#charcater analysis

I see a lot of potential in Toradeen as a ship because I think they contrast eachother's family situation really well.

Clawdeen comes from a big family, and as much as she loves them she really just craves having her own space.

Toralei instead it's implyed to have grown up alone/in foster care(which prison was a metaphor for, i believe) and, while she never knew her family, she does imagine herself to have had lots of siblings- but also imagines she was left behind for being a runt.

Clawdeen is loyal cuz she's used to having a loving family and giving back that love. Toralei is malicious to everyone she meets (aside the twins, who seem to have grown up in her same situation) cuz she's scared no-one trurly wants her, if someone gets close they might abandon her, n so she might as well make herself unwanted.

I think it's so sweet to see them together cuz they could really meet at a middle groud? Clawdeen growing to appreciate her family is *always there* seeing how for Toralei it was *never there*. And Toralei learning that family also means loyalty. And growing to be included and ultimately loved too?

I know that one line in that comic about Toralei wanting "pups n all" w Clawdeen was immensly OOC, but I do think an adult Toralei *would* want to take in as many foster kids as possible and be to them the caregiver she never had.

Idk. i know they're not the perfect couple, and all this isn't necessarly reasons for shipping, but I would love to see them interact *positively*.

I don't need them to be endgame but i do think they could really impact eachother's life and I do think a Toralei redemption would need to feature (and maybe rely?) on a Clawdeen confrontation. I think they are foils in a way? I think them being "opposites attract" can be deeper than the cat/dog pun.

this was from a longer post i briefly posted n then privated cuz i felt it was incomplete n also felt bad about cuz i wasn't happy with how i worded it so now it's kinda in draft limbo lol. anyway i love Toradeen i wish it wasn't seen as a non-sensical ''Once Bitten Twice DeadDumb'' pairing. I know it was randomly introduced n rushed w no explanation for/completely skipping over Toralei's redemption arc, BUT.

When I started playing the game in early access and didn't know how complex astarion was, I was sure whenever I chose a kind or innocent option and he said I'm 'sweet,' that he is laughing at me, mocking me or probably thinks that I'm weak for being so nice and caring. But, having played the entire game I have learnt that someone being innocent and 'sweet', especially to Astarion, is Astarion's weakness. He can't help but feel affectionate or protective towards them.

While he may think it's naive and stupid doesn't mean he doesn't value it. I think it's because he believes niceness to be stupid that he wants to protect it in people he likes because they can be taken advantage of.

Astarion was so young when he was turned, I feel he lost his innocence too quickly at an age he should have retained it. Therefore, I think whenever he sees innocence in people he wants to protect it. Hence running away from that sweet boy in his first decade of slavery, remembering the virgin Sebastian, who hadn't even had his first kiss, despite having met him 170 years ago and one should remember that Astarion has forgotten most of his victims, but he remembers Sebastian.

Astarion values innocence, hence genuinely vowing to you that he won't attack innocents to feed which caught me off guard first time because I didn't believe he was capable of that. He will be happy to help innocents like Mayrina and Yenna but not others who can help themselves or got themselves into their problem. He pities the charmed victims in Cazador's tower because they're blameless but thinks the servants who are voluntarily serving Cazador deserve their fate.

He values if you're nice to him. His response to most 'best' options (which is usually the first one) is many times something along the lines of- "How sweet.". He is also the only companion, within my knowledge, who calls you his 'sweet' when romanced.

✨

INFJ

Functional Order: Ni - Fe - Ti - Se

Trigger warning

This article will contain spoilers about the main plot of the game and Haru’s confidant, as a way to provide the most comprehensive analysis.

On a side note, since Haru has a well-balanced stack, we didn’t focus our article on splitting her mourning from her cognition, due to how well she reacted.

Perceiving Functional Axis

Introverted Intuition (Ni) / Extroverted Sensing (Se) 

Haru isn’t a textbook INFJ, but her stack is well balanced. This is especially true considering how well she reacted to her father’s death, never falling into loops or grips. Even if she isn’t the stereotypical INFJ, her dominant Ni is sound and only improves during her confidant. When we first meet Haru, she doesn’t even take into account the option to use Ni as a tool to assess her future: since her father owns a big company in the food market, he planned an arranged marriage for her, thus preserving the wellness of his business. 

After her father’s death, though, Haru finds herself in a tough position. Talking about cognition, her Ni shows during her confidant, in which Haru understands how she can’t live her life following blindly her father’s will or, even worse, being under the influence of shareholders who only want to take advantage of her for the sake of mere profit. Therefore, Haru begins to question herself about what she really wants to do and her answer is to develop her passion for coffee beans and vegetables into a business, similarly to her grandfather’s café.

This is also a clear indicator of her well-developed inferior Se. Haru defines a concrete, plausible plan using Se as a tool to realize her wish. She doesn’t think about an abstract and intangible idea, she neither ruminates on future possibilities. On contrary, she listens to the protagonist’s advices, she clears her mind, and then she speaks to Okumura’s Food shareholders about her future in the company. So, in the end, she can follow her dream by taking concrete steps.

Haru’s inferior Se is initially less balanced though, she blindly follows Morgana without thinking about the consequences of her actions, and thus she finds herself questioning her behaviours. But as a healthy Se user, when the team tells her the truth she no longer lies to herself and accepts reality as it is. 

Haru further nurtures her inferior Se growing vegetables on Shujin Academy’s rooftop. This may seem a little detail, especially compared to how her Se plays a role in her search for a meaningful activity to do as a living. But practical hobbies that require to use one’s senses are in general a great way to nurture inferior Se and Haru does it in a surprisingly healthy way.

Judging Functional Axis

Extroverted Feeling (Fe) / Introverted Thinking (Ti)  

Haru is deeply concerned with the environment’s emotional state and her main focus is on the well-being of her teammates. When the phantom thieves help her to defeat Okumura’s shadow, she invites them to spend a night at Tokyo Destinyland, making a reservation for the entire park. Even in more trivial situations, Haru is always focused on people: she’s extremely polite, be it in face-to-face interactions or on the group chat, never stepping on someone’s toes, because breaking social harmony scares her and she really wants to get along with everyone. 

Haru also has a surprisingly balanced Fe, especially considering how she reacted to her father’s death. She initially suspected the phantom thieves but, to be honest, this is a human reaction to a tragic event that left her in sorrow and without a stable emotional support system. Yet, after few days, Haru apologizes with the group, thus she starts again to use her Fe in an healthy way. 

During her confidant, Haru’s Fe aids her dominant Ni when she tries to define a suitable and meaningful future for herself. Her wish to open a coffee chain like her grandfather did isn’t only a choice driven by Ni, as she also cares about how this activity will positively impact the life of her customers. Haru then uses her Fe to influence the emotional environment of Okumura’s Food shareholders. She takes action (Se) with a clear goal in mind (Ni), aware of her role in the company (Ti), to find a common ground for everyone (Fe).

Haru’s Fe is paired with tertiary Ti, although finding clues about her Ti isn’t simple. During her confidant, Haru takes her time to dissect Okumura’s Food, so she can understand “the rules of the game” and create an internal logical system to apply in her decision-making process. She then figures out the hierarchy in the company and the dynamics underlying it (this is also due to her Fe). So, even if the game focuses more on her tendency to ease the emotional environment and her research of a meaningful activity to do as a living, her Ti shows a little in her confidant. At the same time, Haru never makes choices based on the most efficient way to solve a problem and her approach is always people-oriented, which excludes Te from the equation. And given how we think it’s undeniable that Haru has Fe in a high position in the stack and that she’s an introvert, this implies tertiary Ti by a process of elimination. Finally, as a teenager, it’s common to have a tertiary function not so evident.

Also typed as: INFP, ISFJ

Another consideration about Haru revolves around how Ni and Fe may mimic Fi when placed in high positions in the stack. Haru’s auxiliary Fe is clearly visible in all her behaviours, but for the sake of discussion we would like to distinguish it from dominant Fi. 

Ni and Fi are both introverted function, thus they are subjective. The biggest difference between them resides in how Ni searches for a meaningful future, opposed to how Fi prioritizes activities which enhance and express one’s sense of self. Dominant Ni, even if subjective, operates as a perceiving function, thus the judgement stems from the auxiliary one: Te or Fe. As we stated above, it is clear how Haru aids her choices not with a logical and efficient approach (Te), but rather with one based on people’s well-being (Fe). Dominant Fi may lead an IxFP to pursue a people-based cause, but Haru does it as a way to create and maintain social harmony, not because she thinks it’s right or her duty. 

So, even if one doesn’t clearly see how Fe is Haru’s judging function, Fi can also be excluded since it implies Te and because there’s a difference between what is subjectively perceived as meaningful through Ni and what is subjectively felt as meaningful through Fi.

Another take on Haru’s type is ISFJ. We don’t think Haru is a Si-dom because her methods and motivations doesn’t remind of Si. As always, understanding the difference between two function is a process based on cognition rather than behaviours. Sure she is quiet and maybe one could say she’s traditionalist, but dominant Si means using the past and the information one gained as a constant comparison to find patterns that worked well and that can be applied to the present. Haru doesn’t do that, as her focus lays way more in the future and in how she envisions a meaningful outcome in her life.Haru doesn’t look at the future in a stereotyped Ni-dom way, something people may misinterpret as future forecasting or mind-reading. Haru, on the other hand, tries to unravel abstract patterns, thus finding what she really want to do as a lifelong activity. So, in a less stereotyped and more realistic process, Haru relies on her dominant Ni to delve into possibilities. Ni doesn’t only refer to the actualization of a single vision, since it’s tied to Se: a healthy Ni must consider more than one option and need to be flexible enough to adapt its vision to reality and its limits. What Haru does may seem simple: to open a business creating a pleasant environment for her customers. However, since society is complex and subject to constant change, this is a more tangled puzzle to solve. 

So, especially seeing how many people unfortunately mistake Ni and Si motives with stereotypes based on the future and the past, it’s easy to mistype an INFJ as an ISFJ or vice-versa. The real difference is between how and why Haru consider the past and the future, not the mere focus on one or both of them. 

Let’s look at both Makoto (ISTJ) and Haru’s confidant themes. 

Makoto lived her life in a box with a narrow-minded attitude. At first she asks protagonist for help because she feels she reached a limit and wants to broaden her horizons and be more open (inferior Ne), and in the process she finds the true meaning of her studies and learns to be less judgy (healthy tertiary Fi).