#but i feel like a stereotypical fictional high school is the quintessential pick-me setting

[sixty-protons]

bet.

Really, it would have been comical if it wasn't so sad. Christine had been blessed with all of the features that fairy tale princesses were made of: pale, delicate skin; a slim waist; fine, blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. On paper, she should have been at the top of the high school food chain — the denizens of Garden Hills High School were exactly the type of people to base social status on those kinds of superficial details. And yet, here she was, sitting at a table by herself in the far back corner of the cafeteria where the trash cans were, trying in vain to wipe the tomato sauce out of her hair with a zero-ply cafeteria napkin, nothing but herself and The Complete Works of Edgar Allen Poe for company. Oh, and Earl. But Earl was a loner by choice, and he did not make exceptions — certainly not for Christine. The problem was that although Christine had all of the right features, she had them in all of the wrong ways. Her skin was the sort of pale you'd find on a corpse, veins showing through starkly even in places where it was entirely abnormal to see them. There were visible veins in her wrists, of course, but they extended all the way up her forearms, spiderwebbing into her biceps like the anatomical model in the biology lab. Her jugular stood out like a bruise on her neck, and sometimes she swore she saw it pulse faintly. All throughout her body, from her head to her shoulders to her knees to her toes, her vascular system was mapped out across her skin in a way that was entire unnatural to see on a living, breathing human. She had given up on finding any sort of makeup in her skin color years ago, and had in fact entirely dismissed the idea of ever breathing any sort of life into her appearance. She was skinny, but in the emaciated way, where her pants hung off her hips like a clothes hanger. Her face was so gaunt her classmates had volunteered her for the part of Yorick when they were reading Hamlet aloud in class. Her joints were thicker than her limbs, and her fingers were so knobbly they looked like they belonged on an arthritic 90-year-old rather than a high school senior. People threw sheets over her with hollers of "rest in peace" and submitted fake obituaries for her to the local newspaper. Her hair was a shade of blonde that was closer to white, and it was dry and hay-like in a way that would have looked more appropriate on a 2,000-year-old mummy. And sure, her eyes were a pale, pathetic blue, but people would sooner have described them as piercing for the cataract in her left eye that left her pupil nearly entirely white than for the color of her irises. This was all complemented nicely by her wardrobe. It's hard to find something half-decent to wear when the target audience for your clothing size is pre-teens — or, rather, those pre-teens' parents. And so it was that a good three-quarters of Christine's wardrobe looked like it belonged in the '90s, because anything was better than a bright pink t-shirt that said "Believe" in sparkly purple cursive. Between that and her literally ghostly countenance, she wouldn't have blamed anyone for mistaking her for a bona fide zombie. She knew she was disconcerting to look at. That did not, however, excuse the people who definitely knew she wasn't a zombie for pretending otherwise just because they got a kick out of ruining her day. And maybe she didn't help her own case, what with the obsession with death and horror and all that. But frankly, it wasn't her responsibility to make it easier for others to not be assholes. And anyway, isn't it only natural to be interested in the culture of your people?

the "i'm not pretty like the other girls because i'm pale and skinny" female protagonist trope is something i loathe more than almost anything else in the world but i'd be more willing to forgive it if the author was brave enough to commit to it. if your "unattractive" female protagonist is a snow-white waif then i'd better see you emphasising how nauseatingly corpselike she looks. how people shudder when her maggot-flesh fingers touch their bare skin because they're expecting her to be cold and damp. how her birdlike bones and dainty waist are contemptible rather than desirable. maybe even have her develop a degree of beauty by gaining some weight and colour for a change. put down the necromancer barbie template and show me a proper little freak.

[leefi]

Starira MBTI II - Siegfeld

These were the most fun to write up.

Seisho

Siegfeld

Frontier

Rinmeikan

Michiru Otori: ENFJ

Oh my woof woof...My evil little girlboss. i love you sooooo soooooo so much. Michiru is fake as fuck and soooooo evil and funny. She's the final entry I'm writing because I wanted to save the best for last.

She is the perfect example of how manipulative and conniving Fe doms can be (we even see a teeny tiny bit of this in Nana - see how she tricks Kaoruko into doing work in their My Theatre conversations). Michiru is also a visionary - she has a very distinct plan for the future that she’s always working towards (aux Ni), but you’d never guess that about her at first glance. She works very hard to maintain an affable, easygoing, approachable persona to contrast with Te dom Akira’s more intimidating and domineering one (dom Fe). I can’t say that I’ve seen her use too much of that tertiary Se, but her Ni and Fe are so strong that I have absolutely no doubt that she’s an ENFJ. We definitely see that inferior Ti struggle to catch up with Akira’s dominant Te reasoning for prioritizing Elysion over the Performance Festival, though, because Michiru’s Ni is thinking so far--too far, she comes to realize--ahead.

I could talk more about how smart and pragmatic and intuitive Michiru is, but we’d be stuck here all day. She’s my evil little girlboss, yes, but she also cares for her friends so much. At the end of the day, she’s an Fe dom, and that mastermind auxiliary Ni comes second - everything she does is to uplift and benefit the people around her. That dominant extroverted Feeling is what allows her to pick up on Akira’s potential from that day in their childhood - and auxiliary Ni instantly begins setting a plan into motion for how to get there. Why doesn’t Michiru try for the throne herself, then? Well, maybe there’s some deep-seated insecurity towards Akira and their relationship that we’re not seeing. It has always intrigued me so much as to why she prefers to work in the background. It would be fine if she truly preferred to stay in the shadows - that’s a normal thing for a lot of people to want, and they thrive there. But I’ve always had the feeling that isn’t quite the case for her…Sometimes she says things that make me think she desires more.

But again, she’s an Fe dom - her mind is geared towards thinking about other people, about what’s best for the group. And we see that once more when she’s perfectly poised to win the Arcana revue against Shiori, when she flippantly remarks at the start that there’s no way in hell that she’s losing to her - but then she sees how hard Shiori is trying, the potential she has to succeed her the role of Frau Saphir one day, how much she’s grown and come into her own and found a cause to fight for, while Michiru is is too far stuck in the future...and dominant Fe stamps that conniving auxiliary Ni down, and she rips off her own jacket for her kouhai.

Akira Yukishiro: ESTJ

Funnily enough, the “extroverted” ESTJ actually tends to be a bit more socially reserved than their “introverted” ISTJ siblings - this is because ESTJs have Feeling in their inferior slot, while ISTJs have it in their Tertiary (compare her to ISTJ Junna, who as a class leader actively goes out of her way to interact with the other girls and make sure everyone’s included, while Akira bothers herself only with the Edels). ESTJ’s extroversion instead manifests in their desire to control, order, and yes, be on top, just like Akira’s ENTJ cousin Claudine. Akira is a Te dom and Si aux, so she’s all about leading by example and doing it by the tried-and-true. This is why she fits so well into the role of the quintessential emperor/king, but as I mentioned with her inferior Fi, doesn’t actually have any charisma beyond what Fe-dom Michiru has manufactured for her (it's explicitly stated that Akira is even more revered than Edels of old - yes, due to her phenomenal and unparalleled talent, but also because Michiru actively works to cultivate an image that makes her untouchable). This is exactly why her relationship with Michiru works so well. It’s only natural that two extroverted judgers aimed for Siegfeld - and absolutely thrive there.

Her tertiary Ne, meanwhile, is why a lot of people (myself included) love her interactions with Yachiyo and Aruru (Ne doms). Akira’s Ne and Fi are weak, but she’s very smart and - contrary to first impressions - isn’t a stubborn person when she trusts the competency of the people around her (Te). And that’s thanks to her Ne. She lives for the stage, it’s her pride and joy, and when she sees people who are doing something that pay ode to it well - whether that’s ENFP Aruru’s excitable and childlike Ne-Fi or ENTP Yachiyo’s more pragmatic and intellectually curious Ne-Ti, she is quick to place her trust in them. Akira surprises the other two school leaders in the event story when she tells them they’d be wise to learn from Karen and Aruru’s senses of wonder, and Yachiyo’s passion for the stage - though wildly different from Akira’s own - is what makes her confident in her decision to pass the throne off to her.

Shiori Yumeoji: ISFJ

A PERFECT example of using dominant Si is when Shiori inhabits the role of the Chariot to draw out the strength and energy she needs during her revue with Michiru - introverted Sensing is all about deriving from past experiences and using them to inform the present!

And she and Tamao are!! The same!! Type!! Which is so interesting to me! ISFJs are so sweet and kind and caring (they and INFPs are actually often mistaken for each other - compare her to Mahiru!) - but there’s an inner fire to them that can be so easy to miss! I can’t think of a single fictional ISFJ I’ve met that didn’t, at some point, become incredibly insane and unhinged! I’m not sure what it is, but if I had to guess I think it’s that inferior Ne showing up, kicking down the door, and going “I’M HEEEEEEEEEEEEREEEEEEE BITCHESSSSSSSSSS”

Anyway - textbook ISFJ. So, so sweet and demure (Si dominant, Fe auxiliary - both are so concerned with standards, group sentiment, how things were done before, how everyone is feeling - so so so accommodating but can end up becoming doormats). We see that Si a lot in her woes towards her sister - “we were supposed to do this, we were supposed to be this,” etc. etc...hell the only reason in the first place that she joins the Edels is because of her original promise with Fumi. Tend to keep their inner thoughts and machinations to themselves (Ti tertiary). Prone to snapping and going insane if they get pushed/bothered too much (Ne inferior) - I legitimately think that Ne is the scariest function to have in your inferior slot. Godspeed, ladies.

Another fun note: she and Yachiyo are polar opposites, something I never noticed until just now. Interesting lmao

Liu Mei Fan: ENFJ

I had to check her PDB page to get her type because I honestly had no clue! She was the most difficult for me! But after seeing her listed as ENFJ I went “...hm?” and then went “oh yeah.”. Because she reminds me of Sonia Nevermind from Dangan Ronpa LMAOOOOO. FORGIVE ME FOR THIS COMPARISON. IT’S NOT BECAUSE OF THE EXCHANGE STUDENT THING!! They just have the same personality type, and it kind of manifests itself in the same way - despite the stereotype being that Fe doms are always very socially conscious and suave, these two are both a quirkier/more awkward type of ENFJ, and at first glance both could pass off as their happy-go-luckier ENFP or ESFP cousins instead...if you’re just looking at the letters. But when you look at their actual functions, they’re both ENFJ as they come! See how different two people of the same type can be?! She and Michiru share a type! Mei Fan is a well-meaning, driven Fe-dom in a strict Si-heavy environment like Siegfeld’s, and it’s SO funny to watch her dominant Fe desperately try to adjust her personality as she goes to fit in properly (while Michiru watches like 🙂 , Shiori is right there with her desperately adjusting (Fe aux), and Yachiyo doesn’t give a shit and does her own thing anyway). Our beloved shimbo has Ti in her last slot which isn’t surprising given her penchant to speak before she thinks, and Se in her tertiary slot which shows up in, again, her physicality (MUSCLEMAN MEI FAN HIGH-INTENSITY JOCK TRAINING IN THE MOUNTAINS). Aux Ni showed itself in that ceaseless determination to become an Edel, and her constant work towards shaping herself into an ideal one to impress Akira (and achieve her own goals in surpassing Akira herself!). Just compare her to dom Ne Yachi, who could care less about any of that stuff and goes her own way.

Yachiyo Tsuruhime: ENTP

“What do I wish for? World peace and happiness for everyone, I guess.” The moment I saw this homescreen quote I knew she was an ENTP - somebody else on her PDB page actually pointed it out too lmao. ENTPs are the “devil’s advocate” type which can lead to ruffling a lot of other peoples’ feathers, but Yachiyo is a bit suaver than that (developed tertiary Fe). Granted, she doesn’t escape the stereotype completely - she has a lot of fun in teasing the Fe-aux and Fe-dom Shiori and Mei Fan respectively, though she would never dare to do the same to Michiru. As we learn through the main story, there’s something that appears insidious about her at first glance - but that’s genuinely all it is, a first impression. She keeps to herself, yes, but Yachiyo’s an actress to the core, and her greatest love is the stage, just like (if not more than) all of the other girls around her. Yachiyo’s unique in that she breaks some of the typical Starira model of seeing her partner as her greatest inspiration - she’s not invested in a person like Shiori is with her sister or Michiru and Mei Fan are in Akira - Yachiyo pursues the stage solely for her own fulfillment and desires. Everything is a curiosity to her (Ne feeding Ti - how can I make sense of this world, and what can I do for myself to gain access to more information and experiences, because I’m always, always hungry for more). Her inferior Si shows up in how much she contrasts Akira, who is an Si-aux - just look at the unconventional way she found to practice her acting (pretending to be a spy snooping on the Edels), compared to Akira’s more conventional methods of stringent, scheduled practice.