#i do not thrive in a hypercompetative environment

[rodatirhaalo]

Man... I've been really wanting to get back into martial arts classes to help fight off The Depression, but it seems that covid really did kill them all off in my area... :(

[armsdealing]

Samuel + long list of hcs underneath

1. How do they move and carry themselves? Pace, rhythm, gestures, energy?

When it comes to the character of Samuel’s movements, subtle comes first to mind, followed by casual and inconspicuous. Though fairly tall and fit, Samuel has a gift for being unnoticeable if that’s what he wants to be. The key lies in his wardrobe and overall manner. He doesn’t occupy more space than he has to and gracefully navigates crowded spaces without so much as bumping into anyone for more seconds than it is necessary. He’s nimble and very economic about his gestures, moving at a medium pace and with a regular beat that won’t waver unless it has to. Never too fast nor too slow, always matching the flow of the current to a tee. Usually, his hands will be inside his jacket’s pockets, or his jeans, and he’ll keep his stance upright or slightly hunched. Everything he does, and the way he does it, is on purpose; such is the way he was raised.

3. How do they position themselves in a group? Do they like to be the center of attention, or do they hang back at the edges of a crowd?

Depends on the group, I suppose. Depends on the crowd. In terms of attention, though he doesn’t make great efforts to get it, he tends to draw it through his personality alone. He commands a very good presence when things get down to it. He’ll stand back and won’t ever try to be the center of attention, but he’ll try to forge himself a position of understated, yet solid influence – though he can be a very good leader, he’s much used to being a hypercompetent lancer, or rather, quietly puppeteering people and events at a distance.

7. How do they physically engage with other people, inanimate objects, and their environment? What causes the differences between these?

Sam tends not to have many physical boundaries with the people he likes – in fact, he’ll often invade friends’ personal space just because he can do it (in the cases where he can do it, at least). He’s affectionate, type of guy to put his arm over your shoulders or kiss your cheek while grinning. This also applies to their things – he’ll touch and nose his way around almost obnoxiously. He was made to develop great situational awareness, so he’s also very observant, and can take in a lot information just by sight, but again, sometimes he’ll touch just because he wants to get a rise out of you. Sometimes it’s just playful, sometimes it takes a more commanding edge. He’s intimately familiar with power dynamics and exercises them in small doses almost always, innately.

9. How do they manifest energy, exhaustion, tension, or other strong emotions?

He doesn’t. He never shows anything strong on his face in front of anyone unless it is somehow useful. Overall, you could tell him earth-shattering information and his true feelings about it would never once surface. He’ll keep his current ruse going, and make you buy it, ever so cool-headed and collected. It’s only in private – or around someone he really, really trusts – that he showcases these emotions if he really must.

12. How are they bodily expressive? How do they use nonverbal cues such as their posture, stance, eyes, eyebrows, mouths, and hands?

The same things that can be said about his movements can be said about his manner. Everything is there for a reason – every smile, frown, glare and nervous tic displayed. He’s pretty cheerful, so grins and smiles and bright eyed enthusiasm is what people usually get, but other than that, he uses his body language as a tool almost as much as he does his words, whether it is to make someone else lower their guards, persuade them, dominate them, or entertain them.

14. What do they care deeply about? What kind of loyalties, commitments, moral codes, life philosophies, passions, callings, or spirituality and faith do they have? How do these tend to be expressed?

The only true loyalty he holds is toward his family and the purpose he was given by them. He doesn’t hold any faith, morals, commitments toward anything else. He has a personal passion toward knowledge and learning, but that’s about it. To a lesser extent, he’ll be loyal to people he considers friends, but friends are better off considering him a bit of a wildcard in that regard.

17. Are they more shaped by nature or nurture — who they are, or what has happened to them? How have these shaped who they’ve become as a person?

He’s shaped by circumstance for the greater part – the people he was born to, the “craft” he was raised into, and the role he was given – but you could argue certain things were already in his blood, the way it’s always been in his family’s blood. Both nature and nurture are deeply entrenched with each other when it comes to Samuel, being raised in a criminally inclined family who also happens very particular about the way they go about life. Definitely, take this background away from Samuel and he might turn out a similar person, but many key roles about his character would be absent. He’d call this Samuel a “PG-rated, family friendly version.”

18. What kind of person could they become in the future? What are some developmental paths that they could take, (best, worst, most likely?) what would cause them to come to pass, and what consequences might they have? What paths would you especially like to see, and why?

He’ll succeed his father as the leader of the Hada Hnizdo, the criminal organization his family built, and assume the functions Leander Kovac currently has. There are no other options – this is the design that was laid out for him from the very start, and the one he has to follow. As it stands, he’s already a lot like Leander, but somewhat more casual. He’ll just grow into having more responsibilities than he already does.  

21. What kind of relationships do they tend to intentionally seek out versus actually cultivate? What kind of social contact do they prefer, and why?

He doesn’t tend to get close to anyone, so “intentionally seeking out” relationships is out of the question. He’s a friendly guy, but he’s aware that at any given moment he might have to kill you for whatever reason, so attachments aren’t really developed on his part, at least not to the point they can be considered an impediment. When it comes to Hour Zero, they’re pretty much the closest thing to steady companions as it gets. His relationships otherwise tend to be incidental or prestablished, with little room for in-between or Other, and unless he has to befriend you for whatever ulterior motive, he keeps his treatment of others polite, perhaps even playful sometimes, but always distant. Friendship with him, when it does happen, is odd to say the least.

25. What do they need and want out of relationships, and how do they go about getting it?

He needs nothing besides for you to be competent enough not to get yourself killed. For this, he needs you to be able to navigate his world as fluently as possible. It helps if you also are impressively smart, attractive and are a good lay, but he’s not picky.

As for the relationship itself, well, the good lay aspect is probably one of the first things he tests out. When it comes to the rest, he’s not emotionally demanding (would be rather hypocritical, because emotionally he’s not very giving) and highly self-sufficient, and relationships are built more out of convenience and him enjoying your company than actual feelings. At least, at first.

36. How much do they rely on their minds and intellect, versus other approaches like relying on instinct, intuition, faith and spirituality, or emotions? What is their opinion on this?

I’d say it’s about a 60-40 split, with more mind than instinct. However, in order to deal with people effectively, you have to be intuitive, because there’s no intruction manual for every situation that can present themselves. So he’ll use instinct and support it with rational thought.

37. Have they had any special education or training that colors their means of learning about or understanding the world? Conversely, do they lack some kind of education considered essential in their world? What kind of impact has this addition or lack had on them?

Just about all of his education can be considered special education, really. In fact, it’s one of the key elements of his character – homeschooled with tutors handpicked by Leander and Sam’s “godfather”, Ivan Klaus, and trained by the two men as well. An auto-didactic approach was emphasized. A cutthroat and amoral view of the world was made the norm. He was taught and given every piece of knowledge and skill necessary for him to function and thrive successfully in the world, or at least the brand of world he’s a part of. There’s not a glaring thing he lacks.

41. What associations do they bring to mind? Words or phrases, images, metaphors or motifs?

Glitches, code, scorpions, chocolate milkshakes, dark streets, rainy nights, spiders, electrical circuitry, cameras, passports, ocelots. Those are the things that first come to mind.