Profile
questions from kolo:
why does he have such a short temper? what things frustrate him or irritate him? does he feel like he gets angry at things that don't deserve his frustration? does he feel guilty when he resorts to violence to express himself? how much does he value his softer side and softer values in comparison to his more aloof persona? does he wish he could act softer more often? does he ever worry he can be too aggressive towards his friends or in defense of them? does he ever speak over their feelings or actions in his eagerness to be protective?
surrounded by shifters, does he ever feel inadequate or weak compared to them? is he scared of having to hunt his friends one day? does his father know he's befriended shifters? is he scared of his father finding out - what would his fathers' reaction be if so? does grey ever wish he could go down a different career path? what appeals to him? does he feel guilty when he kills creatures?
answers from me:
1: His father is a lot like him, just a way worse version, so his short temper and easy annoyance is probably something that he got from all the years spent with him. He also didn't exactly get a lot of chances to really express himself as he grew up, and sometimes anger can be a more familiar feeling to fall back to, instead of thinking about how he actually feels
2: When it comes to the idea of failure, not being good enough or meeting his dad's expectations, or losing control, that's definitely frustrating. Possibly in an attempt to distance himself from the majority of people, he seems to get irritated at more popular things, like boy bands and tiktoks, although when it's his friends then that's a different story, he definitely watches every single tiktok that Link sends him. It's also annoying when people take things way too seriously, like, that was a completely harmless joke, chill out. Another thing is, since he apparently has that sort of 'mysterious, bad boy' vibe since he doesn't like people, some people obviously think it's a good idea to try and bother him, or get him to be friends. That's a good way to get him to hate you even more. Lastly, when people are talking badly to or about his friends, which is an even better way to get him to hate you, as well as a fist to the face. Basically, a lot of things, mostly revolving around other people.
3: Sometimes he can get angry a little too fast, and he may feel a little bad. For example, some girl kept trying to talk to him and when he finally snapped at her, she looked so scared, like she was almost going to start crying, and turned away instantly. He would usually just try to brush it off though, guess she was just too easy to scare or something? Maybe she was even messing with him? But, deep down, he would still feel a little bad, he probably could have been a little gentler about it. But, for now, he's gonna ignore that deep down feeling, because usually deep down feelings tend to be embarrassing and dumb
4: Sort of like the above, he tends to push any guilty feelings away and ignore them, although typically if he's getting violent then emotions are high, he's not really thinking, he just knows this idiot deserves a black eye and a broken jaw, and he's gonna be the one to do it. He may feel a little bad, but this is usually easier to push away, because if he did all that, they definitely deserved it
5: His softer side is rare, and even then he has a fairly hard time really showing it completely, but it definitely leads to a lot more positive reactions than his colder side. His friends are pretty much the most important thing to him, no matter how well he expresses it, so he does love his softer side since he can show it around them. Though, he does like his more aloof side as well, as it's almost like a method of protection for him. After all, people can't get to you if you push them all away, right?
6: That's a bit of a debate. While it might be nice to show it more, his colder side is still like a sort of protection for him, and it might be easier to just keep his walls up, rather than having to knock them down to make room for someone else
7: Sometimes he does worry that he might come off a little mean with his friends, but they're never pointed anything out so he tries to push those worries back. When it comes to defending them, he's typically sure that he's given people what they deserve
8: At times, he can a little. This is mostly when they're trying to tell him to stop, and that's it fine, he doesn't need to do this, but he's too busy trying to break noses. Once he's decided it's time to fight, it almost impossible to rein him back in
9: This is definitely a bit of a theme with him and Kishan. He's stronger than him without seeming to put in half the work, he's taller, they're not quite as close as he is with the others, honestly he'd probably consider Kishan a little more handsome than him, pretty much overall better. With Link, he's small, not super strong in his human form, but his tiger form definitely is pretty strong, without Link even seeming to realise sometimes. Violet is pretty similar, she wouldn't purposefully hurt anyone, and her wolf form may not be quite as strong as the others, but she's still naturally pretty powerful. Plus, she's got some fairly uncontrollable flame powers. His friends are pretty strong, though Kishan is mostly the one who he feels small compared to. Though, especially after hunting more aggressive creatures, or if there's a wolf or tiger, he'll sometimes have pretty bad nightmares about being attacked by them, even though he knows they never would.. Right?
10: This kind of ties into the last one, though he knows his friends are good. This is yet another thought he'd just push to the very back of his mind, and know his friends are nice, they wouldn't hurt anyone. They know about his job, they'd at least be smart about it, right? The thought absolutely terrifies him, but he does his best to ignore it
11: Considering his friends pretty much don't look human, with the exception of Kishan being the only one to not have tails, wings, or ears, his father likely knows
12: Since they're been friends since middle school, by now his father has begrudgingly accepted it, though it's definitely a source of disappointment. However, they do hunt law breaking creatures, after all, and those are just kids, so as much as his father hates pretty much all creatures, with a little convincing from child Grey that they're super nice and awesome and wanna be his friends, he allowed it. Although, sometimes when he's out hunting he might keep an eye out for something out of the ordinary. He's thankfully only seen glimpses of their animal forms, so the most he knows to look out for is wolves with wings, but he's seen Link's face enough to be able to remember the eyes and scar, and can assume his tiger form has them as well.
13: Honestly, he doesn't really think about it. This job has practically been guaranteed for him since he was born, his dad practically trained him his entire life just to do it. As much as he might dislike his job at times, it's sort of like a destiny thing. He can't just change his mind, this is his life, it's who he is and what he's always done. He doesn't really know anything else, what would he even be? It's better to just stick with the familiar for Grey, it's safer than the idea of failing to try something new (although not literally, his job can probably kill him)
14: It's the idea that he's doing something good, something right. After all, he only goes after creatures that break the law, they're criminals. They deserve it. He's doing the right thing, making the world a better place. It's something good. No matter how many times he has to remind himself. Plus, there may be a bit of a feeling of power and control at times, something he craves, but he'd never consider that he's doing it for that. He's not that much like his dad.
15: At times. Mostly when they just look absolutely pitiful. The ones that barely fight back, or stop once they realise what's happening. There are some that are even tiny creatures, there's been bunnies and squirrels, even. But, he'll still convince himself it's right, they deserve it, they did something wrong. And he'll push all that guilt as far away as possible to preferably never be touched or thought of again.
(These are good questions, some of these I've never even thought about!)
response from kolo:
thank you for answering! i love all the detail and thought you've put into him (and your answers!), i love how well-rounded you've managed to make him. he feels like a very realistic, grounded, believable character - one in the midst of a very fantasy/supernatural setting, and kind of like, struggling to fully feel like he belongs, with all his shifter friends and his father's work, if that makes sense. it's a really neat dichotomy - thanks for showing me him!
random notes from my notes apps:
- quite skinny, kinda verge of underweight but muscled. visible collarbones. tired eyes.