sloane concepts

finally trying to figure out corrinthe's ex's design. tenatively going with a name here as well, but we'll see if that changes.

they're pigeon-human chimera / lesser harpy. occupationally, they're a cartographer who spearheaded the establishment of a merchant's guild ( along with corrinthe ) in a bustling tourist town. they do a little mapmaking these days, but most of their geographic knowledge is spent organizing new trade routes & opportunities as the guild's master.

they meet corrinthe shortly after she flees from her village, and both kind of latch onto each other in a desperate attempt for respite. they do honestly try to be there for each other at the start, but time quickly reveals neither is really compatible with the other; regardless, they stay together for fear of not knowing what will happen if the other is gone.

sloane has a lot of unresolved trauma surrounding their identity, which they use as a weapon against others: they're immature, insecure, and manipulative, employing passive aggression & guilt-tripping as a means of avoiding accountability. they refuse to recognize their ability to cause harm, unconsciously fearing it will somehow invalidate the things that happened to them ... it makes them feel like they can never do wrong, either.

my intention with this character is not to villainize, though. i want them to appear complex, and as well, i want them to be a parallel to mina: both end up manipulating corrinthe from a place of trauma, but where sloane is unable to recognize their own capacity for abuse, mina comes to understand her mistakes & tries to make amends, thus "rescuing" her relationship with corrinthe & allowing herself to heal. ultimately i think sloane will learn some humility & grow after corrinthe leaves, but their relationship may not ever be salvaged.