30 DAY CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT MEME;;
DAY EIGHT (x)
What are some of your character’s more notable merits and flaws (including physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, etc.)? How did they develop? How has this helped or hindered them in the past? I did touch on some of Lyanna’s flaws in a previous post for this meme, so some of these will be repeats, but I guess I’ll just expand on them here a bit more.
Lyanna has a tremendous thirst for adventure and it’s one of those things, especially coupled with her courageous nature that makes her very nearly fearless. She wants to experience so much in the world, and she’s always interested, always curious about other people and nature around her. There is more beyond where she is, a whole world out there, and her mentality is that she could experience all of that, given a chance. Her courage is not just limited to this adventurousness, however. Lyanna believes in doing what’s right, she’s a highly moral person with a strong sense of honor and duty (although maybe some of that is that she’s almost stupidly brave). Part of this stems from the way she was raised and the fact that she is a Stark, but it’s also something at her core that motivates her, and she has the courage of her convictions. She’ll stand up and fight for what she believes is right– although she does prefer to get her way peacefully.
It’s a good thing, then, that she’s also naturally charismatic and that people tend to like her as a person. Lyanna believes that everyone has a common ground somewhere and that everyone likes to laugh. She’s playful and has a strong sense of humor. She believes one cannot really make it through life without laughter. Lyanna is also a forthright person– not just genuine and honest, but she’ll tell it like it is without reservation. She calls the world how she sees it (this is probably a trait that could be interpreted as more neutral than being a merit or flaw, I suppose it depends). She is outspoken. She also thinks outside the box; Lyanna is a bit of an unorthodox person and is open to solutions that aren’t traditional or common when necessary. She’s a freethinker.
Other more neutral facets of her personality include her determination and tenacity. Lyanna knows always exactly what is at stake in her quest to restore her family, and she cannot afford to hesitate or to give up. She will fight until the very end, she’ll refuse defeat and keep thinking of ways to win. It makes her a very formidable adversary and a very loyal ally. A lot of this is also because Lyanna is an aggressive person, unafraid of conflict or confrontation if it needs to be had. Much of that rests on her values and priorities, which are always familial. Even when Lyanna doesn’t technically feel as though she’s part of a family, she will always advocate for the Starks and the Martells. Always. Even though she can often feel very solitary at times.
As far as some of Lyanna’s flaws, many of them are wrapped up in the arguably shitty choices she made when she was younger. She did lie to everyone and abandon her family in order to get out of an obligation, and often feels that this was the wrong decision. Would that I had been born to a family of lambs instead of wolves. She often feels that she should have just fallen on her sword and married Robert Baratheon. The idea still gives her chills, but in retrospect seems far preferable to losing everyone she ever loved. Her guilt over this fraudulence and all of the losses in her name have had a lasting effect on Lyanna. A large portion of her personality is melancholy and regretful, and these emotions sit just underneath the surface for her always. It effects her worldview, her mood, and her self esteem, and it can make her very defensive at times. She tends to be a more emotional person, although this doesn’t always present outwardly.
Lyanna’s outspokenness and forthrightness can sometimes come across as abrasive, particularly when she’s telling people things that they don’t want to hear. She is not one to shrug from an ugly truth (not even her own). This can cause issues on occasion. She’s also not one to forget, and can be very grudging, even over the span of years. Even if she forgives, Lyanna is not one to ever forget.