Characters!

 So! I've developed a lot of the general story behind Roselight so far, and I promise more of the vague summary is coming soon!

But I wanted to take a moment to develop some of the character relationships that will become important in the rest of the story - and showcase these characters to begin with!

So here is the diagram I made for myself, which several sources report is illegible but pretty:

In fact, it's even less legible after the blogger compression, so don't even bother reading the tiny text - I'll just transcribe it below.

The four main characters we have so far are Maliyah, Clare, Noira, and Marion. Each arrow depicts one direction of a relationship between two characters, with a little associated text blurb to describe some of the main attributes of their dynamic. The text mostly describes how the starting point of the arrow feels/acts towards the endpoint of the arrow.

(Note that Marion only knows Noira, while the other three develop close friendship with each other.)

MARION -> NOIRA

Mentor

• Mostly professional, work-related
• Limited emotional support
• Wants the best for Noira; recognizes her potential and skill, but has a bit of a "vision" for her career
• Some inaccurate social views bleed over into a misguided protectiveness

NOIRA -> MARION

Student

• Looks up to Marion for guidance, primarily career-oriented
• Very impressionable, and tends to value his opinions on other matters more than is perhaps justified
• Perceives - mostly correctly - very high expectations, both as a professional and just in general as a person.
• Frets quite a bit about disappointing or letting him down, failing to meet his "vision"
• Will begin to pull pretty strongly from said vision as she learns more about who she is, culminating in The Big Revelation of Doom^TM

NOIRA -> CLARE

Confides

• Gets along very naturally despite very different overall demeanors
• Noira finds them very approachable & trusts them with more insecure feelings than Maliyah
• Admires their sociability/extrovertedness, tries to learn some self-confidence
• Somewhat envies their pretty clear sense of what they're doing in life - namely, having fun! Clare has ambitions, but doesn't depend on meeting external goals to enjoy the journey

CLARE -> NOIRA

Advises

• Clare is very good at helping people talk through their feelings, which Noira struggles with.
• Admires her apparent focus & interest in a particular niche, as they have difficulty finding specific interests
• Serves as a sort of grounding/reference point - am I being unreasonable? Clare will be honest with you.

CLARE -> MALIYAH

Assures

• Similar to relationship with Noira, but Clare knows Maliyah's tendencies much better by now & tends to know how she's feeling already
• Lots of friendly banter that stems from this mutual understanding
• Gently guides when she & Noira have trouble understanding each other

MALIYAH -> CLARE

Supports

• Maliyah's known Clare a long time, and they've both helped each other through rough times
• Provides a lot of just consistent support & company. Clare isn't specifically unhappy with their current job, but Maliyah visiting & hanging out often goes a long way
• Much like Noira, Maliyah often confides her insecurities to Clare, particularly when that barrier with Noira appears

MALIYAH -> NOIRA

Shares

• Wants to help make Noira feel at home, understood & supported
• Quietly knows Noira needs to see more of the reality of Orus, but is more than happy to explore with her...
• Sometimes has trouble relating to Noira's understanding of the world; occasionally inclined to dismiss views she perceives as naïve
• Still, ultimately comes to care strongly for her...

NOIRA -> MALIYAH

Learns

• Again, Noira is deeply impressionable, swept up in the excitement of discovery - exploring Orus and making new friends
• Really enjoys learning from & listening to Maliyah, even if much of her perspective is foreign
• Desperately wants to impress well on Maliyah, and to reciprocate the support that means so much to her...