Beautiful People for Writers: July 2015 Edition

See all of the Beautiful People July Posts here

Hooray! This is my third "Beautiful People for Writers" post (hosted by the fabulous ladies of Paper Fury and Further Up and Further In. If you want to know what the meme entails, click here. It's basically questions that participants answer for their book characters, in the hope that it will help them develop said characters (and it's fun). 

This month's theme was a little fluid, and Cait put it better than me here:

WELCOME WELCOME! Time for our July edition of Beautiful People! We have a sort of lazy summery set of questions for you this month (apologise to those, like me, who are shivering in the cold). Also, if you write fantasy and need to tweak any of the questions (like what’s their favourite “food” instead of “ice cream”) GO AHEAD. We still love the rebels.

For consistency's sake, I am continued with "The Last Coffee Shop," the novel from my previous two entries: You can read a little more about it here and here. 

My primary characters are Mads (Madeleine) Capot, coffee obsessed owner of the shop, and Luc Garou (not his real last name), the bounty hunter (not exactly a bounty hunter) who takes her hostage and drags her into his pursuit of the notorious intergalactic thief, Jupiter Jive (not his(?) real name).

This week, I think I'll let Jupiter Jive answer the questions, in interview format. Though he isn't *exactly* in the book, his crimes and notoriety are the catalysts for the novel's action, and his ties to the primary characters are much deeper than anyone realizes. (Gifs are from Tumblr.com)

So, without further ado 

May I present the fabulously clever dancing thief, Jupiter Jive!*

Image Credit

Interviewer: Call me R.

R. Turns to Camera, pulls up list of questions.

Jupiter Jive (JJ) sits in a dark room, wearing a vibrant purple face mask with dark eyeholes. Shadowy hair drifts around the forehead of the mask. Nothing else is visible, nothing that would differentiate this room from any other dark room.

R. Clears throat and taps mic: "Jupiter Jive, I presume"

JJ inclines head, waves a gloved hand.

R. "For interview purposes, should I refer to you as a "he," as is claimed by your supposed crew members (all of whom are currently trying to kill you)?"

Jive nods once, "As you wish." His voice is low, husky, pleasant, and definitively masculine (or he possesses a great voice sim),

R, turns pages. "Okay, then here we go:"

R. "First question. What's your favorite ice cream flavor?"

The mask has zero expression, of course, but Jive makes a funny sound, as if he is surprised.
"Uhm, ice cream? No idea, I've never heard of it."

R, ruffles pages again, "Do you have a favorite dessert then, or a favorite flavor?"

JJ. "I prefer spice to sugar, truth be told. But I do have a weakness for blueberry muffins. And not sim blueberries, real ones. I think there's only one place left to find them."

R. Nods. "Springs Village, I've heard of it. Next question." Reads:"You are getting ready for a night out. Where are you going? What are you wearing? Who will you be with?"

JJ. Snickers, crosses fingers in front of chin."Wouldn't you love to know?"

R. Rolls her eyes. "Really?"

JJ. "If I'm going out, I always dress for the occasion. If I'll be climbing rooftops, sleek lines, no loose fabric. I always have to be ready to run, and it has to be comfortable."

R. looks up, "For the dancing."

JJ. "Yes, the dancing. If I'm going to a formal party, uninvited, I have to wear the latest fashion. This varies from planet to planet, so I have to do research. You have to remember that I only frequent places with cameras, so whatever I wear has to look good from every angle. And as for who I'm with? Different every night. Crew members, associates, you can't hang around with anyone for long, if you want to stay in business. Backstabbing and messiness, not cool."

R. scratches head, "But you're on the run, aren't you?"

JJ. "So they say."

R. shrugs. This is going nowhere, time for question #3. "Uhm, what kind of footwear, if any, do you prefer? What do you consider comfortable, and what's agony?"

JJ. leans forward. "Is this for a fashion mag?"

R. Shakes head. "No, not really."

JJ. Lifts foot up to the screen. "Look all you want." 

He is wearing knee-high boots of soft scarlet leather (or leather-like) material. His feet are big, an eleven or twelve. The boots look well worn, but the seams are tight, nicely made.

R. *winces* "Aren't those a little, loud, for cat-burglary?"

JJ. shrugs, and like all his movements, it is somehow graceful. "I wear what I want. As for comfort? I'm adaptable. I've crammed my feet into every sort of shoe in the galaxy. As long as I can dance, who cares?"

R. "Hmm. Okaaaaay. So, do you have any birthmarks or scars? If so, where are they, and how did you get them?"

JJ. gasps, then places a hand to his forehead. "So forward. Are you asking to see them?"

R. Flushes uncomfortably and scowls at the mask. "You're ridiculous. Answer the question."

JJ. laughs. "That's the point, love. If you want people to count you out, never let them take you seriously."

R. Continues scowling.

JJ. sighs, then casually unties the mask, letting it fall to his lap with a soft thud. His dark hair drifts across his face, though he continues to stare at his lap.

R. *clears throat* "Dramatic much?"

JJ. Looks up, his eyes are brilliant, startling green. He grins, flashing white teeth that are all a little pointed. A couple are crooked. His smile is blinding, and even under three-day scruff and with heavy circles under his eyes, it is obvious that Jive is extraordinarily attractive.

R. Blinks. Can think of nothing clever to say, so is silent.

JJ. "You probably read about it on that wanted poster. I've got scars everywhere." He smirks. "Hard living. When everyone you know would rather kill you than say hello, things can get rough." He shakes his head. "Let's just say, there have been times when I was noticed." His eyes narrow, and for a moment, he looks feral. "But the people I gave scars, well, they didn't recover."

R. Blinks again. Shifts, uncomfortable. "Next question.What kind of music do you listen to? Does it change depending on your mood?"

JJ. "Ahhh, music. It's the only other pleasure I take in this life. I like anything with attitude, that you can dance to. Whether it's stringed instruments, or heavy electronics, it doesn't matter. But hey," he winks, "I can dance to anything."

[R. the writer notes this, beside her Jupiter Jive Spotify Playlist, link here.**]

R. "Do you have any musical talent, or play any instrument?"

JJ. "Other than my spectacular sense of rhythm, not really. I can sing a little, strum a few notes, enough to get by. But I'd rather be out on the dance floor."

R. "What kind of book could we catch you reading?" Thinks, "Does this type read, really?"

JJ. "Darling, you can't 'catch' me doing anything, that's the point. I'll read a few pages of anything, but I like history best. You can learn a lot from failure, and history is full of that. And," he smiles a bit, looks almost sheepish, "I always wondered what everything was like, before it was all destroyed. Springs Village seems a little idyllic, to be honest."

R. "How do you spend your time off?"

JJ. "Dancing the night away. Obviously. But I don't really have much time, off. Too many people out to get me, and too many shiny things to borrow."

R. Disapproving frown. "You're pathetic."

JJ. "I prefer charming."

R. "Moving on. It's the last day of the week, middle of the day. What are you doing?"

JJ. "Depends. Probably planning a heist. I don't really have a routine. Predictability gets you caught. If it's been a good week, I'll be contacting fences and dealers, though I keep most of what I take." He grins, "Or I put it back. Depends on my mood."

R. Continues trying to look disapproving. "Is there anything you want to be free of?"

JJ. Leans back in his chair, staring until his eyes become unfocused. "Oooh, tough question. Before, recent events, I would have said, well," his gaze clears and he cocks a brow, "Do you believe in curses?"

R. Silent, refuses to be drawn in.

JJ. "I would have said my curse, which is very nasty, very real, and the nature of which I prefer to keep to myself. But lately, there's a couple of people I might rather be rid of. Besides," his eyes narrow, and for the first time, he looks truly shifty, "There are definite upsides to my curse."

R. Rolls eyes. "Okay, well that was pointlessly mysterious and Pirates of the Caribbean-ish nonsense. Thank you for your cooperation. Is there anything else you'd like to add, Mr. Jive?"

JJ. Faces the camera, smiles a little. He salutes and puts his mask back on. "Uhm, wise words? Not my strong suit. But a tip, don't believe anything I say."

TRANSMISSION ENDS

R. Leans back, vaguely disgruntled. "Well, so now my whole Beautiful People post is meaningless. Thanks a lot. Next time I'll interview Mads instead!"

So you made it to the end. Here's Adam West dancing as Batman as a reward.

As always, thanks for reading :) Do you have a favorite dancing character? Do you like to dance? Sound off in the comments.

And if you did a BP, leave a link in the comments so I can check it out!

Footnotes:

*Often imitated, never duplicated.

**I have playlists for all my books and characters. The Jupiter Jive Playlist is my current writing soundtrack (I don't even like all the songs, but they work, so it helps me write. Strange.).