Scandinavian or Italian? What’s Quinn Cozens’ nationality?
In Beyond the Lost Horizon, Quinn Cozens hints at Scandinavian and Italian ancestry, so what is he? The answer’s far more complicated.
Quinn’s mixed, if you want the short answer. He’s Italian through his mom’s side, and Scandinavian through both of his parents. He’s also got Scottish and Welsh, with dashes of German, Eastern European (several nationalities), and Balkan.
If I had to give Quinn a pie chart, he’d be roughly 50% Northern and Western European, 25% Italian (through his mom’s paternal lineage), and the remaining 25% makes up his German, Eastern European, and Balkan.
In many of my AI character concepts of Quinn, he’s often depicted with a hint of olive skin, showing off his Italian genes. He’s even a baptized Catholic, even if he’s spurned every denomination in the Christian faith, opting instead for the Germanic/Norse Paganism his ancestors on both sides of his family tree most likely practiced.
Quinn Cozens and his Scandinavian obsession
Quinn’s obsession with his Scandinavian heritage began long before his estranged sister, Jackie, took a DNA test to reveal exact matches. Nordic runes always attracted Quinn. Ditto for the Germanic/Norse gods and even the Nordic countries, whose “economic model” he realized early on weren’t as socialist as Democratic politicians liked to pretend.
Realizing economic freedom in the Nordic countries, plus his obsession with runes, mythology, and even the pagan aspects of Christian holidays, especially Christmas, it played a role in Quinn spurning the Christian/Catholic faith.
There were other reasons, like Christianity’s bloody path as it became the dominant religion in Europe. But Quinn’s Scandinavian blood may’ve been the primary benefactor here.
Unapologetic and straightforward
Quinn’s never been shy about displaying runes or why he left Christianity in the dust. While he respects level-headed Christians who don’t come off as theocrats, Quinn’s never shy about pointing to Christianity’s pitfalls and inconsistencies, realizing the Bible’s a work of fiction even if it’s full of truths if one reads between the lines.
Unfortunately, Quinn realizes most Christians don’t see it that way. Or, at least those he’d met. And, doing his part to turn things full circle, he harkened to his Scandinavian ancestors who inhabited the land over 1,000 years ago before they migrated to Scotland, which helps explain his Scottish and Northwest European ancestry.
It’s why Quinn wears a necklace boasting a Tiwaz rune. And why he’ll, sometimes, call people “narrow-minded” for following a faith that they were told to follow, at times, out of fearmongering.
So, how much of a firebrand is Quinn? Meet him in Beyond the Lost Horizon, and catch his no-nonsense demeanor at work as he navigates a fallen world alongside the sharp-tongued Yui Kikuchi.
