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thebeauregardbros · 3 years

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“The Ultimate Character Questionnaire”: Alus Beauregard

a fuckton of random questions abt alus ramblingly answered

questions stolen from [here]. i cut out ones that ask the same questions i accidentally answered prior, or just didn’t interest me enough to answer, so if you wanna do this for your own OC I recommend copy+pasting it from the source!

Basic Character Questions

First name? Alus (pronounced ‘Ah-Loose’)

Surname? Beauregard (taken from adoptive father)

Nicknames? Alus wants to be called “Al” but it doesn’t stick because his name is already short. Lots of people unfortunately call him Alice. he does not like that

Date of birth? unknown but he celebrates his birthday on All Saint’s Wake (aka Halloween)

Age? Funfact: Alus and Arc’s age is the age between the RPers’ real-world ages (I’m 24, Arc’s player is 25, but for a brief period Arc’s player becomes 26 while I’m still 24.) So they’re going to be 25 this year (2020)... what the fuck. stop growing. dont do that.

Physical / Appearance

Height? I... he’s tall. Despite Alus being the max height for Miqo’te characters (5′8″/173cm), other male Miqo’te RPers say their characters are taller than that anyway, so I’m like.. not sure what to answer. I don’t want to break reasonable canon of what’s possible for Miqo’te but I also don’t want him to be short or average sized in comparison to other average Miqo’te. I’m just gonna say, definitively, “Alus is tall for a Miqo’te”. If you have a tall Miqo, Alus is just as tall. Or half an inch taller. Take that as whatever you want. I’m tired.

Weight? I... don’t know? This question really doesn’t clarify anything to me; people can be the same height and weight and look totally different in body type. If you absolutely had to get an answer from me, my best guess is maybe somewhere between 170lbs-180lbs? (assuming he is 5′8″)

Build? Wide shoulders, slender hips, long legs, big wide chest and a nice strong core. He is muscular; burly and brawny; his body type feels intimidating and large. He has a healthy amount of fat over his muscles, but still has much clearly visible muscle especially while flexing.

Hair colour? Golden blonde; it’s got a subtle yellow-ish tone that reminds you of sunshine.

Hair style? Alus’ hair is naturally thick and wavy. His hair is grown out long; about armpit length. His hair is choppy, even somewhat feathered. It’s a bit badly damaged from years on the road, but the split ends and fly-aways sparkle brilliantly in the sunlight like a messy halo around his head. His hair naturally very poofy, like damaged 80s hair. Long bangs that were once pushed back fall gracefully over his face like a wild child running about in spring. Whilst resting away from work, he braids it loosely.

Eye colour? Heterochromia; A raspberry red in one pupil, and a sun-shiny yellow-orange in the other.

Eye Shape? Thin and serious, and slightly down-turned. Small double-lid.

Glasses or contact lenses? His eyes are overall pretty healthy, but he’s slightly far-sighted. He uses glasses once in awhile to read, but they’re not super necessary.

Distinguishing facial features? Heterochromia and his adult male Miqo’te markings. He tends to wear purple eyeshadow around his eyes and a subtle purple lip tint.

Which facial feature is most prominent? The facial structure of Alus more resembles an Elezen than a typical Miqo’te; he has a long slender nose, a oval face shape and noticeably high cheekbones.

Which bodily feature is most prominent? Alus’ lion-like tail is somewhat unique among other typical Miqo’te.

Other distinguishing features? His style of dress tends to stand out in a crowd; he favors pure white and soft pastels over more popular color tones among adventurers like blacks and greys. Also unlike the typical adventurer, he is more want to wear fabrics of the fancy and soft nobleman, decked out in frills and lace like a prince locked far away in a chamber more than any man on a dusty and bloody battlefield.

Skin? Uh... a... “medium tan” skintone? (again I have no idea how tf I’m supposed to figure out labels for skin tones when there’s no widely used phrases for specific tones fghdjkgh) with a “warm gold undertone”. The small amount of skin that’s ever exposed upon him is surprisingly soft, as if he never did much hard work in his life. [SPOILER]Underneath his clothes, however...The countless scars upon his torso, back, legs and upper-arms are rough and hard, like treated leather.[/SPOILER]

Birthmarks? Not that he knows of. He has lots of scars from messing around in his childhood but he can’t remember the origin of them all. Any of them could be birth marks as far as he can tell.

Tattoos? None! And he never plans to get one. He has yet to see any tattoos that match his personal aesthetics of what he’d put on his body yet and even if he did, he can’t imagine liking them enough to want to get one.

Physical handicaps? [SPOILER]Numbness in various small patches of skin throughout his body.[SPOILER]

Type of clothes? I already answered this somewhat but if you’re curious about specifics, I made [this pinterest] of stuff I’d imagine he’d wear. Pretty much just take the “aristocrat” Japanese street fashion genre and turn it white, and give it a bit of a gold trim. Lots of frills and lace; heavily inspired by fantastical shoujo manga glorified depictions of what a Prince Charming looks like in medieval setting fairy tales.

How do they wear their clothes? Some (not all) of the specific guidelines I have in my head of what his wardrobe’s like; Colors are only pastels, white, or gold - once in a blue moon he might wear a rich dark raspberry red color or bright orange or yellow. He will NEVER wear grey or black. Pants have to be long enough to reach the ankles. He prefers wearing his shirts tucked-in. Clothes MUST fully cover everything on his body excluding head, neck, and hands at all times - low neckline acceptable in off-duty time. Under special occasions only (ie beachware); lower arms, top of feet or shins can be uncovered. He wears a lot of jabot ties.

What are their feet like? (type of shoes, state of shoes, socks, feet, pristine, dirty, worn, etc) Alus takes his quality of fashion seriously. He’s the type of guy who wears expensive fancy soft white socks trimmed with gold nobody will ever see with the little suspenders on his legs to keep the socks from sagging down. He adores wearing white pointed dress shoes, especially if they have a bit of a high heel. Gold jewelry or buckles are lovely, and any shoe with lace, bows, ribbons, fancy beadwork or faux flowers are supreme. (Google image search ‘Bridal Boots’ if you wanna see his shoes. He’d seriously wear any of them.)

Race / Ethnicity? hhhhhhhhh it’s 5am man I dont have the energy to google faces until i find a reasonable faceclaim and try to figure out that person’s ethnicity... they’re Fantasy Characters... alus is a miqo’te.. maybe had some elezen or hyur in his lineage? idk

Mannerisms? Alus is like a living embodiment of a cartoon Disney prince. I don’t know how to better describe it; He’s elegant and gentle for the most part but can also so comically stiff you could mistake him for an automaton or a piece of background cardboard - then when the moment hits, he can spring into an unrealistic slapstick looney toon nightmare. He always seems to be in a constant state of floating between elegance, stiffness, and slapstick. There is never a break. There is never an in-between.

Are they in good health? For their active life circumstances of constant physical hardship, they are in amazingly good health.

Do they have any disabilities? I don’t think of ADHD as a disability (and I’m saying that as someone who has autism and most likely ADD or ADHD myself) but it’s classified by a lot of people as a disability. So yeah, uh, Alus absolutely has ADHD.

Personality

Are they more optimistic or pessimistic? Definitely more optimistic, sometimes to a fault. I think there’s a degree of choice in there but he’s kinda lost the boundary between blind trust and trying to believe in people and situations because he morally wants to. He is still a worry wart, and that is what causes him to fight so hard as he does for making things around him better as well as making himself better - but I think he makes a very active effort of not letting anyone see that part of him, maybe in an effort to convince himself as well that everything is and will be okay.

Are they introverted or extroverted? Extroverted in a lot of ways and introverted in others. Alus loves and thrives around people, and I think he’s a bit more drained than the average person when he’s alone vs. being in a crowd, but he’s still living more as an introvert - one-on-one deep talks can make him extremely anxious. He’s great at the surface niceties but can often find himself too devoted to strangers, which leads him into trouble sometimes. He’s like a really great social co-worker and a extremely awkward off-duty member of society that doesn’t really know how to function or navigate normal relationships.

Do they ever put on airs? A b s o l u t e l y. Alus’ entire persona is carefully hand-crafted over a lifetime. It’s not to say “This isn’t who he really is, he’s a liar”, but moreso “He’s not quite the person he wishes he was yet.” He makes a really large effort to put on airs of this confident and beautiful Princely type of heroic figure straight out of a fairy tale where he simultaneously knows that such a goal is impossible, since this isn’t a story book - this is real life, he is flawed and complicated, and nothing is as perfect as you wish it was. But he keeps trying no matter what.

What bad habits do they have? Low-key bullying his brother, for sure. Arc is the only person Alus just can’t really put on airs with so his perfect image just breaks down around him. While Alus appears to be a very gentle and kind individual around other people, he’ll comically slap and roast his brother without mercy. (Don’t worry; it’s mutual between them.)

What makes them laugh out loud? Almost anything. Alus is definitely a big giggler, and an even bigger loud spontaneous laugher.

How do they display affection? There’s two major levels of it. First, it’s showering you with little gifts - sweets, flowers, even money if you’re in need, with nothing asked in return. If you’re very close to him, it’s skinship; he loves spontaneously hugging others and holding hands and all that kinda platonic stuff. He’ll pretty much not let go of your arm if you’re around him. He also loves dancing with people, you bet he’ll do the whole nine yards of weaving you around him, lifting you above his head and dipping you.

Mental handicaps? Hates being touched. He has some really bad memories of being manhandled and despises any type of physical restriction on himself, especially from people he doesn’t find VERY close to him. He hates even more to be seen in casual clothes, especially clothes that expose his skin. He’s really not a fan of his exposed body and it’s gonna take a lot for him to get over it. He’s slowly getting better but it’s a long journey.

How do they want to be seen by others? Someone to look up to; someone to rely on. He wants to be the hope for humanity, essentially. He wants to inspire others to heroism and kindness just by seeing him, and he wants to make the world a better place just by existing in it.

How do they see themselves? Someone who’s just not good enough; Someone who needs to keep working to be better; someone who’s chosen destiny is to be the hero of humanity.

How are they seen by others? Probably as a weirdo. He definitely comes off as eccentric; his strange comedic ramblings and sudden dancing mid-conversation, as well as his random gifts and bag full of pranks, magic tricks and fireworks just really feel off-the-wall. His immediate devotion to others may also come off as exceedingly suspicious. I think how he dresses and his cafe also indicate he’s kind of the ‘rich unhinged guy’ stereotype. People who know him well though know that he’s an extremely good person who would give you the clothes off his back if you needed them more. He loves humanity and would do anything for it.

Strongest character trait? His stubborn devotion to his ideals, for sure. If he wants something, he’ll work his hardest to make sure it happens.

Weakest character trait? Far too trusting of strangers; he gets taken advantage of very easily, and he’s almost always happy to come back for more. He’ll even give the biggest villain a 2nd and 3rd and 4th chance. His inability to condemn anyone as truly evil may cause far more hardship for everyone in the long run than if he just chose to kill the person or lock them up indefinitely and be done with it.

How competitive are they? Alus thrives in competitive environments due to an absolute love and adoration for sportsmanship. He does a fantastic job making his competitors have fun and feels that a competition that is too one-sided doesn’t have any fun or worth. He loves difficult competition because he feels that it helps better himself and his rival.

Do they make snap judgements or take time to consider? Oh, he’s absolutely a “strike now while the iron’s hot” type of a guy. He knows that even a second of a wait can change things for the worse. He’s also definitely a philosophical type that thinks over every possible scenario in his mind in his off-time, but ultimately, he’ll always be the one running off to get things done as soon as they’re brought to his attention. He’s the opposite of his brother, who wants to slow things down before making rash decisions. Alus just knows those decisions need to be made, so it might as well be now, so he just gets it done and worries about the outcome later.

How do they react to praise? He’s actually probably never used to it. I think he has a bit of a low self-esteem problem in how he sees himself as never quite as good as he wants himself to be, so praise can catch him off-guard pretty easily. He’ll cover that up by clumsily stating something comically over-the-top like “Of course, I am incredible! I am the best! Mwahahaha!” but not before gasping for air and stuttering like a shy schoolgirl first.

How do they react to criticism? He has a great ability to deflect toxicity into positivity; he asks what people mean and tries to understand them. I think if the criticism can be taken as constructive, he’s always happy to take it. If the criticism is just plain mean, I think he’ll ask if there’s anything he can do to help the person he’s talking to - he knows nobody would say such mean things to another unless they were having a pretty bad day.

What is their greatest fear? Oh, y’know. Losing his brother. Slugs and slimy things. If you wanna get painful and philosophical about it, I think he’s terrified of the future. He tries to live in the moment and just do the best he can at all times, but when he sees that what he does doesn’t help a lot of the world to stay safe, it freaks him out. In his mind, he’s doing a lot, but in reality - it’s not much at the grand scheme of things. He tries not to think about it too much. He tries not to think much of the past either - of all the mistakes, of what he could and couldn’t have done. It frustrates him. I guess you could say his greatest fear is his own limits. It never feels like he’s doing enough, or even if he ever could do enough.

What are their biggest secrets? [SPOILERS, OBVIOUSLY] Alus is absolutely disgusted with the military powers of the world, and the politicians. He tries to stay optimistic and bright on the outside - he stays useful and does what he can without complaint, he tries to lie to himself and say it isn’t too bad, tries to focus on the good these systems do, to be placated and trust his brother that things will work out alright in this setup - but he sincerely wishes that somehow they could be abolished entirely. He’s frustrated with the idea of any one person or power having control over the lives of others - people those single powers may never meet - will inevitably cause a lack of humanity and understanding of others. Nobody should have this power, not even him, not even the gods. As Alus’ writer, I don’t think he knows a good alternative, he just knows he’s seen enough immoral and inconsiderate shitfuckery in these systems that he can barely stand it anymore. I think many soldiers probably feel like this eventually. [/SPOILER]

What is their philosophy of life? literally just look at the [quote insp tag]

When was the last time they cried? I FEEL LIKE ALUS IS THE TYPE TO TEAR UP AT EXTREMELY COMMON SHIT TBH?? EVERYTHING IS SO BEAUTIFUL I STARTED CRYING TYPE??

What haunts them? [SPOILER]Literally just... becoming a soldier or a fighter to begin with. He wishes it never happened, he wishes the world didn’t need fighting to begin with. But he knows he can never go back now, and even if he did, he’d probably still become a soldier all over again. It’s all he can do in this violent, terrible world.[/SPOILER]

What are their political views? Notable traits would supporting equality rights for Beastmen, more funding towards helping refugees, more funding to adoption agencies and orphanages, more transparency about tax profit and spending, creating opportunities for different countries to share their culture.. etc. (Note: I like to believe that larger glaring IRL political issues like lack of LGBTQ+ rights, gender inequality, ableism, skin-color-based racism and other large current inhumane social problems aren’t problems in FFXIV’s universe. If your RP character uses bigotry in accurate line of these IRL social issues as a character trait, you are not welcome in my RP circle. Period.)

What will they stand up for? He hates violence in general, so he’ll do whatever he can to stop it. Anyone who seems to be controlling or keeping other people against their will is something he loathes. No means no!

Who do they quote? Urianger. like a lot. Probably mostly accidentally; he picks up a lot of vocal mannerisms from the guy.

Are they indoorsy or outdoorsy? Outdoorsy, for sure. He grew up under the stars and being forced indoors for a long time will probably give him feelings of anxiousness and claustrophobia, especially if the space is small. He has had some bad experiences being unable to go outside so he takes his freedom to roam outdoors very seriously.

What is their sinful little habit? He loves sweets. This guy is all about boasting a healthy diet, but his weakness shows the exact opposite. More serious answer: He tends to procrastinate bad, especially when it comes to his passive military duties.

How do they treat people better than them? If they breathe, they’re royalty. Utmost respect and courtesy. Treats them as if he’s the royal butler to their fancy ass selves, even if they’re the lowest of the low in poverty.

How do they treat people worse than them? Honestly? Pretty much the same answer as above. If he gets truly angry at someone, he’ll tell them how and why straight-up, but he’ll never stop giving them the respect and courtesy he believes every human being deserves.

What quality do they most value in a friend? Someone who is as ridiculously open-hearted and ready to confess love to the nearest person along with anything else in the world as Alus tends to do, but also someone who pays close enough attention to him that they can tell when he’s in distress. Alus has a hard time speaking up about when he feels uncomfortable, so someone who has a talent for empathy - detecting other peoples’ emotions - would be incredibly invaluable. That’s the fastest way to his heart.

What do they consider an overrated virtue? None, and all. He thinks that if anyone gets carried away with any traditional virtue to the point that they’re causing evil in the world, they’re just misguided. He understands that - or at least actively wants to understand that - so he can forgive.

If they could change one thing about themselves, what would it be? He... honestly thinks of himself as more of an Elezen than a Miqo’te. So anything that ‘gives away’ that he’s a Miqo’te, he could probably do without. He likes his ears and his tail though! But maybe if he was taller? lmao. (I don’t intend to ever Fantasia Alus FYI, MAYBE if male viera comes out and my partner agrees to it AND I have absolutely no active RP going on, but it’s very unlikely, and if it does happen it will be considered a retcon, not a character development)

What is their obsession? Definitely his aesthetics. He spends an incredibly large amount of time, effort, and money on making himself look and properly act like a “fairy tale prince charming”. It’s not only a philosophical mindset of being moral and heroic, but also being charming and supportive to everyone around himself. He honestly hopes and believes that if he succeeds in creating and upholding this image that every person who rests their eyes upon him will be filled with determination and hope that heroism and safety is real.

What are their pet peeves? He disapproves of the glorification of alcohol, smoking, or any other vices that are bad for the average person’s health. He won’t turn away the people with these vices as potential friends, but he’ll certainly be tempted to lecture them on it. He is also really not a fan of casual skinship between strangers, nor is he a fan of an aggressively pessimistic attitude, nor will he ever really be used to people who wear very little clothing (He isn’t disapproving of the sex industry or sex workers per say, he just doesn’t ‘get it’; he could never imagine himself in their shoes), nor is he a fan of other people trying to change him to be more chill about his aesthetic code (how he dresses, how he positively interacts with others, etc.) - but he tends to be more quiet about his dislike of these things. He tries to stay open minded and patient, but yeah, maybe it’ll take a bit longer to get to ‘close friend’ status with these things.

What are their idiosyncrasies? (special mannerisms?) His posture tends to be stiff as a board: too perfect, like some sort of breathing statue or mechanic humanoid, while at other times it’s as if a switch is flipped to make him become a crazy slapstick ragdoll. He tends to speak in a constant fluctuation of ‘ye olde English’ and common casual speech, and he keeps a few feet distance from people he isn’t especially close with at all times. He’s generous with money and far too trusting of strangers to the point it feels like an overblown parody of these traits. He’s painfully optimistic and takes compliments first with a moment of surprise before he adjusts his reaction with over-the-top narcissistic vigor. He’s a constantly faltering image of himself. He’s a walking symbolism of good-hearted chaos.

Friends and Family

Is their family big or small? Who does it consist of? The only people Alus regards as true family is his twin brother, Arc, and his late adoptive father, Gwenneg. There are other Beauregards in the world, and other great “found family”-esque friends yet to make, but Alus cannot imagine them ever meeting the kind of friendship and connection he has with his brother and had with his father. Perhaps he’s tried in the past, but it just never feels the same. He’s at the point he’s given up on the idea of it happening casually.

What is their perception of family? A close-knit group that is always there for eachother, practically living at eachother’s hips. The type of people you can just glance at and they can read your mind, and even if they disagree with you, they’ll go along with you and fix it later. They’re always up for improving eachother. They are essentially extensions of oneself, and like limbs, even if such is cut - it is carefully looked after and healed, the rest of the body worries and tries to better it, never blaming it’s limb for not being good enough. All part of one system.

Describe their best friend. Arc is undeniably Alus’ best friend. I feel a bit weird talking about my friend’s OC for them, but I will say this; Arc’s strengths are in his slow and strategic approach to things; his love of politics and ability to glide through them, the way he finds the best routes and setups in battle, the timing, everything down to the little tiniest details to turn a battle of either wits or blood - he thinks over all of it, something Alus lacks. And despite being much less prone to trust than the willingly naive Alus, he can find the good in just about anybody when it really comes down to it. Arc knows the dark side of this world and is constantly aware and remembering of it, but understands it’s still worth fighting for. He’s also got a pretty good fashion sense! He seems extremely shady when it comes to his bar business though... It seems to be played up as a joke, but you’re never quite sure as you’re talking to him about it.

Ideal best friend? In assumption this means ‘a best friend besides Arc’, I think Alus’ standards are low. Of course, he’d love to have someone who shares his basic interests of aesthetics and his moral philosophy that centralizes on a love for humanity, and the honor and strength of action to act on it, but he also wants to know someone who can teach him a lot. I think that type of person could be absolutely anyone, especially someone that is nothing like him. Alus doesn’t want to necessarily completely change himself through the journey of knowing anothers’ life, nor change someone else entirely either, even if it’s for the better. He just wants mutual understanding with others. He finds a joy that can be found nowhere else when he feels two people, who don’t have anything in common, can find a common ground. This kind of thing excites him. I think something in-between -- someone who is a lot like him in a lot of ways, but has a few traits he lacks completely -- is ideal for him.

Describe their other friends / Describe their acquaintances. (combo’d) Alus doesn’t really have other people he regards true friends, I think. He kinda regards every person he meets as his friends. That’s really all there is to it for him.

Do they have any pets? No pets, just a lot of animals that follow him around for food scraps and snacks. He always has an open window for birds and butterflies, and an open door to dodos and chickens and stray cats. He enjoys the company of birds the most, though he’s a fan of the loyal doggy too. In terms of his mounts - He mainly only claims ownership over his military-issued chocobo for paperwork purposes, but regards her as a friend without a voice more than an animal under his ownership.

Who are their natural allies? Anyone who agrees for humanitarian rights, I think. Alus just exists to be a hero, really.

Who are their surprising allies? People he once fought. He always reaches out a hand for people who’ve made mistakes and tells them that he’ll be their friend if they agree to stop their mean-spirited behavior.

Past and Future

What was your character like as a baby? As a child? Equal combination “good kid” and “absolute little shit”; On the surface, he’d always be loyal to his father and polite to strangers, but the second he and his brother got some time to themselves they’d get into all kinds of shenanigans - especially if they manage to find some way to conceal their identity. Most of those shenanigans were pranks trying to scare people with All Saint’s Wake-esque props. They were also a time they were absolutely not above purposely trying to confuse people on which brother was which whenever it was convenient or just funny.

Did they grow up rich or poor? Poor, but I think he still thought himself as lucky. He might not have had a big room to himself or a lot of possessions, but he got to travel the world and meet so many interesting people and see so many interesting things in his father’s caravan.

Did they grow up nurtured or neglected? Nurtured for sure. His family were joined at the hip.

What is the most offensive thing they ever said? I’m sure Alus used to have a potty mouth when he was a kid and young teen. He picked it up from being exposed to so many different individuals growing up. If he’s been around a lot of sailors in Lima Lominsa, I think it’s a safe bet that he probably swore like one too. After his father died that changed almost immediately though in order to honor his dad’s memory.

What is their greatest achievement? I’m sure there’s much more impressive individual achievements he has accomplished - monsters he’s fought, hostage situations he’s negotiated, villains he’s managed to persuade to become heroes, but if you asked him, he’d tell you that simply being lucky enough to be chosen to become one of the Warriors of Light or opening his cafe are the achievements he’s most proud of.

What was their first kiss like? [spoiler]Still haven’t had it![/spoiler]

What is the worst thing they did to someone they loved? I feel like even though Alus adored his father, he probably did a lot of things to make him worried or stressed out, maybe even ran away once or twice just for the fun of it. It was a lot more innocent time for Alus and I don’t think he’d do anything like that in adulthood.

What are their ambitions? Alus just wants to end all war. Full stop. It’s not that complicated. He doesn’t really know the most effective way how to, though. He just keeps doing whatever he can when people request his help - which usually ends up taking advantage of his physical combat skills.

What advice would they give their younger self? Cherish this time. Hug your father and tell him you love him more often. And maybe focus on being a medic or someone who helps the world peacefully more than someone who uses violence to solve the world’s problems. Maybe care a little more about politics.

What smells remind them of their childhood? Chamomile, road dust, seasalt, and old fancy dusty antiques.

What was their childhood ambition? To grow up to be a glamorous warrior that saves the world again and again and to rescue a pretty princess.

What is their best childhood memory? Dancing on the streets of Ul’dah with his brother for a little extra pocket money and becoming unexpectedly popular.

What is their worst childhood memory? Losing his father to the calamity and being passed between temporary foster homes again and again, then finally losing his brother in that mess, too.

Did they have an imaginary childhood friend? Alus left out honeyed milk for faeries all the time as a child. Post-calamity, he started to quietly make-believe that faeries and little unicorns visited him when he was particularly lonely or bored, or just wanted to escape his own mind for awhile.

When was the last time they were crushed with disappointment? [FFXIV POST-STORMBLOOD SPOILER]Hearing about Zenos’ body being revived against Zenos’ wishes for a perfect death.[/SPOILER]

What past act are they most ashamed of? Any time Alus can’t save someone from death. Sometimes, Alus must be the one to kill them himself. This is an unbearable sin to bear for him.

What past act are they most proud of? Any time he can save someone. Any time he can help the suffering of someone by giving a little coin. Every time he has made someone smile. It is all the most cherishable, wonderful memories to him. None better than the others.

Has anyone ever saved their life? His twin brother Arc probably on at least a weekly basis. I think saving eachothers’ lives is a regular thing on a battlefield, even if your ally is basically a stranger.

Strongest childhood memory? Just sitting underneath the stars, curled up under a blanket with his brother while they rest their head on their father’s lap as he reads them bedtime stories.

Love

Do they believe in love at first sight? Absolutely. Guy will trust anyone at the drop of a hat, why not fall in love, too?

Are they in a relationship? Not officially, no. I think he casually flirts a lot and has gone out on sporadic dates with many people, but he hasn’t become anyone’s “steady”.

How do they behave in a relationship? Alus is extremely inexperienced. I think he’ll end up trying so hard to show off to whoever he’s dating that he’ll become exhausted. He wants to treat his future spouse like royalty.

When did you character last have sex? [SPOILER]Never![/SPOILER]

What sort of sex do they have? Nothing kinky or out there, he’s a shy confused mess to begin with when it comes to sex - he’s probably very reserved and traditional about it. I should note that Alus is canonically asexual, even if he doesn’t fully realize it yet. He doesn’t really understand the appeal of sex but he’d want his significant other to be happy. [NSFW/18+] He’d definitely insist on being a top, though. [/SAFE!]

Has your character ever been in love? As an greyromantic writer, I have no fucking solid idea what romantic love is supposed to be defined as. If you define it as ‘fantasizing about having a certain person in mind as a future spouse’ then, yes, Alus has been in love loads of times.

Have they ever had their heart broken? Many times, but it rarely gets him down for too long - he’ll fall in love with the next person he sees, then the cycle restarts.

Conflict

How do they respond to a threat? A fake, forced smile. Explaining calmly to the enemy that what they’re doing is wrong. Explaining calmly to the enemy to drop it and go drink tea with him instead. If being calm doesn’t work, yelling at them about their hypocritical morality like some sort of shounen superhero making a speech.

Are they most likely to fight with their fists or their tongue? Tongue, for sure. Alus will be so painfully reasonable with his enemies that the only way he’s drawing his sword to fight is someone else draws first.

What is your character’s kryptonite? Like any hero, he’s a sucker for hostages. Also, math completely turns him fucking stupid. [SPOILER]Also... having his morality questioned, especially being accused of being a hypocrite.[/SPOILER]

If your character could only save one thing from their burning house, what would it be? A faerie tale storybook from his childhood his father read to him often when he was alive.

How do they perceive strangers? “A friend he doesn’t know yet.”

What do they love to hate? I don’t really imagine Alus truly ‘hates’ anything or anyone, just greatly dislikes or disapproves of them. And even then I think he doesn’t particularly enjoy disliking them. I don’t think he views negative feelings as something to be prideful over.

What are their phobias? Slugs and other slimy creatures, as well as mild situational claustrophobia.

What is their choice of weapon? His fists, for sure; there’s some sort of philosophy inside his mind that fighting with his bare hands or body without tools or weapons to aid him is the ultimate form of respect towards other human beings’ pain and livelihood - he wants them to know he shall feel pain right back if he strikes someone else, and he’s allowing himself the possibility to be hurt in return.

What living person do they most despise? I think anyone who justifies war or pain as a glorious and wonderful thing instead of a tragedy is someone he dislikes. Especially if said person has no respect for human life or the bodies of the fallen.

Have they ever been bullied or teased? Plenty. Unfortunately mostly his given name is particularly targetted. He’s also been called too soft plenty of times.

Where do they go when they’re angry? Home - his house is well soundproofed and cozy. He may go on an off-trail walk alone in the middle of Thanalan or the like.

Who are their enemies and why? The Garlean army, the Ascians.. do you really need to ask why? They wish to create death and chaos, that’s plenty of a reason enough.

Work, Education and Hobbies

What is their current job? Maelstrom military field medic, café proprietor, free paladin

What do they think about their current job? The café is seemingly always empty, but he doesn’t mind continuing to pour money into it. It’s a safe haven to him and a symbol of his independence from the violent life of military duty. Being a field medic is endlessly horrifying, but he’s glad he can help people. His status of Free Paladin makes him obligated to carry out duties to help Eorzea, which is something he’s proud of - but he is always not all that great at drawing his sword at the sign of trouble.

What are some of their past jobs? The only other “jobs” Alus has had in the past were mostly just side jobs for a little extra pocket money, mostly dancing on the street.

What are their hobbies? Dancing, capoeira martial arts, piano, tea brewing, baking, reading, writing, sketching, watercolor art, goldsmithing, fashion, bird keeping.

Educational background? Went to a school for accounting for a few years. He retained absolutely no information about accounting.

Intelligence level? Literate; can read older more complex texts easily. Good with maps. More of a “physical education” kinda guy.

Do they have any specialist training? Paladin training. Nothing else formal.

Do they have a natural talent for something? Weirdly incredibly good at parkour - stuff like navigating tightropes and climbing up buildings without any hesitation or struggle.

What is their socioeconomic status? At the moment, Alus is pretty well-off. He and his brother own their own business in the Lavender Beds, and Alus can afford high class clothes, hobbies, furniture and the like. He’s also prone to donate to charity near constantly.

Favourites

What is their favourite animal? whatever birds are ROUND

Which animal to they dislike the most? S L U G S

What place would they most like to visit? His cafe, honestly. It’s a safe haven.

What is the most beautiful thing they’ve ever seen? People.

What is their favourite song? Simply Satie

Music, art, reading preferred? Alus loves playing piano, drawing sketches and reading storybooks. I don’t think he could trade one for the other! (He’s awful at singing though.)

What is their favourite colour? Pale blue, white, yellow-gold, and pastel pink.

What is their password? “Password”. Nobody will ever get it!

Favourite food: La Noscean toast! (AKA French toast!) with lots of berries and whipped cream!

Who is their favourite artist? ??? ((OOC: if Alphonse Mucha was in FFXIV it’d be him idk))

What is their favourite day of the week? E V E R Y D A Y (but probably mostly Sunday)

Possessions

What is in their fridge: Fresh salad, fruits, fresh berries, vegetables, tofu, jackfruit, orange juice, leftover strawberry shortcake, protein shakes, leftover rice, eggs, butter, yogurt, frozen berries... and even fresh flowers?

What is on their bedside table? A dozen lighthearted fairytale and academic books on aether he recycles through reading every night as he goes to bed, a pitcher & glass of water, a vase with a flower in it, reading glasses, 3 inch tall lil stuffed dodo.

What is in their bin? Compost bin for old fruits/vegetables/egg shells/bread and a recycling bin full of paper and packaging garbage.

What is in their bag? A lot of coin, a hairbrush, a box of ice chilled flowers, travel-size beauty products, lots of fireworks and other fun little spectacle toys, a pocket-sized book of poetry, a basic armor polishing set, a miniature sewing kit, bandages, healing potions.

What is their most treasured possession? A very old and damaged book of fairy tales from his childhood.

Spirituality

Who or what is your character’s guardian angel? His adoptive father - at least, that’s what he wants to believe.

Do they believe in the afterlife? Yes! Very much so.

What are their religious views? [SPOILER]Alus has a complicated relationship with religion. For the most part of his life, he’s believed in The Twelve like every other Eorzean, but as he’s grown older he’s found himself more and more impatient and even disgusted of the cruelties that the gods allow to happen, and the ways followers of Nald’thal and Halone use their religion as a means to prey on the weak for the sake of money, classism, and racial disparity. Hearing the words of Garlean soldiers point out that proof that The Twelve exist is seemingly nonexistent has further disrupted Alus’ belief in them. Alus does, however, firmly believe in Hydaelyn.[/SPOILER]

What do they think heaven is? Alus has no true confident belief in what exactly the seven heavens are, but he likes to think heaven is a place where flowers bloom all the time, the weather is always warm and sunny, bugs don’t bother you and war and violence never happen, and relaxing tea parties are hosted all day long, clothes are comfortable and pretty and never soiled by dirt and mud no matter how much you play in the grass.

What do they think hell is? Like many Eorzeans, Alus believes in the seven hells. The seven hells are a place that one must climb out of to eventually make it to heaven, and depending on how bad of a person you were in life, the deeper in hell you start out in after you die, and the more you have to climb before you get upward into heaven. Alus finds great comfort in this ideology because it means that no matter how bad a person was in life, they may still find forgiveness and redemption in death.

Are they superstitious? I think he’s open-minded. He seems to discover so many legends of being real every day that it’s difficult for him not to believe in anything and everything he hears. He tries to be respectful of the unknown and follow their rules, but when push comes to shove it’s all about the grandest happiness for everyone - he will challenge whatever fae or ghostly apparition that wants to mess with him if he thinks what they’re doing is immoral or unfair.

What would they like to be reincarnated as? A stream. A rosebush. A rainbow. Something that others can look at and feel at peace, something for others to enjoy. A way to give love without living a life that inevitably creates suffering through heroism. To just exist as part of the beauty in the world.

How would they like to die? He doesn’t know. Death scares him. He does not want to die in battle. He does not want to die sleeping in a bed. But he wishes he’ll be old. He wishes he’ll have lots of friends. And he wishes he did everything he could while he was alive to make the world a better place as much as he possibly could.

What animal is most like your character, spiritually speaking? .... A golden retriever. Eager to please, extremely loving and loyal, a strong body, picky about weird things, and incredibly goofy.

Values

What do they think is the worst thing that can be done to a person? Betrayal?? torture?? bullying?? rape?? what do you want from me. He hates all forms of toxic and violent behavior!!

What is their view of ‘freedom’? The ability to form your own path; the ability to be whatever you want, even if the dream seems impossible to everyone else. The ability to go anywhere you want, walk and run anywhere you want, travel anywhere you want. The ability to say no when you want. The ability to be respected as independent.

How often do they lie? NEVER!!!!!!! He might bend the truth a little bit or side-step an answer but even white lies he’s not into. He rarely needs to white lie about anything anyway; he tends to see the best in everything.

What’s their view of lying? BAD AND UNNESSESARY

How often do they make promises? Constantly.

How often do they keep or break their promises? He 100% keeps his promises unless he’s literally physically incapacitated and in which case he will apologize and try to make it up to you so much

Daily life

What are their eating habits? Vegetarian. He eats really healthy and he eats a lot. Big fan of asian food I think. Has no problems eating stuff that’s bland as hell; I feel like it’s part of his determination to better himself. Has a terrible weakness for sweets, though. Secretly hates stuff that’s slimy, like mushrooms, but he will never complain if it’s given to him.

Do they have any allergies? Nope, he’s lucky. If he does, he hasn’t discovered it yet.

Describe their home. Very white, tons of gold nouveau trim on everything, and tons of flowers everywhere. Looks like the home of royalty. [Here’s his housing aesthetic.]

Are they minimalist or a clutter hoarder? Neither, I think. Maybe leaning closer to minimalist over clutter-lover; he likes everything being clean and easy to access in his house. His design aesthetic of nouveau isn’t necessarily minimalist in inherent style though imo.

What do they do first thing on a weekday morning? Wakes up extra early, takes a quick cool shower to wake himself up, eats a quick and simple breakfast full of protein; most likely something with a lot of nuts and eggs as it’s ingredients + big salad. packs a simple lunchbox and starts his day: Every morning, he walks to the statues of Nald and Thal, viewing the warm pink sunrise in the process. he pays his respects to each; cleans and dusts with a simple cleaning kit he’s left there prior. Leaves some simple offerings. Finds somewhere nice and empty in Thanalan to do some excercises and martial arts training for the day. sits down and eats lunch afterwards. lazily walks home, takes another quick shower to get the sweat and dust off. while his hair is drying, he puts on makeup and decides a proper outfit to wear for the day. meets up with arc, goes on their obliged military-issued mission for the day.

What do they do on a Sunday afternoon? Makes an effort to drag Arc over to his place for a big fancy dinner. Tea and crumpets as an early evening appetizer. Alus cooks everything while Arc hangs out and talks, lending a bit of help when Alus demands asks for him. Arc sneaks in alcohol. Alus yells at him. repeat next week.

What do they do on a Friday night? this but like, outside, alone, in the middle of thanalan somewhere

What is the soft drink of choice? If soft drinks existed in Eorzea I can’t help but feel like Alus is one of those freaks who don’t like any of them.

What is their alcoholic drink of choice? NO

Miscellaneous

What is their character archetype? This question originally linked to some basic archetypes, but I already have TVtropes collected and they’re far more interesting as an answer imo SO: [All-Loving Hero], [Reluctant Warrior], [Cloudcuckoolander], [Warrior Poet], [Stepford Smiler], [Motor Mouth], [Large Ham], [Stupid Good], [In Touch With His Feminine Side], [The Fashionista], [Light Is Good], [Flower Motifs], [Declaration of Protection].

Who is their hero? I don’t think Alus has a specific person in mind that isn’t fictional - fact is, nobody is as perfect as the type of person he strives to be. I think he finds traits of admirable heroism everywhere in people, though. Everything from his friends who fight for the good of the world no matter what, from the villain who unexpectedly saves someone while nobody else is watching, to the single mother who works hard to raise her children, to the homeless people who just continue to fight on to live even when everything feels so hopeless around them. I think he sees traits in others he wishes he had all the time. He wants to embody all the good traits of everyone. And I should mention, if one is to have a ‘hero’, it is expected that person to be better than one, yes? I don’t think Alus believes he’s particularly better than anyone else, especially in their positive traits.

What or who would your character dress up as for Halloween? Alus goes HARD on All Saint’s Wake. He and Arc’s signature best costume always ends up being these hyper-realistic ghost costumes that they trick out with special glamours, magic, and tech to surprise the passerby. If it doesn’t genuinely scare someone, it isn’t enough!

Are they comfortable with technology? I think he’s absolutely got the boomer brain when it comes to allagan technology. He can get by fixing old mechanical clocks and the like but when it comes to allagan stuff, he’s just absolutely out of his element. He’ll certainly listen if someone wants to try explaining it to him, but it’ll take considerable time before he fully “gets it” and usually when he does, it’s more on blind faith and an ability to follow basic directions more than true understanding. I think in general it just doesn’t really interest him and if he’s going to spend the time and energy to learn about it, he’d rather use that energy on his other interests - books, physical training, baking and the like. (Modern AU: He’s absolutely the guy still using an ancient flip phone because “It still works!” Also, he capitalizes and uses perfect grammar in all his extremely-hard-to-type number code texts.)

If they could save one person, who would it be? It’s a difficult question, because of course - the first person to come to mind is Arc. But the thing is, Arc can take care of himself. And Alus knows this. Alus trusts this. So when it comes down to choosing between Arc and someone less capable.. Alus will most likely help the less capable person. If Arc is hurt, Alus knows he’ll forgive him. But if Arc were to die? And it be Alus’ fault? It would utterly crush him.

If they could call one person for help, who would it be? Arc, of course. There’s nobody Alus would rather have by his side while dealing with problems.

What is their favourite proverb? “Since it is likely that children will meet cruel enemies, let them at least have heard of brave knights and courage.” – C.S. Lewis (Personally my fav proverb in thinkin about Alus is “Because the world is so full of death and horror, I try again and again to console my heart and pick the flowers that grow in the midst of hell.” – Hermann Hesse)

What is their greatest extravagance? This is kind of a depressing and even controversial answer, but it’s honestly any time he has ducked out from military duty with or without permission when all of it has just gotten to him too much. He knows that him not being there will be more of a problem than a solution - he knows that - but any moment he can just pretend, for a moment, that he’s just a normal man running a normal little girlish cafe during a time without war.. That’s his greatest extravagance.

What is their greatest regret? The amount of enemies he has been forced to down when talk wasn’t enough is piling higher and higher every moon cycle. It’s an absolute horror. He tries so hard to be nonlethal as possible. He’s studied so much how to avoid vital organs, how to down someone without hurting them badly, but no matter what there is always the chance of there being a prior injury he didn’t know about, or a undiagnosed medical problem that was just activated by the smallest knock.. That isn’t even to mention the people who have been hurt because the people he talked down didn’t keep their word or stood back up when he thought they’d stay asleep. No matter what, he just isn’t enough to save everyone. Why is it that no matter how hard he works to have this ideal of pacifism, it never works completely? Why is it never enough?

What is their perception of redemption? That the unwavering truth of this world is that people are fundamentally capable of change. He refuses to believe otherwise, no matter what. Perhaps it is an active choice instead of an instinctual one, nobody is certain for Alus’ mindful case. He believes the expectation for lifelong punishment for a past crime is petty and cruel, and in itself deters people from switching sides for the better. He believes anyone and everyone deserves the right to have the choice to right their wrongs at any time. Don’t misunderstand though - He understands sometimes people are far too gone for simply dropping everything they’ve done and that’s enough to erase their mistakes - he knows that some people can only find rightful redemption in the afterlife after execution, even if execution is not an ideal solution to stopping them in his eyes. But he prays for them. He’ll never give up on anyone.

What would they do if they won the lottery? Back into investments or savings to get an even bigger profit later. Alus knows how to play the smart long game. But uh... If the fates play a trick and he sees a beautiful fashion piece in a shop window, maybe that won’t last too long. He’s also notoriously overly generous with money to the needy, he spends money on service tips like pouring water out of a glass. Money is always moving, and if he starts to run low, he just works a little harder to get back to the comfort zone. He’s in a pretty good place in his life monetarily wise atm already.

What is their favourite fairytale? It’s difficult to answer this because I don’t know what sorts of stories exist in Eorzean canon! But I can say that the real-world 1986 manga “The Sword of Paros” is a huge inspiration to Alus’ character. It’s about a person born with the title of ‘Princess’ who believes to have been born the wrong gender, and does everything in their power to prove themselves worthy of the title of ‘Prince’ despite immeasurable odds against them from their family and their country. The hero also falls in love with a commoner woman who wishes nothing more to be loved by the idyllic image of a charming knight in shining armor that comes and rescues her, and their love is ultimately tragic as it’s also not recognized as valid.. but the prince never stops fighting for his title and the right of his love, and the ability for them both to be happy. Though the story ends without the ideal conclusion, the very concept of these characters fighting against all odds for something genuinely better for the whole world is something Alus is really all about. (Also, seriously, read this manga. It’s groundbreaking. It’s Utena done right.)

What fairytale do they hate? Any faerietales that have unhappy endings, or seem to focus strongly on tragedy or pessimistic ideas of realism in the world. That tends to fall into the category of ‘cautionary tales’ most the time. He’s also really not a fan of stories with body horror or gore.

Do they believe in happy endings? I think he believes that happy endings should always be the goal, but I don’t think he truly accepts that they actually exist. He understands that happiness and safety is always temporary, and this is why he should always strive to make the world a better place. If he helps someone get to a point that they’re happy, healthy, and safe - he’ll just move on to the next person who needs his help. A happy ending for himself though? I think he’s not confident in it, but he wants to live every day to the fullest as he can before he dies. He accepts this as part of his duty - he knows he’s living on ultimately borrowed time.

What is their idea of perfect happiness? Being in love, being surrounded by people you love, having the support of others you trust and having the ability to spoil the people you care about. Having a home you’ll never be kicked out of.. And no war that you have to leave to. No people you have to harm. Just the peace to drink tea with your former enemies as you gaze out onto flowers on a warm day... That’s all he ever wants.

What would they ask a fortune teller? I think he’s concerned if he’ll ever someone to truly share his life with besides his brother. He just really wants a good friend.. Ideally, someone attractive he can hold the hand of!

If your character could travel through time, where would they go? Before the Calamity. He’d just want to listen to his father tell him a few more stories again. He misses the peacefulness of his childhood, the certainty that someone out there stronger than him loved him and wanted to keep him safe, the ability to ignore his own call to war... He wouldn’t so selfish to want to try and bend fate enough to save his father, though he would if he had the chance.. But he knows it’s impossible.

What sport do they excel at? (Modern AU) He was definitely a cheerleader in highschool and/or college, I feel like. Probably into dancing! And ofc a dedicated martial artist. I feel like he’d be pretty good at football and wrestling too - games that require a bulky build to be great at - but he just doesn’t have a particular interest in either of those.

What sport do they suck at? (Modern AU) Probably stuff like archery and tennis - not only would he’d thrive better in big team sports, he’s just not much for long-range dexterity. He’d also be absolutely incompetent as an esports competitor lmfao.

If they could have a superpower, what would they choose? Anything that was especially effective at saving peoples’ lives. Time travel to stop mistakes before they happen or say the right thing before a war breaks out, super effective healing powers... anything. Just to stop suffering and death.

#meme #alus beauregard #ffxiv rp #this literally took me like 4 months to complete fuck

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bills-pokedex · 4 years

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{By request from a couple days ago, background stuff! As a heads up, there will be three posts. The first one is this one, which covers character notes. The second will cover world stuff and other notes that are more or less basics to the blog. You do not have to follow the powerverse tag to understand any of this, and in fact, some of it might be handy to know in general. The last post will be a powerverse timeline.

With that in mind, enjoy!}

Characters

Bill McKenzie

Current Age: 28 (The blog started on his 24th birthday.)

Pronouns: he/him

Orientation: Panromantic ace

Race: Mixed (Johtonian/Galarian)

Birthday: December 31

Occupation/Employer: Pokémon researcher, inventor, engineer, admin of the Kanto/Johto storage system, and general jack-of-all-trades. Apparently writes papers for Celadon University but actually is paid full-time by the Pokémon Cutting-Edge Technology Research Institute

Pokémon: - Foxglove: Kadabra, M (The first pokémon Bill had ever caught and still one of his closest. Can communicate with him. Is the de facto leader of Bill’s team.) - Lucky: Venusaur, M (Bill’s starter, stolen from an illegal pokémon vendor in Goldenrod. Currently lives in Bill’s garden/greenhouse. Is supposed to guard it but spends most of his time sleeping and eating Bill’s crops.) - Primrose: Clefairy, F (The clefairy Bill once fused with. Mischievous af. Originally from Hoenn but gifted to Bill in exchange for an eevee. Judges Kantonian clefairy hardcore. Apparently enjoys tinkering with things. Also enjoys stealing Bill’s socks, making them into nests, and blaming the eevee.) - Tamarind: Eevee, M (It babey.) - Yew: Umbreon, F (Was most definitely not named Rosemary at one point. Mom of a thousand eevee kits. Judges everyone hardcore.) - Boxed: Farfetch’d, Vulpix, Exeggutor, Nidorino, Rattata, more eevee and eeveelutions than is probably healthy, Ditto

Family: - Father: Jack. Pokémon professor who specializes in moves (i.e., he studied moves before Kukui made it cool). Invented TMs/HMs. Currently a move tutor who likes to scam trainers out of coins in exchange for powerful moves. Spends most of his time at the Game Corner. Apparently a massive headache for Bill, who totally does not have father issues. - Mother: ???. Former kimono girl. World’s most patient woman. Loves her children equally, including her strange son who’s sometimes a pokémon. Just wants her kids to be happy and safe. Sometimes asks Bill in full-on Japanese in front of Lanette whether or not he’ll ever ask “that nice coworker of yours out” because “she’s cute and very interested in you.” - Older sister: Christa. Contractually obligated to kick Bill’s ass if he misses his weekly check-ins (to ensure he’s still alive and not a pokémon). The Mycroft to Bill’s Sherlock (canon, not BBClocke, you heathens). Jill-of-all-trades. Trainer extraordinaire. Runs a YouTube channel where she breaks into old places and hunts for ghosts. Sometimes those ghosts are real and perfectly catchable. - Younger siblings: Brother, followed by sister. Both are proud of their brother but don’t really get him. His youngest sister gave Lyra his phone number. - Grandfather: Galarian and thus doesn’t know every Kantonian/Johtonian pokémon. Good-natured. Physicist. Miiiiiight have worked on some top-secret Galarian projects, which might explain why skipped regions to go live in Johto back in the 60s. - Claims that the children of the kimono girls from his mom’s former troupe are his cousins. The only one who entertains this idea is gym leader Valerie. He has never met his mother’s actual family, nor does he know who they are.

Character Notes: - Animeverse but not really. Lives in a decomissioned lighthouse called the Sea Cottage because, as he puts it, “I can.” Also speaks with a very posh accent, dyes his hair green, and dresses like the Doctor, if not a gentleman from a steampunk webcomic. - Possesses wit drier than Orre. It’s often hard to tell whether or not he’s serious when he says he doesn’t know what’s up, but if it helps, just remember that the rock that he lives under has Kanto’s best wifi. - Would totally be an anarchist if he wasn’t egotistical enough to believe he can fix the system if they’d just listen to his friendly suggestions(, president of the Pokémon Association). - Worships Ho-oh and absolutely takes Ho-oh’s sacred flames in vain when startled/under stress. (The other Johtonian legends are technically his gods too, but he doesn’t take them as seriously.) - Strong believer in “do as I say, not as I do.” Will give people plenty of advice to not do stupid things, yet will do stupid things for science. - Thinks all life on Earth is worthy of respect. Unless you’re disrespectful to life on Earth, at which point, fuck you. (Note: Not an anti-abortion statement.) - Pacifist. This, combined with the fact that he’s not that great at strategy under pressure, is why he failed his gym challenge pretty hard. (He wasn’t that half bad of a trainer, though.) - Has accidentally merged himself with, in order: Primrose (the original Clefairy Incident—canon), rattata (canon), nidorino (canon), and finally flygon (powerverse). No one quite knows how he’s managed to do this unintentionally three times, but there you go. (Note: Everyone knows about the Clefairy Incident because Red is a snitch.) - Other canon facts: lactose intolerant, loves eevee (but also every other pokémon too), often unshakably bubbly regardless of circumstance. - List of confirmed crushes includes: the Goldenrod Flower Shop girl, Steven Stone, probably Lanette. - Apparently calls Lanette “luv” and “love” if he wants something. - Collects pokémon, comic books, and houseplants. Really likes superhero comic books in particular. Spinarakman is his jam.

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Lanette Hamilton (“LH”)

Age: 28 (Six months older than Bill.)

Pronouns: she/her

Orientation: Bi with strong leanings towards men

Race: Mixed (Hoennian/Unovan, with some distant Galarian heritage)

Birthday: July 2

Occupation/Employer: Pokémon researcher, software engineer, admin of the Hoenn storage system. Employed by the Hoennian branch of the Pokémon Cutting-Edge Technology Research Institute but does contract work with Devon as well ... much to Bill’s chagrin.

Pokémon: - Mary: Alcremie, F (Adorable baby of the team.) - Evening: Galarian ponyta, F (Full name is Princess Evening Glimmer of Ponytaville Castle. Asshole ponyta who likes showing her affection with a well-aimed Psychic.) - Lacroix: Budew, M (Asshole budew who once dynamaxed and misses it.) - Ariel: Clefairy, M (Asshole clefairy who hates dragons. Apparently has a crush on Primrose and thinks her tinkering is adorable.) - Neptune: Swampert, M (Lanette’s starter. Brawns over brains. Pretty much watery Lucky. Enjoys chilling out in rivers/with Lucky instead of doing any actual guardwork.) - Sam: Medicham, M (“Sam” might have at one point been short for “Samsara”; Lanette realized this was not cool after she grew older. One of Lanette’s usual right-hand pokémon. Calm. Cool. Will punch you through the earth if ordered to do so. Can mega evolve. Serves as Lanette’s sounding board whenever Brigette isn’t around.) - Boxed: Skadi (Glalie, F), Braeburn (Applin, M—was going to evolve into an appletun but then just didn’t), Raijin (Manectric, M), Pepper (Flareon, F) - Formerly: Bill

Family: - Parents: Divorced. Both remarried. Lanette doesn’t talk about them much and is apparently not close with them at all. They were apparently both wealthy, however, which is how Lanette wound up going to pretty exclusive schools with no problem. - Older sister: Brigette, manager of Pokémon Bank. Extremely supportive of her sister but tends to take the “idgaf” road when it comes to admin shenanigans. Lanette shares everything with her. (Everything.)

Character Notes: - ORAS version. Short hair. Cute dress. Don’t talk to her about that one time she wore pigtails. Collects plush pokémon. - Most people say Bill is the leader of the admins but actually think Lanette is. - Is the Team Mom. - Routinely keeps Bill from doing stupid things (except for that one time that they’re still working through). - Was roped into being the editor of the blog because someone had to do it. - Is perfectly aware that she more enables Bill than stops him from doing stupid things. - Is still, like, all of his impulse control and half of the impulse control of the other admins. - All of this, and she’s disorganized af. Her lab is a disaster. It’s only by Bill’s own will that his lab isn’t right now, now that she’s basically living at the Sea Cottage. - Bill might have invented the storage system, but she’s the one who gave it a GUI, hammered out most of its flaws, and beat the entire concept of user-friendliness into its inventor’s head until he stopped putting text command boxes on everything. - Likes cooking and loves sweets. Will fight you for cake. - Was at one point a coordinator and thus has an excellent eye for making things that are functional but also hella pretty. Earned almost all of the Hoenn ribbons before calling it a day. And she gave it up not because she wasn’t good at it but instead because she got really hella fed up with the culture surrounding contests at the time. - Still participates in Fallarbor contests now and then, just for fun. - Was apparently the one who reached out to Bill in the first place, rather than the other way around. That is to say, Bill was “the weird ghost kid” in Celadon University’s library until Lanette finally popped up and said, “Hi. You’re my friend now.” And they’ve been together ever since. - Bill routinely says the above event was seven years ago. This was actually when they were both thirteen. - Not-so-secretly loves cute, sparkly things, especially if they can kick your ass. (See: Princess Evening Glimmer of Ponytaville Castle.) - Not-so-secretly likes Steven Stone, Milo, and practically every other man (and some women) who’s cute and capable of holding their own in battling. (Much to Bill’s chagrin.) - Is perfectly aware that Bill not-so-secretly has a thing for her and thinks it’s adorable. Cares pretty deeply about him, at least as a friend, and absolutely wants to see him happy ... which is really why she’s often quick to shoot down his more reckless ideas. - Unironically likes romance movies and mysteries. Watches Groovy Froo (Scooby Doo but with a furfrou).

#from the mun #about the author #about the editor #resources

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thel3tterm · 5 years

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Our Author is Dead

This is my current novel project. I’ve been working on it for ~5 years, and its been through many painful drafts and revisions.

Current status: about halfway through the final draft. ~23 chapters and counting.

Read it here! What is it about?

When Rouge’s boyfriend, Michael, goes missing under mysterious circumstances, he leaves behind boxes of incomprehensible research, and a realization that he hadn’t been the meek eccentric they always believed.

Rouge wanders from town to town, trying to piece together what happened and hopefully bring him home.

Along the way, they have to deal with biological monstrosities, an enigmatic being who eats words, a vigilante in a rabbit mask, overpowered teens on the run from a nightmarish organization, and worst of all- a war over who gets to be the protagonist of the story they apparently live in.

The World:

Our Author is Dead takes place in a country known as Doma.

Doma is very similar to our contemporary society. There’s junk food, convenience stores, comic books, air conditioning, interstates… but no electricity. The east is bordered by an ocean, and its western desert ends in an incomprehensible, uncrossable ‘wall’ of abnormality.

Lets Talk Biomancy: All technology is based upon living organic tissue- a field known as Biomancy. The field is completely normalized in their world. It gets them from place to place, lets them communicate long distances, runs the factories, does pretty much everything electricity does for us. In many cases its unnoticeable, running through the walls or inside of gadgets one might not even suspect are alive. The most noteworthy examples though, are full fledged lab created ‘animals’ of sorts. They might be pets, household assistance, or most commonly, vehicles. Zap Heads: Some people actually do study electricity, and believe in the merits of it as an alternative means of engineering. …Of course, we all know that its just a fringe science and that there’s no way to actually use electricity for anything substantial. People who study it call themselves Electricians. Everyone else calls them Zap Heads.

Novus: A subgroup of people in this country are known as Novus. A Novus, for one reason or another, is born with a slight or major split from their own body. Most people are only able to have an influence within themselves. They are only able to think inside their heads and move what’s attached to them. A Novus is able to have an influence outside of themself, which can manifest in a myriad of ways. Some might bend reality around them to their will, some might be able to reach into another person’s head and change things around. -Novus are looked at negatively by most of the country, and are often disparagingly called ‘Wiz’, based on the thought that they’re like witches. -Medical researchers believe that it is some kind of a birth defect, but are unable to determine if the root is environmental or genetic. -They’ve been noted to have a much higher average body temperature, and a weaker immune system. Flexing their 'abnormalities’ seems to require an extreme amount of energy, so they need to eat a lot more than average and struggle to keep a healthy weight. -Religious people believe that it is caused by a moral failure, and that Novus need to have more self discipline to 'correct’ themselves. -Upon discovery, Novus are immediately documented and given a facial tattoo and serial number. -Most Novus wind up being seized and taken to a 'rehabilitation’ center before they reach the age of eighteen. Few will ever actually leave the rehab centers. Only a small number remain free to adulthood. The Bones: One of the oldest and most prestigious families in Doma is known as the Bones. Despite appearing frequently in history textbooks, newspaper and magazine articles, interviews, important dinners, parties, and the like, very little is ACTUALLY known about the Bones. Here are some definite knowns: -They invented Biomancy several hundred years ago. -They are the only family who actually knows how to make a Biom from scratch, and they hold this secret very close. (Factories merely assemble the Bioms, but an outside party is not able to make a working one unless it comes from them.) -All of their children are women. No Bones has ever been a man. -They seem to have an extreme influence over all the goings-on in the country. Politics, Novus control, science, media, you name it, they’re there. Melissa Bones is currently in charge of their family operations, and her daughter Pamela is the up and coming heir. Characters: Rouge: -27 years old -Novus -Non-binary (they/them) -Very thin, brown hair (unless they dye it) usually in a sideshave or shaggily uneven, long face, tan skin, chipped front tooth, average height -Almost always wearing a patched up and shabby blue coat. -Anxious, self loathing, self-described as 'completely ordinary and boring’, sarcastic, artistic, tenacious -Was diagnosed a Novus at age 17 in a freak accident. They had never caused anything to happen before, and have done nothing unusual since. -Was rescued from a rehab center under equally bizarre circumstances by a childhood friend, and is a rare 'adult’ Novus. -Has a taste for the finer things in life, and likes to critique food and visual design -Loves outlandish fashion, but has no money for it -Is looking for someone dear to them who mysteriously went missing Valence: -Is that even her real name? -19 years old -Extremely powerful Novus. Perhaps the most powerful there ever was. -Can bend reality around her, create bursts of light and heat, move objects at a distance, alter the shape and material of things -Stocky and muscular, on the shorter side, round face, tan skin, black hair typically kept short -Prefers masculine clothing -Prone to anger, determined, stubborn, courageous, strong moral compass, black and white mentality, fiercely independent -Both of her parents are well known 'Zap Heads’. Her siblings are well known activists and researchers. While smart, she was more drawn to music, and felt trapped under the expectations placed on her by her family. -Was friends with several vigilantes and rogue freedom fighters who knew her family -Was taken at age 18 after snapping someone’s leg in half, and brought to a secret facility run by the Bones -Broke herself out and has been on the run since -Was in a shitty garage band. Plays bass. Loves comic books and underground music. Tariku: -14 years old -Novus with the ability to 'see’ into people’s inner selves and mess with their heads, plus a few other things I won’t mention here yet. -Dark skin, thick hair, short because he’s still young but will grow to be tall, on the thinner side -Prefers to dress crisply, usually opting for collared shirts -Wears a blindfold most of the time to prevent accidentally spying on people. (Also because he was taught that his ability is a sin, and he can’t turn it off…) -Thoughtful, cautious, strategic, quiet, prone to guilt, shows little emotion but feels things intensely, rarely shares what he’s thinking about, extremely curious but is often too afraid to explore or take risks -Never swears or uses contractions while speaking -Grew up in a facility with several other Novus with similar abilities who were being trained for a specific, mysterious, goal -Knew Pamela Bones -Decided to escape with Valence after an incident he is keeping a secret, for now -Is curious about 'normal’ things people his age do, but is so far underwhelmed by the reality of the outside world Corvid: -??? -This thing seems to show up randomly in Rouge’s room at night. Is it even real? -It talks in garbled voices patched together -Wears a raven mask. Who knows what it is or what it wants. Is it even human? Michael: -A childhood friend of Rouges, then boyfriend -Tall, gangly, dark curly hair, freckles -A bit of a know-it-all, passionate about everything, pleasant and friendly, keeps things to himself, doesn’t like to share uncomfortable details of his life -Difficult family life, a lot left unsaid -Might be involved in really dark and shady things -Got kidnapped and who knows where he is now Proto: -Lives in the woods -Always wears a rabbit mask, even while they’re sleeping, like a weirdo -Supposedly a friend of Michael’s, but Rouge had never heard of them -A friend of Valence’s as well, and worked with her family -Vigilante, destructive Pamela Bones: -20 -Pale skin, freckles, bright red hair kept long, perfectly aligned teeth, green eyes, a bit on the shorter side, fit, curvy figure -She’s everywhere, it seems. An international icon -Sounds bubbly and friendly enough, but there’s something wrong with her voice, and her eyes, and her smile. It seems a bit uncanny, a bit... off somehow Read it here! ________________________ Tag list: @leonajasmin-writeblr @zburatorii

#oaid #writing #writeblr #wip #spilled ink #writers of tumblr #current project #original writing #original characters

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surveyhoursss · 3 years

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150.

Character survey:

Your name is unusual where you live.

People often say you are attractive.

You tend to deny compliments that you get.

Other people of your same gender are jealous of your looks.

Your natural hair color is unusual or rare.

Your natural eye color is unusual or rare.

You strongly resemble a certain famous person.

Despite poor eating and/or exercise habits, you are still thin.

Sometimes people worry that you're anorexic, but you're not.

You are cross-cultural. (your parents are from two different countries).

You are half- or part -Oriental.

Even after getting dirty or sweaty, you still look good.

You smell good without cologne, perfume, et cetera.

You have at least one scar with an interesting story behind how you got it.

You have at least one scar or birthmark that is plainly, obviously visible, but doesn't make you look ugly.

When you stare at people or off into space, they almost always (A) feel like you're staring into their soul or reading their mind, (B) think you're up to something, or (C) feel like you know something they either don't know or don't want you to tell.

You don't often get sick.

You often dress impractically (i.e. show up looking gorgeous to a charity event or marathon, somewhere you'd usually dress sloppy and casual).

You stand up for others, even if it means risking your own well-being.

You are brave or daring to the point of recklessness.

Your beliefs are extremely, radically liberal.

You are sarcastic and witty.

You are disrespectful to authority, but only when they deserve it.

You are punished more harshly than others.

You have Antisocial Personality Disorder.

You have ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) or ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyper Disorder).

You are SELF-DIAGNOSED with ADD or ADHD.

Animals love you.

You have a pet cat.

You consider yourself above average intelligence.

You have a glamorous occupation (i.e. lawyer, executive, anything artistic or theatrical, et cetera).

You are a legal adult, have not reached retirement age, and don't have to work for a living.

You fit a certain stereotype (nerd, goth, hipster, "popular" person, et cetera).

You have a very good singing voice.

You play at least one musical instrument.

You have exceptional artistic talent.

Sometimes it seems like you're psychic or telepathic.

You are fluent or near-fluent in more than one language.

You succeed at almost anything you put your mind to.

Your Plan A usually works.

Most everyone underestimates you.

People are jealous of your abilities. (only linguistic skills, I'm not the talented goddess that my close friends are lol)

You have learned martial arts (any kind).

Your parent(s) or guardian(s) aren't (or weren't) very strict.

You possess an important family heirloom.

Your parents trust you, for the most part.

You have a lot of friends and/or are "popular.”

You are angsty.

Certain circumstances of your childhood were strange or unusual.

You suffer "rebellious princess syndrome" (feminism, extreme tomboyishness, et cetera).

You have lied, exaggerated, or de-exaggerated in some of your answers in this quiz to avoid seeming like you're bragging.

TOTAL: 24/50

~ ~ ~

RESULTS

1-9: CAMEO

You're not the sort of person who could be the protagonist of a book or movie, but you're certainly the sort of down-to-earth, matter-of-fact person I'd like to be friends with. You're the "filler characters" who make books and movies possible and probably have their own cool stories going on in the background that we don't know about (but we sure would like to!). Unless you answered "yes" to the bonus question, in which case, you liar, go take the quiz again.

EXAMPLE: Luna Lovegood from Harry Potter, Mai or Ty Lee from Avatar: The Last Airbender

10-19: PROTAGONIST'S BEST FRIEND OR ANTAGONIST'S RIGHT-HAND (WO)MAN

You're more the "protagonist's best friend" than the "protagonist." But that's okay, because the "protagonist's best friend" usually ends up being everyone's favorite character anyways. Why? Because you're the guy everyone can relate to - and, more importantly, you're often the comic relief AND, at times, you're what keeps the plot chugging forward. This category also contains the heroes who have to try extra hard to save the day, like, harder than the average hero (an offhand example of this is Megamind).

EXAMPLES: Hermione Granger or Ron Weasley from Harry Potter, Jack Harkness from Doctor Who

20-29: PROTAGONIST OR ANTAGONIST

You're a good, healthy medium. In a nutshell, you're worth paying attention to: dramatic, but not melodramatic, and different, but not overwhelmingly so. I...should really write a longer description for this, but I'm really tired, so I won't. Just...skip to the examples.

EXAMPLES: Aang from Avatar: The Last Airbender, Dan Phantom from Danny Phantom

30-39: EPIC HERO

An "epic hero" is the protagonist of a story that fits the general "hero's journey cycle.” Epic heroes tend to act a tad more on the unrealistic side (maybe melodramatic, perhaps not always reacting to situations like a normal human being, doing arguably stupid things for the sake of a good cause and in the name of courage / honor / love / family / friendship), but they make up the bulk of really good stories out there. Why? Because epic heroes are interesting, they're dynamic - epic heroes are who we wish we could be, but never actually could be.

EXAMPLES: Harry Potter from Harry Potter, Luke Skywalker from Star Wars, any protagonist who falls into an obvious trap in order to save someone they love

40-51: MARY SUE

Congratulations - you are a perfect (or near-perfect) specimen of human being. Can I have your autograph? But really. Mary Sues are annoying as hell in fiction BECAUSE they're perfect - they're that person you'd give anything to switch lives with. You know. THAT person. There's only one person in existence who generates more jealousy than a Mary Sue, and that is Batman. Because he's Batman!

EXAMPLES: Lily Evans from Harry Potter, Astrid from How to Train Your Dragon, Annabeth from Percy Jackson & the Olympians

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tak4hir0 · 4 years

Link

Five Geek Social Fallacies Within the constellation of allied hobbies and subcultures collectively known as geekdom, one finds many social groups bent under a crushing burden of dysfunction, social drama, and general interpersonal wack-ness. It is my opinion that many of these never-ending crises are sparked off by an assortment of pernicious social fallacies -- ideas about human interaction which spur their holders to do terrible and stupid things to themselves and to each other. Social fallacies are particularly insidious because they tend to be exaggerated versions of notions that are themselves entirely reasonable and unobjectionable. It's difficult to debunk the pathological fallacy without seeming to argue against its reasonable form; therefore, once it establishes itself, a social fallacy is extremely difficult to dislodge. It's my hope that drawing attention to some of them may be a step in the right direction. I want to note that I'm not trying to say that every geek subscribes to every one of the fallacies I outline here; every individual subscribes to a different set of ideas, and adheres to any given idea with a different amount of zeal. In any event, here are five geek social fallacies I've identified. There are likely more. Geek Social Fallacy #1: Ostracizers Are Evil GSF1 is one of the most common fallacies, and one of the most deeply held. Many geeks have had horrible, humiliating, and formative experiences with ostracism, and the notion of being on the other side of the transaction is repugnant to them. In its non-pathological form, GSF1 is benign, and even commendable: it is long past time we all grew up and stopped with the junior high popularity games. However, in its pathological form, GSF1 prevents its carrier from participating in -- or tolerating -- the exclusion of anyone from anything, be it a party, a comic book store, or a web forum, and no matter how obnoxious, offensive, or aromatic the prospective excludee may be. As a result, nearly every geek social group of significant size has at least one member that 80% of the members hate, and the remaining 20% merely tolerate. If GSF1 exists in sufficient concentration -- and it usually does -- it is impossible to expel a person who actively detracts from every social event. GSF1 protocol permits you not to invite someone you don't like to a given event, but if someone spills the beans and our hypothetical Cat Piss Man invites himself, there is no recourse. You must put up with him, or you will be an Evil Ostracizer and might as well go out for the football team. This phenomenon has a number of unpleasant consequences. For one thing, it actively hinders the wider acceptance of geek-related activities: I don't know that RPGs and comics would be more popular if there were fewer trolls who smell of cheese hassling the new blood, but I'm sure it couldn't hurt. For another, when nothing smacking of social selectiveness can be discussed in public, people inevitably begin to organize activities in secret. These conspiracies often lead to more problems down the line, and the end result is as juvenile as anything a seventh-grader ever dreamed of. Geek Social Fallacy #2: Friends Accept Me As I Am The origins of GSF2 are closely allied to the origins of GSF1. After being victimized by social exclusion, many geeks experience their "tribe" as a non-judgmental haven where they can take refuge from the cruel world outside. This seems straightforward and reasonable. It's important for people to have a space where they feel safe and accepted. Ideally, everyone's social group would be a safe haven. When people who rely too heavily upon that refuge feel insecure in that haven, however, a commendable ideal mutates into its pathological form, GSF2. Carriers of GSF2 believe that since a friend accepts them as they are, anyone who criticizes them is not their friend. Thus, they can't take criticism from friends -- criticism is experienced as a treacherous betrayal of the friendship, no matter how inappropriate the criticized behavior may be. Conversely, most carriers will never criticize a friend under any circumstances; the duty to be supportive trumps any impulse to point out unacceptable behavior. GSF2 has extensive consequences within a group. Its presence in substantial quantity within a social group vastly increases the group's conflict-averseness. People spend hours debating how to deal with conflicts, because they know (or sometimes merely fear) that the other person involved is a GSF2 carrier, and any attempt to confront them directly will only make things worse. As a result, people let grudges brew much longer than is healthy, and they spend absurd amounts of time deconstructing their interpersonal dramas in search of a back way out of a dilemma. Ironically, GSF2 carriers often take criticism from coworkers, supervisors, and mentors quite well; those individuals aren't friends, and aren't expected to accept the carrier unconditionally. Geek Social Fallacy #3: Friendship Before All Valuing friendships is a fine and worthy thing. When taken to an unhealthy extreme, however, GSF3 can manifest itself. Like GSF2, GSF3 is a "friendship test" fallacy: in this case, the carrier believes that any failure by a friend to put the interests of the friendship above all else means that they aren't really a friend at all. It should be obvious that there are a million ways that this can be a problem for the carrier's friends, but the most common one is a situation where friends' interests conflict -- if, for example, one friend asks you to keep a secret from another friend. If both friends are GSF3 carriers, you're screwed -- the first one will feel betrayed if you reveal the secret, and the other will feel betrayed if you don't. Your only hope is to keep the second friend from finding out, which is difficult if the secret in question was a party that a lot of people went to. GSF3 can be costly for the carrier as well. They often sacrifice work, family, and romantic obligations at the altar of friendship. In the end, the carrier has a great circle of friends, but not a lot else to show for their life. This is one reason why so many geek circles include people whose sole redeeming quality is loyalty: it's hard not to honor someone who goes to such lengths to be there for a friend, however destructive they may be in other respects. Individual carriers sometimes have exceptions to GSF3, which allow friends to place a certain protected class of people or things above friendship in a pinch: "significant others" is a common protected class, as is "work". Geek Social Fallacy #4: Friendship Is Transitive Every carrier of GSF4 has, at some point, said: "Wouldn't it be great to get all my groups of friends into one place for one big happy party?!" If you groaned at that last paragraph, you may be a recovering GSF4 carrier. GSF4 is the belief that any two of your friends ought to be friends with each other, and if they're not, something is Very Wrong. The milder form of GSF4 merely prevents the carrier from perceiving evidence to contradict it; a carrier will refuse to comprehend that two of their friends (or two groups of friends) don't much care for each other, and will continue to try to bring them together at social events. They may even maintain that a full-scale vendetta is just a misunderstanding between friends that could easily be resolved if the principals would just sit down to talk it out. A more serious form of GSF4 becomes another "friendship test" fallacy: if you have a friend A, and a friend B, but A & B are not friends, then one of them must not really be your friend at all. It is surprisingly common for a carrier, when faced with two friends who don't get along, to simply drop one of them. On the other side of the equation, a carrier who doesn't like a friend of a friend will often get very passive-aggressive and covertly hostile to the friend of a friend, while vigorously maintaining that we're one big happy family and everyone is friends. GSF4 can also lead carriers to make inappropriate requests of people they barely know -- asking a friend's roommate's ex if they can crash on their couch, asking a college acquaintance from eight years ago for a letter of recommendation at their workplace, and so on. If something is appropriate to ask of a friend, it's appropriate to ask of a friend of a friend. Arguably, Friendster was designed by a GSF4 carrier. Geek Social Fallacy #5: Friends Do Everything Together GSF5, put simply, maintains that every friend in a circle should be included in every activity to the full extent possible. This is subtly different from GSF1; GSF1 requires that no one, friend or not, be excluded, while GSF5 requires that every friend be invited. This means that to a GSF5 carrier, not being invited to something is intrinsically a snub, and will be responded to as such. This is perhaps the least destructive of the five, being at worst inconvenient. In a small circle, this is incestuous but basically harmless. In larger groups, it can make certain social events very difficult: parties which are way too large for their spaces and restaurant expeditions that include twenty people and no reservation are far from unusual. When everyone in a group is a GSF5 carrier, this isn't really a problem. If, however, there are members who aren't carriers, they may want occasionally to have smaller outings, and these can be hard to arrange without causing hurt feelings and social drama. It's hard to explain to a GSF5 carrier that just because you only wanted to have dinner with five other people tonight, it doesn't mean that your friendship is in terrible danger. For some reason, many GSF5 carriers are willing to make an exception for gender-segregated events. I don't know why. Interactions Each fallacy has its own set of unfortunate consequences, but frequently they become worse in interaction. GSF4 often develops into its more extreme form when paired with GSF5; if everyone does everything together, it's much harder to maintain two friends who don't get along. One will usually fall by the wayside. Similarly, GSF1 and GSF5 can combine regrettably: when a failure to invite someone is equivalent to excluding them, you can't even get away with not inviting Captain Halitosis along on the road trip. GSF3 can combine disastrously with the other "friendship test" fallacies; carriers may insist that their friends join them in snubbing someone who fails the test, which occasionally leads to a chain reaction which causes the carrier to eventually reject all of their friends. This is not healthy; fortunately, severe versions of GSF3 are rare. Consequences Dealing with the effects of social fallacies is an essential part of managing one's social life among geeks, and this is much easier when one is aware of them and can identify which of your friends carry which fallacies. In the absence of this kind of awareness, three situations tend to arise when people come into contact with fallacies they don't hold themselves. Most common is simple conflict and hurt feelings. It's hard for people to talk through these conflicts because they usually stem from fairly primal value clashes; a GSF3 carrier may not even be able to articulate why it was such a big deal that their non-carrier friend blew off their movie night. Alternately, people often take on fallacies that are dominant in their social circle. If you join a group of GSF5 carriers, doing everything together is going to become a habit; if you spend enough time around GSF1 carriers, putting up with trolls is going to seem normal. Less commonly, people form a sort of counter-fallacy which I call "Your Feelings, Your Problem". YFYP carriers deal with other people's fallacies by ignoring them entirely, in the process acquiring a reputation for being charmingly tactless. Carriers tend to receive a sort of exemption from the usual standards: "that's just Dana", and so on. YFYP has its own problems, but if you would rather be an asshole than angstful, it may be the way to go. It's also remarkably easy to pull off in a GSF1-rich environment. What Can I Do? As I've said, I think that the best way to deal with social fallacies is to be aware of them, in yourself and in others. In yourself, you can try to deal with them; in others, understanding their behavior usually makes it less aggravating. Social fallacies don't make someone a bad person; on the contrary, they usually spring from the purest motives. But I believe they are worth deconstructing; in the long run, social fallacies cost a lot of stress and drama, to no real benefit. You can be tolerant without being indiscriminate, and you can be loyal to friends without being compulsive about it. Hey, Are You Talking About Me? If I know you, yeah, probably I am. It doesn't mean I don't love you; most of us carry a few fallacies. Myself, I struggle with GSF 1 and 2, and I used to have a bad case of 4 until a series of disastrous parties dispelled it. I haven't used any examples that refer to specific situations, if it has you worried. Any resemblances to geeks living or dead are coincidental.

#Plausibly Deniable: a

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segadores-y-soldados · 7 years

Text

Thoughts on leadership and teamwork

While I’m on this train of thought... I’ve lived in situations of “large groups of unrelated, working people who are constantly around each other 24/7 in relatively remote locations” for extended periods of time (month-long chunks to “multiple months in a row”). By “large groups of unrelated, working people” I do not mean “I lived in a house with 6 other housemates” or “I shared a bedroom with three roommates for a year.” I’m not talking about that. I’m talk about a group of people who are not family, who barely know each other, who come together explicitly for work-purposes - groups of people anywhere from 20 - 150+ people all living together for several weeks at a time. More under the cut (including how I think these things apply to Overwatch)

These were not military situations. However, they were frequently run with military-type scheduling, discipline, and organization in mind, aka, “set wake up and sleep times,” “standardized individual and gorup schedules,” “regulated group meals,” “regulated group chores,” “certain expected protocols, manners, and behaviors,” etc. 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, multiple weeks at a time. For those of you who HAVE NOT experienced this, imagine whatever dorm situations you’ve been in, and apply it to all hours of the day, the same 20 - 150+ people, only instead of classes, you’re working with these people constantly. You are around each other all the time. There are expected and routine things you must do - work, shared group chores, eating meals together, getting a standard sleep pattern real fast, etc. You do not have the ability or means to go more than a mile outside of this area. (Please note that these were situations that every person involved willingly put themselves in. There was no coersion or pressure involved.) There are a few things you learn REAL FAST in these situations: 1) You MUST learn to find your own space. Whether that’s “mental only” (e.g. listening to personal music, reading a book, playing a portable video game) or actually physical (e.g. going on walks, going to a different part of the physical location, finding a physical niche to hang out in, etc), you absolutely learn to take those breaks for yourself. You have to, especially if you’re working in these situations for multiple months on end. The people who do not do this, or who do not learn this lesson fast enough, absolutely suffer emotional breakdowns, or lash out at other people, or get extremely bitter and/or homesick really, really fast. The people who DO manage to learn this are able to pull it off, but usually for more than a few months at a time. Someone I once worked under put it like this: “When you’re in these situations, you can reasonably do up to a month withtout problems. You can maybe reach two consecutive months with only some minor, temporary stress by the end.” “After two months, though, you start mentally breaking down. Very rarely have I seen someone come out of 3+ months unscathed.” I, personally, have not gone beyond 4 months of these situations. I cannot speak for how active duty members handle this, but they probably have stronger or more flexible personalities than me. 2) You learn really, really fast which conversations are acceptable to which people, who you can trust “sensitive” topics to, which “authority figures” you can count on or turn to when under stress, etc. You learn which leaders will “lead you best in x situation,” and which leaders will “lead you best in y situation,” and it is entirely possible to be able to value and critique both leaders for their pros and cons (maybe not directly to their faces, but internally and among trusted friends, you feel comfortable assessing these). Saying these things is different from calling either leader “a bad person” - rather, you, the follower or worker, are recognizing that certain situations call for one over the other, and vice-versa. More than likely, if these two leaders work together often, they probably already know their strengths and weaknesses. In terms of Overwatch, it is very telling that all “four” leaders of the Strike team - Jack, Ana, Gabriel, and Reinhardt - have different styles of leadership set for specific parts of the Uprising game mode. Each one of them relies on the others to help balance out their weaknesses with the others’ strengths. Moreover, it does not imply that any one of them “is better or worse” at leadership than the others. Simply that they are different. I’ve seen lots of people argue that Jack being gruffer or “stricter” than Gabriel in the Uprising game mode is “a bad thing.” Let me tell you, from someone who has worked under joint-leadership situations where someone had to be “the strict one” and another person had to be “the laid back one,” there are many, many situations where you need both. There are many, many “bad managers out there” who “try too hard to be friends with their workers/employees” and then struggle to actually have the authority to lead when stressful situations hit. Sometimes, you need that “gruff, strict leader” to actually organize and push you through the hardest situations. And sometimes, you want someone who is calmer and more relaxed. It depends a lot. And, as someone who has BEEN in one of those positions of leadership, there are many, many times where being “too friendly” will get you burned real fast. This applies to both Jack and Gabriel. It is absolutely 100% important to be friendly, open, and available to your workers/employees/subordinates/students/whoever you are leading, but this is not always the same thing as “being friends with them.” Especially when you are in a strict or harsh working environment. Flexibility meshed with discipline is important. There’s a reason why so many philosophies and teaching ideologies stress the significance of “flow” or “flowing like water.” Water can be free and liquid-smooth and fast, but it can also be forceful and powerful. It is important to be open to change, but also important to be strong when things are struggling to stay afloat. 3) You learn to accept your chores and your duties. Sometimes these are negotiable. Sometimes they are not. Regardless, you learn to be a team player or you struggle. Lots of people can tell you about the importance of team coordination in the actual game of Overwatch, but it’s important to recognize that this applies to many real world situations too. This is different than giving up your indivdiual traits or personality aspects. Let me repeat that. Being a team player does NOT mean rolling over and accepting everything thrown at you. Being a team player DOES mean accepting a modicum of shared responsibility and duty in a group situation. Again, 3 does not negate 1. Number 1 is number 1 for a reason. But 3 is still important. If you throw a fit over every little thing asked of you, people will learn a few things about you: you’re emotionally a brat, you’re probably incapable of working well with others, you’re probably out of the possibilities of a “real job” with this group for the rest of your life.

4) This might be the one that “gets people to argue back against me,” but I consider it an important part of this discussion. You learn extremely fast what IS and what is NOT abusive, manipulative, whiny, demeaning, or coersive behavior, ideas, or conversations. So let me be explicitly clear: Banter, jokes, sarcasm, witty remarks, or even teasing are NONE of those things. To put this in Overwatch terms, the conversations that the “three commanders” (Jack, Gabriel, and Ana) have at the start of the Uprising comic, fall into the latter category of “banter, jokes, sarcasm, witty remarks, and teasing.” These people have been friends for decades and I respect Blizzard and the Overwatch writers for actually portraying that fairly well for a short comic. This also extends to all the conversations and dialogue found among all seven characters (The four Strike team members and the three Commanders) in the Uprising game mode. I have yet to hear a single line of dialogue that strikes me as being “abusive, manipulative, whiny, demeaning, or coersive” in the actual game. At most, Torbjörn has a few “you can’t trust Omnics” lines that are quickly and quietly reprimanded by Reinhardt or Lena. There are times when he acts gruff with Lena, but she quickly teases him back, showing that a lot of it is in good fun, even though they are under a very stressful situation. Pre-Fall (as in, before “the conspiracy” infiltrates it) Overwatch fits a lot of these ideas as a “functioning, healthy, well-structured, well-managed, happy” organization. Even in Uprising (which arguably post-conspiracy-infiltration) Overwatch still manages to stay afloat thanks to the multiple, cohesive styles of leadership being balanced here. But we do start to see some of the cracks in the seams. We start to see how the pressure is affecting the “foundation” of Overwatch - the original five members of the Strike Team - causing them to make hard, morally and ethically-difficult decisions (e.g. sending Blackwatch agents out to the field even under suspension, sending Overwatch teams into a hostile situation against orders, defying global powers and governments for “the greater good,” etc). We see small sparks fly in among the different leaders - Ana wants to push for more aggressive intervention, Gabriel “gathering intel” but then “bowing out” of the decision-making process, Jack listening to multiple perspectives before he comes to a conclusion, Reinhardt quickly “shutting down” Torbjörn’s “opinion” on Omnics, etc. It is entirely possible for Overwatch to have recovered from these cracks and chips under better circumstances. But with the added struggles of Petras and the UN bearing down on them, plus the increased “internal aggression” from the conspiracy “working against them from the inside,” Overwatch begins to fall apart. Losing “a critical member of the leadership balance” (Ana) leaves a weakness that she normally would’ve filled. I’ve been in situations - especially the “24/7 living-working” situations I’ve described above - where things rapidly deteriorate. We’re not even talking months - we’re talking days to weeks in these circumstances. The combination of “constantly being together,” “increased emotional and mental stress,” “increased hard and difficult work,” “lack of space,” and “constant struggle to balance your own personal emotions and ideas with the rest of the team’s” is a brutal one, even in situations as small as my own. It is the tip of the iceberg compared to something as “global” and “international” as Overwatch.

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doesitreallywork · 5 years

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Infatuation Scripts Review – Does It Really Work?

Hi there females? Have you ever before by coincidence had a crush on a gent? A male you have an extremely solid need to be with and also drew in to? What did you do when this occurred to you?

Do you simply neglect the solid sensations you have in the direction of the man as you await for him to discover and also possibly approach you? Some girls’ shyness drives them to attempting to present numerous shy indicators wishing that the guy will certainly recognize as well as approach them.

There is even more to obtaining a guy hooked onto you than simple claiming as well as embarking on the proper relocations. What you ought to not state in addition to what you do incorrect must additionally be taken into factor to consider.

In situation you are lady that has a rate of interest in altering the action of males in the direction of you, the primary step is absolutely the removal of these points. If you can be able to offer an end those points that have a tendency to tax males, you can be ensured that you are currently midway with.

Nonetheless, if you proceed making the exact same errors, you can be ensured of a tough time as you attempt to turn on the infatuation impulses of the person.

Consequently, if obtaining a man hooked on you is what you really desire, after that you are not mosting likely to discover any type of much better program, in any one of the testimonials or sites you experience, than this set below.

With the program, he will certainly be a lot right into you that he can hardly have the ability to rest, consume or consider anything besides what he can be able to do to win you over. Making you his for the future.

The working of this love reaction is such that it modifies the chemistry of the individual’s mind which because of this launches envigorating chemicals that go directly right into his mind.

A selection of various other effective results on the mind of a male are additionally included in The Infatuation Reaction that are mosting likely to develop a ‘halo result’ around you. This will certainly cause him ignoring the unfavorable elements. He will certainly often tend to concentrate much more on the favorable high qualities.

Concerning The Item

The Infatuation Scripts is an exceptional e-book that is mosting likely to clarify to you exactly how you can be able to not just locate, however likewise bring in as well as maintain the male you have actually constantly imagined.

Inside the e-book, you are mosting likely to find a comprehensive description from the writer on what is required in life by males. Additionally, you are mosting likely to discover a description on exactly how it can be feasible for you to draw in males by utilizing particular techniques as well as strategies.

Every information has actually been discussed in a specific method and also guide supplies you an understanding right into the needs of a guy from the companion he has. It ought to not stun you that sometimes, recognizing exactly what takes place inside the head of your companion can confirm to be rather a difficulty.

The item has the capacity of informing you anything you require to understand in relation to guys, their ideas, ideas as well as degree of understanding. It permits you to be able to handle your connection in such a way that is far better.

This you are mosting likely to complete while at the very same time guaranteeing you take proper actions for maintaining your guy interested. There is are basic descriptions from the writer in guide on numerous facets of the individuality of a guy.

In bulk of the circumstances, males are beings that have plenty of secret. Forecast of their ideas and also activities can be really hard.

When it pertains to the expression of their feelings, males are extremely inadequate extra so when it concerns the expression of ideas as well as feelings when in connections. When a male is harmed for instance, he is unable ahead open as well as rather is quiet.

This actions triggers problems that can not be fixed to the connection concerned. The adhering to evaluation of Infatuation Scripts is mosting likely to talk about exactly how the item will certainly offer you the understanding of guys you call for as we examine whether it is rip-off.

Just How the Program Functions

The item is mosting likely to discuss some facets that are really crucial as well as helpful in redefining the male sex understanding. From the web content of the item, what males desire are specific points originating from females several of which I have actually had the ability to listing as adheres to;

Regard: a wonderful bulk of males like it when ladies provide value a lot more so where they are cohabiting as a household.

Flirt: guys constantly like it when females tease with them.

Wish: what a female requires is to make her male have the ability to really feel needed as well as wanted much more so in the procedure of dating him or marital relationship.

Link: a guy will certainly like it when his lady has the ability to get in touch with him such that they can share also their inmost tricks.

Comic: it is something that guys locate truly tempting when a female pokes fun at jokes they make.

Style Suggestions: every male available would certainly intend to aid his female in choosing of the very best garments every single time they pursue buying with each other.

Solid: a female that is not just solid yet likewise independent will certainly be enjoyed extra by a lot of guys.

Individual Time: your guy will certainly constantly call for that you offer to him some area and also time as well as do not be a lot right into their exclusive life.

Sex: for a male, there does not have anything that can be better than healthy and balanced sex with his girl.

Seasoning: adjustment is something that is enjoyed by all males. A male will certainly prefer that her lady is zesty as well as additionally vibrant.

Mostly all the males in the world like it when they listen to some affirmation words. What they would certainly desire is that they obtain some top quality time in addition to focus that is not disrupted from ladies throughout their time with each other as couple or as a pair.

The item, Infatuation Scripts, is simply the excellent device that you need if you are to be able to clarify the mental characteristics that are extremely usual amongst guys. The characteristics are mosting likely to specify why the actions of bulk of the males modifications when in the existence of females.

What a guy desires is for his lady to satisfy specific obligations as well as shower him with love and also love. Bulk of them wish to control as well as take even more control on the partnership in addition to intending to bath their ladies with love together with providing them defense.

Final Verdict

In some circumstances, what guys desire is to try whatever they can to offer their ladies satisfaction. Nonetheless, rather an excellent variety of these males do not have the appropriate understanding on exactly how they must share what they want. Because of this, this item is available in useful in allowing females state simply the appropriate points to make their males comfy. Females actually require this in order to recognize the indicator that males will certainly provide as a sign of their sensations.

Pros

– The details that you are mosting likely to stumble upon in guide to able to permit a lady make a male devoted to her on a degree that is really deep as well as psychological.

– The base suggestion of the program is that males want to obtain regard greater than the love they obtain from ladies. The principles and also methods are very easy to utilize as well as are mosting likely to trigger the destination from your guy for you with zoom and also climax of some sensations of regard and also appreciation in him.

– With the item, you are additionally supplied a bonus in the kind of a sound. The writer solutions in the audio different inquiries on appreciation, regard and also the use of the concepts in the reality scenario.

– You can really easy as well as instant accessibility online to a system that is easy and also action sensible. The writer instructs in the program the numerous facets of a male’s character for you to be able to get in touch with a male swiftly.

– There are various favorable evaluations on the item from individuals that have actually utilized it ensuring you that the item is not a rip-off.

– By taking advantage of the discussed methods in the PDF, understanding of and also fight of the inmost needs of your male will certainly be accomplished. You will certainly the capacity of attracting him to state the proper points for you to really feel even more love and also love for you.

Cons

– The details that you obtain from checking out the PDF, is thorough as well as might seem a great deal to some individuals.

Summary

What Infatuation Scripts achieves is assisting you in the understanding of every point that is required to guarantee you understand whatever on your guy. With the expertise, you can be able to take the actions needed in reinforcing of the bond in between you.

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bornfromscarletcords · 6 years

Text

A Wolf Story

Like many societies this one had its legends, though absolutes were a far cry from the typical suspicion or superstition of the masses. It was generally agreed that four great lords were responsible for the shaping or reshaping of their world, but as to who these lords were or why they appeared there was as much dispute as there was doubt. There was little information as to what existence was like before their intervention, if there was a before outside of folklore and old childhood stories, but supposedly humans were a more dominant species in those times or at the very least a more encounterable. As things were, the terrain we will sort of monitor was dominated primarily by werewolves. There were rumors that near the beginning vampires may have held regional supremacy, but none were precisely sure just how the first werewolves were connected to the species. They could have been subjugated by the night peoples, or their curses may have left them both mutually and grudgingly tied to the fate of one another, and still some believed that they simply shared a similar ancestor, possibly in one of the great four lords, who may have been something like a hybrid or proto species. Who’s to say, it was a long time ago. As things were the vampires were a pretty rare lot to encounter in this era, there were no great courts to speak of as they had long since fallen, the vampires were generally uncooperative and the werewolves broke up any large gatherings they found in the region. Still vampires were pretty powerful as far as individual creatures of magic went, but the werewolves were organized and individually strong in their own right.

A companion species was developed alongside the werewolves after the need for more violent solutions to regional territory disputes diminished. Some simply called themselves dog-shifters, but others claimed what was perhaps a more tribal or cultural monicker of “hunding”. Most were pretty sure the hunding were descended from the werewolves in some way, possibly due to their generally congenial relation to one another; werewolves rarely got along with any type of outsider, yet most didn’t mind their doggish neighbors one bit. Although it should be clear that anything can be felled or killed under the right circumstances or even with a great amount of determination or energetic momentum, the werewolves were commonly considered much more deadly than the hunding. An analogy might explain things better. The werewolves were like samurai compared to the general population of hunding who were like your modern japanese. They shared much of the same genetic structure and even some heritage but their focus of survival was often extremely deviated. Werewolves, in general came from a “we could die at any moment and existence is mostly agony paired with perverse carnal sweetness” type of mindset and cultural education whereas the hunding operated on a “carpe diem, isn’t it amazing just to be here” type of mentality. In many ways it had something to do with their difference in shifting. Werewolves could change from beast to more “human-like” visages with awkward painful, grotesque spasms which could last up to twenty minutes, maybe more on a bad day. The hunding shifted more or less instantaneously with little to no pain. This may also explain the difference in potency of their magic as werewolves seemed to operate, rather bizarrely on a sustained critical threat level of meditation which could boost their effectiveness to strange extremes. The hunding had a similar range of magic and biological prowess, super strength, speed, senses, healing and a capacity to connect with one another through an exchange of energies centered around a pack like structure, but these traits often emerged in a diluted fashion and far less frequently as far as population concentration went. On the other hand, where werewolves sexually reproduced rarely and with much discomfort (not that sex was uncomfortable but navigating violent changes with a fetus inside of you was difficult at the best of times; mostly impossible) the hunding did so with great ease. Some werewolves even looked to the hunding as a source for viable reproductive partners, which mostly worked, though it could create many tensions between the species.

The werewolves, do to the violence needed to change humans into one of their kind, and the trouble of reproducing amongst their own people, were generally somewhat small in population size which was not exactly a bad thing as even in lower numbers they could devastate neighboring communities to gross extremes. Still this sort of biological isolation could call them to take on apprentices from their own ranks or the hunding. It was not uncommon for a family of wolves or some of their more influential pack members to form ceremonial ties with hunding lineages who more or less managed their estates or served as their honored guards. Some went so far as to claim something of a death bond with their companions sharing in eachother’s energies, powers and strength though also risking to take on eachothers pain and demise should one or the other fall in battle. It was some real gangster stuff.

There were of course other creatures of interest in this land but if they want their story told they can tell it themselves, though we suppose it doesn’t hurt to mention that every now and then a band or lone wanderer fashioning themselves in the manner of coyotes would pass by, often causing more trouble than they stopped mind you. Our focus will instead shift to a somewhat humorous member of the community, a werewolf named Daniel Blackwood. Daniel was something like four hundred years old though most mistook him for a newly made wolf due to his general avoidance of responsibility, his possibly artificially constructed aura of immaturity, and his habit of drifting into somewhat risky bestial behaviors. The last one was common for the newly turned due to their unfamiliar relationship with their wolves, but many suspected that Daniel had always been more wolf than man anyway, though his mastery of puppy dog eyes and pining could often tempt them to forget it. His great grandmother, who was also a werewolf, more or less ran his surviving family, and when she wasn’t busy marching them around like a psuedo army, she was trying to make him into a more respectable member of the community, which often meant trying to make him challenge one of the alphas or advance in position in the local pack. As things were he was content to make comic books, and tutor some of the remnants of his brother’s dojo which had been left in his care after he died. He was not surprised, though thoroughly annoyed when his great grandmother had took it upon herself to revive an alliance of sorts with one of the hunding families and so, after abandoning his brothers estate to the dog shifters who had cared for it for years, as, he was quoted saying “it was more theirs than mine anyway” he was still shackled to some of the more questionable traditions of his family.

The hunding he was paired with was a female named Bethany, and she was “pretty hot” as he said it, with nice curly brown hair, a healthy ruddy complexion, “A great rack” as he also said, and strong form trained for fighting. His grandmother explained that she was to be his guard, his sword, shield, and companion through war and peace. Though what she meant was “put a baby in her so that I can raise cute children and finally get some use out of you.” Daniel was tempted by the allure of her...hot flesh, but interacting with others was not his strong suit, and the prospect of creating life was disturbing to him at the best of times. Although werewolves would mostly live until they were killed, either in combat, or by each other, stuck in a state of fit youthful adulthood, the hunding had slightly more conventional deathspans. They could survive for a while, often reaching the end of their adolescents within their first ten years of breathing, and from their aging at about a tenth the rate of most humans, and though few did it was not impossible to see some, a bit grey haired and wrinkly, who survived to about a thousand years. So one of the plans Daniel was relying on involved more or less outliving his new companion. She was supposedly something like two hundred years old but Daniel was as patient as he was unorthodoxly cunning.

Daniel played a game called Cardinal Beasts or something like that. It mostly dealt with a strange balancing of cosmic energies using alchemic elements as well as primal world knowledge. In theory it could be used for anything as a player could just as simply build a row of stone buildings as they could a band of shape shifting hunters. Daniel’s style was focused around the grooming of chaos with his signature formula dealing with the sacrifice/hunting of foxes. Oddly enough, amongst his people, he was known as one of the best fox trackers and enders in the terrain as the creatures were fond of drifting too close to the affairs of werewolves, so perhaps he was a man of oddly sturdy positioning. His weapon of choice in both cards and flesh was typically a crossbow though his method relied very much on the subtle rearranging of his opponents terrain under the cover of an array of invisibility. This “cloak” of sorts was made of many cards both offensive and defensive though it’s effectiveness was boosted to extraordinary extremes by a perverse sense of timing which was one of Daniel’s more mysterious talents.

There was another person who was almost as quality a player as Daniel, another werewolf named Louis. People weren’t exactly sure just how old or young Louis was as he had a habit of feeding people to their own perceptions or assumptions and so was often as old, as young, as tall, as short, as beautiful or as ugly as people wanted or needed him to be. All he required was for them to witness. Louis had a slightly different style though it was no less effective in it’s own right. Louis was known for his ability to destroy other werewolves, both in cards and in flesh. He had a tendency to make a pack eat or run down his target which was often one of their own, or pulling those powerful within their terrains out of said those terrains often of their own volition. The latter method was often simpler to explain away if too much questioning dialogue was drawn or crafted. He could occasionally disguise himself as one of the packmembers, no one in particular, just a passing face they had no reason not to recognize. This allowed him to kill from the inside out. If he was destroying a whole pack he could utilize a band of crafty huntsmen or the local army encampment, or a strange spell he could summon but would not hold due to his natural suspicion about magic. You could say that he was cloaked in his own way as well.

Though both well armored and well armed, instead of being annoyed by the presence of the other they seemed to be more or less entertained by the other’s existence as well as eager to test their skills against the other’s hand. Some outsiders would even host bets on who would best who on which day or turn, and if we’re being honest, it was a vaguely lucrative source of fun, if slightly tragic.

Occasionally When Daniel Went hunting, he would invite Louis to accompany him. Of course Bethany was there as well, which often put Louis on edge because he did not entirely trust the hunding or anyone for that matter. It seemed that a partner in cards to him was much different from the bodyguard of your packmember. Louis was often curious about observing Daniel’s patterns in the flesh, and though Daniel’s prey was often more vulpine, Louis returned the favor by occasionally inviting him to observe him bring justice to a wolf who had broken a few too many laws. Daniel was never entirely sure if these had been official jobs, as Louis was a member of the local system of enforcement, but he tried not to forget that some people were always looking for a golden opportunity to fell something which was most likely already teetering downward. Louis might say something like “accelerating the inevitable”.

They took horses with them for this mission. There had been reports of bandits near one of the villages hugging some of the common roads for cargo transport. The fox-changers or the Vulpine-Exchange as some of the more organized gatherings called themselves were generally opportunistic. Most were foolish though resourceful, but a rare few actually had a degree of genuine cleverness to them. Most were dangerous for one reason or another but the latter breed could apply this danger to a wide assembly of profits, or concentrated and long lasting societal/cultural wounds. Humans wished they were so effective, and though they could be annoying for different reasons, generally speaking they were more or less buffers for the cosmic forces of true greatness. It was for this reason Daniel didn’t mind routing out some rogues or highwaymen, but having to squash a couple of humans was boring work, and a sign that his senses had been keen but not keen enough to capture the great prey he had been tracking. They were pretty quick these foxes, and flexible, like cats but with greater familiarity to more lupine or canine mannerisms. If curiosity killed the cat, hilarity killed the fox.

The three dismounted and killed the first of the bandits patrolling their choke points. They were mostly human but Daniel managed to land a killing blow on one of the foxes in disguise. He wasn’t exactly sure what fueled their transformations, they had a habit of disrupting rules rather than adhering to them, though one had once suggested that they each paid subtly differing tithes to allow themselves the shifting of shape. This was a slight relief to daniel as he feared they were simply dumb witches or skinwalkers with too much time on their hands but it seemed they actually did have some culture and art to claim. He’d even read somewhere that certain lineages held special skills. They tracked around for a while, picking off foxy stragglers, before a taste of their blood revealed the location of their primary den which was, more or less an oddly contorted dimensional cave.

Daniel was more or less entertained though Louis seemed disturbed and Bethany was busy keeping her sword at the ready and trying to be less irked by her wolf’s peculiar disinterest in her. She believed herself quite interesting and though she’d been weird she’d been liked well enough. Well, in truth most people believed her to be something of a pariah and pretty bitchy at times but those who had sat down and actually talked to her knew that her bitchiness was a pretty smart survival tactic. Daniel didn’t seem to care either way though, he just seemed to like killing things and drawing, often drifting into maniacal laughter with both hobbies. The fox-changers put up a pretty good fight, but they’d stumbled on them during their meal time, which meant they were mostly unprepared, but gods were their traps as peculiar as they were plentiful. Much of Louis confusion came from the fact that, you could say, he was used to having more honorable prey, though honor didn’t always make for a useful person. Having to deal with so much lawlessness and blatant perversion of anything resembling stability, was a little too much for his usual sensibilities.

They killed the chief fox-changer, and were going to leave things there; well Daniel wanted to take his head as a confirmation of completion but Bethany told him his habits were too disgusting sometimes, so he rolled his eyes and relented. Instead though they were confronted with a conundrum of sorts. There were three foxes left which they had missed in the carnage. One looked something like an adult perhaps the mother or an older sister, as she still looked young enough. The second girl seemed smack dab in the middle of adolescence, while the boy seemed to be just teetering towards its edge. He had sandy hair, the oldest long dark waves, and the middle a short fiery crown with freckles. They were all pale of skin as opposed to Louis and Daniels very dark almost smoky complexions. The oldest more or less pleaded for their lives, saying that they had been abducted by this band who had terrible plans in mind for their persons before the lupine intervention liberated them. She said she’d do anything if they took them in, which got some of the more devilish ideas in Daniel’s mind cooking, but Louis stated that the pack would frown on inviting strangers into their domain. Then the woman, who was sister to the younger two, said that she would even sell herself into slavery if they’d provide for the other two. It was at this point that Daniel felt a little uneasy about it all, as if all at once he was becoming too much the bad guy in this particular cosmic play, and though he could play a mean archvillain, this was all much too petty for his tastes. He said he’d hire them as his servants if that would stop her from disgracing herself so damn much. It was depressing as he put it.

At this Bethany gave him a mildly horrified expression, looking a little sad as if he was going to replace her. He rolled her eyes and assured her that he doubted those sorry sacks would be as good in a brawl as she was. This seemed to put a little more fire back into her bearing, but Daniel was still disturbed by the quality execution of her puppy dog eyes. He almost started petting her. That would have been awkward. Louis was still weary of the “cargo” they had to escort home, though Daniel made it clear that he had done far more questionable deeds in his own right so he had no reason to complain, plus they could confirm that they had, in fact accomplished their mission.

The young boy was short tempered but witty, the middle sister was competitive but contemplative, and the oldest sister was creative but clearly manipulative. Daniel found it hard to explain to strangers why he found keeping what many would consider his mortal enemies as household fellows so thrilling. He told them it was purely an educational experience, but he couldn’t help remarking the sexiness of the females, the hot feuds which rose up between Bethany and the dark haired fox woman as they vied for his acknowledgement of their prowess, and the potential the younger ones presented of being able to train viable apprentices. It seemed their own kind had treated them just as bad as anyone else had, so they had few problems learning a few tricks to tracking down their kin and running them through.

The boy’s name was Sean, the middle girl Charlotte, and the oldest girl Margot. Apparently the life spans of their kind varied as much as their skillset and lineage traits, with some being as ancient as the first stones, and others capping at seventeen years of age. Charlotte suggested that their time shifted based on who they surrounded themselves with, and harkened it back to something their dead parents told them about the company you keep. Sean was about 12, Charlotte was something like 16, and Margot was 19. Of course this was all in fox years so Daniel had no absolute idea how it translated into wolf logic.

Margot seemed to like trying to tempt Daniel to allow her into his bed, and she almost had him a couple of times but he was a crafty man himself. Still in his dreams he all but unhinged using her and his desires as he pleased. When he foiled her schemes she seemed to like trying to make him jealous by flirting up visitors, but Daniel had long since given up on romantic ideals, except in stories of course, so many of her actions were wasted. Still this did not stop him from occasionally requiring Bethany to share his sleeping quarters because “he had a bad feeling that night” or him inquiring about Charlotte's occasional “nightmares” and how she might want someone warm to hold her while she slept. It was not a surprise to anyone except maybe sean that these rather hot nights directly corresponded to Margot’s lack of restraint in her affections. .

#Dogs Wolves Death Heat

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