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The External Impressions Meme
Hello all! End of Semester stress has been showing in the dip in comm activity in recent weeks, so here is a short and snappy meme to go with Mith’s intro post and kick-start some holiday everywriting!
What first impressions do they give off? Do other people find them likeable? Do they think that other people find them likeable? Do they care?
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What first impressions do they give off? Do other people find them likeable? Do they think that other people find them likeable? Do they care?
( Read more... )
The first word that comes to mind in just about anyone who's dealt with Alyin is forward. Alyin doesn't just leave an impression, he shakes your moral high ground a little. Alyin comes across as blunt and gregarious and he doesn't take himself too seriously. He says what he thinks. Sometimes it gets him in trouble, especially in Haradh where talking around yourself is a fucking art form. So yeah! If you like the outspoken type, you probably like him from the start. If you think a good man is seen and not heard, you hate him. He doesn't care as much as he probably should.
What makes him think he's lost face? Has he ever lost face?
Oh, he loses face. And he apologizes for it once he sees the signs of it. Alyin doesn't do well with overt disapproval. If the person who disapproves of him is someone he meant to impress or someone he cares about, he'll hit the floor and make his apologies. If the disapproving party is being a dick about it, Alyin will say the guy's being a dick, and, well, back to step one.
How does he handle grief and sorrow? Does he cry in front of others?
Most of the time, Alyin works through his grief and the grievances of others. I don't think he's ever been brought to tears by anything other than physical pain (not because he's a Big Strong Man but because he's just not the type), but when he grieves he tries his damnedest to do it constructively. He'll fight on through the loss of comrades, make reparations for soldiers under his command, and work to pry his dear wife out of her occasional powertrip with sex and bad jokes.
What does he find embarrassing to do/hear about? How much does he reveal of this? What is embarrassing for him to see other people do?
Okay so! Alyin is embarrassed by racial and class prejudices, a lot. Be the Barbarian, Do the Barbarian Dance comes up more than once in canon. At its most facetious, such remarks net you a red blush across his face and a stealthy insult. At their worst, expect him to prove to you just how civilized he is, point out that your culture still keeps slaves, and demand an apology. Hopefully in that order.
He also gets embarrassed on other people's behalf when they're subject to the same, or when they play into stereotypes, especially when they do it to cheat or deceive people. Alyin, having some experience with this himself, hates to be reminded that it's safer to be what they expect you to be, because they expect you to be a slavering, illiterate rapist.
What does he think is his biggest weakness, and do other people agree?
He thinks his biggest weakness is his big mouth, and he's half-wrong. His biggest weakness is always putting himself in the line of fire and being unable to stand back and watch.
What does he think is his biggest strength, and do other people agree?
This one, he's right about: You Can Trust Him. The man does not break oaths.
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Some! See, a lot of the Khet Islander stereotypes are based around the Haradhi knowledge of Khet politics, and the communication that Haradh has with Khet sailors and emissaries.
The Khet islands are about as far from Haradh as Indonesia is from India. About three hundred years ago, the main islands and archipelagos of Runan, Bolan, Fayin, and Greater and Lesser Khet had one of those awkward conquering conflicts that resulted in Khet conquering the territory in name but everyone came out of it federated instead of subjugated. Khet got to name the country, but an inter-island representative council was formed to allow them all some kind of self-governance within the framework of the federation. It's protodemocratic, with each island choosing its own representatives in the council however it wants to choose them (both Greater and Lesser Khet hold elections, but Runan is feudal and lets each domain lord choose his own representative, etc.). And for that matter, while some islands are egalitarian, or almost-egalitarian (women can work and inherit on G- and L-Khet but all titles are passed down patrilineally), some are patriarchal.
You can imagine Haradhi reaction to this type of government. Warlords! Rapists! DEMOCRATS.
And furthermore, most Haradhi contact with the Khet has been through its sailors and traders, who are mostly male and very talkative in their plangent language, often illiterate, and like most sailors want to get off the boat and stick their dicks in something. They are hairy, and unclean, and fight and fuck.
Alyin has a hard time getting over some of this shit, considering that, when he showed up, he was deliberately playing to stereotype. As in, he was definitely shaggy and forward and can't shut up, and he said a few lewd things about Erseah where other people could hear, and he walked in to the clan council chatting about representation for the common people and holding the royalty accountable for its bullshit. Even after he cleans himself up and gets a haircut and a shave he can't shake the Moving and Talking Like A Barbarian, and even after he marries Erseah people still try to bribe him with nubile slave girls from foreign lands and he's like, no.
But he does make it clear to them just how smart he is. He speaks four languages including his own, and writes at about an elementary school level in all of them. He can discuss politics with the best of his court, and command the armed forces effectively, and people eventually give him a pass because it's like dealing with a commoner instead of a noble. He still gets digs about being a rapist, and people still try to appeal to a patriarchal sensibility that isn't actually there.
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A Haradhi would never do that--in Haradh, you apologize with dignity if you apologize at all. You show magnanimity and generosity instead of humility: if you have slighted someone, you send her a gift to exalt her to your level and repair the slight.
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