#snake primary

There is a two-part sorting system I like to use when I do this: I sort both their Motive [Primary] and their Method ['Secondary.'] More detail on the system I'm using. Lets get into it:

SECONDARY (METHOD)

Voldemort and Barty both feel like loud Bird secondaries (probably why they work so well together.) I don't know who came up with the Triwizard Cup plan, or if they came up with it together - either way, it's a patient plan, with a lot of steps, that takes a whole year to carry out. Voldemort seems to like that sort of thing. He likes planning, he likes contingency plans, he likes setting up dominos for a while before knocking them over.

Although... Barty is such a loud Snake primary (I'll get to it) - that it's possible he's modeling a Bird secondary to please Voldemort, and underneath he's something more Improvisational (Snake or Lion). He's very comfortable making things up on the fly - everything at the Cup was spur-of-the-moment, the dustbin thing was something he came up with on the spot in order to throw off Arthur Weasley, and at the end of Book 4 he still nearly manages to kill Harry after the plan goes sideways. I also think it's interesting how comfortable Barty is being Moody, and Moody is a loud Lion secondary - honest, direct, comfortable with trusting his own power and quick thinking to solve problems. Also, nothing that Barty says as Moody is a lie. He uses very specific phrasing, but it's all stuff he authentically believes. (ie - "If there's one thing I hate, it's a Death Eater who walked free.") I think that the Imperius curse would be an especially horrible punishment for someone whose power comes from their own authenticity. Yeah, I like that. Lion secondary Barty Junior.

(He can still model one hell of an Actor Bird though - both as Moody, during his court performance, and escaping Azkaban disguised as his mother. But I don't think he likes to. The happiest and most joyful we ever see him is when he's just laying out the truth.)

But Voldemort... when things things don't go according to plan he does have trouble pivoting quickly, and will definitely make a "No! This cannot be!" kind of speech. That's very Bird Secondary. He also loves collecting shinies, tools, knowledge, and skills. You're never quite sure what the extent of his power is - he might just start flying unsupported, or somehow know that you were talking about him behind his back. That must be very stressful for his Death Eaters. And while he exists at the center of a group, Voldemort's power doesn't come from the group. It comes from his knowledge, skills, and - when he was younger - the ability to play a part extremely well. Deserving, subservient, charming good boy "Tom Riddle" is definitely one of Voldemort's Actor Bird personas. (Birds often like to give their personas distinct names.) The angst of getting "stuck" in a persona is also a very Bird thing - and this definitely seems to be the case for Voldemort. There is a kind of resentment that he still has to *be* this person during the scene with Hepzibah Smith - and a relief during the conversation with Dumbledore when he doesn't have to be "Tom" anymore.

PRIMARY (MOTIVE)

Like I said up top, Barty is a LOUD Snake primary. His "Master" is everything - some combination of a soulmate, savior, and father. And it really is about Voldemort the person. I don't think Barty cares about the politics at all. If Voldemort wanted to switch it up and start killing people with glasses instead of muggleborns, I'm not sure Barty would notice. When he talks about his motivations, it's always about - serving Voldemort, finding Voldemort, seeing Voldemort, all the people who don't deserve Voldemort. Before he met Voldemort his Person was probably his mother. Snake, all the way down.

Voldemort... is harder, because I do think the glimpses we get of his interiority can be interpreted a couple different ways. I do think he is primarily motivated by fear - he's afraid of ever being powerless or weak again, the way I'm sure he was as a small orphan child. This is where he gets his fear of death (the most extreme form of weakness and powerlessness) and also where his interesting relationship with his body comes from. I think he conceptualizes the "muggle" half of himself as the "weak" half (see his slightly odd childhood hypothesis that "My mother can’t have been magic, or she wouldn’t have died.") I don't think it's a coincidence that all his experiments to make himself immortal also make him look like a being that could only be magical (and nothing like his muggle father.)

Being motivated by fear is generally a sign that your Primary is Burnt, so what is going on underneath? I don't think Voldemort is an Idealist - his hatred of muggles is authentic, but it's got nothing to do with his official position that muggleborns "steal magic" or whatever. He knows that's ridiculous, but it's a talking point that will go over well with the purebloods. If anything, his main projects (taking over the Ministry, killing Harry) are just very extreme coping mechanisms. He never has to feel powerless again if he RULES THE WORLD.

So okay. What does he seem to enjoy. Voldemort IS interested in family history, family legacy, and heirlooms... which could possibly be a sign of a Badger primary. Only, he keeps those things to himself. If he were a Badger I would expect the fact that he's the Heir of Slytherin and the last of the Gaunts to be his platform. Snake is much more likely - a lot of Burnt Snakes will also focus intensely on their body when it doesn't feel safe enough to let an Important Person into their life (Hedonist Snakes.) Voldemort's doing an unusual version of that sure, but it absolutely counts. He's also only interested in his Death Eaters as individuals, not as a community. They are spokes of a wheel with him in the middle, and he likes it that way.

Sometimes it almost feels like Voldemort is running tryouts - looking for an Important Person he can actually trust. Ideally, this is someone he can see as his equal... but who is also so insanely loyal and subservient they might as well be an extension of his own body. I call this the Logan Roy paradox, because these two traits are... contradictory. It's kind of a weird sentence, but I think that Logan Roy of Succession and Lord Voldemort have extremely similar Primaries (and extremely similar backstories...) They are Burnt and Exploded Snakes who want people, but are terrified to actually trust them. So instead, they come up with ways to own them.

Both Logan and Voldemort pick (and cycle through...) favorites. It's not totally clear what makes Voldemort go from Barty, to Lucius, to Bellatrix, to Snape, to Draco. Part of it has to do with their performance sure, but Bellatrix is definitely defensive during the Unbreakable Vow scene. She doesn't like that she's not the only one in the loop, and she doesn't like that Snape is insinuating that he is more useful to Voldemort. I get the impression that somehow - the shine's worn off a little, and Bellatrix is extremely motivated to get that emotional closeness she had with Voldemort back.

(In Succession, Logan cycles to a new person whenever his current favorite starts seeing him as too human, or too weak.)

I think this quote about Logan equally applies to Voldemort: "He never saw anything he loved that he didn't want to kick it just to see if it would still come back." Voldemort enjoys makes making his Death Eaters grovel for forgiveness at his feet, he likes torturing them, making Bellatrix cry and scramble for ground by talking about her sister, or her werewolf nephew-in-law. Voldemort talks Barty up in a way that seems designed to make the other Death Eaters resent him, and of course takes Lucius' wand, and sets up an elaborate suicide mission for Draco.

And then there's the way he brands his people with the Dark Mark, symbolically 'owning' them while also making it literally impossible for them to leave. This is actually a really nice way of using a fantasy metaphor to get across how unhealthy Snakes work.

There's also something weird going on with the horcruxes. If I'm right, and the core of Voldemort is he wants someone who who he can respect, but who will also never leave him... then grafting part of his soul onto them kind of solves that problem. They're carrying around part of his power, so he can respect them. But there's also no way they can get rid of their new psychic connection to him, other than dying. So he is able to trust (love) Nagini. And... I did not expect to be writing a Tomarry thing when I started this, but like. I see it. At his moment of triumph, Voldemort creates the one thing he (subconsciously) wants: an equal who he is able to control. It's honestly very Palpatine. When you think about it, Vader is also the solution of paradox: an apprentice powerful enough for Palpatine to respect, but who will also never betray him.

tl;dr

Barty Crouch Jr ~ Snake Primary / Lion secondary (Bird model that he built for Voldemort)

I. Freaking. Love. This. Movie. Is it historically accurate? Not especially. Is the story fairly simple? Yes, but there's a difference between a SIMPLE story and a SIMPLISTIC one. The performances are top notch, the music, the costumes... *chef's kiss.*

So, without further ado...

Maximus is a Badger primary. He recognizes the humanity in the Germanic tribes-- "would you (know you're beaten), Quintus? Would I?" He's a great general, but his heart is at home with his family. After the first battle, he spends time among the wounded and is upset when it is suggested that they "died for nothing." He's deeply loyal to the memory Marcus Aurelius. Wherever Maximus goes, he collects people (Juba, Proximo, the German, Lucius) by being kind when he doesn't necessarily need to be. He inspires loyalty and goodness in others just by being who he is.

In true protagonist style, Maximus is a Lion secondary. There's no pretending with him-- if Maximus feels something is wrong, he won't do it. "With all my heart, no," he says to Marcus Aurelius when he initially refusing to become protector of Rome-- it's a gut reaction. He will not salute Commodus; he turns his back on him. Though he shows some Bird-like strategizing in battle, to me, it reads as an intuitive grasp of going on-- the art of reacting to things rather than planning for them. Even his habit of feeling the earth before going into battle screams Lion: it's a tactile, grounding, in-the-moment exercise.

Lucilla is a Snake primary. She cares about Rome, she cares about her father's memory, she cares about Maximus-- but at the end of the day, she will prioritize her son's safety ahead of everyone and everything else. (Side note: I think that Ridley Scott writes Snake women a lot-- Lucilla and Sybilla from Kingdom of Heaven are pretty much the same character). There's room to argue for more depth here, but I feel that her primary is pretty straightforward.

I read Lucilla as a Bird secondary. She's strategic where Maximus is not. She makes practical decisions, lays plans, and collects information behind the scenes. She also seems to use a bit of a Snake secondary model-- or maybe it's her Bird secondary in an "Actor Bird" form. She knows how to play Commodus, and tries something similar with Maximus-- a little flirty, a little coy-- and drops it the minute she sees it's not working with him.

Commodus is also a Snake primary, but an Exploded one. His whole worldview and perception of himself is wrapped up in a handful of people. He's desperate for his father's approval, even after he kills him (there's a scene in the director's cut with Commodus destroying a bust of Marcus Aurelius, then hugging/clinging to the ruins). All Commodus wants to be loved by his father, his sister, and the people of Rome. With the latter, he compares himself to a father and the people to children. He wants to give them the love he feels he was denied. But his idea of love is destructive to his wellbeing and the wellbeing of those around him. In the end, it gets him killed in the arena-- defeated by his own need for the crowd's approval.

Commodus is a Lion secondary with absolutely no impulse control. His father rejects him? Kill him. Maximus defies him? Try to kill him. His one strategic success comes when he accepts the counsel of a senator to "let (his enemies) come... and nibble." Challenging Maximus-- a GENERAL with YEARS OF EXPERIENCE-- to fight him in the arena is a terrible idea, but Commodus does it anyway.

Marcus Aurelius doesn't get as much screen time as I wish he did (RIP, Richard Harris). He's our lone Bird primary. He's THE Philosopher. He has carefully constructed his worldview, weighed his options, and decided on a course of action. He believes that Commodus is "not a moral man" because he lacks the virtues that Marcus Aurelius values: wisdom, justice, fortitude, and temperance. His choice to make Maximus the protector of Rome is careful and deliberate-- he's observed Maximus in many situations and knows that he does not desire power. That's why it must be Maximus. It's perfectly logical to him, and he believes that he can explain it to any reasonable person (unfortunately, Commodus is far from reasonable). Marcus Aurelius forever puts first the idea of Rome: it is his bright, shining TRUTH.

He's also a Bird secondary: the man writes like nobody's business. He's a deep thinker, a strategist, a collector of maps and other odds and ends to put in his toolkit.

I read Proximo as a Glory Hound Lion. He was once a gladiator himself, and you can feel it in his speeches about the crowd: even though he knows that fame is a fickle mistress, he loves the adulation, the money, being a star. He misses it. He believes that he and his men belong in the Colosseum. Before they go in to fight, he fills them up with his vision of glory.

I think that he's a Snake secondary. He can be charming, he can be adaptable. He plays people off each other to get the best price. He was "the best" in the arena because he "won the crowd." But he knows how and when to cut his loses and go blunt. He describes himself as "an entertainer."

Bonus! I see Juba as a Double Badger. He tends to Maximus's wound even before they become friends. He relies on memories of his people and traditions when things are at their bleakest. He offers encouragement in his own quiet, wise way. Some of the best lines in the movie are his, IMO: "I will see you again. But not yet. Not yet," and "you have a great name. He must kill your name before he kills you."

TL;DR:

Maximus: Badger Primary, Lion Secondary ("The Protagonist")

Lucilla: Snake Primary, Bird Secondary, possible Snake secondary model ("The Villain/the Mastermind")

Commodus: Snake Primary, Lion Secondary ("The Lancelot")

Marcus Aurelius: Bird Primary, Bird Secondary ("The Scientist")

Proximo: Lion Primary, Snake Secondary ("The Robin Hood")

Juba: Badger Primary, Badger Secondary ("The Peacemaker")

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

Jillas! I need to do a rewatch of TRY for that, honestly, it's been some time, and I have an incredibly shitty memory even for things I love and have seen many times, so without looking them up, I have few details I could offer to support the idea.

But off the top of my head - Birdsec, with his modus operandi of gadget monkey. And as for Primary... I suddenly immediately thought "Snake". There's something very personal with how Jillas views the world. He relates to it on a person-to-person level, somehow.

So: Snake/Bird, tentatively?