The title says it all. Post something about your character, and the rest of us will help you develop them by asking you questions. Probably. EDIT: Also created the same thread about plot and setting development, so if anyone needs help, head on over there
I'll play, and to clarify, I promise to do my best to ask as many questions as are asked of me. My MC is a Marine who was seriously injured in an IED explosion (present time to very near future, it's SF/Horror). He's missing both legs and probably most of one arm. Not sure how much more detail I should give, but I kind of think that leaving things somewhat open will help more than giving you a synopsis. Next?
I would think a bit more detail would help, but right off the bat: Will he be dealing with PTSD? Is he the kind of person who recognizes that seeking therapy would be a strength rather than mistaking it for a weakness? What will he be doing with his life after this happens? Are there any handicap-stereotypes you will be trying specifically to avoid?
What's his character arc? As in, is this an investigation into his mental turmoil as a result of the injuries? Is this a courtroom drama as they try to establish blame for the "accident"? Is this an adventure thriller where he's physically incapable of defending himself (a colleague of mine used to make a habit of going into a pub and starting a fight by insulting the locals. One night, as the growls of affront kicked off, he remembered that he'd recently been struck down with some debilitating illness that meant that he was no longer the toughest cookie...)?
Who does he blame for what happened? Was it his choice to go out and fight, did this happen while he was out defending his country, his god, his family? You mentioned horror, did something happen during the explosion that permanently altered his view of reality, does he now know the monster and or alien exist? How long has he been a Marine, is it a part of his identity or just another job? And, I guess this one is less about the character than the plot, who was/is he fighting against?
Sounds very intriguing. I want to know more about his relationships. Is there a Significant Other in his life? Parents? Children? How have these injuries affected his relationships with those people?
Very important questions, somehow in the middle of things I didn't even think of PTSD. Well, I did, but I was going about it all the wrong way, trying to give him a traumatic incident before the explosion to drive things along, but... forest for the trees, thanks! And as for your second question, the working (and working only) title of this is Bodysnatchers vs. Aliens. MC is an early victim of an alien bodysnatcher type thing, so early that he isn't initially recognized as such. Due to TBI from the explosion though, his bodysnatcher ends up as more of a symbiote than something that can control him. Bodysnatchers (called Occupants) can hop bodies, and the MC has gained this ability along with his Occupant, so the military wants to figure out if they can reproduce his accident to create a new breed of assassin. Someone who could, for example, hop right into the body of the Secret Service (or foreign equivalent) person standing right next to the president/premier/dictator and blow his or her head off, then pop back out. The question that you bring to mind is is the military going to allow him any counseling for his PTSD. Wouldn't want to kill the goose that laid the golden egg and all. Thanks for that line of thought. ETA: Whoops, skipped this one in the multi-quote. His goal is basically to escape. There's going to be a buddy aspect to it as he ends up working with one of the aliens (haven't touched on them yet here, but they're there too), with mutual trust being slow coming, but eventually he'll learn quite a bit more than anyone else does about What's Really Going On, which will help him in his escape from the research facility. I'm more or less writing him as me, so he's just a guy who joined up because it seemed the right thing to do. I got lucky in serving in peacetime, and Marine identity goes pretty deep, but he's not some Jack Reacher character, he did his job reasonably well but looked forward to getting out and getting on with his life, and that path has now been closed off. Due to his ability, he's kept in a sort of (handwave, details TBA) Faraday cage and never, but never, allowed human contact since he could take over the body and use it to escape. This is his goal, but he's trying to conceal that from the guys studying him. Shades of Source Code, but I hope not too many. Good question that I haven't thought much about. Obviously there can't be now, but there might be someone he's trying to get back to, like Robocop. Ok, this has been very useful, and more than a little frightening as I see the things I didn't realize I was cribbing off of. Hopefully I can create something that blends together multiple ideas from the genre and doesn't come across as just a weak copy of a previous work. I promised I'd try and give as good as I got, so next lucky winner?
@Iain Aschendale Holy **** Not going to be the subtlest moral (the military denying PTSD because they think therapy would make soldiers weaker, but it's the denial thereof that actually destroys them), but some morals shouldn't be made subtly. One of my lead protagonists is a girl who went from being raped at 15 to making headlines as the Deadliest Female Serial Killer in American History at 22. So yeah, I've done some research about portraying PTSD, and I've also asked real-life trauma survivors to go over my notes. I had one thought from reading about Iron Man III that two of my sources said hadn't been the case for them personally, but that the third one said was spot on: it's not about the trauma itself that determines the strength of your symptoms, it's about how powerless you feel in response to the trauma, and one of the biggest factors regarding power/powerlessness is how supported you feel by the people around you. Your guy's been blown up, possessed, and locked in a cage. If your guy didn't expressly study and prepare for potential PTSD before any of this happened, then I'm pretty sure he's not going to make it. Also: thank you for wanting to portray the Aliens as not being monolithically "kill everyone." That might not be a message we see a lot in the next few years.
Looks like I'll have a go then. My MC is named Corrin of Dubh, comes from a swamp and is a member of a cult that also serves as a school. He's sent to a city to ensure that the school part keeps getting funded.
Before this, I hadn't even thought of a moral or much about the PTSD aspect, so this little page is going to trigger a lot of research and rethinking. That's a good thing, but still a lot of work coming.
If he comes from a swamp and is a member of a cult, what useful skill does he have to earn money for the school? Or is he just there to fundraise? How much of a shock is a big city full of non-members going to be to a former swamp dweller? Is being sent to the city a punishment, or a reward?
Been there Have you seen my posts about how much my Doctor Who story changed from beginning to end? Anyway, you have any more about the aliens figured out?
How does he remember his pre-cult days? How do these memories affect his attitude towards the 'outside world'?
@Iain Aschendale What do his friends, family, co-soldiers think of this ordeal? Does he have any friends, family, or co-soldiers to help him? @halisme What sort of cult is it? Do they brainwash the members from birth, or is it a "join later". Thing.
They think he's either in a coma, or possibly have been told he's dead, He was riding in a 7 ton truck with another soldier/Marine who had been Occupied when the vehicle ran over an IED. He got off fairly lightly, but the Occupied soldier was severely wounded, so the Occupant jumped to the MC when the MC tried to help him. That's when the second charge (double tap) went off, causing his injuries, including TBI. He was Occupied early enough in the body-snatcher invasion that no one knew what was going on yet, and he was in a coma at first. People who are Occupied usually lose all control to the Occupant, but the MC, due to his injuries, is co-inhabiting the body and has to negotiate with the Occupant (who is dumber than a bag of hammers). Also due to the TBI, the Occupant has lost its ability to jump freely from body to body. It and the MC can jump to a new body, but they can't go to a third body, they're restricted to returning to the MC's body. I'm starting to feel like I should just make a plot development thread for this.
Hmm... This thing's actually working Didn't expect that @halisme Regarding him, does the job really stress him out? What about family, is he homesick? Is there anything else 'sad' going on with him, maybe that's the reason he's gone to a cult, i dunno
Who or what does the cult worship? What are the rules and/or commandments of the cult? What is and isn't allowed? Does Corrin agree with all the views and rules of the cult? Is he conflicted or a full believer?
The city isn't that much of a shock, the school is very prominent so he's seen about three hundred people in one room before. He's just being sent to do the job, and nothing more. The now deceased governor sent a lot of money to the school, so he's there to ensure the gold keeps flowing. He was born into the cult, as are all born in the swamp. It is the dominant religious, economic, and military power in the small stretch of land. His attitude of the outside world is that he feels sorry for them not being able to join the cult. Brainwashed from birth. It is very much the idea of "The Chosen Few". However, one of the "items", in their possession reveals that they're right about a lot of stuff, just not the stuff that's good for the world to know. His job within the cult is a mixture of diplomat and guard. The cult sometimes excavates ruins which have monsters in them, which he helps fight, however, they often have to talk whoever owns the land into letting them have a look, as they're known for taking anything in the ruins that isn't bolted down. The job doesn't stress him as he's been trained specifically for it since he was twelve. As for family, he, his parents and his younger sister all lived in a one room hut together till he left. He did have a younger brother, however, the boy was born blind and was given to the cult to be used as a tool to communicate with the black monolith at the heart of the school, who's touch is enough to drive some mad be kept safe till he was old enough to return. The Cult worships Nerin, a lovecraftian deity who is using them to gather knowledge for it the school's founder. It He is seen as a great scholar who can provide great insight and salvation through study and meditation. The things that are not allowed include: Sharing important knowledge with outsiders, killing a fellow cult member, unless they break another rule, partaking in alcohol within the cult's territory (unless socially required), attempting to convert someone to the cult (they do make exceptions if the person is smart enough), abanndonning tools outside the cults territorys, and a few others. He is a full believer.
Do the cultists know that the school's founder is Nerin or his he concealing his true identity, leading them in worship (secretly to himself) and using them to gain more power? Do the cultists know his true form?
They know what it is, yes. The monolith I mentioned is the means they use to communicate with it, they just don't tell anyone else as the world is scheduled for destruction and Nerin is only willing to save a small amount. If everyone started working for him, no one would be saved. That's why they say he founded the school.
Are they an independent state? Or are they rather some sort of autonomous region within a larger state? If the latter is the case, how is their relationship with the central, non-cult affiliated government? Are there separatist tendencies? If yes, are they perhaps some sort of unrecognized separatist entity where the central government has lost all control (something like the 'Donetsk Republic' in Eastern Ukraine or the ISIS-controlled territories in Syria and Iraq)? What are the precise requirements to be eligible for cult membership? Is it primarily based on lineage/tribal affiliation (like e.g. Judaism) or particular personality traits/abilities (like e.g. magical powers make one eligible to attend Hogwarts in the Harry Potter-universe)? Or is it rather territorial, i.e. everyone born in the swamp is automatically raised as a cult member?
They are part of another larger country, however, they are autonomous enough that you could call them a vassal state. However, it is worth noting that they are encircled by their protectorate. They are expected to provide tribute in the form of research and technology, however, they have proven reluctant on several occasions. Fifteen years before the start of my story they handed out guns. To join the cult, there are two options. The first is to be at least a second generation migrant, and to have had your parents, not adopt the faith, but accept its practices. The other is to be marked as a person of great importance by the Rylot, who serves as head of the cult. The requirement of being marked varies, and has only been done three times in the 800 years the cult has been around, twice for research, and once because a person led their army to defend the cult and wanted to convert.
A young disabled man in his early 30s is in love with a beautiful woman and she is in love with him, but they must keep their romance a secret because of her strict father.
Why does he like her? What does she do or him? What's the attraction? Why does she like him back? what does he do for her? What's the attraction? How do these to people meld as a couple? Do they like little dates, dinner and movie? Are they both Warhammer figure modelers and they like each other's army composition so they sit around and paint models all day? Are they hikers, and they hike around for weeks, the stark loneliness of an untouched nature now painted with the glorious sounds and sensations of their (inhale) unfettered love??!
