Game: How Well Do You Know Your MC?

(Taken from neandermagnon)

Who did your MC admire/look up to/want to be like as a child?

Izzy had one role model in her life and that was her big sister, Caitriona. Six years older than Izzy, gorgeous, kind, funny, and mother/sister/best friend, Cait was everything to Izzy. She wanted to be a priestess just like her, because Cait would never turn anyone away. If that person was a murderer, stricken with plague, couldn't pay her, was rude as fuck, it didn't matter, if they needed her, Cait was there for them, because she believed in the work of being a priestess healer. Cait defended her from bullies, healed her scrapes, sang her to sleep, and taught her how to flirt with boys (until Izzy realized she didn't want to flirt with anyone, let alone boys) and every day, Izzy strives to be a little more like her. When Izzy was 16, Cait disappeared and it devastated her, but it also filled her with purpose. She'd go out into the world, adventure, heal, and use all the income at her disposal to search for her sister. She's determined to find out what happened to Cait...but she may not like the answers when she finds them...

What really squicks your MC out and turns them into a gibbering mess of "NOPE"?

By the end of the novel -- well, really by the middle -- she starts really having an issue with blood after seeing someone get shot. Particularly red blood on a white surface -- since her friend was shot on an ice rink.

What food does your MC hate with every fiber of his being?

Actually my MC loves all food. Although she wouldn't eat unconventional foods (in the western world) like squid or seal blubber. Lol. And she'd never become a cannibal even in the most desperate situations.

How often does your MC have to use the bathroom? Does s/he have a bug bladder or a bladder of steel? How long can s/he hold it? Is s/he regular? Ha ha ha ha!

(I realized how little novels discuss going to the bathroom and it made me wonder if any of you mention restroom use. I've been trying to incorporate it a little more to make my world a little more realistic)

I never really mention bathrooms except for one scene involving the hero's skating partner getting sick to her stomach from nerves. My heroine, I would think, has a strong bladder. She's young and generally healthy and hasn't had kids, so...

What does your MC do when everyone else is asleep in the house?

She's typically writing in her journal or writing letters.

Is your MC a morning person? Or do they go to bed late?

Sage said:

Blake does neither if he can help it. He'd rather stay in bed always, but Ren makes sure he always gets up at a semi-decent hour.

Ren is both, as he's a ghost and never sleeps.

How does your MC do in whatever type of school or education they are subjected to?

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MC from 40,000 years ago: there's no schools of course but boys are expected to learn how to use hunting weapons and young children learn how to find other kinds of food while out gathering with their mothers. Young women learn herbal medicine and midwifery while young men learn to hunt big animals. My MC's the first ever half-Neandertal-half-Homo sapiens person in his tribe (Homo sapiens) so he looks different and isn't so good at running or throwing spears as the other boys, and his tribe don't really know what to make of him. He wants to learn to hunt with the men, but they're not sure because he can't run fast or throw spears well. All they know is that his mother was in love with a mountain man and some strange secrets of the mountain people made him look like them and don't understand why he's different. So you could say that his education isn't going that well. That said, he's resourceful and learned about the mountain people from his mother, who told him they hunt by stealth and ambush. He taught himself to be stealthy and sneak up on prey (small prey only because he's just a boy, hunting alone) and he's pretty good with a bow and arrows, even if he can't throw a spear straight.


Cloned Neandertal MC from the near future: he's in year 10 and getting around C or B grades in most subjects, but not English Lit, where he's getting mostly Fs and a few Ns and Us*. His brain's wired up differently to Homo sapiens brains and he doesn't get idiom. His best subject's PE and he plays front row for the school rugby team. Overall he's doing well and his grades are slightly above average - meaning that the average grade for Homo neanderthalensis is higher than the average grade for Homo sapiens...

*N = fail, U = unclassified (worse than a fail). G is the lowest pass grade, though you need C or higher to do A-levels (year 12 and 13 exams for uni entry) and most other courses require at least an E grade. So basically, no-one wants to get Fs or Gs.


Is there something that your MC really wants, but would never admit to anyone (maybe not even themselves) that they want it? If so, what is it?

neandermagnon said:

Is there something that your MC really wants, but would never admit to anyone (maybe not even themselves) that they want it? If so, what is it?

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J: "To fall in love again."

I have no idea how to answer for S.

Random. Your MC sits down at the table for Thanksgiving dinner, and the character in the next seat starts a food fight. Does your MC join in, try to stop it, or do something else entirely? Why? (If you picked the third option, please explain what he/she does.)

flarue said:

Random. Your MC sits down at the table for Thanksgiving dinner, and the character in the next seat starts a food fight. Does your MC join in, try to stop it, or do something else entirely? Why? (If you picked the third option, please explain what he/she does.)

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Leela would be disgusted and leave the table, particularly since she's the one who's had to do most of the cooking and preparations. If she stays, she'd be the one forced to clean up the mess.

How does your MC respond when she's excluded from an important event?

Sage said:

Does your MC have any pets? Want any pets?

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Serena has a goldfish named Terry, who lives in a small aquarium with a SpongeBob SquarePants pineapple "castle", to swim about in. Serena wishes that she could have a dog, but unfortunately her legal guardian/aunt won't allow it because it would ruin the furniture at the inn. Besides, Serena's brother is allergic to them anyway, which would not be a great "welcome home" present, if he ever gets home.

J has a wonderfully sweet dog with a very special ability or two.


What would your MC consider his(her) greatest success in life (so far)?

Sage said:

Your MC is being told off by someone they admire for something they didn't do. How do they react to this injustice?

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40,000 years ago MC: this actually happens in the story; the other boys do something to him (bullying) that shows disrespect to their people's traditions and the elders are angry with all of them, not realising the MC was not a willing participant. This is after years of being taunted by these boys for being different (he's half-Neandertal) and it's the incident that makes him snap. He reacts by chasing the ringleader of the boys that did that to him. This is no ordinary chase though. Their people are persistence hunters and the MC decides that as this boy can run faster than him, he's going to keep running after him, never letting him rest and basically hunt him down like a deer. And then everything gets really complicated....

Please excuse the vagueness about what the other boys did to him - it's hard to explain without first explaining a load of worldbuilding stuff.

Cloned Neandertal in near future story MC: he'd be annoyed and protest his innocence. He'd try his best to be polite about it but would find it difficult to hide his annoyance. He'd do what he feels is necessary to prove he didn't do it.


What is your MC's favourite celebration/festival? Do they follow the traditions of wherever they're from or do their own thing?

Sage said:

Someone your MC loves has been playing matchmaker with your MC, and introduces them to the "perfect" significant other, just so excited because they know the two are made for each other. Does your MC welcome this matchmaking? How likely is this to go well?

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Unfortunately, Serena is not as thrilled as one would hope because she's got too much on her plate, and on top of that, she's way too confused to date yet another guy right now, what with the three young men who are already in the picture (who vie for her attention for different reasons- maybe not all of them good), including the one who won't often admit that he likes her. Serena's not even sure if she wants to date again for a while until she can fairly "figure this all out."

How does your MC want to celebrate his/her birthday, this year?

Sage said:

Look at the clock. What time is it right now, and what is your MC doing?

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It's 7.36. Leela would be cleaning after her betters because that's all she's good for. Her family and Madeline the Cuckoo would be reading, playing chess or watching TV.

Winter is coming. What are your MC's feelings about the season and the Christmas holidays?

Isaac: "Meh. Kind of a superficial holiday, don't you think? I mean free stuff is nice, don't get me wrong, but isn't it kind of stupid that people punch each other just to get big screen TVs for people they don't even like, or sometimes don't even know that well? Then so many people have the balls to complain about what they get! I mean, it's a gift! Shouldn't you just be happy someone thought of you? I don't wanna be emo, and I mean no disrespect, but it sounds like a waste of time...and radio space for good music."

Your MC sees a fight going on in a parking lot, and its pretty one sided. Do they jump in or wait it out?

Sage said:

Who in your cast would be the worst match for your MC and why?

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Hades. Not only has Melody been terrified of him since she was a little girl, he's also a class-a-jerk.

​If your MC could only eat one thing for the rest of his/her life, what would it be and why?

Hawthore would eat something filling and sweet, like honey ham.

Big old V-day is coming up. Is your MC spending Valentine's Day with someone, are they miserable and alone, are they happy and alone, or something else?

Blinkk said:

Hawthore would eat something filling and sweet, like honey ham.

Big old V-day is coming up. Is your MC spending Valentine's Day with someone, are they miserable and alone, are they happy and alone, or something else?

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OK, I'll bite. Val's Day is just another day where Leela is humiliated. No roses ever, while everyone else receives at least one. This year is different, though. She'd made her first kill at a gang rumble, but in the process, gotten a friend killed, so yeah, Val's day doesn't mean a damn thing.

Your MC is late for an exam, a meeting or someplace else important, but has a bike/car/dragon accident and a man is seriously injured. She doesn't have a phone or other means of communication to let the pertinent bodies know what had happened. No witnesses in sight, no way to contact emergency services, and the man is a homeless drunk. What would she do?

travelgal said:

OK, I'll bite. Val's Day is just another day where Leela is humiliated. No roses ever, while everyone else receives at least one. This year is different, though. She'd made her first kill at a gang rumble, but in the process, gotten a friend killed, so yeah, Val's day doesn't mean a damn thing.

Your MC is late for an exam, a meeting or someplace else important, but has a bike/car/dragon accident and a man is seriously injured. She doesn't have a phone or other means of communication to let the pertinent bodies know what had happened. No witnesses in sight, no way to contact emergency services, and the man is a homeless drunk. What would she do?

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At the start of the book, Laura wouldn't give a shit and would just continue onward to her thing.

Other current MC, Lizzie, would try to use her magic to heal him and if that didn't work, drag him to help.

Does your MC believe in soulmates?

Sage said:

Your MC finds themselves in a foreign country of your choice. What is the biggest difficulty they have assimilating to the culture?

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Serena finds herself in England, which is one of the countries she really wants to visit one day! The driving would be difficult to adapt to - all of those narrow country roads with hedgerows on either side, and the road etiquette that goes along with them. Of course, there’s also that whole “drive on the opposite side of the road thing” that would probably stress her out a bit. She’s had her license in the USA for less than a year, and getting behind a wheel again after that highway accident was hard enough without changing the rules of the road.

How does your MC feel about college or higher education? Does (s)he have any plans to attend? If so, does (s)he know what (s)he currently wants to major in?