Character survey
Sep. 19th, 2011 04:48 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
frogs_of_warIn the interest of getting to know their own characters better, some writers do mini bio, some of which are instructive, but many of which are boring. My favorite, from a book (or website or article) that I can’t remember had questions like what would they like to do for their birthday if they could do anything, what will they probably do for their birthday, when was the last time they talked to their mother and about what, what would they do if their long lost cousin showed up on their doorstep. Those sorts of open-ended questions that could be answered in a sentence or fifty.
And because I started this in a conversation to Grimm, I thought I’d finish for fun.
What would the character do if their mother showed up at their door?
A Balance of Harmonies: Emil would ask her if she needed anything because he wouldn't recognize her. Peregrine would shut the door in her face. He hasn't forgiven her yet. Kurt would really hope he was having a nightmare. Because he is even if he isn't sleeping; she's still the person he fears the most.
A Prodigal’s Dilemma, Waiting for Valentine, Summer Snapshots, and whatever I’m going to call the 100wordwar story: Steven would say hello, did she have a nice time. He need a few more whites to start a load, does she have any that need washed. It's her house after all. Seth would suppress an eye roll, glance behind her in hopes that Matt or Josh or the girls are with her, and invite her in for tea. But if it was the bedroom door, Steven would roll his eyes and shoot Seth a grin that said he’d be back soon. Then he’d open his door and follow his mother to wherever her chore was. He would do it quickly without complaining that he could just have easily done it the next day and then he’d go back to his room and Seth and make up for lost time.
Are You Together?: Pete would invite his mother in, take the baby from her arms, and tell her that they didn't expect her. Rick would reluctantly invite his mother in and hope she doesn't want to stay long.
Baby Snatcher: Ewan would be very surprised. She hasn’t been to the top floor of the boarding house since he moved his family up there. (She goes to the attic, but she leaves him the four rooms on the top floor to be his personal space.) Cuchulainn would be very happy and invite his mother in. He doesn’t get to see his Vampire mother, Were father, or his little sisters often enough.
Fairy Tale: Caleb and Ky both still live in their respective homes. Caleb always thinks ahead, so his mother never has any reason to be at his door. Ky is more difficult because I’ve never written his POV, but I think he’s greet her happily, whatever she wanted, because he’s that kind of guy.
Gathering Family: Medvedev would freak out because he’s scared of ghosts and his mother has been dead for years. Oliver would love to see the ghost of his mother. She was very beautiful. But if mother means the woman who raised him, he’d stand up against whatever his aunt wanted because now that he’s seen the outside world, he realizes how badly he was treated.
Headache: Ryan would try his best to wake up. His mother's been dead for years. Daniel would take his mother’s coat and ask if she's staying for dinner. The kids want to spend the night at her house again. They love her applesauce pancakes.
My Impish Angel: Owen would go do whatever his mother asked of him. Cole would be surprised because his parents never go downstairs. Either they yell or the send one of his sisters. They’re high schoolers and both live with their parents.
Princess Izzy: She would wake up and call for a Royal Bard to sing of her beautiful mother. I started a Douglas story, but never got far enough to decide what he felt about his parents.
The Cottage in Weaver’s Wood: Within the story Polly and Henry live with the mothers, but afterwards they would be surprised that their mothers had taken the long journey to see them.
The Date: Connor would sigh and ask her what she wanted. Reid: At the front door he’d help her bring the groceries in. At his bedroom door (they live in her house), he’d pull on a pair of boxers, check to make sure Connor was cover up, open the door and thank her for doing the laundry, she didn’t have to, close the door, put the laundry on the dresser and hope Connor won’t insist on putting it away before they get back to what they were doing.
Young God of the Forest: The unnamed protagonist can’t remember if he ever knew his mother, but she must have been dead for hundreds if not thousands of years. He would see her as any woman walking through his woods and as long as she didn’t kill anything, she wouldn’t even know he was there. But people who kill in his woods are made examples of.
And for the short stories:
In Frog’s Yummy Oneshots:
The Substitute: Robert would tell his mother he was on the way out. Jack would do whatever his mother wanted him to, while wishing he were anywhere else.
Forever: Bazyli’s mother is dead and he doesn’t believe in ghosts, so he’d know he was dreaming. Haakon would be very surprised because people didn’t do a lot of traveling in that day and age and he’s a long way from home.
Him: The story is so short, I’d have to write more about the unnamed protagonist and love interest to find out.
Waiting: If Cody’s mother showed up at Armen’s house where Cody is living, Armen would send her away without Cody having to deal with his drunk, neglectful, and sometimes violent parents. If Armen’s parents showed up (this is just a guess because he was never POV), he’d do everything necessary for politeness sake and then take them out to dinner or something.
Behind the Closed Door: Neither main character was POV here, but I think Alexander would answer with his hand on the door just in case someone tried to open it no matter what he was doing inside. And Julian’s mother doesn’t care enough about him to pass the time of day, let alone come to his door to talk to him.
Vision: Vishtani doesn’t remember his mother and as he exists to be the lover of Prodoshvar, the god of twilight, he might not have ever had one. Prodoshvar does have a mother, but I don’t know if she was a human the Great God Ganshirajesh seduced, or if she’s another god of the Summer Hills. But one god would never be so impolite as to go to another’s home uninvited.
Love Thine Enemy: Prince Henry would listen to his mother’s request with what looked like polite attention and then have one of the servants do it. The enemy/lover is too enigmatic even for me know how he was react.
Not Even a Sidekick: Gavin’s mother is dead, but if Freyja (who mothers him now) knocked on his door he’d roll his eyes and reluctantly open the door and look at the floor while she talked to him. Caoimhghín’s mother, being a Wizard, wouldn’t come by his house. She’d send him an invitation in his magic speaking bowl and ask him to stop by. Once there he couldn’t touch her, because male and female magic doesn’t react well together.
Companion to the King: Henrik would take his mother in and lavish things on her as if she were a princess and not a simple blacksmith’s wife. Elnathan’s mother is dead.
Scholar: POV is a hermit monk. He has had no contact with his family since he joined the monastery, so he does not even know if his mother is alive and she has no idea where he is, so he’d be very surprised to see her. Robin was sacrificed to the God of the Forest, so my guess is he was an orphan. And even if he wasn’t, he’s been ageless for maybe a hundred years plus the entire village he was from was washed away by a flood.
Fate: Too short to know how Mike and Samuel would react.
Running Together/Moving in: If either Luke’s or Vic’s mothers came to visit, they would be invited in and stay quite a while even though the boys talk to their mothers almost every day.
In MM Goodness:
Shattered: Andrew’s mother likes to forget his exists after his breakdown. If he can’t act civilized than she doesn’t want to think about him, which is perfectly all right with him. Dale would be embarrassed to see his mother. She would be unhappy to find that he went from footman to hostler, but she might be pleased that he’d become the personal servant of a young master, as long as she never found out that young master was considered insane.
Mine: Danson loves his mother, but does not respect her, although he pretends to, so he’d be polite. Justin’s mother doesn’t know where he is. If she appeared, he’d probably hide.
Duty: Colin lives across the sea from his family, so if any of the showed up, he’d be more than shocked. Arnvid’s mother lives in the Hall somewhere. He sees her all the time.
Of Father’s and Fertility Gods: The POV character is the creepy bad guy in this one, although he thinks he’s pure as snow. But he’s family is thousands of miles away, so he’d be very surprised to see his mother. Malachi’s mother died when he was born and I don’t think fertility gods/demons/spirits have mothers.
A Means to an End: Phillips mother is dead, but if Lady Columbine’s mother, who raised Phillip, showed up at the door, he would treat her will every kindness available. And my thoughts on Hugh are so wrapped up in his feelings for Phillip that I really am really very ignorant of his feelings for anyone else.
What You Did Last Night: If Jordan’s mother showed up at the door to the garage apartment, she would just want to tell them something, like dinner was ready. She wouldn’t expect to come inside because that is Tim’s space. Of course she’d probably send one of Jordan’s sisters instead. Tim’s mother might want to come up and see it, but Tim might be able to talk her into going into the main house instead. He would certainly try to keep her from coming up.
The Prince and the Sorcerer: Esteve and Ignasi were both raised by nurses, mothers never even coming into the picture.
S2B2 stories:
…a Boy Will Do/Going Pirate: Nameless Ninja’s (Kouji) mother is in Japan, cut off from the rest of the world by the Shogun. Finn and Lugh were both prisoners of war, so if their mothers (if still alive) were in the Caribbean from their native Ireland, something would really be wrong. Jamie loves being a pirate (rather than a lawyer or doctor or merchant) so he’d probably brag about it to his mother and she’d either think he was kidding or faint from shock.
Sweet: Is Connor and Reid again. If Reid’s mother came home while they were in the living room, family room, or kitchen, they would grab their clothes, hoping they got everything, and head for their room. They don’t always keep it to their room when everyone is gone. Then Connor would come out and carefully clean their mess.
The Golden Man: Bao would hope that he was awake and that that horrible day was just a dream. Then he'd wake and greive the loss of his beloved mother. If Elias saw his mother he would hang his head and slip away. He does not what her to know what he has become.
Resistance: Jacob only knows what his mother looks like from pictures and his foster father wasn’t married. Anthony lives in caves during the story, so no doors. Mom would call out before she entered and Anthony would call out for her to wait as he and Jacob made themselves presentable.
Galateus: Will wouldn’t even notice. He’d be too busy creating or sketching or thinking or building or fixing something. And when she did finally come to his attention, he’d just nod and go back to what he was doing. His few people skills are hard learned. Joseph doesn’t have a mother.
Rumor: Phoibos would show his mother every expected politeness. Adonis was always glad to see his mother. He never realized how badly he was being treated.
Warmth: Heath (POV) lives with his mother. She’d come out of his room to find out what she wanted. Haven is an enigma. Even I don’t know why he does what he does, but I’m sure he doesn’t see his mother very often.
Be Gentle with Me: Ethan would let his mother hug him and look him over to see if she spot any weakening in his health and generally be treated like the little preemie with the heart condition that he was all those years ago. Alejandro would pull his step-mother into a giant hug and kiss the top of her head. He’d nod to his mother (he was raised by his grandmother) and asked her politely if she’d like to come in.
Boy, that was a lot longer than I thought. And it doesn’t even have anything just posted on my lj. I didn’t realize how many characters I couldn’t answer the questions for. They were mostly ones that were never POV and two who I purposefully never tried to figure out.
And because I started this in a conversation to Grimm, I thought I’d finish for fun.
What would the character do if their mother showed up at their door?
A Balance of Harmonies: Emil would ask her if she needed anything because he wouldn't recognize her. Peregrine would shut the door in her face. He hasn't forgiven her yet. Kurt would really hope he was having a nightmare. Because he is even if he isn't sleeping; she's still the person he fears the most.
A Prodigal’s Dilemma, Waiting for Valentine, Summer Snapshots, and whatever I’m going to call the 100wordwar story: Steven would say hello, did she have a nice time. He need a few more whites to start a load, does she have any that need washed. It's her house after all. Seth would suppress an eye roll, glance behind her in hopes that Matt or Josh or the girls are with her, and invite her in for tea. But if it was the bedroom door, Steven would roll his eyes and shoot Seth a grin that said he’d be back soon. Then he’d open his door and follow his mother to wherever her chore was. He would do it quickly without complaining that he could just have easily done it the next day and then he’d go back to his room and Seth and make up for lost time.
Are You Together?: Pete would invite his mother in, take the baby from her arms, and tell her that they didn't expect her. Rick would reluctantly invite his mother in and hope she doesn't want to stay long.
Baby Snatcher: Ewan would be very surprised. She hasn’t been to the top floor of the boarding house since he moved his family up there. (She goes to the attic, but she leaves him the four rooms on the top floor to be his personal space.) Cuchulainn would be very happy and invite his mother in. He doesn’t get to see his Vampire mother, Were father, or his little sisters often enough.
Fairy Tale: Caleb and Ky both still live in their respective homes. Caleb always thinks ahead, so his mother never has any reason to be at his door. Ky is more difficult because I’ve never written his POV, but I think he’s greet her happily, whatever she wanted, because he’s that kind of guy.
Gathering Family: Medvedev would freak out because he’s scared of ghosts and his mother has been dead for years. Oliver would love to see the ghost of his mother. She was very beautiful. But if mother means the woman who raised him, he’d stand up against whatever his aunt wanted because now that he’s seen the outside world, he realizes how badly he was treated.
Headache: Ryan would try his best to wake up. His mother's been dead for years. Daniel would take his mother’s coat and ask if she's staying for dinner. The kids want to spend the night at her house again. They love her applesauce pancakes.
My Impish Angel: Owen would go do whatever his mother asked of him. Cole would be surprised because his parents never go downstairs. Either they yell or the send one of his sisters. They’re high schoolers and both live with their parents.
Princess Izzy: She would wake up and call for a Royal Bard to sing of her beautiful mother. I started a Douglas story, but never got far enough to decide what he felt about his parents.
The Cottage in Weaver’s Wood: Within the story Polly and Henry live with the mothers, but afterwards they would be surprised that their mothers had taken the long journey to see them.
The Date: Connor would sigh and ask her what she wanted. Reid: At the front door he’d help her bring the groceries in. At his bedroom door (they live in her house), he’d pull on a pair of boxers, check to make sure Connor was cover up, open the door and thank her for doing the laundry, she didn’t have to, close the door, put the laundry on the dresser and hope Connor won’t insist on putting it away before they get back to what they were doing.
Young God of the Forest: The unnamed protagonist can’t remember if he ever knew his mother, but she must have been dead for hundreds if not thousands of years. He would see her as any woman walking through his woods and as long as she didn’t kill anything, she wouldn’t even know he was there. But people who kill in his woods are made examples of.
And for the short stories:
In Frog’s Yummy Oneshots:
The Substitute: Robert would tell his mother he was on the way out. Jack would do whatever his mother wanted him to, while wishing he were anywhere else.
Forever: Bazyli’s mother is dead and he doesn’t believe in ghosts, so he’d know he was dreaming. Haakon would be very surprised because people didn’t do a lot of traveling in that day and age and he’s a long way from home.
Him: The story is so short, I’d have to write more about the unnamed protagonist and love interest to find out.
Waiting: If Cody’s mother showed up at Armen’s house where Cody is living, Armen would send her away without Cody having to deal with his drunk, neglectful, and sometimes violent parents. If Armen’s parents showed up (this is just a guess because he was never POV), he’d do everything necessary for politeness sake and then take them out to dinner or something.
Behind the Closed Door: Neither main character was POV here, but I think Alexander would answer with his hand on the door just in case someone tried to open it no matter what he was doing inside. And Julian’s mother doesn’t care enough about him to pass the time of day, let alone come to his door to talk to him.
Vision: Vishtani doesn’t remember his mother and as he exists to be the lover of Prodoshvar, the god of twilight, he might not have ever had one. Prodoshvar does have a mother, but I don’t know if she was a human the Great God Ganshirajesh seduced, or if she’s another god of the Summer Hills. But one god would never be so impolite as to go to another’s home uninvited.
Love Thine Enemy: Prince Henry would listen to his mother’s request with what looked like polite attention and then have one of the servants do it. The enemy/lover is too enigmatic even for me know how he was react.
Not Even a Sidekick: Gavin’s mother is dead, but if Freyja (who mothers him now) knocked on his door he’d roll his eyes and reluctantly open the door and look at the floor while she talked to him. Caoimhghín’s mother, being a Wizard, wouldn’t come by his house. She’d send him an invitation in his magic speaking bowl and ask him to stop by. Once there he couldn’t touch her, because male and female magic doesn’t react well together.
Companion to the King: Henrik would take his mother in and lavish things on her as if she were a princess and not a simple blacksmith’s wife. Elnathan’s mother is dead.
Scholar: POV is a hermit monk. He has had no contact with his family since he joined the monastery, so he does not even know if his mother is alive and she has no idea where he is, so he’d be very surprised to see her. Robin was sacrificed to the God of the Forest, so my guess is he was an orphan. And even if he wasn’t, he’s been ageless for maybe a hundred years plus the entire village he was from was washed away by a flood.
Fate: Too short to know how Mike and Samuel would react.
Running Together/Moving in: If either Luke’s or Vic’s mothers came to visit, they would be invited in and stay quite a while even though the boys talk to their mothers almost every day.
In MM Goodness:
Shattered: Andrew’s mother likes to forget his exists after his breakdown. If he can’t act civilized than she doesn’t want to think about him, which is perfectly all right with him. Dale would be embarrassed to see his mother. She would be unhappy to find that he went from footman to hostler, but she might be pleased that he’d become the personal servant of a young master, as long as she never found out that young master was considered insane.
Mine: Danson loves his mother, but does not respect her, although he pretends to, so he’d be polite. Justin’s mother doesn’t know where he is. If she appeared, he’d probably hide.
Duty: Colin lives across the sea from his family, so if any of the showed up, he’d be more than shocked. Arnvid’s mother lives in the Hall somewhere. He sees her all the time.
Of Father’s and Fertility Gods: The POV character is the creepy bad guy in this one, although he thinks he’s pure as snow. But he’s family is thousands of miles away, so he’d be very surprised to see his mother. Malachi’s mother died when he was born and I don’t think fertility gods/demons/spirits have mothers.
A Means to an End: Phillips mother is dead, but if Lady Columbine’s mother, who raised Phillip, showed up at the door, he would treat her will every kindness available. And my thoughts on Hugh are so wrapped up in his feelings for Phillip that I really am really very ignorant of his feelings for anyone else.
What You Did Last Night: If Jordan’s mother showed up at the door to the garage apartment, she would just want to tell them something, like dinner was ready. She wouldn’t expect to come inside because that is Tim’s space. Of course she’d probably send one of Jordan’s sisters instead. Tim’s mother might want to come up and see it, but Tim might be able to talk her into going into the main house instead. He would certainly try to keep her from coming up.
The Prince and the Sorcerer: Esteve and Ignasi were both raised by nurses, mothers never even coming into the picture.
S2B2 stories:
…a Boy Will Do/Going Pirate: Nameless Ninja’s (Kouji) mother is in Japan, cut off from the rest of the world by the Shogun. Finn and Lugh were both prisoners of war, so if their mothers (if still alive) were in the Caribbean from their native Ireland, something would really be wrong. Jamie loves being a pirate (rather than a lawyer or doctor or merchant) so he’d probably brag about it to his mother and she’d either think he was kidding or faint from shock.
Sweet: Is Connor and Reid again. If Reid’s mother came home while they were in the living room, family room, or kitchen, they would grab their clothes, hoping they got everything, and head for their room. They don’t always keep it to their room when everyone is gone. Then Connor would come out and carefully clean their mess.
The Golden Man: Bao would hope that he was awake and that that horrible day was just a dream. Then he'd wake and greive the loss of his beloved mother. If Elias saw his mother he would hang his head and slip away. He does not what her to know what he has become.
Resistance: Jacob only knows what his mother looks like from pictures and his foster father wasn’t married. Anthony lives in caves during the story, so no doors. Mom would call out before she entered and Anthony would call out for her to wait as he and Jacob made themselves presentable.
Galateus: Will wouldn’t even notice. He’d be too busy creating or sketching or thinking or building or fixing something. And when she did finally come to his attention, he’d just nod and go back to what he was doing. His few people skills are hard learned. Joseph doesn’t have a mother.
Rumor: Phoibos would show his mother every expected politeness. Adonis was always glad to see his mother. He never realized how badly he was being treated.
Warmth: Heath (POV) lives with his mother. She’d come out of his room to find out what she wanted. Haven is an enigma. Even I don’t know why he does what he does, but I’m sure he doesn’t see his mother very often.
Be Gentle with Me: Ethan would let his mother hug him and look him over to see if she spot any weakening in his health and generally be treated like the little preemie with the heart condition that he was all those years ago. Alejandro would pull his step-mother into a giant hug and kiss the top of her head. He’d nod to his mother (he was raised by his grandmother) and asked her politely if she’d like to come in.
Boy, that was a lot longer than I thought. And it doesn’t even have anything just posted on my lj. I didn’t realize how many characters I couldn’t answer the questions for. They were mostly ones that were never POV and two who I purposefully never tried to figure out.
