4. OFCs, in particular, are often criticized for being self-inserts - representations of the author in the story. Do you think your character is a direct reflection of you? In what ways?
I think the whole Girl Gang each gets a tiny slice of Merc, for sure. You get my social anxiety, and you get my body issues, and you get my sense of humor...I think on a certain level it's impossible not to do that. On a directly insertive level...it's funny, as much as I would like to think I do more work to hide this, I think the character who's actually the closest to me is...Marj. (Minus the boyfriend; I don't have one of those.) She's the person who always takes responsibility, who notices things before other people do, who maybe has a bad habit of putting other people first.
13. Characters have to come from somewhere before the story starts. Tell me about someone they trust before the story begins and why that trust exists.
I've worked out some Girl Gang backstories more than others - I know that Marj and Frankie were close in college and just haven't talked in a while, I know that Billie doesn't have a lot of close friends.
I know that I talk a lot about Joan's relationship with her uncle, but I think another character who's equally important in Joan's confidences is her Aunt, Micheline. Micheline Resco shocked society by marrying a man nearly thirty years her senior after painting his portrait. He's the traditional military type - she paints and organizes beautiful parties. They shouldn't work together, but they do, and Michi's slightly bohemian, 'I am responsible for you but I am not your mother' vibe lends itself to a different way to share secrets. If Joan were writing to someone in her life to confide about this crush she's experiencing, it would be Aunt Michi. Michi is the adult in her life who tells her it's okay to try things and fail at them.
I'm a 22 year old girl. I'm kinda short, blonde, with blue eyes and kind of a round face. I wear glasses too. My Myers-Briggs is INFP, and my sign is Leo. I'm a devout Christian but I'm super laid back about it. I love reading and writing and long, meaningful conversations with people. I'm an introvert through and through. I aspire to be a pastor. I love dogs and usually wear leggings and oversized sweatshirts or flannels. The fandom is BoB, and shipped with a guy :D
I FINALLY GOT TO YOU!!!!!!! WAUEYGFHAWDJFEG im so sLOW
The Character I See You As: JAMES MILLER. Listen can we talk about this kid for a minute? Super unimaginably graceful in the face of Cobb just being a hypocrite and shitting on him for no reason. Miller sees the injustice behind this attack, but despite it freaking does what Cobb asks just to make everyone happy. Besides, he’s humble but confident–he doesn’t need the badge to prove anything to anyone and omg? Doesn’t that just tell you the kind of BOY THAT IS. I love him. I love him 100%.
Your Three Best Friends: Babe Heffron, Eugene Roe, Popeye Wynn
The One You Don’t Get Along With: Frickin’ Hoobler. Hoobler is a good kid, don’t get me wrong, but he’s incredibly careless and sometimes even thoughtless in regards to the way he conducts himself. He brags when there’s no reason to and sometimes just puts in a little too much effort, rubbing you the wrong way. I mean, you like the guy, but sometimes you want him to chill for five seconds. OF COURSE WHEN HE DIES YOU FEEL BAD FOR EVER HAVING THOSE THOUGHTS THo…
Who I Ship You With: Floyd Talbert! He’s literally so good-natured. His nickname is Bunny, which is probably from how adorable he is (or maybe he bounces a lot who knows). Tab knows how to have fun, but he’s also incredibly dependable and leads the boys without necessarily “leading”. He doesn’t have the attitude of a leader like the rest of the platoon leader, but rather he is just “one of the guys”. And he prefers it that way. Also I feel like you two would get along because he wants to get you out and about having fun, but also you can sass him/keep him TOGETHER when he goes a lil overboard.
Wildcard: American Nurse in France/Aldebourne/conveniently stationed where Easy tends to be!
Lil Blurb: You have to perform last minute check-ups on the men. Most of them are grumpy at the unexpected delay in their jump. They’re exhausted from training, grumpy from being pulled from their free-time, and aren’t in the mood to flirt like they normally are. Not that you mind. You want to get this done just as quickly as they do, meaning you’re performing exams at a record rate. You know there’s a movie playing after this, and maybe a nice, warm, quiet pub you can run off to with your friends for the evening.
Popeye Wynn, one of your favorites, is unusually quiet, though he still gives you that slack-jawed grin and calls you “ma’am” every five seconds. He’s an easy, quick fix. Nothing wrong with him except maybe he’s a little too eager with whatever he does. You swear you’d hate to see him back here for any other reason than just checking up on one of his favorite nurses. His face is a welcome one, just like Babe Heffron (who is more than likely just there trying to harass the medics, especially Eugene Roe, who notoriously will not tolerate his antics).
One of your last boys is Floyd Talbert. Unfortunately the rounds went in alphabetical order, meaning he was sitting around waiting for quite awhile. Luckily for you, he’s as chipper as always, the bounce in his step indicating that he was not nearly as irritable as Joe Toye across the room. “Hop up, Bunny, let me make sure you aren’t too banged up since your last wrestling match with Sisk.”
Tab pulls a face and tabs your knee with the toe of his boot. “Listen, he caught me by surprise, alright? Don’t go around spreadin’ anything.” He cracks a grin anyway and you quickly inspect the bruise on his ribs from Skinny. “Hey, hey, hey, easy now!” He whines. “You aren’t going to stick me like last time, right? That wasn’t very nice, sneaking up on me like that.”
You grin, unwinding your stethoscope and reaching to check his pulse. “That’s all over with, you’re good, Tab. No needles. This is just making sure you didn’t catch the flu since I last saw you.” It wasn’t flu season, but he got the message.
“Hey, if I go wrestle Skinny and win, will you give me a kiss?”
Ah, there it is, the comment you’ve been waiting for. It doesn’t normally take him this long. “I’ll give you a lolly,” you counter easily, giving him a quick pat on the shoulder. “All clear, soldier.”
“Well, if I come back alive, can I buy you a drink?”
Well, that’s certainly a promise you’re willing to make. What kind of woman would you be to deny such a morbid request? And frankly, he’s grown on you. “Alright, that’s fair, Bunny.”
“Stop calling me that!”
“I’ll stop calling you that when you come back,” you tease.
