An Interesting Little Activity...

[Nearly Headless Mandee]

For figuring out your characters! I decided to make a new thread for this because it's not 100% in character, but not 100% out of character either. It's both! I thought it could be fun, so if anyone else wants to do this...here it is!

Basics first:


• Who is your character?

• Does your character have a birthmark? Where is it?

• What about scars? How did he get them?

• Who are your character’s friends and family? Who does he surround himself with?

• Who are the people your character is closest to?

• Who does he wish he were closest to?

• Where was your character born? Where has he lived since then? Where does he call home?

• Where does your character go when he’s angry?

• What is his biggest fear? Who has he told this to? Who would he never tell this to? Why?

• What makes your character laugh out loud?

• When has your character been in love?

• Had a broken heart?


Some unconventional questions:

• What is in your character’s refrigerator right now?

• On her bedroom floor?

• On her nightstand?

• In her garbage can?

• Look at your character’s feet. Describe what you see there. Does he wear dress shoes, gym shoes, or none at all? Is he in socks that are ratty and full of holes? Or is he wearing a pair of blue and gold slippers knitted by his grandmother?

• When your character thinks of her childhood kitchen, what smell does she associate with it? Why is that smell so resonant for her?

• Your character is doing intense spring cleaning. What is easy for her to throw out? What is difficult for her to part with? Why?

• It’s Saturday at noon. What is your character doing?

• What is one strong memory that has stuck with your character from childhood? Why is it so powerful and lasting?

• Your character is getting ready for a night out. Where is she going? What does she wear? Who will she be with?


An inverview with your character:

• What do you consider your greatest achievement?

• What is your idea of perfect happiness?

• What is your current state of mind?

• What is your favorite occupation?

• What is your most treasured possession?

• What or who is the greatest love of your life?

• What is your favorite journey?

• What is your most marked characteristic?

• When and where were you the happiest?

• What is it that you most dislike?

• What is your greatest fear?

• What is your greatest extravagance?

• Which living person do you most despise?

• What is your greatest regret?

• Which talent would you most like to have?

• Where would you like to live?

• What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?

• What is the quality you most like in a man?

• What is the quality you most like in a woman?

• What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?

• What is the trait you most deplore in others?

• What do you most value in your friends?

• Who is your favorite hero of fiction?

• Whose are your heroes in real life?

• Which living person do you most admire?

• What do you consider the most overrated virtue?

• On what occasions do you lie?

• Which words or phrases do you most overuse?

• If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

• What are your favorite names?

• How would you like to die?

• If you were to die and come back as a person or thing, what do you think it would be?

• What is your motto?

[Nearly Headless Mandee]

Basics first:


• Who is your character?

Alfred F. Jones

• Does your character have a birthmark? Where is it?

While it's not 100% a birthmark, it has been present since birth. Alfred has a stray tuft of hair at the top of his head that always sticks up, no matter how much he or anyone else tries to get it to stay down. The hair? Nantucket. =P

• What about scars? How did he get them?

-Takes a deep breath- I'm just gonna list them...

Burn scar over his heart - Burning of Washington, War of 1812 (though the actually burning was in 1814...figure that one out XD)
Large, jagged gash scar that spans his entire midsection - Civil War
Gash scar on the top of his foot - Pearl Harbor
Gash scar on his neck - Flight 93 crashing in Pennsylvania
Two identical gash scars side by side near his ribs - World Trade Center attacks
Gash scar slightly above his navel - The Pentagon

• Who are your character’s friends and family? Who does he surround himself with?

The only 'true' family he still has is his brother, Matthew, aka Canada. He may tease his brother a lot, but Alfred considers Matthew to be one of his best friends. Prior to the American Revolution, Alfred considered his father figure/older brother to be Arthur Kirkland, aka England, and still has a lingering affection for him (as a brother...sorry USUK shippers >.< ), even if he doesn't show it much.

The man that Alfred considers to be his father above all else is George Washington, and by proxy, he considers Martha Washington to be his mother. This is why, whenever asked about his (so far as he knows nonexistent) parents, he will name them George and Martha.

Some friends? Chaya (Israel), Erin (Ireland), Akaroa (New Zealand), Yong Soo (South Korea), Desna (Antarctica).

Then there's Ivan (Russia), who's sort of a friend, sort of a rival, sort of a former worst enemy, sort of a...well, what he is depends on the day, really.

• Who are the people your character is closest to?

Wasn't that...sort of addressed above?

Out of the people listed above, though, that would be Matthew, Chaya, Erin, and Desna, most likely.

• Who does he wish he were closest to?

Well, he wouldn't turn down the idea of bringing George and Martha Washington back from the grave and catching up with them. He'd also kinda like to improve things a bit between himself and Akaroa, although he doubts things are going to be the same after what happened in the 80s.

• Where was your character born? Where has he lived since then? Where does he call home?

Funny thing...Alfred doesn't know where he was born, just that it was on the North American continent somewhere on the East Coast, most likely around Roanoke in present day North Carolina. As for where he's lived since then? All over the freakin' place. Every single one of the 50 states. He's particularly drawn to certain areas though, like Boston, Washington D.C., New York, LA...big cities, in other words. Though he doesn't mind getting away from it all occasionally either.

• Where does your character go when he’s angry?

His happy place. Really, though? The rare times he can't push his anger down with smiles, he wants to be left alone with his thoughts. So...as far away from people as he can get.

• What is his biggest fear? Who has he told this to? Who would he never tell this to? Why?

It's changed throughout time. But if he had to choose his biggest fear now? The sheer destructive power contained in one nuclear warhead. It is both fascinating and utterly terrifying. He has not told ANYONE this, but the closest one to probably figure it out is Kiku/Japan, and if you don't know why...seriously, did you learn ANYTHING about World War II?

• What makes your character laugh out loud?

England's eyebrows.

• When has your character been in love?

He has been in four noteworthy relationships (thus far plotted XD). Sarah Whitaker (a normal human girl circa the American Revolutionary War), Erin Patrick (Ireland), Ivan Braginski (Russia), and Chaya Yedidyah (Israel)

• Had a broken heart?

Once, with Sarah. The other two he didn't get quite close enough to to leave anything more than a few cracks, and with Chaya, he's still with her (even if they are going to have issues soon).


Some unconventional questions:

• What is in your character’s refrigerator right now?

Ground beef (a must have), mustard, ketchup, a carton of eggs, a gallon of milk, a package of American cheese, a jar of pickles, bacon, several TV dinners, ice cream, microwave pizza, taquitos, maple syrup (for when Mattie comes over), beer, an assortment of different sorts of pop

• On his bedroom floor?

Clothes, random papers of varying importance (note - Given what he is, some of these papers are of TOP SECRET importance...and yes, he's the type that would just leave them lying around), a Captain America plushie, various fast food wrappers

• On his nightstand?

A lamp, and his glasses/Texas while he sleeps. He doesn't keep much else there.

• In his garbage can?

More fast food wrappers

• Look at your character’s feet. Describe what you see there. Does he wear dress shoes, gym shoes, or none at all? Is he in socks that are ratty and full of holes? Or is he wearing a pair of blue and gold slippers knitted by his grandmother?

On a usual day? Gym shoes. His socks are worn, but not to the point where they have holes in them.

• When your character thinks of his childhood kitchen, what smell does he associate with it? Why is that smell so resonant for him?

The smell of charred bread. Why? Because England cooked for him and that was the USUAL smell.

• Your character is doing intense spring cleaning. What is easy for him to throw out? What is difficult for him to part with? Why?

Oh hey, something addressed in the series! Stuff that's easy for him to part with? I actually see it as hard for him to part with a LOT of old things of his. I see him being highly nostalgic when no one's looking. That said, old worn clothes and crap like that would be thrown out right away. Outdated electronics that have been replaced by new models (mainly because he'd have no room in his house otherwise).

Difficult for him to part with? Like I said, the older it is, the more likely he'll find it difficult to part with. As seen in the series, he has bittersweet memories associated with anything from his days with England. The toy soldiers, the suit, the musket...yes, he still has those. He also has a plethora of old movies, and a picture of him with every single president since photography was invented. Most of them have never been seen by the public eye.

• It’s Saturday at noon. What is your character doing?

Saturday at noon? He's likely just getting up, unless there was an early meeting or something he needed to be up early for.

• What is one strong memory that has stuck with your character from childhood? Why is it so powerful and lasting?

There are two that spring to mind. One is from the series - The scene where England/Arthur presents him with a chest of toy soldiers. The other is one night when he thought he heard noises under his bed and even though Arthur looked annoyed, he went with Alfred to check under the little colony's bed to make sure that there was nothing underneath there. I think it's pretty obvious why both of these are lasting memories, especially when you take into consideration that Arthur had a lot of business to take care and wasn't around for Alfred like a normal parent.

• Your character is getting ready for a night out. Where is he going? What does he wear? Who will he be with?

It largely depends on where he's at! But he tends to go for high adventure and high excitement, so likely a big city, or somewhere where he can do something that brings on an adrenaline rush, like skydiving. He'd wear whatever's comfortable (likely jeans, a t-shirt, and tennis shoes), and he'd be with people close to him. Likely other nations, as he tends to be closest to them, but he has a few human friends as well, and has even been known to drag presidents out on adventures (usually with them in disguise though).


An inverview with your character:

• What do you consider your greatest achievement?

Getting my independence. Seriously. You know how powerful Arthur was at the time? I FOUGHT against that and won. And he finally recognized me as an equal at last.

• What is your idea of perfect happiness?

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say world peace. I know it ain't gonna happen, but really, that'd get rid of a lot of worries, wouldn't it?

• What is your current state of mind?

I'm doing pretty good!

• What is your favorite occupation?

Superhero! ...what do you mean that's not a real occupation? What the hell? Well, if I can't pick superhero, I'm gonna pick some other heroes. How about firefighters. MUCH respect to them after 9/11. Good job, bros.

[Note - I'm slightly biased here...my dad's a fireman XD]

• What is your most treasured possession?

Gah, most treasured possession? I have so many! I'd say that book of pictures though. It's got a picture of me with every president since pictures have been around. Which reminds me, I still gotta one for the Obamarama...

• What is your favorite journey?

Going down to Antarctica would have been awesome if it weren't for nearly freezing my balls off. My flag might be on the moon, but I've never been there myself...or in space for that matter. I need to fix that!

Crap...ya know, this is a really hard question for a nation to answer...I've been all over the place.

• What is your most marked characteristic?

I hear a LOT of people saying that I'm loud and never shut up. I don't see what their problem is! I mean, I just have a lot to say! What's wrong with that?

• When and where were you the happiest?

...if I have to be really honest? Some of my earliest days as a nation were the best ones. All the founding fathers still around, before things started getting too crazy. After the Articles of Confederation fiasco though. DEFINITELY after that.

• What is it that you most dislike?

Commies and terrorists

• What is your greatest fear?

...why would you think the hero would fear anything? Being forgotten

• What is your greatest extravagance?

The Statue of Liberty is pretty badass

• Which living person do you most despise?

That's damn hard. Uh...who's Iran's boss? Or North Korea's?

• What is your greatest regret?

...

[Note - The answer is the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. He would never actually come out and SAY that, though, except under very specific circumstances.]

• Which talent would you most like to have?

Aww damn, there's all sorts of awesome powers...I think I'd pick flying though. Yeah, flying.

• Where would you like to live?

D.C. and New York are probably two of my favorite places. But seriously, I love all of my 50 states!

• What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?

• What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?

• What is the trait you most deplore in others?

• What do you most value in your friends?

• Who is your favorite hero of fiction?

• Whose are your heroes in real life?

• Which living person do you most admire?

• What do you consider the most overrated virtue?

• On what occasions do you lie?

• Which words or phrases do you most overuse?

• If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

• What are your favorite names?

• How would you like to die?

• If you were to die and come back as a person or thing, what do you think it would be?
Like Russia, I'm gonna have to go with a national symbol and say bald eagle.

• What is your motto?

[Ivan Russia Braginski]

Basics first:


• Who is your character?
Ivan Braginski

• Does your character have a birthmark? Where is it?
Nope not really.

• What about scars? How did he get them?
He has a million. Russia has been in a nonsensical number of wars, and about 4 civil wars. You figure it out.

• Who are your character’s friends and family? Who does he surround himself with?
Natalia(Belarus) and Ukraine are his sisters. Though he would far rather spend time with Ukraine being she doesn’t want to marry him.

Alfred(America)…..is sort of an ex, sort of a friend, sort of a complicated wtf is this.
Mattie(Canada), the adorable roommate, is a current interest of sorts
Erin(Ireland) and Desna(Antarctica) are definitely friends with benefits
The Baltic states are ex-roommates, and don’t really like Ivan all that much. They’re terrified of him.

• Who are the people your character is closest to?
Probably Belarus though she’s filled with cray cray and Ukraine
• Who does he wish he were closest to?
He’s not really sure. His sanity maybe?

• Where was your character born? Where has he lived since then? Where does he call home?
Russia obviously, he’s lived in most of it but usually he stays in the capital city

• Where does your character go when he’s angry?
Bars mostly

• What is his biggest fear? Who has he told this to? Who would he never tell this to? Why?
He fears General Winter, but that’s beside the point. Being stuck alone forever, he’s told nobody and probably never will unless horribly drunk or sick. It would make him far less scary if he admitted it.

• What makes your character laugh out loud?
Mostly the suffering of others

• When has your character been in love?
Once.

• Had a broken heart?
Well it does fall out of his chest…

Some unconventional questions:

• What is in your character’s refrigerator right now?
Vodka, maple syrup (Canada), Soda (Canada), fruit juice, Borsht, Pancakes (More Canada), cheese, meat, a million frozen dinners…

• On his bedroom floor?
Nothing, Russia is very tidy

• On his nightstand?
A lamp, scarf when he sleeps, and vodka

• In his garbage can?
Empty bottles of vodka and maple syrup

• Look at your character’s feet. Describe what you see there. Does he wear dress shoes, gym shoes, or none at all? Is he in socks that are ratty and full of holes? Or is he wearing a pair of blue and gold slippers knitted by his grandmother?
Your average white socks and black boots

• When your character thinks of his childhood kitchen, what smell does he associate with it? Why is that smell so resonant for him?
Anything Ukraine made smelled good and is associated with childhood kitchen.

• Your character is doing intense spring cleaning. What is easy for him to throw out? What is difficult for him to part with? Why?
Empty bottles and unusually worn clothes are easy to part with because they are garbage. A scarf given to him by Ukraine will never be thrown out ever because she gave it to him, and probably anything from soviet union days being that he had people there all the time back then and he kind of misses it.

• It’s Saturday at noon. What is your character doing?
Probably working or sending a report to his boss. He is definitely drinking vodka though.

• What is one strong memory that has stuck with your character from childhood? Why is it so powerful and lasting?
When Ukraine gave him her scarf, he still has it, because she is his sister and takes care of him. <3

• Your character is getting ready for a night out. Where is he going? What does he wear? Who will he be with?
Probably a bar, wearing: a t-shirt, scarf, and jeans, and more than likely by himself.

An interview with your character:

• What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Hm, getting out from under the Tsar’s probably, though it hasn’t improved all that much unfortunately.

• What is your idea of perfect happiness?
I...don’t know.

• What is your current state of mind?
Is morbid a state of mind?

• What is your favorite occupation?
Honestly? Soldier, I found it far more fun than I probably should have.

• What is your most treasured possession?
My scarf

• What or who is the greatest love of your life?
Vodka

• What is your favorite journey?
None of them were particularly remarkable

• What is your most marked characteristic?
Probably my creepiness

• When and where were you the happiest?
During the time of the Soviet Union

• What is it that you most dislike?
Having to listen to bickering

• What is your greatest fear?
An eternity in an empty house, having to stop drinking

• What is your greatest extravagance?
My house probably, it’s huge as hell

• Which living person do you most despise?
There’s several. Israel is on that list for when she’s being a brat…Alfred likes to be on that list sometimes as well depending on what nonsensical thing he’s doing now or when his leaders blatantly insult me. Belarus goes on this list when she tries to marry me or chase me with knives scary lady.

• What is your greatest regret?
The fall of the Soviet Union

• Which talent would you most like to have?
I’m perfectly okay with teleporting actually.

• Where would you like to live?
Russia :3

• What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
When the rebels jumped me and cut out my heart…

• What is the quality you most like in a man?
For some reason I like blonde hair…

• What is the quality you most like in a woman?
Independent and not scared easily

• What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
Everything I do is creepy even when it’s not supposed to be

• What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Undeserved arrogance, stupidity, bratty, dependent… the list could go on

• What do you most value in your friends?
Hum, probably the silly things they do and the company they bring

• Who is your favorite hero of fiction?
None come to mind

• Whose are your heroes in real life?
I’m very conflicted on this.

• Which living person do you most admire?
I don’t know probably my sister Ukraine for how hard she tries to not depend on me.

• What do you consider the most overrated virtue?
Intelligence

• On what occasions do you lie?
When I need to

• Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
Become one with mother Russia, da?

• If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
Hm….less scars

• What are your favorite names?
Er…fuck if I know.

• How would you like to die?
I’m not sure I can really ‘die’ per-say but let’s go with beheading.

• If you were to die and come back as a person or thing, what do you think it would be?
Probably a bear, sort of national symbol

• What is your motto?
Workers of the world, unite!