Katherine "Kit" Thomas — Changeling: The Lost

Picture made on Artbreeder & Photoshop

OH HELLO! Sorry I've been so quiet this week, I was (over)preparing for a streamed Changeling: The Lost game that I played in last night to benefit Trans Lifeline. You can watch the VOD here and you can still donate to Trans Lifeline here if you like — we raised over $2,500!

Because of who I am as a person, I wrote a whole overdramatic backstory for my character. And because of what one-shots are, it obviously did not come up 😅 But I figured I'd share it here! I often write a little narrative set-up for a character along with a traditional character sheet; it helps me get into their head and get a feel for their personality. So here's a brief overview of how Kit was lured into the Hedge by the fae and became a Nightsinger!

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Family dinners were difficult with Laurel. She seemed to always bring a fresh new success to share along with her latest gluten-free baking effort (which always tasted just as good as the really gluten-y stuff, because of course it did.) Inevitably, after mom and dad and I had congratulated her, attention would politely turn to me, just in case I, for once, had something to announce that they could be proud of. Even when I did, it was always received with carefully-concealed disappointment. It was hard to feel good about getting a raise at Verizon when Laurel had just announced that she’d sold an original composition to Lindsey Stirling.

That night was no different. I was hosting in my cramped little rented townhouse and had bought a whole rotisserie chicken from the grocery store. I put it out on the table in its plastic tub, not even maintaining the polite illusion of having cooked it myself. The announcement that Laurel had just landed first chair in the state symphony despite having played in it for just six months didn’t really surprise anyone, although of course Laurel acted humbly shocked. I admit that I drank a little more wine than I should’ve. Mom begged her to play for us after dinner, and if I hadn’t been drunk, I would’ve been better about hiding my jealousy. But I was drunk, so Laurel and I got into it after our parents left. And by “Laurel and I,” I mean mostly me, of course. I don’t know if she’s ever yelled back at me, but her way of being hurt and quiet is way worse than yelling. She left in tears, and she must’ve been really upset, because she forgot her violin.

When the knock on the door came shortly after, I assumed it was her, back to fetch it. I answered the door with the instrument in hand. I suppose that’s why, when that strange man on the doorstep asked who had been playing, it was so easy to take credit.

I was used to seeing people’s eyes light up when they heard Laurel’s music, but I was entirely unused to having that light directed at me. His pupils were so wide and black, it was like he was high on it. It didn’t take much for him to convince me to come with him. I was drawn to his admiration like a parched desert wanderer to a pool of water. I wanted to gorge myself on it.

It wasn’t until the next day that I started to understand the mess I’d gotten myself into. He promised me that my captivity would end when I had created the perfect song. Music, he said, was the magic that mortals held, and he wanted that spell cast upon him. He assured me that it should be no problem for a musician of my caliber. I would be home before I knew it.

I told him I needed total seclusion to work. I tried to play Laurel’s violin, although I don’t know what I expected. I could barely make a clear note, let alone a song. I didn’t know how to hold it, how to tune it. It didn’t take long for me to start looking for a loophole. That’s when I decided to start singing. I had always liked to sing, but with a sister like Laurel, you don’t casually explore music, so it remained a hobby for the shower and the car. But the fae, they were interested in more than classical training. What they liked about human music, I soon learned, was the emotion. And I had plenty of that.

The music I made came from the dark, sharp place in my stomach where my relationship with my sister lived. Sometimes it was strident and full of rage, and other times it was impossibly sad and hollow. As I stayed in Arcadia, those feelings became more than feelings. My voice started to take on its own power... a power that just might help me escape.

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Kit (28)
Sister, Laurel (23)

Autumn Court (fear) — she has always feared judgment, failure, and comparison. In Arcadia, she was afraid that the fae would find out that she wasn’t what she claimed to be. And now she fears coming home to find that whatever creature has taken her place is better loved and more successful at being Kit than Kit ever was.

Mien: Her throat is open now, so you can see right through it, and where her vocal cords would be, there is a row of fine pink strings that vibrate when she sings.

After her time in captivity, she has become familiar with the pressures and expectations associated with being perceived as exceptional. This has taught her to have more empathy for her sister.