Character Process Deep-Dive: Katlego Anansi
What was the original thought that led to the creation of this character?
One part of it was that I wanted to acknowledge something that doesn't really come up in fiction - closed practices, practices usually only open to people of certain ethnicities, places of birth, or people that are born into or initiated into a community or practice. At least that's the closest way I can think to describe one. I decided that, given Mischief magic can be so dangerous in the wrong hands, it'd be a good idea to make it a closed practice, at least at the point of history this story is written in. Different pocket communities across the globe are Mischief practitioners, across different countries, races, etc. They are forbidden to teach their magic to any other witch that isn't from a Mischief-casting background. I tried to honour the idea of closed practice without basing it on an existing one so I didn't step on anyone's toes. She also at first calls herself a 'sorceress' instead of a witch , the idea that witches across the world have different names for themselves or their practice.
In the stories that were written before this one, many of the characters of colour had non-central roles, with most of the story focusing on the white main characters. I needed to rectify that for multiple reasons, one of those reasons being that I wanted to explore the breadth of magical practice in terms of the story world. Divination is quite a big part of occult practices from African countries, so she has some experience with it that the other characters don't have much knowledge of. She uses cards for this since they're more familiar for her eventual Henfordian audience.
Another being that a lot of people seem to think no-one travelled the world before 1800 for some reason. England wouldn't be the same without multiculturalism, so I wanted to reflect that in the story, as well as improve on big errors in my slightly older writing.
I also wanted to have a pacifistic character, and not have every single character out for witch / witchfinder blood.
How long was the process before the character reached its final version? (or a version that would be clearly recognizable as the character?)
Katlego Anansi is an ancestor of Grace Anansi, the premade, who appeared in the previously-written stories. Grace was a lot calmer and more level-headed than the other characters, so I thought I'd make Kat similar in that sense. I knew she'd have an animal familiar who she loved, and also that she would be a pacifist and want to try and deal with things through trickery rather than violence. Anansi the Spider is a cunning trickster spider god from West African and Caribbean folklore, which is also where Kat gets this personality from and her being a Mischief caster.
What was the first thing you decided on, the character's name, appearance, personality or their role in the story?
Her name. This is further described in a following question!
I did her appearance after. Her initial outfit you see her in is actually from Egyptian historical CC, the top is anyway, because I couldn't find anything closer that matched an illustration of 1700s Tswana clothing that I saw and it was the closest I could find.
Her personality came after, but I knew straight away I wanted a character who outsmarted people over getting violent with them. Her role in the story was decided right at the beginning as well. This also stems from something I read on a blog that it is a very common belief in her home country that treating others badly will give the person bad luck, more or less the same as karma. That part isn't mentioned much in the story, I imagine it to be a back-of-the-mind superstition, kind of like how I won't open an umbrella indoors because my mum has insisted since I was a kid that it's unlucky.
Also her owl, Nia, was an idea that came to me after seeing Natalia-Auditore CC of an owl accessory, and after doing some looking into magic and beliefs in her home country, a Tswana Wordpress blog stated that owls are supersitious creatures in Botswana, specifically the hooting of an owl at night, and that they are closely associated with magic and witchcraft there. It only seemed right that she would bond with one, who is in fact not proving the superstitions at all and more or less has the personality of a feathered pampered house cat.
Which one of the four things did you struggle with the most?
Appearance, I think. It's hard to strive for authenticity when there's a lack of historical CC that isn't ancient times or that isn't European or US-American.
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?
In many different African cultures, names are incredibly important and usually a symbol of a wish for a child or a prediction of a child's future. Her name means 'success', and Kat struggles with this a bit in the story. What if she lets her parents down? What is success? Is success different to her than it is to everyone else? Why does Henford have such a ridiculous idea of what is considered successful? Her surname was from the premade she is an ancestor of.
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?
I gave her lots of magical-looking tattoos, and making her look proudly magical, therefore standing out a bit in Henford where all the witches try to keep quiet on the matter. In real life history, European colonialism is greatly responsible to the repression of occult practices across the continent, introducing laws and rules against it. In this story, I have decided that where she is from is more open towards those who practice magic. I imagine Mischief casters are feared to some extent, though.
Her later outfits, all looking very typically English, are both her trying to get used to a new culture but also a kind of sadder side to it, in the way that English people typically expect everyone to leave their own cultures behind very often. Admittedly, part of that is also because Henford is either snowing, cloudy and wet or cold during most of the story. She often laments rarely ever seeing the Sun. After all, I strive for some level of authenticity and what's more authentic to England than shitty English weather?
What is an aspect of their appearance that you like the most?
Her amazing long hair we see later on, made by sheabuttyr, it's beautiful! I also love her tattoos, and her big brown eyes... ;-;
What is the origin of their personality? And let's be honest - how much of it is projecting?
I don't project much onto Kat, since I wanted a level of authenticity to her experience as a Black woman. From what I learned from friends about their experiences, and from reading the experiences of Black women online, one thing was very common in everyone's stories and that was the feeling of having to look after everyone, always being relied upon, and having little time to rest, always having to put everyone else first. Though Kat's upbringing has nothing to do with this, she puts far too much pressure on herself a lot of the time.
However, Kat's personality is mostly defined by her fun-loving and jokey nature, and her desire to try and solve things without using violence. She's not afraid to stand her ground, but she tries to do so without stepping on anyone's toes.
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?
Pretty big. She is a key player in the actual 'fight' against witchfinders and is often one of the first to actually step in and do something about the antagonistic characters. She is brave and not afraid to go after anyone with trickery.
What is their main character arc in the story? Where do they start and how do they develop?
Kat's main character arc is mainly about her finding her feet in a new culture and country, and learning that the pressures she puts on herself are largely unecessary, and also learning the true meaning of 'success', what her name means. Kat you are good enough and many people think so! We love you!
Is there any existing character from other media that your character resembles? Was the resemblance intentional or was it a coincidence?
One doesn't come to mind.
Do you have a playlist for the character? What songs do you associate with them and why?
This absolutely gorgeous theme from the original Final Fantasy 10 I often write Kat to. One of her chapters is named after it. It suits her well, being very calm, positive, and magical. (The one from the Final Fantasy 10 remaster is a bit creepier sounding, as a random side note.)
Do you have a voice claim for the character? What do you imagine the character sounds like?
I finally found an old site I used to love for voice claims - the Speech Accent Archive. This is the only example on there I could find of a Motswana woman. I imagine Kat's voice being more exaggerated and energetic, at least when she's not being serious. I imagine her voice mellows a bit as she gets older.
Is there any memes or running jokes associated with the character, both in- and out of universe?
Both in and out of universe, there's some jokes about Kat seeming like she's talking about someone important to her...only for her to actually be talking about her owl. XD
Are there any motifs or symbols associated with the character? How are they represented, in their design, personality or in some other way?
Spiders, because of the Anansi the Spider trickster god folklore, which is associated with her family in-story because of her surname. It is a reminder of her to always try and use trickery and cunning.
She is also associated with tigers. If you're thinking 'what in the fresh Hell do tigers have to do with Africa?' I wanted her animal form to be a lion, a carnivorous predatory animal form to sort of contradict her personality. I could not find any deco lionesses when I made Kat, and back then I did not have the knowledge or the thought to try and find a rigged lioness model to make decos with. I found 2 tiger decos so I went with tiger. It's also why 'no one knows what determines a witch's animal form really!' in lore. If I don't know why, then neither will any of these buggers. : P
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?
There's mentions of her mother and father, who were crafters, farmers and basketweavers. I don't know if we'll ever actually see them yet.
What is your general favourite thing about the character? What is your least favourite?
Kat offers something different to the other characters in that she does not rely on violence in any way. She doesn't want anyone to die, not even the worst people in the story - she wants to try and make change without someone getting hurt. Of course, it's a question of whether or not that is truly possible...