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dk-wren · 11 months ago

Note

Thanks for answering my ask @dk-wren, can I ask again but this time for Loid/Yor?

What do you think are Loid and Yor’s greatest personality strengths and weaknesses? Why? What do you love about their dynamic?

Hello Anon!

Of course! And thank you for the new ask!

(Note: I am so so sorry that I could not respond to your ask sooner. School has been crazy, so I barely had any time to write for non-school related projects. I feel so bad that I could not get to this quicker, but I hope you may still enjoy my response.)

Now, I would like to be upfront and say that my familiarity with Loid/Yor's relationship and all of Spy x Family is a little spotty. I am caught up on the anime and read the first several chapters of the manga. However, I only started consistently reading the manga about a year ago, towards the middle of the Red Circus arc. I generally know what happens between where S2 ended and I picked up the manga (i.e. Yor meets Melinda, Lady Tonitrus, etc.), but I apologize if in my explanation I missed an important moment that happens during that period or contradict something.

That said, I think Loid's greatest personality strength is his ability to fully commit to something. When I racked my brain for what Loid (and also Twilight) moments stood out to me, his line, “Let’s go home” from the first chapter, the castle party, his attempt to have fun during the Cruise Arc, creating a full (educational) episode of Bondman for Anya, and taking Anya on a ski trip are some moments that came to mind. Am I cherry-picking these examples? Yes, but I think each still illustrates how Loid cannot do anything with less than 100% effort.

Now, could you argue this personality trait of fully committing to something can be negative in some situations? For sure. But the way I see this trait present itself within Loid, it comes out of his desire to provide the best he can for his family. And while it was for his mission/cover towards the beginning of Spy x Family, and still sometimes the case, I think there’s been a shift where Loid's motivation for doing all that he can to provide Yor and Anya good/memorable experiences now comes from knowing Anya’s history in the orphanage and in Yor opening up to Loid about her past.

I don’t know if Loid’s training or general nature are responsible for this trait, but I do believe Loid’s ability to fully commit to something is his greatest strength since it sort of acts as Loid’s way to show how much he cares for (perhaps, even loves) the recipients.

In terms of Loid's greatest weakness, I think it is his stubbornness. Loid/Twilight knows he is Westalis' greatest spy. And whether self-imposed or from his colleagues' expectations (or perhaps even a little bit of both), he understands his performance during any mission should be of the highest caliber. In trying to maintain this level of proficiency on his missions, I feel Loid/Twilight can easily get into his own head about how things are supposed to go and needing to stick to a plan.

Especially in the first few chapters/episodes, we see Loid clearly thrown off and flustered by some of Anya and Yor’s actions. When working solo, it is very easy for Loid to be in control over every aspect of a mission. Things can go exactly as planned for Loid, avoiding the need to deviate from his meticulous planning, even if he needs to switch to plan B, C, D, or E (probably more tbh). That is not the case though with Anya and Yor because of their own secret identities and human nature. These two bring in factors or variables that Twilight would not have to typically consider on his missions since they bring their own experiences/perspectives that do not align with Twilight’s view of “normal” or expected.

I know Loid saying “For the mission” is a running joke. But I believe Loid’s stubbornness plays a factor into this. Not necessarily in a bad sense, but Loid can get stuck in his ways and find explanations to justify his actions that do not align with those set ones. His stubbornness prevents Loid from admitting that he loves and cares for Anya and Yor because he is a spy, who should not have any attachments nor the expectation to settle down. He has changed from the first chapter to now. I apologize for not remembering the exact post, but when Loid returns home to Yor and immediately collapses at the end of the Mole Hunt arc, I saw someone beautifully explain how Loid’s reaction is due to his body telling him “He is safe. He is home. He is where his loved ones are,” even if his mind cannot process those feelings.

In reading the chapters about Loid’s past, I would argue Loid also potentially deals with his own guilt about not deserving the love of others after what happened to his parents. That is a hard mindset to break, which I think his occupation doesn’t help in that healing process either. Therefore, between Loid’s own past and being a spy, I think Loid’s greatest weakness is his stubbornness, especially in his inability to process things (namely love) as anything but a means to an end, rather than the end itself.

As for Yor, I think her greatest personality strength is her kindness and faith in others. I feel Yor has so much love to give to the people she keeps close to her heart. But due to her past, she didn't have a chance to shower it on anyone besides Yuri. The cooking lessons she took with Camilla to literally running to pick up Anya after the bus hijacking, Yor’s family and their happiness/safety remains her utmost priority in providing.

I truly believe Yor sees the best in people and wants to uplift that, whether that be celebrating how well Anya did on a test or telling Loid that he’s a good father. I don’t think it’s naivety but rather kindness that Yor embraces the world with. Similar to Loid/Twilight, Yor is trying to create a better tomorrow in her own way. However, one key difference I would say is that Yor sees herself as a part of that tomorrow. Such as in the Cruise arc, Yor recognizes the danger of profession and the fact she may not live to see the next day. But from what I’ve seen, Yor sees herself as working towards that better tomorrow so she can enjoy it with those she loves.

I think Yor’s greatest personality strength is her kindness and faith in others because she sees the best in those around her and wants to bring that out, or encourage people to embrace the good in them.

Regarding Yor’s greatest personality weakness, I think it's her social inexperience. I hesitate to call it a weakness since I think it’s more of a hindrance (and very much due to her upbringing). There are countless examples of Yor responding to someone’s question in a way that shows her misunderstanding of what the original question means (taking things too literally or giving a response appropriate for her assassin job but not in everyday life for example). It could easily paint her as awkward or clueless, but I think it just tells us about the environment she grew up in or is most familiar with.

When in her element, Yor embodies confidence and power. However, more often than not, that’s when she’s Thorn Princess rather than Yor Forger. Being the sole provider for Yuri for a good portion of her childhood and teen years, and also the nature of her profession, Yor is expected to complete things with utter perfection. She received training from the Garden, so that’s likely why she can perform with that confidence and grace as Thorn Princess. In not receiving that same level of “training” or exposure to everyday social situations, I think this causes Yor to second guess herself or fall susceptible to teasing in the workplace.

Again, while I hesitate to consider it a weakness, I believe Yor’s social inexperience can sometimes hurt her more than help her. This is not a dig at Loid/Twilight, but I admire how Yor recognizes this “weakness” of how her knowledge may fall short in certain social scenarios. And to then take that time to learn about “normal” activities or experience something she was not able to during her childhood (as I mentioned above, cooking with Camilla comes to mind, but also befriending Melinda Desmond and spending time with the Women's Society), I think Yor openly embraces these opportunities in the hopes of learning from them and to increase her own happiness/enjoyment or those close to her.

Finally, for the last question, what do I love about Loid and Yor’s dynamic, I’d have to say I love how they uplift each other and acknowledge where the other can provide something they cannot (whether that’s with Anya’s care or household chores). Yor telling Loid he’s a great father to Anya and expressing her wish to help more around their household (to take some stress off of Loid); Loid telling Yor how her strength is an invaluable comfort to Anya, as well as affirming how her past makes her the perfect mother for Anya, and the way his body/subconscious mind acknowledges Yor as someone he feels safe around. At least to me, these examples alone show how much they respect their partner and understand that they can depend on the other. I'm sorry if I keep repeating myself, but seriously, to be able to trust and verbalize that they need help is such a step forward in moving past the behaviors they learned/developed during their childhoods.

While not tied exclusively to Loid and Yor’s relationship, but their family relationship, I also love how they somewhat represent different parenting styles. Loid is the more strict and demanding parent, though from what I recall, he rarely verbalizes his high expectations out loud (not that it always matters when Anya can read his thoughts). He expects Anya to do well and pass her classes, as well as avoid earning another Tonitrus bolt. Even then though, he phrases his words/expectations generally rather than telling her she must get this percent or higher. With Yor, she’s the more comforting and encouraging parent. She wants to see Anya succeed in school, but at the same time, Yor also prioritizes Anya’s well-being and happiness. I love how Loid and Yor’s parenting styles align with their personalities, and potentially the direct results of their childhoods. However, I love how at the end of the day, despite their varying approaches, Loid and Yor are both motivated by their desire to give Anya a happy childhood.

Thank you again for the ask and your patience, Anon!

I had a lot of fun diving into the individual arcs of Loid and Yor (so far), as well as their relationship. I genuinely love these two so much and how slow burn this slow burn is. It really provides them the opportunity to develop as individuals and see how their interactions can or do affect the other.

-Dakota Wren

#asks #spy x family #loid forger #twilight #yor forger #thorn princess #twiyor

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roseofithaca · 4 years ago

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Defrosting Grumpy Three (a Season 8 meta)

I keep thinking about how Season 8 of Classic Who is almost like the first one the show has to a ‘season long arc’ that I don’t feel gets talked about enough. Obviously everyone knows it as “the one where the Master is in every story” but I feel like there is a subtle character arc for the Doctor in this season as well which is tied to the two main characters introduced in the first episode; the Master and Jo Grant.

I’m not the first one to point out that out of Three’s five seasons; this is the one where he’s at his most grumpy and short-tempered. I know a lot of people point to this season as reasons for why they don’t like Three and I totally get that, he’s a real git sometimes, in particular the first and last stories. There are moments where he’s asking for a slap and, no, I’m not talking about him claiming to be buddies with Chairman Mao and a Tory MP. Because I would’ve thought it was obvious that he drops those names purely to gain trust of these people who don’t trust him (at least that’s my headcanon because it doesn’t fit with the anti-capitalist, anti-pollution, anti-imperialist writing). Just him being constantly ungrateful to the Brigadier, snapping at Jo, or just being childish in the most ‘kid throwing a tantrum’ way possible.

But it’s easy to get why. By Season 8 he’s been trapped on Earth for we can assume at least a year. New Who fans who’ve seen the Power of Three and saw how crazy Eleven went when he tried to stay on Earth to study the cubes just for a few days/weeks know the Doctor can’t stand staying still, especially in one time and place. In his first season he could be short-tempered but slightly less so. In Spearhead he’s quite polite and motivated, though that could be the most pleasant form of Post Regeneration Trauma he’s been through. Plus he had Liz, who you can see he immediately clicked with. A fellow genius who finds herself out of place or treated a little unfairly as a female scientist surrounded by men, both of them willing to sass the Brigadier when he deserves it. He also still keeps trying to fix the TARDIS, as if convinced this won’t be as permanent as the Time Lords intended.

But by Season 8 (or you could say even before that, in Inferno) his attempts clearly haven’t succeeded past slipping into a terrifying parallel universe, and now cabin fever is setting in. And Liz, his science bud, has gone off and left. And while it’s sad we didn’t get a goodbye between the two of them, her passing remark towards the Brigadier about the Doctor just needing someone to pass him test tubes and fill his praise kink maybe implies that, at least from Liz’ POV, they weren’t as equals as Three thought, or she didn’t feel that fulfilled working with him, even if she did appreciate him as a friend.

So enter Jo to replace Liz, who is everything Liz wasn’t. Liz had to study and work her way to her position; Jo is a spoiled girl who got to play spy by sheer nepotism. She failed A level science and doesn’t have the same sharp-wit he and Liz shared. Three is mean to her even before she introduces herself as his assistant when she only tries to help, and doesn’t hide his disappointment when she tells him. Perhaps it might also be that she reminds him of his companions before Liz; she’s cute and perky like Zoe and also loyal and determined like Jamie, even though she lacks Jamie’s physical strength and Zoe’s genius. Still, she’s young and he might not want to put her in danger the same way he nearly lost his previous young companions many times in the War Games.

When Three goes to the Brigadier to try to get rid of Jo, the Brig is far more smug than in the previous season, as he seems to have worked the Doctor out by this point. Their little moment at the end of Inferno where Three insults him and tries to escape only to then come back with his tail between his legs acting all buddy has shown him who Three really is; that this whole grumpy shtick of this is just a defence mechanism while he’s so out of his depth. I like to think the Brig hoped Jo would soften him up, to bring out the compassion that was more overt in his previous incarnation, as well as just pass him test tubes and keep tabs on him. His knowing smile when he watches Three try and fail miserably to fire her seems to prove his point.

In the same story we also have the Master showing up for the very first time. He was created to be the ‘Moriarty to the Doctor’s Holmes’. These kind of ‘foil enemies’ that pop up in so many stories, where you have a villain who is supposed to be a perfect match in intelligence or skill to the hero, are more often than not presented as ‘what the hero could have been’ if they chose to be evil rather than good; the Master is no different. And even though it’s not established until the next season that the Doctor and Master used to be friends, there’s clearly an underlining fondness in their banter which hints at past feelings as well as mutual respect. It says quite a lot that Three is more relaxed and friendly during his conversations with the Master half the time they talk than he is with the humans he’s meant to be saving, or even his own close friends. Because, for all their moral disagreements, the Master is his own kind and his only link - other than his broken TARDIS - to the rest of the Universe.

In almost every story of S8, after the Master has revealed his evil scheme only for the Doctor to point out how it will backfire on him, they have to work together or form some kind of alliance of convenience. In Claws of Axos, the Doctor outright pretends to betray his friends and elope join forces with the Master to escape, only for it to be a trick in order to defeat the Axons. But considering Three’s attitude in this season, it’s a very convincing act as much to the audience as to the humans. And then in Colony in Space, the Master offers the Doctor half-ownership of the Universe....and the Doctor clearly hesitates! Yes, the Master tempts him with the persuasion of ruling ‘in the name of good’ but Three has to take a moment to remember what a slippery slope that line of thinking is. He’s so tired of being trapped, sick of being leashed by the Time Lords, that the Master comes along as a devil on his shoulder at his most vulnerable point. Considering the last story involves the Master summoning the actual Devil (or close enough) and is also where Three’s temper seems to be at its peak seems all too fitting.

It’s also interesting that the Master’s greatest fear that appears in the Mind of Evil is an image of the Doctor laughing maniacally over him. It’s the closest we get to an image of Dark!Three in the show. To contrast; the Doctor’s greatest fear isn’t the Master, it’s the eruption from Inferno. Seeing the Earth swallowed by flame - not because of an outside force like the Daleks or Cybermen, but by humans themselves. It’s easy to imagine him wondering why he even bothers with them when they’re their own worst enemy.

(Side note; apparently the Evil Overlord in the Inferno parallel world IS the Third Doctor, according to the Expanded Universe, though I haven’t read up on this. We were robbed of seeing Pertwee play an evil Doctor.)

So while this is going on and the Master is playing his games with the Doctor while also tempting him, intentionally or not, to the ‘dark side’, we also have Jo at his side. And Jo takes all of the Doctor’s snapping and mood swings like a pro, and is very quickly overwhelmed with a lot of the stuff she’s faced which that she didn’t know she was signing up for - being hypnotised, captured by aliens, taken to alien worlds in the far future etc. She screams as most companions did at that time, but because it is what you would expect from a girl fresh out of school and throwing herself into something she clearly didn’t properly prepare for. The Doctor has to save her a lot, more than often because she tried to help only to get herself captured. As much as he does warm to her - because he’s not immune to how adorable she is - it serves to prove his point. Even when he finally gets to leave Earth for a day, she’s too frightened to want to leave the TARDIS. What good is she to him?

Now she continues to prove she has her uses. She has her escapology skills which get them out of a few tight spots. Depending on the writer, she can turn into an Emma Peel-esque agent capable of self-defence and subterfuge. And she’s always patient with the Doctor, no matter what mood he’s in, and extremely loyal. She’s also kind and compassionate with every side character she comes across. There seems to have been a backlash to these kinds of qualities in female characters in the past twenty years or so, what I like to call the Cinderella critique, where if a woman is kind and generous more so than smart, sassy and sword-wielding she’s seen as ‘weak’. Jo is always there at the Doctor’s side when he’s managed to get hurt or knocked out (Three took a lot of naps, anyone else notice this?). Even after he does whisk her away to another planet and nearly don’t make it back, she could easily throw her job away if it was too much, but she sticks with it because you can see that she wants more than anything to be useful and do good for her world - it would be another two season until she found what her own passion was with being an environmental activist but this is where she wants to start.

But it’s not until the end of S8 that we see Jo’s greatest strength and how it saves Three when every other defence he had was gone. He’s spent most of that story chastising her for believing in magic and superstition, as well as anything else he can find to snap at her for like criticising the Brigadier even though he does the same thing all the damn time (this could be seen as a ‘I can insult my bro but you can’t’ moment but it’s still not pleasant). But when he learns the Master is preparing to sacrifice her, he runs in to save her despite knowing it’s a suicide mission. He also gives a cold exchange to the Master when told he’s a ‘doomed man’.

Oh I’m a dead man! I knew that as soon as I walked through those doors so you better watch out! I have nothing to lose, do I?

It’s a telling line that, behind all his patronising and abruptness, he’s reached a point he doesn’t feel he has anything left to keep going. He’s lost his freedom and his knowledge of time travel; but he’ll die before letting Jo die or letting the Earth burn again. When Azal claims the daemons gave humans knowledge, Three responds: Finally he’s turning his anger on the one who deserves it to save the one who has been his friend, even at his lowest points, for the past several months, while still showing his disappointment in what he’s seen of humans living amongst them:

You gave them knowledge to blow up the world and they most certainly will. They can poison the water and the very air they breathe.

When Azal appears, he nearly makes the Master’s greatest fear come true by offering his power to the Doctor instead. And the Doctor looks horrified, immediately doing a Jon Snow and refusing it. Unlike when the Master offered him power before, he doesn’t hesitate for a moment, even though Azal’s powers could probably get his TARDIS working again in a snap. He looks almost scared at the thought of possessing something like that. Perhaps his dark persona in that other world became that way because he did take such an offer?

Azal prepares to kill the Doctor for refusing his offer, which is where Jo saves the day by offering her life for his. A lot of people dislike this ending for the idea of the villain being destroyed ‘by the power of love’ more or less, but this was a lot less common a deus ex machina as it is in New Who. The Doctor explains how it works when they’re free as:

Azal could not accept a fact as irrational and illogical as Jo being prepared to give up her life for me.

Three says it as he’s just as baffled, if also amused, by it as Azal was. Why would Jo give up her life for him? Compare that with when Ten has to give up his incarnation to save Wilf, how he rants that Wilf isn’t important but he has ‘so much more’ to give. Even the Doctor wrestles when it comes to sacrificing himself for others sometimes but Jo did it without a seconds thought, made even more illogical given Three’s often harsh treatment of her. But one thing that is obvious is that Three’s grumpy face is gone; he’s smiling for the rest of the episode, looking at Jo with quiet heart eyes, and letting her drag him into the maypole dance, conceding that she was right and there is ‘magic’ in the world.

Much like Rose was the companion Nine needed after the Time War to enjoy seeing the Universe again and appreciating life, Jo serves a similar purpose in S8 in that she gradually reminds the Doctor through her actions of the strengths in being brave, kind and selfless. She and the rest of the UNIT family are there to remind him of the goodness in humanity and that we’re always learning and trying to improve; as Three says to Azal that ‘they need a chance to grow up’. Jo is the angel on his shoulder to contrast the Master as his personal devil; right down to having her dressed in the sacrificial ‘virgin’ garb opposite the Satanic Master to cap the season off.

Three still has his sour moments after this but he’s far less cantankerous going forward and sweeter towards Jo especially, praising her bravery and learning in future, just as Jo also grows more confident in her abilities and enjoys her adventures with him. He seems far more relaxed on Earth and less desperate to get away because of the people he has around him that make it worth staying around for. Three’s morals and loyalty to humanity might not have been so firm had Jo not been there to ground him, especially with the Master constantly there almost holding out a hand to him offering freedom and excitement. Like all good companions, she saves the Doctor as much as he has to save her, in more ways than one, which she doesn’t get nearly enough credit for. And it’s what adds to the heartbreak of her eventual exit because of the effect she had on his life.

It’s just one of my favorite tropes when a character gets better and softens or becomes kinder not because they had to ‘change for someone else’ but because they were inspired by them, especially if it’s the person they underestimated the most.

#it's about found family yo #classic who meta #doctor who #third doctor #jo grant #three x jo #the master #unit era

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lamesiscanon · 5 years ago

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A Promise None Can Make

(Read on AO3)

Sirius was crying. Real, heavy tears flowed freely down his cheeks, and each sharp intake of breath was followed by a drawn out, guttural sob. He felt as if he’d never breathe again.

Remus was there, he always was. He got home from his mission to find Sirius screaming in rage and in despair, ripping things apart and throwing the fragile objects at the walls. Now, he held him against his chest, keeping him far away from the newspaper with the headline Remus would never get out of his brain.

Two Kids Killed After Death Eater Attack

Below it, were individual pictures of Marlene and Dorcas.

Remus understood where Sirius’ rage had come from. How the prophet called them kids before calling them fighters, or heroes, or even by their names. He was angry himself at how they had individual school photos of the two people who loved each other so much, they would have wanted a photo with the both of them in it. One where they were really smiling. A photo that would make people remember them.

The article explained it as if they had no chance, as if the Death Eaters had walked in and took them down in seconds, whereas Dumbledore’s letter, crushed in Sirius’ hand, explained they fought valiantly. Dorcas and Marlene killed the first five Death Eaters to break down through their door. They fought for hours, and when they lost, they lived through torture for much longer.

They killed Marlene first. Skeeter’s article failed to mention the fact that they were in love. Remus was angry about all of this.

Sirius’ sobbing was making Remus break, but what was worse was the broken speech Remus could barely make out.

“They didn’t say anything, Rem. Marlene died... made Dorcas promise her... wouldn’t say anything... even if Marlene was in danger.”

Those words broke Remus. He made a crushed sound from his throat and hugged Sirius closer to him.

He admired Marlene and Dorcas in those moments. Admired their strength, their love, and their loyalty. In that moment they became his absolute heroes, and he vowed to do anything to avenge them.

“How did they know?” Sirius still sobbed. “How did they know to use her against Dorcas? We were all keeping it a secret, Rem. They weren’t even married yet.”

That’s when the reality of the situation hit Remus. The Death Eaters had used Marlene against Dorcas. They somehow knew Dorcas was secret keeper for the order, and even worse, they knew that Marlene was her weakness and they used it against her. Cowards in black masks, men and women sent out to do the dirty work for Voldemort, they tortured Marlene for hours in front of Dorcas, and offered her safety in exchange for information. It could have been so easy.

Remus was certain, that if had been in the same situation, he wouldn’t have been as strong. He wasn’t capable, could never watch the one he loved die. But Sirius was stronger. He was secret keeper because he could make the right choice, if he’d ever have to choose between Remus or James and Lily.

“Sirius.” It was hard for Remus to talk, hard to use his throat for anything but crying. “Sirius, look at me, please.”

The wrecking sounds ceased long enough for Sirius to face Remus, with a begging look in his eyes. Like he was asking for Remus to make it all better.

“Sirius, you have to promise me.” They were both crying again, but Remus knew he should continue. He had to tell Sirius.

“We already know there’s a spy, we know someone’s giving them information. That’s how they knew, Si, it’s how they knew about Dorcas and Marlene.”

Sirius’ last look of hope in his eyes broke, and it almost killed Remus. But he had to get Sirius to promise him.

“Someone told them to use Marlene against Dorcas. And they can do the same to you. Promise me, Sirius...”

“NO!” The scream ripped out of Sirius, and he looked more scared than Remus had ever seen him look in his life. The sounds Sirius were making now were strangled, frantic. He moved his hands to clutch onto Remus, gripping his arm and shoulder so hard it hurt.

“Don’t you dare! Don’t you DARE!”

Three months ago, Remus knew he would have rather killed himself than know that he made Sirius so sad, and so angry. Now, he didn’t know what he’d rather do. Did he hurt the person he loved more than anything else, or did he risk the chance of James and Lily’s location being known?

In the end, he knew his life could never be worth more than James and Lily’s. It could never be worth more than Harry’s. His decision was made, and Sirius could see it in his eyes. It almost hurt more than the full moon, every muscle in his body trembling.

“Don’t.” Sirius whimpered, voice now quiet and defeated. It was the weakest thing he’d ever heard. “Don’t make me do this.” His voice shook, hard.

“Promise me, Sirius.” Remus held Sirius impossibly close, wondering if it could be the last time, if he was about to ruin everything.

“I can’t.” Sirius begged. “I can’t. I can’t. I can’t. I won’t.”

Remus closed his eyes, and gave Sirius a shaking kiss to the forehead.

“Promise me, you’ll let me die before you give anything up.”

“Don’t, Remus, please. Please. I can’t. I can’t promise that.”

“You have to. Voldemort might already know by now, and I’m not worth James and Lily dying!”

“Then we’ll find another way!” Sirius shouted, pushing himself out of Remus’ hold. Remus felt blood on his arms where Sirius’s nails had been holding onto Remus like a life force.

Remus fell to his knees, refusing to look away from Sirius, committing the eye color to memory. It was the most painful thing he’s ever done, but Sirius had to see that he wasn’t anything, that Remus wasn’t worth more than James, or Lily, or anybody.

“There is no other way.”

Sirius turned abruptly, storming out of the flat, and it made Remus feel almost evil to admit to himself that it hurt more than the news of Dorcas and Marlene.

Outside, despite the chilly air of late October, Sirius burned hot. He was angry, and he was mourning. Worst of all, he was in love, and it was his greatest weakness.

Remus was right, Sirius could find himself choosing between Remus or James and Lily, and he wasn’t strong enough for that. He couldn’t loose any of them. He would never watch the man he loved, die for his brother and sister.

Sirius wasn’t strong enough.

He had to do something.

He had to switch the secret keeper.

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sky-mxxn · 5 years ago

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“Extremely detailed character sheet template”

found here

Character Chart Character’s full name: Skylar Ryūzaki Reason or meaning of name: Skylar means “Eternal life and strength” in English while in Dutch, it means; “A Shelter” and lastly, in American English; “The Sky, Guarded, Scholar, Learned One”. As for Ryūzaki; this surname is used as 竜崎, 龍崎, 竜嵜 or 劉崎 with 竜 (ryuu, ryou, rou, ise, tatsu) or 龍 (ryuu, ryou, rou, tatsu), both meaning "dragon, imperial," 劉 (ryuu, ru, koro.su) meaning "faded, kill en masse, logging axe, peeling (paint off a wall, etc), sparse, weapon of war," 崎 and 嵜 (ki, sai, saki, misaki), the first meaning "cape, promontory, spit" and the second meaning "promontory, steep." Character’s nickname: Sky Reason for nickname: It’s easier to call her Sky than Skylar Birth date: December 5th [REDACTED] Physical appearance Age: 23 How old does he/she appear: 19 Weight: [REDACTED] Height: 5’ 6” Body build: Short, a pear body shape, full hips & thighs, narrow shoulder with a smaller bust Shape of face: - Eye color: Crimson Red Glasses or contacts: None Skin tone: Warm Beige & Warm Undertone Distinguishing marks: None Predominant features: None Hair color: Midnight Blue Type of hair: Straight Hairstyle: Ponytail Voice: Minami Hamabe Overall attractiveness: 7/10 Physical disabilities: None Usual fashion of dress: A black-collared shirt with dark blue or black vest, along with white pants, combat boots and a beige trench coat. Favorite outfit: That outfit above ^ Jewelry or accessories: Fingerless black gloves, gold earrings. Personality Good personality traits: Friendly, loyal, cooperative, respectful, adaptable Bad personality traits: Reckless, stubborn, regretful, stoic, calculating Mood character is most often in: Friendly. Sense of humor: Kinda dark and sarcastic Character’s greatest joy in life: Sleeping in a tree for one whole day Character’s greatest fear: Getting her head chopped off by someone she trust the most. Why?: She hates it when someone decapitate someone’s head with a guillotine or an axe. What single event would most throw this character’s life into complete turmoil?: All of her friends forget her. Character is most at ease when: she is surrounded by kittens and puppies. Most ill at ease when: Someone is being rude to an elderly person Enraged when: Someone kill or harm an animal. Depressed or sad when: When she couldn’t save the animal or caused someone’s death. Priorities: None. Life philosophy: You only die once, better life the rest of your life. If granted one wish, it would be: Just save the wish Why?: No reason Character’s soft spot: Illegal racing Is this soft spot obvious to others?: No. Greatest strength: Her skills in fighting, racing. Greatest vulnerability or weakness: Procastination. Biggest regret: Did not attend an anime convention because it clash with her job Minor regret: Did not managed to play Dance Dance Revolution Biggest accomplishment: Winning a lot of illegal races and become the Queen of the Streets Minor accomplishment: Getting caught by the police. Past failures he/she would be embarrassed to have people know about: Learning that she is an illegal racer? Why?: Because she might be a getaway driver for someone else. Character’s darkest secret: Secretly watch porn when she’s bored. Does anyone else know?: Nope. (until now, that is) Goals Drives and motivations: Trying to have a normal life as a librarian. Immediate goals: Probably talk to a therapist. Long term goals: Join the government secret spy group or isolate herself from the world How the character plans to accomplish these goals: Not procrastinating How other characters will be affected: None. (She’s a loner) Past Hometown: Kyoto, Japan Type of childhood: Tough and brutal. Lots of training and no happy moments Pets: None First memory: Getting beat up by other people Most important childhood memory: Played shogi with the Grandmaster and won. Why: Because it was her first victory. Childhood hero: None Dream job: A librarian Education: The way of the ninja but she have tutors teaching subjects that are in middle school and high school Religion: None Finances: None Present Current location: New York Currently living with: herself (if you minus her figures) Pets: None. Religion: None. Occupation: Full time explorer and part time mercenary. Finances: Good, I guess. Family Mother: [REDACTED] Relationship with her: None Father: [REDACTED] Relationship with him: None Siblings: None Relationship with them: None Spouse: None Relationship with him/her: None Children: None Relationship with them: None Other important family members: Close friends that she can trust and hopefully, none will backstab her Favorites Color: Red Least favorite color: Green Music: All types. Food: Raw, spicy, italian and the odd food too. Like eating Sago worms. Literature: Horror, crime, action. Form of entertainment: Video games, board games, movies. Expressions: poker face Mode of transportation: a sports car Most prized possession: Sugoi Steel Cyber Ninja O Katana Samurai Battle Ready Functional Sword Habits Hobbies: Playing video games, visiting the arcade, eating food, training and sleeping. Plays a musical instrument?: None. Plays a sport?: Parkour How he/she would spend a rainy day: Reading a book. Spending habits: Anime figures, video game figures. Smokes: None. Drinks: Occasionally Other drugs: None. What does he/she do too much of?: Training What does he/she do too little of?: Taking care of herself by exerting herself Extremely skilled at: Racing, parkour and combat Extremely unskilled at: Cooking Nervous tics: Scratch herself until she bleed Usual body posture: Slouch, sometimes stand up straight. Mannerisms: Polite and quiet. Peculiarities: Too quiet. Traits Optimist or pessimist? : Optimist Introvert or extrovert? : Introvert Daredevil or cautious? : Both Logical or emotional? : Logical Disorderly and messy or methodical and neat? : Methodical and Neat Prefers working or relaxing? : Both Confident or unsure of himself/herself? : Sometimes confident, sometimes unsure of herself Animal lover? : Yes. Self-perception How he/she feels about himself/herself: Honestly, to herself, she feels empty and worthless to everyone she meet. One word the character would use to describe self: A loner One paragraph description of how the character would describe self: She is one weird woman. Sky is friendly bot to chat with, always full of smiles and likes to make puns at the worse moments. She has this optimistic side when things go down. No matter what, she’s awfully positive and smiling but deep in her spark, she is the opposite. What does the character consider his/her best personality trait?: Friendly What does the character consider his/her worst personality trait?: Stubborn What does the character consider his/her best physical characteristic?: Always smiling and have no care in the world. What does the character consider his/her worst physical characteristic?: The lines on her arms, she’s been self harming herself on a daily basis. How does the character think others perceive him/her: A weirdo who has red eyes and blue hair, a worthless sack of shit that should be dead than alive. What would the character most like to change about himself/herself: The tendency to do reckless things and get hurt in the process. Relationships with others Opinion of other people in general: None Does the character hide his/her true opinions and emotions from others? Answer: None. Person character most hates: None Best friend(s): None Love interest(s): None Person character goes to for advice: None Person character feels responsible for or takes care of: None Person character feels shy or awkward around: None Person character openly admires: None Person character secretly admires: None Most important person in character’s life before story starts: The Grandmaster After story starts: None (In a nutshell, she’s a lonely gal)

(This is human!Sky, not her usual Transformer self; Skymoon)

Tagged by: @cyberninja

Tagging: @illusionaryanger @athenafire

#「 tagged 」

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crimsongodss · 5 years ago

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BASIC INFORMATION

Full name: Jasper Faust

Age: 30

Gender: Cismale

Sexual orientation: Homosexual. God he is... so gay. Jasper: “I’m GAY.” Fausts: “We know.”

Birthday: April 2nd

Zodiac: Aries

Hogwarts House: Gryffindor

Personality type: ESTP - The Entrepreneur

Affiliation: Former leader of the Crimsons, newly minted Consigliere.

Occupation: U.S. Marshal. Recently inherited both ‘Wolves’ and ‘The Den’ from his deceased twin.

current residence: Faust Manor

financial status: Upper Class

education level: Bachelors from Yale in Economics. ( Oh, yeah, Faust Senior definitely had to place a few phone calls about that one. )

familial connections of note: Jaxon Faust ( twin - recently deceased )

pets: God, don’t give him that RESPONSIBILITY.

PLAYLIST

Hell Boy - Seth Sentry

GOMD - Sicick

Close Your Eyes ( And Count To Fuck ) - Run The Jewels

Pursuit of Happiness - Kid Cudi

American Muscle - Calamity the Kid

Semi Charmed Life - Third Eye Blind

OVERVIEW

Faust. The man who made the deal with the devil. How incredibly accurate for a guy like Jasper.

What do you know about the Fausts? Scrappy and they’ve got moxy. So much, in fact, that it’s almost enough to distract one from the pile of bodies their empire is built on. You see, you don’t make a position like Crimsons unless you plan on there being graves to dig, and so despite their reputation, the Fausts are, and have always been, masters at pulling the wool over the world’s eyes.

Enter Jasper Faust. Wild child. Demon boy. Murderer. Pick your poison by calling him what you want. When he was a Crimson, he was the one the Fausts sent in when money wasn’t a strong enough language. Jasper wasn’t always a Crimson, but that’s also because the Crimsons didn’t exist before him. He created the role after being an advocate for the Fausts to take a more aggressive role amongst their peers in Chicago. Before that, Jasper was one of the leads in collecting information from other criminal organizations. He took on jobs in return for future favors and thus began a network built on debt towards the Fausts.

More recently, Jasper stepped into the role of Consigliere when a snitch revealed the former Faust Consigliere to be a spy. Jasper is also struggling with the death of his twin that died in the most recent raid of the Faust Headquarters.

It’s difficult to shake Jasper of a conviction once its set. His greatest strength and deepest weakness is an unwavering loyalty that almost always turns to blindness. This makes him the perfect hellhound - or the perfect man to shake hands with the devil.

[ tw: the basics: death and violence ]

BACKSTORY

Matthew and Cathrine raised their children with nothing but love and support and so it’s a real testament to ‘nature over nurture’ when they still managed to have a child like Jasper.

Jasper was born many things: cruel, antagonistic, power-hungry - but perhaps most importantly, he was born bold. He’s always had a taste for adventure and adrenaline, and not a lick of fear has ever seemed to affect the boy.

It was always intended for Jasper to join the family business, though there was a bit of a trial and error period. Jasper grew up wanting to be a fighter-pilot, but the dream died when he found out he was color-blind (thus rendering him ineligible to fly). The young man looked to his family instead. At the time, most of the roles amongst the Faust clan were about securing the monopoly on the import / export business in Chicago. While Jasper had a mind for money, that was in his blood, he just didn’t have the patience for it and most vocations planned out for him by his family were just a little too neat for him.

Still, it was decided that he would go off to school for Economics. Jasper got into Yale, entirely thanks to his parents. How did Jasper sit through an undergraduate degree in Economics? Word on the street is that Matthew called in a few favors and that word would be absolutely correct.

While in college, Jasper found it hard to sit still. Naturally, he redirected that energy. He began as a small time merc, taking jobs for families other than the Faust. Money didn’t trade hands, favors did, and soon Jasper had racked up enough alliances to make a small name for himself.

Jasper’s pet project was expansion. When Jasper returned to his family upon graduation he had a rolodex worth well more than its weight in gold and a body count far higher than anyone expected.

With the airforce ruled out, he turned to law enforcement thanks to the Fausts alliance with the Leons. In a past life Jasper was a hunter and so that made him perfect for his job as U.S. Marshal. He keeps an eye on the feds for the Fausts.

PRESENT DAY

Jasper steps into the role of Consigliere when snitch reveals the former Faust Consigliere (Amelia O’Shea) to be a spy.

Jasper’s twin, Jaxon Faust, is gunned down in the raid on the Faust Headquarters. That same snitch is to blame, but there’s greater betrayal that hits closer to home. Jasper is convinced that Theodore Cohen, the other Faust near Jaxon at the time, could have saved his twin if he had just tried a a little harder. This bitterness sits with him.

Jasper inherits both the bar Wolves and the illegal fighting pit under it called The Den from Jaxon.

Jasper’s looking for revenge - and he wants to be on the frontlines when it happens.

OTHER

Will take a bullet for anyone that’s an Faust. Incredibly loyal. Almost to a fault.

Rides that fine line of chaotic neutral and chaotic evil.

A U.S. Marshal

A piece of shit. you’ve been warned!

basically that trope of the toxic, possessive asshole

An absolute trashfire of an idiot in every aspect of his life EXCEPT his job. He’s incredibly good at being a U.S. Marshal.

Once accidentally shot his older brother Oliver when he was a child. Oliver still has the wound.

Going off that, he’s decent with a gun, BRILLIANT with hand-to-hand and knife combat

An adrenaline junkie. Still low key searches for ways to fly. There’s little he loves more than flying.

Pretty sure he attacked a kid with a baseball bat in high school

Fearless. “Everyone dies someday.”

More than happy to fight things out, you will lose

Over the course of his life he’s probably broken his nose like… three times? Idk he’s lost count

Has been arrested and bailed out more times than anyone can count

Color-blind!

Is a fire hazard. Has an affinity for making things go up in flames.

Rude. mean. cruel. But rarely, if ever, lies (unless it’s for a job.) Unforgiving too though, so mark that one down.

WANTED CONNECTIONS

the victims: Jasper was the head of the Crimsons for the Fausts. Maybe he attacked your character. Maybe he extracted information from them.

the ride or die: The one he tags up the city with, the one he cuts someone up with….but also the confidante and the one who makes sure his ass doesn’t wind up dead in a ditch somewhere. (preferably Faust affiliated!)

the hook-up: These have been few and far in-between. Jasper’s pretty sold on Jason so don’t expect any sort emotional attachment, but the on and off nature of his and Jason’s relationship means that there have been gaps… and sometimes a guy’s gotta get laid, you know? (Men only please!)

Also happy to plot things out if you have an idea!! :3

#crimson.intro #ill probably change that aesthetic.... later.#lol #( jasper faust )

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saiya-anthony · 2 years ago

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Full Name: Saiya Anthony

Character’s nickname: Sai

Reason for nickname: Don’t be stupid

Birth date: August 30

Physical appearance

Faceclaim: Simone Ashley

Gender: she/her / cisfemale

Height: 5′5

Build: thin, athletic, a nice ass sorry not sorry.

Eye color: brown

Glasses or contacts?: contacts

Distinguishing marks/scars: a long, thin scar on her right thigh she got while snowboarding

Hair color: black

Type of hair: thick and curly, sometimes she straightens it.

Hairstyle: usually she can’t be bothered with her hair. it’s either down and curly, straightened, or in a braid.

Voice claim: n/a

Physical disabilities: n/a

Clothing style: She is for sure not a heels kind of person. I don’t think she has a set style though, just wears what she feels the best in. She does have a leather jacket she wears a lot though

Make up: natural

Personality

Good personality traits: smart, resilient, determined, loyal, quick-witted

Bad personality traits: sarcastic, impatient, dramatic

Mood character is most often in: amused

Sense of humor: dry and sarcastic

Articulation: it depends on the vibe. if she’s upset she just gets louder and faster, but usually she talks in a normal tone.

Character’s greatest joy in life: she likes being a guard, but she’d really like to go to medical school if she can pull it off with angel.

Character’s greatest fear: she is really driven. she wants to be a good guard, wants to be a doctor, wants to be a good friend. her greatest fear is failing at any of that.

Character is most at ease when: when she feels like she’s in control of a situation

Most ill at ease when: she feels like its getting away from her.

Enraged when: really and truly angry doesn’t happen often -- but she doesn’t like being made to look dumb, and she doesn’t like being lied too.

Depressed or sad when: losing someone she cares about, not being any more than she is right now, not accomplishing her goals.

Priorities: finding a way to both accomplish her goals and to protect angel

Life philosophy: don’t be stupid, honestly

Greatest strength: her intelligence

Greatest vulnerability or weakness: she is WILDLY impatient. she would also literally starve to death without take out.

Childhood

Hometown: Taos, New Mexico

Type of childhood: It was okay. Not the best, not the worst. She had *wanted* to join the program when the men came to her school to recruit her. She was excited. It seemed like a cool opportunity. It was only now, as an adult, that she was realizing how fucked up it all was. But she’s in too deep now.

Pets: none

core childhood memory: learning how to snowboard with her dad

Dream job: some kind of doctor. pediatrics or some kind of surgeon maybe.

Religion: atheist

Present

Current location: nyc

Currently living with: probably alone, but very close to angel.

Pets: none

Religion: atheist

Sexuality: pansexual

Politics: socialist. burn it all down, start again.

Occupation/education: student, pre-med / spy kid

Mode of transportation: a motorcycle

Family

Parent one: Paresh Anthony

Relationship with them: She loves him. He’s a dork that watches jeopardy and yells the answer out before the contestants can. He gave her her love of biology and taught her to snowboard. She doesn’t know that he was the best dad, but she’s grown to accept him for who he is.

Parent two: Fatima Anthony

Relationship with them: Her mom is one of her favorite people, despite a bit of underlying resentment for the way they let her join this program.

Siblings: None

Relationship with them: N/A

Other important family members: Grandma Anthony out there thriving in New Mexico. Pour one out for the coolest of the Anthonys.

Favorites

Color: blue

Music: She’s fine with most music types, but she does like instrumental music because it helps her focus.

Food: pancakes

Film: ET

Drink: Coffee. 37 shots of espresso a day please

Form of entertainment: Studying, decimating the competition at bar trivia, snowboarding when she can manage it.

Habits

Hobbies: studying, board games, reading, etc

Plays a musical instrument?: no

Plays a sport?: snowboarding

How she would spend a rainy day: doing her homework, pouring through piles of textbooks, working out

Spending habits: frugal. she doesn’t spend a lot

Smoking/drinking/drugs?: she would do any of these things socially

Extremely skilled at: anything academic

Extremely unskilled at: being wrong and admitting it

Nervous tics: rambling

Usual body posture: she stands up straight

Traits

Optimist or pessimist?: realist. logical to a fault

Introvert or extrovert?: extroverted

Daredevil or cautious?: daredevil

Logical or emotional? logical

Leader or follower?: leader. she’s not good at taking directions

Disorderly and messy or methodical and neat?: organized chaos. she’s not MESSY though so much as cluttered

Prefers working or relaxing?: working. she’d never sit still if she could get away with it.

Confident or unsure of herself?: confident

Animal lover?: from a distance mostly

Relationships with others

Opinion of other people in general: most people are good, even if they’re annoying

Opinion of the Scooby Gang: velma and daphne are in love, change her mind.

Does the character hide their true opinions and emotions from others? not really. she’ll tell people what she’s thinking usually

Most important person in character’s life: she wouldn’t admit an answer to this probably. maybe she’d say angel because that’s her job

Best friend/s: the other guards . she’s known them most of her life.

Dating experience: she’s not inexperienced

Romancing: a hook up, fwb situation with riley that she is SURE no one else knows about but it’s probably obvious as hell. she really likes them but she won’t be admitting that unless she’s sure they feel the same way.

#saiya

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danpuff-ao3 · 2 years ago

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For me, my first and forever love is Snarry! I've loved them together for most my life, and I don't see that ending anytime soon. 19 of my 30 years in love with this ship!!

It can be hard to really piece together the why of it, because there's so much why to it. My love of their individual characters, for one.

You have the age gap (always a fan), and the baggage (man falls for his ex best friend's son who is also his school bully's son??), the student/teacher taboo (who doesn't love a good taboo??), the enemies-to-lovers (the tension, the drama!)

The baggage of it is heavy. Snape's history with Harry's parents and godfather. Snape's history with the Death Eaters and Voldemort, versus Harry's destiny to defeat Voldemort. Snape as Harry's teacher and protector; Harry as both student and savior. They are all tied up in each other; there is a lot to untangle when they eventually get together. And it will always be messy. Which: I love! It's endlessly fascinating, and there's so much to explore with them, and so much for them to explore together.

There are also the similarities. They grew up in abusive households, even if the abuse itself wasn't exactly the same. They were raised by people who hated magic (the Dursleys, Tobias.) They were raised in the Muggle world. They were captivated by magic. They formed very deep friendships very young. They also both had vital roles to play in the war, and were important instruments to Dumbledore and Voldemort both. Snape was useful as a spy, useful for information, useful for his knowledge and skills. Harry was useful as a target, useful as a weapon, instrumental in ending the war. They were both valued for their use by the people they looked up to (Dumbledore, Voldemort.) They both lost people very important to them (Lily, Sirius.) They were raised on grief and ill treatment. Neither of them had very normal lives.

They are both incredibly brave. They are both loyal to a fault, and devoted. They are strong. They are passionate, obsessive, intense. They are both skilled.

They could admire one another, I think, once they allowed themselves. Severus for his intellect, and Harry for his physical prowess; their mutual skill with Defensive magic. Their shared curiosity, and drive. The ways they are both very smart and skilled in their own ways, and how they can learn from one another and support one another and balance one another.

There is a shared experience they can connect on. Coming from such awful homes, all of the trauma of their school years, the horror of war. How skewed their self-perception, and self-worth, might be once the war is over as is their use. How there are some things only they could truly understand about one another and come together on.

And once they realize how they feel about one another...oh boy, nothing could tear them apart. No one and nothing would stand in the way, because their ability to love is so great. They would stand firm together, through thick and thin.

But it would never be easy, either, which is good. They would challenge each other, which they both need, I think! They would offer each other peace and safety, but also challenge and adventure. They inevitably butt heads, and they like it that way! They wouldn't have it any other way, wouldn't want anything else but to be driven to madness by this one very special person. Snape's snarkiness and Harry's sassiness go hand-in-hand!

They have so much between them, they have the power to be each other's greatest strength and greatest weakness. They can drag each other down, or lift each other up. They can destroy each other easily, or be unstoppable at each other's side. It's all about balance for them: balancing the good and the bad, and making each other all the better for it.

I have a thousand and one feelings about them, but this hopefully sums it up a bit! (I'm sure I'll look at this later and think of a handful of things I forgot...oh well!)

Today is shaping up to be a bit rough for me, so for funsies! If you like. If people wanna reblog this with their OTP and why they love them, that would be great! Little makes my heart gladder than seeing what other people love (especially when it comes to love they love!)

#snarry #otp #shipping #why have a bad day when you can think of your faves??

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box-of-muses · 7 years ago

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Shall extract based on events happening with a high school AU RP with - @mysmemuses No matter how pure she may believe him to be, he knew all too well how tainted his soul truly was. It did not matter, of course. His ‘devil�� only flew free when people he loved got hurt by those who enjoyed the sick twisted fantasy of pushing the ‘weak’ around.

At the age of thirteen, he had taken his first life. Vanderwood was beyond any type of salvation but he’d chosen not to lose himself to the darkness either. Instead - he was more like a tightly sprung coil - ready to strike if the need arisen. And that night was such a need. A few days had passed since he had sat holding Rika between his arms, gentle words and touches unable to take aware the pain and fear that was present within her voice, to take away the self-hate that dripped from every word she spoke. Even though she had been a victim, bullied into acting out - to defend herself, she had laid there in tears, blaming herself for every wrong thing to have ever happened. He had been unable to do anything but to listen and to try and comfort - but Vanderwood's skill with words wasn’t his greatest asset and at times he had to wonder if he was doing any good or just adding to the girl's confusion. He sighed, blowing out the smoke from the cigarette that he’s lit a few moments earlier, deep brown eyes searching through the crowd of students below from where he sat half hidden within the treetops that hung over the side of the school walls. Security concerns were the least of his problems - these overlooked issues were what made this place the best type of hideout that he had found for over a year now. Though there was no use in pretending. He stayed here for Rika’s sake too. He was placing himself at risk, the longer that he stuck around - yet he knew that he wasn’t going anywhere - not until that girl could stand on her own two feet. Not until she’d found that strength inside that he had been trying to show she had from day one. He could do nothing to help protect her against her parents. But against the other students? Well - he wasn’t gifted with words, but his fists were another story altogether. Now - he was no thug. A stalker perhaps, spying on his possible victims for well over a month in advance, taking in all the wrongdoings that the small group of boys seemed to enjoy taking part in. Rika was far from the only girl being bullied by these fools and only when it seemed as though they might go too far did he make some type of noise to make them scatter. He wasn’t about to allow them to attack anyone if he was nearby but he had seen enough to reassure himself that this was the correct action to take. A simple beating would not be enough. He needed to send the entire school a message. Anyone who laid a finger on Rika or attempted to bully her in order to get some ‘weird’ reaction, would suffer the same fate as these boys. A bit extreme, perhaps - and no doubt he would end up attracting the type of attention that he had been hoping to keep away from. His family would hear about this, but this was a risk worth taking. To see that smile shine on his Angels face at least once more. To know that if he were to ever vanish - Rika would be able to stand on her own two feet. The night was new, a dull light still present in the sky, the silence of the playground broken only by the scraping of a metal pole being dragged along the wall as he wandered around towards the back of the building. He knew now that the three boys often met there on friday nights - to share out their ‘winnings’ from the past weeks bullying. He could already hear their muffled arguments - one boy complaining loudly about being tricked while another spoke of a strange hooded figure that seemed to always be around, watching over ‘their girls’. Vanderwood rolled his eyes slightly, tugging his hood up as he walked out into their pathway - smirking behind his scarf, well Rika’s scarf, at the silence to greet him. He supposes he must have been some sight. A tall, scruffy looking male, wearing torn clothing that looked as though it had seen better days, a long floral scarf covering half his face while he bounced a steel pipe between his hands - eyes taking in each of the ground in turn. He could see that they were shocked, unsure on how to take him. One, the skinniest and smallest, burst out into laughter and pointed at the scarf he worse. “Isn’t that the crazy bitches?” He barely had time to blink through as Vanderwood’s patience snapped right there and then, a sickening crunch like noise being heard a split second before a blood-curdling scream split through the night sky as the pipe struck out and landed with force into the speakers kneecap, the young man crumpling to the ground in agony as Vanderwood quickly moved away from the punches thrown at him from the other two. The fast one was down a lot quicker than he had anticipated - pipe tossed off to one side as he instead begun to narrowly avoid the blows sent in his direction. “You crazy bastard! My father’s a cop”, one yelled. Not that the threat meant much to him. His father was even worse than a cop and besides, he was here for Rika’s sake. He didn’t care much about how this man pan out for him. He glanced down towards where the skinny kid had curled up hugging into his broken leg. Good. Two against one - and these two would be made to suffer even worse. A blow landed on the side of his cheek, forcing him to have to listen to the gleeful laughter of the one who had struck him, the other managing to hit his side. But all this was a ploy, a way to both make them have a false belief of his ability and for him to learn about there’s. He was a quick learner - watching how they moved, how slow certain cuts and kicks came - how they used one another to try and give him as little opening as possible in which to react. Unfortunately for them, he wasn’t just some street rat. He was trained in martial arts from an early age and though they may be designed to help more in self-defense - they could easily be turned into a deadly weapon too. Not that he wished to kill anyone. If he had his way - his uncle would be the only life he ever took - but something told him that would not be the case. However - for now, he simply wished to send these bastards to the nearest hospital. A grin formed, hidden behind his scarf as he suddenly sidestepped out of their range, narrowing avoiding a fist to the eye, only to chuckle as the two idiots ended up landing their blows on one another instead. He was still silent. Watching as the skinny kid continued to hug into his leg and as the other two boys rubbed at their new injuries, glares being sent in his direction. Oh. He’d pissed them off? Seemed as though the dance was over then. Pity. He was going to let them play for a bit longer - but he noticed that one of the vile scum had managed to get blood on his scarf and his small amount of self-control snapped. What followed next would differ between reports. All three of the boys would speak of a ‘smiling’ monster who moved a quick as the wind, who showed no mercy as he rained punches and kicks down upon their bodies with very little mercy, floral printed scarf hiding most of his face but the grin could be ‘felt’ somehow. They spoke of a dangerous aura and whispers of Rika’s ‘guard dog’ spread throughout the campus at an alarming rate. One of the small group was on crutches for months later and was reported to suffer from nightmares - often claiming to see his attacker around the school grounds yet no one ever seemed able to pinpoint such a presence. Another of the small group was in the hospital for a few weeks and was moved to a new school upon his release while the remaining boy did everything to avoid being alone for too long and avoiding Rika as much as was possible. It wasn’t as if Vanderwood got out of it without any type of injury. A few blows had found their mark and hiding such pain from Rika was rather difficult - explaining the blood on her scarf had meant that he couldn’t hide from what he had done. Not that he would have been able to anyways. Even he had heard rumours about Rika’s ‘crazed guard dog’ and all he did was lurking in the shadows most of the day. Well, it didn’t matter. It had the desired effect of making Rika’s life a little easier and allowed him to work more during the day since he knew that Rika would be safe enough alone at school. Besides - Crazed Guard Dog had a somewhat nice ring to it.

#Vanderwood #rp:Vanderwood #v:highschool au #//I tired!#//but omg I suck at action rps >_<#//and how did we end up shipping these two?

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relicxkisses · 7 years ago

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[Characters] Careful It Bites

Hello world!!

I’ll be releasing BTS Mafia au fanfic called “Careful It Bites” soon so keep an eye out :D I haven’t been writing lately and I’ve been so inspired to make an action fanfic for a long time. So I decided to make my ultimate group to take the plunge on the action themselves hahaha plus they look so hot being cool.

PS: I’m looking for someone to make a cool poster for this story. So please message me if you want to send in yours :D

Genre: Action, Romance, Comedy, Thriller

AU: Mafia, Military, Spy, Arrange Marriage

Pairings: BTS x OC/ Mostly Yoongi x OC/ Other idols will make cameo

Trigger Warnings: Blood, gore, drugs, war, guns, swearing (lots of it), bully, violence (everything you expect in a mafia au story)

Rated: 21+ for the trigger warnings

Warning: Please don’t read if you can’t handle it cause I can make this from fluffy to angst in one second so get ready for an emotional roller coaster.

Characters:

Kim Soomin

- Kim Namjoon’s sister. 2 years younger-1996 liner. Next in line to take over her mother’s spy organization called CX-3.

-Engaged to Min Yoongi. They were arranged to be married but as they had grew up together, they didn’t mind being arranged together since they were already in love.

-Fearless. Doesn’t let her fears get the best of her.

-Smart. Like her brother, she is also a genius. Has a photographic memory so one look at the text book, she has all the answers in her head. Her IQ 155 is slightly higher than Namjoon’s. Likes to outwit her peers and enemies.

-Great at martial arts. She’s an incredible fighter, loves to fight to underestimate her opponent’s skills and strength. Started training for martial arts since she was 5 years old.

-Hot tempered. She tries to keep her temper down during conflicts but most of the time she was the one who started the conflict.

-Good with guns and knives. She is very skillful at handling guns and knives. She’s very flexible and agile. So she can attack quietly and kill the opponent within seconds.

:BTS Crew.

~Consists of 7 most powerful men from different underground backgrounds.

Kim Namjoon (Leader)

-Older brother to Kim Soomin. The next in line to be a Godfather after his father.

-Leads BTS. Everyone hands down gave him that title for being a good role model and has the leadership skills.

-Currently does missions for his parents. So one day he’s a spy and the next he will be a scary mafia leader.

-Clumsy for an underground leader. Tends to accidentally shoot people because he happens to always forget to get the safety on or off in different situations. He can destroy things quickly too. One touch and something gets destroyed. Was unfortunately born with it and can’t be changed.

-Good with shooting and fighting. Even though he’s clumsy, he’s very good at calculating distance and estimate the enemies move ahead.

-Best at strategy. All of his missions are always fool proof due to his nature at being a strategist. Every move was carefully arranged at the designated timing.

-Everyone that works for him are very loyal to him as Namjoon never backs out from his word. He can make enemies into his allies easily and they will stay by him no matter what happens.

Kim Seokjin

-The eldest member in the group.

-His handsome face made people underestimate how powerful he is.

-Family is considered one of the most influential in Asia with them owning over 26 cities across Asia.

-Owns a popular production company called Blank Canvas as a cover up to his own secret service organization. South Korea recognizes Seokjin as a talented CEO as his company is very successful in South Korea and Japan but no one has seen his face as he refused to have a public appearance to protect his identity. His secret service organization is called Amor Fati.

-Has an alias name for Amor Fati: Kim Yeoljin.

-Best at manipulation. He is famous for manipulating his enemies to get what he wants. He usually uses manipulation when he’s interrogating or torturing his enemies.

-Compiles intel for BTS. He knows everything and anything that happens around the world. He is one of the few people who gets informed first before the information spreads to somewhere else. He has connections from a garbage truck driver to the US president.

-He’s actually very caring and funny to everyone in his family and BTS. He finds happiness easily achievable by being with the people who he loves closely.

-Secretly skillful at medical practices and pharmacy. He is incredibly well-known to experiment new medicines and poisons. Most of the poisons used on his enemies were made by him so it’s incredibly difficult for his enemies to seek antidote unless they submit to Seokjin.

Min Yoongi

-Kim Soomin’s fiance. He was the one to submit the idea of marriage to Soomin’s dad just because he’s over-protective. Soomin is his biggest weakness.

-He is quiet, deadly and likes to curse a lot but to BTS he is just another grumpy 25 year old hacker.

-Family runs an arms dealer. Supplies weapons to military, spy organizations and secret service organizations. They even have several labs across the world to build new weapons.

-Has every military forces to protect his family. The Min family has created a reputation for being honest and loyal. Therefore, all their clients has vowed to protect them if anything happens to the family.

-One of the greatest hackers in Asia. He can hack into CIA,FBI and M15 security systems and even hack into NASA satellite grids. Sometimes they like to give him a challenge to see if he can crack their systems.

Jung Hoseok

-The next heir to Asia’s biggest drug cartel.

-Despite his frightening demeanor, Hoseok is very optimistic and bright for his line of work. People would go to him for advice.

-Very highly skilled with guns and bombs. He likes to experiment with explosives and create a customize bombs for fun.

-To hide his cargoes from the police and customs, he would go all out to create traps to ship the drugs out safely.

Park Jimin

-The only family member that he has left is his little brother. Park Jihyun. He makes sure that his brother goes to school and study properly.

-Owns a private marine army. The base is located on an island near Japan. It has its own marine academy. It is also a place for Jimin to keep all the boats and ships that he likes to collect.

-Owns a few hospitals in South Korea and hotels as his side income.

-He is very manipulative. He uses his appearance to trick his enemies and he doesn’t stop until he gets what he wants.

-He is quick at making decisions so negotiations are always easy for him.

Kim Taehyung

-Dubbed as the tracker in the group. He is skilled to track people.

-With Jungkook, both are the assassins of BTS. He kills as he is told to, no questions asked.

-Has a quirky personality and great sense in fashion. He likes to make sure that none of his designer clothes has a single drop of blood on them during his missions.

-Very clingy with everyone in the group.

Jeon Jungkook

-The youngest in the group

-With Taehyung, he is the assassin in the group. Very skilled with guns especially snipers.

-Very clingy to everyone, acts tough for his job but off duty, he is very adorable ad seeks attention.

-He likes to play games a lot since he’s very competitive. None of his brothers wants to challenge him so he seeks out to games to kill his thirsts for a competition.

A/N: I know the maknae line doesn’t seem to have that much cool things going on comparing to the elder ones. Remember stories are created to grow the characters with the story. Everything you read here has a high potential that it would be different. Chapter 1 is coming up soon and will be uploaded by this week!

#bts #newfanfic #bts mafia au #bts fanfic #bts fluff #bts spy au #cool bts #bts yoongi #bts namjoon #bts seokjin #worldwide handsome #bts reaction #bts action

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thefortyeightlawsofpower-blog · 8 years ago

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LAW # 35 : MASTER THE ART OF TIMING

JUDGEMENT

Never seem to be in a hurry-hurrying betrays a lack of control over yourself, and over time. Always seem patient, as if you know that everything will come to you eventually. Become a detective of the right moment; sniff out the spirit of the times, the trends that will carry you to power. Learn to stand back when the time is not yet ripe, and to strike fiercely when it has reached fruition.

SERTORIUS’S LESSON

Sertorius’s strength was now rapidly increasing, for all the tribes between the Ebro and the Pyrenees came over to his side, and troops came flocking daily to join him from every quarter. At the same time he was troubled by the lack of discipline and the overconfidence of these newly arrived barbarians, who would shout at him to attack the enemy and had no patience with his delaying tactics, and he therefore tried to win them over by argument. them over by argument. But when he saw that they were discontented and persisted in pressing their demands regardless of the circumstances, he let them have their way and allowed them to engage the enemy; he hoped that they would suffer a severe defeat without being completely crushed, and that this would make them better disposed to obey his orders in future. The event turned out as he expected and Sertorius came to their rescue, provided a rallying point for the fugitives, and led them safely back to his camp. His next step was to revive their dejected spirits, and so a few days later he summoned a general assembly. Before it he produced two horses, one of them old and enfeebled, the other large and lusty and possessing a flowing tail, which was remarkable for the thickness and beauty of its hair. By the side of the weak horse stood a tall strong man, and by the side of the powerful horse a short man of mean physique. At a signal the strong man seized the tail of his horse and tried with all his strength to pull it towards him, as if to tear it off, while the weak man began to pull the hairs one by one from the tail of the strong horse.

The strong man, after tugging with all his might to no purpose and causing the spectators a great deal of amusement in the process, finally gave up the attempt, while the weak man quickly and with very little trouble stripped his horse’s tail completely bare. Then Sertorius rose to his feet and said, “Now you can see, my friends and allies, that perseverance is more effective than brute strength and that there are many difficulties that cannot be overcome if you try to do everything at once, but which will yield if you master them little by little. The truth is that a steady continuous effort is irresistible, for this is the way in which Time captures and subdues the greatest powers on earth. Now Time, you should remember, is a good friend and ally to those who use their intelligence to choose the right moment, but a most dangerous enemy to those who rush into action at the wrong one.”

LIFE OF SERTORIUS, PLUTARCH, C.A.D. 46-120

OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW

Starting out in life as a nondescript French seminary-school teacher, Joseph Fouché wandered from town to town for most of the decade of the 1780s, teaching mathematics to young boys. Yet he never completely committed himself to the church, never took his vows as a priest—he had bigger plans. Patiently waiting for his chance, he kept his options open. And when the French Revolution broke out, in 1789, Fouché waited no longer: He got rid of his cassock, grew his hair long, and became a revolutionary. For this was the spirit of the times. To miss the boat at this critical moment could have spelt disaster. Fouché did not miss the boat: Befriending the revolutionary leader Robespierre, he quickly rose in the rebel ranks. In 1792 the town of Nantes elected Fouche to be its representative to the National Convention (created that year to frame a new constitution for a French republic).

When Fouché arrived in Paris to take his seat at the convention, a violent rift had broken out between the moderates and the radical Jacobins. Fouché sensed that in the long run neither side would emerge victorious. Power rarely ends up in the hands of those who start a revolution, or even of those who further it; power sticks to those who bring it to a conclusion. That was the side Fouche wanted to be on.

His sense of timing was uncanny. He started as a moderate, for moderates were in the majority. When the time came to decide on whether or not to execute Louis XVI, however, he saw that the people were clamoring for the king’s head, so he cast the deciding vote—for the guillotine. Now he had become a radical. Yet as tensions came to the boil in Paris, he foresaw the danger of being too closely associated with any one faction, so he accepted a position in the provinces, where he could lie low for a while. A few months later he was assigned to the post of proconsul in Lyons, where he oversaw the execution of dozens of aristocrats. At a certain moment, however, he called a halt to the killings, sensing that the mood of the country was turning-and despite the blood already on his hands, the citizens of Lyons hailed him as a savior from what had become known as the Terror.

So far Fouché had played his cards brilliantly, but in 1794 his old friend Robespierre recalled him to Paris to account for his actions in Lyons. Robespierre had been the driving force behind the Terror. He had sent heads on both the right and the left rolling, and Fouché, whom he no longer trusted, seemed destined to provide the next head. Over the next few weeks, a tense struggle ensued: While Robespierre railed openly against Fouché, accusing of him dangerous ambitions and calling for his arrest, the crafty Fouché worked more indirectly, quietly gaining support among those who were beginning to tire of Robespierre’s dictatorial control. Fouche was playing for time. He knew that the longer he survived, the more disaffected citizens he could rally against Robespierre. He had to have broad support before he moved against the powerful leader. He rallied support among both the moderates and the Jacobins, playing on the widespread fear of Robespierre-everyone was afraid of being the next to go to the guillotine. It all came to fruition on July 27: The convention turned against Robespierre, shouting down his usual lengthy speech. He was quickly arrested, and a few days later it was Robespierre’s head, not Fouché’s, that fell into the basket.

When Fouché returned to the convention after Robespierre’s death, he played his most unexpected move: Having led the conspiracy against Robespierre, he was expected to sit with the moderates, but lo and behold, he once again changed sides, joining the radical Jacobins. For perhaps the first time in his life he aligned himself with the minority. Clearly he sensed a reaction stirring: He knew that the moderate faction that had executed Robespierre, and was now about to take power, would initiate a new round of the Terror, this time against the radicals. In siding with the Jacobins, then, Fouché was sitting with the martyrs of the days to come—the people who would be considered blameless in the troubles that were on their way. Taking sides with what was about to become the losing team was a risky gambit, of course, but Fouché must have calculated he could keep his head long enough to quietly stir up the populace against the moderates and watch them fall from power. And indeed, although the moderates did call for his arrest in December of 1795, and would have sent him to the guillotine, too much time had passed. The executions had become unpopular with the people, and Fouché survived the swing of the pendulum one more time.

A new government took over, the Directoire. It was not, however, a Jacobin government, but a moderate one—more moderate than the government that had reimposed the Terror. Fouché, the radical, had kept his head, but now he had to keep a low profile. He waited patiently on the sidelines for several years, allowing time to soften any bitter feelings against him, then he approached the Directoire and convinced them he had a new passion: intelligence-gathering. He became a paid spy for the government, excelled at the job, and in 1799 was rewarded by being made minister of police. Now he was not just empowered but required to extend his spying to every corner of France—a responsibility that would greatly reinforce his natural ability to sniff out where the wind was blowing. One of the first social trends he detected, in fact, came in the person of Napoleon, a brash young general whose destiny he right away saw was entwined with the future of France. When Napoleon unleashed a coup d‘etat, on November 9, 1799, Fouche pretended to be asleep. Indeed he slept the whole day. For this indirect assistance—it might have been thought his job, after all, to prevent a military coup—Napoleon kept him on as minister of police in the new regime.

Over the next few years, Napoleon came to rely on Fouché more and more. He even gave this former revolutionary a title, duke of Otranto, and rewarded him with great wealth. By 1808, however, Fouché, always attuned to the times, sensed that Napoleon was on the downswing. His futile war with Spain, a country that posed no threat to France, was a sign that he was losing a sense of proportion. Never one to be caught on a sinking ship, Fouché conspired with Talleyrand to bring about Napoleon’s downfall. Although the conspiracy failed—Talleyrand was fired; Fouché stayed, but was kept on a tight leash—it publicized a growing discontent with the emperor, who seemed to be losing control. By 1814 Napoleon’s power had crumbled and allied forces finally conquered him.

The next government was a restoration of the monarchy, in the form of King Louis XVIII, brother of Louis XVI. Fouché, his nose always sniffing the air for the next social shift, knew Louis would not last long—he had none of Napoleon’s flair. Fouché once again played his waiting game, lying low, staying away from the spotlight. Sure enough, in February of 1815, Napoleon escaped from the island of Elba, where he had been imprisoned. Louis XVIII panicked: His policies had alienated the citizenry, who were clamoring for Napoleon’s return. So Louis turned to the one man who could maybe have saved his hide, Fouché, the former radical who had sent his brother, Louis XVI, to the guillotine, but was now one of the most popular and widely admired politicians in France. Fouché, however, would not side with a loser: He refused Louis’s request for help by pretending that his help was unnecessary—by swearing that Napoleon would never return to power (although he knew otherwise). A short time later, of course, Napoleon and his new citizen army were closing in on Paris.

Seeing his reign about to collapse, feeling that Fouché had betrayed him, and certain that he did not want this powerful and able man on Napoleon’s team, King Louis ordered the minister’s arrest and execution. On March 16, 1815, policemen surrounded Fouché’s coach on a Paris boulevard. Was this finally his end? Perhaps, but not immediately: Fouché told the police that an ex-member of government could not be arrested on the street. They fell for the story and allowed him to return home. Later that day, though, they came to his house and once again declared him under arrest. Fouché nodded—but would the officers be so kind as allow a gentleman to wash and to change his clothes before leaving his house for the last time? They gave their permission, Fouché left the room, and the minutes went by. Fouché did not return. Finally the policemen went into the next room—where they saw a ladder against an open window, leading down to the garden below.

That day and the next the police combed Paris for Fouche, but by then Napoleon’s cannons were audible in the distance and the king and all the king’s men had to flee the city. As soon as Napoleon entered Paris, Fouché came out of hiding. He had cheated the executioner once again. Napoleon greeted his former minister of police and gladly restored him to his old post. During the 100 days that Napoleon remained in power, until Waterloo, it was essentially Fouché who governed France. After Napoleon fell, Louis XVIII returned to the throne, and like a cat with nine lives, Fouche stayed on to serve in yet another government—by then his power and influence had grown so great that not even the king dared challenge him.

Mr. Shih had two sons: one loved learning; the other war. The first expounded his moral teachings at the admiring court of Ch‘i and was made a tutor, while the second talked strategy at the bellicose court of Ch’u and was made a general. The impecunious Mr. Meng, hearing of these successes, sent his own two sons out to follow the example of the Shih boys. The first expounded his moral teachings at the court ofCh‘in, but the King of Ch’in said: “At present the states are quarreling violently and every prince is busy arming his troops to the teeth. If I followed this prig’s preachings we should soon be annihilated.” So he had the fellow castrated. Meanwhile, the second brother displayed his military genius at the court of Wei. But the King of Wei said: “Mine is a weak state. If I relied on force instead of diplomacy, we should soon be wiped out. If, on the other hand, I let this fire-eater go, he will offer his services to another state and then we shall be in trouble.” So he had the fellow’s feet cut off Both.families did exactly the same thing, but one timed it right, the other wrong. That is success depends not on ratiocination but on rhythm.

LlEH TZU. QUOTED IN THE CHINESE LOOKING GLASS. DENNIS BLOODWORTH, 1967

Interpretation

In a period of unprecedented turmoil, Joseph Fouché thrived through his mastery of the art of timing. He teaches us a number of key lessons.

First, it is critical to recognize the spirit of the times. Fouché always looked two steps ahead, found the wave that would carry him to power, and rode it. You must always work with the times, anticipate twists and turns, and never miss the boat. Sometimes the spirit of the times is obscure: Recognize it not by what is loudest and most obvious in it, but by what lies hidden and dormant. Look forward to the Napoleons of the future rather than holding on to the ruins of the past.

Second, recognizing the prevailing winds does not necessarily mean running with them. Any potent social movement creates a powerful reaction, and it is wise to anticipate what that reaction will be, as Fouché did after the execution of Robespierre. Rather than ride the cresting wave of the moment, wait for the tide’s ebb to carry you back to power. Upon occasion bet on the reaction that is brewing, and place yourself in the vanguard of it.

Finally, Fouché had remarkable patience. Without patience as your sword and shield, your timing will fail and you will inevitably find yourself a loser. When the times were against Fouché, he did not struggle, get emotional, or strike out rashly. He kept his cool and maintained a low profile, patiently building support among the citizenry, the bulwark in his next rise to power. Whenever he found himself in the weaker position, he played for time, which he knew would always be his ally if he was patient. Recognize the moment, then, to hide in the grass or slither under a rock, as well as the moment to bare your fangs and attack.

Space we can recover, time never.

Napoleon Bonaparte, 1769-1821

KEYS TO POWER

Time is an artificial concept that we ourselves have created to make the limitlessness of eternity and the universe more bearable, more human. Since we have constructed the concept of time, we are also able to mold it to some degree, to play tricks with it. The time of a child is long and slow, with vast expanses; the time of an adult whizzes by frighteningly fast. Time, then, depends on perception, which, we know, can be willfully altered. This is the first thing to understand in mastering the art of timing. If the inner turmoil caused by our emotions tends to make time move faster, it follows that once we control our emotional responses to events, time will move much more slowly. This altered way of dealing with things tends to lengthen our perception of future time, opens up possibilities that fear and anger close off, and allows us the patience that is the principal requirement in the art of timing.

The sultan [of Persia] had sentenced two men to death. One of them, knowing how much the sultan loved his stallion, offered to teach the horse to fly within a year in return for his life. The sultan, fancying himself as the rider of the only flying horse in the world, agreed. The other prisoner looked at his friend in disbelief “You know horses don’t fly. What made you come up with a crazv idea like that? You’re only postponing the inevitable.” “Not so, ” said the (first prisoner]. “I have actuallv given myself four chances for freedom. First, the sultan might die during the year. Second, I might die. Third, the horse might die. And fourth ... I might teach the horse to fly!”

THE CRAFT OF POWER, R.G.H. SIU, 1979

There are three kinds of time for us to deal with; each presents problems that can be solved with skill and practice. First there is long time: the drawn-out, years-long kind of time that must be managed with patience and gentle guidance. Our handling of long time should be mostly defensive—this is the art of not reacting impulsively, of waiting for opportunity.

Next there is forced time: the short-term time that we can manipulate as an offensive weapon, upsetting the timing of our opponents. Finally there is end time, when a plan must be executed with speed and force. We have waited, found the moment, and must not hesitate.

Long Time. The famous seventeenth-century Ming painter Chou Yung relates a story that altered his behavior forever. Late one winter afternoon he set out to visit a town that lay across the river from his own town. He was bringing some important books and papers with him and had commissioned a young boy to help him carry them. As the ferry neared the other side of the river, Chou Yung asked the boatman if they would have time to get to the town before its gates closed, since it was a mile away and night was approaching. The boatman glanced at the boy, and at the bundle of loosely tied papers and books—“Yes,” he replied, “if you do not walk too fast.”

As they started out, however, the sun was setting. Afraid of being locked out of the town at night, prey to local bandits, Chou and the boy walked faster and faster, finally breaking into a run. Suddenly the string around the papers broke and the documents scattered on the ground. It took them many minutes to put the packet together again, and by the time they had reached the city gates, it was too late.

When you force the pace out of fear and impatience, you create a nest of problems that require fixing, and you end up taking much longer than if you had taken your time. Hurriers may occasionally get there quicker, but papers fly everywhere, new dangers arise, and they find themselves in constant crisis mode, fixing the problems that they themselves have created. Sometimes not acting in the face of danger is your best move—you wait, you deliberately slow down. As time passes it will eventually present opportunities you had not imagined.

Waiting involves controlling not only your own emotions but those of your colleagues, who, mistaking action for power, may try to push you into making rash moves. In your rivals, on the other hand, you can encourage this same mistake: If you let them rush headlong into trouble while you stand back and wait, you will soon find ripe moments to intervene and pick up the pieces. This wise policy was the principal strategy of the great early-seventeenth-century emperor Tokugawa Ieyasu of Japan. When his predecessor, the headstrong Hideyoshi, whom he served as a general, staged a rash invasion of Korea, Ieyasu did not involve himself. He knew the invasion would be a disaster and would lead to Hideyoshi’s downfall. Better to stand patiently on the sidelines, even for many years, and then be in position to seize power when the time is right—exactly what Ieyasu did, with great artistry.

THE TROUT AND THE GUDGEON

A fisherman in the month of May stood angling on the bank of the Thames with an artificial fly. He threw his bait with so much art, that a young trout was rushing toward it, when she was prevented by her mother. “Never,” said she, “my child, be too precipitate, where there is a possibility of danger. Take due time to consider, before you risk an action that may be fatal. How know you whether yon appearance be indeed a fly, or the snare of an enemy? Let someone else make the experiment before you. If it be a fly, he will very probably elude the first attack: and the second may be made, if not with success, at least with safety.” She had no sooner spoken, than a gudgeon seized the pretended fly, and became an example to the giddy daughter of the importance of her mother’s counsel.

FABLES, ROBERT DODSLEY, 1703-1764

You do not deliberately slow time down to live longer, or to take more pleasure in the moment, but the better to play the game of power. First, when your mind is uncluttered by constant emergencies you will see further into the future. Second, you will be able to resist the baits that people dangle in front of you, and will keep yourself from becoming another impatient sucker. Third, you will have more room to be flexible. Opportunities will inevitably arise that you had not expected and would have missed had you forced the pace. Fourth, you will not move from one deal to the next without completing the first one. To build your power’s foundation can take years; make sure that foundation is secure. Do not be a flash in the pan—success that is built up slowly and surely is the only kind that lasts.

Finally, slowing time down will give you a perspective on the times you live in, letting you take a certain distance and putting you in a less emotionally charged position to see the shapes of things to come. Hurriers will often mistake surface phenomena for a real trend, seeing only what they want to see. How much better to see what is really happening, even if it is unpleasant or makes your task harder.

Forced Time. The trick in forcing time is to upset the timing of others—to make them hurry, to make them wait, to make them abandon their own pace, to distort their perception of time. By upsetting the timing of your opponent while you stay patient, you open up time for yourself, which is half the game.

In 1473 the great Turkish sultan Mehmed the Conqueror invited negotiations with Hungary to end the off-and-on war the two countries had waged for years. When the Hungarian emissary arrived in Turkey to start the talks, Turkish officials humbly apologized—Mehmed had just left Istanbul, the capital, to battle his longtime foe, Uzun Hasan. But he urgently wanted peace with Hungary, and had asked that the emissary join him at the front.

When the emissary arrived at the site of the fighting, Mehmed had already left it, moving eastward in pursuit of his swift foe. This happened several times. Wherever the emissary stopped, the Turks lavished gifts and banquets on him, in pleasurable but time-consuming ceremonies. Finally Mehmed defeated Uzun and met with the emissary. Yet his terms for peace with Hungary were excessively harsh. After a few days, the negotiations ended, and the usual stalemate remained in place. But this was fine with Mehmed. In fact he had planned it that way all along: Plotting his campaign against Uzun, he had seen that diverting his armies to the east would leave his western flank vulnerable. To prevent Hungary from taking advantage of his weakness and his preoccupation elsewhere, he first dangled the lure of peace before his enemy, then made them wait—all on his own terms.

Making people wait is a powerful way of forcing time, as long as they do not figure out what you are up to. You control the clock, they linger in limbo—and rapidly come unglued, opening up opportunities for you to strike. The opposite effect is equally powerful: You make your opponents hurry. Start off your dealings with them slowly, then suddenly apply pressure, making them feel that everything is happening at once. People who lack the time to think will make mistakes—so set their deadlines for them. This was the technique Machiavelli admired in Cesare Borgia, who, during negotiations, would suddenly press vehemently for a decision, upsetting his opponent’s timing and patience. For who would dare make Cesare wait?

Joseph Duveen, the famous art dealer, knew that if he gave an indecisive buyer like John D. Rockefeller a deadline—the painting had to leave the country, another tycoon was interested in it—the client would buy just in time. Freud noticed that patients who had spent years in psychoanalysis without improvement would miraculously recover just in time if he fixed a definite date for the end of the therapy. Jacques Lacan, the famous French psychoanalyst, used a variation on this tactic—he would sometimes end the customary hour session of therapy after only ten minutes, without warning. After this happened several times, the patient would realize that he had better make maximum use of the time, rather than wasting much of the hour with a lot of talk that meant nothing. The deadline, then, is a powerful tool. Close off the vistas of indecision and force people to make up their damn minds or get to the point never let them make you play on their excruciating terms. Never give them time.

Magicians and showmen are experts in forcing time. Houdini could often wriggle free of handcuffs in minutes, but he would draw the escape out to an hour, making the audience sweat, as time came to an apparent standstill. Magicians have always known that the best way to alter our perception of time is often to slow down the pace. Creating suspense brings time to a terrifying pause: The slower the magician’s hands move, the easier it is to create the illusion of speed, making people think the rabbit has appeared instantaneously. The great nineteenth-century magician Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin took explicit notice of this effect: “The more slowly a story is told,” he said, “the shorter it seems.”

Going slower also makes what you are doing more interesting—the audience yields to your pace, becomes entranced. It is a state in which time whizzes delightfully by. You must practice such illusions, which share in the hypnotist’s power to alter perceptions of time.

End Time. You can play the game with the utmost artistry—waiting patiently for the right moment to act, putting your competitors off their form by messing with their timing—but it won’t mean a thing unless you know how to finish. Do not be one of those people who look like paragons of patience but are actually just afraid to bring things to a close: Patience is worthless unless combined with a willingness to fall ruthlessly on your opponent at the right moment. You can wait as long as necessary for the conclusion to come, but when it comes it must come quickly. Use speed to paralyze your opponent, cover up any mistakes you might make, and impress people with your aura of authority and finality.

With the patience of a snake charmer, you draw the snake out with calm and steady rhythms. Once the snake is out, though, would you dangle your foot above its deadly head? There is never a good reason to allow the slightest hitch in your endgame. Your mastery of timing can really only be judged by how you work with end time—how you quickly change the pace and bring things to a swift and definitive conclusion.

Image: The Hawk. Patiently and silently it circles the sky, high above, all-seeing with its powerful eyes. Those below have no awareness that they are being tracked. Suddenly, when the moment arrives, the hawk swoops down with a speed that cannot be defended against; before its prey knows what has happened, the bird’s vicelike talons have carried it up into the sky.

Authority: There is a tide in the affairs of men, / Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune; / Omitted, all the voyage of their life / Is bound in shallows and in miseries. (Julius Caesar, William Shakespeare, 1564-1616)

REVERSAL

There is no power to be gained in letting go of the reins and adapting to whatever time brings. To some degree you must guide time or you will be its merciless victim. There is accordingly no reversal to this law.

#books #power #quotes #advice #self-improvement

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houseofswords · 5 years ago

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Eric Nye

Theme song / Moodboard Divinity: Balaur (knowledge, memory, identity, names, protection, ritual magic)

BASIC INFORMATION

Full name: Eric David Nye Gender: Male Age: 46 Birthday: 20th November

Myers-Briggs: ENFJ Zodiac: Scorpio Tarot card: The Magician

Nationality: Canadian Birthplace: Vancouver, British Columbia

Sexuality: Bisexual (closeted) Relationship status: Lonely

Occupation: Manager (previously: theatre actor)

APPEARANCE

Height: 6’2” Weight: 155lbs

Hair: Auburn, straight and wiry. Kept short and parted. Eye colour: Honey brown

Physical characteristics: Tall, lanky, often described as a scarecrow, with awkward limbs and big hands and feet. His face is long and and sports a prominent hooked nose. He is very handsome, though he doesn’t think so himself. Other traits: Some scars on his arms and legs, most notably some gruesome surgical scars on his left leg. Tattoos: None

Clothes: He likes to dress well and wears neat, ironed shirts, black dress pants and shoes and a waistcoat out of the house. When home, he rolls up the sleeves and may wear a sweater vest in the cold.

TRAITS

Personality: Calm and quiet, he’s slow to anger and lets most things roll off him with a shrug. A caring person at heart, if cautious and ‘by the books’, he’ll always leap to take charge and look after others first. He’s sensible and has a good head on his shoulders—sometimes he feels like he’s the only one. Regrets and past mistakes weigh heavily on him and he can become distant and bitter, and, in the end, he’ll always do what has to be done.

Motives: Eric wants to atone for past mistakes but doesn’t even know where to begin. He’s too afraid of what people will think of him to admit the things he’s tone, preventing him from being able to apologise and move on. He does his best to hide the horrors of the theatre and keep people safe, but knows that in doing so he’s just allowing it to become a self-fulfilling cycle and feels trapped as a result.

Values: Eric is a just and righteous man, but makes the mistake of assigning numbers and values to his morals. It’s better for one person to die than five, and better to commit a small evil for a greater good. He believes that curiosity is humanity’s greatest vice and goes to great lengths to discourage it in those around him—those who play with fire will just get burnt.

Fears: Deathly afraid of spiders, no matter how small. He’s terrified of the thought of dying alone, with no one to care about him or even remember his name, and spends more time worrying about what others think of him than his cool exterior would imply.

Weaknesses: If he does lose his cool, Eric grows flustered and often blurts out things he doesn’t mean, coming to add them to his pile of regrets later. He has difficulty admitting when he’s wrong and dislikes it when his authority is challenged.

Quirks: He habitually straightens his clothes or runs a hand through his hair when nervous or agitated—’ruffling his feathers’ as some call it. He smiles with his eyes more than his mouth. At times he can become distant, gazing far away at memories that still weigh heavily on his shoulders. He often feels compelled to write down what he sees on a day to day basis and keeps a diary as a result.

STRENGTHS AND SKILLS

Skills: Trained first aider who remains calm under fire. Excellent management skills, both with time and people. People look up to him as a leader and a role model, even if they don’t particularly like him or his methods. He’s very good at masking his true feelings under a smile. He has a green thumb and is good with words, whether he’s speaking or writing.

Hobbies: Gardening, growing roses, writing, rearranging the decorations in his house, reading, watching period dramas on TV.

Powers: — Eidetic memory, able to recall past events with striking accuracy. He can remember any face he sees and any name he’s told, whether he wants to or not, even recognising people that he met as children many, many years ago. — Power over names and identity, able to strip a person of their name and being and assign a new one. He can erase memories or force someone to relive them. — Limited reality warping. He can place blessings and protective wards by writing down possible harm and burning it, ensuring that it does not come to pass. He can also cancel curses and other harmful magic by simply writing it out of reality. — Though it isn’t his specific domain, he has some power over fire due to its importance in ritual magic. He can strike with a burning touch, light fires with his fingertips and conceal himself with smoke.

OTHER FACTS

Favourite music: Whitesnake, Led Zeppelin, Queen, Elton John. He also enjoys relaxing to soft jazz. Favourite films: Pride and Prejudice, Les Misérables, Titanic, Elizabeth: The Golden Age, Schindler’s List Favourite food: Chocolate, coffee, tea, pistachios, croissants Favourite animal: As much as people tease him for his resemblance to them, he’s very fond of owls. He also likes cats and has a ginger tom called Puck. Favourite colour: Robin’s egg blue. Also likes scarlet and tends to be associated with it more. Likes: Flowers, historical dramas, the smell of old books, the sounds typewriters make, when people actually listen to him and don’t get themselves into trouble Dislikes: Being interrupted or talked over, people who dog-ear the pages of books, tea, pineapples, SPIDERS

Misc. info: Eric did three years in med school, but ended up dropping out to pursue dreams of being an actor instead. His left knee was broken at some point in the past and now he walks with a heavy limp.

ALTERNATE VERSES

Superhuman: Eric is Ghostwriter, one of only a few superhumans gifted with sorcery. An ill-fated clash with the rogue agent Cage leaves him unfit for duty and resigned to pushing pencils for the rest of his career, and he finds himself trying to fill the void in his life by taking the mysterious ‘Angel’ under his wing. Victorian Gothic: Professor Eric Nye is somewhat of a celebrity in the world of academia, famed for his pharmaceuticals and remedies. What his colleagues don’t know is that he leads the double life of an adventurer, disappearing overseas on perilous quests from which he might not return. Dead in the Water: The infamous pirate Eric Nye is afflicted with a terrible curse: he can’t go on land without burning everything he touches. He’s pursued by a bounty hunter who won’t rest until he’s dead. Swords and Sorcery: Eric ran from his duties as a healer in the king’s army to lead a quiet life as an alchemist in a small, remote town. He thought that would be the end of fighting and bloodshed for him, until destiny came knocking. Gotta Catch Em All: Every region has its Pokemon Professor. Professor Nye is busy studying the effects of humans on Pokemon and their habitat when poachers threaten to destroy all of his research, potentially damaging the region’s fragile ecosystem forever. Blood and Wine: People think of street shootouts and gang warfare when talking of the Prohibition, but someone has to be the brains behind the operation. That’s Eric’s job. He handles the numbers, Mike handles the bullets. Behind the Lines: In war, not everyone is a soldier. Eric is a spy planted deep within the German information network. Or, he was. Circumstances necessitated a hasty escape, and he’s forced to join a ragtag group of soldiers making their way to Switzerland for his own protection. Apocalypse Now: A wandering book collector dedicated to preserving the last of the old world’s knowledge, Eric will trade books and other documents for food and medicine.

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jumpcr-blog1 · 8 years ago

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Character Chart

Character’s full name: Kit Aleksovich Yelchin Character’s nickname: to be determined Reason for nickname: to be determined Birth date: March 23rd, 1992

Physical Appearance

Age: 25 How old does he/she appear: 25 Weight: 148 lbs Height: 6′2″ Body build: slight, slender Shape of face: round Eye color: blue Glasses or contacts: none Skin tone: pale Distinguishing marks: tattoo over left shoulder blade. small, round scar on thumb-forefinger webbing on right hand. Predominant features: none that stand out Hair color: light brown / dark blond Hairstyle: very short, nearly to the scalp Voice: low, quiet Overall attractiveness: average, plain Physical disabilities: none Usual fashion of dress: something simple and nondescript, jeans & a plain t-shirt, a dark jacket, dark boots. usually also a beanie of some kind. Favorite outfit: a pair of pajama pants and a t-shirt. Jewelry or accessories: none

Personality

Good personality traits: resourceful, adaptable, adventurous, daring, hardworking, intuitive, organized, self-reliant Bad personality traits: abrasive, anxious, asocial, cynical, dishonest, impulsive. paranoid, possessive, reactionary Mood character is most often in: Kit spends most of his time being pretty convinced everything about his life is about to blow to pieces all over again, leaving him feeling paranoid. Years of doing his job and doing it well, however, has taught him how to hide this feeling. However, he would be very, very unsurprised (albeit crushed) if his secret got out. Sense of humor: dry humor, anti humor, sarcasm Character’s greatest joy in life: Kit finds it difficult to slow down and enjoy his life, but the time he spents with Luka ranks high on the list. He tries not to put too much weight on that, though, because after the loss of his parents he learned to detach a little from people. Outside of Luka, he takes a lot of joy in running, in smoking the most pretentious cigarettes in the world (lucky strikes, obviously), and winning. Character’s greatest fear: His greatest fear is being found out. This means a lot of things. Kit is afraid of his Big Secret(tm) being found out, he’s afraid his sexuality will be found out, he’s afraid his deep seeded inner fear will be found out. Basically, Kit’s biggest fear is every lie he’s ever told being paraded out in front of him, and at this point in his life there’s very little out of his mouth that isn’t a lie. Why?: Because he’s afraid of losing Luka, he’s afraid of losing the new place he discovered in society, he’s afraid of everything about him being nonredeemable. What single event would most throw this character’s life into complete turmoil?: being outed as a spy for the Rosteks. Character is most at ease when: he’s running. it doesn’t matter where, why, or from what. Most ill at ease when: he’s forced to sit still for too long. Enraged when: he sees people being cruel to animals, children, or Luka. Depressed or sad when: he is reminded of his parents, of his place in the world, or of the reality of the world around him. Priorities: His priorities differ depending on the day. There are days when his main priority is the Rosteks and what information he can give to them, then there are days when his main priority is the Lesyas and keeping the few friends he has made there safe. However, this is all just a convoluted way of saying that he is always his number one priority. Whatever path is the one of least resistance seems to be the one Kit takes. Life philosophy: he’s 25, he doesn’t have one. If granted one wish, it would be: freedom from the Rosteks v Lesyas war Why?: because then there would be no reason for him to be a spy, or for the lies, or for the secrets, and things would be a lot simpler. However, if given the opportunity to answer this question himself, he’d say “a real philly cheesesteak, because you cant get them in Moscow.” Character’s soft spot: Luka. his 3 legged cat, три (3). Is this soft spot obvious to others?: No. Well, maybe yes about три. Greatest strength: Kit is adaptable, above all else. He can learn to deal with any situation. His adaptability has led to him being a survivor. He doesn’t fear death. Greatest vulnerability or weakness: His lack of ability to relate or connect with people is a weakness. It assists some in his ability to be adaptable, because he doesn’t need anyone around to survive, but it also leaves him very isolated and lonely at times. Without those connections, his decisions become more irrational and reckless, as he doesn’t think about anything but himself. Biggest regret: his cowardice Minor regret: minor regrets are pointless, he’s done what he’s had to do to survive. Biggest accomplishment: He managed to move up the ranks and be trusted as a spy, he’s well paid, and he lives on his own. Minor accomplishment: not punching people in the face on a regular basis. Past failures he/she would be embarrassed to have people know about: Any time he had been outed as a spy. Character’s darkest secret: his true allegiance, or his desire to switch sides Does anyone else know?: the rest of the rosteks, no

Goals

Drives and motivations: survival, to be seen as “good” in the end, to make his parents proud Immediate goals: to provide the rosteks with relevant information on the lesyas, to earn money Long term goals: to survive, to eventually be able to flee the city and travel the world, possibly to have the guts to switch sides How the character plans to accomplish these goals: finding his voice, his balls, and waiting for the right time. How other characters will be affected: the rosteks will be betrayed, but ultimately fine without him. his lack of personal connections makes this a non-issue for him. however, he fears what it will do to Luka, or to Luka’s opinion of him.

Past

Hometown: Moscow, Russia Type of childhood: pleasant, loving, safe, protected Pets: none, mother was allergic to everything First memory: his first solid memory is driving in the car with his parents to see the lights of the city around the holidays, but he has brief glimpses of his father shaving, his mother pin curling her hair, the smell of pancakes in the morning, a feeling of peace. Most important childhood memory: his mother and father’s constant reassurance that everyone is absolutely, unequivocally equal. Why: because this forms the basis for his betrayal. he’s betraying himself, his parents, their teachings. sure, he’s betraying the lesyas and wants to betray the rosteks but before that he’s betraying himself and his past. Childhood hero: Zanjeer the Labrador Dream job: ice cream truck driver Education: left senior school at age 15 and never went back Religion: non-practicing orthodox Christianity Finances: middle class

Present

Current location: Moscow, Russia Currently living with: no one Pets: one cat Religion: agnostic Occupation: in order to maintain his cover story with the lesyas, he works as a cashier in a convenience store, however his true occupation is a Rostek spy. Finances: he appears to be lower class, but has a lot of money thanks to his true occupation as a Rostek spy

Family

Mother: Nadya Ivanova Yelchina Relationship with her: Kit loved his mother. She kept him safe, made him feel loved, and always did her best to raise him the right way. She was often his best friend and the first person he turned to when he had any kind of issue. Father: Vladimir Yelchin Relationship with him: the relationship here was a little more strained, probably because Kit and Vladimir were very similar. When he was very young, things were normal, but when he got a little older his own attitude started to come forward so they started to butt heads. Siblings: None Relationship with them: n/a Spouse: None Relationship with him/her: n/a Children: None Relationship with them: n/a Other important family members: Tatiana ‘Ana’ Aleksovna Yelchina, Marko Aleksovich Yelchin

Favorites

Color: blue Least favorite color: orange Music: pop, hip-hop Food: french fries Literature: anything george orwell Form of entertainment: movies Expressions: “shut the fuck up.” Mode of transportation: running Most prized possession: his dad’s zippo lighter and his mom’s prayer rope

Habits

Hobbies: card games, dice games, games of chance Plays a musical instrument? no Plays a sport? no, but would kill it at track and field How he/she would spend a rainy day: reading, watching movies, cooking, anything that he can do while also doing 2 other things Spending habits: he spends lightly and keeps all of his rostek earnings in a tin below his bed. Smokes: no, bad for the lungs Drinks: occasionally Other drugs: occasionally What does he/she do too much of?: lying, eating sweets What does he/she do too little of?: self care, relaxing, sleeping Extremely skilled at: lying, pick pocketing, running fast Extremely unskilled at: sitting still, anything that requires a great deal of fine motor skills, walking in a straight line, not falling down Nervous tics: lip biting, leg bouncing, nail picking, skin picking, hair pulling (which is why he keeps it so short) Usual body posture: just slightly slouched Mannerisms: he pinches the bridge of his nose a lot Peculiarities: he’s a very slow typer, he still only hunts and pecks with one finger.

Traits

Optimist or pessimist? realist Introvert or extrovert? introvert Daredevil or cautious? daredevil Logical or emotional? both, depending Disorderly and messy or methodical and neat? methodical and neat Prefers working or relaxing? always has to be moving Confident or unsure of himself/herself? appears confident Animal lover? yes

Self-Perception

How he/she feels about himself/herself: he’s not a fan of himself. One word the character would use to describe self: liar One paragraph description of how the character would describe self: “I’m, like, you know. I’m just a guy. Not a particularly good guy. I mean, okay, I guess I’m kind of a bad guy. I lie a lot. I don’t regularly hurt people that I like but when the truth comes out they might be hurt beyond repair. I’m not worth much, honestly, I’m just here to survive.” What does the character consider his/her best personality trait? his ability to survive What does the character consider his/her worst personality trait? his cowardice What does the character consider his/her best physical characteristic? blue eyes What does the character consider his/her worst physical characteristic? too skinny How does the character think others perceive him/her: quiet, controlled, even tempered What would the character most like to change about himself/herself: he’d want to be brave

Relationships With Others

Opinion of other people in general: he tries to keep away from other people, but he generally sees everyone as just doing what they have to do to survive Does the character hide his/her true opinions and emotions from others? yes Person character most hates: tbd Best friend(s): luka, tbd Love interest(s): Luka Person character goes to for advice: tbd Person character feels responsible for or takes care of: tbd Person character feels shy or awkward around: tbd Person character openly admires: no one Person character secretly admires: Luka Most important person in character’s life before story starts: Luka After story starts: Luka?? tbd

#kitastrophe #character development

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agathabridgerton · 6 years ago

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Eddie once said something along the lines of, "What doesn't [Newt] like about Tina?" I have to say that I share the same sentiment: What don't I like about Tina?

I can't even think of anything that I dislike. She is a well-rounded character who has both awkward, uncomfortable moments as well as bold, courageous ones. Tina is vulnerable, without being presented as weak. She believes in the laws of Wizarding America, but believes in her own moral compass even more. She is badass without being presented as, like, a "sexy spy." She is comfortable with her femininity but doesn't conform to society's standards or depend on a man, and isn't overshadowed by one.

Jacob and Newt treat the girls as equals, which sends a positive message to the world. Tina has a successful career, something that a lot of people seem to believe isn't befitting of women (which is complete bullshit). She is presented to us as flawed, but worthy.

Porpentina "Tina" Esther Goldstein is presented to us as human—as a character who may well be an adult but by no means has all the answers. She is a natural leader, but doesn't think of herself as any better than her colleagues or friends.

She lost so much at the end of CoG, yet she still managed a smile in the Croissant scene. When she and Queenie sang Ilvermorny's school song, she didn't care if her sister was better than her, she just sang her heart out. When she hung her coat up in Newt's case she did it so adorably. When she said goodbye to Newt, she was so incredibly soft and fragile, yet this wasn't presented as a flaw. Tina wasn't introduced to us as Newt's love interest, she was introduced as a somewhat high-strung/desperate former Auror trying to do right by the world. She and Newt just happened to fall in love along the journey of the movie.

Long story short, Tina's amazingly human and empathetic, which are her greatest strengths.

Porpentina Goldstein

Alright, I’m going to start a game, because Tina doesn’t get enough love. I’m going to start with a reason I love Tina. Reblog and add your own, and continue to do so every time this shows up on your dash.

She is both an incredible duelist and incredibly compassionate.

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wizardsuniterpg · 6 years ago

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CHARACTER BASICS

Name: Lyra Morgan Date of Birth: Place of Birth: Westminster, London, United Kingdom Actual Age/Age of appearance: 26 Marital Status: Single Sexual Orientation: Pansexual Pronouns: She/her Religion: None Health details: None Occupation: Taskforce, Spy

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

Height: 5′ 7″ Eye Color: Brown/hazel Hair Color/Style: Brown, shoulder length, styled naturally Aesthetic/Style: Lyra dresses 100% like a muggle, and sometimes even to make wizards uncomfortable. Mostly jeans; moto boots; jean or cargo jackets, leather jackets; band t-shirts; or, sometimes, she dresses incredibly unassumingly. Comfort is most important, not making a statement.

Other: Tattoos: A raven on her right bicep, a skeletal tree along the inside of her left hand (wand hand) done by muggle tattoo artists Play-By Used: Daisy Ridley

BACKGROUND AND CHARACTER

Lyra is a muggleborn and went to Hogwarts, as all British wizards do. Her story is a bit different, however. Both of her parents were killed during the time of Voldemort and his open persecution of muggles, and Lyra was raised by her grandmother (Margaret) who was a squib. When she was a child, Margaret Morgan’s family sent her away to a convent, essentially abandoning her, and as an adult, she’d assimilated amongst muggles, married a muggle, Lyra’s grandfather, and the two of them had muggle children. Lyra was the first and only witch in the family, her lineage stemming from Margaret. Although Margaret was hesitant to allow Lyra to go to Hogwarts, simply because of Margaret’s own bitterness against her wizard family, it was impossible to keep Lyra away because she started showing signs of magic at an early age.

Otherwise, Lyra lived among muggles, had muggle friends, and was practically muggle herself. Although neither she nor her grandmother ever had straight-out talks about the obvious, ridiculous segregation between muggles and the magically-inclined (the line between them that has always been so heavily enforced and controlled by wizards), the disadvantage and unfairness that Lyra felt growing up was palpable.

No one in their extended family knew about Lyra being magical, and Margaret explained to Lyra that it was because of the strict laws of the Ministry of Magic. Exceptions could be made sometimes, but not for the rest of their family. The risk was too great. They could be arrested. As a result, Lyra lived her life with a secret, a burden, and often times, it was unbearable. The excuse was: Lyra attended boarding school (as a good number of muggles did). Lyra loved Hogwarts - all students do - but she was torn when she’d go back home, and often felt guilty for having the opportunities that she had. Margaret didn’t outright resent her, but Lyra made sure to not use magic in her grandmother’s presence, and especially around their other family.

There were a few accidental instances that were cause for alarm, like levitating teacups and whatnot, which were handled by Margaret and Lyra with tons of excuses and insistent logic. The Ministry was never called, but there were many close calls that eventually had Lyra living on edge all the time. By the time she graduated Hogwarts, it was a relief because she could decide just how much magic to use.

She always had an inner turmoil and questions that were never answered: Why was she born a witch? Why did her grandmother have not an ounce of magical potential? Why did Lyra have to hide who she was? Would it really be that bad if her secret came out? Why did the Ministry always threaten with arrests and Azkaban? Was the Statute of Secrecy not archaic? Witch hunts were over. Was Wizardkind ever going to evolve, move out of the dark ages? They were outnumbered by so many muggles and yet they held so much power. What was there to be afraid of?

After Hogwarts, Lyra traveled around Europe, visited America (where wizards were warier of no-majs even more than they were in the UK), and returned to England, where she worked odd jobs and refused to take a wizarding career. She’d even attended a small muggle college for a short time with forged documents from muggle schools. Through her travels, she met many people, wizards and muggles alike, but she particularly bonded with a few people who shared her mindsets and who were linked to a bigger group of Wizards. This group did not have a name but rumor was that they were funded by an old witch out of France, and wizards from elsewhere.

When magic started occurring, entirely on its own, it was as if it was a sign. Mother Nature, Fate, whatever you want to call - it was as if it was taking matters into its own hands. Lyra was chosen by people up the ladder and tasked with joining the Task Force in order to spy for them, and maybe even convert a few wizards or witches along the way.

She knows that there’s another - Sophia Desmarais, a french Auror - who is on the “same side” so to speak, but Lyra doesn’t know her personally. She simply knows that, going in, Sophia will be her point person. It’s a bit of a relief to know that she’s not alone, but truth be told, Lyra has the sense that some people (who believe that magical exposure is a good thing, too) are more radical than she, are more capable than she, and are far less innocent. Wizards like Voldemort killed her parents after all, and many more people’s parents, and Gillert Grindlewald was a tyrant and tried to build upon a sense of superiority. They were terrible people.

After meeting those friends of hers - and the only reason that they became her friends in the first place was because she knew they were good people, not followers of dark wizards - Lyra didn’t sense any fooling. If they were radicals, there’s no way in hell that she would’ve sided with them. She’s not like that. Their beliefs are based on logic and reason. Not prejudice and hatred. Or so that’s what she’s been around, what she’s been told and shown.

Even if she has doubts now, it’s too late to back out. The only thing that Lyra has is her morals, her own beliefs, and she will stick by them.

Connections

Sophia Desmarais: Never met her, just knows that she’s Lyra’s connection Other people: From her past, muggles, wizards, other wizards from the group of “like-minded individuals”

Future plot ideas: She’s a “spy,” so tons

FAMILY

Mother: Deceased Grandmother: Margaret Morgan, 78 Father: Deceased Siblings: None Pets: None Children: None Spouse: None

MAGICAL

Wand: Ash, 13 inches, Dragon heartstring Basic education: Hogwarts, Ravenclaw Higher/other education: Small muggle university Lineage: Muggleborn Skills: Knows everything about muggles.

Some facts

Smoking: Yeah when she has cigarettes or someone else does. Drinks Alcohol: Yes, but doesn’t like to black out. Religion: Yes, that there’s a God, or something, and he wants muggles and wizards to come together, to not be segregated Worst Habit: Biting her nails Allergies: None Most Common Misconception about them: That she doesn’t have a backbone, that she can’t take action Biggest Fear: For wizardkind to remain in the dark. For herself? To never feel happy Greatest Strength: Knowledgeable, quick thinker, logical Greatest Weakness: Might be inexperienced - she’s young

Intimate Facts

One Wish: For things to change Greatest Secret? Told an ex-boyfriend that she’s a witch. He’s kept it secret ever since, even though they don’t talk. Ideal Kiss? It’s been a while, and *Shrug* Sleeps In? If she can, yeah. Virgin? No, and has been celibate or abstinent or whatever, for a while. What turns them on? Understanding, intensity, “vibing” with someone

Random facts

Most Uttered Phase/Word? Tends to Always? Smile wide when she’s nervous Is Ticklish? No, not at all. Weird. Oddest Thing? Most likely to find them? Alone, which can be suspicious Knows they’re really sorry if?

#lyramorgan #playerelena

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