...I hate my brain.
Here's another five-things for me, this time for Brya (an older character from a solo thing):
1. Average hero. No quotes around "average." Possible quotes around "hero." Not a secret heir to anything, no super-special inborn abilities, no absurdly good luck. Not a quick learner, and let me emphasize that; there are parts of the story where he is downright incompetent. Response to everything that has ever bugged me about your typical
bildungsroman.
2. Caution. Perhaps this was a result of the first point, which was my original kernel for the character, but his voice, when I hear it most clearly, is always very "careful"--he startles easily and treats most emotional situations like you would treat a hot pan.
3.
Monsters,
Everything's Magic, and
Falling for the First Time. :)
4. ...STOP GIGGLING EVERY TIME HE AND AIVLEN SAY TWO WORDS TO EACH OTHER, MY INNER FIFTEEN-YEAR-OLD. WE GET IT. YOU SHIP THEM. SHUT UP.
5. He always works best as part of a team (this is, of course, why we're going to tear his team away at several points of the story). When he's by himself he second-guesses, he overthinks, he underthinks; he is in turns too cocky and too cowardly, because he just plain isn't used to operating without someone else's input. It's the mental equivalent, for him, of trying to swing dance on a ship deck when you've never been on the water before, or had dancing lessons of any sort. He's semi-aware of this problem, but would much rather play it safe and cling to people than try to correct it.
Someone shoot me before I start writing him again, please.
