Profile
a snake in the grass
Kyy is a young man who has gotten his world - and his views of it - turned upside down, and they never flipped back to be the so-called right way up. He has seen the true and ugly side of people up close and personal, and his trust towards the world that surrounds him quickly diminished with it.
The namesake of a viper has been an outcast for a long time amidst the people he thought to be his own. The cold shoulder and cruel treatment have formed a hard shell around him, that he has no intention of cracking ajar.
If he's a snake, let the world treat him like one. Even though he isn't malicious on purpose, he doesn't really care to follow rules to the tee. While quite far from a serial offender, he sure as hell won't bow to anyone who's judgmental about him, or other things they shouldn't.
I only became what they made me - they choked on it all by themselves. |
Personality
stoic • indifferent • quiet • sceptical
Kyy is seclusive, and secretive via silence. He doesn't let people too close to him emotionally, and his quietness is an effective barrier to keep many at bay. For most, he is unapproachable, and almost emanates a single, simple demand on repeat: go away.
His approach is very much no-nonsense, but his creativity to handle issues is hampered by his narrow way of looking at things. He's not narrow-minded, per se, but he gets stuck on things, and has difficulties moving to look at them from a different angle. This might make him seem stubborn.
Design
Notes
- Kyy does have tusks, but they don't show by default. They often elongate and become visible only when he opens his mouth, especially when it's a sign of aggression.
- Both his teeth and tattoos are affected by his shapeshifter heritage. While his canines and tusks elongate usually only when necessary, the tattoos on his arms are more lively. The snakes can often be seen slithering around, as if they were alive.
- Strong emotions can have an impact on Kyy's tattoos (on face, neck, arms, and lower legs), and make him look more like a walking Rorschach test with moving ink, rather than a person.
Moodboard
Likes
corvids
While other birds aren't that bad, either, Corvidae is the cosmopolitan family that seems to pull Kyy like a magnet. He has a specific liking towards Eurasian magpies, as they are directly linked to his ability to travel though his personal metsänpeitto.
savory & salty foods
One won't be finding Kyy in the candy aisle - instead, they should try the shelves for savory and salty snacks. He finds higher amounts of salt tolerable than most people, which is a reason he shouldn't be the one to be assigned the role of a cook.
snakes
When learning to stand up and construct himself anew with the dangerous living conditions around him, Kyy developed a liking towards his namesake. It is not uncommon to see at least one snake taking a joyride on his shoulders.
Dislikes
people
Kyy dislikes people - in general. It's not about the relationship or the lack of it, not anymore. He feels that he can't trust anyone else than himself because of his past, and ends up rejecting most, if not all, people around him.
sweet foods
Whether it's doused in a sweet sauce on purpose, or is stuffed full of added sugars, Kyy isn't going to be one to enjoy it. He likes some fruits, but even natural sweetness can be too much for him.
blood
The sight of blood may not make Kyy dizzy, but he instinctively will try to get away from it. The smell and taste of blood, however, are the worst of the three aspects. If he's not stable mentally when they hit him, they might petrify him in place. He often actively attempts to avoid situations which could lead to bloodshed, big or small.
Extra
showing the way
It is believed that one can get lost in a forest if they are led there by a magpie, or if they step into a fairy ring. Kyy seems to have a deep connection with the corvids that decide to follow him for longer periods of time, and especially so with the magpies - and in turn, he lets them guide his step forward.
feathers & scales
Kyy is fond of both birds and snakes - but unlike his preferred species of corvids, he doesn't draw a similar line with snakes. He might be slightly biased towards pit vipers, but it's not as prevalent.
Strengths
calmness & indifference
In the face of danger, Kyy is the calmest person one has ever met for many. He doesn't seem to care much if the outcome leans to either positive or negative, and his problem-solving skills are not affected by stress. He is impartial, and often a fair judge for solving disputes.
sense of direction
Kyy seems to be able to find his way to, or from almost anywhere. He has a good sense of direction on his own, but when he is accompanied by corvids, he may feel impossible to disorient.
Weaknesses
literalness
Kyy might be a tough one to crack, but it doesn't mean he doesn't take lessons to heart - sometimes, even to his own detriment. He learns from his own mistakes, but is prone to take those rough teachings a bit too literally, and pushing them too far.
seclusion
The young man is used to making it on his own, and it's rare for him to ask for help, even when he needs it. He doesn't do it out of malice or stubbornness - he just doesn't really know how, or when to ask.
the pit and the punishment
"Just because you weren't planned, doesn't mean you were ever unwanted."
- Ann-Len Neleredal
Myriil Neleredal was born to a mother who had no plan, and a father who had no intention to stay. Easy come, easy go.
Ann-Len knew she was a bad role model. She didn't mind what she got from her elf mother - but every defining feature she inherited from her troll father, Ann-Len hid. That self-hatred nearly cost her life when she was younger, and it left her body scarred. Unwillingly showing how deep she had sunk, it was agreed that she could have her tusks removed via surgery - but it never happened. An unknown illness claimed her mother, and in his grief, her father pushed Ann-Len away.
It left her hiding her face with a black bandana ever since - a behavior she had to weed with both hands out of her son. She knew he was only following the only example he knew, but she wasn't going to let him hate himself like she did.
For once, she succeeded.
When Myriil was only fifteen, a blame as heavy as the Sun itself was being pushed forcibly for him to bear.
He was accused of poisoning his own mother.
He had no motive. There was no evidence. None prevented the rumors from being told, spiraling out of control and back to themselves like the Ouroboros. His very being was wrong, and everything he touched, would die. He was a snake, and should be treated as such.
So Myriil was named Kyy - a viper that murdered its own birthmother with its venom. And yet, despite all that ostracizing, someone cared enough to leave him with something he desperately needed.
Wear your new name with pride, boy, he remembers hearing - no matter how toxic. Spit at their faces. Show how you thrive under their venomous gaze - despite the fangs sunken into your back, right between the shoulder blades.
Make them realize, that you always take one step further. They will tire eventually - but you won’t. When they walk, you run. When they kneel, you keep your stride steady.
And when they fall, you have already risen anew.
Show them how a viper stays, when others see leaving as the only option.
With that encouragement bestowed upon him, Kyy strived to walk his own path, and only his own. One day, without a warning, he packed his belongings. He grabbed the two elder kukuris he had been left with - sisters Ruoto and Sysi - and fled the city, when the embers beneath the dry leaves were still only waiting to catch fire.
It was an instinct he followed. A gut feeling that wrenched his insides until he listened - and for that, he lived.
But at what cost?
disciples of the lost
Everyone in the City of Calm knew her, and no wonder. Ann-Len united the Slumme into a community with her relentless determination and hard work. She created a big family, that was always ready to give a second chance.
She was loved by all - but when her heart stopped beating, the lessons she had taught were forgotten in an instant. The acceptance, love, and the chances given extinguished under the pressure of sorrow like a flickering flame of a wax candle.
It was like a cursed tradition to be in the wrong place, at the wrong time. There was nothing he could do. Myriil only wanted to hold his mother's hand as she passed - but when they saw him kneeling next to her, they didn't see a grieving son.
They only saw red. They saw a murderer. He was shut out like an outcast - but some wanted to go further. In their eyes, he was a cockroach that needed to be exterminated.
He attempted to explain, tried to make them listen - but it was childish to even wish that they would. Myriil was cut open like costly cattle, as though his gory execution was a form of entertainment for some invisible crowds. They chanted the name they had chosen for him, over, and over again.
Kyykäärme. Kyykäärme. Kyykäärme.
While it was quickly shortened to simply Kyy, such didn't lessen its malicious intent. The boy fought for his life, and in the end, he prevailed. To lessen the sick satisfaction of his attackers - and the morbid curiosity of others - he covered the scars with tattoos.
Just like his mother before him, he was a victim of his own being - and just like Ann-Len, his body was disfigured because of it.
But unlike his mother, Kyy was raised to rise whenever he got knocked down. He veiled his arms in what he was called - snakes - and made his opposition hiss from disgust when they saw him thrive.
Trivia
- For people just passing by, Kyy might appear mute. He rarely speaks, because he sees no reason to. He believes he knows better. If you're going to get sliced even when you try to explain, why bother?
- With the help of magic-infused air the Paperverse offers in abundance, Kyy is able to teleport almost anywhere he pleases. The liminal space between locations closely resembles metsänpeitto - it is unknown if Kyy is actually able to control the specific phenomenon within those pockets.
- Kyy is the first known and reported proof of the Athos being able to crossbreed with other races. The shapeshifters lived alongside the humankind for millennia, and since their genetic codes aren't compatible, it was thought that hybrids were impossible.
Relations
Ann-Len Neleredal
Annie was widely beloved for a variety of things. She and Kyy were close until the boy was about to turn fifteen. Kyy wasn't home too much, and caused trouble with his friends around the City of Calm for a while - and because of it, he wasn't there for Ann-Len. Maybe if he was, he could've done something to stop it - just maybe.
Unknown
The word father evokes no feelings whatsoever in Kyy. His own is a man he never knew, nor does he want to. The little he has heard from Ann-Len and a few others, is along the lines of narcissistic - and sickeningly bitter and jealous for not carrying a crown of horns.
Maxuss
For the longest time, Kyy knew Max only through his mother - and his disappearance was never discussed. Only when the young man faced the delusional wyfex amidst his escape from the city, he realized why. Even though he survived the encounter, he paid a high price for his own life.
Arcus
Arcus never really came to terms with the fact that Ann-Len threw her out of the Slumme - even though it was only for the best of the community. Arcus knew herself, and she knew she wasn't a good candidate to stay. Yet, she still denied that it was for the best if she left. Finding out that the pink-haired demagogue had a son - and that the son stood right before her - wasn't something to end pretty.
