Do you have any advice on writing the exiles? If so, that would be helpful. :) ~Jade :D

Hi there! It can be a bit tricky to figure out the exiles because they don’t actually have any Pesterlogs/Dialoguelogs, but it’s important to remember that they did ”speak” in the comics! Which is something authors often overlook. The exiles communicated with the kids through the command prompts, much like Hussie did with Caliborn, so we can figure out a bit about their personalities from there. Although we don’t know if they can talk in the same sense as the kids, trolls, etc (verbally), we do know they understand the written language. Whether you choose to have them communicate by word of mouth or play them off as mute characters is up to you, however. 

• WV (Wayward Vagabond, Warweary Villein, Wizardly Vassal, Wastelandic Vindicator, The Mayor)

Contrary to popular belief, the Mayor isn’t a sweet, soft-spoken little thing. He’s rude and aggressive. WV speaks mainly with John and Rose, and most of their conversations involve him insulting or commanding them in some way—oftentimes both. He’s an absolute perfectionist, and will not tolerate mistakes from anyone, whether it be himself, the reader, or the kids. He’s picky, and this idealism carries over to his worldviews, as well. He hates the Kings (and by default the Queens) and loves concept of a political democracy with himself as leader. However, he has low self-esteem and is very self-critical, often stating he how much he hates himself after he does something he thinks is stupid.

He does have respect for authority, though, and is very reverent toward WQ even though she is the former White Queen, both an enemy of Derse and a member of the royal caste.Despite his tendency to do silly things and obsess over stuff he finds exciting, WV is actually pretty smart and observant. He was able to map out the Medium in his underground base, design a functioning hypothetical city, understand Morse code, understand and apply the lessons in a behavioral manual, operate a computer without instruction, accurately appearify things without instruction, and track distances precisely—among other things.

WV types in all-caps, except when making an effort to be polite, at which point he types in all lowercase letters. He addresses John initially as “BOY”, and refers to Nannasprite as “THE FLOAT HAG” on multiple occasions. When he speaks, he uses clear diction and short sentences. Here are some great WV gems. 

• PM (Peregrine Mendicant, Parcel Mistress, Prospitian Monarch)

Ah, yes—PM. Everyone’s favorite mailwoman. Strong-willed but humble, fierce yet clumsy, dedicated and loyal almost to a fault. Before she became an Exile, PM was fearless whether the realized it or not. On a mission to retrieve and deliver John’s package (who was a Prospit dreamer, and therefore under her jurisdiction), she traveled all the way to Derse, where she would have been viewed as an enemy. The trip was not only far, but also dangerous for her. She confronted a high-up Derse agent (Jack), bargained with him, and then returned to talk with her Queen—also a high-player in comparison to her lowly pawn status. She didn’t argue with WQ when she asked her to go into the heart of the battlefield, either, and when HB (a Derse agent) attacked her, she responded by killing him. Yes, PM cut off HB’s head. All of this is a testament to how freakin’ badass PM is. 

After becoming an exile, PM eventually does get John’s package delivered, and as a reward for fulfilling her duty WQ declares her the new queen of a nonexistent Prospit. PM is initially reluctant to accept the role, because she doesn’t think she deserves it. She’s humble, and doesn’t want anything more from life than to be able to carry out her duties. Even when Bec Noir attacks the exiles, she thinks of the others first, and risks her life to save the dying WV. Afterwards, she pursues Bec Noir relentlessly for three years, both because of her assigned duty by WQ and because she has sworn vengeance on him for killing the other exiles (and nearly killing WV). She is persistent, dedicated, and will never give up. Ever. 

PM types with perfect syntax and diction, as well as regular capitalization. She is also kind of enthusiastic! We know she enjoys art (because she was more fascinated with WV’s drawings than the computer console) and the written word, and is very smart (she understands Morse code, can operate a computer, can negotiate with volatile political figures, can operate the deappearifier, has a decent understanding of time shenanigans, etc). Although we don’t see her speak much, here are some snippets of her dialogue. She’s really cute.

• AR (Aimless Renegade, Authority Regulator, Armaments Regent)

AR is the opposite of PM in a lot of ways, actually. To get the most obvious out of the way, he’s a Dersite agent—easy. Like PM, he has a sworn duty to his state, although instead of mail delivering he is tasked  with basic law enforcement. Despite his big talk and surly attitude, though, he doesn’t take his job very seriously. He tries to make it look like he does, but he is easily distracted and scared. He runs away and rarely fights, and even though he claims to favor heavy artillery he’s only seen with long-range weapons, not close-range. He refuses to kill PM, even though she is his enemy simply because he finds her attractive. 

AR also dislikes details, and is generally very impatient. We’re not given much indication that he has a lot of knowledge not because he isn’t smart, but because he just sort of generally doesn’t care about paying attention to the little things. He often gets swept up in silly antics and, unlike WV, doesn’t feel the least bit of remorse about them afterwards. Even so, he seems to genuinely idolize the judicial system and the letter of the law.

We don’t hear much from AR at all, but we know he types in all-lowercase with sparse punctuation and no contractions. He is curt, but repeats himself because he wants Dave to know that he knows what he’s talking about. Whether he does his job properly or not, he wants people to think he’s the best. 

• WQ (Windswept Questant, White Queen, Adored Sovereign)

There are a couple of ways you could interpret WQ’s character, because we really don’t know much about her history aside from the fact that she resigned from her position as Queen of Prospit because Jack demanded she do so in exchange for John’s gift. She was a loved Queen, clearly, and commanded respect even from the Dersite exiles. But was this because she was a kind, soft-spoken queen? Or was she a dedicated, dutiful ruler who commanded the awe and respect of everyone—not just her subjects? That’s up to you to decide. 

This in mind, her motivation for following Jack’s ultimatum could either be to fulfill her duty to John as the Player (and retrieve his package by whatever means necessary) or to help him out of the goodness of her white carapacian heart. She is shown to have some knowledge of the future, as well, (she knew when and where WK would arrive, when she was going to die, etc) and could simply have been fulfilling the prophesies of Skaia’s clouds both then and when she crowned PM Queen. However, she is not without compassion. When PM is nervous about becoming Queen, she comforts her, and is made the Royal Adviser as a result. She is fierce, as well, and her post-scratch self takes physical action against Jack when she discovers him in his second attempt to take Jane’s Dream Self’s life. 

So regardless of how you choose to read into WQ’s motivation, she is kind and thoughtful, but also worthy of her title as Queen. She also views free will and patience as important qualities, as seen in her conversations with Rose (and also contradictory to WV’s views of the monarchy). WQ types with perfect syntax and punctuation, and she refers to players by their titles as well as their names. 

I hope this helps, dear! I’m sorry it took me so long to get back to you! And I know there are eight more exiles (SS, CD, DD, HB, WK, BQ, Ms. Paint, and Serenity), but I figured these were the four you were referring to. If you’d like me to add some about the others, though, I certainly can! Thanks so much for stopping by! Let me know if there’s anything else you need, or if you have anything else you’d like me to add.