Pip Monsoon

Pip Making a Frowny Face

Pradip 'Pip' Monsoon (born 29th February 33:119) is a Senior Investigator at the Bajmeher Investigator's League. He is a veteran of the Sarashti Civil War and the local dad friend.

## Backstory

Pip was born in Manindur, a small town on the border between Jopur and Gaupathi Andash. His father Sekar was a yakka smelter, and his mother Yasmin was an explorer, originally from Qadiyya. His best friends growing up were Anjali and Sanjay, and they spent most of their childhoods exploring on their own and climbing around the countryside.

When Anjali began expressing doubts about their arranged marriage to Sanjay, Pip offered to run away with them to the capital instead. However, on the night before the wedding that he was due to meet them in secret to leave, Pip got cold feet and didn't show. This left Anjali out of options and they married Sanjay in 33:138.

He took an apprenticeship under a potter to avoid any marriages himself, arranged or otherwise, and became quite a good ceramicist, working as a repairman once he was fully trained.

In 34:05, the Civil War broke out, and Manindur was one of the first towns to spark devastating fighting. Due to its presence right on the border, it was split evenly between Eldol-Mitra and Dukharis, and those sympathetic to Mahala and to Kejastan. Revolts and open warfare swept through the town, and when the larger armies swept through, they razed Manindur to the ground. Sekar, Nikitha, and Sanjay were all killed; Pip survived by hiding himself beneath Sanjay's body and covering himself in his blood, fooling the soldiers into thinking he was a corpse.

He joined the Mahalan army shortly after, seeing no other way to escape the region, and fought throughout the war in various posts, reaching a final rank of Sergeant. He was finally stationed in the capital, Dhakra, which was the site of immense attrition between Mahala on the north bank and Kejastani on the south. There he encounted Anjali again, now a Sunwarden in the Kejastani military. The two confronted each other on the battlefield, but Pip refused to fight and only defended himself against their strikes. Anjali spared his life by switching targets, allowing him to retreat in time for the truce to be called.

He left Mahala in 34:06, and found himself on the same refugee boat as Anjali. Upon reaching Bajmeher, it became evident that there was no general problem solving organisation, and so Anjali founded the Investigator's League. Pip joined on for lack of anything better to do, and was responsible for most of the recruitment, fondly dubbing the younger investigators the Chickens. He supervised Aalyah and Tamarind, and supervises Lirien. He was in charge of the merry-go-round of recruits until he delegated that off to Aalyah, who seemed to derive more sadistic amusement from it. In 34:12 he met florist and druid Zoralla Stargrove, and they became unlikely friends despite their complementary dispositions. They dated for a short period before, once again, Pip got cold feet during a tough time and broke up with her. After some soul searching and a significant amount of interference from his Chickens, he started going to therapy and apologised to Zora. They adopted two hamsters, Herbie and Honey, and moved into a flat together.

## Personality

Pip is easy going, possessed of very dry wit and a natural friendliness that is mildly dampered by his incessant cynicism. He is smart when he bothers to be, which is rarely, and believes it is man's greatest duty to impede bureaucracy and interfere with all systems of accountability. He is casual regardless of the situation and prefers to project an aura of incompetence.

Pip dabbles in various hobbies, from ceramics to surfing to wrestling, but commits as little energy to them as possible because all effort is pointless. He has severe PTSD and lost his right hand in the war, leading to the use of a leytech prosthetic. While sensible and level-headed, he has an over-active freeze instinct, overridden only by his protective instincts towards other people. He is reluctantly loyal and combats his own demeanour to assist others.

## Appearance

Pip has medium skin with neutral undertones, and never skips leg or arm day, although his alcoholism lends him a beer belly. He has short, curly brown hair that he typically wears in a half-ponytail, and a long nose with quite an exaggerated point, with a scar from the war that cuts across his cheekbone. He likes T-shirts, unbuttoned overshirts, and cargo shorts. He wears the time honoured uniform of jeans and flip-flops on important days.

## Cultural Touchstones

Pip is Tamil, and his ceramic style is influenced by Islamic ceramics, particularly tiles. His father was a yaksha, and he is half-yaksha, half-human. He is inspired by noir tropes and characters like Jack Robinson and Grantaire.

## Gallery

Pip MonsoonPip and ZorallaPip and Zora's FlatPip and Zora SheetMoonkin Zora and PipPip and Lirien
## References

1. ↑ https://www.helpguide.org/articles/ptsd-trauma/ptsd-symptoms-self-help-treatment.htm
2. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic\_pottery
3. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yaksha
4. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film\_noir
5. ↑ https://miss-fishers-murder-mysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Jack\_Robinson
6. ↑ https://lesmiserables.fandom.com/wiki/Grantaire