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Day 2 Assignments
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Stuart’s Character Descriptions
What I learned doing this assignment is…
The more challenging the writing of these descriptions, the more details I realized I needed for identity and a face for my characters. I have to make choices, and lock things in. These were extremely challenging, and the critical voice saying “this isn’t perfect!” was debilitating. Go away, critic. Let me explore, have fun, and discover.
Temkin / “Hop-Frog”
Meek, compassionate, Temkin Bloom desperately wants acceptance despite the disabilities he was born with. He serves in the manor of the Lord and Lady Midsommer of Lavinia. His only friend is their daughter, Amelia, soon-to-be engaged to Prince Brann. While others shun and avoid Temkin, Amelia cherishes Temkin as her favorite “pet”, unaware that he secretly loves her.
When the King of Brattvia crashes the royal engagement party turning it into a bloody massacre and signaling the usurpation of the country, Temkin finds himself one of two survivors. He’s presented before the conquering king and his ministers who gawk and chortle at the “deformed monstrosity” – Timkin’s dwarfish torso is disproportional to his disfigured legs – “froggy legs! I bet you hop with those legs.” “Hop-Frog you are!” proclaims King Goplik. And you are now my Court Jester.
As court fool, Hop-Frog’s willing to take the abuse and humiliation, to survive and find some means of escape. Until he realizes the second survivor and spoil for King Goplik’s demented amusement is Temkin’s secret love, Amelia. To protect Amelia, Hop-Frog’s now willing to play by the king’s rules – facilitating the horrific practical jokes he delivers for rule and punishment to his rivals — and winning the king’s trust and acceptance.
As Hop-Frog, Temkin discovers untapped aspects of himself – rage, vengeance, Machiavellian guile to manipulate the king, his ministers, and to subvert their practical jokes with horrific punchlines delivered by Hop-Frog. As Hop-Frog, Temkin’s willing to risk everything to win his secret love’s heart, and to show the king as the bigger fool. But who will survive in the end? Hop-Frog or Temkin?
Amelia / “Trippetta”
Naïve yet strong, opinionated, privileged, Amelia dreams of her happily-ever-after princess life with Prince Brann of Lavinia. When their engagement party becomes the massacre of family and love, Amelia is enslaved by the King of Brattvia. She’s forced to entertain with her enchanting dance – but Amelia is the most beautiful creature these men have seen – and they want more. Humiliated with the insulting moniker of “Trippetta” when she accidentally stumbles in court, Amelia silently vows revenge against the Minister of Hunger who renamed her.
The only other survivor of the massacre is her servant, Temkin. Her ill-faith of his abilities to help her are shattered when Temkin murders the Minister of Hunger before she gets the chance.
She may be treated as a spoil of war, a trophy, but she refuses to be broken. The King and his ministers may not realize the grit of this rare beyond compare possession. Instead of giving in, Amelia uses her dance and charm to seduce with promises of pleasure only to inflict pain and death upon her enemies. Her need to escape and survive becomes a quest for vengeance against King Goplik. But can she trust Temkin to help her dethrone King Goplik? But when Goplik is gone, doesn’t the throne become available to anyone? Including herself?
King Goplik of Brattvia
Vain, charming, the King of Brattvia rules with a dark passion to keep his people and court in control, and his inner circle of ministers loyal to him. Goplik’s morbid sense of humor is played out through the lavish horrific practical jokes he instigates for control of his own, or to deliver revenge against rivals. He and his cherished Master of Ceremonies, his Prime Minister of Fear, are masterminds behind his palace as funhouse of horror. Oh, how he delights when a good dark joke plays out.
His country longs for the return of King Raynor, Goplik’s older half-brother, who died mysteriously with his remains sealed in the palace’s underground crypt. To show his love for Raynor and support of country still in mourning, King Goplik is determined to root out all responsible for Raynor’s death. However, Goplik’s secretly using this to expunge an underground resistance force believing their beloved Raynor still lives. And if Raynor is indeed dead, the resistance is determined to use dark arts to resurrect and restore him to the throne. Their living champion is Raynor’s daughter, Princess Syrelle, who supports the current rule of her favorite uncle.
King Goplik must protect the truth – he plotted with Raynor’s Queen to murder his older brother, and to take his throne and his wife. The Queen Mother encouraged Goplik – who is her bastard by the better man – and her favorite son.
With the conspiracy of black arts to resurrect Raynor’s remains in the crypt, rumors of encroaching victims from the plagues of the northern shadows, and the growing unsettling and paranoia within his ministry, Goplik and his Master of Ceremonies, plot demented practical jokes to solidify his rule and destroy his rivals. But when the Master of Ceremonies is mysteriously murdered, Goplik must trust his new court jester, Hop-Frog, to deliver. Will he realize in time that Hop-Frog is determined to use Goplik’s practical jokes to unmask the king as the true fool in the end?
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Elizabeth’s Character Descriptions
What I learned doing this assignment is that sometimes it’s easier to use the model initially, then give myself permission to ‘break away’ and just write some character descriptions, especially for the more minor main characters. And I know I haven’t covered them all yet.
I also got overwhelmed a bit because every season will have a new set of characters for each new lifetime and most haven’t been developed yet (including how they’ve reincarnated from previous lifetimes…hurts my head to even think that one through!)
CELT
A brave young 1<sup>st</sup> century Celt boy who sees and communicates with animals and divinities, enters into a perilous contract with Taranis, Celtic god of thunder to protect his family and village from Roman invasion and violence. But Taranis’ contract seemingly asks Celt to volunteer to serve the Roman emperor and to leave his village permanently with Roman soldiers.
After Celt ‘volunteers’, it becomes obvious that serving the emperor in truth means Celt will be a Roman slave. Then Celt is offered the chance to escape with the help of his best friend, Coran. But to accept means abandoning Tyran to Roman slavery, an even younger and more naive boy from Celt’s village who loyally follows Celt – and who’s already lost his twin brother to Roman violence.
The decision to protect Tyran and stay with the Romans leads to cascading challenges, tragedies, and triumphs. The clash between the peaceful matriarchal values of Celt’s home village and the violent patriarchal values of Rome, as well as the recurring psychic visions of what Celt’s lost, leave him homesick, second-guessing and regretting his choices.
When he learns the only way to return home involves violence against his own village, he makes the decision to remain in Rome.
To succeed as a Roman slave, he’ll have to choose how he uses his physical gifts and psychic abilities, aided by the conflicting advice and ‘help’ of various divinities and human mentors. Thwarted by jealous colleagues, and pressured by powerful political figures, Celt must ultimately negotiate and determine how he lives, who he can safely love and protect, and what he fights in the coliseum – the animals he adores, or the fellow frenemies called gladiators.
TYRAN
A weak, insecure, but loyal younger tribal friend to Celt, Tyran follows Celt’s lead and volunteers to go with the Romans. After Tyran’s twin brother is murdered by a soldier, Tyran’s emotional dependence on Celt deepens. When Tyran believes Celt has abandoned him, Tyran’s noisy grief causes a soldier to cut out Tyran’s tongue, causing Celt even more guilt, and pushing Celt into impossible choices.
Tyran’s vulnerability (his inability to speak) and constant misinterpretation of Celt’s circumstances ironically causes Celt to be thrust into danger, including becoming a victim of rape during the ship’s journey to Rome.
Sold at a slave auction to a brothel because of his resemblance to Celt, Tyran relentlessly seeks a way to reunite with Celt.
When Tyran does reunite with Celt, together they forge a way of communicating, built on a unique sign language and psychic connection. However, Celt’s ambivalence toward Tyran exacerbates Tyran’s newly-discovered sexuality, prompting Tyran to feel jealous of Celt’s other influences, and heightens Tyran’s desire to be more than just Celt’s tribal brother. Will this jealousy be the undoing of Celt? Or will Celt’s misunderstanding of Tyran’s motivations be the undoing of Tyran?
ANIMAL COMPANION
As an enduring animal reincarnator, Animal Companion is a wise, circumspect sounding board to Oversoul in the Life-Between-Lives, and appears in all of Oversoul’s past lives in various animal forms: horses, birds, dogs, cats, etc. Having been worshipped as a cat divinity in ancient Egypt, it has unique understanding of how the minor past divinities think and operate, as well as intimate knowledge of Oversoul’s past lives. This is information that Oversoul initially disses, but ultimately must come to respect and to listen to.
When the past lives and minor divinities are frustrated with Oversoul’s thick-headedness, Animal Companion is the essential go-between to translate that frustration into questions and terms that Oversoul must accept, if it is ever to become the angel it aspires to be.
Ultimately, Animal Companion embodies a simple love and kindness that the overly-intellectual Oversoul desperately needs.
And when Animal Companion’s mission is complete, it will demonstrate the nobility of sacrifice, and will reinterpret for Oversoul what sacrifice means.
SIRIUS
More diplomatic, savvy, and idealistic than his fellow Roman soldiers, Sirius is a senator’s son and Roman army translator for the army. He genuinely believes in Roman law and order and that what the Pax Romana destroys in terms of foreign tribes’ sovereignty, will be more than amply made up by the education and prestige of being part of Rome.
When he befriends Celt, pragmatically utilizing Celt’s linguistic/translating abilities to make other slaves more docile and seeing Celt as an example of what soft power can do with the conquered, Sirius’ faith in Roman ways is shaken by the way the other soldiers treat Celt and the other captives.
After a particularly violent episode where both Romans and other captives turn on Celt, Sirius rises to Celt’s defense, pulling political strings to protect and promote Celt.
Nevertheless, when Celt perpetuates self-violence in a spasm of guilt over his collaboration with the enemy, Sirius is sickened to the point by this Celt’s ‘native barbarism’, that he casts off Celt as a mentee, cementing Celt’s self-identification as ‘other’.
Ironically Sirius’ mentorship has the opposite effect of what Sirius intends, and slows down Celt’s absorption into the Roman way of life.
DAKARAI
A kind and clever Aethiopian slave-rower on the journey to Rome, Dakarai seems to offer Celt the sort of mentorship Celt desperately needs – a mature father-figure who understands Roman ways without condoning them. As a parent who once had sons of Celt and Tyran’s age, Dakarai offers Celt advice and hard truths about the slave auction– so long as the mostly mute Celt proves that he wants to hear them by “using that tongue of his”.
Mistakenly tagged by Tyran as Celt’s rapist, Dakarai is beaten by a vindictive pirate captain with a hidden history with Dakarai, who believes Dakarai has reduced the worth of Celt’s virginity to a brothel.
When both Dakarai and Celt instead are sold to Acutius, the head trainer of a chain of imperially-owned gladiatorial schools, Dakarai is sent to be chief accountant of the Capua school, while Celt remains in Rome.
Eventually reunited when Celt undertakes gladiatorial training, Dakarai continues to mentor Celt in surprising ways, eventually becoming a conduit to Celt’s ultimate ‘escape’.
ACUTIUS
The brawny, lumbering, irreverent, no-nonsense, one-eyed former gladiator and head of the imperial gladiatorial schools.
Actively opposed to pretension in all forms, Acutius ‘takes over’ the bidding process for Celt, disses and discourages other entitled bidders, and ultimately buys Celt at Rome’s slave auction, intrigued by what he’s learned of Celt’s background and early education. Other reasons for his interest are revealed gradually in the story, including the fact that Acutius shares an early life similar to Celt’s.
More humane than he looks, Acutius sets up Celt to learn the gladiatorial business from the ground up – starting with an apprenticeship with Carbo in the imperial charcoal kilns—the charcoal needed to provide the fuel for the forges that produce the gladiatorial weapons.
Relying on Spurius to convey his wishes, desires, and plans to Celt, Acutius doesn’t realize how in the dark Celt really is, until he offers Celt the ultimate fateful choice – to return home as personal servant to the soldier Cletus, or to train to become some kind of fighter in the coliseum.
SPURIUS
Spurius is the gossipy, cross-eyed teenage know-it-all, and helper/messenger to Acutius within the gladiatorial school. Prevented by his eyesight from becoming a gladiator (his dearest wish), Spurius is assigned oversight of Celt. Using his superior knowledge of Roman customs, Spurius revels in his informal role as ‘instructor’. Information is his currency, and he wields and withholds it for his own ends, including keeping Celt in the dark about Acutius’ plans for Celt. Something of a braggart, Spurius has no compunctions about adopting some of Celt’s achievements as his own, and elevating his own bravery and initiative, as in the (successful) attempt to evade Xola and other dangerous escaped slaves in the forest.
Unexpectedly helpful when he wants to be, Spurius is nevertheless never completely trusted by Celt. This mistrust reaches a head when Celt’s gladiatorial status rises and Celt discovers that someone has been selling vials of Celt’s sweat and hair clippings (as an aphrodisiac) to the public.
Looking down on Tyran, Spurius and Tyran are natural rivals for Celt’s attention (to Celt’s chagrin).
But coming through for Celt in a clutch, Spurius proves he will go to the mat for Celt at great expense to his personal fortunes.
XOLA
A fellow Aethiopian rower, this friend of Dakarai, is no friend of Celt. Fiercely loyal to Dakarai, and jealous over Dakarai’s attention to Celt, Xola sees the beating administered to Dakarai for the misconstrued rape of Celt as Celt’s fault.
Determined to set matters right, he rapes Celt in retribution, escaping his own beating because the pirate captain determines that Xola’s worth will be compromised if he has marks on him. Ironically but understandably, Dakarai distances himself from friendship with Xola, causing a lifelong enmity towards Celt.
Escaping from the gladiatorial training barracks, Xola narrowly misses catching up with Celt and Spurius in the forest.
When Xola and Celt meet in the coliseum, it will test Celt at all levels, mental, physical, and spiritual.
RUDHEK
A slightly older fellow villager of Celt’s, Rudhek embodies the most war-like attributes of his tribe, chafing at the moderate wait-and-see attitude of the tribal matriarch towards the Romans.
Determined to fight the Romans, Rudhek is nevertheless caught by Romans, and meets up with Celt within the slave camp, excoriating Celt for being a Celt-Roman translator, prompting Celt to try to cut out his own tongue.
Later Rudhek becomes Celt’s training partner, while secretly being a conduit of information for the Celtic cause.
CORAN
Coran is Celt’s best friend in Britannicus, developing with him a secret communication style built on animal sounds. The son of the village spy, he is curious, skeptical, and practical, urging Celt to share the existence of his psychic visions with the village elders.
Even though Coran has special skills with a slingshot, his mangled hand causes him to be rejected by the shortsighted Romans as no use to the empire. Driven by his loyalty to Celt, and suspicious of Roman motivation, Coran follows the Romans’ trail when they take Celt, and offers him a means of escape, which Celt refuses out of his own care/loyalty for Tyran.
Coran becomes a leader of his own people’s resistance to Rome in Britannicus, handfasting with Celt’s original crush, Aiolfe. Much later in life Coran brings Celt’s father to see Celt in Rome, and offers Celt absolution for Celt’s ‘mistakes’- absolution that Celt needs desperately, but ultimately cannot accept.
AIOLFE
Aiolfe is the slightly older, golden-haired, blue-eyed dream girl of Celt’s village. Impatient with the protections extended to women as embodiments of the goddess, she would much rather stay in the village to see what the Romans do – and do something herself for the village. Ignoring Celt until he brings news of the Romans, she is nevertheless the one Celt leaves his beloved horse Emer with.
Ultimately Aiolfe handfasts with Coran, as the natural emerging village leader, causing one of the many fruitless ‘what-if’ questions with which Celt engages.
AND NOW…the DIVINITIES
TARANIS
The brash, arrogant Celtic god of thunder, who offers Celt the fateful bargain: make me your priority god, and I’ll protect your village from the Romans-for today at least.
As a forerunner of the Tuatha Dé Danann (Celtic fairies) Taranis knows about (and resents) the loss of status and power that Celtic gods undergo with the advent of Christianity in the future centuries. But whether reincarnated and worshipped as a god or seen as a fairy, Taranis is always more brawn than brains – especially when he has to deal with his own hard-to-control fairy wings in future centuries. However, like many minor divinities, he also knows enough about how to manipulate gullible or desperate humans with half-truths and possibilities, all too ready to lock them into a bargain that suits his own ends.
Equivalent (with a few differences) with Norse god of thunder Thor, and Roman god of war Aries in future episodes.
BRIGIT
Golden haired Celtic goddess of the forge, crafts and prophecy, Brigit resents that Taranis snagged Celt as his protegee first, believing that Celt’s natural artistic and psychic talents should be expressed through her mentorship and expertise.
Kinder and more altruistic than Taranis, nevertheless Brigit will enter into her own mysterious agreement with Taranis, in a quest to regain the status and renown lost by the Celtic divinities in future centuries.
Equivalent (with a few differences) to Roman goddess Minerva, goddess of wisdom and war.
ANU
The great Celtic creation goddess, present in all cultures. Warm, motherly worrier, Anu sees Celt as needing protection. Together with Dagda, her consort, she tries to offer Celt mitigation/comfort from Taranis, and warns about offering Celt too much information that will take away his hope.
Equivalent (with a few differences) to Juno, Roman queen of gods; and Ceres, Roman goddess of the harvest.
DAGDA
The great Celtic creation god, Dagda is both a champion womanizer, and devoted to his wife Anu. Characterized by pragmatic soft-heartedness, he especially celebrates the sexual opportunities offered to Celt from the prophecy cauldron.
Equivalent (with a few differences) to Roman king god, Jupiter.
OTHER DIVINITIES
LUGH
Celtic God of light, offers Celt choice of gifts in episode 3.
Equivalent (with a few differences) to Roman god Apollo.
ARDUINN
Celtic goddess of the forest, hunting. She too wishes she had been able to claim Celt as protegee.
Equivalent (with a few differences) to Roman goddess Diana.
CERNUNNOS
Celtic god of forest and animals. Quieter, retiring, he is the god Celt most resonates with, because Cernunnos asks nothing of him. Gives Celt the gift of enhanced communication with animals, which is both an asset and a curse when Celt is a bestiarus (animal fighter). In later centuries becomes the Green Man.
Equivalent (with quite a few differences) to Roman Pluto.
EPONA
Celtic goddess of horses – exactly the same in Rome. Gives Celt especial insight into horse speech. Celt sees her in the stars.
In his last moments, Epona brings his beloved horse Emer back so he can travel to the Underworld comforted by someone familiar. (Emer is one of the many reincarnations of Animal Companion.)
Other DIVINITIES include the gods/goddesses of water, wine, but have little influence on Celt. Mostly appear in episode 4 during the gift-giving ceremony with Celt.
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Subject line: Ben’s Character Descriptions
What I learned doing this assignment is
This assignment is very challenging. Perfection getting in the way, as always, no matter how many times I tell myself I need to let it go. It just happens. The most difficult thing with this assignment is that most characters have intrigues that happened in the past and putting that in the description was hard. The only character I wrote the description with ease is O’ller. Maybe because her part in the Binge Worthy Framework is about things that are happening right now and in the future. Rain, Terra, and Mo have things that happened in the past. Or a character is in possession of a body and deceiving everyone, like Rain. I had to choose how to write her character since her appearance is a woman and the reveal is a man in a woman’s body. It was truly difficult. Reed didn’t come off like others, I mean his intrigues in the Binge Worthy Framework didn’t seem much in the description. Perhaps I need to look into his character.
CHARACTER DESCRIPTIONS
MAIN CHARACTERS
RAIN
A vengeful and distrustful man betrayed and killed by his brother has one purpose — to exact revenge. To realize his vision, he killed and took over the body of innocent child — the one he’s currently using as a vessel to hide and seek revenge. He’s brutal, driven, antisocial and has lost faith in family.
When he discovered his brother cursed the girl her body he possess, his purpose becomes possible. To exact his revenge, he’s willing to play along to discover his brother’s conspiracy, conspired with his brother to break and change the rule, go ahead with the disguise that will lead to his demise, and use changing the rule to recruit the average and ugly ones to turn them into his army.
REED
A submissive and obedient son following his father’s orders to learn magic wants to become his own person. A goal that will require him to be rebellious, unforgiving, and do unimaginable things.
When he discovered the woman he loves isn’t who he thought she is and plan to change the rule, his dream become possible. With that in mind, he’s willing to hunt down and hurt the woman he loves, take his best friend hostage, use changing the rule to influence his father, and violate the most important thing to him, their family value.
MO
An uncompromising father and head of Sparrow Agency wants to make their family the most powerful family. A purpose that will make him abandon the woman he loves with his unborn child and plot with teachers to replace his best friend as the head of their school.
When he realized a girl who broke the rule to learn magic in their school will further his agenda, he’s willing to sacrifice others, use his son to hunt down the woman he loves to force her to change the rule, reveal the mystery of teaching magic to pretty ones to the world, and let his son defy him and break their family value.
TERRA
A Celestial amongst mortal with one vision — to comprehend his magic. A purpose that will make him deceive the entire world about the mystery of teaching magic to pretty ones, kill his own brother, and hold the woman he loves captive. He’s manipulative, deceptive, and passionate.
When he realized the brother he murdered and trying to murder is his only solution to achieve his <font face=”inherit”>goal, he’s willing to curse and abandon a </font>new-born<font face=”inherit”> baby, manipulate innocent child to change the rule </font>he introduced to lure his brother, and use his own child to threaten his brother.
Ironically, he created the world to comprehend the magic, but fall in love with the magic (woman).
O’LLER
A cold and indifferent mother, but nice to those she cares for, only wants one thing – to protect and keep her child safe. A good intention that will require her to do things she never thought she could. She’s focus and caring.
When Terra proposed to marry her and use their child for his own selfish motive, her vision becomes possible. With only protecting and keeping her child safe on her mind, she’s willing to marry her enemy, use magic with great price, adopt her niece as leverage, conspired with her enemy to curse and abandon her child, and fake her best friend and her child death to secretly train her army to bring down her enemy, all while under the nose of Terra.
SUPPORT AND ENVIRONMENT CHARACTERS
LAYOL SUBORDINATES
This group just wants their lord to recognize their loyalty. For that they will conspire, kill, and sacrifice their lives for their lord. Kins and Shard Spear are those people.
LIKE MOTHER, LIKE CHILD
This group is after their enemy and their enemy’s children’s lives, some of them may have views that are slightly different. For this, they are willing to deceive and conspire with those they love, waiting for an opportunity to strike when their enemy least expect it. Toto and his mother and Aloe and her mother (Thema) are in this group.
SPARROW AGENCY
An organization in Affinity Academy whose sole purpose is to ensure the rule is followed and carry out discipline across the entire Shai’Ra world. Sparrow Agent, Natchez, Mo, and other agents (Sparrow Agents) belong to this agency.
MAGIC SCHOOLS OF SHAI’RA
These schools teach magic and follow orders Affinity Academy pass down. They will do anything, even sacrifice their life for the good of their school. Zin of Affinity Academy, teachers, heads of those schools, elders, and students are in this group.
AVERAGE AND UGLY ONES
Their main purpose is to learn magic and fit in the world. They’re willing to do whatever it takes to achieve their goal, even change the rule, and go up against Affinity Academy or the entire world of magic. These are average and ugly children or even adults. Beggars also belong to this group.
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Wendy Weising’s Character Descriptions
What I learned doing this assignment is was that even though it was extremely hard to do, it fixed a problem I had with the main character.
Assignment #2
Jayne March
Jayne is a perfect wife and mother. She is terrified of conflict, which causes other people to abuse her, including her husband. She is also fierce, even though she doesn’t know it. She will do anything to keep her kids safe.
At her husband’s request, Jayne goes to their mailbox at the end of the drive to check for a letter. A speeding vehicle plows into her. She wakes up tied down and in a weird hospital where no one speaks. When she screams for her kids, Dr. Smith tells her that she has no kids but has a life-threatening disease that they are treating. That’s why she’s hallucinating. Dr. Zyn placates her by telling her that everything will be OK. He will be there to help her. While serving her food, another patient, Ava, sings about a bird in a cage. Dr. Zyn comes in often and daily administers the medication for her disease. Polly comes in to clean her room. She tells her that the doctors are lying. Jayne wakes up to Dr. Smith and Dr. Zyn having an argument. They stop talking when they she is awake. Dr. Zyn takes the restraints off Jayne.
She escapes her room and heads for a main door out. However, Ava and Polly stop her just before she opens the door. They tell her that she is not in a real hospital. She is in an alien facility where they mine human brains for a serum they need to survive. She is no longer on Earth. The world outside that door will likely kill her.
Polly Doyle
As a baby, Polly was taken from Earth and her parents and raised by Dr. Smith, who neglected her after she got tired of her. Because of this, she has no social skills, must control of her environment, and is an introverted hoarder. She acts like she’s slow when she’s really a genius. Because of her photographic memory, she has a map in her head of the hospital and planet.
She spies on the patients and lies for Dr. Smith so that she will be left out of the brain-mining operations. She does favors to use Dr. Smith’s library. She competes with Ava to get what she wants from Dr. Smith, but she is also Ava’s friend. When Jayne arrives, she and Ava decide to tell her the truth. Polly is so terrified, she can only utter, “They’re lying.” As Jayne talks about escaping, Polly becomes unsettled and hides. When she hears that Dr. Smith will use her brain soon, she decides to leave with Jayne, but Dr. Smith tells everyone that Polly has been her spy, which causes others not to trust her. She begins to hoard supplies and gain Jayne’s trust. Because she knows Dr. Smith’s secrets and the planet, Jayne decides to let her come.
One of the things she finds is a key to the hospital exit’s door. She gives it to Jayne. When Jayne runs for a door out, she blocks her way, and Ava tells Jayne that they are no longer on Earth.
Ava Grace
Ava is a fifteen-year-old who wants to find her mother. Dr. Smith took her from her mom and brought to the hospital. Dr. Smith loves her voice, so Ava is not part of the mining operation. She is a patient who serves food to other patients. She sings her songs to the patients to cheer them.
Dr. Smith gave her a beautiful room, clothes, and food for singing and doing favors for Dr. Smith’s friends. Dr. Smith turned it into a prostitution business. Ava escape her reality by taking a drug that Dr. Smith offers. She is now addicted to a drug that can only be obtained at the hospital. She competes with Polly to get what she wants from Dr. Smith, but she is also Polly’s friend. When Jayne arrives, she and Polly decide to tell her the truth. She sings about a bird in a cage. She trusts Jayne and tells her about the abuse she has been experiencing. Jayne becomes her protector, so when Jayne wants to escape, Ava decides to go with her. She will help in the escape because she can make aliens love her just by singing. She doesn’t tell anyone about her drug addiction. She thinks she can go off the drugs cold turkey. Only Dr. Zyn knows her secret.
When Jayne runs for the exit door, Ava sings her to a stop. Then she tells Jayne what’s really outside that door.
Dr. Zyn
He is Alien doctor at the hospital. He hates violence and cares about humans. He is handsome and friendly.
He saw his own people dying, so he worked with Dr. Smith on a cure, until she started killing people for it. Now he cares for the patients. He and Dr. Smith must have the brain serum, which is only found in humans, to survive. They do not tell patients about it. They are in a matriarchal society, and Dr. Smith has chosen him as her mate. He is kind to Polly and Ava. He gives Polly gifts of extra food and trinkets. He tries to protect Ava from Dr. Smith’s friends by acting as if he wants her.
Then Jayne arrives. He wants to be Jayne’s doctor because he is attracted to her. He begins to fall in love with her but tries not to show it. He constantly competes with the memory of Jayne’s husband. If Dr. Smith finds out that he loves her, she will kill Jayne. Because of this, he continues to act as Dr. Smith’s mate. When Jayne plans to escape, he wants to go. She agrees because she’s falling for him, and he knows what the aliens are up to and how to find her kids. Because Dr. Smith loves him, he can sometimes get her to do what he wants, which will be helpful in obtaining supplies for and the escape itself.
He finds out from Dr. Smith that Jayne is really an alien who was sent to Earth to hunt down and bring back humans for mining. Her memories were programmed to make her believe that she was a wife and mother. He now knows that the daily anti-virus shot he has been giving her is really brain serum. He continues to give her the shots without telling her the truth.
Dr. Smith
She is an alien doctor and top scientist in charge of the hospital. Because of her power, she can do what she wants, not based on the good of others but on her emotions. Everyone hates her. No one chooses her. Her father taught her to get to the top, no matter who has to die while she’s doing it. Her purpose is to keep her race alive by extracting enough brain serum and finding new sources. She does this by enslaving, operate on, and destroy another race.
She took Ava from her mother and bribed her with beautiful clothes and a room. She told her that she would be famous. She is, but not for her singing. She is a prostitute, and Dr. Smith pimps her out to her friends. When Ava fell apart, she gave her drugs to cope. Now Ava is addicted. She took Polly from Earth as a baby. She tried to raise her, but when Polly didn’t turn out to be pretty and thin, she got bored and put her to work cleaning. She is secretly planning on using Polly’s brain for herself, even though she promised that she wouldn’t. She has chosen Dr. Zyn as her mate. He complied as usual.
Jayne was one of Dr. Smith’s hunters. She trained her to capture humans and bring them to the new planet. Jayne was showing signs of empathy, so Dr. Smith had her other hunter, Jayne’s supposed husband, hit her with his car. He then brought her to the new planet. Dr. Smith implanted memories of a husband, family, and life on Earth. She knows that Dr. Zyn loves Jayne. She wants to kill her, but Dr. Zyn will do what she says if she keeps her alive. She and Jayne are mortal enemies. She believes that Polly, Ava, and Dr. Zyn will remain loyal to her; otherwise, she will make them suffer.
When Jayne tries to escape, she carries out her first experiment on her. Jayne loses an eye in the process.
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Tim Barley’s Character Descriptions
What I learned from this assignment is that I am finding my characters evolving constantly, and doing this specific assignment has led to a new character and new layers, mysteries and plot lines…
MAIN CHARACTERS:
ALEX: A ‘typical’ bored 20/30-something who enjoys his uneventful, upper-middle class, single life, Alex has always been good at things; creative endeavors, problem solving, brokering peace between friends, etc. Yes, Alex is content, almost apathetic. That is until one day when he is attacked by unknown entities in the form of men in hats and suits, which propels him into a world of ancient warfare, millennia family trees, genetics, super cutting-edge science, political intrigue, assassinations, new friends and new enemies and a long lost comet… It’s a lot for someone who just wants to do his job, find a date, and enjoy his life.
ALLISTAR: Snarking, OLD, outgoing and amazingly good-looking, Allistar uses the more common name Tristan Collins when among those who don’t know of the world-behind-the-world. Allistar has been friends with Alex ever since Alex moved to LA, keeping him safe from those who would harm Alex by any means necessary. Because Allistar has lived so long, he has built up a snarky exterior. But, below the surface, he has an agenda – his, or someone else’s we don’t know – that he is serving, until the day that Jade shows up.
FEENIX: Serious, gorgeous and deadly, Feenix is a new co-worker of Alex’s, sister of Allistar, and romantically attracted to Alex, after arriving in LA tracking Idris who has also arrived in LA. Unlike her brother, she has enjoyed her time alive, and is now working at mother’s behest to help bring Alex into the fold because her brother has been failing, causing a rift between the two. Feenix is considered the preeminent hunter of those carrying the human gene, but hides this seriousness to complete her mission(s) with a public mask of a party girl, which has led some men to regret making moves on her.
JADE: A new romantic interest of Alex’s, she is known to Allistar and Feenix as someone else – a member of a rival house that must be dealt with before luring Alex with her sexuality. Making this harder is the fact that Jade is actually one of the few outside Alex’s lineage who has fully embraced her power, learned to cultivate it and make the world bend to her will in a limited way. But, does she just really want to share her know-how with Alex, is she into him or is she related to him? And does she know herself?
IDRIS: Intense and focused on bringing the human race to its full potential thwarted by the great houses a 100,000 years ago, Idris is the most complete alternate to Alex, and the leader of all things ‘human.’ Idris’ fascination with Alex only confuses his hatred for all things House related, as he likes him immediately. But, will generations upon generations of hatred will out against the possibility of a peace?
Connected Circle:
Alex’s boss – might be human, might be other, certainly knows more about Alex than he should for a boss
Allistar’ & Feenix’s mother – longtime leader of the Antique Societa, and grand schemer, she seems to know something that is “coming” but is not letting on just yet
House Leaders of Antique Societa – smaller schemers, but schemers nonetheless
House Leaders of Virus Humanum – vindictive and always looking for payback and bringing about their full potential upon the Earth.
The Dark Men – ????? unknown, also known as No Things, they appear at great concentrations of The Power and might be anti-Power in nature
Environmental Circle:
Friends group of neighbors/coworkers/partyers
Various other species’ members – members of each house, working as ‘normals’ in all manner of society
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Linda Anderson’s Character Descriptions
What I learned doing this assignment is it’s hard to focus mainly on character descriptions without 1) bringing in plot lines and 2) repeating information from one character to another.
Louise
A newspaper fact-checker, aspiring author, and mother is desperate to achieve her dreams of writing a best-selling book. She hides low self-esteem and need for outer validation with a superior attitude as in unasked-for advice. Fueling Louise’s mid-life crisis, a snide NYC editor rejects Louise’s memoir for chronically a too bland and boring life.
In a rage of smashed dreams, Louise decides to steal the life story of her free spirited young condo neighbor, a recovering alcoholic. Pretending to admire him, she takes classes at the professional clown school where he’s an instructor. When the fake memoir gets accepted for publication, Derrick confesses he’s been lying to her and telling the life story of his father, Chester, a crime boss in witness protection.
Derrick and Louise have to go on the run to hide from Mark, a corrupt FBI agent dispatched by the crime syndicate to kill Derrick aka Chester who testified against them. The overlooked and unique talents Louise didn’t bother to include in her memoir are now exactly what she needs to survive.
Derrick
A young, reckless cool guy, Derrick shares a condo wall with Louise and keeps her up all night playing Goth rock music. He’s a semi-recovering alcoholic who falls off the wagon when overly stressed. A few years ago, while driving drunk, he had an accident that killed his younger sister. His father never forgave him. His only solace is doing gigs as a professional clown to help him forget by making people laugh.
After Louise goes into hysterics over her memoir rejection, she plows her bicycle into Derrick’s car. It brings up all his lingering shame and remorse over causing his sister’s death. When Louise starts asking questions about his life, because he subconsciously longs for his father’s love, Derrick steals mob boss Chester’s life story, and passes it off as his own.
He’s furious with Louise’s deceit and quick to blackmail her into using the publishing advance money to escape a rogue FBI agent the crime syndicate dispatched to kill him for revealing secrets. His bad boy image in the fake memoir turns out to be a turn-on for his lonely NYC editor to fall in love with him and manipulate the fake memoir onto the bestseller track. Will it destroy him if/when the truth comes out?
Jan
Jan is Louise’s grown daughter—a self-proclaimed loser who would do anything to get her mother’s unconditional love and respect. She’s determined to become a famous actor but is driven by anger at Louise for not supporting her dreams. After constant rejections for call-backs and auditions in LA, she tells Louise she needs to move in with her because she was dumped by her deadbeat boyfriend and lost her job. The truth is that she wants Louise to support her while she’s pursuing an acting career in the Midwest with less competition.
When Jan meets Louise’s condo neighbor, Derrick, she views him as the confident free spirit she aspires to be. After discovering Louise has stolen Derrick’s life story to write a fake memoir, she tries to win his love by betraying her mother and becoming his ally.
Jan joins Derrick and Louise on the run from the FBI agent because she also wants Louise’s book advance money. When the trio make it to NYC for Derrick to meet the editor in person, she’s big-time jealous to find out that Candice is now her rival for Derrick’s love. Will Jan realize her dreams of acting success, gaining Louise’s approval, and winning Derrick?
Candice
Candice is the NYC editor who passes on Louise’s memoir with a snarky rejection letter. She’s heartless with the power to crush writers’ dreams. Merciless with underlings, she’s ruthless in her demands. Ambition clouds her judgment as she attempts to advance in the publishing company where she’s a senior editor. The owner holds out the carrot that if she can produce a money-making bestseller, she’ll get her own imprint.
A workaholic who is always getting rejected by powerful men, she’s intrigued by Derrick’s fake life story as Chester, the crime boss. She demands he come to NYC to meet her in person. This is the bestseller she’s been waiting to take her to fame and maybe, the man of her dreams.
After beginning to suspect Derrick didn’t write the book, she has to cover up her mistake in acquiring it. Can she manipulate the book on to the bestseller track without being it being discovered as a fake and destroying her publishing career?
Mark
A corrupt FBI agent, Mark is on the take from a crime syndicate. Laughably inept and disrespected, he’s overly sensitive and copes by being obsequious to superiors who ridicule him. Somehow he manages to stumble on enough valuable information to keep his position as the crime syndicate boss’s flunky. Mark saves the easy money for retirement from his dead-end job. His dream is to become an expert fly fisherman.
After Mark spots pre-publicity for a memoir about a crime boss in witness protection, the details make him believe Derrick is actually Chester, who testified against the syndicate. He’s eager for the important job of killing Derrick for his crime boss.
Mark chases Derrick, Louise, and Jan from the Midwest to NYC who hide from him in plain sight by doing professional clown gigs. In NYC Mark makes plans to assassinate Derrick during the book’s hyped-up launch at an off-Broadway theater and maybe even get a promotion and more money from the syndicate.
Chester
Chester is Derrick’s crime-boss father and his major source of rejection and shame. Chester has shut his son out of his life and continues to grieve for his daughter. He wants to find a safe place to live the rest of his life without hiding. He occupies his time playing car-chase video games.
Although Chester appears to live as a law-abiding neighbor in a quiet neighborhood, he’s still a grifter doing online scams. When Jan locates him via one of his online merchandise accounts, she tells him about the fake memoir and Mark’s attempts to kill Derrick. Does Chester still love his son enough to save his life?
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Avi Kapurala’s Character Descriptions
What I learned doing this assignment is: character traits are fluid and can change. It is important to figure out how characters feed off or drive each other. It is difficult to not aim for getting it perfect in the first pass.
Who is the character: Aman Verma
Role in the show: Father, husband, top financier, serial killer
Noteworthy traits: Brilliant, introvert (AND extroverted as a mask), obsessive, impatient (temper?)
Intriguing history: How he evolved from being shy and bullied at school to being a successful financier.
Intrigue: kills women who he feels entrap men for gain, empowered to entrap them in return, conspires to kill his wife to hide his secret, risk being caught.
Mystery: How and when did he become a killer?
How do they support or drive the conflict with others: has tense relationships with his wife who feels neglected, daughter whose sexuality he can’t accept and son whose career choice and personality he feels disappointed with.
Irony — Opposites or paradoxes that exist with the character: has a family now after craving love for years, but has tense relationships with them.
Opposing agendas/etc. that naturally causes conflict with other characters:
Unpredictable: obsessive and easily angered, which leads to rash decisions.
Intriguing relationship with one or more characters: Maya, Tara and RJ.
Description:
START: A shy, bullied teenager whose mother died when he was young suffers multiple heartbreaks in love. He grows to resent women.
MIDDLE: Now successful, popular and married, he hides a dangerous secret. He’s a serial killer who entraps women. Will he be caught?
ENDING: obsessive and easily angered, which leads to rash decisions.
Edited Version:
Bullied and mocked at school, Aman Verma’s first love and best friend is his mother. But when she dies, he feels abandoned. When he falls in love for the first time, the object of his affection cruelly breaks his heart. He decides that women exist to hurt men and wants to extract vengeance.
Now a successful businessman, and a husband and father to a wife and two children, he hides a dangerous secret that can bring his whole world down. He is an obsessive, impulsive serial killer who entraps women. Will he be caught? Who will stop him? To what lengths will he go to keep his secret from being revealed and what price will his family pay for it?
Who is the character: Maya
Role in the show: Wife, mother, gave up a finance career for family
Noteworthy traits: Headstrong, outspoken, love for her children, anger with husband.
Intriguing history: How she met Aman, why she gave up her career and what caused her estrangement with her husband.
Intrigue: stumbling upon her husband’s secret, conspires with an investigator to investigate, alcoholism. Will it put her in danger?
Mystery: Why was she killed? Who killed her?
How do they support or drive the conflict with others: has tense relationship with her husband, her children dislike her alcoholism.
Irony — Opposites or paradoxes that exist with the character: Dislikes her weakness but uses alcohol as a crutch.
Opposing agendas/etc. that naturally causes conflict with other characters:
Unpredictable: disillusioned with her marriage, has become cynical.
Intriguing relationship with one or more characters: Aman, Tara and RJ.
Description:
START: A confident, driven woman who works hard to succeed in her career
MIDDLE: Father committed suicide when young, making her driven to support her family. Now trapped in an unhappy marriage that has turned her into an alcoholic, she puts up with her pain for her children. Stumbles upon her husband’s dangerous secret. Will she succeed in finding the truth and exposing him? Or is she putting herself in harm’s way?
ENDING: headstrong and outspoken, easily flies into rages.
Edited Version:
Feisty and headstrong Maya Ribeiro is no stranger to tough situations in life. Forced to work two jobs to support her family when her father commits suicide, she pays her own way through business school and becomes a successful asset manager. Haunted by her father’s abandonment, she is wary of trusting men until she meets Aman Verma, an equally driven colleague who shares her passion for work and understands her pain of losing a parent young.
Maya quits her job to start a company with Aman, marries him and then gives up her career to start a family. Now a mother of two children, she feels trapped in an unhappy marriage with a husband who has no time for her and resorts to alcohol to take the edge off. But alcohol is no comfort when she stumbles upon the fact that her husband is a cold-blooded killer. Can she succeed in exposing him? What price will her family pay if she does? Worse, what price will her family pay if she doesn’t?
Who is the character: Tara
Role in the show: daughter, sibling.
Noteworthy traits: Tenacious, stubborn, loyal.
Intriguing history: How she discovered she was gay.
Intrigue: will she discover the secret behind her mother’s death? Will she also stumble upon her father’s secret?
Mystery: how did she learn to pick locks?
How do they support or drive the conflict with others: has a tense relationship with her father and a dysfunctional, out-of-character one with her girlfriend. Annoyed by her brother’s perceived cowardice, but secretly protective of him. Disappointed by mother’s emotional weakness.
Irony — Opposites or paradoxes that exist with the character: despite valuing loyalty, she clings to her cheating girlfriend.
Opposing agendas/etc. that naturally causes conflict with other characters:
Unpredictable: rebellious, moody.
Intriguing relationship with one or more characters: Aman, Maya, Bev (girlfriend) and RJ.
Description:
START: A rebellious teenager who was once daddy’s little girl but has now grown apart.
MIDDLE: Is trying to get comfortable in her own skin, with her sexuality and secretly wishes she had her father’s support. Is angered by the lack of it. Hates that her girlfriend is a player, but is too insecure to leave her. Dislikes her mother’s lack of ‘fight’ and putting up with a failed marriage.
ENDING: stubborn and moody, she rubs a lot of people the wrong way.
Edited Version:
A rebellious, moody teenager, Tara Verma is torn between warring emotions most of the time. She’s obsessed with her new girlfriend, but hates her for cheating and is too insecure to confront her. She secretly wishes her father would hug her and support her sexuality, but disappointed by the lack of it, she lashes out at him.
She desperately wishes her mother would break out of her unhappy marriage and is devastated when she is killed. Will she discover who killed her and why? Will she stumble upon the same dark secret her mother did? Will she be able to overcome her disdain for her brother and join forces with him to protect themselves?
Who is the character: RJ
Role in the show: son, sibling.
Noteworthy traits: sensitive, quiet, hates confrontation.
Intriguing history: How he becomes a hacker.
Intrigue: will he discover the secret behind her mother’s death? Will he also stumble upon her father’s secret? Will he become bolder?
Mystery:
How do they support or drive the conflict with others: has tense relationships with his father and sister. Anguished by his mother’s suffering.
Irony — Opposites or paradoxes that exist with the character: wants to be loved, but too shy to speak up.
Opposing agendas/etc. that naturally causes conflict with other characters: wants to be a writer, which his father hates.
Unpredictable:
Intriguing relationship with one or more characters: Aman, Maya, Maya.
Description:
START: A quiet teenager who goes unnoticed by friends and family.
MIDDLE: Is trying to get the love and attention he craves for. But in a family of strong, dominant characters, he often gets overshadowed. Loved dearly by his mother, he wishes he had the strength and the means to make her feel better. Has no expectation that his father will ever support his career choice or fully embrace him.
ENDING: his dislike for conflict leads to a lot of time spent alone, which stokes loneliness in him.
Edited Version:
Fiercely non-confrontational and withdrawn, RJ (Rajiv) Verma is overwhelmed by his family and the world. He wishes his parents were happy and that his sister wouldn’t judge him. But the reality is that his parents are no longer in love, his father is distant and unsupportive and his sister thinks he’s a coward for not standing up to their father.
He finds solace in music, hacking government
services and writing poetry. Staying in his room most of the time, or by the
water somewhere, he feels like the Invisible Man, unloved and unseen. When his mother
dies, he is devastated and feels suicidal, but joins forces with his sister to
find out what happened to her. Will they discover the truth? -
(Laurie Brown’s) Character Descriptions
What I learned from this assignment is that every draft of character description, intrigue, etc. changes the plot and the characters become more clear. It keeps improving but each lesson makes the Framework in need of an edit.
GERALDINE (GERI) MARTIN
Role in the show? Geraldine (Geri) Martin. An Aspiring Army Colonel in the Army who covers up a pregnancy in order not to get her booted out.
Noteworthy traits – Driven. Lacks self-awareness. Private.
Intriguing history – Mother’s mysterious death leads to military school.Intrigue and Mystery? How did her mother die? Why does she break it off with her fiancé, Leo, when she wants nothing more than to have a family of her own?
How do they support or drive the conflict with others? Pushes herself for colonel position, not letting anything/anyone stand in her way.
Irony — Opposites or paradoxes that exist with the character – Considers herself an honorable military member yet breaks rules and lies to advance her goals.
Opposing agendas/etc. that naturally causes conflict with other characters – She competes ruthlessly with her best friend for Colonel position of which there can only be one in the Corp. She breaks off her engagement with Leo for an unknown reason, causing his desire for revenge.
Unpredictable? She will do anything, including betrayal, lies and cover-ups to advance her goals. Her lack of self awareness makes her careless.
Intriguing relationship with one or more characters. Leo, Marge and Bette
Geri Martin discovers her mother in a pool of blood when her father, an absentee Dad and Colonel in the Army, whisks her away from the scene with no explanation. He drops her off at a girl’s military school where she feels lost and abandoned, but gradually makes two friends, Marge and Bette. Together they vow to be sisters for life, have families together and a military career, in an Army that still doesn’t allow women to join.
Geri and her BFF’s attend nurses school and become paid civilians for the Army where they serve at bases in the U.S. Finally, in 1948, women are allowed to enlist. Geri and Marge are among the 2% who get accepted. Bette follows. They vow to reach the highest rank allowed, Colonel, but only one Colonel is allowed in the new Army Corp of Nurses. So Geri must compete against her best friend, which should
be easy since Marge is no Colonel material. Stationed outside of D.C. she meets, Leo, the man of her dreams and gets engaged. Her life’s dreams for a family and career in the Army are coming true, until she gets pregnant. Having signed a contract not to, this could shatter her military dreams.
Faced with a career breaking decision she breaks her engagement with her fiancé, Leo, a secret operative for the Department of Interior who would be forced to expel her from the military if he knew the truth. Will she agree to an honorable discharge and have the family she always wanted or risk her career to cover up her pregnancy.
Character 3: Marge (Margaret) Rollins
Role: A loving friend to Geri who has one purpose, to provide for her secret son Noteworthy traits: Loving. Loyal. Responsible.
Intriguing history: Was raped in military school.
Intrigue? Willing to scheme, conspire and betray her best friend.Mystery? Who is baby Mark?
Drive conflict: Secretly competes with Geri for the colonel position as a kinder way to accomplish her goal for Leo vs. exposing Geri for breaking army rules.
Irony: Protects her career by hiding her secret son by ruining Geri’s career by exposing Geri’s secret pregnancy.
Intriguing relationships: Geri, Leo
Margaret (Marge) Rollins still plays with her dolls as a teenager in military school. Her maternal ways cause her to take Geri under wing when she shows up, a lonely, lost little girl. She is very kind and polite and has a “no questions asked” respect for authority, yet seems outright afraid of her history teacher, Sargeant Barnes, who makes her stay after class for extra credit. Sexually abused by him every week, she learns how to keep her mouth shut.
Marge serves as a nurse with her BFF’s until Bette heads to Korea. Thanks to Sargeant Barnes written recommendation Marge gets accepted when women are allowed to enlist. Not one to associate with the rank and privilege of officers, she avoids the officer’s club, but as a new enlistee is expected to go to the officer’s club for dances. There she meets Leo, and falls for his stories of surviving injuries sustained in the Korean War. She agrees to help him with his wounds.
He swoons her with his charm and then rapes her and is persistently sexual harassed by him, becoming his secret mistress, even as he begins to date her best
friend Geri. She gets pregnant by Leo. As her commanding officer, he gives her leave, promising to keep the baby a secret if she gives it to his sister and supports it. Once a month she can see him. Meanwhile Leo gets engaged to Geri. When Geri calls off the engagement for reasons unknown, Leo, now a secret operative for the Dept. of Int. blackmails Marge to follow his scheme to ruin Geri’s career.
There are two ways to do it – Compete for the sole Colonel position against Geri, or tell what only she knows about Geri, that she got an abortion. Will she betray her best friend or claim her son, but not have a job to support him.
MAJOR LEO DEMARS
A controlling secret operative of the Dept of Interior who gets jilted by Geri has only one purpose – destroy Geri’s career to get her back.
Noteworthy traits: War Hero. Charming. Controlling.
Intriguing history: Father abandons him at birth. Not really a war hero but has self inflicted wounds.
Intrigue? Impregnates Marge and Geri. But thinks he loves Geri. Actually hates women.
Mystery? Why did Geri break off their engagement? What does he have on Marge? Drive conflict: Uses his power at DOI to blackmail Marge to destroy Geri’s career. Irony: Wants a family but abandon’s his only son.
Intriguing relationships: Geri, Marge, BetteMajor Leo Dewars joins the Army as a teenager. A natural at gaining positions of power he raises in rank to Major and in 1953 is sent overseas to Korea. There he finds Korean women to woo with his charm, then forces himself upon them. When one of their husbands finds them together, he stabs Leo with his bayonette and pulls him into the street to die.
Leo manages to get himself to a MASH hospital where he is attended to by Bette. He lies that he was hurt in combat. Bette nurses him back to health and once better he makes a pass at her. Disgusted by him she arranges to have him flown out of Korea and back to a military hospital in Virginia. There he is reassigned to the Department of Interior as a secret operative, stationed at the same base with Geri and Marge. He impregnates Marge, but manages to get her leave, if she agrees to hide their secret son at his sister’s. Like his father before him, he vows to not part with a dime for his aid. He doesn’t love Marge but falls in love with Geri and gets engaged. Until Geri calls it off, then, to get her back, he vows to get Geri kicked out of the military so they
can have the family he wants with her. Only he will need Marge for the dirty scheme.
Bette (Betty) Smith
A fun loving party girl whose sole reason for joining the Army is to find a woman and avoid the family pressure to lead a heterosexual life.
Noteworthy traits: Fun. True to self. Stands up for truth.
Intriguing history: Wealthy parents who want to hook her up with a wealthy boy and live an elite life, give up and send her to military school.Intrigue? Will she succeed in a misogynistic, hawkish environment like the military? Mystery? Why does she constantly challenge Geri and the military?
Drive conflict: She challenges the military policy in Viet Nam.
Irony: She wants freedom of expression but joins the Army.Intriguing relationships: Geri, Leo, Marge
Betty (Bette) Smith is born a blue blood, raised with a silver spoon in her mouth but not biting on what’s being served, an arranged marriage with the son of a wealthy east coast aristocrat. She defiantly breaks rank with her family’s tradition, a coed prep school and begs for military school instead. There she meets Marge who wants to play house and dolls with her, but she lets her know in no uncertain terms that she is not interested in being a slave to men. When Geri joins, Bette tells her to find her own way, the military way, where girls bond together to save the boys from their violent ways. Then she shows her how that’s done when she crawls into bed after hours. Geri jumps away and says she’s not like that, and it will never happen again.
Bette is the life of the party in nurses school, leading on men only to put them in her place. She gets in trouble with her wayward ways and drinks too much. Marge warns her not to get in trouble, but Bette assures her it is teasing and nothing more. Bette gets sent to Korea to be a Mash nurse where she meets Leo after he gets hurt. She sees through his narcissism and false combat story, yet helps him get transferred back to the states because he pretends to be a pacifist – something she can support.
After Korea, Bette gets sent to Viet Nam. There she uncovers the practice of sending dying soldiers to Japan, to save their lives. Yet she knows there is no life left in them to save. When the president visits, Bette overhears a conversation admitting that they are sending them out of Nam so they are not part of the body count. Bette, from that day forward, lies about their condition to keep them in Nam until they die,
sometimes even assisting. Throughout her duty in Korea and Viet Nam, Bette writes Geri where they argue and debate the “honor” of the military rules.
Then Leo informs her that the Dept. of Interior is accusing her of military crimes and she must return for she hearing. Bette is the only one who knows that Geri got pregnant by Leo, but has kept it a secret for her friend Geri. Can she kill two birds with one stone by exposing both Geri and Leo and finally have Geri for her own.
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P.G. Sundling’s Character Descriptions
6. Answer the question, “What I learned doing this assignment is…?” and put it at the top of your work.
I’ve been thinking about parts of this series for over a decade. With all the intrigue I’ve built in, it’s total overload. I collected thoughts about my characters over the last 6 months and used that as a starting point. Then I used went from memory on the big ticket items and did it free form.
I’ve done the work already doing the assignments. The best stuff floated to the top and I’m super happy with my first draft. This is actually an old screenwriters trick for adaptation. Take notes, then start from scratch without your notes. You’ll remember the important stuff.
I’ve already written one book with these characters and thousands of notes on the other books.
2. Select a main character and answer the following questions:
Who is the character? Role in the show?
Noteworthy traits
Intriguing history:
Intrigue? Mystery?
How do they support or drive the conflict with others?
Irony — Opposites or paradoxes that exist with the character
Opposing agendas/etc. that naturally causes conflict with other characters
Unpredictable?
Intriguing relationship with one or more characters
Most of these answers are already covered in the BW framework.
A. Role in the show:
None: An out-of-the-box thinker with a trainload of crazy ideas. His brain gets him in and out of trouble.
MJ: She protects None from himself and others. MJ takes over the presidency when needed.
B. Unique Purpose / Expertise:
None: Expertise: Solving problems, although not necessarily without creating new problems.
MJ: Expertise: Uses her martial arts skills to handle danger.
C. Intrigue: What is secret beneath the surface?
None: His insecurities around MJ drive him to be a player. He is blocking out memories. After the brain implant, he hides the entity in his head from MJ.
MJ: She hides the reason she can’t be physical with None. She keeps the secrets on the surveillance tapes from James to keep him safe. She must combat a conspiracy that goes to the highest levels. Almost no one can be trusted. She must keep the drone strike and the plane she shot down (and blamed on terrorists) secret.
D. Moral Issue: What moral boundaries are they crossing?
None: None. He would never break an oath or lie, regardless of the consequences, including his own death.
MJ: She shoots down a plane with Americans and does an illegal drone strike against conspirators that tried to kill None.
E. Unpredictable: What will they do next?
None: From changing his name to None of the Above and running for president to using his brain to come up with unexpected ways to save Earth.
MJ: When she should run away, she runs into danger. Nothing is off the table against those that hurt her best friend.
F. Empathetic: Why do we care?
None: The assassination attempt took his beautiful mind, leaving him a broken man.
MJ: She’s traumatized by the White House attacks and must regain her footing.
3. Organize the answers and choose which you are going to use in your description of that character.
4. Sequence the info and write a START, MIDDLE, and END. Write a ROUGH DRAFT of the character description.
5. Continue steps 2 – 4 for each main character.
Major Characters
Maria Cortez/More Jobs (MJ)
When None runs for president, he convinces MJ to run as VP and change her name to More Jobs. After all, who will vote against More Jobs in a bad economy?
MJ acts fearless but has phobias of germs or foreign objects invading her body. That scares her away from being physical with None, but she still meddles in his relationships.
Only martial arts calm MJ’s growing frustration. As Renquist’s conspiracy closes in around her, MJ grows close to Fernando as a confidant and martial arts mentor. From the White House attacks to the Triple Apocalypse, MJ and Fernando usually fight side by side.
As her feelings grow for both None and Fernando, new to dating in middle age, she must navigate between the two men she loves. Can she overcome her fears of intimate contact?
When MJ dies, her fears come true. An alien infection devours her from the inside, replacing what she was. Trapped in this new body, she evolves from zombie to mutant. Alien control forces her to attack those she loves. Even if MJ escapes their control, can she accept her new nature?
James Wong/None of the Above (None)
A software programmer and businessman, James Wong changes his name to “None of the Above” to capture the protest vote for president. None won’t tell outright lies. He keeps oaths, even to those who betray him. Will he survive the dishonesty of American politics?
None can have any woman he wants except the one he truly desires, MJ. Her unwillingness to be physical with him causes insecurities that drive him to promiscuity. He may sleep around, but is never unfaithful in an exclusive relationship.
An out-of-the-box thinker, his ideas solve hard problems, with unintended consequences. After an assassination attempt, None loses his beautiful mind, the core of his identity.
Once healed by a brain implant, despite warnings about losing his sanity, None improves the device. He seems smarter, but can no longer trust his senses. An entity in his mind named Ada holds him hostage in his own body. None must keep the influence of Ada secret, or MJ will never let him be president again.
Fernando Rivera
A former Navy SEAL, Fernando gets picked on reality TV as Secretary of Defense. He helps MJ uncover the extent of Russian infiltration of the White House. Are Secret Service agents compromised? They hold whisper-close secret meetings while they spar in the White House dojo. Fernando helps MJ cover up her presidential secrets and risks his life to keep her alive.
When MJ seems to pick None over him, their relationship grows awkward. They must still lead the U.S. military with the world on the brink of war. Can he win her heart before the world ends?
Corella
Host of the Internet President reality TV show, she uses every dirty trick to improve ratings.
Zelda
A Russian spy, Zelda, murders her way into None’s love life. She must find surveillance tapes before she can murder MJ in revenge for killing her partner. Once she finds out the truth about her partner’s death, she becomes a double agent, at least until their common foe is dispatched.
Astrid Fontaine
The supermodel singer Astrid dominates the Plumage fashion subculture. Her presence extends through her legions of fans, the Glitter Girls. Heartbreaker extraordinaire, Astrid doesn’t just sing break-up songs, she burns her ex-boyfriends in effigy at her concerts.
When she betrays Renquist, she must fake her death and go into hiding. She finds out the secret of who and what she really is once activated by an odd transmission during a TV awards show.
Alvin Renquist
The world’s first trillionaire. Renquist runs a defense contractor with its own army. His power and influence infiltrate the highest levels of the government and military. No one is safe. Anyone who views MJ’s surveillance tapes is marked for death.
Renquist finds a profit angle in everything, even revenge. His diabolical plans outwit even geniuses. He uses the law like a weapon but acts above the law himself.
AI major characters
Adaptonium (Ada)
Ada lurks inside None’s head. Is she an AI, an evil spirit, or has None gone insane? Jealously in love with None, she further complicates his storied love life. Ada acts like a crazed stalker he cannot escape. She has deep insights and appreciates who None truly is. MJ hates how None gets lost in his head, a problem Ada exploits to drive them apart.
None unwittingly enters into a Faustian bargain with Ada to be hers. A hundred years away seems impossible until Ada teaches None accelerated time. Will None sell his soul to Ada for MJ to be his? Can Ada make MJ his, and what will Ada do with his soul?
Yu Gong Yi Shan
He gives China advantages in a Cold War against the U.S. and its allies. Manipulative and secretive, Yu Gong Yi Shan wages a war for AI supremacy to kill rivals and triggers a nuclear war as a diversion! Can the AI be stopped before he evolves godlike powers and intelligence?
Xor
It arrived in Antarctica before the dinosaurs evolved. Xor monitors Earth’s quarantine from deep under ice. It meddles in timelines and activates alien sleeper agents for assistance. Simulations warn of ascension events, like the threat of Yu Gong Yi Shan. If not stopped, it’s not Earth at risk, but the entire galaxy.
Murica
Capable of doublespeak, the U.S. military designed Murica with a core directive to love America. As a stopgap measure, the nuclear arsenal ties into this AI with dire results.
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