C.J. Wilder

Meet Ceasar Julius Wilder (and no, the name was unintentional; I didn't even think about it until I said his full name to myself one day and thought, "Oh, hey, what do you know? That fits.").

C.J. is head of a huge corporation, which his grandfather, Julius Wilder, built from the ground up, and is one of the most prestigious, and powerful companies in the western states--or was.
Wilder Inc. was bequeathed to Ceasar after his father's untimely death after his Lamborghini was T-boned by a drunk in a corvette. Insurance covered everything--down to replacing the car--and in accordance to the the late Mr. Wilder's Will, his only child was given everything, except two or three houses bequeathed to the widowed Mrs. Wilder, who lived out her days in the mansion in Miami and remarried, or so Ceasar was told in an off-hand manner by his secretary.
Ceasar became the sole owner of Wilder Inc. now, and he preferred to keep it that way. Despite generous offers of merging by other companies and more experienced businessmen, the young and ambitious Mr. C.J. Wilder kept the business "in the family," he said, which is strange to relate, since he was without sibling, spouse, or prodigy.
Under his precocious business savvy, Wilder Inc. grew. He bought out competitors first, then smaller businesses, the tiny, family-run shops, and eventually established a true monopoly. Enthralled by his success, Ceasar became more and more obsessed with his business. Despite his large house, Mr. Wilder lived alone, if you don't count the enormous staff necessary to run the place. He lost close personal friends slowly, along with connections to any remaining relatives. After a while, Ceasar no longer enjoyed the beautiful lands his money kept and preserved. Soon, even his employees stopped hearing from him. Little by little, maids and butlers, curious as the purpose of the château's upkeep, quit, and eventually stopped showing up, till only a single maid and butler were left. People would have been noticed the gradual deterioration of the Wilder Mansion, if they'd been around. The town that used to be the proud home of Wilder Inc., became a ghost town. Since the Wilder empire had bought out most of the businesses, most people couldn't keep work. Locals left first, and after several years, even the foreign help hired by Wilder Inc., had to leave, too.

Once proud and bustling, the Wilder Mansion glittering in iron-wrought pride, the city died, and the Wilder empire fell with it. Other younger and ambitious businesses bought out stock and merchandise, until Wilder, once a house-hold name, was now almost totally forgotten. Media abandoned its business superstar, the once young and renowned Mr. C.J. Wilder. Those who had worked for him said he was most likely dead, and that he'd probably negotiated with Death himself to somehow profit in the after life.

Those who knew him personally, however, say he's still alive, sitting alone in his office, calculating numbers of stocks and the state of the market, his inbox still ever full of business reports from all over the world, imagined by his gifted, business-savvy mind. Or that was the last they heard, anyway...

The definitions of Death and Life can be blurred, sometimes, by those who push to the extreme. Ceasar Wilder, in honesty, is still alive, if you can call it living, but his physical human form is completely lost, having been forsaken along with everything else Human.
The only word to describe what he has become is Beast.

Meet the Friedman's

Morgan is your average snotty teenager: her clothes and hair is totally new, her little brother is a dweeb, and her father is clueless in all areas unrelated to Plate Tectonics, which is how he got his Ph.D. It's is also why they are moving from San Fransisco to Small Town, American, in the West, where cowboys and hicks live, according to Jem, the youngest of the two siblings; it's the first place to offer Mr. Friedman a job.

James Arnold "Jem" Friedman is fourteen, completely occupied with girls, video games, skateboards, girls, spiking his hair, girls, and (secretly) Astronomy. He was labeled as a nerd in middle school and has since recovered to a "skater" rank in junior high. Olive-toned skin with freckles, matching hair-color, and blue eyes. His new braces fiercely threaten his new popularity, and any chance of ever having a girlfriend, so he makes sure to get black rubber bands and bares them at bullies. He got a rough reputation with the Super Intendant in the first month of the school year, for being in two fist fights and accused of starting a food fight in the cafeteria. His father hopes the move will allow Jem to start "with a clean slate" (pun very much intended by Mr. Friedman).

Mr. Friedman is a round, short, balding, middle-aged man, with eye-twinkles and nose that looks like a miniature of his torso and is red from him constantly wiping it on account of a head-cold he's had since Jem was three. He's a naturally trusting man and very kind-hearted, but is also a softie when it comes to disciplining his children. His trouble in finding a job stems mostly from a slight stutter, making lectures on the university level difficult (Hence his eagerness in accepting a job in a little high school). He's had the stammer for years and Specialists say it stems from an inferiority complex.
Mr. Theodore "Theo" Friedman wears bland clothes, usually involving fading sweater-vests and grey pants. His mouth has a little droop at one corner that gives him the appearance of frowning most of the time. He likes documentaries and murder mysteries, classical music, clam chowder, and plays golf (poorly) in his free time.
In short, Theo Friedman is often described as a sad little man by everyone except himself, his children, and late wife, who would call him bubbly and soft-voice and -hearted with a weakness for tiny, fluffy dogs.

Morgan, who is the actual Main Character, is tall and gangly, with hardly any shape she's proud of. For most of her life, her chocolate, wavy hair reached almost past her back, until most of her friends started to chop theirs off, and she eventually followed suit. Unlike her peers, however, Morgan didn't hack it into a small, tight bob, but kept it shoulder-length so she could still pull it back. Although technically "in style," her clothes are always department store brandless things, and never the boutique-style fashion she dreams about. She still wears the same sneakers from last year. They're broken in, fit her feet like thick skin, and are perfect for her track meets, but are "tasteless," as she described them to her father. Morgan wishes she could be like her other friends, who wear beautiful flats or heels, or even "dressy-casual" sneakers to school.
Apart from her many desires, Morgan enjoyed her art classes at her old high school, even though she considers herself a pretty incompetent painter. She prefers Oldies to Pop, and knows every Herman's Hermits songs by heart. She's been nagging her father for voice lessons, but without much success. When she doesn't get her way, she resorts to sarcasm and scoffing sighs, complete with eye-rolling.
Only two years older than her brother, their relationship is on basically good terms: they were called the Dynamic Duo by every old spinster and her sister on the block, but have since found different interests, and really talk only late on school nights about personal things.

This family is for my modern day Beauty and the Beast story, which I'm still stitching a plot together for. You may be hearing more about it in the near future.

Gender Swap Anyone??

So, I'm very tempted to change my villain from my "Kate" story from a man to a woman. Originally, Lord Stephan was the villain. He's a power-hungry, cruel man who wants the kingdom. Basically. In one part he actually flogs Kate. (I'm cruel! I know!) But now I've had a wonderfully evil woman enter my mind (still nameless, though) who could take Lord Stephan's place. The thing is, their personalities are not the same. In a metaphor, he is a charging bull while she is a poisonous snake. In the scene I've written her into (not necessarily with Kate) she ends by ordering the girl she's captured's heart cut out. (Again with the cruelty! I'm sorry, but sometimes I think these characters have lives of their own! :P ) She likes to take her prisoners' weaknesses and twist them to cause pain. I don't know... what's your opinion? And name ideas would be nice, too.