#tiloa

TAGGED BY: @forvistxkonge

(BOLD ALL THAT APPLY. Italicize leaning for former.)

[ WEALTH ] $ Financial : wealthy / moderate / poor / in poverty ✚ Medical : fit / moderate / sickly / disabled / disadvantaged / non applicable ✪ Class or Caste : upper / middle / working / homeless / slave / unsure ✔ Education : qualified / unqualified / studying / other ✖ Criminal Record : yes - major crimes / yes - minor crimes / unsure / none

[ FAMILY ] ◒ Children : has a child or children / has no children / wants children / had child or children ◑ Relationship with Family : close with sibling(s) / not close with sibling(s) / has no siblings/sibling(s) is deceased ◔ Affiliation : orphaned / adopted / disowned / raised by birth parent(s) / not applicable

[ TRAITS + TENDENCIES ] ♦ extroverted / introverted / in between ♦ disorganized / organized / in between ♦ close-minded / open-minded / in between ♦ calm / anxious / in between ♦ disagreeable / agreeable / in between ♦ cautious / reckless / in between ♦ patient / impatient / in between ♦ outspoken / reserved / in between ♦ leader / follower / in between ♦ empathetic / unempathetic / in between ♦ optimistic / pessimistic / in between ♦ traditional / modern / in between ♦ hard-working / lazy / in between ♦ cultured / uncultured / in between / unknown ♦ loyal / disloyal / unknown ♦ faithful / unfaithful / unknown

[ BELIEFS ] ★ Faith : monotheist / polytheist / spiritual / agnostic / atheist / undetermined / questioning ☆ Belief in Ghosts or Spirits : yes / no / don’t know / don’t care ✮ Belief in an Afterlife : yes / no / don’t know / don’t care ✯ Belief in Reincarnation : yes / no / don’t know / don’t care ❃ Belief in Fate : yes / no / don’t know / don’t care ✧ Religious : orthodox / spiritual / liberal / not religious ❀ Philosophical : no / hardly / somewhat / very / yes ~  Superstitious : no / hardly / somewhat / very / yes

[ SEXUALITY & ROMANTIC INCLINATION ] ❤ Sexual : hetero / homo / bi / ace / pan / demi / other / questioning / curious ❥ Sex : sex repulsed / sex neutral / sex favourable / naive ❣ Sexually : adventurous / experienced / naive / inexperienced / virgin / curious / inhibited ⚧ Potential Sexual Partners : male / female / agender / other / none / all ~ Romantic : hetero / homo / bi / aro / pan / demi / other / questioning / curious ♥ Romance: romance repulsed / romance neutral / romance favorable / naive ⚧ Potential Romantic Partners : male / female / agender / other / none / all % Gender :  male / female / demi-male / demi-female / genderfluid / nonbinary / agender / other / questioning ^   Sex : cis / trans / other / private

[ ABILITIES ] ☠ Combat Skills : excellent / good / moderate / poor / none   ≡ Literacy Skills : excellent / good / moderate / poor / none ✍ Artistic Skills : excellent / good / moderate / poor / none ✂ Technical Skills : excellent / good / moderate / poor / none *  Survival Skills  :  excellent / good / moderate / poor / none @ Social Skills : excellent / good / moderate / poor / none

[ HABITS ] ☕ Drinking Alcohol : never / rarely / sometimes / frequently / to excess / trying to quit ☁ Smoking : never / rarely / sometimes / frequently / to excess / trying to quit ✿ Other Narcotics : never / rarely / sometimes / frequently / to excess / trying to quit ✌   Medicinal Drugs : never / rarely / sometimes / frequently / to excess / trying to quit ☻ Indulgent Food : never / rarely / sometimes / frequently / to excess / trying to quit &  Indulgent Sex : never / rarely / sometimes / frequently / to excess / trying to quit $  Splurge Spending : never / rarely / sometimes / frequently / to excess / trying to quit ♣ Gambling : never / rarely / sometimes / frequently / to excess / trying to quit

Boredom:

Frequent, soft, short sighs. Drumming fingers on a hard surface. Completely neutral expression that almost looks like she’s looking into the camera like in The Office. Manic-like bouts of restlessness. Can’t sit still, can’t get comfy, looks at twelve different things to do, doesn’t do any of them, just acknowledges they’re there... Panic:

Eyes widen slightly. Pupils dilate. Breath quickens. Speech either grows more rapid or completely stops. Looking everywhere but at the source, generally looking for or moving toward an exit. Fists clench and unclench. Stands straighter, clear tension in her shoulders. Very much a coiled spring when panicked.

Mischief:

Mockingbirds have long been one of Tilly’s favorite birds, largely for the complexity of their songs. While she keeps her bird feeders well stocked with a mix that brings a stunning variety of birds, she is always pleased to hear the mockingbirds in springtime.

Her brow was furrowed as she sat in the lecture hall, listening to the woman who was ranting, politely mind you, about the horrible messages that a lot of fairy tales were giving to young women. Namely that they were to be rescued by men, and that they were prizes to be won by men. It was a children’s literature class. She sat in the back, head resting on her hand, and clearly perturbed by the whole thing. The professor listened, but also noted the reactions in the class. He was a middle-aged man, balding, but still handsome. A natural teacher. The woman in question was in her late twenties and was known to be married with children. Second marriage, even. 

“Tilly, you look like you have something to say back there.” The professor looked up at her when the woman had finished her treatise. 

“Yes. Yes I do.” She responded calmly, but with that edge of annoyance. She sat up straight and took a moment to formulate the argument in her mind. “I understand where my classmate is coming from, and I will agree that these messages can be extrapolated from certain fairy tales. At the same time, I do not think these were the messages that were intended. I do not think Cinderella is a gold digger. I think she is an empowered woman. She began life well off, was mistreated by people who should have been good to her, she worked hard, was sabotaged, got the help she needed, and then won a man’s heart by being herself. She rose above where she was before.” She paused a moment.

“Then you have Beauty and the Beast, which teaches us that the ‘savage’ is merely a construct to keep people separated, that when we truly learn about each other, everyone is civilized, and while the trappings are strange and sometimes frightening, all we need is to sit down and understand each other. It is an indictment of the imperialist and expansionist practices that place barriers between colonist and native.”

“Then there are the tales with not-so-happy endings. The original version of The Little Mermaid is a dire warning. It tells us not to change ourselves to make others happy. The true version of Little Red Riding Hood has no woodcutter to come to the rescue, Red and her grandmother are dead. It was intended to warn children not to talk to strangers because there were enemies everywhere that could do them harm.” She paused again.

“And yet, there are people who will interpret these stories in different ways, and there are multiple versions of these stories that give us entirely different messages. Disney’s version of The Little Mermaid states that it is okay to change the outward appearance, but ultimately that doesn’t matter, so long as we are true to ourselves. Then, there are those who will always find the bad messages, the wrong lessons to learn from these stories, and emphasize those, for various reasons.”

“The misinterpretation and misuse of fairy tales is no different from the misuse or misinterpretation of any other text, including religious texts, which we also teach to our children. In the wrong hands, any text can do great harm. I will agree with you, there should be more stories with girls that are heroes. I also say that it is our responsibility to our children to help them see the lessons they were intended to learn in the stories that already exist, whether we are that child’s parent or their teacher. Cinderella will only be a gold digger if you teach your daughter that she is.”

“And what about all the bad in the world?” The woman furrowed her brow and looked at Tilly, as if that destroyed the entire argument.

“Children already know there is bad and evil in the world. Do not hide it, or sugar coat it. Be honest, help them to understand it, and continue to teach that there is good, too, and it is the good that they should help perpetuate.”

“Well said, Tilly.” The professor nodded. “I think you’ll be a great teacher one day.”