Hey, y’all! As the title of the post says, I’m doing a linkup, courtesy of Maya Joelle! This looks super fun. Let’s get to it, shall we? =D

Questions

1 // Introduce your MC. What’s their name? Age? Appearance? (Sharing collages/inspiration photos encouraged!)

Lysander Emmanuel Dowding-Ellis, the Viscount Pembroke, is the protagonist of my main WIP, Foxhunt. Lysander is a twenty-one-year-old anthropomorphic red fox (with Fennec fox ancestry, hence his pale fur), and the heir to the Pembroke estate. He has a father and mother—the Earl and Countess of Pembroke—and a twin sister, Lynet, whom he loves more than life itself, but would probably sooner die than admit it.

An embarrassment to his family and hated by nearly everyone in the country surrounding Pembroke, Lysander is a self-centered, arrogant, hateful, childish, spoiled, and spiteful young lord with a temper as fiery as his hair. Though he lives in comfort and splendor as the heir to his father’s extensive estate, he spends his days being irrationally discontent; and it isn’t until the possibility of his sister leaving his side threatens to shatter his crystalline life that he begins to change—though not quite in the way anyone expected.

Lysander’s my boi. My little pale coffee bean. What I wouldn’t do to give him just one hug and tell him everything’s going be all right… ❤

2 // Explain how your MC fits into the plot of your book (as best you can without spoiling it all…).

I think the synopsis for Foxhunt explains it best:

Nobody liked Lysander Dowding-Ellis. 

Like many other young lords his age, he spent his time horse racing, spending money, and perhaps eating a bit too much cake. He was handsome, true enough, and terribly rich, but those things aside, he was generally regarded as rather unpleasant. Nonetheless, he enjoyed what his extravagant life had to offer, even if his petty pleasures only reflected disgrace.

Until one day, he realized what consequences they could bring.

Until one day, he disappeared, leaving his father without an heir and his family fortune dangerously unclaimed. No one could have predicted what disarray his disappearance would cause, nor the slew of opportunities that would arise in its wake. 

Suddenly, the spoiled brat whom nobody cared much for has become the talk of the English countryside. And it’s up to his twin sister, his mysterious best friend, and a poor stablehand to find him and bring him home, no matter the cost.

This is a tale about a hunt for a fox whom nobody really wanted to find. 

This is a tale about a fox who didn’t really want to be found.

3 // What’s the first thing your MC says in the story? The last? A random quote from the middle that you like?

Lysander’s first line comes in the first chapter, in which he and his sister Lynet have come to London to stay with their friends the Barringtons for the week. Unfortunately, however, Lysander refuses to get out of the coach once there. =P

“I won’t!” came a sharp, irritated voice from within the coach. “I refuse to set one paw—not one paw, Henry—outside. One of the servants spent at least an hour getting my hair ready this morning and I am not about to allow a single filthy raindrop to touch it.”

—Foxhunt, Chapter the First

I haven’t officially written Lysander’s last line, as I haven’t reached that point in the draft yet. I do have a couple of ideas, but I can’t share any, unfortunately, as they’re all pretty spoilery. xD

As for a line from the middle of the story… Oh, man. Lysander has so many good lines. He’s my lil’ sass king. xD But one of my favorites comes in the second chapter, in which Lysander and Lynet are in repose after exchanging pleasantries with the Barringtons. Their conversation is tricky to briefly explain, but basically, Lynet is sick of the constraints of their society, and is pining for a change of company. Lysander scoffs at this idea:

“If you’re really that desperate for a change of company, why don’t you find that insolent wolf from earlier? Once you’ve met his fleabitten family, explored his ramshackle hut, and marveled at how many teeth he’s missing, maybe you’ll feel better.” His voice was heavy with sarcasm.

—Foxhunt, Chapter the Second

(“That insolent wolf”, by the way, is Warren McCrosbin, the definitely not insolent tertiary protagonist of the novel.)

4 // Which other character would die for your MC?

Well, Lynet would, and so would his mother, but the character who comes to mind most strongly is his father, Albion. He’s been a really interesting character to work with in that I don’t think I’ve ever connected so much with one of my older OCs. He’s quiet, thoughtful, and feels his failures acutely. He deems himself solely responsible for Lysander’s flaws, and would go to the end of the earth (or, you know, die) if it meant saving his son’s soul.

5 // Would your MC die for them?

Nnnn… xD This sounds horrible, but honestly, I don’t think so. At least, pre-climax Lysander wouldn’t. He’s too selfish. But post-climax Lysander would. *thinks about a certain end-of-book dialogue I’ll be writing between Lyse and Albion and squeaks* That’s all I’mma say. 😛

6 // Have any major details about your MC changed since you first created them?

Oh my goodness, YES. Lysander used to be a completely different character. Most of Foxhunt‘s cast did, in fact. I’d love to make an entire post about the evolution of Foxhunt, honestly. That’d be really fun. But *waves that inspiration away* I’ll stick to Lyse for now. Just know that basically, there are two versions of Lysander: the current Foxhunt version, and the scrapped Fearless (the old title of Foxhunt) version. Most, if not all, of the Fearless version’s attributes were recycled into different Foxhunt characters.

7 // What characters (from books/movies not by you) remind you of your MC? Why?

Kuzco from The Emperor’s New Groove reminds me of Lysander a lot. I think they would get along really well if they were to meet. xD Other Lysander-esque characters include Simba (The Lion King), Colin Craven (The Secret Garden), Eustace Scrubb (The Chronicles of Narnia) and Draco Malfoy (the Harry Potter series).

8 // Share your MC’s favorites!
[ color, food, type of clothing, place, type of music, season, smell, etc. ]

I went to review Lyse’s character file for this, only to find that I have almost nothing in his character file to begin with. I guess Lyse is one of those characters I have worked out almost completely from memory! *nervous laugh* So most of this is from memory or off the top of my head. xD

Food: any cake, especially if it contains frosting | drink: tea with lots of cream and sugar | color: likes pretty much all colors (is a bit of a diva) | place: the Pembroke house | music: piano | season: winter | smell: clean sheets/pillows | book: doesn’t have one (but has read many)

9 // If your MC wasn’t involved in your story, what would they be doing? (Basically: what’s their dream life? Where do they want to live, what do they want to do?)

Mm, can’t answer that without spoiling. xD But basically, Lysander thinks he is living his perfect life. He’d go on being single, with Lynet living close by, for the rest of his life if he could. Luckily, the Revolters are around to make sure that doesn’t happen. 😛

10 // Share a fun extra (another collage, a playlist, a scene from the story, a drawing, etc.).

I can do better than that! I’ll share three fun extras! 😛

First, a character aesthetic collage:

Second, a character playlist:

And finally, a recent portrait of a humanized Lysander:

Well, now you know more about my precious Lyse! I hope y’all enjoyed reading about him as much as I enjoyed writing about him. xD (And thanks for doing this linkup, Maya! This was my first linkup, and I look forward to participating in more in the future. :))