Character Process Deep-Dive: Reynold Morgan
What was the original thought that led to the creation of this character?
It's mentioned in the prequel only in, like, one single line about Áine's partner. Of course, he had to end up a main character.How long was the process before the character reached its final version? (or a version that would be clearly recognizable as the character?)
Hard to describe without spoiling.
What was the first thing you decided on, the character's name, appearance, personality or their role in the story?
His name. His design very much looks like a friendlier version of one of my main non-Sims OCs. Personality came after, and then role in the story.Which one of the four things did you struggle with the most?
To be honest I didn't really struggle with any of it, since he was one of the very early characters I came up with. I rarely ever struggle with designing Sims.
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?
as usual picked from a 1700s England and Wales census if I recall correctly.
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 usual, yes, it's a case of both a) a change of a common thing I don't like and b) a change of atttitudes I don't like. Surprise!
Fat characters need more love. Existing beyond being comic relief or existing purely to make a skinny character (or reader) feel more confident about themselves. Them being the ones who get to be swooned over 24/7 by the main character and maybe a few others. And they get to do cool plot stuff. And honestly, this needs to go for male characters as well - as well as for men in real life. Fat men are some kind of acceptable target for pretty much everybody, even the so-called 'progressive' types.
And so we have the lovely Reynold, who multiple characters in the story find attractive. And not even in a 'despite...' way. No, Áine is totally into the fact he isn't skinny. Not in a 'I want him to feel confident' way, in a 'I want to have his children' way.
A few old (and mostly still current) SimLit friends always joked about the typical muscle-shirt wearing, muscular, chiseled-jawline SimLit boyfriend. Then there's the more Tumblr-specific gaunt-faced, skinny, mysterious SimLit boyfriend. I figured it'd be a nice and refreshing change of both.
Reynold has the fairly-thick beard because it seems I only give most of my Sims stubble, so I went with something slightly different.
What is an aspect of their appearance that you like the most?
I really like Reynold's Act Two hair and his late-story hair. I also like that he has such a friendly look about him, unlike some of the more daunting-looking characters.
What is the origin of their personality? And let's be honest - how much of it is projecting?
I don't think Reynold is someone I project on at all (his sister is another matter entirely). The origin of Reynold's personality is someone who does not follow the rules he's meant to follow (he may be a Peteran priest, but he's certainly not by-the-book.) The biggest part is he is someone who struggles with his identity in multiple ways - in Reynold's case, in terms of religion and heritage. When you get a little further into the story, it is also the question of acceptance of certain aspects of the identity which I absolutely cannot spoil.
However, one bit I think some of us can relate to is the moral scrupulosity - knowing that whatever you do will be wrong in someone's eyes, and wondering what the ultimate 'right' way is, and how much you can sacrifice for the sake of a greater good before you are no longer considered a part of that 'greater good'.
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?
Reynold's role in the story is pretty big, but mostly more influential in the earlier acts. He is one of the earlier characters to try and do something about anti-witch ideologies and protecting witches.
What is their main character arc in the story? Where do they start and how do they develop?
Reynold starts off as a man struggling with a position he did not choose for himself, and struggling to spread the word of hope in a world of growing issues - some background (Industrial Revolution) and some foreground (witch-hunts, Jacobans). He eventually finds answers to things involving his heritage and his past which help guide him.
Is there any existing character from other media that your character resembles? Was the resemblance intentional or was it a coincidence?
No-one really comes to mind.
Do you have a playlist for the character? What songs do you associate with them and why?
Whilst something I write a lot of this story to now, originally this one was I used a lot for Reynold's parts of the story. Also this one as well.
Do you have a voice claim for the character? What do you imagine the character sounds like?
Reynold's accent is hard to narrow down for reasons I cannot explain. I can't even think of an approximation or an equivalent. I couldn't find anything on the Speech Accent Archive either. Most of my characters have a distinct voice, but for some reason he doesn't, and 'the typical Southern English accent' makes no sense to anyone inside or outside of the UK. I don't imagine it being like, particularly deep. Probably very soft-spoken.
However, I do imagine him having a surprisingly-operatic sounding singing voice, inspired by the iconic singing voice of an old head of a church our primary school occasionally went to years ago.
Is there any memes or running jokes associated with the character, both in- and out of universe?
Outside-of-universe, there's plenty involving Áine, who in me and my friend's jokey discussions is incredibly chaotic. I can't mention half of them because spoilers, but they usually involve him barely tolerating her antics and / or trying to get away from her. XD
Are there any motifs or symbols associated with the character? How are they represented, in their design, personality or in some other way?
There are, but they become apparent in-story and I cannot mention here because of spoilers...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?
He does! His sister Clementia is in the story, who he does not get along with to begin with. But why? She is his twin. Their parents are Alistair and Blythe Morgan... or were. They don't know if they're still alive or not.
What is your general favourite thing about the character? What is your least favourite?
Reynold has so much emotionsl baggage, but he is persistent, and he has a lot more capability than he gives himself credit for. I'm not the most hopeful person in the world, but that's why we write about hope, isn't it? Despite everything, he is an embodiment of hope which everyone in this story needs, whether they realise it or not.
I don't have a least favourite thing about Reynold < 3