Kadri Espenson

Basic Info

Age: 17

Height: 5'7

Ethnicity: Half Norwegian, Half Greek

Orientation: Pan a-spec (Aroflux gray-asexual, also identifies a lot with gray-aromantic and quoiromantic)

Pronouns: He/him, they/them

Appearance Notes: He owns an ornate red fan that he uses to help channel his magic; the center gem should be about the size of quarter, and the smaller gems up top about the size of dimes. Kadri dresses according to his mood once he has the freedom to, and is very open to experiment with new styles. I often give him sort of fantasy style tunics to wear with minor gems or jewelry, and he does often like to wear bright or stylish clothes (both feminine and masculine styles). But he'll also wear very casual clothes, vintage or retro clothes, or goth clothes if the mood for it strikes. He spends most of the story not wearing glasses, but eventually he realizes he does need them and acquires a pair, so drawing him both with and without glasses is accurate; when he does have glasses on, they are round/circle shaped and either black, dark red, dark blue, or dark purple. Kadri also usually has dark rings under his eyes from lack of quality sleep.

Power Appearance Notes: Kadri is a mage with a somewhat diverse skill set. That said, I cannot pretend to have any consistent mental image on what his magic actually 'looks' like. xD He needs to have his fan somewhere on his person to cast spells, or at least near him. It probably lights up red or gold when magic is being used? You can use red crackles of lights, or glowies, or golden lights, I'm not picky.

He can create fire and explosions with his magic, along with energy force fields for defense. He can transform one material into another material, or create objects out of the atoms in the air (this is a bit harder and takes more focus though). He can adjust the temperature of things to melt or freeze them. Those are some more obviously visual examples of his magic.

They also can do more passive magic, like sensing anything with a magical signature or protecting against invisible curses. They can probably cast curses/enchantments to a limited extent as well, though it's not really an area of focus for them. Their 'sixth sense' is always active and detecting any and all nearby fluctuations of the magical plane. Sometimes they turn off their other senses to just focus on their sixth sense. If you want to draw them in the magical plane, it's a pretty non-literal place, so it would look all glowy and with inverted or otherwise unusual colors, possibly a bit wavy/unstable and transparent. Someday I will have finalized art references for all of their powers and stuff, but in the meantime absolutely feel free to experiment and get creative with it!

2 Cent Summary: Kadri is a teenage mage raised by an isolationist, emotionally abusive cult leader. He's an introverted poet who, when in unfamiliar social settings, is very reserved and polite. In most other cases, he presents as a very extroverted, aggressively cheerful, over-the-top individual who often speaks in purple prose and acts oblivious or mischievous just to be annoying. 

Character Lore

History

Kadri was born to a lower class family in the countryside. When he was seven, his house caught on fire, and he seemed to be the only survivor. As he watched the flames burn, he was approached by a man who said the death of his family was Kadri's fault, as he had been living against his Star Chosen Fate. The man introduced himself as Castor, the Voice of the Stars, and told Kadri that he, knowingly or not, enacted the 'Will' of the Stars. Only by working together could the Star's Will be carried out correctly and avoid such unfortunate incidents in the future. Castor then took Kadri in and indoctrinated him into his cult, Astrum, and made him a mage (a painful process that resulted in a sort of 'sixth sense'). Kadri served as Castor's obedient right hand servant and executioner, never leaving the cult's premises (until the story's plot begins, and he gets sent out for the first time on a mission). 

Personality

Kadri is naturally a very observant introvert. Even before becoming a mage, Kadri was slightly inclined towards sensory-overload, though becoming a mage exacerbated it. Despite this, Kadri presents himself in a rather outgoing, flamboyant manner, usually seeming very cheerful and lively. He also has a natural mischievous streak, and enjoys teasing and trolling others. While he is very analytical and scholarly, and therefore often knows what the wisest course of action strategically speaking in a situation is, they will sometimes choose the option that entertains them the most instead if the consequences aren't too great. They are not at all above lying, and often pretends to be far ditzier than they actually are just for their own amusement (though if they're trolling, they usually try to make it obvious they're lying, since that's more annoying). He has a somewhat distinct speech style, speaking in more formal, almost old fashioned or poetic language, though he'll speak more simplistically if he's surprised or tired (physically or emotionally). He developed this speech style on purpose, as he struggled a lot as a child with putting his thoughts into words. He is somewhat prone to mood swings, but typically tries to keep his external persona consistently lighthearted if he doesn't feel close to the people he's around. No matter what, Kadri tends to be a very dramatic, often eccentric person.

Kadri, as a general rule, treats others as they treat him. He'll be polite to anyone he's new or neutral towards, but if someone is kind to him, he'll go out of his way to be as kind and helpful as possible. Likewise, they have a strong passive aggressive streak and is very vindictive to those who slight them. He might not react much in the moment the offense happens, but will orchestrate what he deems equal suffering upon you from afar. 

His main hobbies are playing video games, writing poetry, reading/studying, trying new things, and spending time with his friends (once he has them).

Relationships

• Fiera Casales: Kadri and Fiera are best friends. They consider each other the first friend they made during difficult times in their life, and are deeply fond and respectful of each other. They share a scholarly interest, and often like to compare notes and ideas. They find mutual entertainment in each other's eccentricities, and place high value on time spent together. They have a somewhat 'soft' relationship due to the circumstances of its formation, but especially as they grow more comfortable with their relationship's stability they tease each other a bit more and become more frank in communication. Since both of them traditionally conceal their pain behind a smile, they initially struggled with directly addressing any issues they had. They also understand this trait in each other well, and are very patient and supportive in trying to conquer their shared struggles, and make an effort to understand the struggles they don't share in common. 
• Euphranor Lakatos: Kadri and Euphranor are best friends of a sort, though both would probably struggle to find a term they think perfectly sums up their relationship. The two are very loyal and protective of each other, and respect one another a great deal, often looking to each other for wisdom or advice. However, Kadri delights in trolling Euphranor even more than other people, and they are certainly inclined towards having petty, meaningless debates for no reason. They also tend show off for each other a bit, either traditionally or competitively in a sort of petty way. They're both careful in their trolling and arguments not to actually overstep any boundaries, though, and are just as often very emotionally supportive of each other. (Euphranor is attracted to Kadri alterously, aesthetically, and sensually, which he finds confusing at first since he normally only experiences your standard romantic+sexual attraction for people, while this is quite different; Kadri has no idea if he's attracted to Euphranor, or in what way/in what capacity if he is, and mostly isn't very concerned about it)
• Ena Ellison: Kadri and Ena are relatively close friends. Their forms of sarcasm bounce off each other somewhat naturally, and they bring out a more bold side in each other. Ena is the most ready and willing to join Kadri in pranks and general shenanigans, and the two are good at lifting each other's spirits. Kadri finds reassurance in Ena's steadfast sense of right and wrong, and Ena finds it in Kadri's positivity and perseverance. (Ena also low-key thinks Kadri is hot/attractive, and doesn't particularly hide the fact or make a huge deal of it. Kadri mostly just finds this amusing, if a bit bewildering, which works for Ena since it's not something she has an interest in pursuing seriously. Kadri assumes he isn't attracted to Ena at all, but doesn't worry about it much either way)
• Castor: Castor is Kadri's leader and primary care provider. The two do not have a very positive or functional relationship. Kadri generally considers Castor to be his 'master' more than his parent, and for years didn't really process how much he disliked and feared him, since he also trusted him and looked up to him after a fashion. Castor was always very manipulative and emotionally abusive to Kadri, frequently gaslighting and blaming him for things outside his control. Kadri was always very loyal, but his entire worldview is thrown into question when finally gets away from Castor for a bit during a mission and interacts with people outside of Astrum. If you draw these two together, please avoid having them physically  interact! Castor doesn't generally touch anyone except to threaten/manipulate/make an important point, and even then somewhat hesitantly. And Kadri almost always hates being touched by Castor at all, beyond his usual occasional touch aversion.
• Cadoc Ellison: Cadoc and Kadri initially have a fairly tense relationship. Cadoc thought he seemed suspicious and referred to him as a 'punk', and so Kadri decided out of pettiness to be as much a 'punk' in the negative sense as possible around him. Cadoc worried they were a bad influence on his daughter, but didn't try to stop them from seeing each other because admittedly Ena wasn't acting troubled, he just disliked Kadri and found their background unsettling. Nevertheless, the two eventually get on good terms, and have a far more friendly 'rivalry' between each  other, and Kadri comes to feel as though Cadoc is family as much as Ena is.
• Sulfur Toivonen: Kadri and Sulfur have a passively negative relationship. Kadri dislikes Sulfur because he 'feels like a void' and asks relentless questions when he's trying to think,  and Sulfur doesn't like that Kadri is opposed to his caretaker, but both make an effort to be civil with each other, if only because they find  the other 'interesting' and potentially useful. Sulfur's void-like aura is painful to Kadri if he touches them, since it evaporates any magic it touches, and Kadri has magic flowing through him (If there was a reason Kadri might tolerate the pain, but not typically. Sulfur wouldn't casually grab or hug Kadri anyways though since Kadri asked not to be touched.)
• Aurélie Babineaux: These two meet later, and Kadri sees Aurélie almost as a mentor due to some valuable advice ve had given him. The two typically get along well whenever their goals aren't at odds.
• Taliesin: Kadri and Taliesin have a Complicated relationship. Taliesin has many reasons to not trust or even dislike Kadri, but since Kadri was the one to free him and consistently show him kindness, Taliesin ends up sort of looking up to him anyways. This becomes especially true after Kadri lends him his primary pair of gloves and makes it know they respects his trans identity (Taliesin considers Kadri a bit of a 'gender guru', because Kadri is the first person he met - as far as he knew - that wasn't cis and didn't seem to care at all about conventional gender presentation. Taliesin probably realized Kadri was nonbinary before Kadri did though so this perception is somewhat questionable). Kadri is usually a tad gentler with his trolling when it comes to Taliesin and will more obviously look after him.
• Danita Alvarez [Owned by MouseDemon]: Kadri and Dani have been good friends in multiple universes (see Blaze and Drow Kadri's tabs for more info). Their prime verse selves would also likely be friends, so it's okay to draw them together too!
• Luana Tasin [Owned by MouseDemon]: Kadri and Luana were pen pals and are good friends. They bonded over literary interests and sharing of different experiences, and generally like spending time together and chatting.  

Bonus Info

Trivia

• Kadri is extremely willing to try any kind of food at least once, and has a special fascination with sweets and unusual flavor combinations. That said, he has definitely discovered some favorites and least favorites so far. His favorite candies are Twizzlers and cotton candy (mainly the small kind. Similarly, cake pops are favored as well) - in general, he doesn't like hard candy too much since it can feel scratchy and rough on the mouth, but he will still try new ones occasionally. Softer candies and foods in general tend to go over better. Blackberries are his favorite fruit. He doesn't like apples or pears plain though, they have to be baked to be soft for them to be tolerable usually (he can kinda tolerate a caramel apple for the other flavors, but still likes apple pie with caramel sauce better). He also likes most soups and warm/softer breads like garlic bread.
• Kadri often sits on tables or otherwise lounges around on furniture oddly.
• They are circumstantially touch averse - usually they only actively dislike touch when their nerves are frazzled (like if it's really crowded or something else is making them feel overwhelmed), if it's sudden contact from someone they don't know well, or if it's certain  actions that he finds more aggravating like being grabbed or led by the elbow (even by the arm above the elbow is slightly more acceptable). Sometimes they prefer more limited touch in general, depending on their mood. But, especially with friends, they can be fine with contact. As long as their nerves aren't doing too poorly, they are happy to offer whatever kinds of physical contact their friends like most, and are generally okay with receiving most kinds. But their default for giving and and favorite for receiving is basically any iteration on hand holding - it feels the most comfy and safe to them, and is the kind of contact least likely to upset them if they're a bit overwhelmed but not quite at the 'absolutely no contact at all' stage.
• He's ambidextrous. Which hand he leans on more depends on how his nerves are feeling.
• His MBTI personality type is INTJ-T.
• His birthday is May 27.

Associated Tunes

• "Paint the Picture" by Enchant
• "New Moon" by Enchant
• "The Fallen Feather" by Vision Divine
• "Insignificant" by Nevermore
• "I Carry the Blame" by Seventh Wonder

Designated Pokemon Teams

Kanto

1. Venomoth
2. Tangela
3. Seaking
4. Shellder
5. Tentacool
6. Butterfree

Johto

1. Jumpluff
2. Yanma
3. Delibird
4. Bellossom
5. Ariados
6. Chinchou

Hoenn

1. Torchic
2. Shuppet
3. Chimecho
4. Castform
5. Vibrava
6. Snorunt

Sinnoh

1. Glaceon
2. Spiritomb
3. Carnivine
4. Piplup
5. Wormadam
6. Gastrodon