10 questions to ask your character (it's 21, but I'm breaking it up in parts)

So , I guess my writing blurbs will start now. I opted in for writing prompts thanks to The Write Prompt and I figure it's best to avail myself of said prompts to get my mind going. 

Also, I feel it'll be a welcome break from editing. 

The character I'll 'ask' the questions to is Janan Sandersson; the leader of the United States Assassination Squad, via the Corporation.

1. What is your greatest physical attribute?
Janan: Physical attributes, huh? You mean what I like on my body? That's asking a lot. My body has gone through a lot, and I'm still learning to love things about it. Oh...that wasn't what you asked. Sorry about that. Um...I like the scar I have from the bottom of my neck and past my right clavicle. Shows that when push came to shove, no one could get rid of my stubborn ass.

2. What do you hate about yourself?
Janan: Ooof. If I knew we were doing this, I'd cancel my time with the therapist this week. Well, since this came up in the session, I'll broach this subject. As much as I love getting the money to help me live, it's supremely fucked up that I get it by killing people. Yes, the people do have it coming to them, but as a model? It's wild. And not wild in a 'hey, this shit is litty' way, but just 'how did we as a society think this shit was cool' way?

3. What's your darkest childhood memory?

Janan: I've half a mind to charge you for me baring my soul to you like this. Let's see...darkest childhood memory. Er...d'you mind if we circle back? Or just skip it altogether?

4. Who do you love more, your mother or father?

Janan: Alright, who in the family is putting you up to this? I love them both equally! Mom's always been there for me, and Dad? Well, he taught me how to get by in a world that has no problem shitting on brown skinned women. *laughs* Thanks to him, I know my way around knives more than a woman theoretically should. Yeah...Mathilda and Bassem are good people. 

5. Did you grow up with pets?

Janan: Oh me? Nah. Not in Mom's house. 'It'd be another mess to clean,' she said. Didn't stop me from feeding any feral cats around the house, though. It's not that Mom disliked animals, y'know. She loved them. Just...not in the house. 

6. Do you remember your first kiss?
Janan: First kiss, huh. Oddly enough, it was with my best friend and now teammate James. We grew up together and we were curious about the whole venture. Growing up, we were never told much about the concept of kissing and we were led to believe kissing is how you got kids. Slipshod parenting, but what can ya do? We saw folks kiss and we were wondering, 'what if it's all trash', y'know? So, we agreed to give each other a quick peck on the lips when we were eight. Considering how I'm not talking about a progeny here, it's clear we were had education-wise. 

7. How did you lose your virginity?

Janan: Whoa. This is some serious whiplash. I'll tell it though. Hopefully it can be a cautionary tale for other femme folks. It happened when I was in college. I saw that sly little look you gave me; I was a bit of a sheltered child. Anyway. There was a guy I was interested in, and I guess the feeling was mutual. We were dating for a bit and decided that we should progress to well...y'know, sealing the deal. Oh, I wish you'd have seen it. We did dinner at his place, candlelight, all that. So we finally get to bed. He hops on top, gives a few piss poor thrusts, rolls over and calls it a night. Well, after the shock wore off, I walked home. Thankfully my dorm was about a few blocks away, but that was...yikes. He called me the next day to ask where I went. I made up an answer and left it at that. We broke up less than two weeks later. Thankfully that was the first and last time we had sex. Well, if you'd call that sex anyway. It was definitely an object lesson for me; be vocal about what you want. Because if you're not, people will try to pull all types of shit over you.

8. Did you enjoy high school?
Janan: 'The best four years of your life.' Whoever said that must have been smoking pure uncut Columbian coke. I was an awkward fuckin' teen. Full of emotions and no fucking way to get them out, save for studying. That was the only thing I could really focus on, y'know? That is, until Dad suggested I get a membership at the local YMCA to get my feelings out. Totally normal instead of talking out your feelings, right. Just punch them away. Bullies at school? Hit the heavy bag. Teachers giving you shit about family lineage and perceived idiocy? Strap on the gloves and go a few rounds. Didn't help that I didn't have the sarcasm and quick wit I do now. Like, for example. There was a kid that gave me no end of shit in high school that went by the name of Tarquin. Yep. I see the look on your face. The look that says 'who the hell would name their kid something from the age where the letter s looked like the letter f' or something like that. I somehow didn't have it in me to flame the absolute hell out of someone like that. Well, I guess stuff comes back around, you know? Turns out that Tarquin came up on the hit list. Infiltrating his company, seducing him and then trapping him in a shipping barrel was a damn fine way to have some form of closure. Well, him realizing why it was happening and who did it to him was that extra hit of dopamine to the veins. Heh. 

9. What did you want to be when you grew up? 

Janan: Ah, hopes and dreams. I had those. Well, I did before teachers did their level best to grind that out of me. Let's see...at one point, I honestly wanted to be a teacher. I was told that I didn't have the temperament to be a teacher and 'I would fail immediately to keep up with the schooling'. Didn't matter that my grades were above average, just...I was told I wasn't suited for it. They didn't know that I was and am a very spiteful human being. So I kept up my grades, sure. Kept them up and when I graduated, I told them to get fucked when they tried to glad hand me on the stage. 

10. Have you ever lost someone?

Janan: Who hasn't? But I guess you're asking about my life in general. That's all you've been asking. 

Anyway...loss. Um...losing my great grandmother was a bad hit. She lived with Mom and I. Dad was off doing his diplomat thing and having most of the generations under one roof was a good idea. Oh, she was lively for a 95 year old. She still went for walks, she ruled the kitchen with a shaky yet iron fist. I learned most of my cooking skills thanks to her. Mary Jean McCree-Warren was a damn fine woman. One day, she wasn't up and out of her bed at asscrack hours like we're used to. I remember waking up and immediately going to her room. She was sitting up and covered with her quilt, looking so small...so frail. Like her age decided to come down on her with full force. Mom walked in with me and we sat with her on the right side of the bed. Her hand reached out and rested on mine. Although she was a little quiet, I remember what she said clear as day. 'Don't let anyone make you feel less than you are. You have a voice that can get people to sit up and take notice. You just need to find it.' She smiled at me, then Mom. She tried to squeeze my hand with whatever strength she had left, closed her eyes and sighed one last time. That...that's a lot to deal with as a ten year old. Can...can we take a break now?

[will continue this in the next blog post]