked, didn't she?"

He sighed and pushed a wayward curl back behind his ear. What a terrible idea -- he should have known better than to let Caolan speak when he was this upset. "I… I apologize on his behalf. That was uncalled for." He frowned. "Though he's not… Entirely wrong. I very much doubt they care, as long as you don't cause them any more trouble."

Iovara tried to steady herself. "If I left, if I let you send me back to the wheel, I would forget everything I fought for. That would be admitting defeat."

Fool, Caolan said. For once, Alfaris shushed him.

He sighed once again. "It’s a pity, but… I suppose it's your decision to make. I… should go after Thaos, before he can complete his plan."

"...Yes", she agreed. "I… Hope you will find an end to your soul’s suffering."

Caolan's pithy retort died on their tongue when Alfaris did the soul equivalent of pinching him. He gave Iovara a polite bow and then turned towards the exit.

"Let's go."

[aedyre]

sometimes i think about how aloth studied to be a magic knight and ended up with the leaden key because he couldn’t find a sponsor/employer only to end up traveling with one of his princes

and how he decides to go on a quest to take down the leaden key after alfaris encourages him to make his own path, while alfie *also* wants the leaden key gone so the truth about the gods will spread

....and how he probably regularly goes “no!!!!” and minoletta’s the shit out of whatever is trying to pounce/surround/backstab alfaris this time because alfie forgets he’s a dps, not a tank again :’D

and their relationship in game might not be a straight up example of sovereign/knight but it ends up having enough vibes of that that i go all 😍😍😍

[aedyre]

30 day Watcher Challenge part 2 and 3

2. appearance: what race is your watcher? what do they look like? any scars tattoos, or markings?

Alfaris is a wood elf who... pretty much looks like an often tired Cody Fern with thin, long elf ears and vivid grass green eyes:

He has a few earring holes, though only really wears jewelry to celebrations of formal occasions and thinks tattoos sound way too scary to get. He does spent a lot of Deadfire waffling over getting nipple piercings and eventually gets them post game after being convinced by his past incarnation that it’s not like his nipples can get *less* sensitive than they already are. (He gets lucky and they actually get more so.)

He does gain a few scars during his adventures -- the most notable ones are from a gash on his right arm where he was grazed by one of the adra dragon’s claws and another one on his left leg from that giant monster Galawain sends to fight the Watcher at the end of Seeker, Slayer, Survivor.

3. personality & alignment: give us a look into your watcher’s personality! you can use their myers briggs type, d&d morality alignment, or just describe their motives and quirks.

His mbti is ENFP, the Campaigner. He’s an incredibly energetic and enthusiastic person, who often either manages to get people to share in his excitement or be terribly annoyed with him -- it works quite well with more reserved types, like Aloth or Caolan (Alfaris’s Inquisitor incarnation), where he encourages them to get out of their shell a bit and they get him to calm down when it’s necessary.

This does come with the issue that he can get too emotional to properly deal with a situation or refuses to stop to think it through first. There’s the quest with the captured dragon in Deadfire for example -- he had the abilities to choose to siphon off a bit of the dragon’s soul for the Watershaper’s guild, but he was far too upset to think about that at the time -- and even if the idea had occurred to him, would likely have rejected it on the grounds of not wanting the dragon to sacrifice anything more after having been kept captive by the guild for centuries. Which in turn leads to the alliance he had been trying to build with Queen Onekaza/the Huana to fall apart right there, in a rather spectacular fashion.

He’s immensely curious, whether it’s leaving his home partially because he wants to see more of the world with his own eyes, doing things like using the water he collected specifically to drink because he’s sick to wipe slime off a relief so he can inspect it properly, or just generally exploring ruins to see what he can find. (It nearly gets him killed when he seeks the source of Caed Nua’s curse -- as well as just wanting to see what he can find in the Engwithan ruins beneath the keep -- and runs into the Adra dragon.)

He’s great at communication -- he’s already a very social and empathetic person who genuinely likes to spend time with and talk to people for hours if he can (something actually furthered by experiencing social isolation throughout much of his life before the game -- he’s making up for lost time, essentially) and as a prince with the education to match, he has very much learned how to negotiate matters and how to treat and deal with people to get what he wants.

Conversely, he struggles with more practical skills -- obviously there are a bunch of things he never learned how to do because no one expected him to run off to become on adventurer all on his own, with no guards or official entourage to care for him, but he also often doesn’t quite know how to put his ideas into practice or how to focus on one thing at a time (focusing, in general, is not something he’s good at). Fortunately it’s another thing that is balanced out by his past incarnation’s presence -- Caolan is the Architect type, and lends Alfaris his skills at analyzing and coming up with solutions; skills that Alfaris tends to direct towards a much more benevolent usage than Thaos once did.

His d&d alignment would be neutral good -- his biggest motivation during his adventures is essentially to make the world a better place and help people. If the law is in the way of that, he has no problem discarding it -- be that by killing the nobleman in Dyrford, so he can never do what he did to his niece to anyone else (in addition to, admittedly, feeling that his crimes were heinous enough to demand some form of justice) or letting the couple in Gilded Vale go, because while he would have preferred them looking more for a non murderous solution, their motives were understandable and he didn’t feel anything good would come from punishing them, just yet more suffering. On the other hand, he has no interest in chaos -- he does believe that law and order and a chain of authority are by and large necessary, just not the be all, end all when they oppose what he believes is for the greater good or to diminish unnecessary suffering.

[aedyre]

The only thing we can do is always try our best.

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