Yes, we're still here! ^_^
For this year's pre-NaNoWriMo prompts, Kianah decided to suggest something a little different: namely, placing our characters into everyday situations and seeing how they would react. Since several members of our little group are working in more historical (or historically-inspired) settings, the modern trappings have helped us to get to know our characters a little better, no matter where they wander.
Her ideas include:
- How would your character react to walking into a glass door?
- How do they respond to having their name misspelled on a Starbucks coffee cup?
- How would they react to finding fanfic of themselves?
- Would they try an online dating site? What might their profile look like if they did?
- What would their Facebook page look like?
- Tell the story of any nicknames they've had, how they got them, and how they react to them.
- If they went to a masquerade ball, or a Halloween party, what would they wear?
- Their first laptop or cell-phone experience?
- Pick two characters at random. Have them navigate their way out of a maze. (If you have NaNo buddies you're working with, you could also borrow a character from a friend's story and see how they would fare with one of your characters!)
In prep for my ongoing story, I've decided to try these scenarios with a couple of my characters; the results are below.
Plate-glass door:
The loud thump and the creak of the
door on its hinges as it rebounded echoed through the restaurant,
momentarily muting the sounds of conversations as virtually every
head turned toward Johnathan, hunched over in bewilderment as much as
pain. Rubbing his nose and wincing as he began to search for his
glasses, he barely noticed the murmurs that grew to fill the silence;
a waitress eventually made her way from the bar over to check on the
man in the doorway, now searching the floor around the entrance for
his pince-nez. Recognizing Johnathan as a frequent customer and
wanting to spare him further embarrassment, she calmly redirected the
prospective diners away from the preoccupied man, gesturing for the
maitre d' to take them around and seat them.
As she turned back to assist the man
who had unexpectedly slammed into the door, she realised that he was
no longer alone. A second man held out the glasses to the first, who
accepted them gratefully, and with a faint blush. Sliding the glasses
back onto his nose, Johnathan gasped as he took a closer look at the
dark-haired stranger, his blush deepening as his lips moved silently.
Moving with surprising grace, the other man helped Johnathan to his
feet, giving a radiant smile to the waitress as they swept past,
holding open the plate-glass door and escorting him out. Even as she
turned back to her customers, she paused for a moment, shaking her
head: how odd, she thought; Johnathan had been alone when he came to
the restaurant. He was -always- alone, in fact; she'd never seen him
bring a date to Sakura at all. And yet here was a stranger, treating
him like an old friend. In fact, she hadn't even seen the stranger
come in at all...
Starbucks:
“There really does seem to be one on
every corner,” sighed Johnathan as he and Raziel rounded the block,
strolling past the coffee shop sandwiched between the organic market
and the trendy feline wig boutique. Raziel smiled, tugging a little
on the other man's arm; “Why don't we have a little coffee? It's
been so long since we've been able to talk like this...” Unable to
resist the other man's charm, Johnathan reluctantly let himself be
led through the doors of the cafe, past the tile reliefs and
pseudo-inspirational sayings plastered amidst advertisements, past
the stainless-steel countertop where Raziel
nudged Johnathan into line.
They
waited for several minutes, murmuring quietly as Raziel pointed out
coffee mugs and pumpkin themed trinkets , trying to distract his
increasingly fidgity companion. As they reached the register, the
younger man set his hands on the counter, craning to see the board
behind the barista. The barista in turn stared at him over her
horn-rimmed glasses, raising a manicured eyebrow as she tutted
expectantly. At length he pointed at the board, frowning at the
stylised lettering; " a Mocha Valencia, please," he
muttered. "Whip?", the barista responded, her voice utterly
at odds with her bored expression. "Uh, no, thank you", he
replied; " Soy? Almond? Skim?", she pressed. Johnathan
shook his head, acutely aware of the other customers' attention.
Raziel
placed a calming hand on the other man's shoulder and purred at the
barista: "Make that two of those". Lighting up, she
hurriedly nodded and pulled two paper cups from the stack, Sharpie in
hand. "What name should i put on them?", she asked; "
Johnathan, with an 'h'...", the younger man offered. She
scribbled on the cups and set them down nearby, gesturing for them to
wait with the throng at the end of the counter. Sounds of steam and
pressure brewing emanated from the other side of the bar, punctuated
with the rattle of a blender as the drinks came out rapidfire from
the far side of the counter.
Curled
in Raziel's coat, Johnathan barely noticed the sound of his name
until the other man began to move slowly toward the counter to
retrieve their drinks; slipping cupholders onto both drinks, they
glanced around for a place to sit, but none were to be found. Spying
an empty umbrella outside, they made a beeline for the presumably
well-shielded table and sat down, chairs scraping as they pulled them
closer together.
The
gusts of autumn wind tugged at their clothing and the umbrella,
though, and an inside table grew more welcome by the minute; as soon
as one opened, they scurried back inside, settling into the plush
chairs as they finally prepared to take a sip. A soft chuckle from
Raziel stopped Johnathan in mid-sip; “Wha-?” he gurgled, trying
to swallow the scalding beverage without much success. The other man
pointed at the cup and its Sharpied scrawl across the top; “I think
they misspelled your name, John.” With a sigh, he held up his own
cup, discovering that the barista had indeed mangled his name--
again.
He glared at the coffee distastefully, muttering even as Raziel
shrugged and took another sip of his mocha. “It isn't that big of a
deal, dear; the spelling is unusual, after all; besides, it's better
than if they tried to spell my
name on the cup. Imagine what that would look like?”
Johnathan
frowned again, taking another tentative sip; “Why did we bother
coming here again?,” he asked. Raziel leaned forward to brush his
hand against the younger man's cheek, smiling; “Because I wanted to
sit here with you.. that's nice, at least. Isn't it?” Johnathan
blushed a little and nodded, reaching to touch the other man's hand.
“Indeed it is; even so, don't you think they should know how to
spell someone's name?,” he added, bending to rummage in his bag.
Raziel's eyebrows flew up as his companion retrieved a scrap of
something soft and furry, setting it on the table. “John, are you
doing what I think you're doing?,” Raziel asked, a hint of warning
in his voice as Johnathan grabbed a napkin and began to hurriedly
scribble a series of arcane symbols on the paper. He placed the
object in the centre of the impromptu ofuda, brushing it with his
fingers as he murmured a spell.
Watching
a smoky shape rise from the tableau, the older man shook his head,
more bemused than worried at Johnathan's spellcasting; “That's not
a very lucky charm after all...” A flash of pale blue light
signalled the end of the spell, and in place of the napkin stood a
small, shimmering rabbit; it wiggled its nose, scratching an ear with
a hind foot before abruptly bounding off the table and charging for
the space behind the bar. As the pair rose to their feet, taking
their cups and heading for the exit, they could already hear the
commotion developing as all the cups on the countertop flew off the
surface with surprising force. The resultant screaming cut off by the
closing of the door, Johnathan turned to his taller companion and
smiled; “Perhaps we should
get coffee here more often...”
Feel free to add your own responses, or additional prompts!! We'd love to see them!
