Casually tossing out a very overwhelmed Romulan sans his Targ because she refuses to leave Hwoinch behind. (Even if the little brat keeps vanishing on her)

Related to stuff from the Grand Opening tho. I love that Romulans put so much value on names.

I often refer to Æn'kae as a green blooded space elf. This factor doesn't help his case.

Also? I love how Æn'kae was initially like "Well I'll offer my services as a medic, that's far more relevant than my veterinary skills" First event: Alright lots of animals. Who wants pets?

got to get him a nickname and some iron for protection, before some fae decides to have him dance till death lol

I mean gonna be fair he's using his name for friends/family because he never learned his house name or his name for strangers, but not his true name. Mostly because he doesn't know that one either.

Day is just running off 6 years of paranoia with some trauma added in. only his family called him Daniel and they are dead

tho technically he'd need to abandon 'Day' too, they arranged for a very public execution of him...

Also given the nature of his mentors he just sorta didn't see the point in coming up with a new name for strangers.

And on the opposite side of the spectrum there is Khell. Who comes up with a new name each time she introduces herself. Khell hasn't been her name except when she introduced herself to Æn'kae in a PSL setting. (I haven't figured out how to get them to meet yet in my 'canon') But it was the first name she used when I was writing her so my brain latched to it.

always fun to have such flexible chars. I got one there with Magiano (different series, same author as Daniel) who just rolls with whatever and says Magiano is something you can call him, but not his name (bc he doesnt know his birthname and wont tell ppl that)

XD welp

little trickster once drove a census taker mad in one rpg bc he insisted his name was "whatever you think appropriate", his species was "boy" and his age "just fine"

Find it funny that in a way Æn'kae is a bit protected by the fact he just hasn't bothered finding his true name yet. Also he does have a nickname that, of all people, Kivea called him. But it was never meant to be a name replacement so much as just a term of endearment "clever little bird" (because his name means "wing mind" in a mix of Romulan and Vulcan)

Asfshshshs yeah he and Khell must never join forces. People would hate them.

bonus fun with Magiano is that his magic is mimicking other magic, with a side-effect of mania (long story short, he got bits of gods stuck in him, its unhealthy for humans) so you just got this over-eager theater kid that hoards shinies like a magpie

Khell is uh. She calls herself a space pirate. She and Rren do not actually participate in piracy. They are more likely to rescue people in need. But they do engage in illegal salvage and petty theft so Eh. But Khell adores collecting like tourist trap style souvenirs. Their tiny ship is just full of shelves of them. Are they valuable. Not even a little

reminds me I need to find Daniel a hobby, the kid is still half-afraid to own more than he can carry on the run

at some point the kid will just absolutely panic bc he is missing more school being stuck on this ship

Æn'kae has a bit of that happening. But that's also still practical for him back home. Like he has most of his belongings on him. The ryill from Skisan, and the bit of medical equipment. Mostly because outside of that he only really has room in his bunk to store clothes and supplies for Roj. (Oh and a sword from Kivea but that just stays on the wall)

Ffff poor kiddo

he's turning 18 in january, he hasnt even sat any state exams (the whole idea terrifies him, see his past with the Trial) and he is still coming to gripes with yknow not dying before he is 20. someone mentioned college and he just froze and went to live in the forest for a whole summer

Weeelp. I mean to be fair to him, sometimes the idea of college just hits like that. XD

yeah, not helping that he thought he failed the Trial (ie too dumb to even do basic work by Republics standards) and going from that to "no, you actually are the only other person to have a perfect score" was a rollercoaster. plenty of insecurities here, hence the gas station having him homeschooled by the Djinn

but also gas station was so rural he'd have to move away for college and he didnt want to leave his forest either (or the newfound family, what if they die while he is away?)

-nod nod-

I have a few chars with a tendency to 'adopt' people and I feel like at least one would be like "is this one taken?" And not wait for an answer if they ever met.

yup, he provokes that reaction lol

I... feel like Æn'kae does a little bit too XD (Khell met him, planning to collect a bounty. Actually looked at him "wait, you're just a baby!" Justified not collecting the bounty by deciding it wasn't worth the risk. Nope nothing to do with the previous statement)

oh he does. the two younglings can bond over shared trauma and anxieties

Especially if plot ever provides something to boost Æn'kae's telepathy. XD Like the way Vulcan telepathy works is it only increases when trained/used. Which is why at present it's limited to basically vibes. But I mean I figure it also can have the abilities sorta activated/opened up in other ways where control wouldn't necessarily have kept up.

well, the Mall does have that one magic tea stall that "might make patrons share thoughts" lol

Not that this needs to happen right away. Especially not with the mall. He already gets headaches from big crowds. (It's basically all his senses being overwhelmed, including but not limited to telepathy)

-wheeze- I'm imagining "tea helps with headaches, lets get tea."

its what Day got told, bc he couldnt have coffee on top of his meds!

RIP

just rest a moment, have some calming tea lol

Abort abort

better leave that for later XD

It is a thing I plan to toy with, but I am saving it for the moment I think. Vibes are enough for now. XD

Vibes are enough, Day is usually good at stuffing all his problems down and hide them so no one talks about it

(until something triggers the PTSD and its becoming very obvious he isnt alright)

-nod nod- I mean. Æn'kae has kinda dealt with that from others in the recent past too (Like, Skisan decided to go back to Vulcan for treatment after having a bad breakdown when it was just the two of them.) so just vibes and body language are enough to spot it pretty early. Even if he pretends he doesn't and tries to change the subject XD

meanwhile Day had quickly figured out that ppl react (rightfully) horrified at most of his past, so he just tries not to mention it

I'm waiting for Æn'kae to casually drop some of those they would horrify others facts at people too. Like he's so used to living with others who've dealt with the same cultural trauma his entire life, so things that don't get a reaction from his peers back home like XD

yup. no one in Republic would bat an eye at violence from the police or someone being vanished for having the wrong opinion out loud and having bomb alarms with no shelters was as normal as having hurricanes be the average weather

Also because he doesn't remember Romulus he doesn't have the same very personal trauma that some of my older Romulans do so he'll casually mention being one of many orphaned when the planet was lost. But like Khell just Won't Talk About It Period (because the trauma was very direct and personal)

On a slightly related note. Some day Æn'kae might really freak Day out if he calls the Romulan Republic just the republic and it translates >.>

Rheilhhu Rihan is the romulan republic XD so when he just says Rheilhhu he's saying Republic just uh, fyi XD

it'd at least be a hitch before he reassures himself that his Republic had only humans. and no chance at getting spacefaring since they pretty much went back to steampunk

-nod-

much like Space Mall security is probably not there to shoot any human intruders (but he is prepared for that possibility)

Must find a formal occasion some day. XD Because Æn'kae would look so good in a sherwani set like one of these.

i'm sure the fae will have dances eventually (if not we can make them happen)

Day for the record is not Trans, he just enjoys dresses and skirts bc they are so opposite military uniforms its refreshing (and he didnt get to have nice things before and half the gas station broke every society rule there was so)

I also feel like he'd really look good in some of the more colorful ones, but he wouldn't like them, so RIP. No high contrast designs if I want him to enjoy the thing XD

-nod nod- makes sense

Jerry was very Gay, Mordreds demon half was female, the god run around in more skirts than trousers and Palmer kept wearing wrap dresses bc they made unfolding to swallow a deer whole easier so if the kid looked admirable at a skirt, they got him into one

asgjahsfgh this would be so good too

also kimonos! for both of them

Keep finding my way back to kurtas and sherwanis when looking at stuff for this boy. Kurtas are less formal but aren't made to be warm -facepalm-

I will not be convinced he wouldn't at least linger on this Kurta/jacket set with animal embroidery tho

jhafaskjfhgajhgf I forgot about Sarek's robes in Discovery. Usually Æn'kae doesn't go for the Vulcan style robes because they're much more flowy but like. This one is much more in line with the fit he goes for

Maaay have to play on that >.>

I mean, there's a few in that show with that sorta cut. A few with ridiculous collars as well, but XD

could always just handwave that some other species there did figure out warm kurtas

Was my plan to make him depressed with an outfit. Nope. Did I succeed at it anyway? XD

its so cute how they got the same insecurities for different reasons

You are not wrong

some part of Day still enjoys uniforms, the belonging of them (he really loves the Park Ranger one Amy got him last christmas), but he is too pacifist to not reject anything military unless its needed for a disguise

Æn'kae doesn't like them terribly much though he's been wearing one, but none of his team does so I feel like they uhhh have been all customized to a Large degree.

Of course I call him pacifist adjacent for a reason. XD Hard to be fully pacifist when you join a 'terrorist' movement who can help rescue your dad mentor and realize how BAD the secret police/biggest romulan group grabbing at power has been

Day can proudly claim that he never killed anyone, so full pacifist it is. Tie someone up, perhaps even non-lethal wounds? thats ok if needed. but the main reason he refused to join up with the actual rebellion until having no other choice was that he disagreed hard with their stance of "dead bystanders are a price worth our goal of toppling the system"

the irony of the main charge at his execution being "killed an officer", which is the one crime he most definitely didn't do. (they just needed that officer gone for different reasons, his break-in was as good an excuse as any)

The Romulan Republic doesn't seem to see dead bystanders as worth while. Just. At all. The leader is 100000% a pacifist tho sooo

And Æn'kae has a weapon with a stun setting, so even in a fight he has never faced the choice of kill an enemy to protect patients or let them get killed. But he can and has fought to defend people. He also definitely stabbed the guy who arrested Skisan to defend himself when grabbed, but like only in the arm.

XD a solid 90% of the acts of terrorism the tal Shiar accuses the romulan republic of were things the tal Shiar itself has done so like XD mood

The intelligence people take more shady risks than the main military members. And they get in fights over it in STO XD and your game char just gets to sit back and watch them verbally duke it out like "I consented to being used as bait, it's fine. Shouldn't we maybe focus on keeping an eye out for the people I'm bait for? Plz? Still bait here."

Æn'kae is not that character even though he was born in my head as such, he quickly grew into a better backstory for him. He's just not nearly main character coded enough for all those shenanigans.

Thus crating a character who was meant to be named by others and fill that role. I didn't expect her to morph into a full blown OC who was related to one of Æn'kae's friends! -grumble-

Republic does so much public murder, Day still needs more reality checks. Like no, its not normal for armed forces to patrol the streets with flamethrowers to set fire on any seemingly-dead body that looks sick

Not that he wanted to be main char. June was intended for that, but the unwilling ppls hero worked out better. tho the two are a nice contrast of the inner workings of it all

-nod- Æn'kae. Is not the person to help with said checks XD

thats fine! he is rather good at self-checking, for lack of education most of that is just "this feels wrong"

he'll enjoy any education on animals, the city-kid didn't see enough yet (gas station forest ones are Weird, i mean the raccoons do armed robbery)

-nods- I wouldn't say Rrh'abil wanted it. But she had the charisma to kinda end up in the role. Æn'kae could fit to a point but like him getting a command role and being seen by the main threat by a baddie just aren't realistic to his character XD he's caught up enough anyway and still a bigger role than he really grasps.

Afsgsshd bandits

Whereas like Rrh'abil was a military hero for the Shiar in her youth and then when her colony was destroyed she took an active role in getting those she could out and absolutely did her best to destroy the tal Shiar ship in her way while she was at it. And prolly smart-assed at the very cliche villain in the process

Day, standing at the reading of his crimes, below a plaza full of ppl that are there to witness and silently protest, having painted red streaks into their hair to mimic the blood in his: "this is a problem"

tho most of that happens in book 3, once they team up with the new elector and it gets more politics than actual fighting ("Day we know ur dying within the year and just want to get ur last living relative out of the country, but pls minimize public appearances of being sick, it makes ppl riot")

honestly, the only reason he makes it to a somewhat put-together adult in the "10 years later" book 4 is that he ends up with amnesia about... pretty much all of book 1-3 lol

Afsgshsh sorry why does that remind me of some of the nonsense in sto (Game char gets brain washed and forced to do some awful things/rescued and like the next assignment you get starts like "the counselor says you're having less night terrors. You must be ready to help us out again, right?")

yeah, he left for antarctica one he woke from a one-month coma due to emergency brain surgery and they were all "would you like to join our secret service?"

from his brothers POV there:

Welp

Like, just give this ex-hero an allowance to live on and send him to school! And therapy. So much therapy.
But no, he gets to do fight crime in a city that tracks every citizen with status points like china wants to do irl