Character Development Memes are my fave

[awanderingbard]

I've started following referencesforwriters on tumblr, which is a gathering of different resources for writers of all sorts. It's quite a useful blog, I favourite almost everything they post. The other day, someone posted a list of questions that you should know the answers to for your characters. It seemed to have quite good meme potential, and I love me some character development meme. I've removed some questions, as there were many. So,

Give me the name of a character I write or have written, and a number from the list below. I'll answer the question.

1. What is the best thing in your character’s life?
2. What is the worst thing in your character’s life?
3. What seemingly insignificant memories stuck with your character?
4. What is your character reluctant to tell people?
5. How does your character feel about sex?
6. What would your character make a scene in public about?
7. What are your character’s major flaws?
8. What does your character pretend or try to care about?
9. What is your character afraid of?
10. What is something most people in your setting do that your character thinks is dumb?

Feel free to ask for OCs and AU versions of characters. Also feel free to ask for more than one character, or more than one question.

Comments

[shadowfireflame.livejournal.com]

Ooh, fun! Could I get #4 and 9 for Mycroft, Sherlock, and Trevelyan from the Trio verse? Thank you!!! :)

[awanderingbard.livejournal.com]

Sure thing!

Mycroft

4. What is your character reluctant to tell people?

Generally, Mycroft is reluctant to tell anyone anything. He doesn't like to have conversations. He prefers silence. However, paramount in the things he doesn't like to tell people is how he's feeling. Any inquiry will result in a simple, "I'm well, thank you", no matter how he is actually feeling or who is asking the question. The majority of the time, 'well' is an accurate word, and very rarely does it not describe his emotional state. His physical state, however, is not always 'well', and he's very much inclined to underplay this, even to physicians trying to help him. He can't afford to be sick, and so he simply declares himself not to be ill, and forbids it and feels that should be the end of the matter. Mummy is quick to point out that this is precisely what killed his Father, and, indeed, Mycroft is sometimes worried about that, especially as he nears the age that his father died. However, he attempts to keep himself in fine fettle, eats well, exercises, and had the heart defect he inherited surgically corrected once it was found in his mid-thirties. Therefore, he is fine, and intends to stay that way. And no one else need know if that isn't quite the truth.

9. What is your character afraid of?

Mycroft has no great phobias to speak of, his fears are very rational ones. They largely revolve around his family, and his greatest fear would be to lose a brother, especially due to his overlooking something he should have noticed, or something he could have prevented if he'd been a bit better. Sherlock is his main concern, but Trevelyan is certainly not ignored. He can count on Trevelyan not to purposely put himself in danger, but he is in a profession where many people would like to see him dead, and Mycroft has a great fear that Trevelyan is largely unaware of that. Sherlock is a constant worry, and Mycroft does it like one checks the rearview mirror--instinctively and often. To a less extent, he fears losing his mother, though he realizes that will happen one day and there is nothing he can do about it. He fears that he will miss her too much, and he isn't sure how he'll deal with that--or help his brothers deal with it.

Sherlock

4. What is your character reluctant to tell people?

There is literally almost nothing Sherlock is reluctant to say to anyone about anything. He has no qualms voicing his thoughts, whether there is someone there to hear them, or whether they are polite or wanted or appropriate. However, he is extremely reluctant to voice any sort of affection toward anyone, regardless of what he feels for them. Even his 'I love you's to his mother are rare, and he has never said it in so many words to either of his brothers, nor did he ever say it to his father (something other people might regret, but Sherlock doesn't, just that he didn't have more time with him to make it clear without having to say it). John is possibly the only person besides Mummy who has ever had it directly said to them.

9. What is your character afraid of?

There are two great fears that Sherlock has: losing his ability to reason in some way--either due to illness or dementia or a head injury--, and failing to solve a problem when it really counts. Failure is something he isn't very accepting of in everyday instances, and his boggart from Harry Potter would probably be a pile of cold cases. But what he really fears, what really makes him panic, is being faced with a life or death situation and making the wrong choice.

[awanderingbard.livejournal.com]

Trevelyan

4. What is your character reluctant to tell people?

In his profession, Q is forbidden from telling most everything, so it's not so much reluctance that stops him. Even when he dates, he makes it quite clear from the beginning that everything he says is going to be a lie, and if he or she isn't cool with that, then he doesn't pursue it.

However, what he finds very hard to tell people is that he needs help. He hates needing help. It's not so much failure that he dislikes, failure is just a way to learn what not to do. But implying in any way that he is incapable of dealing with a problem by himself is extremely hard for him to do. It stems very much from his father's death, and not wanting to bother anyone with anything, and only cemented itself when Sherlock went off the rails, and he felt that adding to his family's problems was just selfish, so it was best to deal with it by himself. In most cases, he does very well at this, but there are times when one or more brothers has to step in. He doesn't mind Sherlock so much, but he always feels bad bothering Mycroft with anything. Mycroft being disappointed in him is something he hates.

9. What is your character afraid of?

Flying is Q's big phobia. He dislikes giving up control to someone who he doesn't know and trusting them to hurl a metal tube from one place to another without incident, while he sits in the back, fully aware of the multitude of ways it is possible for someone to kill them all. He does not consider this a phobia, as phobias are irrational, and dying in a plane crash is not an irrational fear.

Also, unlike his brothers, Q is aware that he doesn't care as much as other people, and sometimes fears that he's missing out on something by not feeling things to the same depth. Falling in love isn't something he cares about either way, as he's quite happy with or without companionship ,but he does sometimes worry that he can't fall in love, which is a concept he finds a bit off-putting. And one the rare occasions he has thought about children, he's a little bit terrified that if he should end up with some, he wouldn't know how to love them.

[shadowfireflame.livejournal.com]

Oh, this is so interesting! I especially feel for poor Q, worrying that he can't fall in love or wouldn't love his children. And I love Mycroft worrying over his brothers. So sweet. I'm glad he had his genetic heart condition worked on.

Thanks very much!