Y'know what, I suspect most people will be asking about the current CR, but I'm gonna bring up old shit.

SHELIAK, 1, 5, 9, 10

hehe I approve! I'll never say no to talking about Sheliak

1. How quickly does your character take a liking to other people? Do they make friends easily?

On a surface level it looks like Sheliak makes friends very easily however to him they are merely allies, not actual friends. It is very difficult for Sheliak to see others as anything other than stepping stones for his family's ambitions. He does open up more to those he respects however

if you are worth his time then maybe he can consider it

or if you are annoyingly persistent enough like Arrakis who just would not leave him alone

Sounds about right.

5. What does your character think about making emotional connections? Do they have baggage surrounding it? What scares them away from getting close to others?

Sheliak strives to be perfect in every way and emotional connections are a distraction. This is what Sheliak tells himself but in reality he secretly enjoys the connection if he thinks the other person is worthy of it and he's fiercely protective of the people he has decided to get close to.

his connections to others is also one of the few way to try to break through his blind loyalty to his family.

his secret relationship with Arrakis was the first time he ever went against his family's wished and his rivalry with Altair makes him slowly question how the nobles treated the common people, although he still stubbornly defends them.

9. How does your character express their affection for others? Does it happen often, or infrequently? Do they leave little gifts, or express their appreciation, or just tsun for the rest of their life?

Sheliak expresses affection by showing more of his flawed side which he normally hides behind an icy mask of perfection

he still prefers to wait until they are alone though. Appearances are important after all, but you can still see it in the subtle ways he shows more emotion than usual

even so he's a bit hesitant to show his flawed side so even when he's alone with someone he cares about its hesitant moments of honesty, however once that dam breaks he won't hesitate to throw Arrakis into a pond if he's teasing him too much

nobles give others gifts all the time as a way to sweeten negotiations so Sheliak doesn't believe in giving gifts to those he cares about. It feels too shallow and he prefers to use honesty instead

10. When does your character feel as though they've made a firm friendship as opposed to a simple acquaintanceship? Is being liked something that they easily accept, or do they just think others are being polite? What do they feel they bring to a relationship?

It is very difficult for Sheliak to trust a friendship is real and not just a calculated choice. The point that it becomes clear the friendship is real is honestly a bit blurry. Once he starts showing hints of his real self he starts to slowly stop resisting the voice that tells him the other is just using him somehow.

real friendship sort of sneaks up on him. At some point friends go from a useful pawn to someone indispensable who he refuses to let slip from his grasp. (not the best mentality since he still considers them as useful, just in a way he can't do without now but he's learning)

the one exception to this rule are the other mages, other than Arrrakis, who he became incredibly close to very quickly, but that was because their world was destroyed and they were the last survivors. Which is not an ideal way to become friends

As for what he thinks he brings to the relationship, that's where his arrogant side gets him into trouble lol

he's convinced people are lucky he has decided they are worth his time

he can show show a gentler side to his close friends but he still thinks it was his choice to accept being friends

which in a way shows a hidden vulnerability underneath the arrogance because for him trusting his flawed side to others is very difficult

10 for Altair, 11 for Altair+RS, and 5 for Arrakis since you got me curious about him

10. When does your character feel as though they've made a firm friendship as opposed to a simple acquaintanceship? Is being liked something that they easily accept, or do they just think others are being polite? What do they feel they bring to a relationship?

lol oh boy. Altair is a bit of a walking contradiction. He wants connections but he also vehemently does not trust them, and that distrust doesn't fade away even with close friends, in fact it gets worse since his best friend betrayed him. So he does not easily accept being liked and he will resist it every step of the way

still fighting against his deep distrust for others is his need for connection, which is just as strong, annoyingly so in Altair's opinion since he finds it a lot harder to find once someone has snuck their way into his heart

if he gives you his name then he's decided that maybe it's alright to let you get to know him. He's also incredibly loyal to those he lets in as a way to thank them for staying with him, despite how difficult he makes it

he's honestly not sure what he brings to the relationship. He's just happy his friends accept him and he is willing to spend his whole life repaying that kindness

*he finds his need for connection a lot harder to fight. Sorry for the typo

(For Altair and RS) 11. Has anything in this relationship changed your character's perspective or philosophy on anything? What was it?

absolutely! RS has helped Altair grow so much! Before he became friends with RS Altair's views on forgiveness were very rigid, especially with the nameless goddess.

He refused to acknowledge anything but his pain and anger because he couldn't go through something like Ain's betrayal again, which has still left him broken in many ways. So he hid behind his hatred instead.

RS felt like Ain all over again and Altair almost ran from his friendship with RS at first when he found out more about him, but after everything he lost Altair didn't want to lose him too, which was enough for him to try to understand him.

RS has made Altair a lot more forgiving of others and he has even started to acknowledge that he has more than just hate for the nameless goddess, although he still doesn't forgive and probably never will

RS has also helped Altair accept his darkness more instead of always drowning in guilt. He's a bad influence lol but also one he needed

he has been blessed with good influences in ryslig, ones he doesn't believe he deserves and he needed a bit of shared darkness to balance it out

(and lastly Arrakis!) 5. What does your character think about making emotional connections? Do they have baggage surrounding it? What scares them away from getting close to others?

Arrakis is the unwanted sixth son of the Faylare house. In a vicious household where everyone madly grabs for scraps of power Arrakis is the youngest and bottom of the hierarchy.

His father has no use for him, his mother hates him for not being a daughter who she could marry off to another noble family for power and sibling who either see him as a threat or ways to feel better about themselves.

He has always felt unwanted and believes that it's his fault somehow. He's always felt alone so he's desperate to make any emotional connections while also being terrified of being abandoned.

as a result he hides his true self behind a mask of the person he thinks everyone will like and he will subtly change his personality to suit others. This allows him to have the connections he desperately longs for while avoiding the risk of being rejected

still, like Altair he longs for true connections so he ends up hesitantly opening up to people, although its a very slow process, especially with all the emotional baggage of his death and the hidden scars from his magic

however his needy side does show in how persistently he pursues friendships. There is no escape once he takes a liking to you

especially if he thinks you are hiding something like he is

aw, Arrakis ;;

and so much interesting info on Altair

lol the thing with being secretive even with his name puts a new light on their meeting. as far as Altair was concerned he'd basically made overtures of friendship to some hostile and rude stranger, whereas RS was just like "yeah that tells me nothing"

I'm glad a little bad influence has been good for him in a roundabout way too XD

lol yeah. Although to be fair it was mostly it was out of necessity so RS would get him out of there but there were also aspects of Ring Spirit's memory that reminded him of home and the brief hint he got from the memory at the bottom of the stairs resonated with his own secrets

so he was reluctantly curious enough to give him his name