Stamped; Story Role Theme
Basics
Name: Tomoyo Ichijouji
Age: I'm in college
Gender: ♀
From a scale of 1-10 (1 is left trait, 10 is right trait), and why:
Optimistic/Pessimistic? [3] I'm more on the optimistic side. Pessimism just isn't my style; I start malfunctioning when I think that things are just going to suck.
Altrusitic/Selfish? [4] I do care a lot about myself. But I find genuine fulfillment from helping others and seeing others happy. I'll do what I can for everyone while taking care of my own health.
Idealistic/Cynical? [7] I'm actually pretty cynical considering my optimism. It's a kind of humorous mode of it, when often I'm half-laughing at the situation, but it's also that I will be suspicious of anything and anyone if I have ample reason to be. (If I'm not in a good mood, sometimes without much reason...) This includes authorities and people in power. I don't care who you are, king or hobo, best friend or antagonist; if you're spouting BS, then I call BS. Well, nicely of course. :P
Aggressive/Submissive? [3] I'm very bold. Somtimes too much so, I think. I've been trying, and I think I'm getting there, to be more tactful and rational when it gets to a confrontation, but I haven't been one to be cowed by anyone, particularly authorities if I think they're doing something wrong. This is not to say I actually like fighting with people emotionally; I really don't like it in fact, so you can imagine the problems this causes me personally too besides just politics.
In the spotlight/In the background? [3] Many times I'm happy to just be where I am if the spotlight isn't on me, but the way I act seems to draw attention to myself sometimes regardless of whether I'm intending to be showy or not. XD;; I certainly don't mind the spotlight, as long as it's not in a hostile fashion, and when I'm enthusiastic I enjoy it. (I'm happy to pose for pictures in cosplay and only hope that I picked a good pose, and maybe that I could get to see how it turned out. XD )
Forthright/Indirect? [2] I'm getting better at tact, again, but inherently I'm a very honest heart-on-her-sleeve person. I cannot lie for beans. The best I can do is equivocate, and then I still might not hide much. XP No politician here.
Someone that stabilizes the world/Someone that changes the world? [5] This is kind of a tough one. I'm someone that tends to change things around her if she thinks something is wrong, and if I think so strongly, I'll go against a large amount of antagonism without dampening my resolve. But I find stability very valuable. Change can be very harmful if it is enacted recklessly; even if the end result is about the same as before, you've paid a considerable amount during the transition period. So which am I better at? ...Neither. Boo. I'm a fencesitter on this one. XP It all depends on what I think is best for the situation.
Stories
Did you ever play make believe when you were younger? If so, what kinds of characters did you play, in what kind of stories? Yeah, quite a lot. I had (and still have, hopefully) a biiiiiiiiig imagination. I'd play by myself with toys like Barbies and stuffed animals and act out these complex, mysterious stories that were scary sometimes but always ended happily and peacefully. (Funny thing was, the Barbies were usually the ones I acted out the scary stories, and my stuffed animals were the ones with cute, fluffy stories.) When I play make-believe in a group, I often lead the scenarios, making up a game that involved elevating our surroundings so that a playground became a fortress, the bleachers became a magic school bus, etc. I think we were often all on the same level role-wise, all playing explorers as in the magic school bus example. I still played make-believe by myself on playgrounds though. There was this one McDonalds which playground I always called "The Time Machine" and I'd imagine that I'd travel through time whenever I slid down the slide. :D
What's your favorite fairy tale and why? Dunno. I've gotten to the point where I feel that modernizing the fairy tales is more appealing than purely sticking to the originals. But a classic one I like is Mulan. I have Asian heritage so there's an ethnic relation there, and plus the story really is admirable; a girl really is the hero instead of the sacrificing pilgrim or the classic damsel-in-distress.
If you found a genie and his magic lamp and he offered you three wishes, what would they be and why? First, this would probably stress me out to pieces. I'd feel so....responsible for what I do with those wishes. They could do so much if I wanted them to; they could change the world, instead of just satisfying my fleeting urges. What about world peace? Ending suffering? Uniting all people? Things that we've been trying to do all along could be achieved, if these wishes were grantable.
...Then I'd wonder if these were the kinds of things that should be magically endowed by a genie, if it would really be genuine or not. Even though genies in the stories never mention that it isn't allowed, I wonder how much they would be able to do. Would they call "too vague; be more specific" on me? I dunno. If my genie is impatient, then I'm going to probably drive him/her nuts. ^^;;
Well, I know I'd debate with myself for eons if it actually happened, but for now these are some of my best ideas:
1. I wish that everyone would have the ability to move beyond their disappointments and press on to better places with their own strength.
2. I wish that we had the ability to understand each other's thoughts.
3. I wish to free all genies that wish the world well to do as much good in the world as they are able and willing to do.
(Why do one when you can do all, and encourage them to use their powers for good? :P ...well, I guess they're free to NOT do so, but I can only hope that genies, having lived for so long with us, would know and want to help us become a better species.)
Maybe the first two are already possible; if that's the case, then I think that's the best you can do, since you can't force understanding or strength. The third is based on the fact that there are genies, and I wonder how much more....er, efficient it would be if they were all set free to do what they wanted and not just wait around in lamps or bottles or boom boxes for others to make wishes for them. Maybe they could do a lot in the world. I suppose I'm being a bit wary by limiting the freeing to benevolent genies, but I suppose that's wise, too?
Roles
What kinds of roles (e.g. devil's advocate, comedian, silent observer) do you play now in your life with whom? When in a crowd of strangers, I can be either the bold observer (one that speaks out with lots of comments and questions) or if the situation calls for it a volunteer. I'll go up and do something in front of them if I want to. With casual friends, I'm actually more silent and reserved, because I need to worry more about being polite and presentable. At work, I am the enthusiastic helper who leads when needed or just pipes in with ideas when she has them. With closer friends, I play roles as situations come up. If it's fun time, I'm the energetic child. If there's trouble, I become the logical tactician. If there's sadness, I'll be the sympathetic advisor. This is emulated with my family, but I am unreservedly open with them.
Do you or did you roleplay or act? If so, what kinds of characters and stories do/did you depict? I used to act, most recently in middle school. For our Drama class I played in Midsummer Night's Dream as Quince -- the leader of the goofballs of Bottom and co. trying to put together a play for the king and queen. XD At another point I played a queen villain in this one practice drama, partially because I think others were reluctant to volunteer so I cheerfully did. And had some fun with it. XD (It's not about doing evil, but being amusing for the audience as the good guy defeats you! XP )
What are your goals for the future? What do you strive to be? First off, I want to get through college and then medical school to become a physician of some sort. Not sure what kind right now, I'm considering what fields are interesting and also what kind of job I want. But outside of making an actual living, I want to write novels of all the stories that are and will be floating around in my imagination that is currently sitting impatiently waiting for me to have a long enough break in doing all this schoolwork. XD;; I managed to revise a chapter of a fic last winter break! ...yeah I'm a slow writer. :P
What legacy would you like to leave behind?
I really want to leave behind my stories. I feel like they may be some of the most valuable things I have to offer that can stay behind after I'm gone. (Being a doctor is arguable, but once I'm dead I can't be one anymore). Not only for other's benefit, but even myself; I leave a portion of what makes up my mind in each story, and since I invest myself so much into my stories it's like I'm still there and still telling people what I've found in my thoughts. Even when my mind decays (perish the thought, I'm too young to die just yet!! D: ), those words can still be there for years to come.
Life Related
What is your general temperament?
Outside of the classroom: polite, pleasant, quiet with acquaintences and energetic with close friends, goodwilled.
In the classroom: Attentive, curious, persistent in trying to understand, thoughtful, anal about details XD;;
When I'm not officially around anyone: at times entirely lost in thought.
How are you protected, and how do you protect?
I get a lot of emotional 'protection' from my family. They have been the vast majority of people I choose to go to if I feel like talking to someone. I'm so nervous and uncertain of myself, they know how to encourage me, which I admittedly need a lot of. I suspect some of my friends may protect me from some bad things they come across, but as I have no idea if that's true that's totally internal intuition. I protect others with my analytical carefulness and my honest concern for them. For example, I feel obligated and motivated to make sure that our room's door is locked, to protect no only my stuff and my safety when sleeping but also that of my roommate's. (Take into account my roommate isn't my best friend but we get along well.) Also, if I see someone is very upset, I feel like I need to help them with a calm, objective voice or even just presence to be sure nothing escalates.
How do you feel about the things about your life you have no control over, if any? How do you feel fortunate? How do you feel cursed?
Well, some physical aspects I really have done all I can about, and well, I just take it as something that I'm built with and although they can be annoying, I can deal with them. They may even have some kind of hidden benefit or affected my life in a way that enabled me to do something I couldn't have otherwise. Even though I don't feel like it all the time, I know I'm very fortunate, to be in a privileged position to get such quality resources growing up, education and otherwise. You never have control over what family you get and I think I'm very fortunate to have them. I am uncertain whether to talk about my anxiety here, because I *can* control that, but to an extent only at this point. What I will say is that I have limited energy, as everyone does, and I need to work with what I have.
Princess Tutu Related
You've discovered you have a tragic fate. Accept that fate and find happiness in the tragedy, or defy that fate and find glory, amid conflict and pain? Okay, I have a bone to pick with tragedy, first of all. In all stories, even the most excellent ones that I adore, I never enjoy tragedies. At best I can think that in the situation, it happened that way....I'm still much saddened by it. I really won't enjoy tragic situations in a story, not only because I hate to see even characters I like (or even ones I don't that much) suffer but even according to my principles. It bothers me when people say things like, "That character should have died; it's not as good a story without it, there's just no point to them being there". Isn't that basically saying that a person that has lost their importance in a series of events should be dead? Why do we want people to be life-like when we decidedly treat them like they aren't alive? If they aren't real, and so their death or suffering doesn't matter, why do people form personal connections to them like they do for people in life?
In the end it's mainly the attitude of enjoying tragedy (like Drosselmeyer, come to think of it...) that really troubles me; it's still important to read about very sad things, whether they're real or not, because you need to know about suffering to understand people and the world. But I can't enjoy such things, even if they're done in an entertaining context; they make me feel very sad and anguished.
Keeping that in mind, I won't take tragedy lying down. If it's something small, I don't consider it a tragedy, just an annoying circumstance. But if it seems truly tragic, then I'm not just going to accept it face value. If something sad happens to me, not only I will suffer but all others that care about me will too. Also, if you accept a fate that you don't want, you're not in control of your own life. Sure, you can control things leading up to it, but ultimately you won't be able to avoid something you don't want. I discussed this regarding terminal illnesses; just because you're told that you are going to die in a short time, that doesn't mean you don't fight to find out ways to lengthen your life and live a fuller life before then, not accepting that you're just going to croak, like a princess waiting for rescue that doesn't exist, or which must come from herself. *Utena rose balloon floats overhead* When you do fight, you can accomplish so many more things than if you just give up and accept what you think is the only option. If you give up, you lose any opportunity to make things better. Even if it wasn't what you were expecting, something will have happened that wouldn't have if you didn't try.
In a way, any kind of ambition is defying fate. If you want to improve yourself, if you want more than is handed to you, you defy that which you were given by default. I want to write those stories, and I won't ever give up on that. I could either accept fate that I'm not an author and won't be able to write, or I can keep on writing and maybe write something that many people treasure. I don't need glory; I just won't accept tragedy if I can do something about it.
Also, admittedly, I think I'm the kind of person who will speak up when something doesn't seem right, even if it brings up conflict and I feel internal pain because of it. I keep on doing it, even knowing that and wondering if it's wise or not. I've refined such impulses as I've grown, and now I can be wiser at least about such forthrightness, saying it with more tact and understanding people better. I feel my place in the world and my thoughts (both ever changing as I change) are worth something, and I'll keep defending them until I die, either physically or psychologically. I hope the latter never happens, and I hope the former won't be in a manner I regret.
Really long rambling answer, pardon....XD;;
Rate these in importance and explain: loving oneself, loving everyone, loving one person the most
I think I can really only speak for myself, rather than what other people should feel. Doing so, I think first comes loving everyone, then loving oneself, and then loving one person. I think I like to emphasize loving oneself is very important, and there are times I think I love myself more than others, but in general on principle I love everyone first (and I am part of everyone). I put loving one person last because I feel like putting that on a higher priority over the other two is much more exclusionary, and while it's true I love the people close to me the most, to put one person so highly above others doesn't feel in my nature and in principle makes me uneasy; even though that one person is wonderful, others are also great in their own ways, is my thought.
Links to 3 apps you voted on (update as you go on): Next Lvl Up: 115 EXP
Btw, quirk of mine but I use the votes right after the ones I posted for my previous app as my new votes, even though I've voted recently. XP Don't mind that, but feel free to check. My last app was Love Match.
Anything else? At first I was somewhat certain of a few stamps I'd likely get; but after a little while, I realized maybe I didn't fit so neatly into one role. Now I'm really not sure which one I'll end up with. (Although I have a good idea of a few I probably *won't* end up with. XD )