Okay, that was my first post. Jae, I hope you don't mind if my character's name is James, it might actually be fun for your little boy, could break the ice in interesting ways. Or if you guys think that will make it too confusing, I'll change it, but I'd rather keep it this way and see what can come of it.
My character is (I apologise) a young man called James Parkinson, born in 1781 to a family of good name but a small income. His parents both died when he was young and so he has no strong ties to anyone else in his family(families are bothersome
I admire you, Jae, for tackling a mother and daughter scenario, I could never work with that). James is aboard the ship as companion and assistant to Frederic Milne, a naturalist and his good friend. (I don't plan to have Fred survive the voyage, or at least, end up on our island. He's just an accessory.
I feel so cruel.) James is a mediocre artist- he can draw well enough to provide documentation of Australian fauna and flora, which was indeed supposed to be his role in Fred's expedition, but he is not talented enough to be accepted into the Royal Academy. His application was rejected and as people of mediocre talent usually do, he feels indignant of the critique.
He agreed to take part in the voyage for adventure as well as an opportunity to make a name for himself. But he is really not concerned about it all that much, believing that good fortune and success will smile at him whether he works for it or not. Fred is the one with the true drive and passion for the project. He intends to do a thorough research on the indigenous plants and animals of Australia. (I don't care if this field had already been covered in 1803, let's pretend there was room for more discoveries, can we please? I'm pretty sure they hadn't found all there was to find yet. At the least, we can assume Fred was the sort of person who was sure he'd make The Discovery of The Century the moment he stepped off the ship. It doesn't matter anyway since he never makes it to the island.) The compilation was meant to be published with illustrations by James, who despite his lack of artistic originality could make excellent drawings of plants and bugs.
I have no idea what he looks like yet but that can wait. At the moment I expect he's drenched and looks quite pathetic.
I suppose I can give him brown hair and brown eyes.
All okay with you guys?