Teaser Tuesday: Character Profile
Good early morning, fellow imaginers, and happy Tuesday! It’s been cold, wet, and dreary around these parts—perfect for some writing! Today, we are going to be continuing our series of character profiles, bringing you interviews from the world of Metamorphs! We will be looking at one of the defining characters in the series, Belle Lecroix, who is more than just a potential love interest to our hero: she’s by far the most gifted student on the team! A type-A perfectionist, Belle expects nothing but the best from both herself and her teammates and helps push Tristan to becoming a true leader. Here is a bit of background information to get us started:
Name- Belle Lecroix
Alternate: Ariel
Age- 15
Physical attributes- she is athletic, slightly taller, and built like a swimmer. Long, wavy, black hair and brown eyes and mocha skin.
Hollywood dream cast- Laura Harrier, better known as Peter Parker’s love interest in Spiderman:Homecoming. IMDB
Fictional Interview
- What is your life like now, and if you could change anything about it, what would that be?
- Belle: Thank you all for having me as a guest today! It really is an honor! As for my life, it’s been a bit of a roller coaster. I am an only child from a fairly affluent family from Marseilles, and before my powers emerged, I was their prized possession. Whether it was school, dance, swimming, you name it, I was the best among my peers. But once my powers were revealed during a national swimming and diving competition, I was stripped of my medals, and my parents barely even acknowledge me. I went from being the apple of their eye to some kind of freak. If I could change anything, I would want them to see me for who I really am inside and to know that these gifts are a beautiful blessing.
- What would you like to do or be like that you can’t?
- Belle: Easiest question all day. I want to be perfect. That’s always been my obsession and something that I’m learning to get over while I’m at the Academy. I’ve always been the best at everything that I do, but between seeing people like Gabe, with their amazing powers, and losing out on a leadership role to kids like Tristan, I’m starting to doubt where I stand in all of this.
- What are your values?
- Belle: I value integrity, effort, and achievement. I’m big on being honest with people and when you’re close with someone, it’s important that trust is a vital part of your relationship, otherwise what’s the point, you know? I believe that hard work pays off and that there’s no one at this school who can outwork me. But in the end, what’s all of it worth if it doesn’t get you to the top?
- What are your ambitions?
- Belle: To be viewed among the best to ever walk through these halls. I want people to remember me as a strong, confident leader, someone who others look up to. I want to be a role model to all the little girls out there who struggle with their self-worth. By acting as a perfect example, maybe one day I can finally erase these flaws of my own.
- What is your goal?
- Belle: I’m going to be top of the class academically and help my team get as far as possible in the Battledome. If I could be the best out in the human world, there’s no way I’m going to settle for anything less out here on Island X!
Personal Thoughts– Belle is a complex character to design. Between her type-A personality and need to be viewed as perfect, she can come off as annoying and overly-bossy. The key here is to not turn her into a trope. Too often, women are marginalized in stories, especially comics, viewed only as either eye-candy, the nagging know-it-all, or the damsel in distress. Like many characters in my series, I like to turn that stereotype on it’s head.
Belle is more than just a love interest for Tristan. She is extremely intelligent and top of the class academically. She’s no damsel on distress. In fact, she may be the most powerful first year in the class and single handedly keeps Team Davids afloat. While she can come off as bossy, she is key to helping Tristan understand his flaws and uncovering his leadership potential.
Her backstory also offers so much for the reader to get into. Her “coming out” moment as a metamorph and family dynamics is something that will be explored in other novels within the series and will help her personal growth into becoming the woman she wants to be as opposed to what society deems appropriate. Her development will be an exciting one to follow.
As always, I hope you all enjoyed this character profile. Until next time, keep imagining…