How well do you know your main character? the SF/F edition

Twick said:

Your character has to reach a mountain top. S/he can either take the long route through the valley, and up a relatively safe path, or save a lot of time by crossing a rickety suspension bridge. Which route does s/he choose?

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Lashacrimos would take the valley but be pissed off about it. He doesn't do it because of any sort of fear, just logistics; he weighs about four hundred pounds (because nanites).

Demerei would scamper across the bridge and be lounging around waiting for Lashacrimos at the top to taunt him (because butthead).

Q: What level of kink is the porn in their underwear drawer/mattress/browser history/imagination?

Twick said:

Your character has to reach a mountain top. S/he can either take the long route through the valley, and up a relatively safe path, or save a lot of time by crossing a rickety suspension bridge. Which route does s/he choose?

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She'd prefer to take the safer rout no matter how long it is, but the way things have been going for her lately, she'd probably be forced to take the rickety suspension bridge for one reason or another.


If a stranger showed up and offered to take your MC on an adventure, but said that they couldn't promise that MC would come back alive and if s/he did come back things would never be the same, what would your MC do?

E.F.B. said:

If a stranger showed up and offered to take your MC on an adventure, but said that they couldn't promise that MC would come back alive and if s/he did come back things would never be the same, what would your MC do?

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Laugh and say, "Hey, I read that in a book once!"

Actually, my MC hasn't read the Hobbit. But he would still laugh and ask how it would be any different than the last time he stepped out his front door. (He never returned to that house, and by the time he makes it to his old city, he is indeed much changed.)

EDIT: I forgot to put in a question. My apologies, everyone!

Who is the most infuriating person your MC knows?

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Her father. Possibly, the wolf no one but her can see.

Q: Your MC is forced to choose between the item she wants at full price, or a similar but inferior item at a discount. Which does she choose and why?

E.F.B. said:

If a stranger showed up and offered to take your MC on an adventure, but said that they couldn't promise that MC would come back alive and if s/he did come back things would never be the same, what would your MC do?

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He'd say "been there, done that."

stumblebum said:

Q: Your MC is forced to choose between the item she wants at full price, or a similar but inferior item at a discount. Which does she choose and why?

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The inferior item at a discount. She knows full well that street artists selling charcoal drawings for pennies have no business paying extra for quality.

Q: Your MC has just discovered that a closely-held belief, one which (s)he and most of her/his community of friends and family have predicated their lives on, is false. Does (s)he set aside the false belief and strive for an honest life, no matter the consequences for her/himself and his/her relationships? Or does (s)he allow the lie to persist and continue to reap the benefits of the status quo?

dmealing said:

Q: Your MC has just discovered that a closely-held belief, one which (s)he and most of her/his community of friends and family have predicated their lives on, is false. Does (s)he set aside the false belief and strive for an honest life, no matter the consequences for her/himself and his/her relationships? Or does (s)he allow the lie to persist and continue to reap the benefits of the status quo?

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It seems like my MC has had a lot of these things happen to him already. He turned his back on his entire country and (after much soul-wringing) is now actively participating in a war to wipe out everyone he ever knew.

Q: Your character is thrown into Germany just as WWI starts, and they live in Germany through WWII. Would they join the Nazi party or see through the propaganda?

Taejang said:

Q: Your character is thrown into Germany just as WWI starts, and they live in Germany through WWII. Would they join the Nazi party or see through the propaganda?

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Well, first of all she'd say, "Dang it! I've been transported to another time AGAIN?!" Then she'd see through the propaganda because she was born in our world in the 90's and payed enough attention in history class to know the Nazis were bad news.

Q: If you had to change your MC into whatever animal most matches MC's character traits, what animal would your MC become?

Q: If you had to change your MC into whatever animal most matches MC's character traits, what animal would your MC become?

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This got a snort from me. She would be the unholy union of a honey badger and a common squirrel. Tenacious and single-minded, but also skittish and prone to irrational behavior.

Q: Your MC is sitting at a table at Applebees. The place is hopping, and the service is slow. How does she treat the server?
(As Dave Berry once said: "A person who is kind to you, but rude to the waitstaff is not a nice person.")

stumblebum said:

Q: Your MC is sitting at a table at Applebees. The place is hopping, and the service is slow. How does she treat the server?
(As Dave Berry once said: "A person who is kind to you, but rude to the waitstaff is not a nice person.")

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She would get annoyed but only because she was hungry and grumpy, and her family would be making the process take even longer by bumbling through conversation and chattering too much. Then later on she would see the server looking really sad and tired and would feel bad that she'd been annoyed at someone who's just trying to do their job.


Q: Your MC has $50 to spend at the mall. How would they spend it?

portugueseninja said:

Q: Your MC has $50 to spend at the mall. How would they spend it?

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Good question, I had to think about it for a minute. I think my MC is the kind of person who would try to get the most "bang for her buck" and try to see how much stuff she could get for only $50 by being thrifty and looking for discounts. As for what kind of things she would buy, she'd be practical and only buy things she really needed, or that she thought would be a good gift for someone else.


Q: How does/would your MC feel about Broadway show tunes or any kind of entertainment where there's lots and lots and lots of singing? (I've been listening to the soundtrack for Wicked. Got songs on the brain.)

They would have to be modern pop rock songs, not Broadwaydy half-opera style songs. Or for that matter, alien opera-ballet songs, cause those are just weird.

Folk music revived in the distant future and given a new sizzle, now that he acquires a taste for.

Your MC is told that the enemy is an Always Chaotic Evil race and every ugly member of it should be killed on sight. Even those who haven't actually done anything. His/her reaction?

Hypatia said:

Your MC is told that the enemy is an Always Chaotic Evil race and every ugly member of it should be killed on sight. Even those who haven't actually done anything. His/her reaction?

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If it's the same enemy as he's previously encountered: he'd be polite but, on the inside, rolling his eyes.

If it's a new, actually Always Chaotic Evil enemy: well, he's got some really innovative ideas for new nuclear weapons (he's a professional nuke designer, and sometimes gets frustrated at the conservatism of his colleagues).

There's an election coming up (in your universe, not in real life). Who's your MC voting for?

The election is for Capitaine du Cadre is coming up. She's never voted before (it's not done in her level in society), so the entire concept is weird to her. But she will vote for Sevien le Pier and KKasu, since she and her partner can't run--yet.


If your MC was suddenly gender-bendered, what would be their reaction?

DeleyanLee said:

If your MC was suddenly gender-bendered, what would be their reaction?

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Great, now I bleed once a month. That will affect my combat efficiency AND I'll spend more time doing laundry. How exactly do I get back?

Q: A massive plague / asteroid / thing is coming which your character cannot stop or escape. How do they cope with the impending doom?

Taejang said:

Q: A massive plague / asteroid / thing is coming which your character cannot stop or escape. How do they cope with the impending doom?

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Drinking and bitching.

Q: A sudden technological/magical advance changes everything about your character's primary skill set. They now need to relearn everything if they want to remain competitive. How do they react?

Maxx said:

What does your main character think about whales?

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She can't get over how big they are. She knows they're that big, but they're still something sublime she can't comprehend.

Does your MC prefer coffee or tea, and how do they take it?

Tea, seeing as coffee is a crazy expensive import from a foreign country in the fantasy world. Adel likes Mystic Sevrage's tea the best - but what blend he uses, he'll never say. It's an old Mystic's secret.

Your MC is casually walking down the street. Someone grabs their wrist and shouts, "This is the one! S/He's the one who did it! Get him/her!"
What the heck would your MC do?

First she'd frown at them impinging on her freedom of movement. Then she'd snap her hand away and say yes, she did it. Then ask what the heck they were talking about. Then depending on answer, she'd either apologize or ignore them by running/flying/teleporting away.

Your mc has gum in their hair. What emotions do they go through and how do they decide to remove it?

Amber wouldn't have the slightest idea of what gum actually is. She'd realize that it's stuck quickly and before she's made a total mess of her hair, and then just snip it out of her hair with scissors or something.

How does your MC react to a random person hunching over in pain, with demonic-looking wings emerging from their back?

lilyWhite said:

How does your MC react to a random person hunching over in pain, with demonic-looking wings emerging from their back?

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She'd do this --->

The scenario: Your MC is enjoying a beautiful sunny day hiking in the woods when in the distance s\he sees a bank if fog, so thick s/he can't see through it, moving rapidly towards him/her. The fog bank will overtake your MC within seconds and the feeling of magic is heavy in the air. What does your MC think will happen when the magical fog reaches them and do they run away or stay there?

E.F.B. said:

She'd do this --->

The scenario: Your MC is enjoying a beautiful sunny day hiking in the woods when in the distance s\he sees a bank if fog, so thick s/he can't see through it, moving rapidly towards him/her. The fog bank will overtake your MC within seconds and the feeling of magic is heavy in the air. What does your MC think will happen when the magical fog reaches them and do they run away or stay there?

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The MC would stay put and seek out the source of the fog. His species has a rich mythology filled with figures who may or may not exist. Nobody seems to know for certain. As the fog is not something his own (magical) species can produce, and he's never personally encountered any other kind of magical creature, he'd assume that the fog was created by one of the beings in the legends. He wouldn't pass up an opportunity to meet one of them, even if it turned out to be aggressive. He has too many questions to ask.

Next Question: What kind of pet would your MC love to have?

E.F.B. said:

The scenario: Your MC is enjoying a beautiful sunny day hiking in the woods when in the distance s\he sees a bank if fog, so thick s/he can't see through it, moving rapidly towards him/her. The fog bank will overtake your MC within seconds and the feeling of magic is heavy in the air. What does your MC think will happen when the magical fog reaches them and do they run away or stay there?

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He would assume it was an attack, though wonder what he did to make an Elmorian shaper angry with him. He could move in the fog unnoticed, but he would likely have been hiking with a Glestenian friend, and everyone knows they are as stealthy as a rock slide. Fortunately, Jaxon is a Sentothi shaper, and flames are his specialty. Bye bye, mist.

Tazlima said:

Next Question: What kind of pet would your MC love to have?

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He has often wondered what it would be like to train and ride a warhorse; beyond that, Jaxon wouldn't even know where to start. His culture doesn't do "pets" like we think of them.

Q: Your MC wakes up in an unfamiliar inn/hotel with no recollection of getting there. How does s/he respond?

Taejang said:

Q: Your MC wakes up in an unfamiliar inn/hotel with no recollection of getting there. How does s/he respond?

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He'd probably think what is this strange place, and think he has been taken. He'd warily explore the place a little, surprisingly finding all the doors are open. He might even incapacitate the poor unsuspecting inn keeper on the way out.

What record would your MC have spinning on his/her record player when s/he sits down after a long day of whatever he/she does? Whether that be travelling across the universe, trying to foil some dark lords plans, time travelling, or even just having a day off from his/her worldly duties?

DarkSongofErrin said:

What record would your MC have spinning on his/her record player when s/he sits down after a long day of whatever he/she does? Whether that be travelling across the universe, trying to foil some dark lords plans, time travelling, or even just having a day off from his/her worldly duties?

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Adel doesn't know what a record player is, but he'd most certainly go down to the horse stables, take his horse to a secluded location, sit and nap while the horse is grazing. Of course, the problem is always finding the animal after he wakes up...

I like the situation ones.

Your MC awakens to find a letter on their nightstand. It says only two sentences:
I know what you did. Meet me at the docks at midnight.

What would your MC do?