Game: How well do you know your characters? (MTS edition)

jeseymour · Oct 13, 2014

Kallithrix said:
What is the one thing your character would change about themselves, if they could?

That's a tough one. Only one thing? I think Kevin would like to be able to feel the emotions he's spent his life tamping down. Maybe just once in a while, he'd like to actually be happy, or feel genuine love for his wife and kids. He'd like to be less angry and depressed.

What distinguishing features does your character have? (Tattoos, scars, etc.?) Kevin has four tattoos, three of them USMC related. And way too many scars to count.

lizmonster · Oct 13, 2014

Kallithrix said:
What is the one thing your character would change about themselves, if they could?

Like your Kevin, jeseymour, Greg would choose to get rid of the anger he lives with. Would be like lifting a cement block off of his chest, I think.

jeseymour said:
What distinguishing features does your character have? (Tattoos, scars, etc.?) Kevin has four tattoos, three of them USMC related. And way too many scars to count.

Greg is good-looking. As in stop-on-the-street-and-stare good-looking. Lots of people assume he's never had to work for anything in his life, because he has the sort of face that opens doors. That bothers him...but not enough for him to surgically modify his appearance.

I feel like we're all exchanging stories of our children.

And speaking of which...when your character was little, what did s/he want to do when s/he grew up?

Sonsofthepharaohs · Oct 13, 2014

jeseymour said:
What distinguishing features does your character have? (Tattoos, scars, etc.?)

My character has both - he has identifying hieroglyphics tattooed across his chest, and one of them (a falcon, which is the first letter of his name) has a thin white scar that pierces it like a spear. There's story that goes with that, obviously...

lizmonster said:
I feel like we're all exchanging stories of our children.

Well, there's nothing a proud parent loves to discuss more their their own creation

lizmonster said:
And speaking of which...when your character was little, what did s/he want to do when s/he grew up?

My character's father was a general, so everyone assumed he would go into the army. But he didn't want to make his way in the world off his father's reputation. His brother-in-law (who was more like a father to him) was a police chief, and he always wanted to be like him, using his natural leadership to protect and keep the peace instead of making war.

How many lovers has your character had, and do they consider themselves attractive to the opposite sex?

onesecondglance · Oct 13, 2014

IAMWRITER said:
Does your character have any lucky charms/mascots?

Ooops, looks like this one got missed! For my current WIP, no, but in my last book Sel has a silver crucifix necklace. She's far from religious, and if you ask her she'll say she only wears it because her mother gave it to her, but she secretly finds it very comforting. She plays with it when she's nervous - she'd make a terrible poker player!

Kallithrix said:
How many lovers has your character had, and do they consider themselves attractive to the opposite sex?

Ok, back with the current WIP. Lydia thinks she's less attractive than she is. Her sister used to be a model, so yes, compared to her she's quite plain, but on her own terms she's relatively good-looking.

She's slept with three men, but wouldn't describe any of them as lovers. She daydreams about a man she works with, though she considers him out of her league and wouldn't dare say anything to him.

Right... your character sees a huge, muscle-bound man kick a stray dog. What do they do?

jeseymour · Oct 13, 2014

onesecondglance said:
Right... your character sees a huge, muscle-bound man kick a stray dog. What do they do?

Kevin gives the guy the look. That sniper's stare. The gaze that can make anyone afraid. If that doesn't make the guy squirm, he'd say something insulting about the guy's mother. But quietly, so that maybe nobody else hears it except the dog kicker. Then he'd probably have to take the guy apart, but only in self defense, when the guy comes after him for the insult.

Your character's weapon of choice?

Sonsofthepharaohs · Oct 13, 2014

jeseymour said:
Your character's weapon of choice?

He only ever carries one weapon: his khopesh (long handled, sickle shaped sword). He's also fairly handy with his fists when it comes to interrogating prisoners, but where the real fights happen is in the political arena, where he has to use logical arguments and persuasion.

Best friend, and where/how they met?

IAMWRITER · Oct 13, 2014

Picking and mixing some of these questions 'cause there's some fabby ones that I wanna answer!

onesecondglance said:
Right... your character sees a huge, muscle-bound man kick a stray dog. What do they do?

Kick them back

Or maybe not kick them...she'd definitely say something to the guy. What happens after that really depends on the mood she's in that day!

jeseymour said:
Your character's weapon of choice?

Words. Mariel's had enough experience with firearms to last her a lifetime.

Kallithrix said:
Best friend, and where/how they met?

Her husband, Archie. They met during the second week of college on campus.

QUESTION: What 3 things could your character absolutely not live without?

Jack McManus · Oct 13, 2014

Cool thread! I need to develop my characters more before they write themselves into irrelevance.

jeseymour said:
What distinguishing features does your character have? (Tattoos, scars, etc.?) Kevin has four tattoos, three of them USMC related. And way too many scars to count.

He's missing the pinky and tip of the ring finger on his right hand due to a careless oil field accident.

onesecondglance said:
Right... your character sees a huge, muscle-bound man kick a stray dog. What do they do?

This early in the story, he would probably pity the dog, but do little more than mumble something like, "better you than me."
I have a brief sketch of his childhood, but not clear yet on how that has affected his current (late-twenties) state of mind, other than he's pretty screwed up.

What in your character's past affects his/her decisions now?

jeseymour · Oct 13, 2014

smoothopr8r said:
What in your character's past affects his/her decisions now?

Yeesh. Everything? Kevin is a veteran, with untreated PTSD. He reacts to situations the way the Marines trained him to react. Quickly and with enough force to subdue the threat. He's a bit jumpy, and really, everything is a threat.

Does your character have a hobby?

Sonsofthepharaohs · Oct 13, 2014

jeseymour said:
Does your character have a hobby?

In his youth it was chariot racing, until he busted his knee. Now it appears to be drinking.

Your character's all time worst day ever?

Lorcroftlegacy · Oct 13, 2014

jeseymour said:
What distinguishing features does your character have? (Tattoos, scars, etc.?) Kevin has four tattoos, three of them USMC related. And way too many scars to count.

Jack has numerous scars, though most prominently, a burn covering his entire right forearm.

Kallithrix said:
Your character's all time worst day ever?

It'd be hard to top that day in Venezuela, where he was involved in not one, but two helicopter crashes. He barely escaped alive, but that day paled in comparison to the day his wife was murdered.
Did (or does) your character have a mentor?

IAMWRITER · Oct 14, 2014

Kallithrix said:
Your character's all time worst day ever?

Hmm...the day that she had to break Archie's heart and leave him ranks pretty high on Mariel's worst days. Also the day that she was shot and nearly died wasn't that much fun either...

Lorcroftlegacy said:
Did (or does) your character have a mentor?

Harley Riggs was Mariel's mentor - emphasis on the was.

QUESTION: What are three words that your character lives by?

Sonsofthepharaohs · Oct 15, 2014

IAMWRITER said:
QUESTION: What are three words that your character lives by?

To uphold Ma'at - Ma'at is the goddess of truth and justice, and embodies the concept of cosmic balance. When my MC became a Medjay he took a sacred oath to uphold Ma'at, and everything he does is towards that end.

At least it should be...

What's the most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to your MC?

jeseymour · Oct 15, 2014

Kallithrix said:
What's the most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to your MC?

Spoiler alert for those who haven't read Lead Poisoning.

Taken down in his own driveway, in front of his wife and kids, by a pipsqueak of a Deputy US Marshal.

What is your main character's ethnicity?

lizmonster · Oct 15, 2014

jeseymour said:
What is your main character's ethnicity?

Ethnicity as we think of it today has blurred somewhat in 1000 years, but Greg, like many people born and raised on Earth, is dark skinned, reflecting an ancestral mix of northern Africa, the Middle East, and parts of Russia.

Does/did your character get along with his/her parents?

Namatu · Oct 15, 2014

I'm late to the party. Kallithrix, your answers are a balm to my Egyptology loving heart.

lizmonster said:
Does/did your character get along with his/her parents?

Well, she did. Before her employer killed them. Although at the time she was unemployed, being not yet a teenager.

What secretly makes your MC's heart go soft?

Sonsofthepharaohs · Oct 16, 2014

jeseymour said:
What is your main character's ethnicity?

Well, that might be giving away too much. Let's just say his father was Egyptian, and he was raised as an Egyptian. The identity of his mother is... something he never questioned until his old wet nurse dropped a bomb shell.

Namatu said:
What secretly makes your MC's heart go soft?

His new slave girl. She agreed to a year's indentured service to save her father from slavery, but ended up tricked into slavery herself. She reminds my MC why he became a Medjay, to protect the innocent and vulnerable, and reassures him that there is good in people.

lizmonster · Oct 19, 2014

Here's one:

Your character is stuck alone in a room for three days. Food/water/sanitation are provided, but no other people, no Internet/phone/outside contact at all.

What do they do with the time?

jeseymour · Oct 19, 2014

This is a bit of a spoiler, but to anyone who's read the first two books, it won't be a surprise. Kevin spent quite a bit of time in the SHU in a maximum security penitentiary. He knows how to be alone. Exercise. Read books. Pace. Sleep. Repeat.

Does your character have any physical limitations/old injuries that cause difficulties? (Kevin has a limp from a kneecapping, and he's a little bit deaf from firing weapons without hearing protection.)

lexxi · Oct 20, 2014

jeseymour said:
Does your character have any physical limitations/old injuries that cause difficulties?

With my current heroine, no injuries yet, but she is really short. I should find more ways for that to cause difficulties.

What do people call your character behind their back? Does he/she know?

Lorcroftlegacy · Oct 21, 2014

lexxi said:
What do people call your character behind their back? Does he/she know?

Not exactly behind his back, but even Jack's closest friends regard him as possibly insane. He has earned this reputation from his penchant to do dangerous or strange things in order to solve his case or sometimes for no reason whatsoever. Though, Jack just considers himself a thrill junkie.
What's your character's educational background?

jeseymour · Oct 21, 2014

Lorcroftlegacy said:
What's your character's educational background?

Kevin dropped out of high school in his junior year, but got his GED during basic training when he joined the Marines. No college. He did go to Sniper School.

He reads a lot. Which leads to our next question. (With apologies to Kallithrix.) Name the book your character last read, or at least the genre your character likes to read. I know we did childhood books, but did we do this question already?

onesecondglance · Oct 22, 2014

Good question... Lydia prefers contemporary fiction. Her favourite book is The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini.

Question: has your character ever killed someone? What made them do it, and would they do it again?

jeseymour · Oct 22, 2014

onesecondglance said:
Question: has your character ever killed someone? What made them do it, and would they do it again?

I probably shouldn't answer this one.

Kevin is a hitman. He was also a Marine sniper. He started killing for the Marines, because that's what he was good at, and he kept it up when he came home, because that's what he was good at. He is trying to quit. Since he stopped self-medicating with alcohol, it's gotten harder for him, and he has actually stopped working. He kills someone in self-defense in Stress Fractures, and kills a couple of bad guys in Lead Poisoning, but it doesn't roll off his back the way it used to.

Oh, I wanted to answer an earlier question too -

What is your character's favourite saying/quote?

"In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the militaryindustrial complex."

Does your character have children (or want to have children?)

IAMWRITER · Oct 22, 2014

jeseymour said:
Does your character have children (or want to have children?)

Mariel has a little boy, Mason, even though she and her husband were told that they'd never have kids.

onesecondglance said:
Question: has your character ever killed someone? What made them do it, and would they do it again?

Only if she absolutely HAD to, i.e. in self defense, and only bad guys. She much prefers for them baddies to suffer for years in a prison cell than to kill them - for Mariel, killing them gives them the easy way out.

QUESTION: Where does your character feel the safest?

Game: How well do you know your characters? (MTS edition)

Possibly A Mermaid Queen

Still writing the ancient Egyptian tetralogy

pretending to be awake

Still writing the ancient Egyptian tetralogy

QWERTY!!!

smoothopr8r

Still writing the ancient Egyptian tetralogy

QWERTY!!!

Still writing the ancient Egyptian tetralogy

Possibly A Mermaid Queen

Lost in mental space.

Still writing the ancient Egyptian tetralogy

Possibly A Mermaid Queen

bold enough for both those XXs

pretending to be awake

QWERTY!!!