DE: Impolite subjects

[yakalskovich]

One should not discuss sex, religion or politics in polite society -- as at the intersection of those topics lies the very core of a person's identity and self-definition. Many of us are constantly striving to understand and define our RP characters better, so those should be discussed.

1. What's your character's sexual orientation and relationship status (in their world, and in Milliways)?
2. What faith did your character grow up with, are they still practicing it, and do they actually believe in its teaching? If not, what do they believe in, or are they atheist?
3. What are your character's politics, do they engage in any political activity of any kind, or do they just not care/are kept away from such things?
4. Do their sexuality, faith, or politics clash with each other or with the values of their own world, and if so, how does that influence their personality, their story and their self-identification? Are they driven by internal conflict, by external conflict with their world, or are they more or less settled in their place and free of deep-seated self-doubts and conflicts?

Comments

[manofbusiness]

1. Demisexual. I wouldn't go as far as calling him ace, but he can take it or leave it - occasionally he gets the urge, and if a young woman (and possibly a young man, I haven't figured him out yet on that score) throws herself at him and he's in the right mood, he'll go along with it, but he doesn't seek out sex. He's resolutely single.

2. Faith in the Raven King. He doesn't believe in gods, but that faith will be with him all his life.

3. Childermass doesn't really engage in political activity, but he favours anyone who genuinely wants to make life better for the working poor. Also, for personal reasons that he does not talk about, he's vehemently anti-slavery.

4. To a point, especially the faith in the Raven King, but he doesn't care. He is who he is and won't be made ashamed of it by anyone.

I'll do the rest when I can change journals more easily.

[the_gene_genie]

Gene:

I) straight, married
II) Church of England, but non-practicing for the most part, and certainly not now. Believe it? He doesn't think about it, or any other matters pertaining to religion.
III) He rarely speaks about politics, but has a vague respect for politics that is rarely seen in these days. He's more Conservative than anything, which is...well, see IV

IV) None of these things clash with the world in general, as Gene's about as Everyman as you can get, on one level. On the other hand, from a political point of view, he was always a working class lad from a fairly industrial area, and so should lean more towards a Labour/left wing approach. But he's canonically voiced against both trade unions on one hand, and Thatcher's 'destroying of communities' on the other, so the truth is - his politics is Copper, and his attitude is Copper, and his values are Copper, and the rest of everything else doesn't matter much.

If he knew the truth about himself more often, he'd be forced to admit the presence of God - there can't be demons without the Devil, and no Devil without God - but it's not something he cares to dwell on. He does what he does, and that's that.

In short - all these factors influence him, both alive and dead, but he's secure in all of them and so there's little conflict for him to deal with.

Ellen

[camwyn]

1. Asexual. Yes, she's married; Vault 101 kids are bombarded with motivational slogans including 'procreation is a civic duty', and the only exceptions made for those who don't wanna involve artsem or a Boston marriage. Besides, asexuality and heteroromanticism are not exclusive. (Ditto for homoromanticism, but that's not relevant to Ellen's situation.)

2. Vault 101 kinda mushed together several large Protestant denominations and then provided them with edited Bibles, in my headcanon. Vault 101 was designed to stay closed as long as possible. I believe Vault-Tec issued Bibles are missing verses like the Great Commission and the various parts where God or Jesus promises protection to those who travel abroad in the interests of missionary activity, among other missing elements. No sense encouraging people to think anything might protect them outside. Ellen was raised in this religious environment and received several years of chaplain training, but was driven out of the Vault before she could finish. She's since become an ordained Brotherhood of Steel chaplain, which means she's still largely Christian herself but also serves as minister and counselor to those Brothers who only have a generic monotheist faith, the ones who more or less worship the technology of the older world, and the ones who have weird or no religious affiliations. (Bear in mind that Ellen considers the people who worship a talking tree, the people who worship the atom bomb, and the Catholics of Rivet City who endorse mandatory priestly celibacy to all be religiously weird.) She would be happy to offer assistance to anyone at the Bar who wanted or needed her sort of religious counseling, but neither Vault 101 nor the Brotherhood encourages missionary activity or proselytizing, so she's not entirely sure how to offer.

3. Ellen's father did his best to keep her out of any Vault politicking when she was a kid. These days her politics mostly revolve around the Owyn Lyons approach to Wasteland interactions and governance.

4. Ellen's not too heavily saddled with self-doubts or conflicts at this point. When we're looking at the whole 'man vs. man', 'man vs. self', etc. school of thought on story conflicts, hers tends to be more of 'man vs. horrifically lethal environment' and 'civilization vs. unspeakable savagery' rather than internal.

[fate_or_chance]

For Hawke:

1. Hawke's bisexual, which seems to be more or less a non-issue in Thedas. The only place where we're explicitly told that peoples' sexualities are a big deal is the Tevinter Imperium, and even then the context of that is 'You're a noble, and I neeeeeed you to enter a loveless marriage and produce children.' Hawke's not a noble, luckily (or, well, he sort of is, but not really).

In-game, s/he can pursue relationships with men or women, but whether s/he's exclusively interested in one or the other or if s/he's interested in both is left vague enough for players to make up their own minds for each individual Hawke.

2. Hawke's Andrastian, despite his constant jokes about Andraste, the Maker, and the Chantry. Malcolm Hawke was Andrastian enough to put a statue of Andraste on his staff; and Leandra, Bethany and Carver are all visibly devout - so Hawke was pretty clearly raised in the faith, and he does at least somewhat believe, even if he doesn't like the power structures that surround it.

3. Hawke has up until recently managed to spend most of his life quite happily not caring about politics, because he's an unimportant person in a country ruled by a monarchy and that's all fine. That's - going to change, and Kirkwall's politics are a bit odd (read: awful) at the best of times. Hawke is generally distrusting of politicians, as he is with anyone in power, and would very much not like to get wrapped up in their messes.

4. There's not really any clash between his sexuality and either faith or politics - politicians don't care, and the Chantry, despite usually having Extremely Strong Opinions On Everything, doesn't seem to really care about people's sexualities. But there is a massive clash between his faith and any political things, since especially in Kirkwall the Chantry and the Templars are almost constantly trying to exercise political influence (often independently of each other, despite being nominally part of the same organisation).

Hawke would absolutely love to be driven by internal conflict, but people keep foisting external conflicts on him and that's really cutting into all of his 'angsting about his place in the world' time.

[cook_the_rude]

Hawke would absolutely love to be driven by internal conflict, but people keep foisting external conflicts on him and that's really cutting into all of his 'angsting about his place in the world' time.

I totally adore that way of putting it!!!

[never_shall_yield]

I) Gay, single
II) Catholic, and no, not practicing anymore thanks to Milliways. He does still believe in its teachings, but the variety it seems to come in is not something he can reconcile at the moment.
III) He's a monarchist, but not political about it. Like Gene, he defines himself by being a policeman - in the 21st century, they'd be similar characters (only Javert would still be more of an asshole. For people who've seen LoM - he'd have Ray's attitude, but with Sam's fussiness and attention to detail).

IV) There is a clash. Few people are as willingly isolated as Javert makes himself, or as wilfully ignorant. His sexuality is a horror to himself (thanks again, Milliways) because he doesn't hate it the way he should, and he's in the wrong era to be out at home. Obviously it clashes with his religion.

Being unwilling to engage in politics is hardly the norm for the era of monarchy-revolution-empire-monarchy he's lived through. The only thing that won't raise an eyebrow is his lack of practicing Catholicism, as that went down in Paris through the revolutionary years anyway - besides, there's no one to notice if he doesn't go to church. Like most things, it's a conflict for himself to deal with because let's face it, all of Javert's problems come from him not being able to reconcile with a) the rest of the world, and b) himself. He saw himself as apart from society as a child - which he was - and then worked to keep it that way, while revering the society that would never accept him. It's all very awkward.

[sdelmonte]

I don't do they enough. So I will pick just one character today, Alex Knox (who I don't play nearly enough now)

1. He is pretty damned straight. He's been involved with Rapunzel (from Fables) for years now, a relationship that lasted past her mun's departure from the game and seems likely to keep enduring till he leaves this veil of tears we call life.

2. Knox is the product of a marriage between a barely believing Presbyterian and the not-very-devout daughter of Jewish immigrants. As such, he sort of identifies as both generic Christian and generic Jew. He is pretty sure there is a God, and is sort of inclined to not really accept Jesus's divinity, but given the mixed signals of his upbringing and the world in general, he isn't quite sure what to think. (He's also the sort of person who would challenge any God of Jews for the Holocaust, since even God needs to be held accountable.)

3. Knox is what we in America called a Reagan Democrat, someone who is not all that conservative but who found Reagan's simple/simplistic "Make America Great through Defense Spending and Tax Cuts" ads appealing. He doesn't have much use for anyone who is doctrinaire, though, and as a muckraking reporter he has no faith in politicians whatsoever. However, as I long ago send Knox's timeline off into a different political history and as he's still in the 90s, I can't entirely say where his politics would be in our world of endless wars, security states, social media pushback, and Obamacare. I think he might be utterly lost.

4. Knox is pretty mainstream. He also is pretty much his own man, as a good investigative reporter ought to be, and has long ago settled any doubts. The world is what he makes of it. Yes, sometimes he feels a bit lost, but that is external. Inside his mind, he is, without a doubt, as self assured as Zaphod Beeblebrox.

[freedom_is_grey]

1. Bisexual, definitely partnered up. Hi Zevran.

2. She grew up with bare fringes of elven religion -- mostly stories about the Dalish, so super-removed wishful thinking, until she was 5. Then Andrastian. She believes in Andraste, after the whole Gauntlet etc that prefaced finding Andraste's Ashes. The Maker is a fucker and if he exists he had better stay gone, what.

3. Ysalwen is super political, and is in some respects angling to revolutionize the world, or at least -- help. So. Yeah.

4. Oh god, her desire for freedom for mages clashes with the Chantry and most people so much. Her desire for freedom for everyone clashes with Tevinter re: slaves, and probably Orlais re: elves are great servants! Post Origins, she's driven mostly by external conflicts with what she thinks are the terrible parts of being Thedosian and what needs to be fixed. Her internal conflicts -- the really big self-determining ones -- are kind of addressed by the game, or are addressed by headcanon by the end of the game. Most of her deep-seated stuff is her awareness of what about her is open to pushing by demons, and keeping that shit locked down. And also learning how to be better at people. Constantly learning to be better at that. Or trying to learn. So.

Her faith stuff is kind of clashy, too, mostly because believing in Andraste and not the Maker is -- tough to rationalize. Ish.

[cutting_edgex23]

1. Pansexual, currently partnered up in Milliways with Bruce Wayne.

2. X is not a believer in gods in a religious sense. She's met some, and that's cool, but worship is not how she relates to anything. It's cool other people do! She is all for that! It's just not for her. She's not built for it.

3. Politically she -- is aware that politics and laws exist and politely ignores them in favor of getting things done. She is of the opinion that most other people probably shouldn't do this, because anarchy, but in the meantime she's got somewhere to be, laters.

4. Um. Her occasionally robot-like exterior totally freaks people out. The rest of it -- I don't think she cares?

[creator_raven]

1. Raven is ace, very probably aro, and lacks biology to save time and concerns and have a convenient explanation! Clay is so handy.

2. Gods are the worst. He would like to punch every god in the face and then convince everyone to ignore them.

3. Politics is for other people, he's in the business of chaos.

4. Raven gives no shits what you think about him. Actually his job is to make you disagree with him, or do exactly the opposite of what he's doing. So!

[calmhrtprevails]

1. Fawkes is also asexual. And agender; Vault 87 supermutants, unlike the ones produced by the strain of FEV tested on the West Coast, lose all external sexual characteristics. Fawkes has no interest in a romantic relationship, either. I use 'he' because the game uses 'he' and the various gender-neutral pronouns offered for English don't feel right for Fawkes.

2. Fawkes has no memory of what religion he may have been raised with as a human (supermutants are born human and infected with FEV in a really nasty process). Mostly these days he practices forms of meditation and philosophy that hover on the border between Taoism and Zen Buddhism as understood by someone who learned them from a 2077 encyclopedia.

3. Fawkes doesn't do politics unless 'my kind mutilate, kill, and eat human beings and there must never be any more of us created' counts as politics. Also 'slavery is bad'.

4. The fact that Fawkes does not particularly think eating people or enslaving them or turning them into mutated horrors is a good thing tends to bring him into conflict with other FEV mutants, but it's not a deep internal conflict. It's a 'hit them in the head with a giant sledgehammer' or possibly 'turn them into piles of ash with a Gatling laser' conflict. The internal conflict he has is between the primal supermutant nature that leaves him wanting to commit ultraviolence as a default and the philosophical structure that advocates calm and mindfulness that's given him the ability to be sane.

[el_enmascarado_de_plata]

1. Santo is heterosexual and currently single. He is very popular with the ladies, and he likes it that way.

2. Santo is Catholic and while the Second Vatican Council made things kind of weird, he's dealing. Pope John XXIII seemed like a good man who made a good case, and who is Santo to oppose his reforms.

3. Santo doesn't do politics as far as I can tell. That may change, since there's a lot of movies in his canon that I haven't seen yet, but unless there's one that leaves him with an excuse to throw a politician across the room and into a fountain on his way to getting El Rey del Crimen in a headlock, I doubt he's gonna do much political anything, really.

4. Santo's conflicts tend to be on the external side, although from what I understand there are a few later movies of his that involve the fear of aging or being overwhelmed. In any case, neither his religion nor his politics nor his being fond of the ladies gives him trouble.

[igetthatalot]

1. Varric is almost entirely straight. He might consider making an exception for a specific guy if the right specific guy came along, but overall he's like a Kinsey 0.5.

2. Varric's Andrastian but he'd never set foot in a Chantry and he's very casual about his public expression of religion. Sometimes I think he's Andrastian out of spite against Orzammar. Cassandra claims that 'his heart is virtuous' in Dragon Age: Inquisition, for what that's worth.

3. Dude hates politics and would really rather stay the hell out of it. Which means...

4. Oh dear God did you even see his canon. Varric is basically dragged kicking and screaming into getting involved in Kirkwall politics and Chantry politics and then there's the part where the woman he's loved since, like, ever is part of a family that would send assassins after them both if they found out the two of them were even interacting and then there's the news about Varric that comes up in the Trespasser DLC and ahahahahaha yeah.

[2goodarms]

1) Straight, currently partnered with Dejah Thoris. He had a few same-sex encounters in the Tail, but views them more as something done out of necessity than a true comment on his orientation.

2) I'm pretty sure Curtis grew up some variety of Christian, but it was more background noise than something that took front and center in his life. Needless to say, if he ever believed in a god, he doesn't believe anymore. And he definitely didn't buy into the cult of Wilford while he was on the train.

(Gilliam, on the other hand...well. That loss of faith hurt a lot more than his slide into atheism.)

3) For years, his political knowledge -- if you could call it that -- didn't extend beyond "the Front tramples the Tail without remorse, and it's up to the Tail to fight back." He's starting to get a taste of the nuances thanks to Dejah, but so far, he's of the opinion that politics and political maneuvering are the w o r s t. Unsurprisingly, having a more black-and-white worldview was much easier!

4) Usually, those traits aren't in conflict -- most of his internal conflict space gets eaten up by his identity as a reluctant leader, or a good person, or a bunch of other stuff that has its roots in that first month on the train. But since he got together with Dejah, he's had to do a lot more examination of his political feelings. Dating someone who's as Front as they come? Not easy when you're from the Tail, no matter how much you might love the person in question.

ETA: And obviously, pre-Milliways, the rest of the train wasn't too fond of Tail-sectioners stepping outside their place! To put it mildly. Er. (Like, there's a scene where a ten-year-old Front girl proudly declares that people from the Tail eat their own shit. They were indoctrinating everybody from a young age to see the Tail as less than human.)

[hecu_marine]

1. Heterosexual. Got a girlfriend back in Rowlesburg.

2. Methodist. He grew up in the church and had his born-again moment years ago. He's good with this. Mind you, he's met other gods and had sex with at least one of them. He figures there's no point in being rude to 'em just because they aren't his gods. On a non-doctrinal level he is firmly convinced that God put him on this Earth for a purpose, and that purpose is 'kill shit so folks don't die'. Whether that's hunting animals for food or killing dangerous alien lifeforms or going to war with threatening humans is dependent on the situation. It all falls under the 'kill shit so folks don't die' heading. There are also those who would consider his insistence on remaining an old-school Marine and rebuilding the Corps to be religious to quasi-religious.

3. Politics is something he figures other people are better at; his is confined primarily to areas of national defense and a certain amount of trade negotiation and interacting with the rest of the world's survivor communities. I do not think he is aware that this is basically pushing him into politics and ambassadorship. Shh, don't tell him.

4. Generally these traits aren't much in conflict with each other, although in the past the Marine thing has definitely clashed with society, particularly the Black Mesa part of it. I am quite convinced that when he dies he is going to get the shock of his life because it's not going to be Saint Peter who welcomes him. I've already written that particular scene.

[notapilot]

1. Sam strikes me as being pansexual. I know a lot of folks define him as gay or bisexual, but I think he's much more open than male or female.

2. I honestly don't know. Knee jerk answer is Baptist, but I don't know that there is any credence to that. Comic book canon has his father being a minister but I'm not sure of which faith.

3. I think Sam is Democrat and fairly liberal. He cares about veterans rights and while traditionally being black and military leans to Republican, the modern Republican party disgusts Sam.

4. I don't think any of the above causes clashes with Sam, at least on a personal level. I am sure there is conflict with others about any of the above, but in his heart he's fine.

[isawit]

1-Still a kid but I like the idea of Selina being bisexual (as in the comics).
2-N/A I'm pretty sure mom didn't believe in much and Selina has yet to see any reason to change that.
3-I'm tempted to say Selina has anarchist leanings if I had to define a political system for her.
4-Not a hint of a problem.

[salty_witch]

1-Homosexual, though fairy is pretty open to most things. She can still appreciate the male physique.
2-The Fae don't practice a religion per se. Closest would be ancestor worship I think.
3-Whatever results in her being left alone and the city she lives in, as well as Faerie in general, not going to shit.
4-No conflicts, unless the little shits who are running the city are too stupid and make her get involved.

[brobrobrobrobro]

1. Straight. They like hot broads with big tits. No homo. Relationship status: various.

2. Russian Orthodox. They attend weddings and baptisms. They're a little fuzzy on "thou shalt not kill." They believe in protecting what's theirs (i.e. Ivan's).

3. Politicians come and go. The power of the mob doesn't have to.

4. They clash with literally almost everyone they come in contact with, and are driven almost completely by external conflict. They doubt that they'll regret smashing your head in, bro.

[neverbelievedintheend]

1. Stacker's sexual orientation is I DO NOT HAVE TIME FOR THAT.

... seriously, that's the entire response I get out of him.

2. I've headcanoned that his parents were baptized by missionaries before emigrating to the UK. Apparently the name 'Stacker' is common among the Primitive Baptist denomination, but they're a denomination opposed to mission boards and wouldn't be all that likely to have representatives overseas. He might've been raised with some kind of Baptist teachings in the home, but I'm pretty sure he's basically C of E at this point, and mostly only culturally to boot.

3. Stacker's politics are mostly in the direction of international cooperation in the interests of keeping the human race alive.

4. Every religious statement he's ever made, either on screen or in the Tales From Year Zero comic, has been of the 'humanity is going to overcome this religious adversarial situation ourselves' variety- canceling the Apocalypse, grabbing this beast (the second kaiju, I think) by the throat and dragging it back to Hell, never believed in the End Times, etc. When politics failed him because it was practiced by politicians rather than by people who had an actual stake in the matter of survival, he took what little they gave him and used it to get the job done in active spite of their crapola. His internal conflict is of the 'can I get this done before I die' variety, though.

[andinfluencepeople]

re #1: OH THANK GOD


(ooc: what he said immediately in my head when I scanned past this)

[acts_of_gord]

1. Straight. Married. Very happy about it.

2. Atheist. Decided on it at age eight, when he came to the conclusion that he didn't need to include God to make the world make sense, so long as he went about trying to figure out the parts that didn't make sense instead of leaving them up in the air.

3. The only politics he ever practiced in the past were academic, in an effort to get better lab space and funding.

4. So of course when the aliens came through from multiple other dimensions people decided he was the Messiah. He's just glad Alyx took charge of things because he'd never have the stomach for it. As it stands he's had to do basic political duties and leadership because otherwise people start pretending to be him or using his name to justify things he would never allow or approve of.

[fluffiest_archadian]

1. I somehow doubt that Ivalice even defines sexualities the same way we do. Doubly so for Archadia, so if you asked Sherral he would probably squint at you very slowly and then remark that that's not a suitable topic for discussion.

2. Sherral's nominally Kiltian. He believes in Faram and Galtea and the associated gods in a kind of vague way, but he doesn't worship on the regular.

3. Sherral decided when he was, like, twelve years old that he was going to ascend to the highest military position in Archadia (and while the Judge Magisters are a military group, we also know that they basically run the Ministry of Law, which makes them a political force on par with the Senate) and use that power to push for reform. So he's fairly political.

As a garrison captain, he's involved fairly closely in the politics of Rabanastre, since that's an occupied city under military dictatorship in all but name - I'm pretty sure the Dalmascan parliament is still around, but really only as a glorified advisory committee - and as such has a significant say in what happens in the city, even if ultimately the true power lies with the Consul and whichever Judge Magister is commanding the 8th Fleet.

4. Not really. Potentially there's some conflict between his politics and his faith, since a few months ago a Judge Magister descended upon the holiest site in the entire Kiltian faith and proceeded to slaughter refugees, pilgrims, guards, and the leader of the faith, before dying himself, so things are moderately tense there right now. But as yet, that's not really become a problem, since he's not exactly devout.

[dejah_thoris]

1. Demisexual. As much as Dejah's an intellectual person, she's also a physical person and her sexuality is just as high test. When she's not in a relationship, she manages her own needs and spends the energy in other physical ways, with long workouts and running.

2. She was raised to believe in the Goddess and the holy host that accompanied her. Until the war with the Thern, when she learned that the holy host was a shadow occupation bent on the utter destruction of her entire planet, which is when her religious beliefs took a huge hit. After the war, she's had to reinvent herself to a more spiritual and less dogmatic belief. She believes Issus was a real person, like a Buddha figure, who brought reason and logic to the clans. After much meditation, she believes the original core tenets of her faith are sound. And she's incorporated a whole new respect for questioning dogma, and anyone who insists on blind obedience is gonna get a long hard look from her. And possibly the back side of her blade.

3. Dejah hates politics, which is sad, because she basically has to be the biggest fish in an ocean of the stuff. Jeddak is not a hereditary position. The political system as it exists in Helium is a slightly more civilized version of what happens in the Thark clans. (Yes, disputes are still resolved by violence, though less so in the last few centuries.) The strongest leader must also have the backing of the majority of the populace. She must be both powerful and diplomatic. She has power blocks in the Senate that she has to contend with, both radical and traditional. And she has civil works that she champions, which is an incredibly fine balancing act in a world where any waste is considered almost sacrilege. Oh and then there's the university, which seems to be politics just for sport's sake. Academics don't look too kindly to arguments being solved on the edge of a sword, but that doesn't mean she hasn't been sorely tempted.

4. #3 rules most of Dejah's life when she's not in the bar. Her relationship with Curtis has thrown a big ol' monkey wrench in the works. Her duty is to Helium. To abdicate would be to deny her very identity. But in order to be a happy, whole and functioning Jeddak, she needs someone to remind her that she's a person and not a machine that works, eats, and sleeps, and the latter two only when someone reminds her to.

(Which makes me think Curtis should meet Sola at some point. So she can sort of explain how all those pieces fit together.)

[2goodarms]

(I am 100% game for that, fyi. :D!)

[road_to_calvary]

I) Valjean's sexuality is a mystery. Like, it would be really easy to say 'ace', seeing as he never has a partner of any kind. But the reason he never has a partner is first poverty/providing for his sister and her children, and then being a galley slave for nineteen years. His lack of partner is a Point Hugo is making, just as it is for Javert and Enjolras. That aside: prison. Toulon was a hotbed of homosexual behaviour by RL accounts, even accounting for Vidocq's propensity for exaggeration, so long story short, he knows more about sex than his demeanour might suggest, has not participated in any of it, and basically believes it's just another thing that is Not For Him, because ex-cons do not deserve nice things.

(Steel yourself for a whole new world, Valjean. Just sayin'.)

II) Catholic, but only nodding to it really until Toulon, where he felt no connection with it. Then the Bishop happened, and now he is devout, and practicing, and the best kind of Catholic there is. He is all good deeds and no judgement.

III) He has no politics. He spent the Revolution trying to provide for his family, and spent the entirety of Napoleon's reign in prison. He reads and probably had opinions once, but he does not engage with politics.

IV) Everything about Valjean, not just these things, clashes with the values of his world. Because he could be gay, and still find a place. He could be Protestant, and there would be people advocating for his right to practice his religion. He could be political for one group or another, and he would find people to share his views.

As a criminal and a convict, he has nothing. Nothing else matters. That one thing negates his status entirely, and it doesn't matter that it was society that drove him to crime in the first place. Which is, y'know, kind of the point of the book. :\

[genarti]

1. Celibate.

...No, I mean, sexual orientation was defined and thought about very differently in 1830s France (and 1860s France, when the book was published) than it is in 2015, and Enjolras is not the kind of person who navelgazes about it anyway, so... this question is sort of hard to answer. From a 2015 perspective, I'd say either heterosexual or bisexual (I haven't really had cause to pick, and canon tells us literally zero about his actual interest) but with a fairly low sex drive, and probably demisexual. He's not actually ace, because the possibility of sexual relationships is one he's deliberately set aside to focus on the cause, but it's not a source of ongoing stress or conflict for him to do so.

2. Heeee's a sort of Enlightenment-style Deist, who vaguely believes in Providence (but is friends with atheists and has no problem with them, and would probably be seen as Might As Well Be An Atheist by a lot of people in his culture.) He grew up surrounded by Catholicism, of course, but also with a lot of Deist and atheist philosophers. Religion qua religion isn't super important to him.

3. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

4. I... uh. Do I need to answer how his politics clash with the values of his own world? The whole idea that human rights were a thing, and that people should get to participate in their own government, was very much something under contention at the time, even before you get into the question of "how and when should this be implemented." This is why Enjolras is wandering around Milliways dead in his mid-20s!

Sexuality: nah, not really. I mean, being a Celibate For A Cause -- especially if you're not a priest -- was sort of seen as noble and pure or pitiful and unmanly depending on who you talked to, I gather? But Enjolras doesn't care. Certainly the gender dynamics and sexuality assumptions of his society deeply affect the way he interacts with men vs women, though.

Faith: He gets in a lot of debates with friends about the role of church and religion in politics?

Internal vs external conflict: Ahahahaha. There was a tumblr post a while ago eloquently and accurately saying that Enjolras wouldn't know an angsty self-doubt if it did the can-can in front of him. He self-examines and he surrounds himself with friends who argue with him on purpose, but: EXTERNAL.

[never_shall_yield]

I am confused by Enjolras's reaction to III. Does he hold political opinions? *innocent*

[wee_mad_arthur]

1. I don't think Wee Mad Arthur has a sexual orientation. Of the seven deadly sins, Lust got set aside to allow room for a double helping of Wrath.

2. Wee Mad Arthur ignores the gods and they ignore him and everybody's happy with that.

3. Politics? The guilds should know better than to oppress the independent working man, and the bigjob politicians should stay out of the way of them as're trying to make their way in the world.

4. None of these things really clash with each other because Wee Mad Arthur is only too happy to run out and clash with everything else in the universe. Personally. With his head.