Harris Powell-Smith

Writing Honor Bound Characters: Varenn Korzha

Note: this post contains spoilers about a major character from Honor Bound, my upcoming dark academia text game from Choice of Games. If you don't know anything about Honor Bound, read more here.

Leading up to the release on 5th December, I'm posting about Honor Bound's characters and some of the thoughts and processes that went into writing them.

Korzha Character Rundown

Korzha and Work

Savarel is the most burned-out and Fiore is the most sad, but Korzha is the most laser-focused on the job. This is reflected from the moment they first meet the PC: they invite an older and higher-ranking PC to call them "Varenn" but do not for a younger, lower-ranking one. They've learned how to look after themselves - it's a straightforward enough routine to establish and follow - and they socialise when they feel like it, but they are very austere, and they rarely indulge themselves. They're ambitious, yes, but not hungry for excitement or major change. Right now their routine is stable and calm, and they're doing excellently with their responsibilities: just the way they like it.

Until the story starts getting in the way…

Writing Korzha

When I was coming up with the Honor Bound characters, I knew I wanted some kind of romanceable buff silver fox1 with a potential age-gap-romance to take advantage of the fact that the PC is an adult, and I knew I wanted a teacher romance for the same reason. Where I went back and forth on was how jolly/forthright this character would be. In an alternate universe the Korzha character would have been more cheerful and flirty, but once I knew what Matia was like, and what Korzha's storyline was going to be, I wanted more variety between the cast's personality.

So yes, I originally made the character because I thought they'd be hot (and a lot of players have agreed with me, though some have gone very hot and cold about them, which I love too!). I also made them because I wanted to explore how their dutifulness and uptightness might cause problems for them and other people.

Korzha is a closed-off character and takes a long time to open up; the PC and player are often left guessing what they're thinking at a given moment, especially at the beginning of the game. I had a lot of fun writing this! I'd learned from writing Hyacinthe and Beaumont in Royal Affairs, neither of whom are always forthcoming to the PC, that it was important for me to know what's going on in their head. So whenever Korzha shrugs and turns away, or gives the PC an impenetrable look, I have a solid sense of what they're thinking and the wheels going around in their mind (of which there are many: Korzha thinks about things A Lot).

Because Korzha's usually so stiff and professional, I enjoyed writing the moments when they're a bit more vulnerable a great deal. They feel extra satisfying and earned.

As the students leave, Korzha asks you to stay a moment, beckoning you over to where they're leaning against the edge of their desk. "Unfortunately I'm not well," they say. "Likely I picked up something on the train."

It was also a lot of fun writing a character with an established friendship with another NPC. Korzha and Matia have become friends over the last few years, and the PC can join in with that friendship, shift it towards romance with one or both of them, or even break it up through various actions. Korzha is more relaxed in general with Matia than they are with others, particularly at first, but even with Matia, there are things they don't talk about that they may end up discussing with the PC.

"Hey," Matia says softly, jostling Varenn's side.

Your jaw clenches with a wave of tension. Varenn stiffens and halts. "What?"

Matia's gaze sweeps over you; she's clearly taking stock of you. "It's all good," she says. "You heard that? The raptor owl?"

This time, you hear it too: it's a low hoot, followed by a screech that you know is a territorial warning.

Varenn's shoulders relax. In the moonlight, his teeth flash in a rare smile. "They're late this year. I'm glad they arrived."

Korzha's withdrawn nature made for an interesting challenge when writing their developing friendship or romance. I put a lot of thought into how I wrote moments where they withdraw from the PC but still leave things feeling open to romance or friendship; I don't enjoy when a tsundere-type romance makes a PC feel like they're harassing someone into dating them! So those scenes went through quite a few iterations where I tweaked how reluctant Korzha is, how they express it, and how clear it is that they're potentially interested but have reasons to be cautious. This was especially interesting because the PC can make an advance early on or later, and Korzha responds differently depending how much they've got to know the PC at that point.

Korzha meets your gaze, then lowers hers, carefully turning her glass to study the pattern of condensation on the outside. You're aware suddenly of how long her dark eyelashes are.

"What I mean to say," she says abruptly, "is that I'm grateful for this morning. You didn't have to do it."

As with the other polyamorous romances, writing Korzha and Matia's romance was really interesting. I wanted to show characters' relationships shifting due to the PC being a catalyst, and show different ways in which they behave when romanced monogamously vs polyamorously. And that it's not that one way is better than the other: simply that different configurations illuminate different aspects of them. I hope people enjoy the experience of romancing both ways, or befriending one or both… or entirely making enemies with Korzha in various ways!

You'll like Korzha if you like… working together to make the world a better place, coming to a place of mutual trust, pushing an uptight person to let their hair down or being uptight together, no ego getting in the way of direct communication

You'll like romancing Korzha if you like… being a competent power couple, moving through emotional defences, strong and silent types, someone who isn’t used to letting others in but will make an exception for you, who is restrained, who understands that romance may not be a good idea but comes to realise how much you both need it

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  1. I know 41 isn't really old enough to be a truly silver fox. But going from 18-year-old love interests in Creme de la Creme and Royal Affairs makes it a big jump!↩

#choice of games #choicescript #creme de la creme series #honor bound #honor bound character posts #interactive fiction #varenn korzha