![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
space mermaids character development stuff
Still trying to understand my Space Mermaid OCs... I'm learning to know them and inventing stuff about them, but I'm still not sure I really know them well enough. Hrrm. So i'm going to ramble a bit. If anyone wants to point out stuff where it doesn't make sense, or just babble along or something, go for it, though i'm mostly just talking to myself right now. XD;
But if anyone wants to offer "what would they do if (X) happened?"-type questions, I'll be grateful. It might help me define them better. ^__^;
Arun's parents are both doctors in some science or other, so they're fairly well-off. They live on a planet that's geared toward learning and preserving knowledge, full of schools and zoos and museums. That gives them a bit of a "we are the guardians of knowledge!" attitude. Arun rarely socializes with people with more "base" motives, not that he's consciously avoiding them, but like lots of rich kids he never really thought about having a deep, thought-provoking chat with the cleaning lady or the gardener's son. He's polite and jokes around with them, but it rarely goes any deeper.
Arun likes to think himself as a Good Guy, a Tolerant Guy, and also, a Funny Guy. Which he is, most of the time. He's goofy and doesn't like to take things seriously, and is driven by an intense curiosity. To him, learning is a game. Having fun is important. So he learns. As a tolerant open-minded guy, and one who majored in biology to boot, he's concerned with environmental activism, terraforming, ethical treatment of animals and all that. It's partly as part of his image, but he really does care. He cares easily.
He's a little self-righteous, and quick to anger when he feels threatened. He can get downright petty if he feels trapped by someone with authority, which is why he tends to shift his rapports with people over him (like bosses, parents) toward friendly teasing and jokes which allow him to not take them seriously. He'll listen to their arguments, and then agree and obey, or not agree and either inwardly roll his eyes and humor them, or find a way around it. He hates being ordered around. He's not blindly prideful either -- he won't take unreasonable, disproportionate risks by refusing to comply to something he's being made to -- but that's what puts pressure on him. Having to obey to someone and not being able to question it.
...So basically he's a very popular guy, and deserves it, as long as things go his way. He gets grouchy and snarky and passive-aggressive when it doesn't, though he tends to rant and swear to blow off stream verbally. If it gets physical, he would start with shoves and work his way up, but he wouldn't attempt to do serious, lasting harm.
He also thinks that killing is never okay, and while he might kill to save himself and others if there was absolutely no other way -- unless he hesitated too much and lost his chance -- he would regret it forever.
Blue's mother raised him alone. He grew up in a poor area, the kind where a third of the population is without a job and it's not too safe alone at night. His life wasn't utterly horrible, he didn't do drugs (okay, he tried something like cannabis, but that's not his thing), he didn't routinely get into knife fights, he had clothes and ate everyday; still, it wasn't good either. He didn't like school, not through lack of intelligence but he learns by example better than by explanation, so he got an apprenticeship with a mechanic.
Blue thinks of himself as a fighter. He tries not to think in terms of right and wrong because his life wasn't fair and no one cares, so he's not going to care right back. If he had lived a better life he would have cared about people more, but he's aware that he has to make himself come first, so he doesn't. He does what needs to be done to stay fed, warm and safe, though he draws the line at killing in cold blood, or killing children who could be slapped down instead. (he knows a kid with a knife can do as much damage as an adult, but hey, tall guy, more reach, he can probably manage.) He doesn't give his respect easily, and doesn't obey people he doesn't respect, but once it's given he doesn't question orders, unless they're really horrible or stupid.
In the last couple of years he has relaxed because the crew offers him some stability. He still makes a clear difference between in-group and outsiders. In-group people might get on his nerves, but they're his people and he'll kill for them. He's somewhat wary and a lot quieter and colder around outsiders, even those qualified as harmless.
What gets him stressed out is conflict between what he needs to do and what's fair. Deep down he's a fairly "justice" oriented type. He'll get really tense if he's doing something that he knows will seriously fuck over some poor sap who doesn't deserve it... But he'll still do it. >>;; He wouldn't show it though, he tends to withdraw when he's angry. If he really gets pissed, he wouldn't kick or hit things, because he doesn't want to damage anything he might have to spend money to replace; but if there's someone angering him at the time, if they push far enough he'll go from cold and watchful to going for the jugular in a second. He doesn't bother much with posturing and escalating when he fights; he'll give a few disdainful comments if the other guy is ranting at him, meanwhile he decides whether he wants to ignore, knock down the guy, or kill him, and then BAM he does it. He doesn't lose his head easily.
If he had to kill, he would feel some remorse, but he'd smother it because he can't afford to guilt his life away.
Liadan's father is the typical patriarch kind, and she has several mothers and siblings. She wasn't the oldest, but the oldest sons left already and the daughter was also the daughter of the previous leader and became one of her father's subordinates' mates, so she's not considered a child anymore. In their communal lifestyle, Liadan, like all children, was given responsibilities early. She learned to appear calm and dependable because that gave her positive attention.
Liadan thinks of herself as a dutiful, calm and borderline passive daughter. She's dutiful and calm, yes, but she's also good at using the rules and regulations to her advantage. For example, she wanted to drift, so she calmly and gently and smilingly told her father that she was too old to stay in his pod now, and there was another pod not too far away, they'd noticed the stuff on the currents, and don't worry, I'll be cautious... and then of course she never thought she was lying, because in her mind she rationalized it as "there are pods everywhere, I'll just let the sea currents take me -- oh a shiny thing in the opposite direction, well, that will just be a little detour."
She's been raised to be a good, submissive girl, and she is, but only in appearance, because she tends to gently question and advise her husband in ways that, ideally, make him think it was all his idea. She's sort of manipulative that way, and tends to divert any conversation or situation she doesn't like instead of confronting them openly. She uses delaying and denial as avoidance techniques.
Her serene, thoughtful attitude made her mothers give her a lot of authority on the other, younger children; she's got a tendency to be overbearing, because she knows that she knows better, for she is the wise, mature Liadan. She's quite satisfied by her own maturity.
Losing her freedom would rattle her. Not in the "being captured by pirates" way, that's still an adventure. If she was caught by a male, made to join a pod, and got pregnant, she wouldn't be able to drift off again, she'd have a responsibility. And she knows she will have to, someday, soon, but she's trying to hold it off as hard as she can. She wouldn't get violent with a dominant male, though. She wouldn't even think of it. If it was a matter of survival, she would strike, out of desperation, and she would strike to kill, but she isn't physically aggressive. She cries when she gets angry, and might yell a little, but she would keep that to a minimum since she doesn't want to attract danger, either.
If she was pushed far enough to kill, she would not regret it, because she most likely would not even see the opponent as human; she'd see it as a dangerous predator, which must be eliminated for everything to be good again.
But if anyone wants to offer "what would they do if (X) happened?"-type questions, I'll be grateful. It might help me define them better. ^__^;
Arun's parents are both doctors in some science or other, so they're fairly well-off. They live on a planet that's geared toward learning and preserving knowledge, full of schools and zoos and museums. That gives them a bit of a "we are the guardians of knowledge!" attitude. Arun rarely socializes with people with more "base" motives, not that he's consciously avoiding them, but like lots of rich kids he never really thought about having a deep, thought-provoking chat with the cleaning lady or the gardener's son. He's polite and jokes around with them, but it rarely goes any deeper.
Arun likes to think himself as a Good Guy, a Tolerant Guy, and also, a Funny Guy. Which he is, most of the time. He's goofy and doesn't like to take things seriously, and is driven by an intense curiosity. To him, learning is a game. Having fun is important. So he learns. As a tolerant open-minded guy, and one who majored in biology to boot, he's concerned with environmental activism, terraforming, ethical treatment of animals and all that. It's partly as part of his image, but he really does care. He cares easily.
He's a little self-righteous, and quick to anger when he feels threatened. He can get downright petty if he feels trapped by someone with authority, which is why he tends to shift his rapports with people over him (like bosses, parents) toward friendly teasing and jokes which allow him to not take them seriously. He'll listen to their arguments, and then agree and obey, or not agree and either inwardly roll his eyes and humor them, or find a way around it. He hates being ordered around. He's not blindly prideful either -- he won't take unreasonable, disproportionate risks by refusing to comply to something he's being made to -- but that's what puts pressure on him. Having to obey to someone and not being able to question it.
...So basically he's a very popular guy, and deserves it, as long as things go his way. He gets grouchy and snarky and passive-aggressive when it doesn't, though he tends to rant and swear to blow off stream verbally. If it gets physical, he would start with shoves and work his way up, but he wouldn't attempt to do serious, lasting harm.
He also thinks that killing is never okay, and while he might kill to save himself and others if there was absolutely no other way -- unless he hesitated too much and lost his chance -- he would regret it forever.
Blue's mother raised him alone. He grew up in a poor area, the kind where a third of the population is without a job and it's not too safe alone at night. His life wasn't utterly horrible, he didn't do drugs (okay, he tried something like cannabis, but that's not his thing), he didn't routinely get into knife fights, he had clothes and ate everyday; still, it wasn't good either. He didn't like school, not through lack of intelligence but he learns by example better than by explanation, so he got an apprenticeship with a mechanic.
Blue thinks of himself as a fighter. He tries not to think in terms of right and wrong because his life wasn't fair and no one cares, so he's not going to care right back. If he had lived a better life he would have cared about people more, but he's aware that he has to make himself come first, so he doesn't. He does what needs to be done to stay fed, warm and safe, though he draws the line at killing in cold blood, or killing children who could be slapped down instead. (he knows a kid with a knife can do as much damage as an adult, but hey, tall guy, more reach, he can probably manage.) He doesn't give his respect easily, and doesn't obey people he doesn't respect, but once it's given he doesn't question orders, unless they're really horrible or stupid.
In the last couple of years he has relaxed because the crew offers him some stability. He still makes a clear difference between in-group and outsiders. In-group people might get on his nerves, but they're his people and he'll kill for them. He's somewhat wary and a lot quieter and colder around outsiders, even those qualified as harmless.
What gets him stressed out is conflict between what he needs to do and what's fair. Deep down he's a fairly "justice" oriented type. He'll get really tense if he's doing something that he knows will seriously fuck over some poor sap who doesn't deserve it... But he'll still do it. >>;; He wouldn't show it though, he tends to withdraw when he's angry. If he really gets pissed, he wouldn't kick or hit things, because he doesn't want to damage anything he might have to spend money to replace; but if there's someone angering him at the time, if they push far enough he'll go from cold and watchful to going for the jugular in a second. He doesn't bother much with posturing and escalating when he fights; he'll give a few disdainful comments if the other guy is ranting at him, meanwhile he decides whether he wants to ignore, knock down the guy, or kill him, and then BAM he does it. He doesn't lose his head easily.
If he had to kill, he would feel some remorse, but he'd smother it because he can't afford to guilt his life away.
Liadan's father is the typical patriarch kind, and she has several mothers and siblings. She wasn't the oldest, but the oldest sons left already and the daughter was also the daughter of the previous leader and became one of her father's subordinates' mates, so she's not considered a child anymore. In their communal lifestyle, Liadan, like all children, was given responsibilities early. She learned to appear calm and dependable because that gave her positive attention.
Liadan thinks of herself as a dutiful, calm and borderline passive daughter. She's dutiful and calm, yes, but she's also good at using the rules and regulations to her advantage. For example, she wanted to drift, so she calmly and gently and smilingly told her father that she was too old to stay in his pod now, and there was another pod not too far away, they'd noticed the stuff on the currents, and don't worry, I'll be cautious... and then of course she never thought she was lying, because in her mind she rationalized it as "there are pods everywhere, I'll just let the sea currents take me -- oh a shiny thing in the opposite direction, well, that will just be a little detour."
She's been raised to be a good, submissive girl, and she is, but only in appearance, because she tends to gently question and advise her husband in ways that, ideally, make him think it was all his idea. She's sort of manipulative that way, and tends to divert any conversation or situation she doesn't like instead of confronting them openly. She uses delaying and denial as avoidance techniques.
Her serene, thoughtful attitude made her mothers give her a lot of authority on the other, younger children; she's got a tendency to be overbearing, because she knows that she knows better, for she is the wise, mature Liadan. She's quite satisfied by her own maturity.
Losing her freedom would rattle her. Not in the "being captured by pirates" way, that's still an adventure. If she was caught by a male, made to join a pod, and got pregnant, she wouldn't be able to drift off again, she'd have a responsibility. And she knows she will have to, someday, soon, but she's trying to hold it off as hard as she can. She wouldn't get violent with a dominant male, though. She wouldn't even think of it. If it was a matter of survival, she would strike, out of desperation, and she would strike to kill, but she isn't physically aggressive. She cries when she gets angry, and might yell a little, but she would keep that to a minimum since she doesn't want to attract danger, either.
If she was pushed far enough to kill, she would not regret it, because she most likely would not even see the opponent as human; she'd see it as a dangerous predator, which must be eliminated for everything to be good again.
no subject
no subject
Gene-tweaking to who? I don't think Blue's had any, though Arun probably did, unless it was one of his parents... *ponders* I don't remember right now.
no subject
no subject