Alright so here are some Very Important Headcanons about a York that I've neglected to post. Whoops!
So, York's full name is Cecil Michael Deangelo Dorosa. His Italian name is super sexy, and it's Cecilio Michele Deangelo Dorosa -- throw that into Google Translate to see how it's pronounced. His parents are Barney (āBartā) Melaine Emilio Dorosa and Rosa Laurentia Briella Fiorfalla . He grew up in Saratoga, New York, which presumably by the time of the Halo series has become a suburb of New York City. Both of his parents were involved in the military. His father is a first generation American; his dad's parents moved from Naples, Italy. His mother immigrated from Florence and became a naturalized American citizen when she was very young. As a result, York speaks fluent Italian along with English.
York has a lot of cousins on his father's side of the family, and they all live in Naples. Nine male cousins and eight female cousins (Andrea,Ā Donato (the model),Ā Angelo (the other model),Ā Fiorello,Ā Leonardo,Ā Lucio,Ā Orsino,Ā Orlando,Ā Matteo, Camila (another model),Ā Aria,Ā Ginevra,Ā Gemma,Ā Leonora,Ā Imelda,Ā Pia, andĀ Riviera Dorosa). York adores his family, but though they speak standard Italian, they mostly talk amongst themselves in the dialect of Naples, so he struggles to understand them a lot.
He's a very devout Catholic, and he visits the Mother of Invention's chaplain for mass and confession every Sunday. Additionally, he prays nightly. As a result, after he finds out what Project Freelancer is really all about, he struggles with guilt and becomes convinced that he's going to hell, and no amount of confession or penance will save him, hence his later amorality by the time of the Out Of Mind miniseries.
York is an absurdly good cook, and while the rest of his living space looks like an organized sort of chaos, his kitchen will always look immaculate. Everything has its place, and if someone moves something and doesn't put it back, he'll drag them so fast they'll think they're being drawn and quartered. He loves cooking, and he probably often makes meals for the other Freelancers whenever he decides to break into the kitchens.
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Alright, letās spend a little bit of time about how the accident affected York, not only in terms of handicapping him, but also in terms of how it disfigured him and how it changed his self-perception and the perception others have of him.
I think we can all agree that York kinda looks like a male model. Chiseled jawline, cocky smirk, baby blue eyes and golden ducktail hair. But thereās the scar, and itās impossible not to notice. Itās split into two main tendrils, the first and longest of which extends down to the level of the corner of his lip, and the second to the level of his nostrils. Itās a big-ass scar. And Iām sure that, immediately following the accident, there were plenty of more minute scars just as red and horrific all around his eye. And while those minutae have faded, theyāre still there. Plus, his left eye is completely glazed over -- thereās not even a hint of an iris or pupil left. Itās not so bad looking in animation, but in real life? Thatād be pretty scary.
The left side of his face is pretty horribly disfigured. And letās be real, letās not hold back any punches -- itās ugly. It is in no way pretty or beautiful, and he is not altogether that easy on the eyes with that giant scar on his face. But thatās okay. He owns it. He knows he dosnāt look like an airbrushed male model, and thatās okay. Thereās nothing wrong with not living up to that standard of perfection. He is real, and the reality is that he suffered from a horrible accident that left him disabled and disfigured. And itās okay. He keeps on living, keeps on loving, doesnāt let either of those truths hold him back. He doesnāt fulfill the ideal of perfection, and he is okay with that. Itās really difficult, and Iām sure there are days when his self-confidence aināt that great. But thatās the reality that he canāt change. Heās just glad heās alive. He gets used to the winces when people look at him, and conversely people learn not to wince. He himself accepts this change in his appearance and in his range of sight and adjusts his life around it. Heās disabled, heās disfigured, and heās still okay, because heās still one of the biggest badasses Project Freelancer ever produced. Heās still funny, and charming, and blunt, and rude, and skilled and trustworthy and loyal and other qualities ad infinitum, ad nauseam. A bad thing happened to him, it affected his life and made it harder, but it didnāt change him. And thatās really important.
Aight, I'm gonna make a cheeky lil headcanon dump, because I have a lot of York headcanons that I've implied but never expressly posted. Content/trigger warnings for drug abuse, addiction, and smoking.
ā ā York is an absolute certified genius -- his name is on file wherever the government keeps track of that shit. His level of intellect isĀ kinda terrifying, to put it lightly. This asshole doesn't just do algebra in his head. He does straight upĀ calculus in his head. He contemplates (and sometimes solves!) those impossible problems that mathematicians obsess over for generations. And he does that for fun! He skips the steps that he does mentally when he "shows his work," so it's sometimes hard to follow what he did. That's also why his logic can be confusing. He makes logical leaps that are hard to understand without further elaboration.
ā ā In addition, he's reached the grandmaster level in chess. He managed that when he was seventeen.
ā ā York was a private school kid. He went to one of the top private schools in his state. Graduated high school at sixteen and got his bachelor's degree in mathematics at eighteen. He went to get his master's in physics at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis and graduated as an officer of the Marine Corps when he was twenty, at which point he began his required years of service.
ā ā It wasn't all smooth sailing, though. Private schools are notorious for drug abuse. In eighth grade, some of the other students suggested that he try prescription narcolepsy drugs to help stay awake, study, etcetera etcetera. He experimented with different kinds for a while and eventually got hooked on ProVigil. He'd go days, evenĀ weeks without sleeping (hence his present day fucked up sleep schedule and complete lack of circadian rhythm). He eventually quit after his first year at the USNA. At the time of RvB S10, he's been clean for nine years, but the effects of addiction are still something he struggles with.
ā ā To help with quitting ProVigil, York started smoking, replacing one addiction with another. That didn't last very long -- about two years -- but it's still pretty significant.
ā ā Let's get off this sadfest and move on to something I might've mentioned before, but is important enough for me to reiterate anyway. York is absolutely in love with old movies, particularly those from the twenty and twenty first centuries. He's kinda a movie elitist, actually, since he looks down on the remakes of the twenty second centuries and on as incomparable with the original works. He also loves reading classic novels, from Rowling to Tolstoy to Dumas and on. And classical music, like Mozart and Bach (his favorite is Vivaldi). As a general rule, he likes things at least five hundred years old.
ā ā Speaking of old things, his favorite movies are the original Indiana Jones series (fuck the twenty-fourth century remake). The storytelling, the sense of adventure, the music, the actors -- they can't be replaced, and they all hold a special place in his heart. But he absolutelyĀ refuses to acknowledge the existence of Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. For multiple reasons.
ā ā And while we've got Indiana Jones on the mind, it's important to note that his heart belongs to Harrison Ford. He may have been dead for five hundred years, but he's immortal in York's soul.
ok but i've got a serious problem here bc some people think that york is disloyal????? and immoral???? and wow u r missing the whole point of his character
So first. York isĀ extremely moral. He's the kind of guy who puts honor before reason, which is saying something because he's an extraordinarily logical person (hence acquiring Delta, the embodiment of logic, as the proverbial angel on his shoulder). He's one of the first people who started questioning the morality of what PFL was doing, to the point where he even wondered if they 'really are the good guys.' Someone who's immoral wouldĀ not be having that sort of dilemma, and that can be observed in some of those who sided with PFL during the schism.
And now we go into loyalty. It's very easy to categorize York as a disloyal and dishonest person, considering he jumped ship from PFL. And yeah, that can't be denied -- heĀ did betray the Project. But this needs more context than just that. He had a conflict of interests. Yes, he was loyal to PFL --Ā but he was more loyal to his moral code, and he chose toĀ remain loyal to his moral compass. He was in a position where, either way, he had to betray something. He chose to try to do the right thing.
Furthermore, he didn't just abandon everyone and fend for himself. That whole Ballet Breakup scene was his (admittedly piss-poor) attempt at getting Carolina to come with him.Ā He went back for her, because heĀ was loyal to her. That backfiredĀ royally, but the sentiment remains. He wasn't out just for himself. He wanted to get everyone out of there, too.
So yeah, people that think York is immoral and disloyal, y'all missed his entire character arc. His character is fundamentally based on being extremely loyal to his moral code. He wasn't supposed to be the "great betrayer" during the PFL saga --Ā he was supposed to be the voice of reason.
i saw this one meme going around and part of it was "if your character was a villain what would their final boss battle music be" (i did this on my main blog), and while it's lessĀ villain and more justĀ antagonist, we're gonna do the same thing here for york
Alright, so lemme just quickly explain that this has two different versions. In both versions, the cutscene music remains the same, but the battle music is different. And, I guess in terms of a video game, the way you get the two different scenarios would be by making different decisions in what to do (think "Imperials or Stormcloaks" choice in Skyrim) or different dialog choices (think "Clementine will remember that" in TWDG). The two different scenarios are just regular York boss battle or Meta York boss battle, because that second one is a v sad au i talked about with verdigrism and it deserves its own music.
As always, my Two Steps from Hell bias is very real.
So regardless of scenario, the opening cutscene would have Code of Honor by Two Steps from Hell. Because, y'know, regardless of the player's choices, York still has a moral code (though it may have been twisted, it's a code nevertheless). In addition, as far as the piece itself goes, it's short and quick, short enough for a little bit of dialog and then getting the player right into the action. What little music there is in there is militant, and I suppose very befitting of an introduction to a boss battle.
Now is where the split comes. In I suppose the "regular" version of events, the battle music would be Dragon Rider by Two Steps from Hell. It has a fast pace, a boss battle vibe, and it's still rather indicative of the fact that York isĀ trying to do the right thing. Also, I think it kinda suits the sort of combat you'd expect from him -- quick bursts, lots of close-range weapons and hand-to-hand, close-quarters combat. The music's in-your-face, and so is he, literally and metaphorically.
In the Meta version of events, we instead have Over My Dead Body by Two Steps from Hell for the battle music. This obviously contrasts a lot with the other piece. It's moreĀ mechanical, and so is the Meta, y'know? And it still conveys the type of combat he'd do -- close-quarters, but I think with a lot less remorse involved, a lot more brutality. Not necessarily more violence, just more disregard for the loss of life and limb. It still retains the same in-your-face vibe as the other piece, as well.
Both versions come back together for the boss battle ending cutscene, and the music for that is Into Darkness by Thomas Bergersen. For either version, it pretty well describes what happened to York -- he wentĀ into darkness, and that's conveyed by the music as much as the title. In either case, York had an inevitable descent. So, yeah. Sad, dark music, with a title that literally involves descending into darkness or immorality or what have you. Bye, York. You're dead now.
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εжз : What about nature do they find calming? What about nature do they find disagreeable?
ghdfjk this is actually the hardest question ā I really canāt think of much that heād dislike. He likes parks and other places of natural beauty, likes the quiet spots in them. Theyāre good for thinking, you know? The quietās perfect for thinking about philosophy and doing complex problems and playing chess and generally just doing York things. He likes sunshine, he likes drizzles, snow, hail, thunderstorms ā he really just likes nature. He can findĀ something philosophical or interesting about any sort of weather or any part of nature, at least that heās familiar with.
Of nature that heās not familiar with, thereĀ are things that he wouldnāt like if he ever became acquainted with them. The majority would be natural disasters. Being a man of morals, the needless loss of life is something he definitely doesnāt like. But, yāknow, he doesnāt dislike natural disasters, because heās neverĀ been in one, so to him that means he canāt really form a real opinion on them. He definitely dislikes theĀ idea of them, though. I think he also doesnāt like jellyfish. They freak him out. I mean??? Theyāre water?????? But theyāre alive??????? Itās weird, man. Heās not okay with that.
⤠: Describe a physical action that shows complete trust.
Post-grenade, definitely talking with people standing at his left side without him turning to face them. Heās okay with people on his left while heās just hanging around or walking or something, but not for really long periods of time like when having a conversation. Itās, yāknow, weird? Because he canāt see them, and even if he turns his head he still canāt see them. And thatās, like, a really big thing to him, especially considering what company he lives among. Everyone around him is a trained killer, and I guess having been around them for so long he almost expectsĀ everyone to have that same level of training, so basically someone on his left is like him saying āI understand that you are completely capable of murdering me without me seeing it or being able to stop it but I trust you to not do that.ā So yeah. Hardcore.
Pre-grenade, itād probably be someone standing behind him, for the same general reason. Everyone around him is capable of murder, but those he trusts to watch his back he hopes wonāt kill him and will, instead, keep him fromĀ being killed.
On a side note, this is just as applicable theoretically as it is in actuality. York likes being aware of whatās going on around him, whether itās whatās physically around him or what schemes are going on. Heās not a fan of only having some information. Sure, he can work with it, but itās not what he likes. Itās probably why heās so honest ā he himself dislikes dishonesty and secrets, so he tries not to be dishonest or keep secrets from others.
ā„ : Describe a verbal way they would express complete trust.
In line with the above, itād be something like āWatch my left/six.ā Again, itās an expression of trust that said person who is capable of killing him wonāt kill him and will instead help him survive.
Also, probably talking for a really long time without making any jokes or deflecting the conversation from the stuff he canāt deal with. Think the conversation with North in S10:E11 ā York dodged some stuff, but he didnāt really kid around, at least not as much as he usually does. That was probably the closest he can get to having a heart-to-heart. I mean, he was also really serious during the whole ballet breakup scene, but thatās a whole ānuther can of worms.
Ū: Are there any inner demons they can never seem to get rid of? What are they?
I dunno if this is really an inner demon, but itās definitely an issue he struggles with. While still in PFL, he was obviously struggling with the idea that he and the other agents might not be the so-called āgood guysā along with other similar moral dilemmas. Thatās a problem in and of itself, but the underlying cause of it is because he looks at everything in a very black-and-white manner ā I think Iāve talked about this before. Since all logical arguments can be brought back to the basic ātrueā or āfalseā, there are really only two answers for almost all questions, including that of morality. He has a very hard time seeing the morally gray ā everything gets catagorized as ārightā or āwrongā rather than being viewed on a spectrum.
ā¾ : On a sleepless night, what would they be found doing?
G od Iām gonna just list this because there are a lot of things he does to pass the time.
Reads classics, poetry, plays, or mathematical/scientific papers, watches old movies, practices chess, practices picking locks, observes his cat to learn stealth techniques, listens to music, plays guitar, bothers other freelancers, goes on coffee and food runs, plans out practical jokes that are entirely too elaborate, tries to out-logic Delta, watches grifball games, and hangs around the observation room.
ā : What is something that causes them to question themself?
Definitely not much until after he defects from PFL. Until then, heās very self-assured, almost always certain heās in the right. After PFL, nothing is certain. Itās really not a question ofĀ what makes him question himself, because at that pointĀ everything makes him question himself. His entire world, the one that used to be neatly boxed intoĀ right and wrong,Ā this orĀ that ā it doesnāt fit into those boundaries anymore, and he has an incredible amount of trouble dealing with that.
Itās definitely something he thinks about a lot. However, despite spending nights deprived of caffeine thinking about fate and destiny, he doesnāt really believe in individual fate as much as he does the fate of humankind. Which is pretty understandable, considering heās in a war defending humanity against a confederation of alien races hellbent on wiping humans off the galaxy. But as far as everyone having their own fate? Heās not a big fan of that, because that would mean some people are fated to be evil and do evil things, and maybe thatās a nicer view than people choosing to do bad things, but itās also more upsetting, in a way. Heās much more a fan of free will.
āĀ : Nietzsche said that āhope in reality is the worst of all evils because it prolongs the torments of manā. How does your muse feel about that?
I mean, the context of the quote was in reference to the story of Pandoraās box, in which Pandora opened a box releasing all evils into the world, but at the very bottom of the box wasĀ hope. A lot of people interpret this as saying good cannot exist without evil and vice versa, but it appears that in Nietzcheās view, hope is the very worst evil, because if you have no hope, then whatever the world throws at you isnāt that bad. If you donāt know anything but pain, then itās bearable. Itās when you haveĀ hope that it hurts.
York definitely thinks about this a lot, but heās not entirely certain which view he likes better. On the one hand, theory one has a lot of hope in it! And at his core, no matter how logical and realistic he can be, heās still an optimist who believes that history leans towards justice. But on the other hand, theory two is so groundedlyĀ realistic andĀ logical, in that sort of way that human emotions can be logical. But at the same time, human emotionsĀ arenāt logical and can only be appear to advance in what can beĀ perceived as a logical manner. It turns into this very cyclical debate with himself. In the end, he favors the first stance, but he gives both very serious consideration.
ā¤Ā : Plato said that ālove is a serious mental diseaseā. What does your muse think of that?
Agrees and disagrees???? Some mental illnesses are caused by genetics, but others are caused by hormonal and chemical imbalances in the body. When people are in love, their body gives off a lot of hormones and chemicals, like oxytocin, seratonin, and cortisol, among others. So if someone chose to portray love in a negative light, then it could certainly be categorized as a mental illness. This is, of course, negatively and logically speaking. York may be logical, but he wouldnāt be York if he was negative. So while he does acknowledge this way of thinking, itās definitely not one that he himself employs.Ā Delta, on the other hand, might think that way, if he ever cared to do so. But thatās a story for another time.
Alright, I already answered his view pre-grenade, so thisāll be post-blinding. After he lost sight in his left eye, he ā ironically ā had his eyes opened to the crimes Project Freelancer committed. As a result, he really started thinking about death a lot. He was raised in a vaguely Catholic household, so he buys into the whole heaven/hell shebang. And considering some of the things he did in association with PFL, heās dead certain heās going all the way down. HeĀ knows he canāt fix all the wrongs he made, but he wants to stay alive long enough to at leastĀ try.
Post-Sidewinder, he becomes incredibly bitter, frustrated by everything around him and abandoning everything he held dear when part of the Marines,Ā including his morals. Itās almost like a subconscious effort to become a different person than he used to be. Heās not really trying toĀ redeem himself by doing that, though - he let go of his morals, after all; maybe heās not actively murdering people, but he doesnāt hesitate to pull the trigger, and heās committing petty theft in his spare time. He just doesnāt want to be the same person who was part of a project that broke probably every human rights law in the book. Even a gun for hire is better the soldier of a man who tried to play god. So really, he just resigns himself to his fate - he's going to hell and there's no stopping it. He still wants to set things right, not to change his afterlife, but because he can't erase all of his old self, notĀ really. In the end, though, it's inevitable that he's going to die, and he doesn't deny it or fight it. At least he had a chance to live, even if he squandered that chance on Project Freelancer.