lessonsfrommadamexmas - Tumblr blog

lessonsfrommadamexmas · 4 years ago

Text

EREN JAEGER AND THE ENNEAGRAM TYPE 6

First of all, to my followers, please excuse me. This account isn’t for SNK but it’s the one I have and I wanted to write this.

Secondly, I hope this post finds the fandom lol. But if you’re expecting this to be another meta to judge Eren’s actions, don’t waste your time. The enneagram is a tool of understanding, not judgement, and I just wanted to share one thing I appreciate immensely about Eren’s characterization.

Well, why don’t we start with chapter 137? There, Zeke states that life’s purpose is to propagate and it’s core fear is to be extinguished. In other words, from the moment we are born, our organisms need to survive. As humans, we are on our own: suddenly, you gotta breathe on your own; the food is no longer provided. Everything is scary. A baby cries because everything is hard and far away and something in their biology tells them to keep fighting to survive.

Now, onto a more spiritual approach. In El Eneagrama de la Sociedad, Claudio Naranjo says that several cultures have their own ideas and tales regarding a disconnection from a primordial state of wholeness. Once born, we become individuals and are separated from the Universe, as if we’re no longer in sync, and something is lost in the process. How can we survive? Our defense mechanisms start with that question. We need love, we need resources and we need to stand our ground in this cruel, but beautiful world. This, on the enneagram, is called “childhood trauma”.

What I want to do in this post is to break down Eren’s character development through the lens of the enneagram, but for that, I need to give you an overview of the system. It is cruel and beautiful, just like the SNK world. It sees us with care and understanding but it also exposes the harsh truths we don’t want to see.

The enneagram, first and foremost, is an ancient symbol, a figure of nine points connected within a circle. There’s a lot of fascinating history to it, but I’m gonna focus on what matters to this post. The enneagram is a personality system that encompasses nine essences of the Universe, and once our childhood trauma sinks in, we attach to one type which defines our worldview. Here’s how each enneatype manifests itself:

Type 1, the reformer: this person seeks to not make mistakes. They are principled and meticulous in everything they do but highly critical of themselves and others.

Type 2, the helper: this person seeks to be needed. They are proud of their independence and helpfulness but believe they can only receive love if they give first.

Type 3, the achiever: this person seeks to be worthy. They are motivated and ambitious but shape themselves around what is expected of them.

Type 4, the individualist: this person seeks to build their identity. They are sensitive and creative but reject the ordinary and focus on what is harder to reach.

Type 5, the investigator: this person seeks to be a specialist. They are perceptive and curious but withhold themselves and their resources and worry they’re never prepared.

Type 6, the loyalist: we’ll talk about it in a moment.

Type 7, the enthusiast: this person seeks to avoid pain. They are joyful and spontaneous but afraid of facing hardships and being swallowed by negativity and sadness.

Type 8, the leader: this person seeks to be strong. They are fierce and protective but don’t allow themselves any vulnerability and need to be on top.

Type 9, the peacemaker: this person seeks to be in peace. They’re kind and their inner stability is unshakable, but have a hard time asserting themselves.

So what does it mean to be a type 6?

Some of you might not believe if I told you that Eren is moved by fear. But that’s what it is. The type 6 represents fear itself. It’s our search for safety and support. The person who is a type 6 has disconnected from their inner guide and they don’t believe they have the same capability to make decisions as everyone else. That is more of an unconscious state, which manifests through an overly alert stance. Sixes are always on the lookout for threats and danger, their minds work predicting things that can go wrong, so they can be prepared. In other words, the type 6 fears how imprevisible life is, because they truly don’t find in themselves the compass to the answers they need “in this very moment”. They have to be one step ahead and they have to find outside structures for support, people in whom to trust and who’ll give them the guidelines and sense of balance. Fellowship and loyalty are essential to the type 6 as they look for reassurance in their concerns.

In Personality Types: Using the Enneagram for Self-Discovery (1996), Don Richard Riso has described nine levels of development for the enneatypes. They are the path from our healthy, healed state where we’re closer to wholeness again (Level 1) down to our most broken state where we’ve abandoned ourselves (Level 9).

When we start Attack on Titan, Eren is on Level 6. Here’s what Riso says:

“In its innocent forms, counterphobia is well employed by people to master their fears — for example, children who are afraid of the dark might purposefully go to a dark room to overcome their fear.”

Eren, too, wanted to overcome his fear since he was a kid. He wanted to go outside and face those faceless titans. He wanted people around him to be prepared, but since the Garrison was incompetent and lazy, he needed to be prepared. Grisha seems to be Eren’s first authority figure. From what we know, Grisha allowed Eren to have his own thoughts and didn’t impose anything on him, which is a kind of reassurance. Thus, with his father, Eren felt more understood.

Carla, on the other hand, wished for Eren’s immediate safety and cared about him living a quiet life. But that also means she couldn’t understand his concerns, and the type 6 interprets that demeanor as vulnerability — his mother is more exposed to the threat. If the type 6 is a room where nobody is vigilant, the only option they see is to step up and become hypervigilant.

This relation to an authority is very specific for the type 6 as they search for people and systems in whom to rely on. Since the Garrison aren’t the most reliable soldiers around, Eren turns to the Survey Corps. That section of the military consists of the rebels, those who want to explore the unknown, understand the titans and figure out the best way to fight the enemy. The SC wants to be free, so they become Eren’s next “authority figure”.

Riso also says that the type 6 in Level 6 has a more aggressive stance and wants to prove to others that he isn’t indecisive and can’t be pushed around.

“They blame and berate whatever threatens them. They become rebellious… and are desperate to latch onto a position or stance that will make them feel stronger and dispel their feelings of inferiority.”

The type 6 feels inferior because they feel lost inside. Eren, too, knows that the threat lurking behind those walls is much bigger than him and a single human doesn’t stand a chance. And he berates people around him for not seeing what he sees, or for disrespecting his “heroes”.

Eren will be back to Level 6 later, embodying other aspects of it, but let’s talk about the moment he joins the army.

At this point, Eren reaches the stable position he has been eager for. He is part of a group and working towards his goals, he feels more confident because he’s preparing for the next attack. He has climbed to Level 4:

“The security which groups and institutions provide far exceeds the strength of any individual members...”

As we know, Eren sees his mission to eradicate all titans also as a social responsibility. The type 6 can easily fall into “us versus them” mentality where they are putting effort into something and will trust only the people who understand the importance of it. Eren’s bickering with Jean, as well as his admiration for Reiner starts from there.

“And even within their own group, average Sixes make it their business to find out who is pulling the weight and who is not... If others are not loyal or committed, it not only makes them angry, it threatens them.”

Eren talks over and over about how he’s going to join the suicide squad, to the point people start making fun of him. But he is testing everyone’s commitment to the cause of “fighting titans” and he finds people like Jean, who only really want their safe life, as well as Reiner, who is dedicated and understands him immediately. Reiner becomes his new “authority figure”: whenever Eren’s failing, Reiner is there to understand him, to offer help and to remind him of why he’s there.

“The loyalty of average Sixes for the people with whom they have identified is almost without bounds. They find it extremely difficult to break their emotional bonds, even should they desire to do so… Their love may, in time, turn to hatred but never to indifference.”

That one speaks for itself. It’s exactly how Eren felt upon RBA’s betrayal. He’s in total denial about Annie, while for Reiner/Berthold all he has left is rage.

Choosing who to trust is part of the type 6 identity. All of their beliefs, all their inner world is shaken if they are betrayed, because the network they build is how they find a safe space for themselves in the world and how they orient themselves. Annie was Eren’s parameter of fighter, Reiner was Eren’s parameter of leadership. The first backstab is too hard for him to process, we see it all unfold. He can’t admit she’s a traitor, and he doesn’t even have the will to transform and fight her.

The second one, however, is embraced somewhat faster and he’s even able to contain himself and play along. But it doesn’t change how deeply it affected him and how vengeful he gets. Years later, that hatred would dissipate, but never to indifference — Eren still feels a need for some closure between them.

I got ahead of myself on the timeline, so I’m going to rewind to the moment Eren joins the Survey Corps, which is his childhood dream. Erwin is his main authority figure now and you see that, even though Erwin locked him up, he trusts the guy. As Don Riso explains, the type 6 on Level 4 plays by the rules of his group because he strongly believes in those rules and they bring comfort to their minds. In reality, the SC doesn’t really know what they’re doing. Erwin himself doesn’t know how he’s gonna cross the walls and find out the truth. But Eren is devoted to them. Their cause is his cause and he knows how hard it is but what matters is they’re trying. Besides, they embrace him. They want to reach the basement and want to defend him on the court and want to investigate/use his titan power. Thus, for Eren, the SC is the most solid and welcoming place to be. He’ll do whatever they want from him.

However, Eren was about to find out that things were far from glorious out there. Although the Survey Corps work under strict “plans” that soldiers are supposed to follow blindly, Eren can’t just watch people being sacrificed to protect him. Especially when he has enough power to act in a more significant way than those individual humans. But how much control does he have over his own power? Eren can’t answer that, and he feels immensely conflicted as soldiers continue to drop dead.

In that moment, Levi could’ve forced him to follow his orders, and perhaps that would’ve eased his mind when he chose not to transform. But the captain is a different kind of leader than Erwin, and he challenges Eren instead:

And I really appreciate how fitting that is to the type 6 conflit. It’s very difficult for them to accept it, sometimes there simply isn’t a clear path, sometimes it is okay to trust yourself and act on your own. But this is what Eren’s thinking:

That didn’t turn out very well, did it? At the end of the expedition, Eren is forced to admit that the SC don’t have all the answers and that all his power and training can’t always keep everyone safe. He’s once again reminded of that after activating the Coordinate — not even the power to control titans can avoid sacrifices.

Ideally, the type 6 can only reach the safety they seek once they allow themselves to move in the chaos with the courage to face it step by step, instead of predicting it. This may sound easy for others but not for them, especially if they are inserted in a reality where the cost of a mistake is lives.

So we get to the Uprising arc. It starts with the Survey Corps planning the retake of Wall Maria while they put Eren through hardening experiments. Time is not on their side and Eren’s determined to go beyond his limits during the tests.

“They consequently try to further strengthen their ‘social security’ systems by working harder to be accepted and approved by their allies and authorities… Others wonder if they resent the workloads and pressures they seem to be under, yet Sixes seem eager to fulfill their obligations and duties...”

Eren’s entire world would fall apart again once he’s kidnapped by Rod Reiss and discovers the truth of his father’s sin. Like I said earlier, Grisha was one of Eren’s authority figures, and even though he was absent, the basement key and the promised truth kept son and father connected. Wherever Grisha was, Eren could still count on the answers he’d left behind.

That is, until he is hit by a trainwreck of a revelation that his father killed an entire family and sacrificed himself to pass on the titans to him. Eren’s left completely lost, he no longer knows what to think of himself, of the world, of his father.

He falls from Level 4 to Level 7:

“Sixes become trapped in an unhealthy pattern of self-disparagement and massive insecurity which reinforces feelings of inferiority and worthlessness, a marked deterioration from the indecision and evasiveness we saw [before].”

This shift to a much more confused and self-loathing state doesn’t last long because Eren has his friend’s support for now. Historia chooses to see his worth and let him live. Levi once again challenges him to make his own decision, and Eren manages to save the day.

As Eren becomes aware of those destructive feelings, he tries to get rid of them by “fighting” himself, in an attempt to put himself back up.

He realizes he isn’t alone and he doesn’t have to do everything on his own, people around him are also strong enough to stand up for themselves. That helps him return to a more average stage and it could have been the beginning of his growth...

Well, if only life wouldn’t have a surprise waiting for him at every corner.

I hope you’re being able to follow and understand that we all have ups and downs in life. The levels of development represent exactly that, so it is common to find yourself in the same stage in different periods of your life. Nevertheless, after Eren learns the truth about the world and sees his future memories, it all goes downhill for him, no turning back anymore.

Here is what Riso comments on the ambivalence of the type 6 on Level 5:

“Sixes begin to follow the narrow path between the expectations of their allies and authorities and their need to resist having any further demands placed on them.”

Eren is overwhelmed by the view of the outside world. He has experienced his father’s memories first hand and it’s nothing like what he expected. No one around him has the same perspective. A lot of self-awareness and self-doubt emerge from the future memories he saw through Historia. Riso explains that on Level 5 the person starts to become more worried about how their allies feel about them.

“They become skeptical of new views and ideas, feeling that they have already put a lot of effort into understanding the perspectives and approaches they already know.”

Eren went from “I HATE TITANS ALL TITANS ARE MY ENEMIES DESTROY ‘EM ALL” to “titans are my people and they haven’t chosen this horrible outcome”. And that’s A LOT to process when you wrapped your life around that initial idea. But things are changing even faster, and his friends are talking about how the enemy could be reached out too. This thought needs to coexist in Eren with the clear image he has of the enemy, one that only he has accessed. Add to that how Eren was kept away from the Marleyan prisoners as Paradis also feared some kind of betrayal. As long as there’s people out there against them, he can’t so easily rest.

Who knows at what point Eren returns to Level 6. The time skip is covered very loosely. But probably when he is feeling so lost that he actually comes to Historia to vent.

“As in other types, to be functioning in this Level or lower usually indicates that there were extremely dysfunctional elements in the child’s environment.”

Self-explanatory. It’s even hard to talk about Level 6 because it is a point where Sixes start to overthink threats that aren’t that big, but in Eren’s case, the threat is 100% REAL and there’s a world isolating them and wishing for his people to die and throwing gigantic creatures at them. No big deal at all.

Eren turns to the people who actually understand the urgency he feels. Floch is eager to follow him, while Zeke and Yelena have an actual plan. Eren says he’s acting out of his own decisions, and he sure is, but he has also left it in Zeke’s hands to set the course. At this point, it no longer is a positive thing for the type 6 to have reassurance instead of a grounding support, it’ll only leave them trapped in the current mentality.

What would be more appropriate would be a balance between rejection…

…and full acceptance.

(By the way, I can’t even know where Historia stands, since she let him do his thing, but I’m still using her here because of how immediate her reaction was, which could lead Eren to think he can’t risk telling anyone else. Unhealthy Sixes are just that paranoid.)

Zeke could have been Eren’s new “authority figure“ if their goals were the same. But more and more the only thing Eren is starting to rely on are the future memories.

Riso talks about how a violent environment would lead to violent actions and “they end up using the same aggressive tactics on others”. And I can draw a parallel with how Eren has been facing titans for so long and watched them take people from him, that he just feels aggression arise whenever he thinks of all the injustice he has witnessed. Same would happen later on, when he sees Ymir’s memories and finally decides to unleash this pain on the world.

“It’s hard for Sixes to work for something. Instead, their energies are galvanized by being against people and things.”

Despite being highly conflicted and problematic, Eren so far has waited. It’s too hard at this point to fully engage with those dreams, but he has watched things unfold and allowed the Survey Corps to do their stuff and try to contact the outside world. On Level 7, the type 6 is just going through the day with little hope. When the SC reaches Marley and Eren meets the boy of his memories, he can no longer escape from facing himself.

“Tearful and obsequious, they are disgusted with themselves for not having been tough enough to stand on their own two feet, to defend themselves, to be independent.”

Not only Eren, but Paradis as a whole, have been unable to be independent in a much bigger world, or this is how he sees it after Kyiomi monopolizes the resources and the pro-Eldians group rejects the island. Finally, Eren recognizes in himself the person who would be capable of trampling the kid he currently wants to save, and that leaves him disgusted.

“They do not necessarily deceive others maliciously, but to escape punishment or abandonment. They believe they may be able to repair the damage they have caused...”

What Riso is saying here is that the type 6 feel the need to hide (themselves) so their loved ones won’t abandon them. And again, in Eren’s case, he has a damn good reason to think his loved ones might not be super happy if he said he was going to destroy the whole world. Let’s not forget they are the people who counted on him to save the world this whole time, and he is the person several people have been sacrificed for.

All this pressure has brought him this low, but Eren reaches rock bottom when he allows himself to admit he wished for it all to be destroyed. Now, he can no longer face his family (as he would tell Falco) and he has little faith in himself.

Again, Eren’s paranoias aren’t so far from reality because there is, indeed, a world against them, and that keeps feeding into his anxiety. Paradis’s progress is little and the future is uncertain. When the type 6 reaches Level 9, they can no longer get out of this spiral. They know it’s only a matter of time until the threat comes to them. So they call the threat upon themselves.

Eren allowed himself to go as far as understanding his enemies and accepting that they’re the same, but with the declaration of war, he can’t wait anymore.

I already told you the reason: the type 6 needs to be able to predict. That’s the very core of their beings, their minds seek to control events. Striking first is their final attempt to make sure they won’t be taken by surprise. Ultimately, they are lost and desperate to find support again. Here’s what Riso says about the type 6 on Level 9:

“They may drop out, abasing themselves as vagrants and living in skid row conditions, thus allowing their health and minds to deteriorate to the point of no return.”

It almost feels like Isayama has read this book, I swear to God. Yeah, that’s word by word what Eren does. He goes to enemy territory, injures himself and throws himself in war. Despite resisting for so long to a new perspective of his enemies, Eren allows himself to see them with his own eyes. All because he’s desperate to understand his enemy, desperate to understand himself (and what would lead to his decision) and desperate to run away from his friends. He is ashamed of choosing those future memories as his new authority figure, get it? They are the most certain thing in his life now. As much as he waited and as much as the SC tried, they don’t have any guaranteed future and it’s just too hard for the type 6, especially unhealthy Sixes, to wait. It’s impossible.

Remember I said that Sixes want to feel understood? Well, I think Eren feels understood, to some degree, when he’s among those broken soldiers. They are relatable, more than anyone else.

“Neurotic Sixes bring disaster of some sort upon themselves not to end their relationship with authority figures, but to reestablish a protective one. [...] It is also important to notice that neurotic Sixes are masochist not because they take pleasure in suffering as such, but because they hope their suffering will bring someone to their side who’ll save them… as if to say, ‘Punish me, because I’ve been bad. Then you can love me again.’”

In the mind of the unhealthy type 6, if he can’t find the answers, he can’t be there for his allies. If he fails his allies, he doesn’t deserve their support. But even when he feels he doesn’t deserve it and feels they won’t forgive him, he desperately needs it — the type 6 doesn’t know how to live without support. He is completely aware of his cowardice, he may unleash his despair in innocent people, he seeks punishment for his behavior and hopes for someone to end his pain.

“Unhealthy Sixes are self-defeating persons who are their worst enemies. If they persist in their masochist behavior, neurotic Sixes will drive away everyone on whom they depend. They will be abandoned and alone, the very things they most fear.”

Eren pushed everyone away, but deep down he waited for them to come to his rescue. He knew he was a lost cause, but still couldn’t let go of what he saw as a compromise, a duty to them. His completely cruel and extreme actions are, in enneagram terms, his way to not leave his allies adrift. But aren’t all his actions for his own freedom? I don’t think so, not entirely. There’s a reason the type 6 has been named “the loyalist” — they always, always see themselves as part of a group. And in the end, he saw himself in Ymir, someone who was trapped and waiting to be rescued, understood. Don Riso says the worst part of coming this low is how much Sixes hurt others while they hurt themselves, both because they want to harm everyone who doesn’t understand and to show people the worst in themselves; they want to punish and be punished at same the time.

That is what I wanted to break down — Eren’s inner process. Yes, the type 6 is an ambivalent, contradicting personality type, precisely because that’s how they feel inside. Other enneagram types don’t escape from their own personal conflicts, that’s also important to point out. The enneagram does not define integrity, people capable of causing great harm exist in all types and no one from type 6 is fated to destroying the world — just in case that isn’t obvious.

This post is heavy, I know. One of the things I love about SNK are the emotions it evokes and how human characters are. I’m so thankful to have followed Eren’s fascinating journey. He has never hit me as a one-dimensional character as some people claim. To me, Eren is not a chad, he’s not a monster, either. He’s just human.

I’m thankful for this fandom as well. We’re a total mess but the monthly wait would’ve killed me without the crazy theories and the heated discussions.

#snk 137 #snk 138 #snk 139 #Eren Jaeger analysis #attack on titan manga and anime #enneagram #LONG post #eren jaeger #snk analysis

58 notes · View notes

lessonsfrommadamexmas · 4 years ago

Photo

A Writing Cheat Sheet: for linking actions with emotions.

As always, click for HD.

#fanfic writing

53K notes · View notes

lessonsfrommadamexmas · 4 years ago

Photo

I was going through my folders and realized I have never drawn Ling before :O sooo here’s some messy doodles of the best boy I did this morning!!!

Also, I have finally started to read the manga :D

#ling yao

223 notes · View notes

lessonsfrommadamexmas · 4 years ago

Text

Hedge funds shorted more than 100% of all shares of gamestop, to do this that means they had to sell more shares than actually existed.

The hedge funds never actually owned these shares to begin with because they were short selling so they never actually paid for them.

Redditors saw this and decided to buy up all these shorted shares to gamestop a company that wasnt failing that the hedge funds would then be forced to buy back as they never actually owned the shares.

The beauty of this is if you knew what to look for you could’ve seen this coming too. It isn’t mystical, it isn’t magic. They made these billionaires pay back more than what they basically stole by being greedy, this is a good thing.

#shout out to the people who decided to act

93K notes · View notes

lessonsfrommadamexmas · 4 years ago

Photo

oh, and what is this, @meridianheroine? It’s also for you! A lil extra thing since it took me longer than I expected on your secret santa gift (but I also wanted to do it a lot). @fmasecretsanta2020

#royai moodboard #royai aesthetic #if anyone knows the credits to the cosplayers let me know

35 notes · View notes

lessonsfrommadamexmas · 4 years ago

Text

Spite and Temptation

Summary: Brigadier General Armstrong needs competent snipers for Fort Briggs and her eyes are set on a certain hawk. While Lieutenant Colonel Mustang knows she doesn’t stand a chance, the dispute seems too entertaining to pass. Link to AO3 (3-chapter fic).

@meridianheroine here it is! Thank you so much for your endless patience.

Chapter 2

The blonde woman’s long hair locks danced with her every hurried step under the burning sunlight. She only had a few minutes before noon and hoped to find the Hawk’s Eye at the shooting range.

The place was quiet due to it being lunch time, Olivier assumed. The young soldier at the front desk looked busier than his surroundings seemed to demand. He informed her that Hawkeye’s time was up, thus offering to take her to the shooting booth.

Olivier saw an unfazed girl whose sharp senses were traduced in her posture as she aimed and fired. Like child’s play.

— Brigadier General Olivier Armstrong — the man announced.

Hawkeye left her rifle down and stood in attention.

— Sir!

— Ease. So you’re the famous Hawk’s Eye. It is nice to meet you.

Compared to the Lieut. Colonel, her demeanor was on the opposite side of the spectrum. Hawkeye, too, had predominantly immature features, but her wide eyes and round jawline were masked by the seriousness and professionalism that reminded Oliver of herself. So far, she was meeting all expectations.

— Honored to meet you, sir. I’ve seen Major Armstrong speak very dearly of you. Coming to shoot?

— Too bad I can’t say the same about that deserter. I’ve come to speak to you, actually. I know it’s lunch time, so I’ll be brief.

— To me?

The general indicated the way out and both of them started walking.

— Briggs is recruiting and you are the perfect candidate for our sniping team. It has been decided in this morning’s meeting that your abilities are better suited for the Northern border, and I was lucky enough to have you around, so I thought I might come personally to deliver the news.

— That’s, again, an honor, sir — she replied, and although showing mild confusion, she didn’t appear to be easily impressed.

— Now, I heard you’re already aiming at a different position.

— That is true. I plan to stay here in the East.

— Under Lieutenant Colonel Mustang, isn’t it?

Judging by the sniper’s surprised look, the general concluded she might have sounded like some creepy stalker.

— We’ve talked just a while ago — she added. — He told me I might find you here, in fact. I confess I was left curious about what led to this choice. I can see right away how different the two of you are.

— I believe we do have things in common, sir. Apparently, we’ve both made a name for ourselves during the war.

— You, however, isn’t the kind to support yourself on a title, am I correct?

— I would say my deeds in Ishval are exactly what I want to be remembered for. Yet, I hope my future contributions to Amestris can surpass my performance in the War of Extermination in some way.

Hawkeye’s fleumatic humor wasn’t easy to read, despite the fact that she was trying to hide a lot less than Mustang. She was simply being herself and there was some kind of passion, or cause, behind her impassive looks which Olivier couldn’t pinpoint.

— In that case, you could stay in the shadow of an alchemist, or you could step up to a leadership role.

— That’s another thing we have in common, sir. I’m the daughter of Berthold Hawkeye. An alchemist from the region known for discovering and developing the powers of Flame Alchemy.

Armstrong couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at that intriguing statement. They had a history, then.

— The Lieut. Colonel may be laid-back, but he does his job — the sniper continued. — He mastered Flame Alchemy on his own after my father passed. A power like the one he carries must be protected, especially when it offers little defense. I am certain I’ll be serving my country by serving under the Flame Alchemist, sir. And I am certain First Sergeant Dorovan can provide you other outstanding names for Briggs.

— Very well. This brief conversation only further proved your potential. Tell me you will at least give it a thought. And perhaps seek advice from someone experienced like the First Sergeant, even though you’re a rank higher than her now.

— I wouldn’t refuse your offer so quickly. I appreciate it.

Courtesy. That was the moment Olivier realized why Mustang had been so smug.

Olivier returned to the building reflecting about what else she could do before her departure to Briggs the next day. It wasn’t as if she had to add the Hawk’s Eye to the team. Undoubtedly, General Solon was an ambitious man who strived for the best he could have, and she was no different. The Armstrong family was determined, hardworking and always ready to reach their goals. Those were values passed down their line from generations! Thus, if her mission was to gather the most competent soldiers to Briggs, she would do her part.

— Brigadier General, sir. How did it go?

Not again.

— What a tiny place the Eastern headquarters is, that we keep crossing paths... — she mentioned, allowing suspicion to fill her voice, but didn’t wait for a reply. — I managed to talk to her. Thanks.

— That’s great, sir — he replied, but his eyes were shining to gather further information.

— Who wouldn’t want a sharp soldier working for them, isn’t that right, Lieut. Colonel? Sometimes a good team takes us further than our own individual efforts.

— Our efforts start with good choices, indeed, sir.

— However, you should be able to let go of an officer more needed in a different position.

— General Armstrong, sir. I would never stay in Hawkeye’s way. Especially when there are several aspiring soldiers seeking to work under the Flame Alchemist. However, not every man is eager to climb the ladder like you and I. I’m afraid all I can do is advise her to consider if I see her around.

If he was shaking behind that confidence, she wouldn’t know, but Olivier was more aware of their strong bond by the second. From childhood friends to war comrades wasn’t something to underestimate.

— I wouldn’t ask nothing else. Till next time, Mustang.

— Sir. Have a safe trip back.

As she continued to walk by the endless hallways of the headquarters, the future ruler of Briggs settled for playing with the cards she had. She wouldn’t say Riza Hawkeye was devoid of ambition, in fact, the officer knew exactly what she wanted and, although reserved, her loyalty to her father and admiration for the Flame Alchemist showed. Olivier could hardly fight that, but she could take advantage of it, in order to at least deliver the hawk to Solon.

Well, it wouldn’t hurt to spend the rest of her free time trying to coincidently stumble across her target.

That might have been a mistake. She would have preferred to have lunch on a quieter time, instead, decided to try her luck and search for Hawkeye there. In the crowded cafeteria. Olivier had been the smallest of the family for the majority of her life, but never the most subtle one. That short trip was revealing itself more demanding than she expected and the meeting had been the easiest part so far.

She stretched her neck and started to look around discreetly for a blonde soldier with short hair and prominent bang while waiting in line. The two men beside her seemed to notice, but as long as she wasn’t spotted first by the Warrant Officer, she didn’t care. The general turned her attention to all the food on her track. It was time to move to a table and no sign of Hawkeye around.

She took a few steps towards the wall, behind a group of soldiers chatting with their empty tracks in hand, and continued her search. Soon, she spotted a table on the corner where the Warrant Officer ate by herself. All she had to do was walk a straight line and…

— Oh, Warrant Officer. I see you’re almost done, can I sit here?

The woman returned her fork and knife to the plate and replied:

— Sir, of course — Couldn’t find who you were looking for?

Awkward.

— Yeah, you saw me? — she asked casually while taking a sit across from her and placing her track on the table. — At least this table is free in case he still shows up. And you? Giving my proposal any thought?

— I said I would, sir. However, please, don’t keep your hopes up.

Despite all respect Olivier had gathered for Hawkeye, the woman’s stillness was starting to get to her nerves. She needed to shake her up and see what was in there.

— Hawkeye, I believe you aren’t seeing this opportunity for what it is.

— What do you mean, sir?

— Perhaps you see it purely in terms of getting a position, but there’s a lot more you can gain from trying. The North is out of your comfort zone. Nothing like boot camp or the desert night cold, just another kind of challenge. It is for the few and that’s why we go through a period of adaptation, but I don’t think that scares you.

— Some training process?

Finally, there was a sparkle of curiosity in her eyes.

— It could be seen that way. Practical tests to evaluate who’s physically ready for Briggs. I don’t simply bring people to the fort, Hawkeye. I prepare them so that, wherever they go in the future, they’re better. Grab this chance — the general said gazing at her with purpose — and only then decide if you’ll wave it off.

Olivier Armstrong was now betting on the extent of Riza Hawkeye’s loyalty.

[read chapter 3 on AO3]

#Olivier Mira Armstrong #Roy Mustang #riza hawkeye #royai

10 notes · View notes

lessonsfrommadamexmas · 4 years ago

Photo

Angreeee dad from @liathgray ‘s Blackwell Springs

Other Blackwell Art [Part 9], [Part 10]

Alt. Version:

Keep reading

#roy mustang

394 notes · View notes

lessonsfrommadamexmas · 4 years ago

Photo

I just want Roy and Riza to slow dance one time! at least one time!

#royai

1K notes · View notes

lessonsfrommadamexmas · 4 years ago

Note

How do i write realistic child charecters?

The number one problem that occurs with child characters is the writer clearly not knowing how children develop. I know that not everyone has actual experience working with children, but that’s not excuse for not doing a little research or asking a writing blog! ;)

When a writer doesn’t know anything about a child character’s age group, it shows. Painfully. More often than not, I see children who are written way below their age level- eleven-year-olds who act like five-year-olds, and so on.

So, the first thing you want to do is…

1. Your research. Try and get a general idea of what kind of vocabulary children have at that age, or what kind of emotional development they have. Usually, children are smarter than people tend to think. A two-year-old acts very differently than a five-year-old, which acts very differently than a ten-year-old.

Stages of Development

Piaget’s Cognitive Stages

Show and Tell: How Write Realistic Child Characters

2. Experience≠ Intelligence: One thing that people often assume- even unconsciously- is that children are not that smart. But what you have to remember is that children start off as blank slates who don’t know anything about this world, and that each is learning to navigate this strange new world at difference paces. Just because a child is staring blankly or standing quietly doesn’t mean they’re not thinking. Even if something that they do not understand is happening around them, their gears are constantly moving, trying to figure it all out.

When a child does something that you think is “stupid”, they are actually just interacting with their unfamiliar world, often in one of a few ways:

Mimicry: Children look to grown-ups as examples- listening in on how you talk and learning some new vocabulary, or looking to you and your reaction when a new situation arises and they are not sure how to handle it. Even when you don’t realize it, they are learning behaviors from you and will sometimes try to imitate them. (That’s why there is so much importance in ‘setting a good example’ for younger people.)

Trial and Error: This is a especially common in younger children, like toddlers or even babies. In a brand new world, anything is fair game to try. We as grown-ups know that you should not hit the cat just because you want it to move. Toddlers don’t, and so, they might try to hit the cat, and the cat will scratch them, and thus they have learned “don’t hit the cat.”

3. Dialogue: One of the most obvious characters you might see in a child character is their manner of speaking. Language is complicated, and it takes children years to figure it out. Grammar is complicated. We can go our whole lives without ever mastering it.

The development of language is going to be a key indicator to the reader for the approximate age of the character. In any case, stereotypical baby talk gets on the nerves.

You’re going to want to look at your child development for language development for ages, but more than anything, try to listen to children talk. There are plenty of videos on the internet that you can use.

Common traits in the way kids talk:

Speed: Kids tend to have a lot of run-on sentences, especially when they are excited.

Mixing up pronouns: This is particularly common kids aged 2-5. The most common type I’ve seen is the mix up words like “his” and “him”- for example, a child might say “it’s him car” instead of “it’s his car”

Backtracking: Children will often get ahead of themselves when talking- meaning, speaking faster than they can think. There is a lot of “oh wait” and “oh yeah” especially when telling a story.

Repetition: Fairly self-explanatory. Children will often say the same thing over and over.

Statements: Children tend to state the obvious, oftentimes things that adults wouldn’t bother to say.

Vocabulary: As mentioned, children tend to mimic things that they see and hear. Sometimes they will use a word even when they don’t know what they mean exactly.

Sense of Time: Again, this is particularly younger children. Toddlers will often begin stories that happened months ago with “yesterday”, just because they don’t have a real concept of time.

4. Personality: Remember, children are not another species of beings. They are people, and individuals, and each one is unique. They are going to behave differently.

Nature: Think of your child’s innate personality. Are they quiet? Outgoing? Observant? Imaginative? People change with their experiences, but you can still see who they are as individuals even looking back.

Nurture: Think about the environment in which your character lives or is growing up, and how it affects them. For example, children who are rarely separated from the their parents when they are young tend to be more wary and dependent.

Mainly, get familiar with have children think, speak, move, and behave. If you have a question about a particular behavior for a child, you can always feel free t ask as well, and I’ll see what I can answer!

~Penemue

#fanfic writing

760 notes · View notes