demeanor - self-assured and owns his space - when idle, defaults to an air of gentlemanly poise... but fidgety - he doesn't actually do idle. there are always wheels turning in his head - restless isn't the word for him, but he is a workaholic; relentless is a better word - trends towards dismissive when annoyed
problem-solving - problem-solving style involves picking things apart first and foremost -- a mechanic's desire to take things apart so they can be put back together again in a more functional combination - unfortunately this, combined with the cultural osmosis air of superiority, means that he can come across as nitpicking, fussy, and even belittling, especially when he's trying to problem-solve while irritated - also has the unfortunate tendency to be Loud, especially when arguing and when incensed - but he doesn't stop at taking it apart; his next desire is a scientist's, wanting to experiment to find solutions - the type to make a list of possibilities and then delegate - known for holding high standards for those he's working with - when working with him for the first time, expect a lot of questions from him until he's confident of your ability, including frequent second and third guessing (it's that fussiness)
cultural osmosis - an aloof air, sometimes superior and cold... though unless he's with someone he dislikes or is pissing him off, this is unlikely to be present - "as a gallifreyan i am inherently better than the rest of the universe." it isn't a conscious thought and he doesn't (typically) actively think that way, and it's something he tries to smother when he is conscious of it, but it's definitely present. when filtered through the rest of his personality, his particular flavor of it is on the well-intentioned but infantilizing side; "since i know best, i must protect those of the lesser races around me"
motivations - surface - protective -- and this is a key trait, something he can never fight and something that can get him to change his mind on a dime. he lives to protect, in particular his dearest loved ones, and as a parent himself, he also has a strong "protect all children" policy - the reason why zeta is so fussy is because he's got a solid dose of paranoia - he especially wants to avoid things Going Wrong; sometimes it's unavoidable and outside your control (and being in a situation with more uncontrollable variables makes him tetchy fast), but due to the scale his job operates on, small mistakes can be very costly - he is less paranoid about other people. there is a blanket level of distrust until he can suss out someone's motivations (or unless they just click with him), but he's less worried about people hurting him or anything like that - this is largely because he has a definite "us vs them" complex. he's confident that he can weather anything thrown at him from "them," and since he typically expects his "us" to earn his trust to get there to begin with, he develops a blind spot for them -- they already passed and he trusts them for a reason, therefore they aren't threats to him
social - private life - he believes strongly in having a strong, reliable core of people to rely on. it doesn't have to be many people -- it can be as few as two. if he has this, he has enough stability to live confidently - and he really needs it, because without it, his entire life is unmoored. he lives for his people; they are his purpose and his foundation
Nature Fighting Nurture Zeta, unfortunately, lives in a Time Lord society. While he never attended the Academy himself, his parents were Time Lords and his childhood sweetheart's parents were also Time Lords. While he is conscious of his culture and its flaws, and actively tries to fight them, there is too much that's simply embedded via cultural osmosis, and sometimes, that shit leaks through, whether he's aware of it when it happens or not.
The bulk of those cultural flaws can be summarized neatly as "All Time Lords Are Bastards." Time Lords fancy themselves the guardians of time, which basically means they think they know best for everybody, and this egocentrism is heavily baked into their culture. Zeta isn't as immune to this, or to their cultural standard of emotional repression, as he'd like to think himself. When dealing with aliens, Zeta does have an inherent looking-down-on attitude. Being filtered through the rest of his personality, it subconsciously comes out on the well-intentioned but infantilizing side: "Since I know best, I must protect those of the Lesser Races around me." But this is assuming he's in a good mood; when he isn't, and especially when he's annoyed with a particular alien(s), that's when you start to see more of the Time Lord-typical condescension and the aloof superiority.
But Zeta has dedicated effort to fighting the aspects of his culture that he hates. This originated in simply his decision as a child not to attend the Academy, which is a story for another time, but boils down to: It began to affect him personally, and he took great offense to it. And once he began examining the aspects he didn't like, he continued doing so throughout his life, and did his damnedest to shape himself around avoiding them.
In... limited situations, anyway. He does still have a "Proper Time Lord" face he keeps on with people he isn't close to, and especially at work. A Proper Time Lord appears to keep personal feelings out of matters at all times, and is capable of giving as good as they get in their competitive career fields. A Proper Time Lord maintains a certain air of poise even when everything's going tits up and doesn't leave vulnerabilities out in the open where they'd make others uncomfortable. (And Zeta, being decently high-ranked in the Celestial Intervention Agency, aka a den of untrustworthy vipers, can't afford to leave openings for those around him to take advantage of.)
But while he spends the most time at work (being a HUGE workaholic, and work being his preferred coping mechanism), and so he spends the majority of his time wearing his Proper Time Lord mask (where his primary mold-breaking trait is simply how expressive he is), his personal relationships are the focal point of his life. There, he is most free to be himself without the fear of that honesty being a vulnerability, and he's able to better break away from the Proper Time Lord restrictions.
He's always straight-forward and assertive, but with his inner circle, he actually applies that to expressing his emotions -- He is surprisingly (and endearingly) earnest like this. The more emotionally invested Zeta is, the more genuine he is, the more he lowers his guard. He addresses interpersonal problems head-on rather than ignoring or repressing them, because he's learned firsthand how disastrous it can get otherwise. He is incredibly, ridiculously devoted; once he's attached, he's doomed, and unless he's told to fuck off, he will be there for them. (And if he's told to fuck off, he'll respect their wishes, albeit with the air of a pet sitting in the rain sadly staring through the window into the nice warm house.) If attachment happens to an alien and the cultural clashes start, he purposefully slows himself down to pinpoint where things started going wrong (something that would baffle his lab techs).
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recalcitrare) wrote2022-04-01 06:37 pm
personality
surface level behavior
- self-assured and owns his space
- when idle, defaults to an air of gentlemanly poise... but fidgety
- he doesn't actually do idle. there are always wheels turning in his head
- restless isn't the word for him, but he is a workaholic; relentless is a better word
- trends towards dismissive when annoyed
problem-solving
- problem-solving style involves picking things apart first and foremost -- a mechanic's desire to take things apart so they can be put back together again in a more functional combination
- unfortunately this, combined with the cultural osmosis air of superiority, means that he can come across as nitpicking, fussy, and even belittling, especially when he's trying to problem-solve while irritated
- also has the unfortunate tendency to be Loud, especially when arguing and when incensed
- but he doesn't stop at taking it apart; his next desire is a scientist's, wanting to experiment to find solutions
- the type to make a list of possibilities and then delegate
- known for holding high standards for those he's working with
- when working with him for the first time, expect a lot of questions from him until he's confident of your ability, including frequent second and third guessing (it's that fussiness)
cultural osmosis
- an aloof air, sometimes superior and cold... though unless he's with someone he dislikes or is pissing him off, this is unlikely to be present
- "as a gallifreyan i am inherently better than the rest of the universe." it isn't a conscious thought and he doesn't (typically) actively think that way, and it's something he tries to smother when he is conscious of it, but it's definitely present. when filtered through the rest of his personality, his particular flavor of it is on the well-intentioned but infantilizing side; "since i know best, i must protect those of the lesser races around me"
middle stage of getting to know him
- protective -- and this is a key trait, something he can never fight and something that can get him to change his mind on a dime. he lives to protect, in particular his dearest loved ones, and as a parent himself, he also has a strong "protect all children" policy
- the reason why zeta is so fussy is because he's got a solid dose of paranoia
- he especially wants to avoid things Going Wrong; sometimes it's unavoidable and outside your control (and being in a situation with more uncontrollable variables makes him tetchy fast), but due to the scale his job operates on, small mistakes can be very costly
- he is less paranoid about other people. there is a blanket level of distrust until he can suss out someone's motivations (or unless they just click with him), but he's less worried about people hurting him or anything like that
- this is largely because he has a definite "us vs them" complex. he's confident that he can weather anything thrown at him from "them," and since he typically expects his "us" to earn his trust to get there to begin with, he develops a blind spot for them -- they already passed and he trusts them for a reason, therefore they aren't threats to him
social - private life
- he believes strongly in having a strong, reliable core of people to rely on. it doesn't have to be many people -- it can be as few as two. if he has this, he has enough stability to live confidently
- and he really needs it, because without it, his entire life is unmoored. he lives for his people; they are his purpose and his foundation
coping mechanisms
- workaholism
- compartmentalization
close relationship behavior/inner world stuff
themes
- responsibility to identity vs responsibility to others
- honor in a dishonorable profession
expanded
no subject
Zeta, unfortunately, lives in a Time Lord society. While he never attended the Academy himself, his parents were Time Lords and his childhood sweetheart's parents were also Time Lords. While he is conscious of his culture and its flaws, and actively tries to fight them, there is too much that's simply embedded via cultural osmosis, and sometimes, that shit leaks through, whether he's aware of it when it happens or not.
The bulk of those cultural flaws can be summarized neatly as "All Time Lords Are Bastards." Time Lords fancy themselves the guardians of time, which basically means they think they know best for everybody, and this egocentrism is heavily baked into their culture. Zeta isn't as immune to this, or to their cultural standard of emotional repression, as he'd like to think himself. When dealing with aliens, Zeta does have an inherent looking-down-on attitude. Being filtered through the rest of his personality, it subconsciously comes out on the well-intentioned but infantilizing side: "Since I know best, I must protect those of the Lesser Races around me." But this is assuming he's in a good mood; when he isn't, and especially when he's annoyed with a particular alien(s), that's when you start to see more of the Time Lord-typical condescension and the aloof superiority.
But Zeta has dedicated effort to fighting the aspects of his culture that he hates. This originated in simply his decision as a child not to attend the Academy, which is a story for another time, but boils down to: It began to affect him personally, and he took great offense to it. And once he began examining the aspects he didn't like, he continued doing so throughout his life, and did his damnedest to shape himself around avoiding them.
In... limited situations, anyway. He does still have a "Proper Time Lord" face he keeps on with people he isn't close to, and especially at work. A Proper Time Lord appears to keep personal feelings out of matters at all times, and is capable of giving as good as they get in their competitive career fields. A Proper Time Lord maintains a certain air of poise even when everything's going tits up and doesn't leave vulnerabilities out in the open where they'd make others uncomfortable. (And Zeta, being decently high-ranked in the Celestial Intervention Agency, aka a den of untrustworthy vipers, can't afford to leave openings for those around him to take advantage of.)
But while he spends the most time at work (being a HUGE workaholic, and work being his preferred coping mechanism), and so he spends the majority of his time wearing his Proper Time Lord mask (where his primary mold-breaking trait is simply how expressive he is), his personal relationships are the focal point of his life. There, he is most free to be himself without the fear of that honesty being a vulnerability, and he's able to better break away from the Proper Time Lord restrictions.
He's always straight-forward and assertive, but with his inner circle, he actually applies that to expressing his emotions -- He is surprisingly (and endearingly) earnest like this. The more emotionally invested Zeta is, the more genuine he is, the more he lowers his guard. He addresses interpersonal problems head-on rather than ignoring or repressing them, because he's learned firsthand how disastrous it can get otherwise. He is incredibly, ridiculously devoted; once he's attached, he's doomed, and unless he's told to fuck off, he will be there for them. (And if he's told to fuck off, he'll respect their wishes, albeit with the air of a pet sitting in the rain sadly staring through the window into the nice warm house.) If attachment happens to an alien and the cultural clashes start, he purposefully slows himself down to pinpoint where things started going wrong (something that would baffle his lab techs).