(no subject)
OOC Information;
Name; Shikki
Personal Journal; prinnytern @ lj, scampers @ dw
Contact; regenderates @ both aim and plurk
IC Information;
Character Name; Tavros Nitram
Canon; Homestuck
Canon Point; Page 4967
Age; Six Solar Sweeps, roughly 13 years old.
House; Sigyn! Tavros is pretty much a pushover and a pacifist by nature. He does much better when playing a support role in battle than when fighting in the front lines.
Power; Healing. He's a pretty gentle guy and most everything he does goes somehow awry, but he always has the best of intentions.
Personality; Out of all of the characters in Homestuck, Tavros may arguably be the most straight forward and easy to explain. While there are certainly flaws, issues, and shortcomings - many of these were not created by a major flaw in his personality, but rather, the overpowering influence of someone else.
He does not have a hidden agenda. He does not sneak around, forge and break alliances on a whim, and play games with people's heads for his own selfish desires. He does not hate intensely, nor does he get particularly passionate about much. All in all, he remains one of the most - if not *the* most - stable of all of the sGrub players due to his even nature and temperament. This simple, gentle personality makes it rather easy for him to get along with many of the people he comes across, often ending with their platonic pity toward his situation and circumstances and aiding in whatever way they can.
All in all, Tavros is just bad at being a troll. Even by the internet definition he falls short, ultimately blocking his target when made uncomfortable by his adept counter-trolling measures, then fleeing to said target's good friend to get some advice on how to handle the situation. Not to mention the fact that even in casual conversation, he's often apologizing for things that are not his fault, or preemptively apologizing for things he hasn't even done.
The boy is a stuttering, faltering mess in social situations, often unbearably awkward even in the most relaxed of conversations. Again, troll society tells him that due to his gentle personality and paralysis, he's not worth a whole lot. With Vriska's constant bullying and the offhanded remarks from his other friends, it's not surprising that he prefers to keep his head down and tries to make everyone happy. When not tripping over himself with apologies, Tavros alternates between being painfully straightforward and beating around the bush. He fumbles for a simple explanation, backpedals, dances around and even trips over the point he's trying to make in a vain attempt to keep the other party from becoming angry with him When "confident" he says what's on his mind and trusts that the other person will simply accept it, because in his mind confidence is the key to winning people over.
This is largely because he is simply not a confident person. In fact, he's quite cowardly. Even if he has good reason, he hides behind stronger people and tries to avoid conflict and confrontation because he is afraid. Decisions for him are not something that should be made on a whim, but should be consulted and spoken with so he can have a backup plan and maybe someone to save him should things go sour. He also does not handle trauma very well, resorting to sleeping to play around on Prospit rather than to busy himself with leveling up after a traumatic experience. And, also of note, he is a true pacifist. He made it through the entire sGRUB session without killing a single enemy, instead befriending them all to turn them to his side.
He only knows what he knows about confidence by having watched the more confident of the trolls, who have a lot more going for them than just their own self-assurance. To Tavros, being loud and in-your-face is about as close as he can get. We see this spectacular failure at self-confidence for the first time after he consults Rose for advice on what to do with Dave, rejecting her offer to help with a boast of his own abilities. In the end, after accidentally blocking the human, he reverts temporarily back to his usual self to apologize for the mistake. Then he goes on to destroy Dave with his "sick fires", oblivious to the face that he has hardly done any damage to the human with his fumbling, pathetic attempts at freestyle. And again, later, after the attachment of his robot legs and subsequent, incredibly forward, conversations with Jade, we see just how hard he's trying to pump himself up and seem like a somebody she could like.
We can't talk about Tavros' self confidence without inevitably moving back to the complication that is his relationship with Vriska.
Vriska is his bully. His worst nightmare. His greatest enemy, and a friend he has fun with. It's summed up best as "it's complicated" and filled with rampant quadrant flipping, ultimately ending in the destruction of whatever friendship remained between them. Vriska expected too much from him. She prodded, she pulled, she pushed and did whatever she could to make him into a stronger person the only way she knew how. While her intentions may have been pure, the result was certainly not as desired. She is a large part of the reason for his submissive, doormat personality. Yet, despite it all, it isn't until after promising Kanaya that he wouldn't speak to her anymore that he attempts to close off communications. Yet, she makes him nervous. Impossibly, impossibly nervous - when speaking to her it's clear he finds a hard time getting a word in edge-wise. His 'uHS' increase, often the only thing he manages to say in the midst of her ranting as he waits for her to stop. Sometimes, he talks back, only sometimes, and it's not usually something that goes well for him. He makes no real effort to defend himself. When she snipes at his faults, he simply acknowledges that she is "probably right" and leaves it at that. All in all, he is absolutely terrified of her, yet still cares for her enough to try to save her life.
In the end, he takes the time to end their conversations with a polite "bYE".
Tavros' lack of hatred means that no matter what she does, he still somehow considers her a friend. Trolls do have the same word for friend and enemy, after all... but it would be wrong to say that he doesn't have his limit.
There are things he cannot and will not do. Even when Vriska is bullying him and breathing down his neck.
Such as apologizing for being paralyzed. Even when she's shaking him and demanding that he apologies for being unable to climb the stairs, he holds his ground and refuses to give in. Another would be his refusal to kill her - though not something that he is proud of, he keeps his resolve and escapes from the situation as quickly as possible. And later, when it is revealed that she is responsible for the state that they are in now, Tavros steels himself and sets off with a determination for a battle he's probably sure he cannot win.
Name; Shikki
Personal Journal; prinnytern @ lj, scampers @ dw
Contact; regenderates @ both aim and plurk
IC Information;
Character Name; Tavros Nitram
Canon; Homestuck
Canon Point; Page 4967
Age; Six Solar Sweeps, roughly 13 years old.
House; Sigyn! Tavros is pretty much a pushover and a pacifist by nature. He does much better when playing a support role in battle than when fighting in the front lines.
Power; Healing. He's a pretty gentle guy and most everything he does goes somehow awry, but he always has the best of intentions.
Personality; Out of all of the characters in Homestuck, Tavros may arguably be the most straight forward and easy to explain. While there are certainly flaws, issues, and shortcomings - many of these were not created by a major flaw in his personality, but rather, the overpowering influence of someone else.
He does not have a hidden agenda. He does not sneak around, forge and break alliances on a whim, and play games with people's heads for his own selfish desires. He does not hate intensely, nor does he get particularly passionate about much. All in all, he remains one of the most - if not *the* most - stable of all of the sGrub players due to his even nature and temperament. This simple, gentle personality makes it rather easy for him to get along with many of the people he comes across, often ending with their platonic pity toward his situation and circumstances and aiding in whatever way they can.
All in all, Tavros is just bad at being a troll. Even by the internet definition he falls short, ultimately blocking his target when made uncomfortable by his adept counter-trolling measures, then fleeing to said target's good friend to get some advice on how to handle the situation. Not to mention the fact that even in casual conversation, he's often apologizing for things that are not his fault, or preemptively apologizing for things he hasn't even done.
The boy is a stuttering, faltering mess in social situations, often unbearably awkward even in the most relaxed of conversations. Again, troll society tells him that due to his gentle personality and paralysis, he's not worth a whole lot. With Vriska's constant bullying and the offhanded remarks from his other friends, it's not surprising that he prefers to keep his head down and tries to make everyone happy. When not tripping over himself with apologies, Tavros alternates between being painfully straightforward and beating around the bush. He fumbles for a simple explanation, backpedals, dances around and even trips over the point he's trying to make in a vain attempt to keep the other party from becoming angry with him When "confident" he says what's on his mind and trusts that the other person will simply accept it, because in his mind confidence is the key to winning people over.
This is largely because he is simply not a confident person. In fact, he's quite cowardly. Even if he has good reason, he hides behind stronger people and tries to avoid conflict and confrontation because he is afraid. Decisions for him are not something that should be made on a whim, but should be consulted and spoken with so he can have a backup plan and maybe someone to save him should things go sour. He also does not handle trauma very well, resorting to sleeping to play around on Prospit rather than to busy himself with leveling up after a traumatic experience. And, also of note, he is a true pacifist. He made it through the entire sGRUB session without killing a single enemy, instead befriending them all to turn them to his side.
He only knows what he knows about confidence by having watched the more confident of the trolls, who have a lot more going for them than just their own self-assurance. To Tavros, being loud and in-your-face is about as close as he can get. We see this spectacular failure at self-confidence for the first time after he consults Rose for advice on what to do with Dave, rejecting her offer to help with a boast of his own abilities. In the end, after accidentally blocking the human, he reverts temporarily back to his usual self to apologize for the mistake. Then he goes on to destroy Dave with his "sick fires", oblivious to the face that he has hardly done any damage to the human with his fumbling, pathetic attempts at freestyle. And again, later, after the attachment of his robot legs and subsequent, incredibly forward, conversations with Jade, we see just how hard he's trying to pump himself up and seem like a somebody she could like.
We can't talk about Tavros' self confidence without inevitably moving back to the complication that is his relationship with Vriska.
Vriska is his bully. His worst nightmare. His greatest enemy, and a friend he has fun with. It's summed up best as "it's complicated" and filled with rampant quadrant flipping, ultimately ending in the destruction of whatever friendship remained between them. Vriska expected too much from him. She prodded, she pulled, she pushed and did whatever she could to make him into a stronger person the only way she knew how. While her intentions may have been pure, the result was certainly not as desired. She is a large part of the reason for his submissive, doormat personality. Yet, despite it all, it isn't until after promising Kanaya that he wouldn't speak to her anymore that he attempts to close off communications. Yet, she makes him nervous. Impossibly, impossibly nervous - when speaking to her it's clear he finds a hard time getting a word in edge-wise. His 'uHS' increase, often the only thing he manages to say in the midst of her ranting as he waits for her to stop. Sometimes, he talks back, only sometimes, and it's not usually something that goes well for him. He makes no real effort to defend himself. When she snipes at his faults, he simply acknowledges that she is "probably right" and leaves it at that. All in all, he is absolutely terrified of her, yet still cares for her enough to try to save her life.
In the end, he takes the time to end their conversations with a polite "bYE".
Tavros' lack of hatred means that no matter what she does, he still somehow considers her a friend. Trolls do have the same word for friend and enemy, after all... but it would be wrong to say that he doesn't have his limit.
There are things he cannot and will not do. Even when Vriska is bullying him and breathing down his neck.
Such as apologizing for being paralyzed. Even when she's shaking him and demanding that he apologies for being unable to climb the stairs, he holds his ground and refuses to give in. Another would be his refusal to kill her - though not something that he is proud of, he keeps his resolve and escapes from the situation as quickly as possible. And later, when it is revealed that she is responsible for the state that they are in now, Tavros steels himself and sets off with a determination for a battle he's probably sure he cannot win.