Character Process Deep-Dive: Clementia Morgan
What was the original thought that led to the creation of this character?
I like to write about familial relationships moreso than romance for multiple reasons, mainly because I feel familial relationships affect people more whether good or bad. I also like writing about brother / sister relationships because a lot of siblings in media tend to be same gender. It might also be because it's more relatable since I only have a brother. So I decided to give Reynold a twin sister.How long was the process before the character reached its final version? (or a version that would be clearly recognizable as the character?)
My initial ideas for Clem was that she doesn't get along with her brother, and also that she doesn't have magic. I had the idea of them being siblings on complete opposite sides which is why she is Jacoban. She was the unplanned child, and so she got sidelined in favour of her brother who has magic. This would have been the root cause of their conflict, and that was mostly early ideas. I can't say more without spoiling, but I didn't plan for her eventual developments to go the way they did.
What was the first thing you decided on, the character's name, appearance, personality or their role in the story?
- Personality (Emotional, anxious, nothing like Samuel)- Appearance (Her facial structure is a straight-up gender swap of Reynold with no edits made)
- Role in the story
- Name
Which one of the four things did you struggle with the most?
I didn't struggle with Clem since I had very clear ideas about her.
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?
The usual relying on English and Welsh census lists from 1600-1700.
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?
Clem is a gender-swap of Reynold, straight-up. Her face is exactly the same as his if you click Reynold and change him to female. And of course there's the scars, and they always tell a story and make both characters and readers curious as to how they got there.
What is an aspect of their appearance that you like the most?
Let's face it, Clem is gorgeous. XD I also love her prominent nose, something that usually gets negatively judged when women have them.
What is the origin of their personality? And let's be honest - how much of it is projecting?
Now, Clem is a character I project on A LOT. XD I've been thinking more about womanhood (in my case, a life of being perceived as one anyway) and how it has affected me and other people, and a big part of that is thinking about it in comparison to my older brother, who's 7 years older than me. Whilst my brother and I get along now and have done for years, growing up we of course squabbled, and there was the age difference that was a problem when he was in high school and I was still in primary, and when I was in high school and he was working (this is something that also comes into play with Eli and Owen).Whenever my older brother played up or acted angrily or was rude or whatever, it'd always be that it was 'just his way' or 'you know what he's like', and even now he's the one who's allowed to take care of his mental health whilst I've been doing all the looking-after and the chores and everything despite mounting problems. He was allowed to be stressed and angry and I had to keep doing something about it. I always had to do something about my issues, I was always being told off for being rude or blunt or reacting in a bad way or whatever. Not major things really, but very annoying when your brother can more or less do what he wants.
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?
Clem's role eventually gets bigger even if it starts small. She eventually becomes a big influence on multiple factors.
What is their main character arc in the story? Where do they start and how do they develop?
Clem starts off quite cold, vengeful, angry at the world and at her past and also very lost. Clem's eventual story will be trying to overcome these things.
Is there any existing character from other media that your character resembles? Was the resemblance intentional or was it a coincidence?
This is looking back on things since I did not play the game until a year after I started writing Divided, so not intentional, but as I was playing Baldur's Gate 3 I felt like Clem had some similarities to Shadowheart. The way they are both fairly-young women with rather tough and quite cold exteriors, and every now and then you see the fear and the self-doubt and the sadness seep in even though they try to keep those things buried.
Do you have a playlist for the character? What songs do you associate with them and why?
The only one I used to use a lot for Clem was this one.
Do you have a voice claim for the character? What do you imagine the character sounds like?
Same as with Reynold, it's hard to nail down Clem's accent for multiple reasons. The only definite part is it's once again a Southern English accent, but hard to nail down exactly how her voice sounds. I imagine she has quite a serious tone at least at the start of the story.Is there any memes or running jokes associated with the character, both in- and out of universe?
There is ongoing jokes outside of the story between me and friends - of Áine having a massive crush on her, and considering ditching her partner for Clem. XD
Are there any motifs or symbols associated with the character? How are they represented, in their design, personality or in some other way?
Not with Clem, no.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?
Her father, Alistair, and her mother, Blythe, who Clementia and Reynold have not heard from since their leaving and they are presumed dead.
What is your general favourite thing about the character? What is your least favourite?
Clem's growth as a character as the story goes on and the way she overcomes numerous things to get to where she ends up eventually. Clem is proof that you don't need magic to be powerful in this universe. I also like having the non-magic characters and seeing their stories alongside the occults.