More character memeage
Pick a character I write, and I will give you the top five ideas/concepts/other I keep in mind while writing that character that I believe are essential to depicting them accurately.
This batch is much more random than the last, and is about evenly split between characters I've written quite a lot of, and characters I've either written very little about, or not for a long time. (Also, so far, all men, except for the OC. Interesting, considering that I feel as though I write about the women in my fandoms almost as often as the men.)
FF characters, in alphabetical order:
Auron, as requested by
justira
1. Once upon a time, Auron was a true believer. He believed in Yevon, and in the teachings, and that his service was a higher calling. He was a staunch follower of the rules, and believed that if he followed them, he would be rewarded. By the time he learned the truth of the Final Summoning, he had been betrayed on this point so many times that it pretty much broke him.
2. Auron keeps his promises. I think this may be the fundamental aspect of his character in canon. In the end, the mission is everything. Whatever that mission might be -- serving Yevon, guarding Braska, taking care of Yuna and Tidus, guarding Yuna, ending the cycle of Sin -- Auron dedicates himself to it, fully. One might even say obsessively.
3. Because of the above, I have grown resistant to writing Auron in any kind of romantic relationship, during either pilgrimage. It would be a distraction from the mission, from his focus. But this is not to say that Auron doesn't care about people -- quite the opposite, in fact. His loyalty, to people as well as to ideals, is his defining characteristic.
4. Tidus is the closest thing to a son Auron has ever had, although he sees his role as more of an uncle, or perhaps a godfather. Still, there is an emotional connection there, probably stronger for him than to anyone else in the main party.
5. As a young man, Auron was a bit of a hot-head: easily angered, self-righteous, outspoken, although he kept his reaction within the rules. As an older, wiser unsent... he hasn't really changed. He's just learned when to temper his reactions with silence, and to care rather less about the rules.
Baralai, as requested by stardust808
1. I've seen people come up with various backstories for Baralai; the one constant is that he comes from the tradition of Yevon, raised to be a priest, and I agree with this viewpoint. My take is that he was a temple orphan who grew up in Bevelle, taken in to priesthood training as soon as he was old enough. Except for the brief time in the Crimson Squad, Bevelle is all he knows, all he has ever known. Inside Yevon or out of it, this colors his thinking. For one, this is why he went back and aligned himself with a Yevonite faction after the Crimson Squad disaster.
2. On the other hand, he did join the Crimson Squad. We never learn why, but I have the feeling it was out of a desire to prove himself in a new venue: moving out of the realm of the mental/spiritual and into the physical.
3. Baralai is a political creature. He wants power and he wants influence, but he's seen enough of how power corrupts -- in Seymour, in Kinoc, in Trema -- to be cautious of that desire.
4. Baralai has a temper, but it's the kind of slow burn temper that can take a long time, even years, to show itself. But when he finally gets angry, watch out! He might just blow your head off...
Rasler, as requested by stardust808
Rasler has only appeared (briefly, in flashback) in one story I've written, so I'm not sure that I have five useful things to say about him. My sense is that he is a younger son of a powerful family, conditioned by obedience to do as he as told and to serve, a man with strong love for family and country since his first reaction to Nabradia falling under attack was to jump out to the front lines. His marriage to Ashe was arranged, but he truly cared for her as well. Love? It would have come in time, but probably not yet.
If I ever write more of him, I'm sure his character will flesh out for me more.
Tidus, as requested by delladella
1. Tidus is not an idiot. He's young, he's impulsive, he's emotional, he can be immature -- I will grant all these things. It comes, I believe, from being a teenager in a world where there are no teenagers; in a land as hard as Spira, most people jump straight from childhood into adulthood, with no time to be a kid in between. In comparison, Tidus comes from the lap of luxury, so he has some catching up to do. But he's not stupid, and if you write him as though he is, you're committing one of my biggest pet peeves in FFX fandom.
2. As a professional athlete, and one who is very good at what he does, Tidus is always interested in winning. Outside the blitz sphere, this can lead to a casual disregard for rules and conventions, especially if he needs to sidestep them in order to win.
3. Tidus is gregarious and interested in people, always willing to listen to your life story. On the other hand, he tends to form snap judgements, especially about people who leave a bad first impression, and these judgements are hard for him to shake. Thing is? Those snap judgements very often turn out to be correct.
4. In other respects, though, Tidus is very flexible. He adapts to new situations with rapid ease, and we see him doing this again and again: when he appears in Spira in the first place, after being tossed from the Al-Bhed to Besaid, when he learns about Yuna's impending death and then the truth of his own existence. The common characterization of Tidus as "whiny" has always baffled me. Yes, he gets emotional when he's ripped from his world by violence and shows up in a new, unfamiliar place;, when he learns that his father has become a giant sea monster; when he discovers that the girl he likes is on a suicide mission. But it's a natural reaction, and he always bounces back. Most of the time, he's a cheerful and likable young man, always looking forward, never backward. Except...
5. Tidus has spent his entire life trying to impress Jecht, whether or not Jecht is there to notice.
And, now for something completely different...
Dev Donovan -- a Dungeons & Dragons character created first for an RPG, then used in an original story co-authored with oswulf, then revived and slightly reworked for a different D&D campaign -- last seen in 1995 when the latter campaign ended, as requested by above co-author.
1. Dev is independent and anti-social, to the point of actively disliking the company of others. Being a ranger suits her; she would far rather keep her own council than join in with a party.
2. Dev has a serious xenophobic streak, particularly in regards to humans. When she must be in company, she will always choose the company of other elves; dwarves and most other races are tolerable, but humans, especially human men, are to be avoided at all costs. She has been in parties with humans before, but she always keeps her distance from them, and woe betide the human male who tries to tell her what to do. People have lost an arm for less.
3. Woe betide anyone who tells Dev what to do, really. She is headstrong and likes to think that she can be completely self-sufficient. Not completely true, however, mostly because of the next point.
4. There is one exception to Dev's distaste for humans, although he is sort of the cause as well: her half-elven nephew Baltazar. She took to the adventuring life in the first place to help support him and her sister; she blames their outcast status on human prejudice and holds all of humanity responsible as a result. The irony in this position is usually lost on her, however, because...
5. Dev doesn't have much of a sense of humor, about herself or anyone else. She is blunt and straightforward, says what she thinks, and has very little patience for hijinks. As one might expect, working with a kender in one of her adventuring parties was not her favorite thing ever.
Original meme post here (DW) and here (LJ). More requests are definitely welcome.
This entry is also posted at http://owlmoose.dreamwidth.org/515873.html. There are currently
comments on DW.
This batch is much more random than the last, and is about evenly split between characters I've written quite a lot of, and characters I've either written very little about, or not for a long time. (Also, so far, all men, except for the OC. Interesting, considering that I feel as though I write about the women in my fandoms almost as often as the men.)
FF characters, in alphabetical order:
Auron, as requested by
justira
1. Once upon a time, Auron was a true believer. He believed in Yevon, and in the teachings, and that his service was a higher calling. He was a staunch follower of the rules, and believed that if he followed them, he would be rewarded. By the time he learned the truth of the Final Summoning, he had been betrayed on this point so many times that it pretty much broke him.
2. Auron keeps his promises. I think this may be the fundamental aspect of his character in canon. In the end, the mission is everything. Whatever that mission might be -- serving Yevon, guarding Braska, taking care of Yuna and Tidus, guarding Yuna, ending the cycle of Sin -- Auron dedicates himself to it, fully. One might even say obsessively.
3. Because of the above, I have grown resistant to writing Auron in any kind of romantic relationship, during either pilgrimage. It would be a distraction from the mission, from his focus. But this is not to say that Auron doesn't care about people -- quite the opposite, in fact. His loyalty, to people as well as to ideals, is his defining characteristic.
4. Tidus is the closest thing to a son Auron has ever had, although he sees his role as more of an uncle, or perhaps a godfather. Still, there is an emotional connection there, probably stronger for him than to anyone else in the main party.
5. As a young man, Auron was a bit of a hot-head: easily angered, self-righteous, outspoken, although he kept his reaction within the rules. As an older, wiser unsent... he hasn't really changed. He's just learned when to temper his reactions with silence, and to care rather less about the rules.
Baralai, as requested by stardust808
1. I've seen people come up with various backstories for Baralai; the one constant is that he comes from the tradition of Yevon, raised to be a priest, and I agree with this viewpoint. My take is that he was a temple orphan who grew up in Bevelle, taken in to priesthood training as soon as he was old enough. Except for the brief time in the Crimson Squad, Bevelle is all he knows, all he has ever known. Inside Yevon or out of it, this colors his thinking. For one, this is why he went back and aligned himself with a Yevonite faction after the Crimson Squad disaster.
2. On the other hand, he did join the Crimson Squad. We never learn why, but I have the feeling it was out of a desire to prove himself in a new venue: moving out of the realm of the mental/spiritual and into the physical.
3. Baralai is a political creature. He wants power and he wants influence, but he's seen enough of how power corrupts -- in Seymour, in Kinoc, in Trema -- to be cautious of that desire.
4. Baralai has a temper, but it's the kind of slow burn temper that can take a long time, even years, to show itself. But when he finally gets angry, watch out! He might just blow your head off...
Rasler, as requested by stardust808
Rasler has only appeared (briefly, in flashback) in one story I've written, so I'm not sure that I have five useful things to say about him. My sense is that he is a younger son of a powerful family, conditioned by obedience to do as he as told and to serve, a man with strong love for family and country since his first reaction to Nabradia falling under attack was to jump out to the front lines. His marriage to Ashe was arranged, but he truly cared for her as well. Love? It would have come in time, but probably not yet.
If I ever write more of him, I'm sure his character will flesh out for me more.
Tidus, as requested by delladella
1. Tidus is not an idiot. He's young, he's impulsive, he's emotional, he can be immature -- I will grant all these things. It comes, I believe, from being a teenager in a world where there are no teenagers; in a land as hard as Spira, most people jump straight from childhood into adulthood, with no time to be a kid in between. In comparison, Tidus comes from the lap of luxury, so he has some catching up to do. But he's not stupid, and if you write him as though he is, you're committing one of my biggest pet peeves in FFX fandom.
2. As a professional athlete, and one who is very good at what he does, Tidus is always interested in winning. Outside the blitz sphere, this can lead to a casual disregard for rules and conventions, especially if he needs to sidestep them in order to win.
3. Tidus is gregarious and interested in people, always willing to listen to your life story. On the other hand, he tends to form snap judgements, especially about people who leave a bad first impression, and these judgements are hard for him to shake. Thing is? Those snap judgements very often turn out to be correct.
4. In other respects, though, Tidus is very flexible. He adapts to new situations with rapid ease, and we see him doing this again and again: when he appears in Spira in the first place, after being tossed from the Al-Bhed to Besaid, when he learns about Yuna's impending death and then the truth of his own existence. The common characterization of Tidus as "whiny" has always baffled me. Yes, he gets emotional when he's ripped from his world by violence and shows up in a new, unfamiliar place;, when he learns that his father has become a giant sea monster; when he discovers that the girl he likes is on a suicide mission. But it's a natural reaction, and he always bounces back. Most of the time, he's a cheerful and likable young man, always looking forward, never backward. Except...
5. Tidus has spent his entire life trying to impress Jecht, whether or not Jecht is there to notice.
And, now for something completely different...
Dev Donovan -- a Dungeons & Dragons character created first for an RPG, then used in an original story co-authored with oswulf, then revived and slightly reworked for a different D&D campaign -- last seen in 1995 when the latter campaign ended, as requested by above co-author.
1. Dev is independent and anti-social, to the point of actively disliking the company of others. Being a ranger suits her; she would far rather keep her own council than join in with a party.
2. Dev has a serious xenophobic streak, particularly in regards to humans. When she must be in company, she will always choose the company of other elves; dwarves and most other races are tolerable, but humans, especially human men, are to be avoided at all costs. She has been in parties with humans before, but she always keeps her distance from them, and woe betide the human male who tries to tell her what to do. People have lost an arm for less.
3. Woe betide anyone who tells Dev what to do, really. She is headstrong and likes to think that she can be completely self-sufficient. Not completely true, however, mostly because of the next point.
4. There is one exception to Dev's distaste for humans, although he is sort of the cause as well: her half-elven nephew Baltazar. She took to the adventuring life in the first place to help support him and her sister; she blames their outcast status on human prejudice and holds all of humanity responsible as a result. The irony in this position is usually lost on her, however, because...
5. Dev doesn't have much of a sense of humor, about herself or anyone else. She is blunt and straightforward, says what she thinks, and has very little patience for hijinks. As one might expect, working with a kender in one of her adventuring parties was not her favorite thing ever.
Original meme post here (DW) and here (LJ). More requests are definitely welcome.
This entry is also posted at http://owlmoose.dreamwidth.org/515873.html. There are currently
comments on DW.