#for the most part his relationships with the others are neutral/amicable to positive

[autumnoakes]

hello lu fandom i have started falling back into lu and i have thoughts on wild again

anyways i think that there are a few members of the chain that don't trust wild or give him the ability to demonstrate his own abilities. and i imagine it would be frustrating for wild to constantly be held at arm's length or constantly be yelled at for doing things incorrectly. legend, time, and warriors are the worst for this.

this post by @luna-loveboop (sorry for the tag!) discusses how warriors tends to view wild and how wild acts in response to that. wars has been shown to hold wild to the standard of one of his soldiers, which is not something he does with any of the other links. in turn, wild doesn't really know how to act around or talk to warriors. legend (although he has been shown to joke around with wild from time to time) doesn't seem like he really likes wild much, let alone trusts him. leg's always calling wild things like "crazy" and insinuating that wild is too uncivilized and routinely nitpicks the way he does things. time, right now, is just on edge so he's more of a hardass than usual. he and wild tend to get along well, but i personally tend to headcanon that there's still a lack of trust in there.

i think it can be insulting to wild when he's a hero in his own right, who woke up with nothing one day and was told to save the world. yes, his methods are different from a lot of the others' methods but that's the nature of his game(s). i think the way that legend and warriors routinely treat wild is the most telling and the most likely to cause issues. wild hasn't said anything about this yet. either he doesn't want to cause a problem or he just hasn't noticed.

[winterscaptain]

nightmare, recalled

Aaron Hotchner x Gender Neutral Reader

a/n: the hearing. next part up is the slave of duty. we are reaching the end of this arc, and we will do some healing, i promise. thank you all for waiting on this part! it’s a little short breather before we get slave of duty tomorrow night. 

an ajf fic arc that happily stands on its own! (the pieces stand alright on their own as well, for the most part!) one | two | three | four | five | six | seven | eight | nine | ten | eleven

words: 2k warnings: discussion of violence, language

summary: “when someone you loved was depending on your lie, it was perfectly easy.” - liane moriarty, big little lies

masterlist | a joyful future masterlist | requests closed!

You arrive at the office in the early morning, not looking half as exhausted as you feel. It was your own fault - you begged and begged to be the first in the back-to-back team testimonies today. If you were first, you reasoned, you never once had to leave Jack once he and Aaron arrived. 

Jess is taking care of the final arrangements today - handling the catering for the wake with her parents, sourcing roses, all of the wretched little tasks you’d much rather take on yourself - for the funeral this weekend. 

But alas, Strauss needs to continue her warpath on Aaron, and you need to defend him. 

You sit outside of the eighth-floor conference room, just down the hall from Erin’s office. You have tissues tucked in your hand, not trusting her to provide them and saving your pride in the process. You keep your eyes down as she steps into the room and closes the door behind her. 

As you expected, about three minutes later, she pops her head out. “We’re ready for you.” 

Inside the room is one of the deputy directors, in addition to a lackey from the inspector general’s office. 

Gang’s all here...

You take your seat opposite Erin, keeping your hands in your lap. 

“Please state your name and rank for the record.”

You do, clear and steady.

“How long have you worked in the BAU?”

“I was assigned to the BAU as a New Agent Trainee in the summer of 2007, and was assigned to the unit as an agent at the end of that year.”

“So, two years?”

“Just about, ma’am.”

The other people in the room start taking notes, but Erin keeps her eyes on you. It’s unsettling. 

“How was it that you were assigned to the BAU as a NAT?” There’s something hidden in her question, so you answer somewhat comprehensively. 

“I requested a unit assignment based on a recommendation from Jennifer Shepard, the late director of NCIS. I was intrigued by the guest lecture given by Agents Hotchner and Gideon and requested the BAU.”

“Who approved your transfer into the unit?”

Your brow crinkles. “I’m not sure of the specifics ma’am, but the SSAIC informed me that she’d spoken to Agent Hotchner prior to my assignment.” 

“Do you feel indebted to Agent Hotchner?”

Ah. There it is. 

“No, ma’am.” 

She narrows her eyes. “How can that be? He was directly responsible for a massive acceleration of your career within the bureau.”

“All due respect, ma’am, I believe my academy coursework and the Director’s Leadership Award on my desk speaks for itself. Agent Hotchner and Agent Hemingway both recognized my potential and made their decisions accordingly.” You try to keep the sass out of your tone, but you have to throw her off this train of thought somehow. 

She hums - once, staccato. “Given that...recognition, do you feel obligated to defend Agent Hotchner?”

“No, ma’am. I do not feel any obligation or debt to Agent Hotchner.” 

She narrows her eyes again, but makes a note in her small notebook before speaking again. “How would you describe Agent Hotchner’s recent behavior in the field?”

Without hesitation, “Motivated.”

She’s not impressed. “Would you say he’s been taking unnecessary risks in the field?”

Lady, if you only knew the half of it. 

“No, ma’am. I believe his choices in the field have been effective.” 

She chuffs a little laugh, unamused. “Very cute, agent, but that’s not what I asked.” 

You blink at her, waiting for another question. 

“Why did Agent Hotchner step down from his position as unit chief?”

Careful. Careful. 

“He promoted Agent Morgan so the team could continue our work unhindered.” 

“What were the hindrances?”

Shit. 

“By transferring his responsibilities, he had the opportunity to explore more investigatory avenues regarding George Foyet that he would have been unable to prioritize while in his post as unit chief.” 

Good save. 

“Can you characterize the transition of power?” She raises an eyebrow. She’s baiting you. 

You don’t take it. “Amicable. Seamless. Peaceful.”

“So you wouldn’t say there was tension between Agents Hotchner and Morgan regarding the division of responsibilities?”

“No, ma’am. I did not experience or witness any dysfunction arising from the transition. Agent Hotchner was exceptionally respectful and deferential to Agent Morgan following the promotion. There was never any confusion about the chain of command.” 

And that was actually true. 

She pushed and pushed and pushed you to say something that would condemn Aaron for his behavior in the previous eight weeks. Though you were plenty frustrated with him, you didn’t budge. 

Soon enough, she asked about what happened on the afternoon of November 23rd, 2009. You started from the beginning - The Fox, the letters, the medication. 

+++

“Who made the decision to breach Foyet’s apartment?”

This was wearing on you, well into the second hour. “Agent Morgan, ma’am.” 

“Didn’t Agent Hotchner have anything to say regarding the tactical plan?” Strauss looks tired too, but she better rally - her efforts are getting weaker as you continue to answer her questions with steady candor and she still has seven more interviews to conduct today, not to mention the paperwork. 

“No, ma’am. Agent Morgan, even in normal circumstances, is the established tactician of the unit. In this instance and others even while he was in the unit chief position, Agent Hotchner deferred to Agent Morgan’s expertise regarding SWAT deployment and tactical decisions.” 

+++

“Do you believe it was Agent Kassmeyer’s fault that Agent Hotchner’s family was compromised?”

You shake your head. “No. I’m sure you’ll hear it more than once today, but torture is seemingly endless. Agent Kassmeyer took everything Foyet threw at him and still refused to compromise the Hotchner family’s location. There was nothing more he could have done to prevent Foyet from making contact with Haley Hotchner.” 

+++

“Did it occur to you to join Agent Hotchner as he separated himself from the team?”

“No, ma’am. And I disagree with your characterization of the situation - Agent Hotchner did not separate himself from the team. He pursued a lead with Agent Kassmeyer, who requested his presence as he was dying in the back of that ambulance.” 

She purses her lips. “What was your next plan of action?” 

You take a moment. 

This is the hard part. 

“Once the scene was in-process, I took a car and followed the ambulance to the hospital. When I arrived, Agent Anderson had already found Agent Hotchner a car, and he was in touch with the team regarding the next plan of action.” You wet your lips. “He then received a call from Foyet.”

+++

Her eyes remain cold and detached as you walk her through the conversations with Foyet, with Haley. With a certain degree of frustration, you push through your tears as you relay her last words, the gunfire. 

“I don’t remember exactly what happened after that.” You stare down at your hands, focused on the way the pad of your thumb feels against the side of your middle finger. “I remember pulling up to the house and getting out of the car...The - the door was open. I found Agent Hotchner while I was clearing the ground floor. Foyet was dead, at that point.” 

“What had happened to Foyet?”

“He’d been...beaten.” Your voice cracked. That was an understatement. “I subdued Agent Hotchner until the rest of the team arrived.” You press the tissue to your eyes for a second. “He was...understandably distraught.” 

Strauss examines you across the table, sees the emptiness in your eyes behind your tears, the grief, the sorrow, the horror of having to relive it. “What happened after that?”

“I realized,” you continue, “that I hadn’t found Jack. I remembered what Agent Hotchner told him, and we both got up and ran to his home office, off the kitchen. I found Jack Hotchner in the storage trunk beside Agent Hotchner’s desk.” You look up at her. “I can’t begin to articulate the relief I felt at seeing him alive.” 

+++

“When Haley’s sister, Jessica Brooks, arrived, I kept her away from the crime scene for the sake of her health and safety. She met up with Agent Jareau, who had Jack at that point. I -” You stutter and swallow before taking a breath. “I returned upstairs.” 

Your voice shakes, and tears make their way down your cheeks again. 

“I returned upstairs, where Agent Morgan was sitting with Haley’s body. There wasn’t - I couldn’t, um - I couldn’t do anything for her. She was gone even before Aaron - Agent Hotchner - arrived.” 

The representative from the IG’s office looks a little misty now, as does the deputy director. You press your hands to your face. 

“It was... She’d been shot at least three times - that much we heard over the phone.” You voice breaks, but you forge ahead. “She had also been stabbed...There was…” You take a quick breath, but it’s not enough. “...so much blood.” 

Strauss’s voice is quiet when she asks. “What was the nature of your relationship with Haley Hotchner?”

You look her square in the eye, not shy about the grief washing over you in waves. “She was one of my best friends. My boss’s wife, the mother of a boy I consider my family.” You turn your gaze to the table, the fake wood grain suddenly very interesting. “I will miss her beyond measure.” 

A breath echoes around the room as the others collect themselves. 

“I have one last question for you.” 

“Yes, ma’am?”

“What do you think would have happened if Agent Hotchner had allowed George Foyet off of that floor?”

You level her with a look that makes her sit back. “He would have killed Jack. He would have killed me.” 

“And?” There’s one more thing you have to say. 

“He would have let Agent Hotchner live, and he would have told him it was his fault.” 

The rest of the room looks shaken, and you know you’re right. Even beyond the profile, Foyet’s obsession with Aaron was clear. 

Why can’t they see it? 

“Thank you, Agent. No further questions.” 

+++

When you get back to the roundtable room, JJ is there with Derek. You offer them an approximation of a smile. 

“What are you still doing here?” Derek asks. “You can go home, if you want.” 

You shake your head. “I’ll be here until Aaron’s interview is finished.” 

+++

You can’t help the way your face lights up when Jack sprints across the bridge in the middle of the afternoon, leaping ahead of Aaron. 

Rounding the table, you kneel and open your arms to him, letting out an oof when he runs into you full-tilt. You can’t help but smile. 

But then again, Jack has always had that effect on you. 

“Good morning, bud.” 

He wraps his arms around your neck, still impossibly tight. “Hi.” 

You stand in the doorway until Aaron gets there. Jack’s familiar travel bag is slung over his shoulder, and he tosses it down in the corner. “Emily’s in right now, and then it’s you.”

Aaron nods, taking a seat. You follow suit, reclining in your chair so Jack can relax against your chest. The rest of the team watches you both, equal parts mournful and hopeful. 

JJ watches the way Aaron presses a kiss to the side of his son’s head right before he sits down, his hand resting lightly on your shoulder for balance.

Penelope watches the way Jack clings to you, playing with the buttons on your shirt, comfortable and safe. 

Derek watches the way Aaron watches you, brown eyes soft and absent of concern. 

Dave watches the way you watch Aaron, can see the way your fingers ache to reach out for him, to take care of him. 

They all watch the three of you - understanding, but not knowing. 

+++

tagging: @arganfics @quillvine @stxrryspencer @agenthotchner @hurricanejjareau @ughitsbaby @rousethemouse @criminalsmarts @shrimpyblog @genevievedarcygranger @ssaic-jareau @good-heavens-chris-evans @davidrossi-ismydad @angelsbabey @writefasttalkevenfaster @venusbarnes @hotchsflower @ogmilkis @marvels-agents100 @hotchslatte @risenfox @mrs-dr-reid @captain-christopher-pike @dwellingsofrosie @pan-pride-12 @sunshine-em @word-scribbless​ @jdougl-love​ @sageellsworth05​ @dreila03 @forgottenword @aaronhotchnerr @ssa-morgan @buckybau @sana-li @tegggeeee @abschaffer2 @ssacandice-ray @ellyhotchner @lotties-journey-abroad @mrs-joel-pimentel-23-25 @laneygthememequeen @violentvulgarvolatile  @mooneylupinblack @ssareidbby @violet-amxthyst @bwbatta @roses-and-grasses @lcvischmitt @capricorngf @missdowntonabbey @averyhotchner @mandylove1000 @cevanswhre @qvid-pro-qvo @jeor @spencers-hoodrat @infinity1321 @zizzlekwum @popped-weasels @evee87 @nuvoleincielo @this-broken-band-girl @reidtomestyles @hotch-meeeeeuppppp @winqhster @spencerelds @the-falling-in-the-danger @nattylite49 @crazyshannonigans @softbibxtch

[dwellordream]

“Female friendship assumed a crucial role in novels that revolved around companionate marriage and assumed that parents could no longer legitimately choose husbands for their daughters and that friendship should partially or wholly define the ideal relationship between husband and wife. Historically, such philosophers as Aristotle and Montaigne had associated friendship with equality, similarity, and a reciprocal affection based on reason, in contrast to marriage, perceived as a naturally hierarchical relation based on irrational passions that defied control. Beginning in the late seventeenth century, an increasing tendency to view marriage in egalitarian terms transformed it into something like friendship between husband and wife, making friends agents of marriages rather than mere relief from the trammels of wedlock. 

The liberal democratic principles subtending the companionate marriage plot defined young women as individuals capable of maturation and development, though often within more restricted limits than those placed on men. The heroine of a companionate marriage plot must know herself in order to choose a husband wisely; once freed from the requirement either to obey or reject parental dictates, she is aided in her quest for self-knowledge by friends who are equals and peers. Dorothea ignores the parental figures who attempt to dictate whom she should marry, but her encounter with Rosamond prompts the self knowledge that leads her to marry Will. Friendship between women becomes a model for managing social bonds in a capitalist democracy that promotes equality and individualism, cohesion and competition. 

In a novel about community and its fissures, the relationship between Rosamond and Dorothea provides one of the more hopeful glimpses of two very different people speaking openly about what separates and unites them. Their moment of amity converts the jealousy, rivalry, and secrecy that initially divide them into a sense of connection, and as such also provides a model for how men and women, as well as the rival camps of Middlemarch, can resolve their differences. Friendship between men is too vast a subject to be given its due here, but a brief discussion of its place in Victorian literature and society can help us to understand what was specific about female friendships. The first point to make, because it is the more surprising one, is that Victorians celebrated friendships between men, especially young men, in terms very similar to those used to laud intimacy between women. 

Lifewriting, conduct books, photographs, and educational treatises praised sentimental, spiritual, romantic, and physical bonds between men and made no fixed connections between male friendships and the legal category of sodomy or the controversial but common practice of sex between older and younger boys at public schools. Friendship between men was believed to promote enlightenment ideals of self-cultivation, sympathetic communion, and civic association. For men as well as for women, such friendships were shot through with erotic yearnings and domestic intimacies that were openly avowed; men did not hide that they slept in the same bed or made plans to live together.

For both sexes, friendship was an opportunity to engage in cross-gender behavior with impunity, within the confines of a same-sex relationship. As we saw in the previous chapter, women and girls could act toward female friends in ways they could not toward men; conversely, boys and men could more easily display susceptibility and sentiment with each other than with women, as Thomas Hughes’s Tom Brown’s Schooldays (1857) demonstrates. Friendship for both sexes thus reinforced gender identity and provided respite from gender constraints. Male friendships also differed from those between women. Friendship between boys was much more likely to be described as a phase that ended when one of the men married, and it was more often understood in terms of rivalry, hierarchy, and sexual difference. 

Female friendship enforced an altruistic economy of reciprocity and a model of subjectivity based on cooperation, and its repertoire of bodily gestures emphasized contact between undifferentiated body parts such as hands, eyes, and lips. Male friendship feminized both of the boys involved, but was often described as feminizing one more than the other, resulting in a couple modeled more on the exaggerated gender differences of hierarchical marriage. Even when female friends adopted behavior associated with men, their relationship was still seen as intensifying the femininity of both parties. As a result, female friendship was more often compared to companionate marriage, which asked both husband and wife to develop traits associated with feminine forms of sociability. At its most minimal, female friendship takes the form of neutralized enmity. 

Thomas Hardy’s Far from the Madding Crowd (1874) represents even that scant degree of friendship as powerful enough to reconcile female rivals and anticipate friendship between husband and wife. Like Middlemarch, Hardy’s novel is a remarriage plot, in which the heroine learns how to love a husband as a friend only after surviving a disastrous first marriage. For Bathsheba Everdene, learning to overcome jealousy of her husband’s erstwhile lover, Fanny Robin, is a crucial step on the road to a companionate union. Bathsheba learns of Fanny’s existence only after her death, when Troy flaunts his preference by ordering Fanny an expensive tombstone and planting her grave with flowers. 

Though it would be consistent with her character for Bathsheba to despise the woman whose demise has only intensified Troy’s love, she behaves with uncharacteristic gentleness towards Fanny’s body and memory by tending her corpse and then replanting her grave after a storm destroys the flowers Troy had planted. Bathsheba’s initial perception of Fanny as a “rival” (229) gives way to a sympathy for the dead woman that constitutes a sort of posthumous friendship. In the plot of female amity, love between friends develops the emotional disposition necessary for companionate marriage. 

Bathsheba’s retroactive friendliness toward Fanny germinates the compassion that flowers in her marriage to the aptly named Gabriel Oak, which the narrator assesses as a happy union because it realizes the “good-fellowship—camaraderie— . . . seldom superadded to love between the sexes” (303). The narrator connects female friendship to companionate marriage through the water imagery that dominates both Bathsheba’s care of Fanny’s grave and the narrator’s last words about her marriage to Gabriel. Troy plants flowers on Fanny’s tomb but fails to notice that its position directly beneath a rainspout means that the first rain will destroy his blooms, much as his heedlessness helped cut Fanny down in her prime. 

It is Bathsheba, aided by Gabriel, who repairs the damage done by the “gurgoyle” that channels rainfall into an attacking force echoing her own prior hostility to Fanny: “The persistent torrent from the gurgoyle’s jaws directed all its vengeance into the grave” (242). By replanting the uprooted flowers, wiping the mud from Fanny’s gravestone, and diverting the gurgoyle’s spout, Bathsheba expresses a newfound “superfluous magnanimity” that replaces her initial impulse to reduce an already dead rival to dust (246). 

That generosity redounds to Bathsheba’s credit at the novel’s end when she attains with Gabriel a love as “strong as death—that love which many waters cannot quench, nor the floods drown, beside which the passion usually called by the name is evanescent as steam” (303–4). The amicable deed of protecting Fanny’s grave from a destructive torrent metaphorically returns in the form of a marital friendship similarly resistant to water’s volatility and violence. Far from the Madding Crowd miniaturizes the plot of female amity: an elegiac gesture of friendship toward another woman begins to teach Bathsheba how to transmute stormy passion into the companionable affection that characterizes her happy marriage to Gabriel Oak.”

- Sharon Marcus, “Just Reading:  Female Friendship and the Marriage Plot.” in Between Women: Friendship, Desire, and Marriage in Victorian England

[walpurga-nacht-academy]

Can I ask what types of relationships does your school and their students have with NRC and their students?

It’s here, and it’s a behemoth lol. Thank you very much for your ask, Anon! It ended up being super long, lol. 👀

WNA-NRC: The two have a long history together and are considered to be part of the top three magical schools alongside RSA. However, due to their similar values and principles WNA and NRC have always had more of a closer bond. The two schools have a ‘monthly campus visit’ policy in which students from both schools are able to make visits between campuses. WNA girls usually visit at the beginning of the month, while NRC boys return the favour at the end. The purpose of those visits is to have the schools maintain their friendly relationships with each other and observe the going-ons of each institution. NRC’s more modern approach has become of high interest to WNA, who’s more traditionally inclined, and their Headmistress has insisted very much on this bond being preserved even now. The schools are often considered ‘siblings schools’, with WNA being NRC’s sister and NRC being WNA’s brother. 

The students themselves have a much less formal relationship. WNA are stereotypically extremely shrewd and mischievous, a bundle of chaos hiding behind the face of an angel. They enjoy visits to the NRC campus because it gives them the opportunity to go wild and have fun, something that WNA’s more strict environment doesn’t permit them. Moreover, visiting gives them plenty of opportunities to create mischief and flirt with the boys there for their own amusement. 

Moreover, WNA also organises the Spring Debutante Ball every year in March which is an event that brings the three schools together for a night of socialising and dancing. The girls actually have a small notebook which lists all the boys’ charm points and use it as a means of choosing “targets”.

Ruggie, Jamil, Deuce and Jade ended up being extremely popular among the students population of WNA due to various reasons, while people like Leona, Malleus and Vil are considered part of the ‘look, but don’t approach’ category because they’re considered annoyingly difficult to deal with. 

During the Magift Inter-school Tournament between NRC and RSA, WNA girls are known to lead the chants for the two schools, with drums and megaphones, much like an ōendan. They also attend the VDC as spectators each year, and they look forward to seeing the boys perform songs and dances. 

Ursa Astoria: The Headmistress of WNA is familiar with both the Headmaster of NRC as well as its History teacher. Ursa’s more strict and formal approach often clashes with Crowley’s more laissez-faire attitude. Many have noted that they look eerily similar to a grandmother scolding her unruly grandchild when they interact, since Ursa is quick to lecture Crowley on not keeping a tight enough grip on his students and letting them run wild at school. “A little mischief is good to keep the heart young, but they should never need more than a glance to know when to stop.” However when she’s not scolding him, the two get along quite well, getting together for tea every three months or so. Crowley himself bends rather easily in front of Ursa due to the sheer power of her personality and presence. 

She and Trein know each other from when they were young, and he was her NRC escort during the Spring Debutante Ball. According to Alkin they even dated for a while but broke up due to their very differing personalities: him being a cat person, and she a bird one. The break up was amicable, and even to this day they remain good friends.  

Frau Perchta Yaga: Though she refuses to reveal how, it seems that Yaga is familiar with Crowley. Though they rarely interact, because Crowley goes out of his way to avoid her whenever he’s visiting WNA. 

Alkin: Crowley once mentioned that he does not get along with cats, and this applies to his relationship with Alkin to a certain extent as well. Though the two are not hostile to one another, Crowley gets rather irked by the way Alkin dismisses his presence or ignores him when he doesn’t feel like dealing with him. Alkin simply does not care much for the NRC Headmaster. Though the two seem to have a past together, neither really talks about it all that much.

Moreover, Alkin seems familiar with Lilia as well and on much more neutral terms. He does however comment that he finds it odd that the fairy would agree to pose as a high school student at his age.

Rosenhex

Traditionally Rosenhex students have always had good relations with Pomefiore, and it is especially true for this generation as well. The two dorms have similar attitudes regarding beauty and how to achieve it through hard work, however while Pomefiore specialises in potions and poisons, Rosenhex specialises in charms and enchantments.

The Prefect of this dorm, Rosalia, is a work colleague of Vil and the two have collaborated before on some modelling gigs and movies. Rosa admires him quite a bit because he is in a similar position to her (wishing not to be typecast anymore) and his refusal to take any more villainous roles has also inspired her to speak up and tell her manager she’ll be dropping the role of ‘Cherry’. The two have an amicable relationship that is mutually beneficial to both parties. 

Vil was also the one who introduced her to Jack, who is her love interest. Because Rosa wanted to audition for a role that required a ‘wild image’ she asked Vil for advice, who referred her to Jack suggesting that she observe him and his mannerisms since among the Savanaclaw dorm, he considers Jack the best example of what a proper beastman should be when portrayed in media. Rosa and Jack get along quite well, as both enjoy exercise and sports. It’s a typical teen romance and Rosa’s first actual crush that ends up going anywhere. Though for the longest time she was very scared of taking a step beyond ‘crush’ for fear of ruining their relationship, so it took Jack taking charge and confessing to actually make realise it was time to move to the next stage. 

Much like with Vil, Rosa seems to have a positive relationship with Rook, who does praise her for trying to adopt an image that tends towards ‘wild beauty’, saying that is also fantastic to witness. Among the many negative comments Rosa received on her Witch Dance performance livestream, Rook’s was one of the few positive ones.

She doesn’t have a good relationship with Cater on the other hand, since he constantly asks for a selfie with her due to her celebrity status. She’s left behind the image of ‘Cherry’ and so she doesn’t want to be associated with it anymore. 

Grimmaire

Traditionally Grimmaire students have had good relationships with the Octavinelle dorm, but the recent change in leadership has caused the Prefect, Blanche, to distance herself from it. She does not approve of their underhanded way of doing things, thus it seems that she’s become rather close to Heartslaybyul instead. 

Riddle is Blanche’s love interest and fellow study partner. The two met during his first year at NRC where during an Unbirthday Party, Blanche commented on the lacking form of the then Prefect who was unable to recite the 810 rules of the Queen of Hearts. After Riddle became Prefect he invited her back to Heartslaybyul to ‘wash’ the dorm’s reputation in the eyes of WNA. Because both are rather studious they often communicate with each other to discuss all sorts of ideas and articles. In typical Grimmaire fashion, Blanche left an encrypted note containing a riddle in one of the books she lent him and ever since then the two have started to talk to each other via this method. They enjoy this highly intellectual rapport they have with the other, even though it does take both of them quite a while to realise they’re romantically interested in the other.

More surprisingly, Blanche has a good relationship with both Ace and Deuce, but for completely different reasons. Deuce looks up to her as a fellow model students he wishes to learn how to emulate to make his mother proud. Ace initially considered her a stick in the mud, and overly serious, until she unexpectedly cracked a really good joke and he was blown away by the contrast. Now both of them look forward to her arrival but for entirely different reasons. Blanche herself is rather fond of them too, and even strives to tutor them sometimes, with Ace finds bothersome and Deuce appreciates very much. 

Kriegskald

Under normal circumstances, Kriegskald would get along best with Ignihyde given their interest in magical constructions. However, due to the girls’ forceful personalities and the boys’ more reclusive nature they tend to clash quite often. The fact that Kriegskald tends towards steampunk, while Ignihyde tends towards cybernetics also makes it more unlikely that they would get along. The current Prefect, Marcia, was initially interested in trying to recruit Idia as a sponsor so her broom racing career to take off properly, but has had no such luck, so she gave up and set her sights on somebody else. 

It just so happens that that somebody is none other than the heir of a multimillionaire family. Whenever Marcia visits NRC she always pays a visit to Kalim, to hang in Scarabia, enjoy the good food and try to talk him into giving her money and/or become her sponsor. Kalim himself seems quite willing to do so, since Marcia’s enthusiasm for flying is on the same level as his, so the two have a lot of discussions on this particular topic. Her attempts at getting him to sponsor her always fail however due to Jamil’s interference, who always reminds Kalim he can’t give out his money away like that just because someone asks for it. He and Marcia don’t have the most positive relationship as a result, with her complaining that he shouldn’t be so strict on Kalim, and him pointing out she just says that because she wants to scam him.

Another person Marcia keeps bothering about sponsoring is Leona, who as the second prince of the Afterglow Savannah should have the necessary funds to sponsor an athlete. She did not have much luck there either as Leona either completely avoids her, or pretends he’s in deep sleep when she does come across him. They have spent more than a few afternoons in this position in which Marcia patiently waits for him to wake up, while Leona actually falls asleep while pretending. Though he is annoyed by her persistence, he does find her efforts impressive in their sheer stubbornness.

Marcia has attempted to talk to Malleus on this topic too, but has always been stopped by Sebek, who yells at her about bothering the ‘Young Master’ and being a suspicious person. The two don’t really get along, as Marcia finds his constant interventions annoying, and Sebek is enraged that she would dare bother Malleus about this sort of thing. It’s generally a disaster when Sebek catches Marcia trying to get into Diasomnia.

Galdtrea 

Because plants are often used in alchemy, Pomefiore and Galdtrea usually have a positive relationship. However, the current Prefect seems to not be able to get along at all with Vil, due to their clashing worldviews. June has a similar opinion of his dorm as she has of Rosenhex: frivolous rich city kids who never worked a day in their life. The fact that Vil is on good terms with Rosa only strengthens her opinion and she tends to avoid Pomefiore and its students usually, since she flies off the handle easily. The only exception to this being Epel, who eventually becomes her love interest. She did not think much of him at first, as she considered him a mere scaredy cat, rich and spoiled kid, but was very surprised when he shot off at her after becoming angry enough. As fellow farmers they understand better than anybody what it means to struggle with hard work and responsibilities, so June feels like there is someone who finally understands what her struggles are. 

When coming to NRC she usually spends her time in the botanical gardens checking out the plants and planting techniques used there. Because she avoids Rook, since she thinks he’s creepy, she usually accidentally bumps into Trey, who she considers more bearable. Though she gets frustrated if they get on the topics of families, since his ‘Big Brother’ aura makes her incredibly annoyed. They usually just stick to the topic of plants as a result.

Another person June seems to potentially get along with is Jamil. I say potentially because while they seem able to bond over their shared helplessness in terms of not having autonomy over their own person, June gets annoyed by the fact that Jamil does not simply tell Kalim off when he’s being unreasonable. She does not understand Jamil’s loyalty to his family at all, and just gets annoyed at him not really doing anything about his situation. She’s very much ruled by her emotions so his calculated approach is not something she can resonate with.

Monarchia

Traditionally Monarchia has always been close to Savanaclaw due to their similar aesthetic. The two dorms are sufficiently wild that they mesh together quite well, and they are most at ease in each other’s company. Moreover, Monarchia girls are rather respected among the Savanaclaw dorm and often adopt a big sister-like figure to the boys. It’s most prominent with Monarchia’s Prefect who is also treated like a Big Sister by her girls. Diana’s wild tendencies and close connection to animals make her blend right in with Savanaclaw’s roughness. As a citizen of the Afterglow Savannah and a follower of pack hierarchy, she respects the Kingscholar greatly, and thus Leona by default. Though she claims she is a bit disappointed by how Leona doesn’t display the same ferocity he did three years ago since she considered it ‘beautiful’. Leona on his part says he dislikes being nagged like this, but also seems to appreciate the fact that Diana takes him as he is and doesn’t compare him to his older brother. She is also on good terms with Jack and Ruggie who she treats similarly to how she treats her younger brothers.

Because she is a big eater, she also frequents Mostro Lounge and ends up spending time in the company of Azul who is her love interest. Their first meeting was a disaster, with Diana calling him “a newborn calf” due to how unstable he was on his feet during his first year on land. Spurned by anger, Azul made it a point to try and get her to sign a contract to steal her magic and humiliate her in return, but it just lead to a game of cat and mouse which eventually resulted in feelings forming. Though he’s very much in denial about it for a long time. 

Diana also gets along quite well with the Leech brothers, in the sense that they recognise each other as fellow predators. The two are somewhat impressed by her utter fearlessness as not even Floyd’s threats of ‘squeezing’ her seem to have had any effect on her. Because she’s proving to be quite amusing they became fond of her, though that feeling is always subject to change. Floyd calls her ‘crocodile-chan-senpai’ and likes to bother her for stories about the beasts and monsters she tamed and fought throughout her life. He sometimes even listens to her requests, in the same vein he listens to Rook and Vil. Jade is amused by her sharp mind and killer instincts, and likes having discussions on various topics with her. They both like to needlessly grill Azul about his feelings for Diana for their own amusement.

Diana’s oddest relationship is with Rook, who seems to find her wild tendencies very charming and fascinating, while she’s annoyed by him due to the fact that he calls himself a ‘hunter’. Having had a bad run in with poachers in the past, she does not take kindly to people hunting animals for trophies, rather than sustenance. Rook’s presence makes her alert and cautious, and his general oddness just makes her more suspicious of him. Rook’s own fascination for her seems to stem from the fact that, as he puts it, her eyes occasionally sparkle with something inhuman in them. Like she’s more beast than human.

Oraluna

Traditionally, Oraluna has always had close ties with Scarabia, as both dorms have an interest in star movements and researching their patterns. While it continues to maintain them, the current Prefect, Cassandra, has shown interest in forging relationships with Diasomnia as well. This is mostly due to her vested interest in learning more about her fairy heritage and having heard that the future King of the Valley of Thorns is attending Night Raven she thinks it would be nice to be acknowledged by him as a fairy as well. Unfortunately, her shy nature makes it difficult for her to approach Malleus. She respects him greatly, to the point she idolises him, but it also means she finds in difficult to get along with him since she’s always worried about offending him by accident. So she tries to work up her courage to talk to him, while Malleus simply regards her as a bit odd, and is uncomfortable with the fact that she acts so scared around him. He merely wants to experience a normal high school life so he does not understand why Cass behaves as if he expects everybody to treat him in a special manner.

Cass also shows a lot of respect towards Lilia too, which means that she falls for his pranks rather easily. He always claims to teach her about fairy customs and traditions but he mostly makes up stories for his own amusement. Cass does not contradict his claims no matter how absurd they are, because she thinks it would be rude. On the other hand, she seems to actually consider Lilia’s cooking delicious which endears her to him greatly and makes him approve of her eventual friendship and relationship with his son. Out of everybody in Diasomnia, Cass feels closest to Silver, who is her love interest. His diligent nature and kindness won her over completely and she thinks of him as the knight who saved the damsel in distress her grandmother would often tell her about when she was young. Silver himself seems to find Cass a bit odd due to her professed love for his father’s cooking and other quirks, but overall sweet and endearing.

She seems to have a somewhat positive relationship with Sebek too, since she idolises Malleus too, so they often openly praise him to one another. Sebek seems not to mind Cass’ presence as much since she obviously understands Malleus’ greatness. However, after Lilia begins to teach her how to embrace her fae ancestry, he’s among her only victims when it comes to the pranks she pulls. They are extremely innocuous and rather lame, as Ace might bluntly put it, but Sebek still falls for them every time to everybody’s amazement. 

She also seems to have a bad relationship with Azul since he tried to talk her into coming to do some fortune telling for Mostro Lounge customers as a special treat. She categorically refused him since it reminded her too much of when people asked her to tell their fortune just to profit off her abilities. Ever since then, she’s completely avoided him whenever she comes to visit. 

Eliksia

The dorm which Eliksia normally got along with would be Pomefiore, since they both have a clear focus on alchemy. However, current Eliksia Prefect, Agatha, seems to deeply dislike Vil due to him being one of those ‘shiny’ people she despises. His positive relationship with Rosa, which Agatha also hates, only makes her more convinced Vil is not the sort of person she wants to have around, so she has completely avoided him and the Pomefiore dorm building ever since she became Prefect.

As a result, whenever she visits the NRC campus she mostly hangs around Sam’s shop, who she considers her ‘Big Brother’ due to him having helped her gain a human form when she first expressed a desire to explore the surface world. His help has gained him her eternal gratitude so she makes sure to visit each time she’s on campus. She merely huddles in a corner and makes conversation with him about various topics which invariably freak out anybody who eavesdrops on them. She likes how Sam won’t judge her for behaving the way she does, and makes sure to always buy something as a show of appreciation for letting her hide in there. 

Other people Agatha can’t stand are Kalim, Ace, Deuce, Rook, Cater, Trey, Riddle- It would actually be easier to count the number of people she does like and that’s mostly only Ortho. Though she was initially skeptical of him due to being related to Idia (who she thinks is not good enough for her Big Sister), she eventually warmed up to him when she realised how knowledgeable and how absolutely deadly he actually is. The fact that he does not make fun of her appearance and has even complimented her teeth (because they look his Idia’s) has only made her fonder of him. So she does not mind if he approaches her for a chat when she’s on the NRC campus.

She does not get along at all with the Leech twins, since she considers them bigger predators and Floyd annoys her Big Sister, nor with Azul, since octopuses eat crustaceans too, which are the main food source for flashlight fish like her. She generally tends to avoid them since she can’t really stand them all that much. 

Noctasis 

The dorm’s dark elegance and grace has traditionally made it a good fit for Diasomnia who exhibits a similar aesthetic. Though that would usually be the case, the current Prefect, Vita, is much closer to Idia, which is natural given that the two are engaged and he is her love interest. As they were betrothed when they were five and six years old respectively, they are childhood friends. Vita’s more forceful personality often clashes with Idia’s more reserved one on the surface, but they are in actuality pretty in sync. Vita appreciates Idia’s intelligence as well as his mean side and takes delight in encouraging him to express his displeasure more loudly, rather than be afraid of what others might think of him. Idia cannot understand how Vita can care so little for what others think about her, but also admires this side of her. She’s very devoted to him, but does not mean she will hold back when she whips him in shape so he’ll be a more functional person and more confident in himself. On the whole the two get along quite well, and are gaming buddies, since Idia taught her how to play video games when they were younger. She’s become quite proficient at it however, much to Idia’s ire since it means she often beats his high scores. He’s also tried getting her into anime, manga or light novels but has had no luck on that front yet. Vita also calls him ‘husband’ generally, which he initially found embarrassing but now doesn’t mind anymore. The two also have a dog (Kerberos breed) together who spends most of the time with Vita, but is extremely attached to Idia as well. 

Vita also has a good relationship with Ortho, in theory at least. Because he’s Idia’s brother she treats him well and is very pleasant to him, but is also uncomfortable in his presence to a certain degree. His creation goes against her family’s beliefs and Idia clings to him as a security blanket which makes it difficult for him to learn how to move on from the past, which bothers Vita quite a bit. But she understands it’s not Ortho’s fault so she takes most of her complaints to her husband, something that causes quite a few fights between them. Ortho himself is unaware of this.

Incidentally, it was Ortho who gave her the nickname ‘Vita’ when they were young children and it stuck The fact that Ortho uses it even now gives her mixed feelings.

Another person Vita gets along with is Ruggie since she found him amusing in his attempt to get close to the Shrouds because they’re a noble family. His mischievous personality also endears him to her more and thus she’s become fond of having him around or taking him to Mostro Lounge to buy him lunch and get the latest gossip regarding the students of NRC. Ruggie himself also seems to like Vita since she’s very generous with her money and sometimes jokingly even calls her ‘Big Sis’ (in the same manner delinquent girls are called ‘big sis’ within their group).

Vita also finds a lot of enjoyment in annoying Azul ever since she met him at Idia’s club. Whenever she drops by Mostro Lounge with Ruggie she also seeks out Azul just to entertain herself on his behalf by trying ruffle his feathers. For a provocation expert like her the task is very enjoyable, though she also has to put up with Floyd’s unpleasant presence too. She is on better terms with Jade who is somewhat similar to her in that he enjoys trolling him, and the two often have repartees whenever they have time to chat, speaking in metaphors and odd allusions.   

These are all the very condensed versions, but I plan to make some posts dedicated just to relationship mapping since I find it interesting. 👀

Also, I know there are some peeps that have WNA OCs so do feel free to join in with how your OCs interact with NRC if you want to!

[nathanielbeaumont]

「george sear & trans male」⇾ beaumont, nathaniel, the senior radcliffe student’s records show that he is a capricorn and 22 years old. he is studying mathematics, living in gorham and can be sociable, dedicated, insincere & temperamental. when i see him. i am reminded of smoke drifting off a bonfire, hair still wet after a shower & running shoes with the treads worn off.  ⇽「drew & 22 & est & he/him.」

trivia.

plays on radcliffe’s handball team - but will never actually tell you that, instead claiming to be a member of some other, even more obscure team. has misdirected people that express interest in going to one of his games and is generally an ass about it.

will answer to any version of his name - nate, nat, nathan, than, neil - he’s heard every nickname in the book and so long is you’re obviously talking to him, he won’t ignore you outright. unless he’s in a sour mood and then it’s nathaniel or bust.

splits his time outside of class & practice in three equal parts for sleeping, studying and socializing aka partying. everything else is rushed to fit into five minute periods between the aforementioned activities.

nathaniel didn’t inherit his mother’s ability to destroy someone without ever sounding anything less than sweet, or even his father’s stony silence. he’s a storm hidden a sunny disposition, ready to swap from the amicable friend to a snarky attacker at a moment’s notice. he’ll make disparaging comments, aiming for any sign of weakness and letting loose --- most of the time, he comes around later and apologizes but the damage is already done. he’s still learning to hold his tongue, to ask questions first and act second.

generally someone that tries to do good by others --- he’ll give you the last beer at a party, he’ll walk you back to your dorm when you’re stumbling, he’ll even help you work out the math for your assignment --- but not always, there are times where he’s like ‘fuck i want this beer tho’ or ‘i don’t have time to help you’, because at the end of the day, he’s still his first priority.

lies about little things, not usually for malicious reasons but just because the truth might take longer to explain. will tell you a color is his favourite to skip the argument over the fact that he doesn’t have one. tries to avoid unnecessary confrontation and will lie about things to do it if he thinks he can get away with it.

born january 19th. 

a fan of coca-cola and doesn’t want to hear about how bad the sugar is for him. like fruit-flavoured chocolates. food sins galore, honestly. 

backstory.

the beaumont family is picture perfect in the same way that a green lawn is --- beautiful and lush until you look closer and realize that it’s all astro-turf. with a father whose job was described only as ‘special ops’ and a mother who worked as a high-end event planner, nathaniel should never have had to want for anything. except he did, quietly begging to trade pageants for sports --- a trophy of one kind morphing into one of another kind.

his mother eventually relented with a frown, displeased with her child’s lack of desire to follow in her footsteps but trying to support him regardless. this support continued even when he came out and began transitioning, sparkling eyes daring anyone to make a snide comment with an expression that promised swift correction. his father was less direct in his support but nathaniel could see it in the way that his eyes crinkled when his family made even a slightly untoward comment.

and for all of the support, for all of the wins that his high school teams managed, nathaniel found himself with a single scholarship offer for a sport that he had only ever played in a rec league. handball wasn’t a sport that had been meant to be his future, despite the recruiter’s insistence that his talent meant that he could be a major player in riving the sport stateside. despite a general disinterest in the game, he accepted the offer and made his way to radcliffe, on the condition that his face wouldn’t be on any promotional material around campus. ( online has always been fair game however )

connections.

tutor. listen i read a book with college athletes once where they had mandatory peer tutoring that they had to participate in and i just think that’s fun. nathaniel does well in all of his core classes, but struggles with all the gen ed courses that he put off doing until now - so maybe your character is stuck helping him through one of those. results may vary.

roommate / housemates. fellow gorham residents, i beg of u, give me some fun dynamics : positive, negative, neutral. would love some friends, or someone that is tired of nathaniel stumbling in and making a ruckus at 3 in the morning on weeknights or the many people who are like “stop leaving your jersey everywhere BEAUMONT”.

gym buddies. just people who spot each other or who run on treadmills next to each other - they don’t necessarily have to talk although if they did, i’m sure that nathaniel can offer up so controversial takes on sports for them to dissect over protein shakes / smoothies / whatever.

exes. nathaniel .... not necessarily a great boyfriend b/c he doesn’t want to commit to anyone like that and probably has ended a tonne of relationships b/c he was becoming too comfortable in them. hook-ups / ex-fwbs / summer flings are also all possibilities, as are currently flings/etc. 

[bluepunkmon]

idr if you've talked abt this b4 cuz its been months since we've talked smt1 but... thots on an au where all the heroes knew eachother b4 the apocalypse?

this got rambly and im not sure if i wrote what you wanted but here this is

To start I’m already half convinced they knew each other pre-game, if only bc of their proximity. Kazuya and Takeshi lived in the same neighborhood I think? Im pretty sure. And Yuji was dating the girl living next to Kazuya so they probably crossed paths at least once, and isn’t impossible that takeshi crossed paths with yuji at least once. SO they’ve seen each other, and from there it might not be a stretch to say they know of each other, at least vaguely.

I don’t think it would take too much for them to know each other. Kazuya and takeshi have a lot of similarities, from geographic proximity, both living on social margins (takeshi bullied, kazuya ignored) and both with semi-similar home lives (both have single parents, no siblings (that I know of)). It would take a lot of effort on both their parts, mostly takeshi deciding to not see an offer of friendship as condescension or pity, so maybe he’d have to initiate. But they could be friends, if only in that ‘we have no one else to be with and I mostly tolerate you’ kind of way some schools friendships are formed.

Yuji I have a harder time seeing with them both on the basis of familiarity, just bc what little we know about him doesn’t seem to intersect with their own pasts much. He has both parents seems pretty well off and is into music possibly because his parents are. But there have been friendships based on less, and he seems amicable enough in game, working with Kazuya to escape the hospital and jumping in to help Takeshi with Ozawa. I don’t imagine itd take too much more than a conversation or two with Kazuya while he’s out walking Pascal for them to start forming a connection.

And hey I can just make this even more ficcy and just imagine that Yuji has a seemingly cushy life but is being pushed into things out of expectation rather than because he wants it, or maybe his relationship with his parents actually has some serious rough patches, idk. Maybe with his dad, since every other party member has dad issues.

(Yuji and Takeshi mostly tolerate each other via both being friends with Kazuya, and when hanging out with him can stay civil, and later on even friendly. They don’t really hang out with just the two of them though because then it descends into fighting real quick).

(No Yuka here unfortunately bc I don’t think its ever mentioned what Yuka did before heading the resistance faction, besides, being psychic, somewhere.)

I also like to imagine this increasingly intricate scenario as being a semi-long standing thing rather than something formed a year or two pre-game, so maybe they first got to know each other in like mid middle school. So they have middle school until the summer after high school (I imagine them as 18-ish to make the game also a metaphor for entering adulthood and the lack of guidance and choices that that brings) to get to know each other, hanging out after school or at arcades or studying together or whatever it was Japanese teenage boys did in 199X.

And bc Im a sap I like to think that the time together ifluences them, at least a little bit. Takeshi gets a bit less angry, because he has people to talk to and who look out for him and he doesn’t feel so alone. Kazuya leans to be more assertive, both from encouragement and from having to step up several times and make sure their group stays cohesive. Yuji learns to, idk, tolerate people with different viewpoints? There are very obvious rough patches, especially as they get older, but the friendship is a positive force in their lives overall.

SO finally the game happens. Pre time skip, most everything goes the same. Demons still happen, Kazuya’s mom still dies, Yuka still shows up, bombs still fall. The differences are small; Kazuya has his friends and not strangers to comfort him after she dies, so maybe he bounces back from that a bit better. The group isn’t as quick to go their separate ways, if they ever do, and maybe all of them try to find and rescue Yuji’s girlfriend (and im not sure how this would affect Kazuya’s relationship with Yuka? Ok maybe he splits off to help her but Takeshi sticks with Yuji when he goes off to find his girlfriend, which would be a pretty big moment of character growth for him)

Bombs still fall, they still get kicked to the Diamond Realm (I almost said velvet room what), and they all get dropped 30 years into the future.

SO the thing im torn about most here is whether their preexisting bonds would change their groups very-bad-end

On the one hand, I like to think that their bonds would change a few things. They’d still go their separate ways, bc Takeshi, for all that their friendship shores up his confidence and self esteem, is still insecure when it comes to Ozawa and wouldn’t pass up a chance to gain the upper hand and fuse with a demon to kill him. He might still leave bc he sympathizes with the gaean faction more than the others and still believes that being able to stand alone is true strength. Yuji would still die and get reincarnated bc, he’d still die protecting Kazuya bc he’s a good friend like that.

So that all happens. But maybe the friendship is the key difference that prevents things from descending into a bloodbath at the Cathedral. Takeshi still doesn’t want to rejoin Kazuya (assuming he’s going canon neutral route), but he remembers their days together, how Kazuya helped him when he felt completely alone in the world, and can’t bring himself to hurt or kill him, at least not then (or their past makes him even more insecure bc he thinks Kazuya thought he was weak but this is the happy scenario so we aren’t going there)

Yuji I’m not sure, since its implied (I think anyway) that he came back altered, so there might not be anything that could be done in the past to make sure he stayed someone they could reason with? But this is best end so maybe their past together is just strong enough to sway him from Messian control.

So there isn’t a death fight in the Cathedral maybe, but they’d still believe very strongly in their own factions, and probably just push the conflict farther down the road. In a way I feel its inevitable, and when the clashes finally happen they’ll be all the more painful for everything they’ve shared.

[breselin]

LITTLE CHARACTER THINGS

just a fun little character game. fill in the below categories with 3-5 things that your character can be identified by. repost & tag away !

tagged by: stole it from another one of my blogs  ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) tagging: imma tag quite a few people again PLS don’t feel obligated to do this, I’m ridiculously wordy, but it is a good exercise :^) 

@furnezh | @lazhadeg | @unheimlig - @daemonczar | @lichsent | @quirofiliac - @edhelaran - @edhelgund - @faegrifted - @ndeavor - @garuvusu - @hallowedcraft | @hybridea - @rotcraft - @uccisore | @groazei - @atlaslain - @officiums - @tribinds | @capjacke - @culturedconjurer - @valorxdrive - @cielcrd | @ofastrcmancy - @bloodfcst - @grimmjxw - @despairforme - @potestasaeterna [ and whoever wants to take it, just say i tagged u ]

EMOTIONS / FEELINGS:

001.    confident     - his whole mannerism, the way he strides, the way he announces his thoughts, his goals, his wants - it all speaks of undeniable confidence, hard to shake, near impossible probably.

002.     at ease     - comes with his confidence, the knowledge of his powers and skill. there are very few and very rare moments when this wavers and even in seconds one might assume him ‘on edge’ it is not so at all, mostly misinterpreted by those around.

003.     inquisitive     - generally, as per his nature, he does like to read, to learn, to experience things. it also extends towards any person that manages to catch his interest - be it negatively or positively - as he will try and figure out the weaknesses and strengths of a person, and do so with unrelenting force. 

004.     nonchalant     - a mannerism that grates on many people’s nerves, for things that are important to everybody else, he usually just brushes off if they do not concern him. he also reacts to any ‘higher rank’ rather informal and casual, situations depending, he can reject them with a simple flick of the hand. 

005.     tenacious     - undeterred from his goal, no matter what is happening, no matter the obstacles placed in his way, he will move to overcome them all.

GREETINGS:

001.     a nod     - the most common greeting for him. a mere acknowledgement with a few words and a nod. it is the calmest and quietest way for him to greet someone, not quite push them away and offer the knowledge that he will speak to them. 

002.     a handshake     - pretty much reserved for interactions with comrades and higher-ups [ rarely ] before his fall. as per his rank, he usually extends a hand first, not many being on the same level or even above him in the ShinRa rankings, so politeness gives, that he is the one inviting another person towards the greeting.

003.     with words     - specifically, after his fall, for he is the one luring a person: mostly mocking them, making them follow him. the words are generally calm as is his tone even and smooth, but they pose a challenge, something that sings of danger, despite the chosen vocabulary doing none of it. 

004.     with a partner: an embrace, a kiss     - it depends, but mostly it is both. he isn’t a man that is against public displays of affection, quite the opposite, given how obsessive he can be and how possessive he turns out to be the more and more a relationship progresses. obviously, a partner has to be okay with that, otherwise, he would not pursue this sort of greeting, but if they are, it is a given.

005.      with friends: it depends how close someone is to him, how much they ‘mean’ to him: a handshake, an embrace, maybe even a palm on their lower arm     - all gestures of amicability, something calmer and more relaxed from his side, an easy show that they mean [ at least ] something to him.

COLOURS:

001.     black     - his whole attire is black, contrasting vividly with his hair. 

002.     silver/white     - depending on the shine of the light or where he stands, his hair can have either colour. his sword’s edge also plays a part to the near yin and yang of his whole looks.

003.     blue/dark blue     - Masamune’s sword’s hilt, especially the plaited pattern is dark blue, one of the very few accent colours one might be able to find on his person, even in more casual and informal attire.

004.     green/light blue: ‘the colour of the sky’     - his eyes. one of the first things many people notice about him. not only because of the colour, as SOLDIERs, due to mako infusions, have this very specific eye-colour, but also due to the shape: for him nearly in a cat-eye like an appearance.

005.     gold     - another accent colour due to Masamune’s look. the Tsuba, or the hand guard, is coloured completely gold, as well as the end of the Tsuka, or sword’s hilt, is accented in gold as well. 

SCENTS:

001.     blood     - the metallic smell of it lingering on his person very finely, only to be picked up by those with very keen senses or very close to him.

002.     smoke     - also a scent that clings to him like a fine veil, easily evoking emotions for anybody who had experiences with it, albeit it usually only comes forward once he was close to a fire or was the cause of one. otherwise, this scent is only barely lingering and generally not perceptible.

003.     rain     - due to his weather manipulation abilities, the smell of the air after the rain or from a thunderstorm rolling in is very prominent on him. it can be unsettling as well as soothing in the same breath, depending on how someone meets him and under what circumstance. 

004.     leather     - a rather heavy scent, nearly warm and comforting, usually mixed in with aftershave or cologne. due to his outfit being in large parts made of very strong and sturdy leather, he smells like this more often than other things. 

005.     woods, forest-smells     - he takes long walks and tours through forests, being completely undisturbed by rain or sun, so it does not deter him to stop anytime soon. the scent that comes from that is, again, soothing and nearly warm, something unexpected on him, due to his nature and volatile habits.

CLOTHING:

001.     battle outfit     - a long black coat with silver pauldrons, black boots and black trousers. the coat is half opened at the chest, leather straps crossing over it. the coat itself is held at the waist with a belt, multiple more belts accentuate the rest down towards the knees. he wears another large belt underneath the coat too, protecting his stomach area from possible impacts. the boots are held in place with multiple straps as well so that they won’t move nor shift during quick succession attacks. the pauldrons, at least in his original outfits, are made of three parts, protecting his shoulder area, a part of his upper arm, as well as the area around the clavicle. in the end: places where most of the large veins and arteries are to be found. At the end of his arms are ‘wrist guards’, either one [ then on the right side ] or both with deep indents, important when he holds his sword in front of him, so that the back of the blade can comfortably rest inside the splint, making it hard to move it out of the way once he defends like this. 

002.     suits     - mostly worn when he was still a ShinRa soldier and General and then to official events where the dress code commanded it. they would be black with silver or gold accents, in very rare cases also with a dark blue/dark violet vest, but comfortable nonetheless. [ he might, on request, wear them for a partner as well ]

003.     casual: a loose shirt and trousers     - he’s only casual when at his own place or with a partner. due to the fact that he barely registers weather and climate as it is, his clothing consists of what he finds most comfortable at the moment, but is always clean and fresh with generally neutral colours, as extreme patterns and styles aren’t to his liking. 

004.     environment/surrounding fitting clothing     - meaning: he is willing to adjust to the world he momentarily visits, shall he have a partner or confidant in this world that would like for him to adjust to their styles and customs. as long as they only suggest or request and not order him to, he will follow in literally all the cases.

005.     accessories     - it depends. he only wears accessories if they fit for his outfits [ aka, in dissidia: he wears pearls and jewels here and there, mostly on his wrist and on the pauldrons ] or if they have been gifted to him by a person of importance. throughout the verses, there have been rings and necklaces in his possession, rings are usually worn beneath the glove or on a string around his neck as well as to not lose them. 

OBJECTS:

001.     Masamune     - how he came into the possession of his sword is unknown, albeit there are a few theories about that: one of them being that it was a ‘gift’ of the remaining inhabitants of Wutai, who gifted him Masamune after he turned the Wutai war in ShinRa’s favour, albeit this is only a theory. He is said to be the only person who can wield it effectively. 

002.     a small notebook     - from his time before his fall, he usually carried a small notebook with him for thoughts and ideas and things he wanted to look up later, as mentioned before, he loves to learn and loves to acquire knowledge, so having a notebook helps him to keep everything organised and in check. 

003.     a phone     - issued by ShinRa. made so that Soldiers can start and end holographic missions in the training rooms, keep in contact with other soldiers [ mostly just amongst their ranks and their friends ] and with the higher-ups to distribute orders. 

004.     accessories gifted by partners     - one of the very few items that can rile up his ire is someone trying to take them from him. typically, these gifts are related to jewellery and while he would not acquire any out of his own free want, he wears those bestowed to him all the time. try to take it, you will lose a hand. 

005.     otherwise than that? he is not quite a material person. time destroys many a manmade oddity and with himself being pretty much immortal? there is little he does hold worthwhile to keep.

VICES / BAD HABITS: [ click on the words for a nice list about Vices ]

001.     brutality     - this is self-explanatory. he is brutal in any fight, will slay any foe. uninterested in who they are and what they have done, as long as he considers them an enemy, they will fall by his own hand. he also has the habit of playing with his ‘prey’. chasing them along, giving them an opening where they think they might get him and then taking said victory away again. he also tends to injure his opposite heavily to a point that weaker enemies will die of blood-loss very quickly and it at least impairs stronger opponents. never get on his bad side: if he feels like the chase might be entertaining, he will do so viciously and violently.

002.     manipulation     - using clever words and ways to influence another person, making them follow his lead, serving for them to be his puppets; he can do all of that and much more just with how he speaks, what he presents and what others may feel about him. 

003.     resentfulness     - he did not only learn to hate ShinRa, he learned to hate everything in his path and everything in existence, striving to undo and rebuilt, desiring to destroy what had wronged him. he knows that the planet itself and its inhabitants are not at fault, but that does not stop him, for his bitterness ceases in no moment at all. 

004.     disrespect     - this depends but is a strong character-trait especially after his fall. he despises those that are arrogant without having the power to back it up, teases them on, disrespects their personal boundaries and words and urges them to strike. it can change very quickly, hence it ‘depends’, and will cease once he thinks the other person is worth his quieter and calmer personality. but it can also turn into a very vicious form of hate and ire. 

005.     malice     - very obvious in an example when it comes to Cloud, whose existence and the opposition he forces towards Sephiroth’s goal actually managed to keep him alive inside the lifestream [ he was, undoubtfully, a catalyst for his ‘quick’ resurfacing, albeit it still took 5 years ]. his brutality in regards to how he reacts towards said opposition is striking and horrifying, any person getting on his bad side, will be treated the same - or even worse.

BODY LANGUAGE:

001.     standing very straight     - he’s very confident, knows of his power and is aware of his position and rank amongst his comrades, no matter the timeline and verse, he won’t slouch or bend before someone, except it is in greeting before those that deserve it [ and those are very few ].

002.     beckoning with one hand     - as he is very cocky and has a taunting nature, this is a thing he oftentimes performs in luring an enemy or battle partner closer to him. even if it may not have any effect, it is unsettling, usually combined with a chilling smile and the knowledge that if they don’t charge - he will.

003.     tilting his head     - it’s slight, it’s mostly a mocking gesture. sometimes he mimics another person and shows them their own behaviour like a mirror image [ not only with the head tilt ]. this very mannerism is usually depicted as ‘innocent’ and ‘casual’ when viewed in a lot of other people, but with him? it is turned into something grotesque and derisive, like a feline ready to attack at any moment. 

004.     pointing his sword at someone, moving them with the tip of it     - he is shown to do so with a multiple of people: with Zack, with Cloud, with quite a few characters in the Dissidia-Universe. while it can be taken as an attack-stance, once again, it is merely mocking. specifically, if he does so with only one hand, instead of grasping Masamune’s hilt with both hands what usually leads to a charge only seconds later.  the moving their head, their hair with the tip of his sword is dangerous, but due to high skill and precision, highly unlikely that he will grace or injure them. but the possibility is there and one wrong movement and that pretty head is gone.

005.     to the last point: moving someone’s head, their hair with his own hands     - that is rare and a spleen my version has. he does so as a means to figure out boundaries, as a way to see if he would face repercussions. the sole thought amusing him and enticing him to go a bit too far, depending on the person. he barely touches someone as it is still, only takes their jaw in his hand, or strokes with the back of his fingers along their cheek. if he only touches someone’s hair, it is a mere show and feeling that he could turn it into something else - but he won’t. 

AESTHETICS:

001.     a roaring fire, a dying fire     - as much as it is destructive and has been used by him before, he finds watching a fire and listening to it ‘speak’ very soothing. it makes him relax easily and he can listen to it for hours on end. a dying fire, the last glimmers of it, the last clamour and uproar reminds him of many things he needs to keep in mind to go on, despite its beauty and its ‘dying breath’. 

002.     dusk and dawn     - the day that dies and the day that is reborn. also a nice metaphor for everything he is, the colours fascinating for him, as one might want to say: ‘a man like him is raised in black and white’, and due to that, he enjoys any spectacle nature can present to him that is not distorted or even destroyed by humanity.

003.     old and abandoned places     - there is something inherently fascinating for him in these sites, as much as he doesn’t care and wouldn’t be interested in ‘haunted houses’, he does hold excitement for the locations where people lived in and made it their own, just for them to fade away and leave behind memories that can be discovered and secrets that can be found out, lest someone forget them completely.

004.     large market places in bustling cities     - he isn’t quite the man that cares for crowds or shies away from them, but a market place and merchants advertising their wares is the heart and life of a city or culture he knows nothing about and therefore the first place he would start with. be it in a moment when he is calmer, with friends or a partner, or in a modern verse, this is a place where he can be found a lot of times. 

005.     books, letters, the written word in general     - with his interest to learn also comes a striving for the understanding of a culture’s language. he is quite a natural in learning different tongues: give him literature written in it and a bit of context and he will figure it out quickly and sufficiently. correct him a bit in the pronunciation and he will speak it easily; a hobby of his own that he won’t want to miss.

SONGS:

001. Winterspell - Two Steps from Hell.

002. Feel Invincible - Skillet.

003. Wolf - Skott. 

004. Archangel - Two Steps from Hell.

005. Silver, Crimson, Black - Zack Hemsey.

Songs without explanation, just enjoy.

[cutshawsnidowoa]

Cat Tail Language: What Your Cat’s Tail Is Telling You

The post Cat Tail Language: What Your Cat’s Tail Is Telling You by Ellyce Rothrock appeared first on Catster. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren't considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Catster.com.

People who say cats aren’t very expressive and are impossible to gauge just don’t have a clue. A cat’s ears, eyes, body posture and, in particular, her tail, express exactly what she’s thinking and how she’s feeling. You just have to “listen” to cat tail language.

“Since cats are such different animals from us, understanding how they communicate isn’t something that comes naturally to humans,” says Kelly C. Ballantyne, D.V.M., D.A.C.V.B., clinical assistant professor at the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine in Urbana-Champaign. “It is important that all cat owners take the time to learn because understanding how cats communicate helps us to understand them better. Once we know their body language, we can read their emotions, identify situations that cause them distress or pleasure and even identify an illness sooner.”

Once you take the time to learn and understand cat tail language and realize that careful study of cat tail signs is vital to both your and your pet’s happiness in the home, you’ll be amazed at the myriad — and very clear — signals and emotions your feline companion shares with you.

Cat tail language: The basics

What is your cat’s tail trying to tell you? Photography ©Cynoclub | Thinkstock.

Thankfully, animal behaviorists like Dr. Ballantyne have done exhaustive research to help guide pet owners to understand the finer points of cat tail language.

“Tails can move quickly or slowly,” she says. “A flicking or lashing tail signals that the cat is agitated, while a slowly waving tail indicates the cat is focused on something (i.e., about to pounce on a toy). “The tail-up posture — tail straight up with a slight curve at the end — is a signal that the cat is approaching amicably,” Ballantyne continues. “This posture, witnessed among feline friends, is a common way cats greet their humans.

“Cats may curve their tail around people they are bonded to and may intertwine their tails with other cats they’re bonded to. This is called an affiliative behavior.”

“Cats tuck their tails under or next to their body when they are feeling frightened. They often are crouching with their heads tucked in at the same time. We also can see these behaviors when they’re feeling pain.”

But learning cat tail language is like learning any foreign language: It takes time. If you are new to cat tail signs, you can be confused by what various tail movements and positions indicate and inadvertently upset or confound your cat.

Petting your cat around the tail area

While learning cat tail language is a must for cat owners, actually petting the cat around the area of the tail (the base of the tail or the tail itself) is not appreciated by most cats, Ballantyne says. Rather, focus all petting and scratching around the chin and ears, she adds.

Further, if during a petting session your cat’s tail starts twitching or lashing, her ears are turning back or she’s leaning away from you, these all are signals that your companion is done with this interaction, Ballantyne explains. Cats share pretty clear messages about how they’re feeling at any given moment with one of their most expressive body parts. If you take the time and effort to learn cat tail language, you’ll be talking tail like an expert in no time, bringing you and your feline companion’s relationship to greater understanding and happiness.

How to respond to cat tail language

1. Tail position: Upright, held high

A cat with an upright tail. Photography ©Seregraff | Thinkstock.

What it means in cat tail language: Confident, happy

How you should act/react: Offer playtime, cuddles and treats.

2. Tail position: Curled at the top like a question mark

A cat tail curled at the top. Photography ©Photodisc | Thinkstock.

What it means in cat tail language: Friendly

How you should act/react: Offer your hand for sniffing and petting.

3. Tail position: Straight down

A cat with his tail down. Photography ©Ekaterina Cherkashina | Thinkstock.

What it means in cat tail language: Agitated, feeling aggressive

How you should act/react: Don’t try to engage or pet her. Try to neutralize whatever is upsetting her.

4. Tail position: Curved beneath the body

A cat with a curved tail. Photography by ©sakinder | Thinkstock.

What it means in cat tail language: Nervous and/or submissive

How you should act/react: Act nonchalant. Wait for her to come to you.

5. Tail position: Puffed

A cat with a puffed tail. Photography ©GlobalP | Thinkstock.

What it means in cat tail language: Scared, agitated, angry

How you should act/react: Leave her alone!

6. Tail position: Whipping back and forth

A cat with a whipping tail. Photography by Casey Elise Photography.

What it means in cat tail language: Fearful; angry, aggressive

How you should act/react: Best not try for quality snuggle time with an angry cat.

7. Tail position: Swaying slowly from side to side/twitching

A cat with a swaying tail. Photography by Casey Elise Photography.

What it means in cat tail language: Focused

How you should act/react: Let your captivated cat follow her interests.

The table guide to cat tail language

If a cat’s tail is… … it means he or she is Upright Content Up at a 45-degree angle Unsure Angled back, moving back and forth “Good” excited or “fearful” excited (the ears and eyes can help determine which) Upright, moving back and forth slightly Happy Upright, tip bent Friendly Straight, almost level with the spine Uneasy; not necessarily afraid Hanging down, with a dip near the base Aggressive Quickly swishing back and forth Angry Puffed Frightened Down at a 90-degree angle Attack mode Tucked between the legs Scared, possibly experiencing pain Sitting upright, tail tip is moving Alert, interested

Tell us: Did we miss any cat tail signals? How does your cat talk to you in cat tail language?

Thumbnail: Photography ©Tomwang112 | Thinkstock.

This piece was originally published in 2018. 

About the author

Ellyce Rothrock spent half her life with Flea, a Maine Coon who lived to be 21 and is missed every single day. She’s currently seeking a feline friend to manage Fritz and Mina, her German Shepherd Dog rescues. She’s lucky enough to live her passion for pets as a 25-year member of the pet media industry.

Editor’s note: Have you seen the new Catster print magazine in stores? Or in the waiting area of your vet’s office? Click here to subscribe to Catster and get the bimonthly magazine delivered to your home. 

Read more about understanding cats on Catster.com:

9 Weird Cat Sounds and What They Mean

6 Cat Meow Sounds and What They Mean

10 Common Cat Noises — and What They Mean

The post Cat Tail Language: What Your Cat’s Tail Is Telling You by Ellyce Rothrock appeared first on Catster. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren't considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Catster.com.

from Catster https://www.catster.com/cat-behavior/cat-tail-language-what-your-cats-tail-is-telling-you via IFTTT

[renegaderoots]

GENERAL INFORMATION

♚┋FULL NAME: Trish Lynch neé Hart ♚┋PRONUNCIATION: t r IH sh 

♚┋NICKNAME(S): None.

♚┋TITLE: The Asserter ♚┋OCCUPATION: Money Launderer/Journalist  ♚┋~AGE: 35 ♚┋DATE OF BIRTH: 8 August ♚┋GENDER: Cisgender ♚┋PRONOUNS: She/Her ♚┋ORIENTATION: Greyromantic Bisexual ♚┋NATIONALITY: American ♚┋RELIGION: Wicca ♚┋SPECIES: Human ♚┋AFFILIATION:Lynch ♚┋GENERATION: Third ♚┋THREAT LEVEL: Moderate (not malicious, sometimes violent, tends to be aggressive)

PHYSICAL APPEARANCE

♚┋FACE CLAIM: Amber Heard ♚┋EYE COLOUR: Brown ♚┋HAIR COLOUR: Blonde ♚┋DOMINANT HAND: Left ♚┋HEIGHT: 5 ft seven or 170 centimeters ♚┋WEIGHT: 62 kg or 137 pounds ♚┋TATTOOS: too many rose tattoos to count ♚┋SCARS: a scar on her left cheek. ♚┋PIERCINGS: belly button piercing ♚┋GLASSES: No.

PSYCHOLOGY INFORMATION

♚┋JUNG TYPE: ISTP ♚┋SUBTYPE: Sensing  ♚┋ENNEATYPE: 7w8 ♚┋MORAL ALIGNMENT: Chaotic Neutral ♚┋TEMPERAMENT: Sanguine/Choleric ♚┋SCHEMA: AS, ED, DI ♚┋INTELLIGENCE TYPE: Musical, Linguistic ♚┋~IQ: 128 ♚┋NEUROTYPE: Neuroatypical  ♚┋AT RISK? Since there’s a predisposition in her family regarding schizophrenia on her maternal side (though unknowingly), she was diagnosed with undifferentiated schizophrenia aged 25.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

♚┋HOMETOWN: Boston, MA, America ♚┋CURRENT: Dublin, Ireland ♚┋LANGUAGE(S): English, some Irish (she’s being taught by her husband), Swedish ♚┋SOCIAL CLASS: Before her marriage, Trish was part of the working class but now belongs to the Upper Middle class. ♚┋DEGREE: Bachelor ♚┋SUBJECT(S): Journalism ♚┋PARENT #1: Unknown ♚┋PARENT #2 David Hart, deceased, estranged ♚┋SIBLING(S): None ♚┋MAIN SHIP: Trish/Rory ♚┋RELATIONSHIP STATUS: married to Rory Lynch ♚┋CHILDREN: none yet ♚┋PET(S): a bird named Archie ♚┋ADOPTED? No. ♚┋RAP SHEET? Yes, mostly during her delinquent youth, though her crimes (like shoplifting) were mostly disregarded and downplayed with community service. ♚┋PRISON TIME? No.

VICES / HABITS

♚┋SMOKES? Yes. ♚┋DRINKS? Yes. ♚┋DOES DRUGS? Occasionally smokes weed ♚┋IS VIOLENT?  Extreme aversion towards violence given her own psychological scarring as a result of it, but she can and will defend herself if necessary – so her way of doing so is strictly physical, though Trish does have a history of emotional manipulation as well. ♚┋HAS AN ADDICTION? No, but used to: narcotics ♚┋IS SELF-DESTRUCTIVE? Yes. ♚┋HABITS: Trish, in a word, is weird. She is late to meetings so often because she showered and then proceeded to sit on her bed in a towel staring at the wall for an hour without doing anything. Her chronic lateness, at this point, is moreso a vice than a habit. That aside, she will not leave the house without chewing gum or thirteen pens in her pocket/purse. ♚┋HOBBIES: playing with Archie, writing, organizing events, muscle cars ♚┋TICS: List all tics your character has ♚┋OBSESSION(S): Again, not necessarily an obsession, but Trish is fascinated by firearms and knows a frightening amount of it for somebody who’s not legally allowed to carry one. ♚┋COMPULSION(S): List all compulsions your character has

MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION

♚┋HOUSE: Gryffindor ♚┋VICE: Greed ♚┋VIRTUE: Humility ♚┋ELEMENT: Water ♚┋ANGEL: Uriel ♚┋MYTHOLOGICAL CREATURE: Godling (The Witcher) ♚┋ANIMAL: Sparrow ♚┋MUTATION: Air manipulation ♚┋WOULD SURVIVE POST-APOC? No.

STATUS INFORMATION

♚┋DEVELOPMENT: Underdeveloped. ♚┋SHIPPING: Multiship. ♚┋VERSE: Verselocked. ♚┋VERSE TYPE: crime ♚┋CANON: crime ♚┋PLOTTING: open ♚┋CREATION DATE: April 2018

CHARACTER SUMMARY

Born into what most would call a dysfunctional clusterfuck, Trish has always been restless, following her wanderlust to find a home away from home; a place to belong. Her father, unfortunately, threw his ambitions out the window and took to gambling until his debts far surmounted his will to live. His legacy, in short, were bills to pay and strange men turning up at her door. It was Rory who helped turn her enemies into assets – and those who did not bite are in no position to bark up the wrong tree today. After tumultuous relations, Trish has always carried emptiness inside her, and a kind of poisonous envy at the sight of fortunate souls. Above all, she wants to be loved; she needs to love. Proving to her worth to the Morrisons and the Lynchs means the most to her as they are her benefactors. There’s nothing she wouldn’t do to fight for her shot at a family – not even bending the law.

APPEARANCE DESCRIPTION

Unsurprisingly, neither her height nor her weight are of much consequence. In fact, she is often undermined as the typical damsel in distress deal, and gladly takes advantage of how she is generally perceived. Moreover, her choice of dress, while neither bright nor complicated, is undoubtedly lavishly expensive. Rory doesn’t mind her interest in materialistic things and actually endorses it, flaunting his wealth just like his wife. That, however, is not the only present Rory has given her. At their first anniversary, he gave her a rose garden since Trish loves roses, most evident by her collection of rose tattoos. Like all women involved with the Morrison family, however, Trish was told to improve her self-taught fighting skills (most of which she picked up on the streets) and now attends Krav Maga lessons regularly. However, it can be challenging at times to stay focused since she does have a scatter-brained tendency to her and a sometimes bone-idle work ethic.

PERSONALITY DESCRIPTION

Generally, you will be met with a shy smile and in quite a cordial manner. While her temperament is not exactly that of a party animal, Trish treats others kindly and appears soft-spoken at first until her views are challenged – then, her obstinate streak comes into play, making her somewhat unyielding and hard to get along with unless you see eye to eye. No matter what, she will defend her idealistic roots and readily pairs them with sober realism; but not without her relentless drive for self-improvement. More than anything, Trish is an autodidact and highly curious. 

There’s scarcely anything dull to her so long as she encounters somebody with an infectious alacrity for their respective milieu. In contrast to this, though, are her contemplative moods where she will flat out refuse to talk or even so much as acknowledge anyone, especially in times of great stress. The crux of Trish is this: her own insecurity and lack of strong self is irrevocably reflected in her ever changing mannerisms. The need to be loved or at least liked, to matter to something or to somebody is such an overruling instinct to her that most of her personality is often in constant flux to accommodate whatever her partners need. 

To combat this, her principles are often in opposition with the innerworkings of her very family and, more frequently than she’d like, surrenders completely, seemingly content to play the beautiful flower with no opinions of her own. All in all, her emotions are her own business, and she’s not one to wear her heart on her sleeve, struggling between bouts of self-doubt and unwavering confidence.

SKILLS / COMPETENCES

As far as her bilingual nature is concerned, Trish can communicate proficiently in both English – what with it being her mother tongue – and Swedish. Irish, as she finds, is a daily battle she intends to win. Where she shines most without a doubt, however, are her work-related studies. Obviously, her writing can more than hold its own but in addition to that, she is also knowledge in journalistic ethics, editing, photojournalism, television production technique, web design and, most importantly, how to fool everybody while lying through her teeth. Having her in charge of the finances would probably lead to bankruptcy, however, since Trish is not the least bit parsimonious – rather, she can be very generous.

INTERPERSONAL MANNER

In comparison to most others, Trish is probably one of the kindest, most likeable personalities within their inner circle. She’ll give you a smile easily; and a genuine one at that. Below her ingénue mask, however, there can be shrewdness coupled with an opportunistic business sense, given that she’s in charge of spinning amicable tales about the Morrison’s involvement with charity work. Thanks to her pen, the public laps up her words, revering especially Eoghan as a kind of celebrity. What’s more, Trish can be possessive in the way she loves, thinking of her lovers as possessions rather than people, the latter of which is a byproduct of the belief that she can’t have any lasting relationships, hence, depersonalizing them is the only manner in which she can be emotionally close to others.

 MISC.

Characteristic traits

Positive:

Individualistic, logical, optimistic, determined, patient

Negative:

Indecisive, dependent, shrewd, anarchistic, opinionated

Schemas

EMOTIONAL DEPRIVATION (ED)

    Expectation that one's desire for a normal degree of emotional support will not be adequately met by others.  The three major forms of deprivation are:

     A. Deprivation of Nurturance:  Absence of attention, affection, warmth, or companionship.

     B. Deprivation of Empathy:  Absence of understanding, listening, self-disclosure, or mutual sharing of feelings from   others.

     C. Deprivation of Protection:  Absence of strength, direction, or guidance from others.

   DEPENDENCE / INCOMPETENCE (DI)

     Belief that one is unable to handle one's everyday responsibilities in a competent manner, without considerable help from others (e.g., take care of oneself, solve daily problems, exercise good judgment, tackle new tasks, make good decisions). Often presents as helplessness.

  APPROVAL-SEEKING  /  RECOGNITION-SEEKING  (AS)

     Excessive emphasis on gaining approval, recognition, or attention from other people, or fitting in, at the expense of developing a secure and true sense of self.  One's sense of esteem is dependent primarily on the reactions of others rather than on one's own natural inclinations.  Sometimes includes an overemphasis on status, appearance, social acceptance, money, or achievement --  as means of gaining approval, admiration, or attention (not primarily for power or control). Frequently results in major life decisions that are inauthentic or unsatisfying;  or in hypersensitivity to rejection.

 INSPIRED BY: Triss Merigold (The Witcher)

[cutshawsnidowoa]

Cat Tail Language: What Your Cat’s Tail Is Telling You

The post Cat Tail Language: What Your Cat’s Tail Is Telling You by Ellyce Rothrock appeared first on Catster. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren't considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Catster.com.

People who say cats aren’t very expressive and are impossible to gauge just don’t have a clue. A cat’s ears, eyes, body posture and, in particular, her tail, express exactly what she’s thinking and how she’s feeling. You just have to “listen” to cat tail language.

“Since cats are such different animals from us, understanding how they communicate isn’t something that comes naturally to humans,” says Kelly C. Ballantyne, D.V.M., D.A.C.V.B., clinical assistant professor at the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine in Urbana-Champaign. “It is important that all cat owners take the time to learn because understanding how cats communicate helps us to understand them better. Once we know their body language, we can read their emotions, identify situations that cause them distress or pleasure and even identify an illness sooner.”

Once you take the time to learn and understand cat tail language and realize that careful study of cat tail signs is vital to both your and your pet’s happiness in the home, you’ll be amazed at the myriad — and very clear — signals and emotions your feline companion shares with you.

Cat tail language: The basics

What is your cat’s tail trying to tell you? Photography ©Cynoclub | Thinkstock.

Thankfully, animal behaviorists like Dr. Ballantyne have done exhaustive research to help guide pet owners to understand the finer points of cat tail language.

“Tails can move quickly or slowly,” she says. “A flicking or lashing tail signals that the cat is agitated, while a slowly waving tail indicates the cat is focused on something (i.e., about to pounce on a toy). “The tail-up posture — tail straight up with a slight curve at the end — is a signal that the cat is approaching amicably,” Ballantyne continues. “This posture, witnessed among feline friends, is a common way cats greet their humans.

“Cats may curve their tail around people they are bonded to and may intertwine their tails with other cats they’re bonded to. This is called an affiliative behavior.”

“Cats tuck their tails under or next to their body when they are feeling frightened. They often are crouching with their heads tucked in at the same time. We also can see these behaviors when they’re feeling pain.”

But learning cat tail language is like learning any foreign language: It takes time. If you are new to cat tail signs, you can be confused by what various tail movements and positions indicate and inadvertently upset or confound your cat.

Petting your cat around the tail area

While learning cat tail language is a must for cat owners, actually petting the cat around the area of the tail (the base of the tail or the tail itself) is not appreciated by most cats, Ballantyne says. Rather, focus all petting and scratching around the chin and ears, she adds.

Further, if during a petting session your cat’s tail starts twitching or lashing, her ears are turning back or she’s leaning away from you, these all are signals that your companion is done with this interaction, Ballantyne explains. Cats share pretty clear messages about how they’re feeling at any given moment with one of their most expressive body parts. If you take the time and effort to learn cat tail language, you’ll be talking tail like an expert in no time, bringing you and your feline companion’s relationship to greater understanding and happiness.

How to respond to cat tail language

1. Tail position: Upright, held high

A cat with an upright tail. Photography ©Seregraff | Thinkstock.

What it means in cat tail language: Confident, happy

How you should act/react: Offer playtime, cuddles and treats.

2. Tail position: Curled at the top like a question mark

A cat tail curled at the top. Photography ©Photodisc | Thinkstock.

What it means in cat tail language: Friendly

How you should act/react: Offer your hand for sniffing and petting.

3. Tail position: Straight down

A cat with his tail down. Photography ©Ekaterina Cherkashina | Thinkstock.

What it means in cat tail language: Agitated, feeling aggressive

How you should act/react: Don’t try to engage or pet her. Try to neutralize whatever is upsetting her.

4. Tail position: Curved beneath the body

A cat with a curved tail. Photography by ©sakinder | Thinkstock.

What it means in cat tail language: Nervous and/or submissive

How you should act/react: Act nonchalant. Wait for her to come to you.

5. Tail position: Puffed

A cat with a puffed tail. Photography ©GlobalP | Thinkstock.

What it means in cat tail language: Scared, agitated, angry

How you should act/react: Leave her alone!

6. Tail position: Whipping back and forth

A cat with a whipping tail. Photography by Casey Elise Photography.

What it means in cat tail language: Fearful; angry, aggressive

How you should act/react: Best not try for quality snuggle time with an angry cat.

7. Tail position: Swaying slowly from side to side/twitching

A cat with a swaying tail. Photography by Casey Elise Photography.

What it means in cat tail language: Focused

How you should act/react: Let your captivated cat follow her interests.

The table guide to cat tail language

If a cat’s tail is… … it means he or she is Upright Content Up at a 45-degree angle Unsure Angled back, moving back and forth “Good” excited or “fearful” excited (the ears and eyes can help determine which) Upright, moving back and forth slightly Happy Upright, tip bent Friendly Straight, almost level with the spine Uneasy; not necessarily afraid Hanging down, with a dip near the base Aggressive Quickly swishing back and forth Angry Puffed Frightened Down at a 90-degree angle Attack mode Tucked between the legs Scared, possibly experiencing pain Sitting upright, tail tip is moving Alert, interested

Tell us: Did we miss any cat tail signals? How does your cat talk to you in cat tail language?

Thumbnail: Photography ©Tomwang112 | Thinkstock.

This piece was originally published in 2018. 

About the author

Ellyce Rothrock spent half her life with Flea, a Maine Coon who lived to be 21 and is missed every single day. She’s currently seeking a feline friend to manage Fritz and Mina, her German Shepherd Dog rescues. She’s lucky enough to live her passion for pets as a 25-year member of the pet media industry.

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Read more about understanding cats on Catster.com:

9 Weird Cat Sounds and What They Mean

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