#sortinghatchats

[wisteria-lodge]

Have you sorted Dumbledore before? He seems like a great candidate for this framework, especially with how divisive he is and with how much about him is open to interpretation. I really love your thoughts on this!

I think he's a Snake Bird, like Voldemort.

Albus has a pretty clear Bird secondary. He loves collecting (trinkets, artifacts, interesting memories.) His first step when fighting Voldemort is doing a big research deep-dive into his past. He loves a complex multi-step plan - the chain of events caused by the specific wording in his will is probably the clearest example of that. Voldemort once describes him as "omniscient" and that is the goal - Albus wants all the information, all the time. He also loves his Wacky!Dumbledore persona. It's fun, and it's great for throwing off suspicion. Very Actor Bird of him.

I do think his confrontation with Barty Junior at the end of Book 4 is interesting, because that's the most *pissed* and out-of-control we ever see him. There, the energy is very kick-down-the-door Lion secondary. Burst in with his guys at his back, stun him, physically kick him over, and give Barty Veritaserum so he tells you everything. (And then lose track of him in the aftermath, resulting in him getting Kissed.) I think a Snake secondary could have finessed that a little better. Maybe come at him a little softer, used Legilimency, gotten more info out of him, used him as a hostage... but Dumbledore is a Bird secondary who was missing a MASSIVE piece of information, he needed time to re-calibrate. Bird secondaries who have been very wrong-footed or are put in very unfamiliar situations often start looking like Lions.

In terms of Primary... I think he's a very, VERY Burned Snake who models "For the Greater Good" Bird because it doesn't feel safe to trust people (and 'people' does include himself.) Like he'll talk a good game, but when it comes down to it:

"What did I care if numbers of nameless and faceless people and creatures were slaughtered in the vague future, if in the here and now you [Harry] were alive, and well, and happy?"

The thing with Grindelwald hit him with the intensity of a Snake just really connecting with a Person for the very first time. Because like... young Albus just didn't have any connections like that. Elphias Doge worshiped him - which isn't an equal relationship. Ariana preferred Aberforth, his mother was entirely focused on Ariana, his dad was in prison. And Aberforth... is important, and I think Albus actually really did want and continues to want his "rough, unlettered, infinitely more admirable" brother's approval. But at that point, Aberforth thinks that Albus is a selfish, irresponsible jerk.

But then Grindelwald betrays Albus, which shatters him for a while. Grindelwald's running around Europe, Albus is hiding at Hogwarts because he's too Burnt to do anything else. He fundamentally does not trust himself anymore, he doesn't trust the instincts of his Snake primary. I'm not sure he ever does again, until maybe Harry. Albus thinks he's right about Snape, but he doesn't know, which is why he likes that visual check-in that Snape's Patronus provides. Albus starts modeling Bird primary, hard, because it hurts a lot less to live in that space.

But like he can't cut that Snake primary out of him completely. It's too core to who he is, he'll die. The Drink of Despair (and the Mirror of Erised) takes him right back to his People. He needs these connections, but those connections don't feel safe. Enter Hagrid, clearly very important to Albus - despite being not especially useful and often kind of a liability. But what he IS is someone very Aberforth coded... who will never leave or betray him. (Because Albus has just so much power over him.) I've written about Dumbledore's habit of collecting strays before, but I think it's a Burnt/Exploded Snake thing. He wants connection, but also sees connection as dangerous, so this is his (subconscious) solution.

Generally, when Albus does dumb things, it's for Snake reasons. Putting on the Resurrection Stone? Trying to talk down Draco when he should have just stunned him (and died Master of the Elder Wand?) In that moment Draco is one of his students (who he IS loyal to.) But he's also kind of Aberforth - totally outclassed, shouldn't be here at all, just trying to protect his family.

The house-matching helps explain why Dumbledore and Voldemort just... get under each other's skin to the extent that they do. They have a very emotionally charged relationship, considering that they prefer to keep each other at a distance and only interact through proxies. Albus has a deep distrust of Tom from the word go, even when Tom hasn't actually done much apart from be a creepy ten-year-old. (Tom probably reminded him of Grindelwald ngl. Or himself.) Albus has his collection of Voldemort's most important memories, and Voldemort is uniquely afraid of him. Diary!Tom frames the Basilisk vs Phoenix battle as a conflict between himself and *Dumbledore.* Like these two are wrapped up in each other, and I think it's because they're actually very alike.

[the-phoenix-heart]

Sorting Hat Chats - The Malfoys

Since the Malfoys have been a bit of a hot topic lately, I decided to give them their sorting post similar to what I did with the Weasleys...3 years ago??? Where does the time go??

Anyway, this is an explanation of the system I am using by @wisteria-lodge.

LUCIUS MALFOY is blatantly a Badger secondary. His methods are to make donations to people, goad Arthur Weasley into a fight so he can slip Ginny the diary, he uses blackmail against the other members of the Board of Governors, calling in favors, and when in the hall of prophecies with Harry and his gang his strategy is to talk him into giving the prophecy over. It's what makes him so effective in the first five books, but is also why once everyone knows the truth about him he is in a constant state of free fall.

As for his primary, I think it's fairly obvious that he's a Snake. He can look like a Badger, dehumanizing muggleborns and joining the Death Eaters, but that's a performance. When the chips are down, what Lucius really cares about himself, his wife, and his son. Snake Lucius is willing to get rid of every association to the Death Eaters he had, and in the Second Wizarding War is not enjoying himself at ALL. He's also clearly got that Snake hedonism to him.

NARCISSA MALFOY née BLACK is an equally blatant Snake primary, although she doesn't appear to even play the part of a Badger. Everything to her is her son and her husband (and her husband takes a backseat to her son usually). Narcissa doesn't even appear to like Bellatrix all that much anymore since Bella is a threat to her family. Down to the end her motivation is always to keep Draco safe, damn the consequences.

As for her secondary, since she's such a minor character you can probably make an argument for any of them. But I personally think she's a Snake secondary, making her a Double Snake. This is a woman who lies to Voldemort's face and doesn't get caught. Who is willing to go behind his back and make back-alley deals with someone like Snape.

I've sorted DRACO MALFOY once before with @awinterrain which you can read right here, but I would like to reiterate it and expand on it.

Draco may be the epitome of Slytherin in the books, and he may hate Hufflepuffs and think of them as "duffers," but this boy is Double Badger down to his bones. This is a boy who cares deeply about communities. He defines himself by them, first as a Malfoy, then as a Slytherin, then as a Seeker on the quidditch team, then as part of the Inquisitorial Squad, then as a death eater (which he doesn't care for). I think at the beginning of the series he's a good case for an Immature Badger primary, where he just IS the group he's into and nothing outside of this.

His Badger primary can look very insular and Snake-like, partially because pureblood culture alienates everyone outside of it, and partially because his family is so Snakey that it colors the look of his Badger primary. Idk if I would even call it a performance or a model, it's more like a flavor.

But he does start to look like a Snake primary in his Sixth Year, where he's single-mindedly focused on saving his family. That's because in Sixth Year he burns after joining the Death Eaters. And it's honestly really sad, but it's because Draco has realized his communities are toxic and not good for him. The Death Eaters aren't good, they're the reason his father is in prison and his mother is in danger. This is the year where he really stops engaging with his peers and is sort of just coasting on his former reputation.

But that Badger shine is still there, and it's in the fact that Draco Malfoy has to kill Dumbledore and cannot do it. A true Snake Draco Malfoy would probably have gone through with it, even if it he felt bad about it. Badger Draco, who spent books 1-5 shit talking Dumbledore at any opportunity, cannot do it. I think it's because 1. He isn't ready for casual murder, and 2. I think Dumbledore for Draco represents one more community that he identifies with-Hogwarts. And clearly he does care about Hogwarts (I don't think the Room of Requirement would reveal itself to him if he did).

As for his secondary, Draco is his father in miniature. Draco is a tattle tail, he has bodyguards that follow him around, he usually goads Harry into confrontations so Harry gets into trouble and Draco can have plausible deniability. What's most interesting to me though is Draco's proclivity for elaborate smear campaigns. The "Potter Stinks" badges are HIS work as is the "Weasley is Our King" song, which is very...mean badgery. Like this is his community building with Slytherin (arguably all of Hogwarts with the badges), and using his powers to bully Harry. It's funny, despite everything. He does perform Snake though, to make everything look quicker or look like his mother.

Even his methods when he has to kill Dumbledore are Badger powered. Working on the Vanishing Cabinet all year, poisoning Professor Slughorn's mead he intended to give Dumbledore, and charming Rosmerta to imperious Katie Bell. But, he still has that influence from his mom where he can lie to someone's face (though not as convincingly).

I think Draco looks at his father's Badger performance, and thus thinks they house match. And it explains why he is so wary of his father after the Death Eater reveal, since Draco has realized he does not enjoy that sort of Badger primary.

As a bonus I decided to sort BELLATRIX LESTRANGE née BLACK as well. Since for some reason the movies always advertised her as part of the Malfoys. No doubt about it she is a Lion secondary. I don't think Bellatrix has every learned the meaning of the word subtle. She never lies in the series, just blasts the truth out whenever, and is always an attack first think never character.

As for her primary, can she be anything other than exploded snake primary? Her everything is Voldemort. She doesn't really care for anyone outside of him, with the exception of Narcissa, who stopped liking Bellatrix when she became a danger to her son. I think at one point she had a Badger performance or model that allowed her to willingly marry someone like Rodolphus who she doesn't appear to like, but by the time she's going to Azkaban she doesn't care. It's honestly such a Black Family sorting. Sirius was a Snake Lion as well, and the culture of the "Noble and Most Ancient House of Black" seems to just be Snake coded in general.

So...

Lucius Malfoy - Snake primary, Badger performance/Badger secondary

Narcissa Malfoy nee Black - Snake primary/Snake secondary

Draco Malfoy - Badger primary, Immature at the start, burns in his Sixth Year, has a Snake performance or flavor/Badger secondary, Snake performance

Bonus:

Bellatrix Lestrange nee Black - Exploded Snake primary, Badger performance/model long discarded/Lion secondary

Sirius Black - Snake primary/Lion secondary

[coyfish73]

I JUST got into Sorting Hat Chats last week and I’ve been down the rabbit hole since. Guys I’m literal years late to the party is anyone still here… 💔

[alix-in-july]

I absolutely love Snake primary characters but it honestly rubs me the wrong way when *all* the women in a work of fiction are Snakes. It often ends up with them just serving as the men's love interests and not having their own compelling storyline. Or with their storyline essentially coming to an end as soon as they get together with a guy because now they're the mom/wife/etc character and relegated to the background.

[liltalle]

Sorting The Stormlight Archive - Sorting Hat Chats

Here's a long overdue sorting of (some of) these amazing characters, now that I just finished Wind and Truth. A short explanation of this system can be found here. (Spoilers below the cut)

Kaladin Stormblessed - Badger Lion. Omg, our poor Windrunner. Kaladin has a textbook Badger Primary arc: He starts out burned, he's tried to protect everyone around him, he can't help himself, but he's failed so many times that it's destroyed him, and... he can hardly muster the will to live without being able to protect anyone. His moment at Honor Chasm is when he starts to unBurn, when he tries again for Bridge Four. He succeeds, then needs to learn what to do with himself when his people aren't in constant danger. He learns how to expand his circle of care in Book 3, to accept his limits in Book 4, and to take care of himself in Book 5. But he doesn't become a Snake at the end, he asserts that protection can still be important to him, and he can choose to sacrifice himself if he wants to, it's just his choice, for himself, and it's not all he is. Beautiful end to his Part 1 arc, even to a Snake like me. (The Windrunners as a whole are very Badger Pri-coded, down to threatening innocents being an easy way to distract them. Lirin is a Bird Pri who tries to pass on his dispassionate morality, but Kal can't stop seeing people as people. Hesina seems like a Snake secondary.) As for that Lion secondary, boi. Charging into the dueling pit, "I'll see what I can do". Abandoning the plan to go back for Dalinar's army. Going after Helaran. This tragic impulsive meow meow, he's so dangerous and powerful, but again a Badger sec like me has to shake her head.

Shallan Davar - Snake Badger. A central part of Shallan's childhood was her protecting her brothers via warmth and kindness (and thoughtful gifts). She goes after Jasnah for them, and hesitates about stealing after becoming attached to her teacher. Keeping her brothers remains a priority for her throughout the story, even when they're in the background. Shallan's deeply guilty about the people she's killed, but they're all people she knew (her mentors, as WaT draws the pattern). She's drawn to the Ghostbloods' promises of power and secrets. And when she's cut off from the Physical Realm at the end, her husband seems to be her most pressing concern (and she lets go of her conflict with the Ghostbloods very easily). Secondary-wise, she devises a cunning multi-step (if naive) plan in Book 1. When Jasnah rejects her, she doubles down again and again, gets all the books, and tries an emotionally open appeal that nonetheless is shaped to what Jasnah is looking for (textbook Badger Sec mirroring). She's deeply persistent with her art, and her drawing more hopeful depictions of who people might be also feels very Badger to me, mirroring people in a biased way that you want them to see themselves. When she wants to learn a new skill, she becomes a new persona that embodies that skill, and loses herself in Veil somewhat (a relatable problem). (She house-matches me, so predictably is in my favorites, along with Jasnah and Navani.)

Dalinar Kholin - Bird Lion. The motherfucking Blackthorn (thus said Elhokar). Dalinar does the Bird Pri thing where he sees updating his moral system as kinda making him a new person. He's obsessed with the Codes and honor and propriety. Oathbringer is all about his system shattering and being remade. Any guy who writes a tell-all manifesto about his new philosophy of how God is dead and also he burned his wife alive is probably a Bird Lion (He's got the Lion sec is common with Hamilton). And that Lion secondary, do I need to explain? It's a meme in-universe. He kicks Elhokar across the room, he smashes through everything, he's frequently thinking about how he's a soldier and he solves everything directly and he needs to be more subtle and thoughtful but is bad at it. He wants to act with what he thinks is right, and has a very hard time waiting for other people.

Adolin Kholin - Double Badger. This ball of sunshine. Adolin Kholin's superpower is remembering everyone's name and being so relatable and kind he inspires people. He's so respectful to his sword that she comes back to life. He can get Kaladin out of his depression. He's concerned with authority and what his father thinks of him, Badger Primary. When Maya calls him a slut, he says that he ought to consider his options thoroughly, which is a hilariously Badger Sec way of looking at dating. His distinction between a promise and an oath feels like a gentler, more humanized, less rigid variation on what his father taught him, Badger following Bird. He makes time for everyone, but when he feels he isn't good enough for others' expectations, when he can't protect people (Kholinar), his self-worth, which seems so good because he's so bright and shiny, collapses. Glad he has the Unoathed with him now.

Jasnah Kholin - Double Bird. Jasnah's rather self-consciously defined by her philosophy. She seeks the greatest good. She's a Veristitalian. She's a heretic. (She spends time with the apocalypse approaching to spar with ardents about religion.) She takes her inference that the world is in danger and builds her life around it even though no one believes her. Her midnight stroll with Shallan is all about taking abstract ethical philosophy viscerally seriously. And her methods are all about her tools: her research, finding the right books, analyzing every new experience with a scholarly perspective. If only she had the right evidence, she could surely convince everyone. She doesn't declare like a Lion Sec, or community-build like a Badger, or dance like a Snake. She has connections with assassins in her back pocket just in case. She's got that Double Bird detachment/self-definition. Taravangian's takedown of her in Book 5 broke her system, which leaves her devastated, and I'm so interested to see how she rebuilds. I don't think there's another Primary underneath, I think she just needs to rethink her priorities, but something Burnt under a Bird model is possible.

Szeth-son-Neturo - Double Bird/Bird Badger. Szeth's obsessive question growing up is "how do I know what's right?" He wants rules, clarity, something infallible. And he has maybe the deepest conviction and durability of any Bird Primary I've seen, it's breathtaking. His "I'm Truthless" system endures through hell, he does not break for any of his horrific trauma, he only breaks when Kaladin presents information that contradicts what he believes. His arc in Book 5 is updating his system more kind to himself, and in swearing the Fifth Ideal he recognizes himself as the author of his own system. His secondary is a thorough mastery of his tools, which could point to either of the Built Secondaries. He does not have the Courtier Badger skillset, but I could see his neurodivergent social difficulties manifesting as a Bird model over unstoppable Badger toiling. He mentions casually his mastery of a barehanded martial art, which feels like a Bird tool, but the way he makes himself into a weapon, the self-abnegation... His survival despite all he's been through fits with the ability of both of these sortings to stand alone.

And those are the characters I'm confident about off the top of my head. Obviously, there are so many more. I'm particularly curious about Navani (my gorgeous engineer), Syl, Eshonai, Raboniel... Maybe I'll reblog with more when I've thought more, or one of you is welcome to add your own or contest what I've got.

[collegetennisoriginstory]

Rayyan to me is a Double Lion. They have a Lion Primary- they listen to their intuition, have a clear sense of right and wrong and their Cause is becoming a professional tennis player. They’re the type of Lion Primary who is adamant about their Cause and as a fellow Lion Primary that’s kind of sexy of them to me. They’re also a Lion Secondary-they are themself and hate to lie, they charge and take things head on.

Tobin on the other hand screams Badger Primary- they care about the community of Cargill and it’s also shown through how they handle Felix. Badger Primaries have a fascinating thing known as “dehumanising” they simply do not view that person as a person anymore (usually when a Badger’s close one hurts them they deal with that by cutting them off, while a Snake Primary wouldn’t struggle with that unless they’re part of their inner circle. Think of it like cutting off a limb and cauterising it to stop the bleeding.) Tobin cares about everyone not just their close ones and that’s shown through their actions. They are a Snake Secondary- adaptive and fluid, improvising when they need to. Their playing style was described as “fluid” and that solidified it for me. 

G seems to be an immature Snake Primary- hedonistic, live in the moment, still trying to find their people, while also being burnt- somehow they are hurt and have burned as a result (they take of themself first and foremost) they however are a Bird Secondary- drawing upon prior knowledge and using their tools in situations.

Sam is a Snake Primary whose Important Person is MC and that melts my heart. They care about MC & Robin and their family. They take to Cargill- not because they’re community but because they’re MC’speople- and have a Badger Secondary of hard work and drawing upon the community for help. Amusingly enough Snake Badger’s are known as the Love Interest sorting which explains why so many people love them.

I hope you liked my theories and sorry for rambling haha😅

OK I don't know if you guys know but I LOVE personality theory in all shapes and forms, so literally when I got this ask I showed it to my gf and she immediately snorted and said I met my soulmate. So, thank you for that.

Long post below.

For folks who are wondering what the hell we're on about, here's a link to the sortinghatchats Tumblr page. Just so we get things out of the way: I absolutely detest J.K. Rowling and her TERF bullshit. Don't Stan for that, and that explains the use of lion/badger/snake/bird.

Anyway, agreed with Rayyan being lion primary—I was struggling with figuring out whether or not they seemed more snake primary or lion primary (because I also do see them protecting their crew to the ends of the earth e.g. their family, their cat, MC if they eventually make their way there...) but I do think that it ultimately makes more sense that they're people who wouldn't sacrifice their ideals/what they think is right.

As for Rayyan being lion secondary, that part is irrefutable. Like what you said:

they charge and take things head on

I think your Tobin typing is spot on, so I won't go into too much there except this:

Tobin cares about everyone not just their close ones and that’s shown through their actions.

and

adaptive and fluid, improvising when they need to. Their playing style was described as “fluid”

are absolutely right. I think Badger-snake combinations really explain Tobin's ability to mov through life with the ease and looseness/ quiet confidence and warmth/kindheartedness that Tobin embodies.

For G, I actually read them more as bird primary than bird secondary, mostly because I think ultimately, G's more concerned with coming up with a framework/system through which they understand the world / life / make decisions, but they're constantly adjusting / adding to that system or framework. Contradictions make them want to tinker and probe, and they're most at ease when things make sense.

I could see bird primary with either snake secondary for G (they wear many different skins) or bird secondary.

For Sam, I think you hit the nail on the head with

Sam is a Snake Primary whose Important Person is MC

and

Badger Secondary of hard work and drawing upon the community for help.

Absolutely adorable. I think that combination might be so popular for love-interests because it's probably the most endearing ride-or-die bestie combination to exist.

[writingonesdreams]

Sortinghatschats Masterlist

Sortinghatchats (character analysis):

Personal top 5 sexy sortings

The bold type (tv show)

Bungou stray dogs (anime)

Uprooted (book)

Hanako-kun (anime)

2 Guns (movie)

Akatsuki no yona (manga)

Naruto (manga)

When heroes fly (tv show)

Suits (tv show)

Mononogatari: Malevolent spirits (anime)

Itaewon class (kdrama)

Doctor Slump (kdrama)

[missbrunettebarbie]

Gotham Knights SHC Archetypes

Inspired by this and this

[chirpchirplol]

judas from jesus christ superstar as a bird/snake?

another villain that I really am moved by is judas from jesus christ superstar. as I get older he is rocketing up the list of characters I would want to play on stage if I miraculously got the chance. I don't love the fact that a character I relate to is the fictional version of a guy who is like generationally evil, but so it goes. although unlike some of the other musical theater villains I sympathize with (carlotta, most people in chicago), in jesus christ superstar you're supposed to find judas sympathetic to some extent. but his character arc just HITS for me, and also hits for me in a way slightly different from other tragic characters' arcs, and this is me trying to figure out why

feel pretty comfortable saying judas (from here on when I say judas I mean the musical character and not the actual guy) is a snake secondary, he does have pissy outbursts about his actual opinions at people constantly, but his go-to strategy when making the most important decision of his life is to try to butter up the officials and priests and engage in a little "we're not so different you and I, we're a team." the first verse of "jesus christ superstar" is all about "see, THIS is how you present yourself to get people to listen to you." and also, I mean, he's judas, what else would he be.

primary is more interesting. so judas is all but locked into being one of the idealists because the historical judas very much did betray jesus, that was a pretty significant thing that happened. and then the musical extends that into betraying his friend for a cause, not just because he's a giant dick (though in the musical he is still kind of a giant dick). like he goes around saying stuff like "you've begun to matter more than the things you say," "our ideals die around us, and all because of you," he is really annoying about it and is always being told to stfu lol

as for bird/lion, well, his first words are "my mind is clearer now," close to his last words are "my mind is in darkness." not his heart, his conscience, whatever, his ability to make an argument for himself. basically every single song he has is him desperately trying to explain his actions to himself, to other people, at other people, to other people who are not present as if they will psychically hear and understand. it really MATTERS to him that they see, which he will tell you: "now if I help you, it matters that you see [cue entire song's worth of what it matters that you see]"

where the tragedy part comes in is that his motives and explanations matter to literally no one else. obviously none of it matters to the priests, they just want their intel. they don't matter to jesus - when judas starts to explain why he betrayed him, jesus flat-out says "I don't care why you do it" (understandable have a nice day), and that one line just enrages him.

and more than that they don't matter at an existential level. this isn't a les mis-style tragedy where he gets hard evidence that his worldview is bullshit but can't bring himself to accept that. ("stars" does not hit for me at all, sorry but acab includes javert). as it happens, judas's worldview actually is bullshit even if you don't bring in the actual bible story. he's got a repressed... fixation on jesus which he can't figure out and doesn't want to deal with but which is driving the bus at least a little bit. different productions play up the homoeroticism to different levels but the musical takes a guy who already is known to have platonically kissed another guy and then textually gives him a reprise of a song called "I Don't Know How to Love Him," so it's not like I'm injecting some wild reading in. and then also his reasoning gets tangled in what he wants people to hear or what he just wants to be true - every single lyric in his big explanation song, "damned for all time," is either a deliberate lie or a lie to himself.

but he never realizes that his worldview is bullshit and it's hard to imagine he could. the tragedy isn't "your whole worldview is wrong," it's "your whole worldview is useless." or, "you may have had good intentions and solid reasoning, but not only did you still do the wrong thing, you did the wrongest possible thing, and everyone knows what you did and doesn't care why. and not only that, it was literally impossible to do the right thing because you have no free will." the cassandra thing, the getting manipulated thing, the becoming irredeemable thing, the inevitability of doing harm thing, all rolled into one.

[air-in-words]

Anastasia: SortingHatChats

Hey, guys, I back now.

Anastasia time.

So, as a DISCLAIMER: THIS FILM IS A WORK OF FICTION. I highly recommend looking into the actual history behind the film if you're interested!

Here we go!

(I seem to recall there being a sorting already posted of Anastasia, but I remember disagreeing with most of it? Absolutely no offense meant to whoever originally posted it! These are just my two cents!)

ANASTASIA/ANYA

BADGER PRIMARY

Anya's entire storyline revolves around the ideas of "family," "home," and "belonging." Not just her own, personal family (which would be Snake,) not necessarily the home she remembers being born into (as far as she knows, she's an orphan,) and not only her own state of belonging. She deals in the concept of these things as though they were basic necessities: everyone should want them, and she wants them because everyone needs them in order to be whole. This is truth to her, full stop.

Anya: "Do you think you're gonna miss it?"

Dimitri: "Miss what, your talking?

Anya: "No! Russia."

Dimitri: "Nope."

Anya: "But it was your home!"

Dimitri: It was a place I once lived. End of story."

Anya: "Well, then you must plan on making Paris your true home."

Dimitri: "What is it with you and homes?!"

Anya: "Well, for one thing, it's something that every normal person wants!"

This is not a belief system, nor is it a conclusion she's come to. It's something that is such a part of her make up as a human being, that to imagine that another person doesn't care about the concept of a "true home" or "true community" is downright disturbing to her. Her desire for "home, love, family" is not her trying to seek out individuals she already knows, but to find the space she came from, filled with strangers she's never met, but who she believes will accept her through the power of community. It reads very animated Hercules, often dreaming of a far off place where a voice keeps saying, THIS is where I'm meant to be. Badger Primaries love the idea of having a secret family they've never met that will swoop in and carry them away, loving them unconditionally, when the world immediately around them has been so cruel. Lonely Badger Primaries are the perfect characters to fall in love with the idea of being long lost royalty. The main character arc Anya goes through is learning that family is not just the people who gave birth to you: Found family is not only just as powerful, but can become even moreso over time. This is the same moral the animated Hercules learns! Belonging and community is created and watered like a garden: If you keep searching for your perfect, idealized community, you might miss the one forming right before your eyes.

LION SECONDARY

It doesn't take long to pin Anya as a rather loud Lion Secondary. She is unafraid to voice her opinions, and often does so in a blunt and unashamed way. SShe absolutely DESPISES lying, and she is the first to take the easiest, most straight forward way out.

Dimitri: (trying to detach a traincar after breaking multiple tools) "COME ON, there's gotta be something in there better than this!!"

Anya: (wordlessly hands Dimitri a stick of lit dynamite)

Dimitri: "That'll work!"

What this movie actual shows is an interesting, not as often explored aspect of the Badger Lion, which is how the brash and straightforward nature of the Lion Secondary can work against the desires of the Badger Primary. Anya longs for nothing more than home and community, but often inadvertently (and not so inadvertently) alienates those around her with her cutting phrasing. It takes a more grounded, good listener like Vlad to see past Anya's brashness almost immediately, understanding the intentions behind her bravado.

Vlad: "I see an engaging and fiery young woman, who on a number of occasions has shown a regal command equal to any royal in the world!"

DIMITRI

SNAKE PRIMARY (Initially Burnt)

Dimitri's storyline is a bit deeper than many people might initially realize. What we're looking at is a Snake Primary who, at a very young age, tried to save one of their People (the Princess Anastasia, for whom he is implied to have either a childhood friendship with or just a faraway crush,) and failed, horribly. In fact, they failed to the point that they believe they are at least partially to blame for the death of that Person. That's about as deep and dark of a hole as a Snake Primary can fall into, so the Snake Primary will, naturally, Burn and find new, non-Person things to fill that void. Namely, recognition and fortune.

Dimitri: "Imagine the reward her dear old grandmama will pay!"

Of course,this could point to Glory Hound Lion, just as easily. If not for his Snake Primary sneaking in at every possible moment. The line following that one above is:

Dimitri: "Who else could pull it off but you and me?"

The "you" in question being Vlad, the only other Person Dimitri has allowed in (and by "allowed in," I always assumed got so tired of Vlad actively FORCING HIMSELF into Dimitri's life that he acquiesced and decided to just let him stay.) But, Dimitri's obsession with the Princess Anastasia continues, against all odds. His latest con? Directly Princess Anastasia related. Is it enough for the woman they hire to play her be "good enough?" NO. She has to be PERFECT. They hold AUDITIONS, and Dimitri is the perfect person to be on the board, because Dimitri still knows her intimately well, even after all these years. Such as hum recognizing Anastasia's face in Anya's right from the start. Thus, comes Dimitri's initial inner turmoil in regards to Anya: Are his feelings just projection? Is he attracted to her JUST because she looks like Anastasia? Is he ACTUALLY that obsessed? All those questions become moot when Anya is revealed to truly be Anastasia, though Dimitri finds himself where he was as a boy. From this point on in the movie, pretty much every motivation/choice Dimitri makes revolves around the fact that Anya IS Anastasia, and that he is going to give her what she wants and deserves, no matter what it takes. Even if that means keeping himself away from her romantically. His character arc revolves around forgiving himself for what he perceived as a dire mistake against one of his People, which is a ROUGH arc for a Snake to go through.

Dimitri: "Paris holds the key to her past. Yes, Princess, I've found you at last! No more pretend. You'll be gone, that's the end..."

SNAKE SECONDARY

Dimitri is actually quite a good con, all things considered. He manages to trick Anya into thinking they have train tickets when they DEFINITELY do not, and he keeps the reward under wraps for the entirety of their trip. Not just that, but dodging around obstacles instead of facing them head on is his most natural state. As a child, he is seen sneaking out of the kitchens (where be belongs) and automatically offering the servants' quarters as a means of escape, which is extremely clever and resourceful. Dimitri tries to charm and placate Anya at every turn, trying to keep her naturally explosive personality under wraps.

Anya: "The baggage car...? There wouldn't be anything wrong with our papers now, would there, maestro..?"

Dimitri: "Of course not, Your Grace! It's just that I hate to see you forced to mingle with all those commoners..."

But, we spend most of the film seeing Dimitri forced out of his comfort zone by both the situation and Anya's combative Lion Secondary, so he's often seen conspiratorially complaining to Vlad while in his Neutral State or just outright losing his temper and yelling. But, this never comes first, and his plans and plots are always somewhat circumventing. During the train derailment, his plans are to jump off, disconnect the train cars, and just wait until the train coasts to a stop. All pretty passive/out of the box thinking. When he IS shown trying to face someone head on, he is always unsuccessful: Trying to fight for Anastasia during the siege only to be immediately knocked out, trying to take on Rasputin directly and being tossed aside pretty easily. Comparatively, Anya/Anastasia is shown to be successful when she is upfront and combative: Getting away from Rasputin as a child by kicking him in the face, ultimately defeating Rasputin by straight up smashing his reliquary.

VLAD

LION PRIMARY

Vlad is a pretty classic Paragon Lion Primary. He wants to do what is Good and Right and doesn't what is Bad and Wrong. For what reason would he wind up as a con artist as a Paragon Lion, though? Even for Paragon Lions, what is Good and Right to THEM can go against what the collective believes is good and right.

Vlad: "That's what I hate about this government. Everything is in red!"

Yes, the above line is also meant to be a coded message for Dimitri, but Vlad thinks the government has overstepped his moral boundaries and has chosen to step outside the usual bounds to follow his own morals. Part of those morals involve guiding those he believes are lost, thus, his "adoption" of Dimitri, a very lost young man with little direction. He tries to act as Dimitri's "moral compass" until Dimitri finds his own direction again. He does the same for Anya when she comes into their group, trying to lead her towards the possibility of finding her home, while gently guiding her away from focusing on her "past."

Vlad: "There is nothing left for you back there, my dear. Everything is in Paris."

He stands up for what he believes in, and inserts himself constantly when he believes Dimitri is wrong. Letting him know when he's "walking away too soon" or when he "has to talk to her" even if she's a Princess and Dimitri's a Kitchen Boy.

BADGER SECONDARY

Vlad is one of the kindest, most lovingly genuine characters I've encountered in fiction, and I mean with that with all my heart. He is consistently gentle and understanding with the people he comes across, and is always even-tempered and fair. Compare Vlad and Dimitri's reactions to finding Anya skulking around their home:

Dimitri: (shouting, from across the room) "HEY! What are you doing in here?! HEY! STOP!"

Vlad: (coming in at a light jog, holding up his hand politely) "Excuse me, child!"

Vlad always assumes the best from whomever he's interacting with, and is excellent at getting to the root of what's bothering a person. He actively tries to make everyone in his company comfortable, and will often make soft jokes or observations in an attempt to lighten the mood. His Lion Primary makes him unable to entirely give in when he knows what's going on is wrong, but his Badger Secondary gives him the skills to broach those uncomfortable topics with grace and eloquence.

Vlad: (gives Dimitri the most fatherly, loving hug in all of animation) "Ahhh, my boy... you are making a mistake."

TL;DR

Anya/Anastasia: Badger Lion

Dimitri: Double Snake

Vlad: Lion Badger

And, there we go! Anastasia was one of my absolute FAVORITE movies as a child, so I've really enjoyed getting an opportunity to sort them! Let me know your thoughts! :)

[abatcirclewithinacircle]

[wisteria-lodge]

you've mentioned your sorting of remus, but how would you sort the other marauders? maybe snape and lily too?

Remus I think you could plausibly sort multiple ways, because that primary is super Burnt. But I do think he's probably a Lion Badger, and that's how I write him. Partly because I think it's interesting if he house-matches Peter (that's an old sorting that uses the old terminology, but I stand by it.) Who is definitely a Lion Badger.

Sirius is so obviously a Snake Lion, do I even need to explain it? James (and then Harry) is his Person. Remus, Lily, Peter... they're important but they're not JAMES. Regulus - that relationship is written ambiguously enough that it could fit multiple places, in regards to Sirius' loyalty. James himself seems like an immature Glory Hound Lion who matures into a Paragon Lion. You can see his Lion secondary in how he deals with Voldemort, how much he hates being cooped up, and how attached-at-the-hip he is with Sirius.

Lily... is another one I think you could argue multiple ways. Probably not a Double Lion, romantic couples usually don't match exactly. I do get Snake primary energy from the way she stays friends with Severus even after none of her friends like him and he starts going off into the political deep end. She waits for something pretty extreme to happen before she cuts him off... and then she does cut him off pretty dramatically. She's certainly not afraid of confrontation... so maybe Lion secondary, like James and Sirius? I guess James likes Lion Snakes.

Severus... for ages I thought he was a Snake Bird. I do think the Bird secondary is fairly obvious: he collects skills and knowledge, he's an inventor, a happy Snape is an info-dumping Snape, his spying ability is framed in terms of a learned skill (occlumency.) And I was like, the Lily thing = Snake. Done.

But now I don't think so. Lily isn't a person to him, at least not during the main timeline of the books. She's the symbolic corner stone of his constructed morality system. Like we see him start to build it, that's what the the conversation Dumbledore is all about, and we see the first step of the process, where "Protect Lily" is expanded into "Protect Lily, James, and Harry." If you build a moral framework to facilitate the core concept "Protect Lily" and then it stays in place after Lily is dead... well, that's a very rigid, not very healthy Bird primary, but that is a Bird primary.

tl;dr

Remus - Burnt Lion / Badger

Peter - Lion / Badger

James - Lion / Lion

Sirius - Snake / Lion

Lily - Snake / Lion

Severus - Bird / Bird

[the-phoenix-heart]

Sorting Hat Chats - A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

Heeeey I'm back again. Hunger Games is one of my recent hyperfixations, so I'm doing a sorting of the latest book/film. I'll only be sorting Coriolanus Snow and Lucy-Gray Baird in this post. And Dr. Gaul oops.

An explanation of the system I am using can be found here. (Credit: @wisteria-lodge )

SPOILERS FOR A BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS AND SNAKES BOOK AND FILM

LUCY-GRAY BAIRD is a thriving, healthy Snake secondary through and through. She loves performing, she loves playing coy, and she clearly relishes in getting one up on her enemies. This is a woman who turn her death sentence into a concert. Her plan to defeat Reaper, someone larger and deadlier than her, is to piss him off and give him the run around until he dies of exhaustion (or drinks from a poisoned puddle). To get one up on Mayfair when her name is called Lucy-Gray puts a snake in her dress to freak her out and subsequently humiliate her on live TV. No punches held back.

She's described by her actress as "a performer in a hunt," and she is. She always gives off the impression that she is always acting and always authentic in every moment. Snow certainly can never tell if she's lying or not and for all his faults he is smart.

CORIOLANUS SNOW meanwhile is a Bird secondary (I know, oh the irony) and the two secondaries slot in well together. In ABOSAS we see how he is always calculating in every interaction how he can leverage this for the most gain. He wears a carefully manufactured mask playing up whatever trait he has to to get what he wants from the person he is talking to. That's the Actor Bird in him, he can't just become someone like Lucy-Gray can. Which is why Snow works so well as a mentor for her. He can make all the plans he wants and give her every advantage to win, and she can immediately go along with it without skipping a beat.

We also see his Bird secondary on full display when he starts to come into power. He immediately starts making plans for the 11th Hunger Games when he comes back to the Capitol. His signature method for killing people is poison, and in sixty years that never changes. It's a risky plan that always works so why would he change it? And of course we know after he becomes president just how much effort he puts into controlling Katniss with more and more plans.

As for their primaries, well, that's why they constantly misunderstand each other. Coriolanus and Lucy-Gray look at each other and they both see a Snake primary, but those aren't their true sortings. Lucy-Gray is wearing a Snake primary model, and Coriolanus is wearing a Snake primary performance, not even a model.

Lucy-Gray loves the Covey, but at the end of the day when Mayor Lipp wants her dead Lucy-Gray doesn't need to think twice about running away. She knows they can take care of themselves, and she values her own freedom above anything else. It's apparent also in how she treats Billy-Taupe. She loved him once, but the moment he cheated on her she immediately cut him out of her life and doesn't seem to regret that decision. "Without trust you might as well be dead to me."

Lucy-Gray is a Lion primary, and like her secondary it's healthy. Her mantra is "Nothing you can take from me was ever worth keeping." She's another example of the Jack Sparrow style of Lion primary, the Fae lion. Freedom is good and control is bad. It's also why when she leaves Snow she makes it a whole production where she sings him "The Hanging Tree" and runs around him as a way to fuck with him. She knows that Corio isn't the man she thought he was and she wants to show him she knows.

Lucy-Gray is the Yin to Katniss's Yang. Katniss is a famous Snake Lion, and Lucy-Gray is the inverse of that, a Lion Snake. That quote about Lucy-Gray being a performer in a hunt is followed by Katniss being "a hunter in a performance." The revolution in a small way begins with Lucy-Gray and is ended by Katniss. Lucy-Gray loves freedom before all else, and that means she is never going to fight the Capitol like Katniss would, "it's too early for [K]atniss," she says. But Katniss is that Snake primary who loves so deeply and devastatingly that of COURSE she would end up fighting the Capitol.

But I think Lucy-Gray likes Snake primaries. I think she likes how much the value freedom, but also the way they value their people. That's what she sees when she sees Snow, a man who will do anything to protect the people he loves over himself. But that's just a performance Snow puts on, because he knows that looks much more nobler than what he actually is.

Snow actually primary matches Lucy-Gray. When we see him he's a young lion. The impression I get from Snow is entitlement. He thinks because of the way he was born that he just inherently deserves to have what is owed to him. But after it's found out that he cheated to help Lucy-Gray win, he is stripped of what little he had and sent to be a peacekeeper. He doesn't know what he wants anymore, because he can't have what he truly wants, so he convinces himself what he wants is Lucy-Gray. Except, the moment he realizes he can absolutely still get that power he turns on her immediately.

His goals never change, in the end Snow does indeed land on top, as he achieves those goals. He becomes president, and then it becomes all about maintaining power and control. And that's the real crux of his Lion primary. Like Lucy-Gray he is a Fae Lion, but on the opposite end of the spectrum. Power and control are good, and he should have that over everyone else in the world. I also see his primary in his method of choice for killing people. He willingly poisons himself so no one catches on, that is some lion devotion to his cause of control.

But, despite him trying to appear completely composed at all times, you can see that very emotional Lion primary underneath it all. I mean, he's clearly obsessed with screwing over Katniss's life in particular because he sees both Lucy-Gray and Sejanus in her. Meanwhile everything he does that fucks with Peeta is to fuck with her, despite the fact that he was also part of that suicide threat. He doesn't like that emotional Lion I think. What he wants is to maintain control over everything, and the appear as though he has this carefully constructed worldview/ideology. He has these intelligent/convincing arguments on the power of hope and the purpose of the games. It can look very Bird to people, and I think it is. DR. GAUL is absolutely a Double Bird Mad Scientist, and I think Snow adopted a Bird primary model based off of hers.

So...

Lucy-Gray Baird - Lion primary, Snake model/Snake secondary

Coriolanus Snow - Lion primary, Bird model and Snake performance/Bird secondary

Dr. Gaul - Bird primary/Bird secondary

[reading-sometimes]

Equestria Girls SHC Sorting

This is part 1 of a 4-part series, since I'll be going through all of the movies. There's already a My Little Pony sorting that you can check out here. I agree with most of them, so I'll be focusing on characters that weren't covered or are exclusive to Equestria Girls, like Sunset, Sci-Twi, and Spike. A basic explanation of the system that I'm using by @wisteria-lodge is here.

Sunset: Badger Lion

Sunset starts off the movies as a villain, with a Glory Hound Lion primary model and a Bird secondary model. Sunset's obviously jealous of Twilight, because they're foils - they were both students of Princess Celestia. Sunset wanted power (her Glory Hound Lion primary) and became evil, while Twilight became a Princess, something that Sunset wanted all along.

Sunset also has a Bird secondary model, but she's really bad at using it until later in the series. She tries to make plans, but she's too impulsive to have foresight. Her Bird secondary is used to concoct plans like secretly taking photos of Twilight to show how she'd be a bad Fall Formal Princess, and editing photos to make it look like Twilight trashed the gym. Her plans are pretty bad, since she left the real photos on top of a trash can. Sunset's Lion secondary is pretty obvious - she throws the crown that she stole from Twilight through the portal.

Sunset's Badger primary is burned in the first movie - she bullies everyone around her so that she can be powerful. She dehumanizes everyone, and she says that she doesn't know anything about friendship. She uses her understanding of social situations to tear groups of friends apart. Hints of her Badger primary are visible, even when she's a villain. She says that she rules the school because she knows how to fit in. She didn't do anything to hurt her ex-boyfriend after she broke up with him, even though everyone expected her to (She says in the second movie that she never liked Flash. She was just using him to be more popular, but it's still nice that she didn't do anything to hurt him). She refuses to hurt Spike, and says that she's not a monster (which is ironic, since she turns into a demon in the next scene).

She wants to be a Princess more for acceptance than power, even though she doesn't realize that until she unburns. She only starts getting mad at Twilight when everyone starts praising her. When Sunset's a Princess, she focuses on how everyone will be loyal to her.

Twilight: Double Bird

Twilight has a Badger primary model that explodes as the movies go on. Twilight, just by existing, brings her group of friends together. She constantly talks about groups, primarily her group of friends. She doesn't understand why everyone in high school is divided into cliques, instead of everyone working together. She refuses to go back to Equestria, where all of her true friends are, if it means that the human world will be destroyed. The human world needs her more, so she's okay with staying there forever if it means that she can keep it safe. When Sunset starts crying, Twilight immediately forgives her.

Twilight's Bird secondary is endearingly obvious - the first thing that she does when she's transported to a new world is gather information about it. She finds a library so that she can research.

Spike: Snake Badger

Spike ran into the portal after Twilight, even though Princess Celestia forbade him from going with her. Everything that Spike does is for Twilight. Spike’s Snake primary is pretty obvious when he tells Twilight to ignore the versions of her friends in the alternate universe, because they aren't Twilight's real friends.

His Badger secondary is something that he uses all the time, mostly to talk Twilight out of anxious spirals. He's definitely more of a Courier Badger than a Bookkeeper Badger, even though he shows elements of both.

[alix-in-july]

The Prince of Egypt is such a fascinating story of Badger vs Snake. Moses starts out as someone who puts his value in his identity as an Egyptian prince:

I am a sovereign prince of Egypt/A son of the proud history that's shown/Etched on ev'ry wall/Surely this is all I ever wanted

He doesn't care that he's not the heir. He doesn't care about the Hebrews at all until he learns he is one (as Aaron correctly points out). Then he is horrified by the way they are treated.

Ramses, on the other hand, takes this all as a personal attack. He doesn't care that Moses is a murderer. He just wants his brother back and doesn't understand why Moses won't just stay and forget about the Hebrews. To him, it's not about people, it's about him vs. Moses. (And also about living up to his father's legacy.)

You who I called brother/How could you have come to hate me so?

[liltalle]

Sorting The Bright Sessions - Sorting Hat Chats

The Bright Sessions is an audio drama about a therapist and her "atypical" super-powered clients, deftly exploring mental health from emotional and institutional angles with the magical realism of atypical abilities interwoven with real problems, and it's my favorite podcast of all time. (The diegetic audio, being almost all office recordings or phone calls or voice memos, is so immersive, really gilds the lily. I love the crunch of Joan pressing the button to end a session.) I've been revisiting it lately, and I have thoughts on the characters' motivations and problem-solving styles.

The classifying system I'll be using is best described by @wisteria-lodge here. Spoilers below the cut.

Dr. Joan Bryant (Bright) - Snake Bird. Our titular psychiatrist has a bit of a Bird Primary model, she talks about "patient-doctor confidentiality", and it bothers her when she breaks it... but she breaks it, without all that much hesitation. Her lodestone is Mark, her brother, her most important Person, who she failed, and now she's throwing her everything into getting him back. And she's laying a careful plan about it, using her new patients as tools. It's noteworthy that Sam and Chloe feel rather ill-used by this, I think a Badger would be more tempted to... ask? Lean on their decency for help? Joan's a schemer, even though she's morally conflicted about that. (My Snake Badger bias is - her goal is awesome, could use some more emotionally open communication.) Her fatal flaw at the AM was attraction to power, to Wadsworth: a young impressionable Snake, very competent in her own right but slighted for being a woman, met an indomitable mentor and was swept up in her charisma—a relatable Snake weakness. Caleb reminds her of Mark, and so gets an echo of her worrying and loyalty. When Mark is safe, when the rest of her little clan is safe, she's able to consider more ambitious plans again.

Sam Barnes - Snake Bird. Sam's formative trauma was that her ability killed her parents. She lost the only people in her life and her trust in herself. She retreated from the world and couldn't even leave the stove on for fear on one of her trips. Her cat Darwin was her only solace for years. And then she met Joan, and Mark, and everyone else. She started to heal. She worried about trusting Joan, but once she falls for Mark, she's all in on the rescue plan. She's a little ruthless about Damien when he threatens her people, in a way the other Primaries clearly aren't. I think her Secondary takes a little longer to unBurn, but we do see it. We see Hacker Sam, Historical Research Sam, the one with the ambition and plans to forge a counter-AM. She's rather unapologetic about the hacking, wants to be kind but is less worried about privacy concerns than Chloe. I think it's a cool dynamic, Joan and Sam house-matching, these two loyal schemers, butting heads, loyal to the same guy, building an organization together. It makes sense of how they clash and get each other at the same time.

Mark Bryant - Double Badger. The guy who gets (and gives) so much loyalty. Mark really obviously cares about all people intrinsically. Damien kidnaps, mind-controls, and lies to him and Mark still tries so hard to do right by him, and I'm confident that's not just lingering effects of Damien's power. He bonds with one of the guards outside his prison cell. He refuses to leave Damien alone when he's helpless. And what he's forced to do during his imprisonment... he doesn't like to talk about it, but it devastated him. Hurting other atypicals to survive was not easy for him. It takes all that for him to write Wadsworth off as a monster. I think his power literally being mirroring others' abilities works too well as a metaphor for Badger Sec mirroring. There's bonding with the guard, there's how in confronting Damien... he doesn't do it like a Lion would, it's not dramatic or solid, he's there to be genuine and firm eventually, but he feels he needs to hear Damien out, to try to reach him one last time. And that hearing him, feeling out how Damien works, identifying how he just won't change, and then insisting he leave- that felt Badger to me. It's a quiet power, but it lands harder when you really listen first. The trauma's singed him somewhat, it's hard for him to do anything, but the kindness is still there. It's beautiful, and easy to see why Joan and Sam care about him so much.

Chloe - Lion Badger. Chloe is the brightest ray of sunshine in the series. She stubbornly kind, while insisting she's "not naive", looks for the good in everyone (and she can see it in their thoughts). She doesn't connect with a particular community so much as Art, she loves Love (romance), she sees Frank and feels called to help him. Initially, she think her telepathy is angels speaking to her, and the grandiosity of that feels a little Liony to me, her inner voice(s) giving her a higher calling. She worries about ethics (privacy in particular) a lot, she's nice but will stand up for herself when pushed (calling Joan and Sam out that she can't be blamed for spying and asked to use it and handed full responsibility for that choice at once, that's not fair to her.) Her Secondary... I think is Badger. She finds joy in being a channel for Frank's art, mirroring him. She hides her headaches (she finds isolation clarifying, which a Loyalist might've had a little harder time with). Many of the group meet through her, Sam at the art studio with her and Caleb and Adam come by, she's a Connector. She feels like the Heart of the Group, and also taken for granted in that role on occasion. I could be wrong on the sorting though. I don't see as many good concrete problem-solving examples, the show has a lot of processing feelings, better for distinguishing Primaries.

Caleb - Badger Lion. Caleb's sorting is similar to Mark's. Joan is specifically reminded of her brother when Caleb says he wants to use his power as a therapist to help people. Caleb's direct and generous. He's horrified by his capacity for violence, and doesn't consider protecting his boyfriend an acceptable reason at all. He's blunt about asking Dr. Bright for secret info about the AM, he tends to freak out more than in under stress, he wants to be Adam's superhero. His empathy overwhelming his own emotions is very upsetting for him. I relate as a Badger Sec, and he could be that, but... maybe it's me being biased about football players, but something about him working out stress by "leaving it all on the field" feels more direct than Mark is.

Adam - Double Bird. The "dork" to Caleb's "meathead", Adam's studious, flirts with his boyfriend by teasing him about correcting his essays and the Oxford comma. He's the most enthused by the atypicals' abilities. Ethically, Adam cares about his people a lot, but he doesn't use "you were protecting me" as an excuse for Caleb attacking Damien at all (which feels like the obvious first thing to my Snake instincts, very morally charged incident that, sorts a lot of characters based on their first concerns). He discusses the issue from a few angles, to talk Caleb down. And when he asks point blank: "Am I from a family of monsters?" It doesn't seem like it's about his loyalties being misplaced, it's moral information about himself. It puts doubt into his system, if he could be like them. He struggles with the idea that Annabelle could really love him, if she could hurt other people. It's viscerally philosophical for him.

Damien - Double Snake. Damien is very lonely, that Primary is Burnt around the edges. His power has isolated him, the worst moment being when he drove his parents away. He compensated with a Lion model, saying that he's better than everyone else, but what does he actually do? Harass Joan and hope that she remembers his birthday. He keeps Mark with him explicitly so that someone could finally understand him, and he's devastated when that doesn't work. He's emotionally torn open, even though he doesn't know how to learn or repair anything. His fixation on Mark reading like romantic attachment fits: Mark is his Person, in Damien's tragic projecting way. He only finds connection through control, what keeps him safe, the only thing his ability let him have. It's all he knows (it's rather heartbreaking, seems just how abysmal Damien's emotional literacy is, and how much it makes sense that he couldn't learn in his ability's bubble.) Damien seems very comfortable, however, in his Secondary. He likes charming his way through every interaction, improvising his way through life. Taking Mark seems a momentary decision, and the aftermath had no plan, just keep going, two guys on the open road. When he gets back, no plans, no built-up defenses, until Annabelle tempts him with immunity to atypical abilities, and then he has to have that safety. A Built Secondary with his ability would've... built something with it, unless Burned, but Damien seems very happy to lounge through life (if only he weren't alone).

Frank - Badger Lion. When asked why he joined the military, Frank says (frankly) that he found community there, that his family was always too small for him, but the Marines finally felt like home. His unit, and the emotional Unity they had, was even more so. He never calls any of them by name, they meant something to him as a group. The deepest trauma of the war for him was feeling other people die, knowing they were people like him, and then losing the only people who understood him. With Chloe, he discovers new community with the atypical gang. For his Secondary, Frank is quite direct and formal. He's calm in a crisis. He doesn't seem to build much, and he doesn't charm like a Snake at all. He wants to be forthright, get a job on his own. And his joy is painting, expressing himself, even through Chloe. So not a loud Lion, but that sorting makes more sense than the others to me.

Director Ellie (Annabelle) Wadsworth - Lion Snake. Ellie's in the AM for the glory and the power. She'll make whatever sacrifices to achieve it. She seems to have a shade of Snake loyalty to Adam when Damien threatens him... but then she doesn't act in time to protect him, and she still plays with Damien afterward. Which I don't think a Snake would do so easily. And a Snake would be lonelier, in a climb to power, Ellie doesn't seem to need anyone. Her Secondary... either Lion or Snake. Ellie plays with people. She has her mind games with Joan. When Damien comes calling, she just has to show off her invulnerability, and doesn't consider the consequences. I don't know if it's Snake masks, I'm leaning that way, or if she's low-empathy and just believes this stuff about herself. But Joan's anecdote about her walking into a room and spinning her superiors' heads around until they gave her more funding... a very confident Improvisational Secondary.

Agent Owen Green - Idealist Primary. "You used to like my ideals." Might check back in on Green once I've refinished the series, he has some important decisions late in the game.