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Not a SayanLet's finally do this, shall we; enjoy my rambling.
Cecilia: Fionn had a bad experience once where one of the company archers almost shot him by mistake. This made him, perhaps, immediately biased against the fire support from the rear ranks from the beginning; but Cecilia's lack of anything that Fionn would recognize as devotion, discipline, conscientiousness, or the like didn't do her any favours there. At least she's a far better archer than he's dealt with in the past, which is progress of some sort. If it weren't for the fact that they're comrades, not just random acquaintances, he might appreciate her personality a bit more, as her general sense of humour is something he'd probably enjoy quite a bit more. He does have other reservations about her, however, beyond just his thoughts on her work ethic—while some might say (perhaps rightfully) that he is lacking in sense, Fionn strives to be very socially conscious and perceptive of the people around him, both for their moods, needs, and anything else that comes across, and he can recognize the purposeful omission that comes out when Cecilia talks about herself, and the uncertainty with which she carries herself. He just hasn't yet decided if he wants to reach out and see if she needs help with anything, or if he should just continue to keep an eye on her.
Renar: One of the first that Fionn met of the order, by virtue of their being inducted around the same time, Fionn found a fast camaraderie with Renar. He appreciates the man's abilities, both in purely physical prowess and also when it comes to his skill and his mind, viewing them all as equally valuable assets, and, at least when they fight together, he trusts Renar implicitly. Off the battlefield is a different matter. He fears that Renar may put too much stock in the circumstance of his birth, and has too harsh of a view of the world, either because of or in some relation to it. While he can't deny that Renar's ruthless practicality gets results, Fionn would rather see a bit more idealism and focus on proper conduct creep in than just a focus on pure effectiveness, if only for Renar's assured long-term wellbeing. Luckily, the friendly interactions he's had with Renar—alongside some of what he's observed with Renar interacting with others—gives him hope in that regard, and for that he's willing to call the man a friend.
Tyaethe: Fionn certainly respects Tyaethe, her skill, her abilities, and her place in the order—it's impossible not to—but the first feelings to come to his mind regarding her aren't just those of respect, but of sympathy, though he never intends to voice them outright, as he doubts it would go over well. Still, even with having been alive for barely over a tenth of the span the First and Youngest has seen, he's had his fair share of farewells to both friends, simple acquaintances, comrades, and the like, and has felt each one keenly, whether the parting itself was a good or a bad thing; Fionn is a firm believer that such things weigh on a person, and he can't imagine the weight that such has left on Tyaethe. As such, at least in that regard, he can understand her choice to seemingly hold all the rest at arm's length most of the time, though he feels that is the worse decision to make when faced with the situation she's in. One of his primary goals is to befriend her, to help warm her demeanour and raise her general opinion of each new group of knights, as he would rather she be able to keep finding and making connections beyond the captains, rather than let the faces slip on past and disappear along with each passing year.
Gerard: Surprisingly enough, for as friendly as he tries to be, through most of his tour of duty Fionn didn't particularly like most of the mercenaries he worked with. He respected them, certainly, and made sure to learn what he could, but the majority of them were either too cutthroat or too self-centered for him to want to get to know them as anything more than coworkers. A hazard, perhaps, of being a mercenary who aspired to greater than the next paycheck. It was fortuitous, then, that he met another former mercenary with similar ideals and goals. He quickly moved to pull Gerard into the center of his personal circle of acquaintances within the order, as their shared experiences, complimenting skills, and very similar outlooks and ideals made for a bedrock on which Fionn felt he could build a very solid friendship—not to mention that being able to bring in a bit more idealism to counter some of their more cynical fellows would be a good thing. Now, if he can manage to help Gerard relax, come out of his shell more, and stop thinking of himself as the completely expendable nigh-suicidal vanguard, he'll be very happy.
Lucas: Lucas doesn't worry Fionn...but Fionn worries about Lucas. While the younger man has his skills, they're ones that Fionn considers wholly unsuited to taking to the melee of a battle; and yet, whether it be pure youthful foolhardiness or some attempt to prove himself, Lucas seems intent to do so. While he appreciates the gymnast's humour and antics he would rather see Lucas's mind put to use for the benefit of the order, or use his skills in a different way than letting him rush into something that he has not been trained for or had experience in. Maybe he'll be able to convince Lucas of such, or get Gerard to do so. Hopefully before Renar or Serenity lose their patience entirely with Lucas.
Fanilly: To some extent, Fionn views their fresh-faced Knight-Captain in the way he might view a little sister, though he strives to remain careful not to let that lull him into undermining her authority where it counts. He has a great respect for tradition and the way it helps to establish identity, and in that regard fully supports Fanilly's place amongst the Iron Roses; there's enough of a wealth of knowledge and experience within the order that he doesn't fear her lack thereof. More important to him is keeping her protected and giving her the guidance and time needed to truly grow into her role and flourish, a view that he thinks quite a few of the others would be well-suited to take on and he isn't afraid to say as much if his opinion is ever asked—or if other opinions are being freely given. Much like with some of the others that he is closer to, he wants to help grow her confidence and surety, but he also thinks she is caught a bit too strongly between who she truly is and who she is expected to be, and as part of her growth wants to see her—help her, if able—find a way to combine both facets into a healthier, happier identity.
Serenity: Fionn's views on Serenity are similar to those on Fanilly, although Serenity worries him quite a bit more. Anybody who has as large a chip on their shoulder as she does—large even compared to Renar's, who sometimes makes Fionn wonder if he's carrying the entire block rather than just a chip—can't be doing entirely well, and he takes the extreme levels of independence she tries to cultivate as a symptom of the larger problem. To his mind, she seems to be caught worse in the tug of war between the self and the role than Fanilly even is, a growing identity almost entirely subsumed by the demands and expectations of her family; he would pity her, if it weren't for the fact that she is still, like most of the batch of knights he interacts with most often, quite young. He hopes that the distance from her family will help her grow into herself without as much effort needed to soften her edges as Renar might need—but he can't help but feel some trepidation seeing the two of them together. As it is, though, he's well aware that she has chosen to keep him a bit more distant, and perhaps use him if either of them make an effort to get closer to the other; if such should pass, he hopes he'll be able to turn the tables and make some progress. For now, he keeps a close eye on her interactions with Renar and Gerard, and gives her more leeway than he would the others with some of her comments about the captain, knowing that neither of them really had any opportunity to choose who they were forced to become.
Fleuri: If there's anybody in Thaln, or just past the borders, who hasn't heard tell of the Flower of the North or his equally-famous ancestor, Fionn will be amazed. More important to him than Fleuri's reputation, though, is the man's actual personality, and the faith and humility his rededication fostered in him. While Fionn would never deny that he's always willing to test himself against such a prominent tournament champion on the training yard, it's the way that Fleuri recognized his own faults and failings and moved to better himself—rather than simply give in—that makes him a respectable, even admirable figure, and the fact that Fleuri is so straight-forward to interact with and similar in his views only makes it all the better.
Sergio: Fionn appreciates the Knight of the Harvest moon for similar reasons to his appreciation of Fleuri; his skill, his devotion to action, and his honourable demeanour are all points that earn Fionn's respect, as well as Sergio's generally elegant, well-put-together demeanour. The knight is an easy one to be friendly with, and though their tools are different, their shared view on how best to serve Mayon makes it very easy for Fionn to count Sergio among those knights he's willing to put quite a bit of trust in. However, the way that Sergio draws away from the others during downtime, even to the point of taking meals entirely solitary, gives rise to some concern and makes him take pause from trying to bring Sergio too deep into his circle, at least until he can figure out a bit more of why Sergio pulls back and how best to address it. Fionn has too many other "projects" within the order to constantly add to the list.
Morianne: She likes the colour green, so she can't be all bad; beyond that, Fionn's heard worse than she's ever dished out, so her bluntness and wit don't bother him. She's not the first young elf he's met, and every single one seems to blend both the best and worst aspects of human youths and elders. He respects her magical abilities, though his musical tastes and hers don't seem to align, and is perfectly willing to be friendly with her—though given their differing specialities, their paths don't tend to cross much beyond the field. Perhaps it's better that way; from what he's gathered of her past, he'd be hard pressed to resist adding her to the list of people he specifically wants to watch out for and try to help when he's able.
Katerina: Finally, someone who speaks a civilized tongue! That alone merits appreciation from Fionn, even as much as he worries about Katerina's lungs. While she's certainly a bit more grim and standoffish than he is, he can certainly recognize aspects of their personalities that overlap quite a bit—though as with Morianne, their paths don't always cross much, given that their skills lie in utterly different areas. He hopes she's growing to appreciate her current position well and isn't too tied to her past—and if she ever asks and somehow hasn't yet, he'd likely suggest cutting her mother off, just for her own peace of mind.
She gets bonus points for being willing to make lamb far more often than most others he knows cook among the group.
Alodia: He appreciates her skills as well, more magic users rarely being a bad thing, and her cheery, helpful disposition. What he doesn't appreciate is the utterly disarming nature of how her magic has slowed her growth and aging, something he found much easier to accept with the literally-undead Tyaethe, and her penchant for overenthusiasm with the strength of her spells and the collateral damage that can cause. Collateral damage is never a good thing in his mind, and that's enough to make sure he keeps at a safe distance and not in the direct line of fire from Alodia. The accusations of heresy, however, are a non-issue to him; as much as he does care about his faith in the Godesses, Mayon in particular, he understands that Alodia was simply misguided, not actively malicious. To take persistent issue with her over that when it was seen fit to assign her to the Iron Roses as "penance" would be simply ridiculous.
Lein: If Fionn's relationship with Renar can be considered a bubble waiting to pop as a result of their differing views on chivalry and proper conduct, then his interactions with Lein may well be a powder keg. What makes it hard is that he does appreciate the young Hundi's mischievousness, humour, and sense of loyalty to the others on the group, as well as the skills he has to offer, bias against archers aside; he'd greatly appreciate if Lein and Cecilia could pull Lucas aside and induct the boy into their ranks and put his skills to use in their area, for example, and he likes Lein and Lucas's personalities for similar reasons. However, the arrogance that shines through at times, as well as the fact that it seems Lein almost purposefully strives to act, not only not as a stereotypical honourable Hundi, but just dishonourable in general, greatly rubs him the wrong way. He tries to ignore it as much as possible, but Fionn has little doubt that at some point, something will happen that brings things to a head between him and Lein, and hopefully it won't be an unsalvageable mess after all is said and done between them.
Fionn: He's based, clearly.
Fionn makes sure to remain well aware of both his strengths and his weaknesses, and how best to ameliorate those, either through work or through the enlistment of his various companions in the development of a sound strategy. As much as he makes a point to stay keyed into the wants, needs, strengths, and faults of his various companions, he's not so foolish as to think he's without his own; however, with himself as with the others, he's much more forgiving of faults of personality than he is faults of action or duty. Even then, one that progresses to the point of a fault, though he may never realize it as such, is how strong his drive to help or guide others is. Even as much as he starts to worry if he's bitten off more than he can chew with the company he now surrounds himself with, he feels so comfortable with himself and his place that he sees it almost as another duty to help them if he's able, and just to try and be a good example if not. As much as his personality can veer from one extreme to another very quickly, it still remains to be seen whether or not he can keep that under control enough to avoid causing more harm than good.
One thing to his credit, though, is that he doesn't harbour any doubts to his fitness as a member of the Iron Roses or as a new knight in general; he doesn't let it feed his ego or grow into any sort of foolhardy behaviour, but his confidence is very secure, both in himself and those he chooses to be confident in, if only he can make some of them see it.
Cecilia: Fionn had a bad experience once where one of the company archers almost shot him by mistake. This made him, perhaps, immediately biased against the fire support from the rear ranks from the beginning; but Cecilia's lack of anything that Fionn would recognize as devotion, discipline, conscientiousness, or the like didn't do her any favours there. At least she's a far better archer than he's dealt with in the past, which is progress of some sort. If it weren't for the fact that they're comrades, not just random acquaintances, he might appreciate her personality a bit more, as her general sense of humour is something he'd probably enjoy quite a bit more. He does have other reservations about her, however, beyond just his thoughts on her work ethic—while some might say (perhaps rightfully) that he is lacking in sense, Fionn strives to be very socially conscious and perceptive of the people around him, both for their moods, needs, and anything else that comes across, and he can recognize the purposeful omission that comes out when Cecilia talks about herself, and the uncertainty with which she carries herself. He just hasn't yet decided if he wants to reach out and see if she needs help with anything, or if he should just continue to keep an eye on her.
Renar: One of the first that Fionn met of the order, by virtue of their being inducted around the same time, Fionn found a fast camaraderie with Renar. He appreciates the man's abilities, both in purely physical prowess and also when it comes to his skill and his mind, viewing them all as equally valuable assets, and, at least when they fight together, he trusts Renar implicitly. Off the battlefield is a different matter. He fears that Renar may put too much stock in the circumstance of his birth, and has too harsh of a view of the world, either because of or in some relation to it. While he can't deny that Renar's ruthless practicality gets results, Fionn would rather see a bit more idealism and focus on proper conduct creep in than just a focus on pure effectiveness, if only for Renar's assured long-term wellbeing. Luckily, the friendly interactions he's had with Renar—alongside some of what he's observed with Renar interacting with others—gives him hope in that regard, and for that he's willing to call the man a friend.
Tyaethe: Fionn certainly respects Tyaethe, her skill, her abilities, and her place in the order—it's impossible not to—but the first feelings to come to his mind regarding her aren't just those of respect, but of sympathy, though he never intends to voice them outright, as he doubts it would go over well. Still, even with having been alive for barely over a tenth of the span the First and Youngest has seen, he's had his fair share of farewells to both friends, simple acquaintances, comrades, and the like, and has felt each one keenly, whether the parting itself was a good or a bad thing; Fionn is a firm believer that such things weigh on a person, and he can't imagine the weight that such has left on Tyaethe. As such, at least in that regard, he can understand her choice to seemingly hold all the rest at arm's length most of the time, though he feels that is the worse decision to make when faced with the situation she's in. One of his primary goals is to befriend her, to help warm her demeanour and raise her general opinion of each new group of knights, as he would rather she be able to keep finding and making connections beyond the captains, rather than let the faces slip on past and disappear along with each passing year.
Gerard: Surprisingly enough, for as friendly as he tries to be, through most of his tour of duty Fionn didn't particularly like most of the mercenaries he worked with. He respected them, certainly, and made sure to learn what he could, but the majority of them were either too cutthroat or too self-centered for him to want to get to know them as anything more than coworkers. A hazard, perhaps, of being a mercenary who aspired to greater than the next paycheck. It was fortuitous, then, that he met another former mercenary with similar ideals and goals. He quickly moved to pull Gerard into the center of his personal circle of acquaintances within the order, as their shared experiences, complimenting skills, and very similar outlooks and ideals made for a bedrock on which Fionn felt he could build a very solid friendship—not to mention that being able to bring in a bit more idealism to counter some of their more cynical fellows would be a good thing. Now, if he can manage to help Gerard relax, come out of his shell more, and stop thinking of himself as the completely expendable nigh-suicidal vanguard, he'll be very happy.
Lucas: Lucas doesn't worry Fionn...but Fionn worries about Lucas. While the younger man has his skills, they're ones that Fionn considers wholly unsuited to taking to the melee of a battle; and yet, whether it be pure youthful foolhardiness or some attempt to prove himself, Lucas seems intent to do so. While he appreciates the gymnast's humour and antics he would rather see Lucas's mind put to use for the benefit of the order, or use his skills in a different way than letting him rush into something that he has not been trained for or had experience in. Maybe he'll be able to convince Lucas of such, or get Gerard to do so. Hopefully before Renar or Serenity lose their patience entirely with Lucas.
Fanilly: To some extent, Fionn views their fresh-faced Knight-Captain in the way he might view a little sister, though he strives to remain careful not to let that lull him into undermining her authority where it counts. He has a great respect for tradition and the way it helps to establish identity, and in that regard fully supports Fanilly's place amongst the Iron Roses; there's enough of a wealth of knowledge and experience within the order that he doesn't fear her lack thereof. More important to him is keeping her protected and giving her the guidance and time needed to truly grow into her role and flourish, a view that he thinks quite a few of the others would be well-suited to take on and he isn't afraid to say as much if his opinion is ever asked—or if other opinions are being freely given. Much like with some of the others that he is closer to, he wants to help grow her confidence and surety, but he also thinks she is caught a bit too strongly between who she truly is and who she is expected to be, and as part of her growth wants to see her—help her, if able—find a way to combine both facets into a healthier, happier identity.
Serenity: Fionn's views on Serenity are similar to those on Fanilly, although Serenity worries him quite a bit more. Anybody who has as large a chip on their shoulder as she does—large even compared to Renar's, who sometimes makes Fionn wonder if he's carrying the entire block rather than just a chip—can't be doing entirely well, and he takes the extreme levels of independence she tries to cultivate as a symptom of the larger problem. To his mind, she seems to be caught worse in the tug of war between the self and the role than Fanilly even is, a growing identity almost entirely subsumed by the demands and expectations of her family; he would pity her, if it weren't for the fact that she is still, like most of the batch of knights he interacts with most often, quite young. He hopes that the distance from her family will help her grow into herself without as much effort needed to soften her edges as Renar might need—but he can't help but feel some trepidation seeing the two of them together. As it is, though, he's well aware that she has chosen to keep him a bit more distant, and perhaps use him if either of them make an effort to get closer to the other; if such should pass, he hopes he'll be able to turn the tables and make some progress. For now, he keeps a close eye on her interactions with Renar and Gerard, and gives her more leeway than he would the others with some of her comments about the captain, knowing that neither of them really had any opportunity to choose who they were forced to become.
Fleuri: If there's anybody in Thaln, or just past the borders, who hasn't heard tell of the Flower of the North or his equally-famous ancestor, Fionn will be amazed. More important to him than Fleuri's reputation, though, is the man's actual personality, and the faith and humility his rededication fostered in him. While Fionn would never deny that he's always willing to test himself against such a prominent tournament champion on the training yard, it's the way that Fleuri recognized his own faults and failings and moved to better himself—rather than simply give in—that makes him a respectable, even admirable figure, and the fact that Fleuri is so straight-forward to interact with and similar in his views only makes it all the better.
Sergio: Fionn appreciates the Knight of the Harvest moon for similar reasons to his appreciation of Fleuri; his skill, his devotion to action, and his honourable demeanour are all points that earn Fionn's respect, as well as Sergio's generally elegant, well-put-together demeanour. The knight is an easy one to be friendly with, and though their tools are different, their shared view on how best to serve Mayon makes it very easy for Fionn to count Sergio among those knights he's willing to put quite a bit of trust in. However, the way that Sergio draws away from the others during downtime, even to the point of taking meals entirely solitary, gives rise to some concern and makes him take pause from trying to bring Sergio too deep into his circle, at least until he can figure out a bit more of why Sergio pulls back and how best to address it. Fionn has too many other "projects" within the order to constantly add to the list.
Morianne: She likes the colour green, so she can't be all bad; beyond that, Fionn's heard worse than she's ever dished out, so her bluntness and wit don't bother him. She's not the first young elf he's met, and every single one seems to blend both the best and worst aspects of human youths and elders. He respects her magical abilities, though his musical tastes and hers don't seem to align, and is perfectly willing to be friendly with her—though given their differing specialities, their paths don't tend to cross much beyond the field. Perhaps it's better that way; from what he's gathered of her past, he'd be hard pressed to resist adding her to the list of people he specifically wants to watch out for and try to help when he's able.
Katerina: Finally, someone who speaks a civilized tongue! That alone merits appreciation from Fionn, even as much as he worries about Katerina's lungs. While she's certainly a bit more grim and standoffish than he is, he can certainly recognize aspects of their personalities that overlap quite a bit—though as with Morianne, their paths don't always cross much, given that their skills lie in utterly different areas. He hopes she's growing to appreciate her current position well and isn't too tied to her past—and if she ever asks and somehow hasn't yet, he'd likely suggest cutting her mother off, just for her own peace of mind.
She gets bonus points for being willing to make lamb far more often than most others he knows cook among the group.
Alodia: He appreciates her skills as well, more magic users rarely being a bad thing, and her cheery, helpful disposition. What he doesn't appreciate is the utterly disarming nature of how her magic has slowed her growth and aging, something he found much easier to accept with the literally-undead Tyaethe, and her penchant for overenthusiasm with the strength of her spells and the collateral damage that can cause. Collateral damage is never a good thing in his mind, and that's enough to make sure he keeps at a safe distance and not in the direct line of fire from Alodia. The accusations of heresy, however, are a non-issue to him; as much as he does care about his faith in the Godesses, Mayon in particular, he understands that Alodia was simply misguided, not actively malicious. To take persistent issue with her over that when it was seen fit to assign her to the Iron Roses as "penance" would be simply ridiculous.
Lein: If Fionn's relationship with Renar can be considered a bubble waiting to pop as a result of their differing views on chivalry and proper conduct, then his interactions with Lein may well be a powder keg. What makes it hard is that he does appreciate the young Hundi's mischievousness, humour, and sense of loyalty to the others on the group, as well as the skills he has to offer, bias against archers aside; he'd greatly appreciate if Lein and Cecilia could pull Lucas aside and induct the boy into their ranks and put his skills to use in their area, for example, and he likes Lein and Lucas's personalities for similar reasons. However, the arrogance that shines through at times, as well as the fact that it seems Lein almost purposefully strives to act, not only not as a stereotypical honourable Hundi, but just dishonourable in general, greatly rubs him the wrong way. He tries to ignore it as much as possible, but Fionn has little doubt that at some point, something will happen that brings things to a head between him and Lein, and hopefully it won't be an unsalvageable mess after all is said and done between them.
Fionn: He's based, clearly.
Fionn makes sure to remain well aware of both his strengths and his weaknesses, and how best to ameliorate those, either through work or through the enlistment of his various companions in the development of a sound strategy. As much as he makes a point to stay keyed into the wants, needs, strengths, and faults of his various companions, he's not so foolish as to think he's without his own; however, with himself as with the others, he's much more forgiving of faults of personality than he is faults of action or duty. Even then, one that progresses to the point of a fault, though he may never realize it as such, is how strong his drive to help or guide others is. Even as much as he starts to worry if he's bitten off more than he can chew with the company he now surrounds himself with, he feels so comfortable with himself and his place that he sees it almost as another duty to help them if he's able, and just to try and be a good example if not. As much as his personality can veer from one extreme to another very quickly, it still remains to be seen whether or not he can keep that under control enough to avoid causing more harm than good.
One thing to his credit, though, is that he doesn't harbour any doubts to his fitness as a member of the Iron Roses or as a new knight in general; he doesn't let it feed his ego or grow into any sort of foolhardy behaviour, but his confidence is very secure, both in himself and those he chooses to be confident in, if only he can make some of them see it.