For the longest time, people in the Stablehand universe just lived out their lives normally. Some people were thoughtful, some were impulsive, some were idealistic, some were objective. But nobody really thought anything of this. It was just the way things were.
But then, one day, a number of mysterious symbols started appearing all around the world. No one was really sure what they meant or where they came from, but over time, theories and superstitions emerged as people started to notice that the symbols seemed to have a strange and uncanny correlation to the personalities of whoever found them. Each symbol seemed to correspond to a fairly specific set of character traits, and also to vague similarities in whatever subsequently became of any people under it. Thus, they were termed Destiny Attributes.
Over time, these Destiny Attributes simply became a part of life, and a way for similar people to reflect on their shared experiences, among other things. (Of course, this isn't to say that they didn't divide people as well—they did a decent amount of that too.) Though some people doubted that they were anything but silliness, for other people they were very real—perhaps even more real than anything else.
Though a lot of people in the Stablehand universe display traces of more than one or even several Destiny Attributes, most people have at least a slight leaning toward one specific attribute, which is then said to be "their attribute". (Of course, there are a couple of groups that are slight exceptions...)
Machination
Somebody with the Machination attribute is always scheming and strategising, and always vigilant. These people typically have a small but tightly-knit group of companions which they will never forsake or betray, and vice versa. They tend to live in a kind of giant spy fantasy in which most outsiders are friends by default, but anyone could potentially be an enemy on the inside, and as soon as anyone makes the slightest hint of being such, they will never let that person out of their sight. As they tend to be leader figures, they tend to come up with their own ideas and stick to them, though they're open to criticism and suggestions for improvement, as they aren't stupid.
Most of all, they love secretive, convoluted, and/or opaque solutions to problems and furtive yet gung-ho manoeuvres such as ambushes and infiltrations, particularly if they make the enemy look like an idiot to have missed them. Even in more mundane situations, they still like to win via tricks and other sneaky, unexpected processes.
In two words
Stealthy tactician.
Attitudes toward
- The world: It's us versus them.
- Social situations: That one's normal... that one's normal... normal... normal... somewhat normal... suspicious?... normal...
- Failure: You know what? That would be bad. We'd best not think about it.
- Success: Great job, team. But we can't let our guard down.
Interaction
- Machination: Will happily compete with others attempting to sabotage each others' designs, or recruit them to help in their own plans.
- Faith: May regard as foolhardy, overly trusting, impractical, and/or stupid.
- Unity, Fantasy: May regard much like Faith, minus the foolhardy part.
- Will, Esteem: These guys are the most likely to be their targets.
- Synthesis: May befriend, if that could help their strategies.
Fantasy
Somebody with the Fantasy attribute has lofty ideals and lofty goals, often to the point of absurdity. These people are always trying to pitch some kind of great design, be it a flying machine, floating castle, or wondrous utopic form of government, but for some reason, few people really buy into these pitches fully even though they could have the potential to be so great.
Still, they keep dreaming and brainstorming and showing their ideas to new people in hopes that one day they will be able to do great things beyond anyone's imagination; some even manage to build up a small following whose help may even enable them to put some of their schemes to good use. Of course, not all of them really, actually want to get their plans enacted deep down; for some, the idea and the way it shapes the present world may be all that's important, and for yet others, the idea may really just be bait that they want people to adopt so they can use it to enact something much more sinister in the future. Most are relatively benevolent, though.
In two words
Idealistic dreamer.
Attitudes toward
- The world: It could be so much better if...
- Social situations: Now, listen. Maybe you'll laugh at this, but I think it could change the world as we know it.
- Failure: We can't blame them for not understanding something this big.
- Success: We should be proud of yourselves. Nobody ever could have dreamed that something like this was possible, and we did it.
Interaction
- Fantasy: May form a team around the same lofty goal, or good-naturedly discuss why each other's ideas are better.
- Synthesis: Likely to consult with while seeking out that last little spark that makes the plan come together.
- Unity: As Unity people will support nearly anyone who seems suitably nonviolent and benevolent, and also tend to like mystical and unusual ideas more than obvious, practical ones, it's not unlikely they'll join someone like this.
- Esteem: Like Will, Esteem usually just slides past Fantasy. Sometimes, though, a daydreaming and impractical Esteem person will ally with a Fantasy person and help them idealistically fantasise and not really get anything done.
- Faith: May provide that last little bit of motivation needed to get them actually accomplishing things, though also very likely to make a Fantasy person nervous with their extreme audacity.
- Portent: Occasionally, a Fantasy person will form a strange alliance with a Portent person where the former tries to draft up a grand but ridiculous plan in order to prevent the latter's imagined disaster.
Synthesis
Somebody with the Synthesis attribute is very observant of the world and its workings, and tends to approach problems in a novel and creative way. People with this attribute love to think laterally and tend to be highly imaginative but not necessarily impractical. They like to look for patterns in things, particularly ones that aren't immediately intuitive, and may have odd quirks that they swear "help" them solve problems.
Most of all, they are highly aware of the interactions between things and the way in which distinct, different things come together, and tend to fixate on these unions and become fascinated with them; one common way they will solve problems is to combine two seemingly random ideas or objects that other people never would have thought to put together. They love to see the creation of new things and novel things especially.
In two words
Astute detective.
Attitudes toward
- The world: Isn't it all just one big machine?
- Social situations: You know, I know the perfect person we could invite next time!
- Failure: Oh, there must be some way to solve this.
- Success: Nice! Now, where can we take this from here?
Interaction
- Synthesis: May form some kind of strange niche interest club, or become some kind of weird journalistic/investigative group. Or maybe a detective or scientist duo.
- Fantasy: Likely to regard their plans as somewhat silly and not really pay attention to them, though without really having anything against them.
- Unity: May sometimes be disgusted by their constant blending-in, spineless agreement, and unwillingness to challenge the status quo.
- Will: Typically these people don't get along well with anybody who has rigid ideas.
- Verity: Likely to agree with their constant focus on truth and facts.
- Faith: May find their rash and impulsive actions a little unwise, and question why they didn't consider other options first.
Unity
Someone with the Unity attribute is always "in tune" with the universe and almost always calm no matter what. Typically these people have open minds, rarely quarrel with others, and are very good at working with others to achieve a common goal. Often they will "just happen to know" the answer to a problem, which more often than not happens to be rather far-fetched or unintuitive, but also more often than not just happens to work anyway—it does help just a little bit that they tend to just intuitively know of resources that other people may not even dream of. Although their excessive calmness may seem inappropriate at times, their unusual degree of tolerance, understanding, and sometimes wisdom often makes up for it.
In two words
Compassionate Taoist.
Attitudes toward
- The world: Harmonise with its rhythm, and it will never fail you.
- Social situations: Yes, I think that's a great idea. ... Yes. ... Oh, yes! ... Yes, I agree.
- Failure: No reason to stress.
- Success: Perfect poise; perfect focus; perfect empathy. These are the secrets to success.
Interaction
- Unity: Will happily form into completely harmonised groups where everybody agrees with everybody else. This is not always a good thing, though, when the complete lack of conflict leads to them getting absolutely nothing done.
- Machination: Not unlikely to try to join the schemes of, but likely to anger with an unwillingness to do anything that seems too rash or too violent.
- Fantasy: As Unity people are often idealistic themselves, likely to support as long as their ideals are benevolent and peaceful.
- Synthesis: Unity people like to recognise how different, opposing elements come together in harmony, and though this is admittedly less chaotic than the process of Synthesis people, the two are likely to find common ground.
- Esteem: Likely to form some kind of pompous but compassionate group for the greater good.
- Will: Will often unquestioningly obey until their orders take on violent, destructive, or otherwise harmful themes, and then become very uncomfortable and eventually desert.
- Faith: An almost ideal team, which is very likely to be effective at doing good in the world.
Esteem
Somebody with the Esteem attribute has been given a great gift of power, but has also been burdened with a great responsibility. Typically these people are very proud and dignified, yet modest and polite, and as a result command a lot of respect, though it's also possible that some may be a little arrogant or not quite trusted yet.
Either way, those with this attribute often have very high standards to live up to, whether their own or those of others, and are often nervous about fulfilling them. Nevertheless, they usually do in the end, particularly by fulfilling the sort of achievement where "I simply had to, my lady; I had no other choice". Unlike those with the Will attribute, they almost never trample over other people's goals to accomplish their own, and strive to find solutions that make people admire them. If any word describes their approach perfectly, it's finesse.
In two words
Princely gentleman.
Attitudes toward
- The world: Though it may be made of many scraps and many shades, all of them are worthy of notice. And one day, all of them will respect me.
- Social situations: Pardon me, young lady, but I beg to differ. The way I see it is...
- Failure: I could not afford that.
- Success: It is my destiny.
Interaction
- Esteem: Will easily form into elite, pretentious islands that exalt themselves high above other people, but could just as likely form a noble group dedicated to the greater good.
- Machination: Likely to suspect they're up to no good, but not likely to strongly suspect that they are absolutely evil. If acquainted with them, may regard them as a kind of unsung hero.
- Fantasy: May regard as frivolous compared to their current, pressing task, or may admire their idealism.
- Will: Very likely to erupt into a petty argument with, or at least hold in contempt after trying very, very hard to be polite to and probably succeeding if just barely.
- Verity: Likely to buy into their fascination with right and truth in hopes that this will give them a way to gain more respect.
- Faith: Likely to regard their hijinks as unbecoming, frivolous, or rash, but may give them a chance.
Will
Somebody with the Will attribute is highly forceful and vigorous. Unlike those with the Esteem attribute, those with the Will attribute did not inherit any sort of great power, but feel that it is only right that they should have it, and feel they must work hard to become great. Rarely known for their modesty, they tend to be extremely persuasive and sometimes even intimidating; most of all, they never give up, and it's not unlike them to sink to the very lowest level of their standards in order to achieve their goals. As a general rule, these people almost always end up getting what they want in some form, since they are not afraid of failure and will simply keep trying and trying. They think they can make the universe do whatever they want, and to an extent, they're right.
In two words
Overbearing mastermind.
Attitudes toward
- The world: Exists only for me.
- Social situations: First, I want you to do this. Then, I would like you to do this.
- Failure: Impossible!
- Success: Wonderful. Although, it was to be expected.
Interaction
- Will: If two people with this attribute have even slightly different ideas, any conversation they have tends to erupt into a heated argument. However, if they both fully believe in the same ideas, they can be a powerful and maybe even frightening team.
- Machination: Will often regard their plans as being needlessly intricate, needlessly cautious, and a waste of time.
- Fantasy: Will and Fantasy usually just slide right past each other, but when they do team up, they can at times be an extraordinarily dangerous and terrifying combination. Think of the "Final Solution", and you'll have some idea of what could come out of an alliance like that.
- Unity: They love these people, because they always do whatever they're told.
- Synthesis, Incongruity: They hate these people, because they never listen. Ever. And even more annoyingly, they're always saying totally random things.
- Esteem: Tend to regard them as arrogant, foolish, and irrelevant.
- Verity: As Verity people tend to be sensitive to corruption, distortions of the truth, and abuses, they tend to shy away, leaving Will people to regard them as cowardly tattle-tales.
- Faith: Very likely to tell them their approach is all wrong and trusting in people is a garbage approach; they need to be more forceful.
Verity
Someone with the Verity attribute has a strong sense of values, morality, and personal identity. People with this attribute tend to be very independent, very strong in character, and extremely opinionated about what they believe in their hearts to be right and/or objectively true. Somewhat like Faith, they may be eager to charge out and do things immediately, and somewhat like Will, they tend to stop at nothing to ensure that right prevails.
Unlike those with other Directed attributes, those with this attribute often have very little real "direction"—that is, few identity-forming influences or influences as to what their goals should be, but nevertheless, they seem to have decided for themselves who they are and what they stand for and always seem to know exactly what to do by virtue of their experience and intuition. They are afraid of neither the unknown nor the truth (no matter what it is), and often display a calm, mature sort of audacity toward their foes. As rigid as their beliefs may seem, they can easily change opinions or allegiances as they receive new facts, since they're not the kind to let their subjective opinions get in the way of what is right or true.
In two words
Tireless crusader.
Attitudes toward
- The world: There is only one truth, with a capital "T".
- Social situations: This is what we have to do, because it's the only thing that makes logical and moral sense.
- Failure: This is unfortunate. But one day... one day they will understand.
- Success: I'm proud of you all. We knew what was right and we never gave in. All of you deserve to be commended for your unfailing dedication.
Interaction
- Verity: Likely to team up to fight for the same ideals.
- Machination: Depending on these people's objectives, they could be either unsung heroes worth supporting or shady engines of evil.
- Fantasy: Unlikely to see their idealistic musings as anything but an irrelevant waste, but provided their ideal is related to right and truth, may recruit them.
- Synthesis: Likely to listen to these people if they can provide new insights into the truth.
- Unity: Where openness and compassion seem appropriate, they very much welcome it.
- Esteem: Likely to find their noble character and inherent charisma an asset to their purposes.
- Will: If anyone would both refute and insult their core beliefs at once, it would be these guys.
- Totality: Probably the most likely to actually try to understand their complex character.
Faith
Somebody with the Faith attribute is dedicated and passionate, and ready to do almost anything for a chosen cause—maybe even a little too ready sometimes. These people make the perfect leaders, or at least the perfect people to raise group morale and keep the whole operation moving forward, due to their generally fearless, selfless, and unfaltering nature. Although they aren't completely without reservations, they have very few regrets, and almost never dwell on anything, frequently advising others to do the same. Likewise, they tend to be highly forgiving of others and highly willing to confide in them as long as their promises seem sincere. They are often kind and empathetic—though not necessarily so much toward their enemies—and tend to see a future full of hope.
In two words
Selfless daredevil.
Attitudes toward
- The world: There will always be some good in it if you look hard enough.
- Social situations: Oh, hi! I've never met you before, but I'm sure you want to hear all about me!
- Failure: Yeah, okay, maybe that wasn't such a good idea.
- Success: See, I believed in you!
Interaction
- Faith: Whatever a group of Faith people does, they will do it very effectively. Whether what they do effectively will solve the problem they want to solve is another question, though.
- Machination, Fantasy: May support their endeavours, or even jump into them head-first.
- Synthesis: May randomly decide some odd idea they come up with is great, and heartily back it, but may be just as likely to criticise them for overanalysing things and/or insist on sticking to their own ideas.
- Unity: Likely to agree with their peaceful, compassionate attitude, but also to urge them to be more active in their desire to help other people. This may lead to great things, or simply make the Unity person uncomfortable.
- Esteem: May be amused by their grandness, but more likely to be friendly than challenge them.
- Will: Likely to mockingly rebutt what they say or otherwise be facetious with them, in any case not giving in to their opinions. This will likely anger the Will person greatly, but the Faith person will walk away from the exchange happily and unscathed.
- Flight: Will nearly incessantly attempt to reassure and comfort, even knowing it will probably not work.
Totality
Somebody with the Totality attribute can become literally anything, and almost always ends up becoming many things at once. Nobody with this attribute ever has just a single talent, a single personality, or a single approach to problem-solving; instead, they tend to have a random, shifting nature that makes them exceptionally hard to characterise or even understand—calm and loyal one moment, tempestuous and unyielding the next, dreamy and impulsive another. These people often have a number of different goals at once, which to an outsider can easily seem totally unrelated, mutually exclusive, or even logically contradictory motive-wise, but which nevertheless tie together through some kind of complicated logic.
Although they usually don't care if anyone fully understands them, they generally don't like it when people refuse to try and decide to oversimplify anything about them, as they often consider their complexity to be an important part of their identity.
In two words
Confusingly multifaceted.
Attitudes toward
- The world: Varies.
- Social situations: Varies.
- Failure: Varies.
- Success: Varies.
Interaction
- Totality: A little hard to say, since these people are always so complex.
- Machination: May get along okay, since Machination people can often be complex as well.
- Fantasy: May regard their incessant idealism as insulting compared with their own very real predicament.
- Synthesis: Might find their fascination with complex mechanisms and their unusual ideas interesting, depending.
- Unity: May or may not get along with, depending on whether the Unity person's intuitions happen to coincide with the Totality person's convoluted beliefs or not.
- Will: Likely to be annoyed by these people's insistence on bending the world to their will since they know it's much more complex than that.
- Verity: Could find their objectivity and interest in knowing the truth a kind of oasis and consider them a valuable ally.
- Faith: These people would probably be in the "oversimplifying" group.
- Incongruity: Although it may seem that way, almost nothing Totality people do is actually random. It's likely they will see these people as mocking them.
Duplicity
Someone with the Duplicity attribute lives a nightmarish life of lies, delusions, and danger everywhere. Unlike those with the Machination attribute whose fantasies and over-vigilance don't harm them and actually help them sometimes, those with the Duplicity attribute feel constantly persecuted, hunted, and targeted by malicious dark forces and feel like they can never let their guard down or they will doubtlessly be killed (or captured/tortured/imprisoned... whatever fate seems most "likely" to them).
For no good reason, they feel like they have to lie to everyone and hide their true selves, often wishing they didn't "have to" and wishing they didn't "have to" keep everyone thinking they were shady all the time and planning some kind of nefarious scheme themselves. They're always searching for some kind of covert, underhanded way to "make up" for these perceptions and show that they are not bad by defeating the "bad guys", when sometimes all it would really take to redeem them is a bit of honesty. What they want most, deep down, is trust and safety.
In two words
Cowardly paranoiac.
Attitudes toward
- The world: It's all one giant trap.
- Social situations: Most of them are traps, too.
- Failure: It was them... I know it was them. It couldn't have been anyone but them, and they're going to catch me next time. I know it.
- Success: Phew... that was a close one.
Interaction
- Duplicity: For a Duplicity person, running into another Duplicity person might just be the most torturous experience possible as they can never be sure if they're another refugee like them that needs help, or one of the "bad guys", or both.
- Machination: Very likely to think these are the "bad guys", or allied with them.
- Unity: Their constant compassion and empathy will often make these guys feel guilty, as they feel they don't deserve it.
- Esteem: Tend to watch these guys closely, thinking their regal nature is connected to either a position of authority or a strong sense of justice that will almost certainly mean they get turned in.
- Will: Authoritative people tend to make these guys uneasy, as every conversation with them tends to slowly morph into a cross-examination.
- Verity: Depending on how objective these people are willing to be, they might trust them to listen to their story, or might avoid them for the same reason as Esteem.
- Faith: Much the same as Unity, except these people's audacity and failure to recognise how much danger they're in will also make them extremely nervous.
Portent
Someone with the Portent attribute is extremely obsessed with a particular, inevitable vision of doom. These people know above all else that some time in the future, either near or far, some particular and very horrible calamity is going to happen, and will not be dissuaded from that fact. Maybe it's a flood, maybe it's a meteor, maybe it's that the planet is going to explode because the core of the earth has stopped spinning. Whatever it is they believe, though, this belief is quite incessant and unsettling (if not annoying) to those around them and they often don't have many friends as a result.
Some may not even know what it is that's going to happen, but still believe it will be catastrophic and may even caution everybody not to do random things because if they did that... apocalypse! Not all people under this attribute are actually afraid of the event that they believe is going to happen or even feel inconvenienced by it, though; some may feel that even if it kills them it will liberate them and all of humanity from suffering, and as a result, welcome it.
In two words
Pessimistic prophet.
Attitudes toward
- The world: We'd best enjoy it while it's still here, because it's not going to be here much longer.
- Social situations: Would you like a pamphlet about how to prepare for the apocalypse?
- Failure: Why doesn't anyone listen to me? This is serious!
- Success: This may seem like an achievement now, but nothing will really matter when the apocalypse comes.
Interaction
- Portent: If the two of them believe in the same disaster, they may feel like the encounter was destined to happen and now only they are the chosen believers who can rebuild humanity. Or something.
- Machination: May regard them as being part of some kind of big conspiracy theory.
- Fantasy: May fear that they're some kind of nefarious Machiavelli/Tesla/whatever with a plan to bring down the integrity of the human race, or may simply think their lofty plans can't prevent the apocalypse.
- Synthesis: May be uncomfortably reminded of their disaster by a strange and random analogy this person makes, or find a sudden revelation of doom in one of their odd juxtapositions.
- Unity: May avoid these people with the suspicion they would probably be the core of the big bad's army in the case of some kind of covert evil takeover scenario.
- Esteem: Likely to regard their noble intentions as unable to really do anything to prevent the big disaster, though without being afraid of them or really holding it against them.
- Will: Probably similar to Unity.
- Faith: Like Esteem, would probably regard their unfailing optimism as impractical.
Incongruity
Somebody with the Incongruity attribute is rarely predictable or even very understandable at all—in fact, normal is about the last adjective they bring to mind. While some may simply be seeing incongruity and nonsense around them but be mostly sane, trying desperately just to have a normal life but not quite succeeding, others consciously choose to be odd and inscrutable, constantly pushing the boundaries of logic, society, and their own abilities for reasons that anyone else would probably find completely incomprehensible. Either way, their personalities tend to be weird and erratic, and one thing that's common to a lot of them is saying and doing unexpected and seemingly random things that probably wouldn't come from anyone else. They tend to solve problems by putting square pegs in round holes, but frighteningly enough, often mysteriously seem to get results anyway.
Generally, the longer a person stays under this attribute, the more they learn to embrace it and the more mischievous, insolent, and even nightmarish they become.
In two words
Unmitigated insanity.
Attitudes toward
- The world: A marble! A fine marble.
- Social situations: You've got an astrapia on your shoe!
- Failure: What if this is the real success, and everyone who is successful is actually a failure?
- Success: Truest tangerines! I've done it.
Interaction
- Incongruity: Though it's very likely two Incongruity people will try to outdo each other, it's somewhat more likely to be a friendly sort of rivalry than a nasty one.
- Machination: Since some Machination people can have a little bit of the insolent trickster vibe too, it's possible these two could get along fine.
- Unity: May be disgusted by their constant calmness and exclusively nice attitude.
- Esteem: May regard their pride as unjustified and see them as somebody who has to be "brought down to size" through bizarre trickery.
- Will: Might openly defy their authority.
- Verity: Likely to scoff at their adherence to a single truth and unfailingly serious nature, and may feel much the same way about them as about Esteem. Alternatively, if the Incongruity person isn't the mischievous type and is just looking to be delivered from absurdity, they may regard the Verity person like some kind of messiah.
- Faith: Likely to think their unfailing audacity is just begging for some kind of unexpected spanner to thwart and confuse them, or simply to be wary of them because while they seem helpful, they are not always actually as sure or as talented as they make themselves appear, and the Incongruity person can likely sense that.
Eternity
Much like the Unity attribute, somebody with the Eternity attribute feels the vast expanse of the universe keenly, but instead of drawing power from this, feels lost and powerless in it. For whatever reason, people with this attribute are always getting saddled with terrible fates, which, in their perception at least, they are stuck with forever. That's not necessarily the absolute truth, but this illusion nonetheless debilitates them and makes them yearn for a day without their accursed albatross which may or may not be self-inflicted just because eternal suffering seems strangely attractive. Sometimes, they may not even actually want to part with it, even if that seems to be their deepest desire.
Of course, there are also some who instead feel that they have "come to terms" with their eternal burden, in which case this may just seem like a slightly darker, emptier version of the Unity attribute. Still, what these people want more than anything is love, acceptance, and a reason to go on.
In two words
Eternally encumbered.
Attitudes toward
- The world: It will forever be there, and I will only be here for a moment. But it feels like forever...
- Social situations: I'm forever alone, even when there are people around. And there is nothing I can do about it.
- Failure: It figures. I've always been a failure and always will be.
- Success: I succeeded? Ah, it doesn't matter. This can't last for long.
Interaction
- Eternity: Two Eternity people are unlikely to meet up, and if they do, they will likely just dismiss each other's predicaments and not ever meet again.
- Fantasy: Likely to be depressed by their idealism as it can never cure their own predicaments.
- Unity, Faith: A Unity person is very likely to try to help them, and this is very likely to depress them more as they know it's completely useless. Faith would be about the same.
- Will: Would probably respond to their orders with complete apathy, which the Will person might or might not interpret as insolence, possibly creating a vicious cycle.
Ruin
Somebody with the Ruin attribute is highly powerful, but also highly destructive. It may not necessarily be intentional, but for some reason, these people simply tend to end up breaking everything they see; the things broken can be either material or metaphorical. Some may not even break things themselves, but simply end up watching them shatter as others break them.
In any case, stuff breaks almost everywhere they go, and many, especially the superstitious, tend to notice this and avoid them because of it. Some with this attribute may be somewhat like a tarnished Esteem person, while others may be more like a clumsy or unusually violent Will person. Yet others may just be wandering around in a broken world unintentionally breaking things further for no real reason.
In two words
Zero finesse.
Attitudes toward
- The world: Nothing is too big an obstacle, as long as I've got my sledgehammer.
- Social situations: Sorry, did I say something offensive?
- Failure: Looks like I'm going to need a bigger hammer.
- Success: Nice! ...Aw man, why did it have to break now?
Interaction
- Ruin: There are a lot of possibilities. If one of the Ruin people is intentionally destructive and the other is not, it could be a nightmare for the latter. But if both are intentionally destructive, they could be a great team, cheap post-apocalyptic-action-movie-style. If both are unintentionally destructive, they will probably have met due to unintentionally screwing things up for each other without thinking, or without knowing the other person existed.
- Machination, Fantasy, Synthesis: Likely to scoff at these people's attitude of "all thinking, zero doing"/indirect solutions to problems.
- Unity: Likely to regard these people as cowardly or find their excessive talk of love and tolerance sickening.
- Esteem: A Ruin person who was formerly in an Esteem-like position might start to resent those who never became "tarnished" in the way they did.
- Will: May agree with their approach, or may become enemies.
- Faith: As Faith people and intentionally destructive Ruin people both share the same sort of gung-ho attitude, these two would likely go together great.
Frustration
Someone with the Frustration attribute is often angry and disgusted, and tends to be that way much of the time. These people really want to just power through everything like they see those with the Will attribute do, but can never make it work for them for whatever reason. Perhaps they're too forceful, just don't have the status/charm/whatever to make it work, or don't quite understand that their expectations are not exactly realistic. Or perhaps they just like to get angry at things. Whatever the reason, practically nothing ever goes the way they plan it to, and it just makes them so angry. Alternatively, some with this attribute may not necessarily get angry at everything, and may just be a bit disillusioned with the world and feel that it's working against them in some way. Or they may do both of those things in any ratio.
In two words
Always furious.
Attitudes toward
- The world: Rrrgh! It never does what I want it to! It just makes me so hæmorraghing mad!!!
- Social situations: Go away! Just leave. me. alone!
- Failure: ASDFJKSJDKFJ I just. want. to! break something!
- Success: Well... Guess I got lucky.
Interaction
- Frustration: There is pretty much no possible outcome when two Frustration people meet other than then frustrating each other. Unless, of course, in the rare event they actually start to empathise.
- Machination: Could be angry at them because they fell for a stupid scheme, or because their suggested strategy is JUST TOO HARD!.
- Fantasy: If these guys happen to get popular with their idealistic dreams, the Frustration person will likely be livid at their popularity.
- Synthesis: Might be frustrated because they just can't come up with a good solution to the problem fast enough (not understanding that sometimes Synthesis people need a little time), or because they can't understand any of their stupid ideas/analogies and just want them to stop!
- Unity: When a Frustration person gives an order, it's extremely likely a Unity person will follow it to the T. It's also extremely likely that exactly what the Frustration person specified is not actually an answer to their problem, putting them back to square one in utter rage.
- Esteem: Likely to deeply resent these people's sheer finesse, in light of their general lack of it.
- Will: Successful Will people are likely to mock failed Frustration people, and you can guess what happens then.
- Verity: Probably about the same as Fantasy.
- Faith: Likely to be angry when their unlikely solutions to problems succeed (especially knowing that if they tried it themselves, it probably wouldn't work).
Desolation
Someone with the Desolation attribute is highly determined to get somewhere, but doesn't necessarily know where. These people are certain that there is some sort of important thing they must find, but no matter what they do, it's always just out of reach. Nevertheless, they suspect that this thing is so important that they must continue to persevere through everything and get it no matter what, as somebody must be counting on them to retrieve it, and their own future will no doubt be brighter once they do.
Often, these people tend not to know exactly what the thing they seek is or looks like, and may not even know the full reason it's important; sometimes it may not even be tangible, desirable, or even real. It's also not uncommon for the thing these people seek to get destroyed immediately before or after they find it, but if they do find and successfully obtain what they're looking for, it's possible it will become a major part of their identity and a source of great power.
In two words
Searching desperately.
Attitudes toward
- The world: There's hope in it, somewhere, and somehow I'm going to unearth that hope.
- Social situations: You wouldn't happen to know about an artefact like this, would you?
- Failure: No matter what, we have to keep trying.
- Success: This is it. I can't believe we're here, but this is it. We've done it.
Interaction
- Desolation: Even if their goals are unrelated, will probably root for each other.
- Synthesis: Likely to recognise that they may have valuable insights and ask them to join.
- Unity, Esteem: Likely to recruit, seeing their kindness/charisma as useful in locating their target.
- Verity: Likely to join one of these people seeing them as some kind of mentor figure.
- Faith: Likely to see them as having "the right attitude" and try to recruit them as well.
Flight
Somebody with the Flight attribute is somewhat impulsive and dreamy, and tends to have high ambitions. However, as hard as they wish they could accomplish something, these people are also cursed with a lingering doubt that more often than not forces them to back out at the last minute. They're somewhat like Faith people, but for some reason, just don't have the confidence to go all the way.
This may be because they are overly self-conscious, feel they need to be cautious to fit in, or simply tend to suddenly realise their plans are just plain crazy at inopportune times. It's not uncommon for these people to have certain recurring nightmares, or things they're afraid of that they think about obsessively during the day—these two things not necessarily being separate, either—especially if they don't tell these things to their friends. On the outside, they like to believe that they're daring, effective, and smart, but in reality, their hesitancy and overall cowardice often stop them from being any of those things.
In two words
Seldom confident.
Attitudes toward
- The world: It's a frightening place.
- Social situations: Oh, people! Yes, here's my chance to shin—no, actually, scratch that. I'm getting out of here right now.
- Failure: I knew this was a terrible idea. I knew it! I never should have done it.
- Success: Yes! That was perfect! ...Or, was it? No, it was awful! How did I ever succeed with it?? I never should have done it, I never should have even thought about it. But I succeeded, so...? Hmm...
Interaction
- Flight: A meeting full of Flight people is likely to be a very comfortable, accepting atmosphere for all involved, but is also likely to be full of a lot of hastily proposed and hastily retracted ideas, sudden interruptions and quick apologies, and people unsure if they should say things or not while others wait for them likewise, along with general indecision.
- Machination, Fantasy, Esteem, Verity: May feel despair at these people's success at accomplishing huge plans/ambitions, even if that hasn't actually happened yet, just because they know it's inevitable yet they'd never be capable of it themselves.
- Synthesis: May actually be on good terms if the Synthesis person isn't too critical.
- Unity, Faith: A little bit like Eternity, any reassurance a Flight person gets may reassure them some, but also reminds them they were doubtful in the first place.
- Will: Somewhat like Machination and the others, except they are also likely to be afraid of Will people since they are likely to be critical, mocking, or generally cruel.
Nothing
Someone with the Nothing attribute is just... nothing. People with this attribute tend to be apathetic, nondescript, and not really that good or that terrible at anything. They rarely have any great gifts of power, unusual powers of persuasion, keen intuition, or great fountains of enthusiasm, and as such, they tend to be kind of detached, not really paying attention to or interacting with much of anything, and don't usually have any big, interesting dreams or much imagination at all. They tend to be kind of lonely and empty, and often a bit despairing if they recognise their own emptiness. On the flip side, however, if somebody with this attribute manages to become devoted to some kind of cause, they will probably be highly selfless and devoted to it since they have nothing to lose. If not persuaded otherwise, they may even tirelessly suggest self-sacrificing ways of helping.
In two words
Absolute nobody.
Attitudes toward
- The world: It's there, I guess.
- Social situations: I think I'll just quietly leave now. I'd just be wasting your air otherwise.
- Failure: C'est la vie... Literally.
- Success: This must have been a fluke.
Interaction
- Those of the Nothing attribute rarely notice or care about other people.
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