Beautiful People || March || Bethany's Character

Hurray for another set of Beautiful People questions!

Using Go Teen Writers March challenge of writing 300 words a day for 30 days as incentive, I've been pretty productive with writing this past week. And I'm trying something new too. Instead of typing out my first draft where backspace is oh so tempting to use, I'm writing it out by hand. So far so good, the only thing I really miss is having the computer keep track of my word count. But I seem to write about 200 words a page, so I'm going off that for now. :) 

I have my outline in the composition book so I can go to it for reference, and then I decorated the cover of my new 250 page notebook. I wonder if that will be enough pages? Probably not. :) 

My story has grown in leaps and bounds since last month, with characters deepening and plots thickening. Which makes me look back at the February post as rather pathetic, especially concerning Quintus. But oh well, maybe he and Porcia will get better introductions later.

Today, I shall introduce you to Milo, the protagonist.

1) What first inspired this character? Is there a person/actor you based them off?

      A Sermon and a Sunday school lesson, although Milo is mostly from the sermon. Our pastor was talking about how slavery in Bible times was quite a bit different than slavery in America. He mentioned that slaves could be doctors, and that was the first inspiration for Milo.

        As for being based off a person, here's what Milo looks like. All I know of this fellow is that he's  a British singer, and his name is George Barnett. But George makes the perfect Milo. :)

Obviously the clothes are a little modern for Milo.

2) Describe their daily routine.

    Well, Milo's main duty in the household is bringing his master's son to and from school, which takes up most of his day, and then in the evenings he helps with whatever work needs doing. But two nights a week he studies under a doctor and helps with any emergency situations that happen those nights. Once his training is done, he hopes to be the physician for the family he works for.

3) If they joined your local high school, what clique would they fit into?

   I think he would try to stay out of cliques and probably have a mix of friends from all different ones. He'd probably be a bit of an outsider.

4) Write a list of things they merely tolerate. Ex: certain people, foods, circumstances in their lives…

   Junius Cassius (his master's son).

   Self absorbed people in general.

   hmmm...

   If he had a worse master, his life as a slave might not be so tolerable, but as it is he's quite content with it... I can't think of what else to add to this list!

5) How do they react in awkward silences?

   If the other person isn't talking to him, he assumes he is no longer needed, and leaves. As a slave, he's silently in the background most of the time.

6) Can they swim? If so, how did they learn? 

    I don't think he can swim. If he can, he hasn't told me when he had the chance to learn.

7) What is one major event that helped shape who they are?

 The best one was when Varinius Cassius purchased him and brought him into his family. Milo, a young boy at the time, with (spoilers!) a lame foot and the brand of a fugitive, was certainly not what someone would look for in a slave. However, Varinius took pity on him and gave him a second chance at life. Because of that, Milo is very loyal to the family, and it was after the death of Varinius's wife that Milo decided to be a doctor.

8) What things do they value most in life?

    He values the close relationships he has in his life, as he's not one to give his trust easily. And of those, his relationship with the One True God ranks highest. Nothing else he has compares to that treasure. 

9) Do they believe in giving other people second chances? Do they have any trust issues?

   This is an interesting subject for Milo, because he's had his trust majorly broken, but he's also been given many second chances. Learning to give others the same mercy he's received will be a lesson he learns throughout the book. He does have trust issues, like I said above, but once people have gained his trust, he is fiercely loyal.

10) Your character is having a rough day…what things do they do to make them happy again? Is there anyone they talk/interact with to get in a better mood?

   Milo having a rough day? That's pretty much every day of the week! He has a few friends who can brighten his mood, especially Porcia, who's like a little sister to him. Otherwise, giving someone else a hand helps put him a better mood too, and gets his mind off his own problems.