Alright, here're my thoughts on character relationships so far. I'll type these up more fully if you guys like the way they sound.

[@Lovejoy] Obviously, I don't know much about Ragnar yet, but I really like the little-big brother dynamic you described. Hassan probably feels pretty protective of Ragnar, but he'd be likely to express that in a standoffish way - he wants the kid to be his best and really come into his own, and that means having expectations of him.

[@The Angry Goat] Tying into their potential roles as Ragnar's surrogate big brothers, I think Stina and Hassan could potential be really good friends, if in a very opposite, vitriolic way. Though they're temperamentally very different, I think they'd respect each other's capabilities and willingness to go to extreme lengths to do what needs to be done. Either way, Hassan would probably spend a lot of time trying to get him to lighten up, if in a playful, friendly way.

[@deathbringer] I'm not sure about Hassan and Astraea. On one hand, they both seem like basically friendly people, and Hassan could probably understand Astraea's internal conflict better than most. On the other, Astraea might take issue with Hassan's severe coldness and his tendency to use people without a second thought, as she seems like an empathetic person while he has trouble remembering sometimes that normal people are, y'know, [i]people.[/i] I think there's a lot for us to discuss here.

[@Drakey] Man, Hassan is gonna love messing with Rodion. I don't know yet whether it will be just friendly teasing or some actual rivalry, but I can already tell that he'll often be the target of Hassan's ribbing, and Hassan might also have some rivalry with him due to the diametrically opposed nature of their talents. We'll see.