# Characters - Taxonomy Overview
## Description
Notable individuals shaped by philosophical conflicts, temporal disasters, and the ongoing crisis of existence in a world where decay and time itself are battlegrounds
## Entry Guidelines for Characters
These guidelines provide a flexible framework - adapt sections as needed for each entry's unique story.
### Core Elements (Include Most)
- **The Person They Were/Are** - Not just name and occupation, but who they fundamentally are—their hopes before the world broke them, their coffee order, the small human details that make tragedy personal
- **The Breaking/Transformation** - The specific moment or gradual horror that changed them—survived a massacre, infected by spores, caught between temporal states. Make it visceral and specific
- **How They Survive Now** - Their daily reality in this broken world—coping mechanisms, philosophical adaptations, practical strategies for existing when existence itself is uncertain
- **What They've Lost/What Remains** - Beyond the obvious (family, sanity, linear time), what specific human elements were stripped away? What unexpected parts of themselves survived?
### Additional Elements (Use When Relevant)
- **Philosophical Evolution** - How their beliefs shifted or shattered—from devout to heretic, from skeptic to zealot, from sane to something else entirely
- **Relationships Across the Divide** - Connections that bridge or suffer from cultural/temporal boundaries—lovers who exist in different timestreams, children who age wrong
- **Their Unfinished Business** - What drives them forward in a world of entropy—revenge, redemption, revelation, or simply habit
- **Physical/Temporal Markers** - Visible scars of their experiences—spore growths, temporal stuttering, decay patterns, eyes that see too much
## Writing Guidelines
- **Length**: Target 300-400 words for initial entries (expand if the story demands it)
- **Voice**: Favor engaging, immersive writing over bland description
- **Style**: Mix documentary precision with narrative flair - include quotes, in-world documents, interesting perspectives
- **Connections**: Weave in references to existing entries naturally
- **Personality**: Each entry should feel distinctive and memorable
## Content Approach
- Ground cosmic horror in human experience—they still worry about rent while reality collapses
- Show how Portland aesthetics persist through apocalypse—artisanal suffering, locally-sourced trauma
- Include mundane details that make the extraordinary more disturbing
- Let characters be broken in specific, not generic ways
- Use their voices—how does temporal trauma affect speech patterns? How do spore children communicate?
## Writing Philosophy
These guidelines serve as flexible frameworks rather than rigid templates. Each entry should be crafted to tell its unique story while maintaining consistency with the world's established tone and feel. Prioritize engaging, immersive writing that brings each element to life through vivid details, interesting perspectives, and natural connections to other world elements.
