Questions A - K.
Character development, primarily for shatterverse's Steph.
Questions from this page.
A. If your character were to die this evening with no opportunity to communicate with anyone, what would they most regret not having told someone? Why haven't they told them yet?
Steph would most regret ... not having told notanoptimist that he's a giant idiot and she loves him.
B. Would your character accept $1,000,000 to leave the county and never set foot in it again?
Not really applicable, because money doesn't mean much in Shatter. If the question were to be 'accept significant wealth to leave the world and never set foot in it again' the answer would be 'Only if grabber_fray , the twins and notanoptimist could come too.' I think at this point she assumes they will be leaving again some day, probably in a couple of years, because that's just how the universe rolls.
C. Your character is given the power to kill people simply by thinking of their deaths and twice repeating the word "good-bye." People would die a natural death and no one would suspect them. Are there any situations in which they would use this power?
Complicated. Steph would like to believe that the answer is 'never, no way,' but I think that yeah, she probably would, if she was mad enough and had the reason to hate someone. If she ever found out in detail what Harth is responsible for, for example. She'd probably hate herself afterwards, but if it was just a matter of whispering 'good-bye' she'd do it before thinking it through.
[If they can imagine themselves killing someone indirectly, could they still see doing it if they had to look into the person's eyes and stab the person to death?
Nope. That would involve Steph thinking about it, thinking about the act and its consequences, and she wouldn't go through with it.
Have they ever genuinely wanted to kill someone or wished them dead?]
Yes. See Steph's first appearance ever. I don't actually think, looking at the episode, that she genuinely wanted to kill her father -- she just wanted him out of her life, and was probably glad when Batman gave her another option.
D. What would constitute a "perfect" evening for your character?
A perfect evening. Hmm. For Steph-in-canon two years ago, it would have been an evening of kicking ass and taking names. For ShatterSteph, though ... I think probably an evening at the farm where nobody's hand gets cut off, nobody hates anyone else, everyone smiles and laughs and talks happily. The presence of notanoptimist is a given, as are grabber_fray , Hana and Loo. The kind of evening where she really feels like part of a community, a family almost, that she belongs to and is welcomed by. She never had that in Gotham -- not at home or with the Bats or even really with the Birds -- and she really, really likes it.
E. Would your character rather be extremely successful professionally and have a tolerable yet unexciting private life, or have an extremely happy private life and only a tolerable and uninspiring professional life? [Since so many people place great emphasis on a happy private life, why do people often wind up putting more energy into their professional lives? If you feel that their private life is more important to your character, do their priorities support this? Are they simply unwilling to admit that work is more important? Do they use work as a substitute? Do they hope professional success will somehow magically lead to personal happiness?]
Similarly to D ... I think CanonSteph would want to excel in her 'career' of crimefighting, because I don't read Steph as ever having plans for a future apart from that; and I think she has always been perfectly aware that it wouldn't lead to a long, happy life and grandchildren. And she didn't mind that. But since Eden and particularly since Shatter, she's coming to value family and friends more and more. She's grown up a little; she's not out for the next adrenaline rush any more, and she's started making longer-term plans and having long-term daydreams. And they don't involve any particular job or particular world -- Shatter is her second and Sokka's third, and she won't be surprised in the slightest if they find themselves on yet another in half a year or a year. So ... she'd rather be happy in her 'non-crime-fighting' life than be a successful Robin, these days.
F. If your character could wake up tomorrow having gained any one ability or quality, what would it be?
I actually think she would say no abilities. Steph's met stacks of metahumans, and these days she's a little bit proud and a little bit smug about being totally baseline human and still kicking ass. But qualities ... I think my Steph, if not CanonSteph, is very aware of her recklessness and really wishes she had less of a temper and thought about things more before doing them. Her tongue keeps tripping her into trouble. So -- quality she'd love to wake up with (but never will, because then she wouldn't be Steph): patience.
G. Your character has the chance to meet someone with whom they can have the most satisfying love imaginable - the stuff of dreams. Sadly, they know that in six months the person will die. Knowing that pain that would follow, would they still want to meet that person and fall in love?
Yes. ShatterSteph doesn't believe in permanence any more anyway.
What if they knew their lover would not die, but instead would betray them?
... still yes. Six months in the future is a long way away, and happiness now is difficult to resist.
[In love, is intensity or permanence more important to them?
... I don't think Steph has ever considered it. When she falls in love she falls totally, without reservation. (I'm thinking more of MilliwaysSteph here, who is a little older but not much smarter.) The thought of 'forever' is far too hard to think about when there's 'right now' to throw herself into.
How much do they expect from someone who loves them?
Steph has not had much love. Her parents, bleh. Dean: bleh. Tim loved her, and that was wonderful and she loved him back and they were so happy except that it was Tim and he kept secrets and that was hard to deal with but she loved him so it was okay... and then she landed in Eden, and fell into a different Tim's arms, and ... kind of got stuck. That Tim was older, had lived with her death for a year and a half, and was ... broken, fundamentally, by it. He became creepy, posessive, desperate; followed her around, stared at her all night, refused to let her take even the slightest risks. It turned very sour.
Steph's mature enough to know it isn't supposed to be like that -- love doesn't mean imprisonment, shouldn't turn her into something to be worshipped and protected. She doesn't know what it should be, really, but she wants someone (coughnotanoptimist cough) who lets her be herself, believes in her, and cares about her anyway. She knows what she doesn't want, but not really what she expects.
What would make them feel betrayed by their mate - indifference? Dishonesty? Infidelity?
All of the above, I think. Indifference particularly. Steph is never indifferent about anything and would have trouble comprehending why someone else would be, particularly someone who professed to love her.
H. Does your character prefer being around men or women? Do their closest friends tend to be men or women?
I don't think Steph minds, either way. At the moment her closest friends are Claire Bennet, Sokka, Mel Fray, and a giant pink robot called Thrust. (She hasn't really tried to get very close to anyone in Shatter -- she's subconsciously keeping herself apart from people, because she's sure she won't know them for long anyway. Mel and Sokka are exceptions because they've jumped worlds with her too; she was best friends with a different Claire in Eden, and it was easy to fall back into a friendship with this one; Thrust is just, well, Thrust.)
I. Would your character be willing to murder an innocent person if it would end hunger in the world?
No.
[Would it torment them more to have the blood of an innocent person on their hands or to know they let millions of people die?
I think just giving Steph that choice would shatter her. She'd never believe she picked the right option regardless of what option it was she picked.
What do they think of people who achieve great things by compromising their principles?
Steph had to fight hard to find her own principles and to learn what she would and wouldn't do; Idon't think she'd respect someone who didn't struggle the same way. That said, if the 'great things' they achieved were, idk, ending world hunger or something, she might respect them in a distant way -- but never want to be them.
Many are willing to give their own lives but not to take the life of another; is anything so important they would sacrifice their very soul for it?]
Other people are. Steph's only just started finding people who she belongs to and who belong to her. At this stage, there are two people she'd do anything for, including sacrifice her soul: Hana and Loo Fray, Mel's one-and-a-half-year-old twins. (There's also Mel herself, and Sokka (of course) -- but Steph wouldn't admit aloud that she'd do the same for them. They wouldn't let her, for one thing, and they'd probably all be very embarrassed and sheepish, and they'd have to mock each other a bit to ease the awkwardness and then forget all about it. But she'd still sacrifice her soul for them.)
J. What is their most treasured memory?
At the moment, and maybe always: this.
K. If your character knew there would be a nuclear war in one week, what would they do?
Warn people. Set out to disarm all nuclear devices everywhere. (Babs could totally do it.) Mel would be the first person Steph ran to tell; second Babs. She'd fling herself into a save-the-world mission. It's a Robin thing.
I may or may not get around to doing the other half of the alphabet later. Depends how bored I get at work tomorrow. :D
Questions from this page.
A. If your character were to die this evening with no opportunity to communicate with anyone, what would they most regret not having told someone? Why haven't they told them yet?
Steph would most regret ... not having told notanoptimist that he's a giant idiot and she loves him.
B. Would your character accept $1,000,000 to leave the county and never set foot in it again?
Not really applicable, because money doesn't mean much in Shatter. If the question were to be 'accept significant wealth to leave the world and never set foot in it again' the answer would be 'Only if grabber_fray , the twins and notanoptimist could come too.' I think at this point she assumes they will be leaving again some day, probably in a couple of years, because that's just how the universe rolls.
C. Your character is given the power to kill people simply by thinking of their deaths and twice repeating the word "good-bye." People would die a natural death and no one would suspect them. Are there any situations in which they would use this power?
Complicated. Steph would like to believe that the answer is 'never, no way,' but I think that yeah, she probably would, if she was mad enough and had the reason to hate someone. If she ever found out in detail what Harth is responsible for, for example. She'd probably hate herself afterwards, but if it was just a matter of whispering 'good-bye' she'd do it before thinking it through.
[If they can imagine themselves killing someone indirectly, could they still see doing it if they had to look into the person's eyes and stab the person to death?
Nope. That would involve Steph thinking about it, thinking about the act and its consequences, and she wouldn't go through with it.
Have they ever genuinely wanted to kill someone or wished them dead?]
Yes. See Steph's first appearance ever. I don't actually think, looking at the episode, that she genuinely wanted to kill her father -- she just wanted him out of her life, and was probably glad when Batman gave her another option.
D. What would constitute a "perfect" evening for your character?
A perfect evening. Hmm. For Steph-in-canon two years ago, it would have been an evening of kicking ass and taking names. For ShatterSteph, though ... I think probably an evening at the farm where nobody's hand gets cut off, nobody hates anyone else, everyone smiles and laughs and talks happily. The presence of notanoptimist is a given, as are grabber_fray , Hana and Loo. The kind of evening where she really feels like part of a community, a family almost, that she belongs to and is welcomed by. She never had that in Gotham -- not at home or with the Bats or even really with the Birds -- and she really, really likes it.
E. Would your character rather be extremely successful professionally and have a tolerable yet unexciting private life, or have an extremely happy private life and only a tolerable and uninspiring professional life? [Since so many people place great emphasis on a happy private life, why do people often wind up putting more energy into their professional lives? If you feel that their private life is more important to your character, do their priorities support this? Are they simply unwilling to admit that work is more important? Do they use work as a substitute? Do they hope professional success will somehow magically lead to personal happiness?]
Similarly to D ... I think CanonSteph would want to excel in her 'career' of crimefighting, because I don't read Steph as ever having plans for a future apart from that; and I think she has always been perfectly aware that it wouldn't lead to a long, happy life and grandchildren. And she didn't mind that. But since Eden and particularly since Shatter, she's coming to value family and friends more and more. She's grown up a little; she's not out for the next adrenaline rush any more, and she's started making longer-term plans and having long-term daydreams. And they don't involve any particular job or particular world -- Shatter is her second and Sokka's third, and she won't be surprised in the slightest if they find themselves on yet another in half a year or a year. So ... she'd rather be happy in her 'non-crime-fighting' life than be a successful Robin, these days.
F. If your character could wake up tomorrow having gained any one ability or quality, what would it be?
I actually think she would say no abilities. Steph's met stacks of metahumans, and these days she's a little bit proud and a little bit smug about being totally baseline human and still kicking ass. But qualities ... I think my Steph, if not CanonSteph, is very aware of her recklessness and really wishes she had less of a temper and thought about things more before doing them. Her tongue keeps tripping her into trouble. So -- quality she'd love to wake up with (but never will, because then she wouldn't be Steph): patience.
G. Your character has the chance to meet someone with whom they can have the most satisfying love imaginable - the stuff of dreams. Sadly, they know that in six months the person will die. Knowing that pain that would follow, would they still want to meet that person and fall in love?
Yes. ShatterSteph doesn't believe in permanence any more anyway.
What if they knew their lover would not die, but instead would betray them?
... still yes. Six months in the future is a long way away, and happiness now is difficult to resist.
[In love, is intensity or permanence more important to them?
... I don't think Steph has ever considered it. When she falls in love she falls totally, without reservation. (I'm thinking more of MilliwaysSteph here, who is a little older but not much smarter.) The thought of 'forever' is far too hard to think about when there's 'right now' to throw herself into.
How much do they expect from someone who loves them?
Steph has not had much love. Her parents, bleh. Dean: bleh. Tim loved her, and that was wonderful and she loved him back and they were so happy except that it was Tim and he kept secrets and that was hard to deal with but she loved him so it was okay... and then she landed in Eden, and fell into a different Tim's arms, and ... kind of got stuck. That Tim was older, had lived with her death for a year and a half, and was ... broken, fundamentally, by it. He became creepy, posessive, desperate; followed her around, stared at her all night, refused to let her take even the slightest risks. It turned very sour.
Steph's mature enough to know it isn't supposed to be like that -- love doesn't mean imprisonment, shouldn't turn her into something to be worshipped and protected. She doesn't know what it should be, really, but she wants someone (coughnotanoptimist cough) who lets her be herself, believes in her, and cares about her anyway. She knows what she doesn't want, but not really what she expects.
What would make them feel betrayed by their mate - indifference? Dishonesty? Infidelity?
All of the above, I think. Indifference particularly. Steph is never indifferent about anything and would have trouble comprehending why someone else would be, particularly someone who professed to love her.
H. Does your character prefer being around men or women? Do their closest friends tend to be men or women?
I don't think Steph minds, either way. At the moment her closest friends are Claire Bennet, Sokka, Mel Fray, and a giant pink robot called Thrust. (She hasn't really tried to get very close to anyone in Shatter -- she's subconsciously keeping herself apart from people, because she's sure she won't know them for long anyway. Mel and Sokka are exceptions because they've jumped worlds with her too; she was best friends with a different Claire in Eden, and it was easy to fall back into a friendship with this one; Thrust is just, well, Thrust.)
I. Would your character be willing to murder an innocent person if it would end hunger in the world?
No.
[Would it torment them more to have the blood of an innocent person on their hands or to know they let millions of people die?
I think just giving Steph that choice would shatter her. She'd never believe she picked the right option regardless of what option it was she picked.
What do they think of people who achieve great things by compromising their principles?
Steph had to fight hard to find her own principles and to learn what she would and wouldn't do; Idon't think she'd respect someone who didn't struggle the same way. That said, if the 'great things' they achieved were, idk, ending world hunger or something, she might respect them in a distant way -- but never want to be them.
Many are willing to give their own lives but not to take the life of another; is anything so important they would sacrifice their very soul for it?]
Other people are. Steph's only just started finding people who she belongs to and who belong to her. At this stage, there are two people she'd do anything for, including sacrifice her soul: Hana and Loo Fray, Mel's one-and-a-half-year-old twins. (There's also Mel herself, and Sokka (of course) -- but Steph wouldn't admit aloud that she'd do the same for them. They wouldn't let her, for one thing, and they'd probably all be very embarrassed and sheepish, and they'd have to mock each other a bit to ease the awkwardness and then forget all about it. But she'd still sacrifice her soul for them.)
J. What is their most treasured memory?
At the moment, and maybe always: this.
K. If your character knew there would be a nuclear war in one week, what would they do?
Warn people. Set out to disarm all nuclear devices everywhere. (Babs could totally do it.) Mel would be the first person Steph ran to tell; second Babs. She'd fling herself into a save-the-world mission. It's a Robin thing.
I may or may not get around to doing the other half of the alphabet later. Depends how bored I get at work tomorrow. :D