Character Process Deep-Dive: Owen Annorin
What was the original thought that led to the creation of this character?
Owen started off as a side character (as almost every main character of Divided did). I wanted the draconian phyisican Samuel Annorin to have two sons - one who did not follow in the family footsteps and one who did, albeit a little too much. I find siblings with huge age differences an interesting concept. There's a fifteen-year difference between Owen and his younger brother Elijah.
How long was the process before the character reached its final version? (or a version that would be clearly recognizable as the character?)
I'm not entirely sure, actually. Owen's complete change of original personality happens more or less in the chapter he's properly introduced, so it's hard to say.
What was the first thing you decided on, the character's name, appearance, personality or their role in the story?
The role in the story. Owen was introduced into the story to allow for a more impartial character in terms of viewpoints and attitudes towards the witch-hunts, since a physician can't pick and choose who he cures, even the people that would kill him if they knew the truth about him. Owen's kind of impartiality is one he really has no little choice in and he has to maintain his professionality. There's more complexity to that, but that's spoiler territory. Then his personality, which changes quite quickly. Then appearance - I used Play with Genetics to create him. I use census lists from 1700-1800 to come up with most of the characters' names, and thus Owen was born.
Which one of the four things did you struggle with the most?
His role in the story. It's hard trying to figure out how involved in the story to make a character. Main characters planned end up side characters and vice versa.
How did you choose their name and why? Was it simply based on vibes or is there any specific meaning behind the name? Are their reasons behind their name different in and out of universe?
I imagine Owen's mother Elizabeth just picked names she thought sounded nice, she didn't really care about fanciful-ness and just wanted nice names for her children. At least where the Henfordian characters are concerned, the names I don't pick them by meaning because generally over here people just pick stuff because it sounds nice. Contrast this to someone like Katlego, born in a culture where the meanings of names have much greater importance.
What was the thought process behind their appearance? Did you go mostly for the aesthetic or are there other reasons they look the way they do?
As well as being 99% the result of TS4's Play with Genetics function, Owen's design is very intentional in certain ways. I spend way too much time on Tumblr and over there, people absolutely love skinny, male, morally-grey characters, especially if they have some kind of special power - and they'll often talk about how they'll let them get away with everything and let them off because they're hot and they love them, in jokey posts. I always joke about such characters and their prevalence in fantasy, and sometimes I like to conform to typical archetypes or tropes as well as try and subvert them somehow.
Owen is designed in a way that people attracted to men would typically find handsome or attractive in some way. He's rich, he's posh, he's British, he holds back his feelings and is always wearing fanciful clothes. He's designed to make you forget what he's been like in the past, what he'll come to do in the story, and what he's capable of next.
His outfits look far grander than every other character's most of the time. It's a reminder of his enormous amount of wealth and privilege over the rest of the cast- and of the fact that although he's trying to do the right thing, he can't escape the privilege of being mega-rich nor does he always remember that what he's doing might be seen as being in poor taste by the everyday cast members.
What is an aspect of their appearance that you like the most?
I'm not actually sure, since he's a very sort of 'typical'-looking character who's intended to embody an archetype rather than do anything different. But my readers seem to not have as much of an issue with him as I thought, and one thinks he's 'ridiculously handsome', so it works out. : P
What is the origin of their personality? And let's be honest - how much of it is projecting?
I don't project anything onto Owen, he's nothing like me in any way. I also don't project my personal political beliefs onto him, because this story is not about my politics in its entirety. All that really comes through in that sense is the overarching privilege of his character over others.
I don't really have an origin for his personality. Most of his personality revolves around him holding back his emotions, in part likely to perform for his billionaire father and also to be a good physician and balance pragmatism and empathy in a useful way... at least towards his patients. But he gets better. Whilst many of the other characters have a lot of doubts about themselves, Owen often doesn't. He is almost always confident in his abilities, for better or for worse.
How big is their role in the story? Do they make a frequent appearance or are they a character with little "screentime" but big influence? Or are they just a favourite background guy?
Like almost every other main character, Owen was meant to be a background character. I found him interesting because of his impartiality in the midst of the witchfinders' conflict with the witches. Most of the other characters can more easily choose their outlook on the witchfinders and the witches, but due to both his own arcane heritage and the fact that he's a doctor and can't choose who he heals, the forced impartiality is what makes him fun to write. The way he sees it, in risking his life and his father's life, he risks the lives of many people given their positions as well-respected (at least in the medical field) physicians. Of course some of you may think 'what, and let the witches die in their place?' and this is the problem that he faces. From his own personal viewpoint: whatever he does, someone will pay with their lives in the long run, whether witches or his patients. This story does not deal with idealised morality and there always being a super-easy all-encompassingly moral way to deal with all the story world's problems in a way in which everyone is saved and you are the hero of the people. Owen doesn't do heroism, he's just trying to keep people alive.
What is their main character arc in the story? Where do they start and how do they develop?
Owen's main character arc is a sort of is-it-or-isn't-it-redemption - cleaning up the mess both he and his father are responsible for, and having to make a difficult choice in regards to siding with the witches and risking his life and the lives of his potential patients, or ignoring the problem so he can keep using magic and science alike to cure people. He doesn't expect forgiveness or apologies but swears to do right by the people - even if he's not always good at that. Trouble is, is it all because he wants to do good or does he just want to clean up his and his father's mess to maintain a reputation?
Is there any existing character from other media that your character resembles? Was the resemblance intentional or was it a coincidence?
I was playing these indie-made Sherlock Holmes games at the time and I found some of (speaking of the character across multiple portrayals of him from different media) Sherlock's mannerisms slipping in a little bit in a way I can't really describe in detail. I think sometimes Owen has some hyper-attention to detail considering others' mannerisms and motives and I think that is one of the subconscious ways it seeps in. It was something a good friend and reader said that some elements of Owen's character reminded them of the character and I was like, well, that wasn't intentional but may have been subconscious. What's funny is that there's another popular physician character with questionable morals who uses a cane and has some Sherlock Holmes inspiration behind him, but I am being honest when I say Owen isn't based on House. XD
Do you have a playlist for the character? What songs do you associate with them and why?
A lot of the Professor Layton OST, given the old-fashioned sounding nature of it and the general luxurious, grand feel. Also this song which appeared in a game I played, which sounds quite old-fashioned and also quite daunting. The Annorin family have a daunting presence in the story universe.
Do you have a voice claim for the character? What do you imagine the character sounds like?
I don't have a voice claim, but I'll try and describe it. Owen speaks in a very typically-'posh' Southern English accent known more officially as 'received pronunciation'. The website brings up English costume dramas on TV, that's probably a good broad way to describe it to people. His voice is slightly low-pitched, but not super deep. There's simultaneously a warmth and a sliminess to his voice that puts people on-edge about his intentions, and his tone and 'emotion' in his voice is very 'controlled' but in a way that seems to come off as charismatic to most people. He usually speaks in a very calm manner, but can be very frightening when he does raise his voice, as rare as it is.
Is there any memes or running jokes associated with the character, both in- and out of universe?
Yes, a few. In-universe none immediately come to mind, but out-of-universe in funny discussions with my friend, whenever his little brother questions his morals he distracts him by either telling him to go and hang out with his horse or by calmly telling him that he didn't do the terrible thing he's being accused of (usually met with a happy 'okay : ) ' by his younger brother. He also immediately wants to study everything and everyone like they're test subjects in these silly headcanons, and for some reason all animals seem to hate him out-of-universe. XD
Are there any motifs or symbols associated with the character? How are they represented, in their design, personality or in some other way?
Many of the rich magical families in the story have representative animals, inspired by GoT of all things. The Annorins' symbol is the gryphon - not only an animal associated with healing in some folklore (usually their claws or feathers) but also a daunting figure, relentless and also sometimes a guardian of treasure, and his father Samuel does not give up his secrets to success easily.
Owen isn't outright the most frightening character in the story universe - but the fear he carries with him is that caused by his ancestors, who weren't afraid to, erm, 'get rid' of their competition or people who were otherwise a threat to them. Not only that, but there's the matter of money. He may not look particularly like he's someone who will fight you, but the Annorins prefer to get their victories over others in roundabout ways. It isn't really repsented in his personal design, but his unflinching personality is something that is sort of reflective. The gryphons appear all over his mansion, and a lot of people refer to the Annorin family members themselves metaphorically as gryphons, almost as a sign of fearful respect, and sometimes mockingly too.
Does the character have other characters connected to them? Do you have a family tree and "offscreen" connections made up for them or do they exist in a vacuum purely for the purpose of the story?
Owen's uncle Jonah, who is dead by the time the story starts, comes up at one point, as does his dead mother. His living family in-story is his father Samuel and his younger brother Elijah. It's implied the family lineage has gone on for a very, very long time.
What is your general favourite thing about the character? What is your least favourite?
Owen is one of my favourite characters to write purely because of how different he is from the other characters. He doesn't really have the 'natural heroics' of the other characters who are more quicker wanting to do the right thing. His intentions and morals are never made entirely clear; it's never outright stated if he's truly trying to redeem himself and become a philanthropist or if it's all damage control. If he defends the witches, he'll be killed, so will his family, and the world loses some very important medical minds. If he doesn't, then his ancestors and fellow magic-folk are at threat.
The story universe has a mix of opinions on him. Some love him, some hate him, some think he really does want to do good by the people. He's one of the least-expected characters out of the main cast to actually try and turn things around in some way. Despite his completely different upbringing to the rest of the cast, it's fun to see how other cast members still find some common ground with him.