1. What moment in your character’s life was the most scarring/difficult and how has that moment shaped them into who they are now?
This is cliche as hell, but two interlinked events-his mum's death and his sorting into Slytherin-have basically sculpted Nicholas Mulciber into the person he is today. Had his mother not died, Mulciber might have gone on to know a life without his father, a life without the pressing importance of blood purity. He would have lived alone with his mother for several years before he came to Hogwarts and the pair would have lived on a modest income. Mulciber would have been shunned by the people he calls acquaintances or mates now, like Avery and the Blacks, both before and after entering Hogwarts. He would have been confident enough to ask the sorting hat to put him in Ravenclaw instead of Slytherin because keeping his father pleased wouldn't have been a concern. He might have befriended Benjy Fenwick and become Quidditch captain and turned out to be an outstanding member of society who eventually joined the Order and stopped Voldemort from taking over the world.
But Mulciber's mother did die. He was left to live with his father and cared for by nannies who couldn't keep up with him. He was made to plan his actions around what would keep him on his father's good side and sacrifice the things he wanted and the thoughts he thought on several occasions just to keep from making his father angry. Without his mother around, he no longer had the only person who had ever supported and encouraged him. Still, he'd had her just long enough for those seeds to be planted, the ones that were supposed to show him the power of free will and thought. With her abrupt death, the seeds stopped growing. Mulciber was left to struggle with them and try to decide on his own if it was worth watering them and helping them grow so that he could become his own person, or whether he should blindly follow his father's lead as he had always thought to do.
Had Mulciber been sorted into Ravenclaw, he might have been able to pick those seeds back up again and replant them in his mind. He might have been able to face this difficult decision with the help of others who would have been genuinely concerned and helpful when it came to such an important dilemma. Instead, with Slytherin, his father's teachings were only reinforced and the bits of knowledge and hope his mother had given him were stamped down until they were nothing but little whispers, left to rot in the back of his brain until they could surface at the most confusing times. The Sorting Hat had debated for a solid minute on which house to put Mulciber in, and he had been so very tempted to ask for Ravenclaw, but the fear of how his father might react kept him from doing so. This was the first significant moment when Mulciber chose to respect his father's wishes above his own and adopt his ways of life, something that would affect him until his dying day.
2. How does your character handle friendships? Are they bad at keeping in touch, clingy, dismissive, too self-centered to really pay attention?
Mulciber has few real friendships, only acquaintances and peers. His only real mate is Avery, who has stuck by his side from the time they were sorted into the same house in the same year. He has little trouble keeping up with Avery because the two have always been drawn to each other and end up spending most of their time together, between dorm life and classes. He looks up to Lucius and Rosier, but he would hardly call them mates. If anything, they are superiors, role models. His only other mate is Narcissa Black, who has been present in his life from the time he was a child. He has a hard time keeping up with Narcissa these days because their priorities are different, as were the ways they came to determining them.
All other relationships Mulciber has held have been of little to no importance to him. He doesn't keep up with relationships unless they can provide him some sort of immediate satisfaction, help him in his goals for the future, or they are easy to maintain because of convenient location. He doesn't like getting close to people, so his dismissive nature with relationships has never bothered him.
3. What does your character value above all else?
He doesn't have a fucking clue. This is one thing Mulciber struggles with. He wants to respect himself and be happy with who he is as a person. He's simply not sure what the best way to do this is or what to put first. He admires others who have figured out what they want from life, whether it be Narcissa and her relationship with Lucius, or Andromeda and her freedom to be with Ted despite his blood status. He respects the both of them for knowing what they want and going after it. What Mulciber wants changes from day to day because he's not sure what it is he values or what should be his absolute top priority.
4. Does your character internalize their emotions, or are they very open and expressive of these feelings? How does this factor into their relationships with other people?
Mulciber internalizes everything. Most people see him as expressive because he has no problem mouthing off about blood status and bullying, but this is hardly an expression of what's going on in his head. It's only a side effect, an explosion of the frustration that comes with internalizing any and all serious conflicts that come his way. The debate over his priorities and values is one thing that Mulciber has internalized for months, as has the constant grief that came with his mother's death and the difficulties he had with his father. It's easier for him to bury things away and hope the he eventually goes numb while acting out every now and again to blow off the steam that comes from holding it all in than it is for him to express his feelings and possibly face rejection or disappointment.
5. What hurts your character the most? What is the one thing that never fails to upset them or get under their skin?
Mulciber hates people bringing up things he's done in the past that are/were less than satisfactory. He's spent his entire life trying to be anything but a disappointment, and reminders of times he was one irritate him to no end because he remembers that he failed.
6. To what extent is your character willing to stand up for others? How do they do this, if so?
Mulciber will stand up for himself and that's about it. He respects his superiors and that is it.
7. Imagine your character is in a conflict with another. Do they turn to their friends or family for advice, let someone else handle the situation? Do they work to find a peaceful solution themselves, or do they take matters into their own hands? Have they always used this tactic, or has something happened that has changed their approach to conflict?
Mulciber takes care of it. He never goes to anyone for advice unless it's on a long term problem, and then he usually goes to Lucius, Avery, or Narcissa because he feels that he can trust them (though less so Narcissa these days). He's always been a smart arse, and that will always be his first instinct. If things get heated enough, he'll go for a few hexes without being phased.
8. How easily manipulated is your character? Are they someone who believes lies and promises easily, or that looks at these things with a wary and clever eye?
Mulciber is very careful about whom and what he believes. He only goes along with what the Death Eaters and people like his father say, and even then, he questions it. He doesn't get close to anyone, so he's never tempted to believe something he might not normally believe.
9. What do you want your character to discover that they haven’t yet been exposed to or don’t yet understand? What is one thing you really want to see happen for them?
I just want him to grow the fuck up and be evil already.
10. Is there anything you wish you would have done differently with your character after considering these questions, or are you happy with your character and how they’ve developed?
I don't think I should have Mulciber at all. I don't think this is how he's meant to be and I think I've made him something he's not. I haven't taken the time to fully develop all of the plots I'd planned to get him to where he needed to be, and he's come out half-baked as a result. I tried to be too artistic with him when he should have been a simple character. He's nothing like his bio. I've got him soul searching instead of torturing Muggleborns. Like, really? Idk. Just take him away before I change my mind D: I don't know what to do with him anymore. He's in a rut and I can't get him out.
