I just joined Twitter (mostly to browse fan art and look at the memes) and saw a artistic idea bouncing around that I decided to pull from and post here.
The objective here is to pick six characters, whether fictional or RL, that either inspired (or continue to inspire!) your character and how you approach them.
For me…well, it’s a bit difficult since I haven’t actually RP’d Jian since he was created but here goes:
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Robin Hood and Little John from Disney’s Robin Hood movie. It may be cheating here to combo a pair, but for me the two characters and how they interact is important. Both care about protecting the poor/downtrodden, but they are relaxed, cunning, and funny when they do it.
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Beleg Strongbow, from Tolkien’s Silmarillion. Most everything Beleg is shown to be capable of is what inspired Jian’s transition from “panda with a bow” to “pandaren ranger”. Also, his loyalty to his friends (such as Beleg to Turin) is something shared between them.
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Anguy, from Game of Thrones, both versions. The “friendly sniper” trope to a T, he also does not come from high-ranking beginnings. This low-level living inspired Jian to be a cobbler’s son, and how even after years abroad he is still not used to wealth and splendor.
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Birgitte Silverbow from The Wheel of Time series. Jian is a friendly sniper trope, as mentioned, but to his foes he’s more of a Birgitte. Cold, calculating, and tactical, able to take in multiple aspects of the hunt without letting his emotions tie into it. He also, like her, is willing to do the right thing even if he has to suffer for it (spoilers for an old book series, but if you know, you know).
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Rose of Sharon Cassidy, Fallout: New Vegas. Her attitude towards the NCR (particularly her quote here) is how I have Jian view the Horde as a whole. He’s been with them for a long time, and it’s his home he’ll fight for. But he isn’t so blindly loyal as to not see the problems. He’ll do what he needs to do to help the Horde, but don’t expect him to be okay with everything that goes down.
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Honestly, this last one I couldn’t find a good specific character for, as there are so many. The closest I could come is the film version of Aragorn from The Lord of the Rings. Film Aragorn was more than happy to stay in exile and not take up the mantle of king. This was adapted in Jian’s past, where his father wanted him to settle down with an arranged marriage and take over the family business, which Jian refused to do because he had no desire to.
What about you, Wyrmrest? Post 'em if you got 'em.