Trouble Coming Up with Major Char Flaw

[Zodia195]

I am having issues coming up with a major character flaw for one of my main characters in a new story. I am going to place her character profile (without any spoilers) here so any feedback would be appreciated. First here's the set up for the story story- 7 young women are chosen to save the world. The story starts out during an annual festival celebrated by the 7 Kingdoms of the world of Incienda.

Mariko- Chosen of Aquamarine
• Height- 5’8”
• Hair- Jet black
• Eyes- Royal blue
• Skin- Pale with pink tones
• Age- 23 years
• Family- Mother, two younger sisters.
• Info- Father was one of the royal guards, but died when assassins tried killing the king. Her mother and sisters sow for the royal family, but Mariko is a dancer and her group was invited dance at the festival that year.

I want Mariko to be the most maternal one out of the group of girls. I was thinking she would develop her flaw through her connection to the Aquamarine fragment she holds, which gives her the ability to speak to animals. All of the fragments will have drawbacks and hers will be that at first she can't control all the animal voices entering her head and it'll give her major headaches.

Oh wait! I just thought of something too. This might work. How about I make her mute at one point? I already plan on giving one of the other girls a physical limitation, so I may do that with this one too.

So any suggestions would be awesome. Thanks!

 

[J_R_Ashunwhy]

I want Mariko to be the most maternal one out of the group of girls. I was thinking she would develop her flaw through her connection to the Aquamarine fragment she holds, which gives her the ability to speak to animals. All of the fragments will have drawbacks and hers will be that at first she can't control all the animal voices entering her head and it'll give her major headaches.

First thought, albeit a rather hippie one:

the animals voices don't come clearly to her at first, but instead echo in her head as a kind of constant white-noise, or as multiple over lapping tones that don't just give her headaches, but drive her mad. She becomes violent, ends up in an institution, but then also becomes convinced that the stone does not work, and that it's the physicians that are drugging her to cause the auditory distortion to make her fail at her task. She plans an escape, runs out into the wilderness, and is so overcome by the noise that she is hearing, that she has an epic breakdown until one of the animals starts to come through bit by bit--maybe something small like an insect or arachnid that she would normally be terrified by. She stays in the wildness for weeks/months/years, becomes 'one with nature,' and learns how to fend for herself by assimilating with her environment. When she finally returns to civilization, she seems far more mature and is more self reliant than the other girls her age. Maybe she looks out for the other girls, physically, but mentally, keeps herself distant from them.

 

[NOIRTRASH]

Mencken said Cowardice is the lone trait all humans share.

 

[Handley_Page]

"to the Aquamarine fragment she holds, which gives her the ability to speak to animals"

I think it's less "speak", more 'think a thought at . . '
Incidentally, by 'sow', did you mean as in a seamstress - sewing ?

 

[_Lynn_]

You could check the Adoption Society thread found on the NaNo forum.

 

[CyranoJ]

So any suggestions would be awesome. Thanks!

People's character flaws usually tie into their backgrounds and upbringing. The major hook we seem to have for Mariko's background is her father's death. Ask: what was Mariko's life like after her father died? Does she have trust or abandonment issues (these might impact her ability to work effectively with a team, by making her irrationally determined to be a "lone wolf" on the one hand or making her exaggeratedly nervous about "going it alone" on the other)? Did her mother cope with it well, or not, and if not then does Mariko's maternal personality originate in an attempt to compensate for lessened affection from her own mother after The Event (this might manifest in exaggerated propensity for mercy and compassion even when these traits would be potentially dangerous to her or her team)? And so on.