Subject: My characters.
Author:
Posted on: 2014-08-06 18:51:00 UTC

Starting with the easiest to translate, Gall is a bully. She probably used to live somewhere she had to be tough to get by—maybe someplace rural, where the only other kids for miles were rowdy boys—and hasn't quite figured out that her fists and cruel remarks are neither a necessary nor acceptable way to solve problems and gain respect. It doesn't help that she struggles with reading and writing, although she understands perfectly well when things are explained to her out loud and she can explain them back. She might join a girls' wrestling or hockey team to channel some of her aggression, though she'd complain about not being on the boys' team—she's just as good as any boy, after all, and they get all the attention.

Nume wouldn't have perfect recall in the real world, since that's not really a thing, but he would still have exceptional memorization skills and book smarts at the expense of any discernible social aptitude. He could easily get straight As and rock the academic competition scene, but finds himself incredibly bored by simply absorbing and regurgitating facts and doesn't care much about pleasing anyone, so he cuts corners and spends as much time as possible on things that stimulate his imagination. His only steady form of social interaction is a tabletop RP group, which both admires and loathes his ability to quote the rulebooks at them. He doesn't set out to be a rules lawyer, but he can't always resist the impulse to point it out when someone is doing something wrong. Because he looks exactly like the huge nerd he is—skinny, gangling, thick glasses to correct his farsightedness, zits, and a voice in the process of changing—he's often picked on by people like Gall, who don't care that nerdy is in now.

Ilraen would start out as a freshman, bright and friendly, but naive due to being homeschooled up until now. His efforts to please people and make friends would probably result in his good nature being taken advantage of for some time, before either the teachers or more morally upstanding students put a stop to it. He's interested in team sports, but doesn't quite have the physical condition to be any good at them. He also likes science, technology, and sci-fi, and might potentially attract Nume's interest upon making a working model of the Enterprise or Serenity or something. With Ilraen being too clueless to be offended by Nume's callousness at first, they'd start hanging out and gradually realize that their skills and interests complement each other. Woe to Nume when Ilraen eventually realizes that girls are pretty and starts spending more time with them. Ilraen also grows up into a steady, responsible guy, making it a point to look out for kids like him who might be taken advantage of or victimized in any way. Ultimately, he's a lot more interested in people than things.

He can't hold a candle to Jenni, though, whose sole mission in life is to get to know absolutely everyone and fix their problems. You could almost call her a social butterfly, except that she's not doing it for show. She's smart, but struggles with grades due to spending all her time on her friends instead of books and papers—except for her bio, A&P, psych, and sociology classes. She hasn't quite decided whether she wants to be a doctor or a psychologist yet, but you have to go to med school either way, and she's all for that. Then again, she might just toss it all out the window and join the Peace Corps or something. Travel, adventures, and helping people—awesome! She's an idealist, and hasn't quite realized that the real world won't change overnight once she's on the scene, and she can't always help everyone she meets. Her electives include choir and art.

Derik is a musician through and through. He's in choir and also plays multiple instruments. His voice is changing, but he's managing it better than most, and refusing to give up on the upper register. He's adventurous and friendly, keeps himself in shape, and would play sports if he could do that and be in the marching band at the same time—sadly, rehearsal times often conflict during football season. Tragically, in his junior year, he winds up in a motorcycle accident that leaves him with serious burns on the right of his face and upper body. He's out of school and generally withdrawn for some time, and when he comes back, he doesn't resume his music classes, since performing in front of people is more than he's ready to take on when going to class is bad enough. (Unlike dragonriders, high schoolers tend to stare and whisper at serious deformities; not great for one's self-confidence.) He still sings and plays privately, maybe making YouTube recordings for fun, and he'll gradually let people back into his life—maybe former choirmate Jenni, who would be one of the first to let him know she doesn't care about stupid things like appearances and wants to make sure he doesn't turn into some sort of bitter, basement-dwelling psychopath.

My, what a lot of text. I think that'll do for now!

~Neshomeh

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