Character Playlist: Snow
Character art by Mr. K.
Most of my characters existed in some form prior to their final iteration. Sometimes they’re from another, unfinished project of mine. Sometimes they’re D&D characters I couldn’t get enough of or never got to play.
Some version of Snow has been kicking around in my writing since I was in middle school. She started out as an insert of a friend of mine in the first novel length work I ever wrote, and over time drifted as I attempted to draw a clearer distinction between fictional character and real world inspiration. At her core, she’s always been a stubborn, sarcastic, stone cold badass, but her exact story and ancillary traits have changed a lot.
Three changes solidified her final form: I actually named her “Snow” (based off an old screen name her real life inspiration used forever ago), I gave her ice powers to go with the name, and I made her someone’s ex.
That last one actually had a weird amount of motive behind it. Ever since I saw an episode of Extra Credits dealing with romance in games, I’ve wanted to write stories exploring phases of relationships outside the typical “falling in love/starting a relationship” one that is the focus of 90% of all romantic plots and subplots. And one of the things I didn’t think we saw enough of was exes who had moved past their break up. No hating each other, no secret pining or getting back together, just two people with a deep history, a scar-like emotional connection, and the knowledge of what each other’s O-faces look like.
But for all the thought that went into her relationship history, I think it was her powers that ended up shaping her more. Snow was patient zero for exploring the idea of magic affecting the personality of the person using it, and I’ll be damned if it wasn’t extremely fertile ground to grow a character in. Brass seems to steal the show for basically everyone who’s gotten their hands on the book so far, but I think Snow’s arc was the most satisfying—both for people to read and for me to write.
With all that said, here’s how her playlist turned out:
“idontwannabeyouanymore” — Billie Eilish
If you read my Character Playlist Challenge rules, you know I only allow myself one song per artist on these things. And I agonized over whether this or “bad guy” should be Snow’s theme song. Eventually, this one won out for one specific reason. There’s a scene in They Met in a Tavern where two characters are watching a singer on stage, and it reminds one of the characters of Snow. In my mind, the song being sung was this one.
Make no mistake though, Billie Eilish fits Snow the way Panic! At the Disco does Brass.
“happiness” — Taylor Swift
Good lord, if it wasn’t difficult to pick one song to encapsulate Snow and Phoenix’s relationship. I literally can’t listen to any song talking about a break up with thinking of these two. And fun fact, Katy Perry’s “The One That Got Away” is why the Starbreakers all have matching tattoos.
That being said:
“No one teaches you what to do
When a good man hurts you
And you know you hurt him too”
(Fuck, evermore is so good.)
“Here” — Alessia Cara
Before Snow was Snow, she spent a lot of time in parties full of people she couldn’t stand. It didn’t take much to push her to run from it as fast as she could.
“Control” — Halsey
A song for the Cold Blooded Killer, and those solid white eyes that were the last thing so many people saw before their end.
“Monsters (feat. Demi Lovato and blackbear)” — All Time Low
We’ve all had that thing in our lives that we knew wasn’t good for us in the long run, but we just couldn’t escape and quite frankly didn’t want to because we feel like we need it. Snow has hers, and it comes with air conditioning.
Also, specifically the version with Demi Lovato, mostly just because I love hearing her on alt-rock tracks like this.
“Phantom” — NateWantstoBattle
I discovered this song on a Spotify binge, and as soon as I heard the opening I could just see Snow tearing through an entire castle full of dudes, stealth killing some and then wiping the floor with the rest. Now this is just her ass-kicking song.
“Close to Me (with Diplo) (feat. Swae Lee)” — Ellie Goulding
In another life, in another time… May or may not be about who you think it’s about.
“I’m Not Okay (I Promise)” — My Chemical Romance
I know writers who use subtext, and they’re all cowards.
“Moral of the Story” — Ashe
Even though this song is written about one specific, romantic relationship, I feel like it really encapsulates how Snow sees her connection to the Starbreakers as a whole. A mistake made in the company she kept because she was too young and stupid to know better, and she’s better off without them. And as far as she’ll tell anyone else, that is the moral of her story.
“Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing (feat. William Beckett)” — Set It Off
“She hated herself for being guilty.”
“Path to Isolation” by Jeff Williams feat. Casey Lee Williams almost made the playlist, until I realized I would have just used the same joke that I did for “I’m Not Okay (I Promise).”
Snow is one of the main characters in my debut fantasy novel, They Met in a Tavern, which is releasing in Fall 2021.