If you know either Discworld or SPN, I think it's going to be okay.

[moragmacpherson]

ETA: Thanks everyone who commented, between you stirring the pot and a long chat with my wonderful beta, I think I've got a system.

Yeah, it's the big bang fic.  I need help.  Bad.  I'm about the write the emotional climax of the story, involving two world weary warriors: one Esmerelda "Granny" Weatherwax and Mssr. Dean Winchester.  But there's this horribly basic problem with making those two characters interract: I know how they'd deal with each other, but I can't figure out how these two would *address* each other. 

What makes it worse is the tight 3rd person Dean POV and while I can see him mostly sticking to formalities because she's intimidating as hell, I have absolutely no idea what Dean would call her in his own head.  "Esme's" too familiar; plain "Weatherwax" looks wrong, it's too masculine for her; "Mistress Weatherwax" is entirely too formal for his train of thought, and stand-alone "Granny," unlike "Nanny," doesn't feel right either, not until they know each other better.

On the flip side, would GW assert her seniority by calling him Dean, or stick to formality and tend towards Mister/Mr/Mr. Winchester? Ack!

It's gotten to the point where I can't write anymore until I figure this out, because every time I have to identify them, it all comes to a screeching halt.  I've stooped to using epithets half the time, and it's ugly.  So please, opinions! 

Comments

[moragmacpherson.livejournal.com]

Dean has traveled 500 miles to ask GW to help him get home, she's his last hope. He's heard that she might be badass. GW got a letter from Ridcully about Dean, but it's unclear what details of Dean's character and/or history were contained therein.

GW has arranged for Dean to get home, but it's going to take an hour or two for Nanny Ogg to push the logistics through. Dean's essentially her houseguest, and does his best to just stick to the usual interviewing strangers routine, but keeps getting tripped up because GW knows when you're lying.

In the meantime, she's just being Granny Weatherwax: proud, judgmental, suspicious, but with a keen eye for talent and knowing what people want rather than what they need. Dean, of course, always appreciates other people deciding what's good for him.

Ultimately, they respect each other, but are a little too similar in several fundamental ways to ever really like each other. Maybe a few overtones of old gunslinger/young gunslinger after first bad loss.

[morgentau.livejournal.com]

I thought, she's got a talent of knowing/giving what people need rather than what they want. But I meant be wrong. It's been a while that I've read a Discworld novel with her in it.

How about "Miss Weatherwax"? It doesn't sound right, though.
Sorry, I can't help you there.

[moragmacpherson.livejournal.com]

No, you're right: it should be she knows what people need, rather than what they want. Lys-dexics of the world untie!

GW is not a Miss, she got very upset about that in one of the books, can't remember which, but she's Mistress or nothing else. I wish I had my Tiffany Aching novels around, I'd check and see how the young witches refer to GW. Thanks for putting some thought into it though!

[morgentau.livejournal.com]

Yeah,... GW might not like being called a Miss..
Here's an idea. Dean wants to be polite when they first meet, calls her Miss Weatherwax and then he learns the hard way why he should call her Mistress.