Orinlatan
Table of Contents
Orin.jpg

I'm Orinlatan, call me Orin. My name is huge and this page will be too, soon!
- Rh'iad's contribution, I just have to leave it.

Intro

Orin was born and raised in Ista Weyr. He's only left a handful of times, once to Tillek with E'siac, where he ended up in the local stocks due to a barfight, once to Boll, and several trips to Ista Hold, but does that really count? Up until the end of his fifteenth turn, he spent most of his life basically invisible. And it worked for him. A direct result of embarrassing behavior by his older sister, Asya, including not-so-uncommon behavior of older sisters putting their younger brother in dresses. But the public embarrassment drove the already timid boy to strive to simply not be noticed.

On the plus side, he used this natural tendency to avoid the worst of chores, even managing to avoid chores entirely some days. This was especially true once the glows started failing, the fading light casting broader shadows for those who didn't wish to be noticed. At least until he ran into Q'luin and Wyn one dark night. Wyn invited him to work as her assistant and that began his time of growth. An encounter with Ai'den and Kaijuth spurred the growth of his relationship with his older brother, with whom he'd always competed as a kid, and as time went on, Zhoreth caught Isyth, sliding his rapidly growing father-figure into the position of Weyrleader, a strong source of pride for the lad.

His time as Q'luin's assistant probably spurred the greatest growth in him as a leader, all the things he'd simply watched when he was invisible granting him some insight into needs and desires he might otherwise have been oblivious to. By the time Isyth took to the sands, he had fallen into an easy routine, comfortable with his position as the Weyrleader's Assistant and, like most kids would be, a touch too prideful about the post. Despite his growing attachment to Jeneeva, apprentice harper, there was no way the weyrbred lad would have said no when Q'luin offered him the white knot for Isyth's clutch. The time of candidacy allowed him and Darius to grow even closer as brothers by sharing activities and dreams. Being left cut Orin's inflated ego like a knife. For all it was easy for him to /say/ he didn't expect to impress, the truth was that with his relationship with Q'luin he had begun to expect it as a way to please himself and make his adoptive father proud. When that failed, he almost gave the knot back, but his desires won through, approaching his second candidacy with a renewed light, a touch of fear, and a solid determination.

Questions

1) Tell us about your character's background. Where did they grow up? What was their childhood like? Do they have siblings? Lots of extended family?

I covered most of this up above. Orin's got five siblings. In order of age they are R'tov (bluerider), Natasya (Journeyman smith), Darius (candidate), Ranita (Weyrbrat), and Tranvis (Weyrbrat). Beyond that he has his mother, with whom he is not close. He has also come to see Q'luin as a father and feels a similar bond to Q'luin's oldest biological son, Jacey, as he does to Darius, not quite as strong, but it hasn't had as many years to grow.

2) Who is your character close to now? Fellow crafters, residents, lots of people, or a few in particular?

Orin is closest to Q'luin, Darius, Jeneeva, and Jacey. After that Janessa, Gavreel, and Taelya. He's only become reasonably social in the last turn or so and even then, though he's friendly to most folks, being friendly with is a different issue.

Q'luin: The father who didn't have to be. A lot of kids grow up in the Weyr not knowing who their parents are, but knowing it's normal doesn't make it easy for a teenaged lad. Q'luin stepped into the role of male role-model for Orin and treated him like his own kids. There is absolutely nothing that Orin is more grateful for in the world than that. Even now, when it seems his father could use a hug from /his/ father, Orin has no doubt of the goodness inside Ista's Weyrleader.

Darius: Darius is less than a turn older than Orin. They spent most of their childhood competing and it's only recently (ironically enough by virtue of Kaijuth's mouth) that they started getting along. Once they stopped hating each other they actually turned out to have quite a bit in common and have since gone through quite a bit together, including their first candidacy.

Jeneeva: Jen's a sweet girl Orin's formed a bond with, perhaps too deep of one for their age. He's most over-protective of her, second only to Q'luin. And at least with Jen he's not wrong half the time.

Jacey: Jacey's his little brother in the same way that he's Darius'. They haven't known each other as long, but he feels obligated to Jacey. To help keep him going and take care of him. To be the 'big brother'.

3) What personality trait or background element do you like most about your character? How would you like to build on that?

Now that's a hard question. He's at an age where he's very mutable. The personality trait I most enjoy rping is his hero-worship of Q'luin, mostly because it's hilarious, but I fully expect that will fade with age and experience. I'm not certain I can pick a favorite amongst his other traits, but I think where he has the most room to grow is in his devotion to duty. He can be stupidly so in his need to please and he has a strong tendency to pursue one duty with single-minded abandon to the detriment of others. I'd like him to learn better control and balance between his need to please and his pride and how to temper his actions in relation with his intellect.

4) What would you change about your character if you could? How might others help you do this?

There's not much I want to change about Orin. I like allowing my characters to grow organically and he has grown in leaps and bounds since I first created him and has continued to grow. Others simply existing and interacting engender change, but there's nothing specific I'm looking for in this regard other than what might be termed learning experiences.

Other

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