A few of the Spirefolk have done this meme. Found them pretty interesting to read so I thought I'd have a go for Phaidan.

1) how you thought of their name
2) what made you create the character in the first place
3) how the character has changed over time (if they have changed)
4) any random fun fact about that character


1) His name has actually changed since his conception. He used to have a first name, but when the roleplay I created him for died out fairly fast, I reused the first name in a different roleplay character and kinda left Phaidan by the wayside until Ebon Spire came along. At which point the first name got dropped and I stuck with Phaidan. As for Phaidan itself, there's no special story behind it or anything. Except that the first syllable rhymes with pie and I liked the sound of it. EDIT: His name is said with the stress on the second syllable, not the first. I'm guessing this error is where the common typo ' Phaiden ' comes from XD

2) Phai was originally created for a forum roleplay I was involved in, but although it was promising, it died out way too fast .__. I started out with a focal point in his backstory before anything else - the concept that appeared in his audition, of him being freed but subsequently putting his shackles back on. I've encountered numerous slave characters in various media but most of them tend to range towards being rebellious and striving for freedom, or deriving perverse pleasure from being dominated (hurrrr). I'd watched or read something around the time related to Stockholm syndrome and figured it would be interesting to apply to a fantasy slave character. Whilst 'happy' would maybe be a stretch, Phaidan was at least comfortable as a slave under Jago, and his conflict and development started ~after~ he was forced to stand on his own two feet.

His actual design came from a mix of inspirations, including an ultra-cheesy but fun action anime movie called Shadow Skill where the titular technique was derived from female slaves having to fight with their lower halves as their hands were always bound. I love desert/tribal characters so that ended up being part and parcel of his look, too.

The long hair was a personal indulgence. DON'T JUDGE ME. Besides, I honestly didn't intend for him to look like a girl (and maybe it's just to my anime-abused eye, but I still don't think he does beyond the long hair and baggy clothes). At best I thought he was androgynous, which is a look I've always been fond of anyway.

3) Beyond a name change, I haven't really used him enough before the Spire to note any significant changes. His development through the tournament is still ongoing, and he faces some tough decisions this round.

4) If he had a pet, it would be a fluffy white cat called Master Snuggles. Cats are the best pets for dominating the owner. And you can totally blame for this one XD




_{My full Ebon Spire entry archive so far: [link]}