Tuesday, June 28, 2016

Beautiful People: Childhood Edition

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So I'm cutting it a bit close with this post, yes. But it's still June, and anyway, like Gandalf, this post isn't late- it arrived exactly when I meant it to. (Mostly.) LOTR references aside, this month's questions focus on the character's childhood, which should be fun. I'll be answering with Emma Alyron, and, like last month, we'll be doing this proper interview style.

(Emma: A-are you s-sure about th-this? M-maybe you sh-should ask G-Gwen or s-someone e-else instead.
  
Me: Yes, I'm sure. I told you earlier: all you have to do is answer the questions.

Emma: I d-don't know . . .

Me: You'll be fine. Velone, back me up. 

Emma: *after some nudging from Velone, a purple, kitten-sized dragon sitting on Emma's shoulder* W-well . . . a-all r-right. I g-guess I can t-try to answer . . .)  

1. What is your first childhood memory?
Emma: Um . . . I r-remember Mama s-singing to me. She w-was a-always singing, or h-humming, or s-something. And I'd t-try to s-sing with her s-sometimes . . . but m-mostly I just l-listened.


2. What was your best and worst childhood experiences?
Emma: . . . C-Can I p-please answer a d-different question?

3. Fine. We'll come back to that one. What was your childhood home like?
Emma: D-do you m-mean Alyron Village? O-or my h-house?

Whichever you prefer to tell us about. 
Emma: I d-don't r-really want to t-talk about the V-Village . . . but I l-liked our c-cottage . . . it looked m-mostly like the other cottages, b-but Mama had l-lots of flowers p-planted outside instead of j-just f-food plants. A-and she k-kept white c-curtains on the w-windows, a-and a l-loom and sh-shelves full of yarn and f-fabric in the f-front room. I think we h-had the p-prettiest cottage in the V-Village. 

4. What’s something that scared you as a child?
Emma: *whispering* L-l-lots of th-th-things sc-scared me . . . m-most of th-th-them s-still d-do.
*Velone gives Emma an intent look and seems to be silently saying something which makes Emma perk up a little* 

5. Who did you look up to most?
Emma: Mama and Gwen.

6. Favorite and least favorite childhood foods?  
Emma: My f-favorite food was- s-still is- fresh berries and cream. L-least f-favorite . . . I d-don't know. I r-remember that I w-wouldn't eat rabbit for a w-while, but I d-didn't n-not like it . . . I j-just felt sorry f-for the b-bunnies.

7. If you had your childhood again, would you change anything?
Emma: Y-yes . . .


*waits*

Emma: Wh-what?

Are you going to elaborate? 

Emma: I-I . . . I g-guess I'd j-just try to b-be b-braver . . . or s-something l-like th-that . . .
  
8. What kind of child were you? Curious? Wild? Quiet? Devious?
Emma: I w-was quiet. O-obedient. Sc-scared of e-everything, l-like I s-said . . .  I l-liked st-staying inside a-and w-working with Mama a-and s-singing. N-Nightshade c-called me d-dull as a d-dishrag. I th-think she m-might've been r-right, b-but . . . I l-liked w-what I did .  .

9. What was your relationship to your parents and siblings like?
Emma: *halfhearted smile* W-which o-ones? I h-had l-lots . . . I loved Mama. Loved her m-more than anyone. I d-didn't s-see much of F-Father . . . I d-don't think he r-really n-noticed me, I was so q-quiet. And I w-was in awe of G-Gwen and Jake and Dea . . . and s-scared of N-Nightshade and J-Jared . . . Th-there w-were a f-few siblings I l-liked, but n-not many . . . only the ones who were q-quiet l-like m-me.

10. What did you want to be when they grew up, and what did you actually become?
Emma: I d-don't know w-what I wanted to be . . . but I kn-know w-who I w-wanted to b-be: Mama. Or m-maybe G-Gwen. I'm n-not either of th-them . . . I'm s-still just me . . . b-but I'm n-not r-really grown up yet ei-either.


Great. Now, remember, we still have one question left: best and worst childhood experiences.

Emma: Oh-h-h . . . D-do I h-have to a-answer?

I'd like it if you did. You can at least do the best experience, right?

Emma: W-well . . . I l-liked l-lessons with Mama, when she taught me t-to s-sew and kn-knit and c-crochet and a-all th-those k-kinds of things . . . And w-when I made my first sk-skirt a-all by m-myself.


See, that wasn't so hard. What about the second half of the question? Do you think you can answer that?

Emma: I g-guess . . . *looks down and whispers* The w-worst experience of m-my ch-childhood . . . I g-guess when m-my ch-childhood sort of e-ended . . . w-when Mama d-d- *chokes out the word, trying not to cry* Died.
*Velone nuzzles Emma's cheek comfortingly, humming to her, and glares at me for upsetting his Emma*

Aaaand that's where the questions end. I think I shall back slowly away from the angry dragon now . . . Thanks, Emma, for answering, and thanks to everyone else for reading. I hope you enjoyed that!
-Sarah (Leilani Sunblade) 

10 comments:

  1. Aw, poor Emma! I'd like to see where her story ends up.

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    Replies
    1. Emma is actually from my Berstru Tale series, most of which was on the old UG before it crashed and is now on Google Docs. I can give you the link if you like. (Though Emma doesn't come in until book three.) And her story continues in book 4, which I'm currently editing.

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    2. Send me that link if you please, Ma'am! I never did a good job keeping up with writing threads on the old UG, but I'd love to read your stories. :D

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    3. Here you go: http://api.viglink.com/api/click?format=go&jsonp=vglnk_14673329780689&key=bbb516d91daee20498798694a42dd559&libId=iq305rlr010004m6000DAmpunozz0&loc=http%3A%2F%2Fheedtheprophecies.proboards.com%2Fthread%2F32%2Fdesk-narnathron-tales-leilani-sunblade&v=1&out=https%3A%2F%2Fdrive.google.com%2Ffolderview%3Fid%3D0B_ZjW0E891VlflBlZWMtYXJWbkY0SmxjOGxpblpGcmNxM3ZlOVFzWkotTFNfekpiZjRzaU0%26usp%3Dsharing&ref=http%3A%2F%2Fheedtheprophecies.proboards.com%2Fboard%2F3%2Fwriting-threads&title=From%20the%20Desk%20of%20the%20Narnathron%3A%20Tales%20of%20Leilani%20Sunblade%20%7C%20Whitehall%20Castle&txt=Archives%20of%20the%20Narnathron
      (Yes, I know, it's long. But it's also legit. I promise.)

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  2. Poor girl. She still seems quiet and scared of everything. I chose a character whos mother died in her childhood too.

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    Replies
    1. Yes, that is Emma . . . she has more courage than she realizes, though. And your poor character . . .

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  3. Aw, Emma!
    I'd like to hear more of her story, see how her character grows.

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    Replies
    1. Emma appreciates the sympathy. And I'm glad you enjoyed the interview. If you'd like to read her story, I actually have it available on Google Docs- I could give you the link.

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    2. Here you go: http://api.viglink.com/api/click?format=go&jsonp=vglnk_14673329780689&key=bbb516d91daee20498798694a42dd559&libId=iq305rlr010004m6000DAmpunozz0&loc=http%3A%2F%2Fheedtheprophecies.proboards.com%2Fthread%2F32%2Fdesk-narnathron-tales-leilani-sunblade&v=1&out=https%3A%2F%2Fdrive.google.com%2Ffolderview%3Fid%3D0B_ZjW0E891VlflBlZWMtYXJWbkY0SmxjOGxpblpGcmNxM3ZlOVFzWkotTFNfekpiZjRzaU0%26usp%3Dsharing&ref=http%3A%2F%2Fheedtheprophecies.proboards.com%2Fboard%2F3%2Fwriting-threads&title=From%20the%20Desk%20of%20the%20Narnathron%3A%20Tales%20of%20Leilani%20Sunblade%20%7C%20Whitehall%20Castle&txt=Archives%20of%20the%20Narnathron
      Yes, the link is ridiculously long. Google Docs is weird like that sometimes. Sorry.

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I'd love to hear your thoughts! But remember: it pays to be polite to dragons.