Character Back story: your six words

Take a character that you know a lot about—main character, villain, whomever.Using six words, describe your character's back story—it could be a phrase, it could be a motto. It should give us a concise idea about what the character's motivations are at this point in your story.

To use a popular character: Mother Gothel from Rapunzel—"Youth and eternal beauty are everything."

To us one of my own characters: Cassia—"Rules exist for one reason. Break 'em." (yes yes, I cheated myself)

• Gant- "Fate entwines. Do not fight it."
• Itou- "Kill for money, do it ethically."
• Holz- "Persist and spit on your foes."
• Dage- "Law is immutable. I enforce it."
• Gerem- "Lose yourself in revenge, become monstrous."
• Karr- "Win the fight, ask no more."
• Rosenstein- "Preserve yourself wherever you may live."
• Le Grane- "Do not shy away from necessities."

edited 12th May '11 10:33:35 PM by Morgulion

• Yuki: "Your death won't be in vain."
• Amaya: "Wherever you go, I will too."
• Leo: "Time for my first grand adventure."
• Lena: "Can I live without the hunger?"
• Mordecai: "How much money is in there?"
• Keaira: "To rule, I need more power."
• Tareth: "I suppose curiosity killed the cat."

• Asa: "Do and be what you must."
• Violet: "Life or revenge? Which is mine?"
• Al: "There's no one left for you."

edited 12th May '11 10:48:52 PM by KSPAM

Sounds interesting...

• Adanei: Does business with sibling, confuses parents.
• Matj'a: Left home for adventure, found boredom.
• Thom: Won't aim to be brother's shadow.
• Zina: Fought evil by doing mundane stuff.
• Lou: Made other people's happiness your solace.
• Anton: Family are those you stuck with.
• Bans: Ridiculed yourself to lead by example.

edited 12th May '11 11:04:24 PM by SilentReverence

• Current protagonist: Breaks and empties, fills, still broken.
• Current love interest: Things going pretty well, except world.
• Current best friend: Doing great, not doing his best.
• Current antagonist: Worships their father, wipes bystanders' minds.
• Next protagonist: Self centered "smart, interesting" teenage typicalness.
• Next love interest: In love, twice, without consciousness continuity.
• Next best friend: Doesn't know he wasn't always there.
• Next antagonist: Poorly thought-out strawman brought to life.

• Melville: "Do what's right, no matter what."
• Rio: War's over; pick up the pieces.
• Nafuna: "I ain't leavin' you again, brother."
• Simon: "To rebuild this world, rebuild justice."
• Yakutsk: Unwittingly sparking revolutions since 1921.

• Valentine: Is it valuable? Then steal it.
• Vash Vega: Come at me! I'll take it!

Anhelia: In undeath I must now atone.
Soot: Eternity lacks purpose without hated maker.
Mindala: Worth is in service to others.
Yvgenia: Princesshood is a gilded, boring cage.

edited 13th May '11 1:17:33 AM by Morven

Selecting some of my vast horde of protagonists:

• Bad Ron: Wants to be villain badly, and is.
• Evil Alex: The only goal is absolute power.
• Gary: Likes things simple, but isn't himself.
• "Joe Schmoe" III: Will not make late father's mistakes.
• Khong: Retired monkey ninja isn't out yet.
• Ambassador Qrlil: Unready for the job? Too bad.
• Dr. Steven: This is For Science!, Luddite evildoer!
• Mr. "?": My name? The pronunciation's classified, sorry.

edited 13th May '11 2:10:22 AM by nrjxll

• Akiko: "I refuse to be held back."
• Mikami: "I won't let you give up."
• Inagi: "I know where my place belongs."
• Mizuki: "I wanna just be a kid."

Hmm...

Justin: "Scars last forever."

Ian: "From a rat to a hunter."

Percy: "Two losts clears the way.

Devver: "He did die at sea.

Kevin: "Nobody liked him, but then...

• Beowulf: Femmy boy, only dead dad cared
• Jack: Clone left, became his own person
• Borghild: Died 50 years ago, now Valkyrja
• Red: Wore red jacket, attacked by werewolves
• Vivian: Can move metal, won't relinquish ability

edited 13th May '11 8:14:54 AM by annebeeche

• Kiyoi: Old man cleans out the government.
• Akura: Asshole helps Kiyoi clean the government.
• Viktor: Aristocrat also helps clean the government.
• Vince: Immortal watches them clean the government.
• Lien: Hides government cleaning from the people.
• Matt: Blind father assassinates; pays the bills.
• Eli: Mad Artist hates Vince's guts.
• Rafi: Befriended by Vince's enemy; gets better.

• Pendragon : "Fallen angels all want a heaven."
• Satsuki : "Infatuation is the meaning of life."
• Hanagumo : "I have finally reached total enlightenment."
• Yukishi : "Heaven's death makes it too boring."
• Stradivarius : "I want to escape the loneliness."
• Lancelot : "Can't I live peacefully for once?"
• Mikha'el : "I deserve pleasure over everyone else."

• Dhana : "I can't die. So you will."
• Jewel : "Weapons, friends, are all I need."
• Kuhaku : "I can see your soul. Terrifying."
• Azubuike : "Time is my strengh. What's yours ?"
• Nikola : "For Science!, humanity, and my friends."

edited 13th May '11 2:45:30 PM by DhanaRagnarok

- Tre: "I'm not abandoning my friends. Ever."
- Nora: "It's like I'm surrounded by whackjobs."
- Grassy: "Being a epic nerd is fun!"
- Max: "Where're all the challenging mooks at?"
- Allison: "Peace. Love. Swords. And soda too."
- Cale: "Geeky? Yes. But I don't care."

edited 13th May '11 5:54:03 PM by Tre

Looks like I'm up. Here goes:

• Deias: "Drive forward with guts. No regrets."
• Ocelot V: "Not just human...I'm an animal!"
• FX: "I hate being bored. Entertain me."
• Shino: "Gathering data, like a little honeybee..."
• Cobalt: "Might as well save the world."
• Ursa: "Don't worry, sweetie. Mommy is unstoppable."
• Harley: "The road is mine. Got it?"
• Raiz: "I'm a soldier. Not a kid."
• Alice: "Demons...well, isn't that just aces?"
• Tony and Beat: "I'm on vacation..." "Muwhahahaha! Chainsaw time!"

edited 13th May '11 6:01:41 PM by Voltech44

Well.

• Bai Mao: She died for me. Nobody else.
• Toshi: She died for you. I'll too.
• Takeo: He saved me. I'll save him.
• Rieji: I betrayed him. Now he's dead.
• Jiro: I failed. I don't deserve her.
• Shaonu: He tries. That's why I'm here.

edited 13th May '11 6:20:51 PM by SalFishFin

-Ludin: Naive and self-righteous since birth.

-Ulyphia: Ignored the existential elephant.

edited 13th May '11 6:43:06 PM by FelixGauche

Aaron: "I'll save my father, just see."

Karlo: "I'll always be by Aaron's side."

Natalia: "My command will end this war."

Stephanie: "My aim is for you guys!"

Richard: "To help my friend, that's all..."

Raymond: "Wiping this world of artificial life!"

Joshua: "Serving Ray, any way I can."

Alexandra: "What 'reason'? I just kill 'em!"

Benjamin: "Freedom... that is what I want."

Beth: "My life? It's okay, I guess..."

Vijay: "Repeat after me, all is well."

Damien: "Huh, whazzat? She's not my girlfriend!"

Renee: "He's my best friend. Boyfriend, though..."

Kay: "Lost everything. Getting everything else. Savvy?"

edited 15th May '11 11:02:40 AM by Nadir

For my three main characters:

Tarn - The unjust will pay in blood

Ian - They took our world, our dignity.

Fiona - We are our own jailers.

edited 15th May '11 12:19:12 PM by Toastehh

Assorted characters from Endless Conflict. Try to find the meaning of each.

• Mathias Watkins: I'll do anything to protect Samantha.
• Tenchi Yamanaka: Discipline's the right path. Follow it.
• Daniel: One day, you too will know.
• Daniel (alternative line): Be downrange at your own peril.
• Colonel Barry Smith: When in doubt, call an airstrike. *
  ^{Referring to his knowledge of all things tactical. When in doubt or in need of assistance, don't be afraid to call in support.}
• Captain Roy Jansen: Kick the tires, light the fires.
• Swordmaster Khornan: Live honorably, serve selflessly, die gallantly. *
  ^{That last one might just be a spoiler.}
• Boren: Only the worthy may defeat me.
• Anzan: Respect your friends, respect your foes.

• Darren: molestation family breakdown causes self-loathing.
• Emma: no inner self, breaks fourth wall
• Kate: annoyingly perfect, ends up happy anyway
• Joshua: parricide is fine, don't threaten Andrea
• Andrea: scared of chaos, evil(?) Darren rescues
• Danny: imaginary, time to destroy Darren's mind

edited 25th May '11 3:25:19 PM by delloro