From matadin:

[shirenomad]

I've made a list of 10 characters and assigned them all numbers. Ask me questions about them ("Is 3 human?" "Who's smarter, 4 or 5?" "What would 2 and 7 do if they discovered buried treasure?") and I'll answer. Your mission is to discover which character is which.

1) Uryuu Ishida, Bleach (guessed by westmarked)
2) Yuffie Kisaragi, Final Fantasy VII (guessed by imaginari)
3) Gregory House, House MD (guessed by westmarked)
4) Mikuru Asahina, Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (guessed by westmarked)
5) Noah Bennet, Heroes (guessed by chime)
6) Daniel "Oz" Osbourne, Buffy the Vampire Slayer (guessed by imaginari)
7) Luna Lovegood, Harry Potter (guessed by westmarked)
8) Jean-Luc Picard, Star Trek: The Next Generation (guessed by westmarked)
9) Eowyn of Rohan, Lord of the Rings (guessed by chime)
10) Calvin, Calvin and Hobbes (guessed by matadin)

You can get some ideas of other good questions (and pump matadin for information about his own ten) here.

Comments

[westmarked.livejournal.com]

I'll start with a reprise of my "order in which their name goes in the Death Note" question. I think that's a good place to start.

[shirenomad]

Hmm, the only serious criminal on my list is 5. If Light becomes aware of 5's existence, 5 will probably be his next target, both for actual crimes and for being the most obvious candidate to smoke Light out (and smoke Light out, 5 will, if allowed). But getting 5's full name and face may be a bit of a challenge, and I can't say how long it'll take. Probably a year, given past history.

2 is an obvious first target, for minor crimes, and 1 and 3 can probably be considered guilty of reckless endangerment. 1 may also engage in investigation that will lead to Light, so there's the greater threat of the two.

About now, 8 will start pursuing Kira, and sadly will go down quickly as a very vulnerable example. 7 and 6 will both get brought along by their leaders to deal with the threat of Kira, and their teams may find a way to ward off the Death Note's effects, but I'm sure he'll lure them out of their cover (maybe by convincing them the threat is gone) sooner or later.

4's team is a wildcard in several ways. They might actually beat out 8, or even 5, in grabbing Light's attention, or he might not notice them for years, depending on what they decide to do about the mysterious Kira (though they WILL do something!) But when he does figure out their deal, he'll treat them as a massive, MASSIVE threat. Which is a problem, because at least one member of the team will very likely prove immune to the Note. But 4 isn't one of those, so should his initial attempts at the bigger targets fail, Light may make 4 write/say something like "back off or Kira will kill another one of us" before keeling over.

9 may make a lot of noise about Kira's injustice and so forth but Light is unlikely to care, given 9's low threat level in both mystic power and investigative skill. But Misa may decide 9 has gotten insolent about her Knight-Light.

10's not even going to be on Light's radar for now. Several years from now... who knows?

[chime.livejournal.com]

If they all participated in a single-elimination tournament of duels to the death, who would win?

[shirenomad]

But there's ten of them! Well, okay, I'll work with it. Based on the order given:

First round -
1 vs. 2: This will be a battle to behold, and a tough pick, but I think 2 has a slight edge. More so depending on where in the story 1 is, but 2's come out better than 1 against worse odds.
3 vs. 4: 3 lucked out for the first draw; 4 will just cower pathetically. The crowd skips this one to buy nachos.
5 vs. 6: 6 will be the odds-on favorite, but 5 will have done the research and be ready with the appropriate countermeasures. 5 wins.
7 vs. 8: 8 will refuse to battle, calling this competition a travesty against civilization. 8's mistake.
9 vs. 10: 9 will also refuse to battle to the death, at least against 10, while 10 won't actually be able to do anything dangerous in return. The timer will run out and they'll both get dumped into the lava pit. The crowd wanders off in the meantime to wash down those nachos with a tasty beverage.

Semifinals -
2 vs. 3: 3 will last all of ten seconds. The crowd skips this one to visit the bathroom.
5 vs. 7: 5 might have won, but hesitated a moment before pulling the trigger on 7, which was all 7 needed. 5's gotten too soft...

Finals -
2 vs. 7: Another impressive battle, but 2 has the experience and the focus. 2 for sole survivor.

[shirenomad]

Oh, and all of the above assumes no ally interference of any kind, and only what weapons and equipment they themselves can carry into the ring.

[pretzelcoatl.livejournal.com]

I'll do a general one first. What is/would be their favorite types of music, either in canon or in your headcanon?

[shirenomad]

1 strikes me as a fan of classical.
2? Probably alt rock, just to buck tradition.
3 is fond of loud rock, especially the kind you would have heard at Woodstock.
4 is almost certainly a fan of bubblegum J-Pop.
5 also seems to be into classical.
6 is part of a garage band! ...they aren't very good.
7 would probably enjoy trance, Enigma, Enya... and They Might Be Giants.
8 is a confirmed opera fan.
9 probably likes mandolins, flutes, and the occasional harp.
10 is fine with anything loud and raucous, the better to annoy others.

[westmarked.livejournal.com]

What is 7's greatest weakness?

[shirenomad]

Lack of focus.

In response to Chime:

[shirenomad]

All five are listed in my interest list in some form.

2 is in your list. 9 isn't but should be. You're almost certainly also familiar with 8.

Re: In response to Chime:

[shirenomad]

Correction. 8 is also in your list.

Re: In response to Chime:

[chime.livejournal.com]

2 is the most capable fighter of them all (unless there's some rock-paper-scissors action in there.) He (?) may be untrustworthy to allies, but is probably loyal. His greatest desire is to be strong enough to protect the country, but he isn't much of a rule-follower himself (CG/CN). Likes Japanese barbecue... may indicate presence in a Japanese-written setting.

Is 2 male?

Is 2 in a sci-fi setting, or fantasy? (or other)

Are any of your characters in the same canon as each other?

Re: In response to Chime:

[chime.livejournal.com]

Do you mean 9 isn't but you're aware I know about 9 so it should be, or 9 isn't but I should become interested in 9 coz it's good?

[thunderphoenix.livejournal.com]

If 1 and 2 fell in love, what would be the result of their relationship?

[shirenomad]

They'd actually look kind of cute together, but their personalities would clash a bit. 2 would wind up the dominant of the two and give 1 some good-natured teasing, which I don't think 1 would enjoy. Still, if 1 could tolerate her such that it doesn't all end in tears, they'd make an awesome team, with 1 the planner and 2 the one to make adjustments to the plan on the fly.

[imaginari.livejournal.com]

2: Yuffie? (wild guess)
6: Oz
9: Terra?

[westmarked.livejournal.com]

I am now kicking myself over your proposed number 6. (That I didn't think of it first, I mean.)

[chime.livejournal.com]

I forgot about Yuffie when considering possibilities for 2, although... if she ended up a late teen/young adult, it'd require her presence in a game other than FF7 which I haven't played

[shirenomad]

Yes, yes, no.

[chime.livejournal.com]

9 is likely to make noise about someone's injustice, but would not be a notable threat. Might have a little mystic power, but not much. (haven't gotten around to watching Death Note, so don't know exact details.) She is a reasonably mature female and is ostensibly desirable to date. She would refuse to attack a child, even if he were attacking her. She would eat roast pork, on the spit. Her world would be interesting to visit, and she would be good company if she visited ours. She's likely to appreciate mandolins, flutes, and the occasional harp. She wants to be loved. She's been held back by society, but is determined and skilled in a fight.

Hmm. Except for that last part I might've guessed Inara.

Does she in fact have any mystic power?

What is her profession? If applicable (that is, if different), what would it be if she were in the real world?

[shirenomad]

No mystic power to my knowledge.

Soldier. Her previous experience wouldn't be very applicable to our world's warfare, but I think she'd do well after some boot camp training.

[westmarked.livejournal.com]

Is 8 Captain Picard?

[westmarked.livejournal.com]

What weapons does 1 typically use? Is 1 a man or a woman (don't think we've had this confirmed yet)?

I'd almost think that 1 is Ishida, but you said it seemed that he wasn't human.

[shirenomad]

Correct.

[anneliese.livejournal.com]

I came over to guess, but I suspect I wouldn't know who 1 is, and I wouldn't be surprised if westmarked just got number 8 right!

If not, then...

8's general age?
8's profession?
Is 8 or related subjects on my interests list?