#jacqueline study.

⚖️ : what line will they never cross?

DICK.

great question considering he has already crossed all of them! maybe he wouldnt do cannibalism? maybe he's not a sexual deviant like his good friend and colleague/subordinate dr maximilian theyer?

dick's basically sold his soul to the deep state and military industrial complex. he has little to no regard for the human life he has hierarchically ordered below his own.

i think he pays taxes though.

JACKY.

jacky's best friends with max and he is just the worst so even the things jacky wouldnt do directly, she implicitly endorses and facilitates.

like her husband, does probably pay taxes however.

🧠 : what do they assume people think about them?

ARIA.

there's this feedback loop/oroboros/self fulfilling prophecy type thing going on for aria since she was a kid. she's neglected because she is a sadistic and masochistic misanthrope, she's a sadistic and masochistic misanthrope because she was neglected. being born with the x-gene made her mom's side (non mutant side) terrified of her especially given what she can do.

💀 : do they trust their own memories?

SPIRIT. yes - even though she probably really shouldn't due to all of the trauma, ghosts, solitary-confinement-induced hallucinations, and substance abuse. she thinks she favors her own perceptions and interpretations over other people's, but she's been influenced by things like harris's rhetoric, abusive partners' go-to lines, etc.

JACQUELINE. yes. absolutely. and she is probably right to. jacqueline is not immune or above her memories being altered by too much recollection or emotions attached to a particular moment. despite how she presents, her emotions are actually quite present, and she tends to them often. however, she is ultimately, pragmatic, and she has a loving, adoring husband with whom she can talk things through.

🧷 : who failed them first? (??? i think this is what you meant)

SPIRIT. tough call between max, dick, and erik. max made her in a jar. dick authorized that she be given to erik for his project. erik did all that crazy stuff. at some point somewhere in there, someone should have intervened or had a change of heart.

JACQUELINE. i dont think her parents. i think a teacher who underestimated her when it finally started to really matter for her career progression - some time in early high school. however she is incredibly smart and grew up immensely privileged, so this failure was more of a disappointment than a setback.

🧠 : what do they assume people think about them?

SPIRIT. dumb/vapid. slutty. easy to objectify and, in fact, craves being objectified. sometimes she plays into these expectations (even before theyve been proven to be present) because it helps her predict interactions. sometimes she resents how ruthlessly society and she herself have stripped her of her personhood and agency.

JACQUELINE. she's a bitch. she's aloof. she'd rather be working with max (and her husband) than on the public-facing coeus projects. and they are all pretty much correct

DMITRI

what kind of future do they crave, and who’s in it ?

answered

do they have a favourite lie they like to hear ?

@eyeshone a lot of the times joey hypes up his competency, intelligence, strength, or dominant capabilities, even though i feel like i know joey is being earnest, i feel like it's such an absurd perception of dmitri, of all people, that i feel like (and dmitri sometimes feels like) it counts as lying. but, fuck, it feels really good.

JUNIPER

do they have a dream or goal they have given up on ?

i havent written about her pursuing her ged in awhile! that would be really fun to keep exploring, because i don't think she's necessarily given up on it, but i do think her priorities have evolved as lila gets a little older as well - ensuring lila has a safe place to become a young woman in the world mostly capable of taking care of herself.

i do think juniper has given up on a proper reconciliation with spirit. she has resigned herself to experiencing spirit's animosity and resentment.

when did they feel the safest ?

just as lila is co-dependent on juniper, juniper is co-dependent on lila. juniper feels safest when they're on the couch eating junk food and watching old-timey romantic cinema. she would say out loud if asked about this that she feels safest when harris comes home after a long night.

ANDY

do they have a sound, like a song or voice, that they associate with peace ?

nicky cooking - food sizzling, being sautéed. i think nile's voice, of all their voices, makes her feel the most at peace—or at least makes her feel like she should be the most at peace. @choicescreen

JACQUELINE

what’s a truth about themselves they refuse to admit ?