Characters 3.2: FIERCE (ESTJ)
ESTJ
Systematic, organized, relies upon facts and policies. Uses resources efficiently. Develops logical conclusions. Concrete, straightforward; requires clear specifications. Expects measurement by fair, explicit standards. Conscientious. Does not bring personal issues into the mix. Realistic. Focuses on concrete results. Enjoys action, and interaction with a variety of personalities. Takes charge easily, a role accepted by others.
ESTJ
Systematic, organized, relies upon facts and policies. Uses resources efficiently. Develops logical conclusions. Concrete, straightforward; requires clear specifications. Expects measurement by fair, explicit standards. Conscientious. Does not bring personal issues into the mix. Realistic. Focuses on concrete results. Enjoys action, and interaction with a variety of personalities. Takes charge easily, a role accepted by others.
ESTJ
Systematic, organized, relies upon facts and policies. Uses resources efficiently. Develops logical conclusions. Concrete, straightforward; requires clear specifications. Expects measurement by fair, explicit standards. Conscientious. Does not bring personal issues into the mix. Realistic. Focuses on concrete results. Enjoys action and interaction with a variety of personalities. Takes charge easily, a role not always accepted by others.
Potential Areas of Conflict
Impatience, especially with those who don't follow the rules, don't follow through on their promises, or ignore the details. May be reluctant to embrace new or divergent ideas. Focus on the present, may miss bigger picture or future implications. May roll over people who don't agree with his assessment. May embrace action too quickly--being in motion, doing something is better than sitting around thinking or talking. Insensitive about the social or personal impact of decisions. Interrupts--cannot sit still and listen to opposing ideas, especially ideas he considers to be contrary to America’s best interests.
Brief description: A powerful character and role model representing responsibility and mission, Fierce’s roots are in the wolf. Focused, clear on beliefs and mission, loyal to the cause, Fierce is completely guided by the strength of his beliefs. They are his bedrock, his beacon, the core of his life’s purpose and his place on the planet. Fierce has thought long and hard about what he believes, why he believes, and why so many others lack his certainty. He is well-informed about his beliefs: familiar with the founding documents and the amendments, sacred scriptures, underlying philosophy. Constantly scanning the environment for new information, opportunity and threats, he concentrates energy and impact so they can be used most effectively. And he expects the same from others.
Purpose: As each generation takes the stage, its ability to look back is typically limited to the age of the parents and perhaps the grandparents. Fierce’s brain is not wired that way; history and tradition are alive, memories are strong and clear, understanding spans thousands of years. Fierce provides the counterweight to facts and statistics: the heart, soul, family, tradition, loyalty components that must drive every conception of life on earth. Sometimes, progress may overshadow Fierce’s fundamental way of thinking and acting, but that’s our burden, our failing. Beliefs beneath and surrounding everything. Fierce is ready, willing and able to carry the cause on his strong back, even when he is the last one standing. Fierce is awesome. Even more awesome when out with others of of kind.
What He Believes: It’s possible to reduce Fierce’s beliefs to “nature, God and country,” but let’s be careful about assumptions and stereotypes. Fierce finds his way by following the spirit and energy that powers the world, but he is critical of religion, articulate about the distinction between God and religion. In order to satisfy his faith and curiosity, Fierce borrows from many belief systems: some animal, some aboriginal, some contemporary human. He does not make much of a distinction between them.
For his external life, Fierce is guided by love of land and country, which includes love of family, responsibility for community. His passion for the care taken by the Founding Fathers in developing a new nation’s rules never flags. He professes extreme respect for those who create the rules, and those who enforce them, but he saves his deepest feelings for those with the guts and fortitude to challenge the rules when the time for change has arrived. Don’t assume there’s an American flag on True Fierce’s lawn, or a rifle in his pickup truck. If you dare to challenge the rock solid beliefs at his core, prepare for a long and powerful fight.
Belief in the Power of Beliefs: Fierce lives his life in the security of beliefs, but he’s an “I” not an “E.” His is often quiet. He listens, observes, thinks. He manifests those beliefs in personal challenges and practical matters. He’s ex-military, and he has experienced more than his share of tragic loss of those who believed as he does. (In time, we will learn the specifics.) He demands that others are clear on the reasons they think and act the way they do, clear on the reason for their own beliefs. This is a major point of conflict, and humor—it drives him crazy when people accept political messages, sound bites, social media without deeply considering how this “junk” digs down deep into the the mind and the beliefs contained within it. Fierce holds everyone to a very high standard—he doesn’t care what you believe, but he insists that you know why you believe as you do. Fierce may surprise you—he can and will shift his beliefs when new information is presented. He is constantly on watch.
Gender/Heritage: Fierce is mostly wolf, but partly human. (His family raised several humans, and the line remains deeply affected by those relationships.) In fact, there have always been strong connections between wolves and humans, so we’re carrying on this way of thinking. There are healing powers in the line as well, and strong hunting instincts.
Physical Description: Physically strong and compact. Fierce’s eyes that can bore right through you. Muscular. Fit.
Psychological: Family issues force Fierce to face the imperfections of his carefully considered beliefs. His parents are separated, resulting from a nasty conflict. Tough for Fierce to reconcile the incompatibility of good will toward some men and bad will toward others; tougher still to face a family torn apart because of this conflict (his parents despise one another; his siblings and his aunts and uncles and cousins are constantly at war with one another—beliefs gone wild—an extremely serious and unusual situation for wolves). Fierce keeps things together, puts a good face on it, and faithfully relies upon power of his own beliefs.
Fears: Deepest fear—fear at an awesome, Wagnerian level—belongs to the new Fierce. His faith is abundant, but that runs to the positive and the negative. Proving his faith—the human intellectual overlay upon the wolf’s natural instincts—this is beyond his understanding, despite his studies. And yet, he harbors an even deeper concern: the devastating destructive power of a great spirit and its manifestation among imperfect people who may enjoy too much freedom of thought and action (who kill one another in large numbers, kill animals in greater numbers for sport, hate, destroy the earth, etc.)
Social: Gets along, superior, overwhelming. Deserves respect. Keeps personal issues out of the mix. Uses silence as a goad and as a weapon. Thinks deeply, but is not self-absorbed—he is one of the gang, a heck of a guy, gets along with everyone, enjoys being in the cafe, part of the flow. He has learned to fit in, and he does that very well. Loves the action. When not in the cafe, he is out doing things that matter. When asked, Fierce will talk about them, show pictures and video, interview those involved in great work based upon their own beliefs, but he seldom begins that conversation.
Key Relationships: Respects Standard Joe because they can talk freely about anything and because they take action. Helps to coach Joe about his path. Learns a lot from Snap and from Quant—he respects them because they do their homework and think clearly (they are the knowledge side of the equation). Loves to argue with On the Beat—they make a lot of noise (they are masterful growlers), and then, Fierce takes On the Beat for a long walk. The deepest relationship: Moonlight because he can illuminate Fierce’s soul.
Place in Cafe: Active, moves from one place to another, then settles in. No single table or seat or perch.
0-to-60: Beliefs are worth fighting for, whether in the combat zone, in your own mind, on the pulpit, in the heart, in the eyes of children, or in casual conversation. Fierce does not make the distinction. He speaks his mind, cuts to the heart of the matter, drops the gauntlet, engages in battle. He’s harsh; when he fights, he does so with high expectations of himself and his opponent. Who are the most likely opponents? Those who express beliefs that are disconnected from thought or reason; those who just believe what they see on TV or read on the internet; those who believe the bullshit that the media puts out, and then weave elaborate belief systems around utter nonsense. Those who challenge America without studying America, its history, its legal philosophy, its true economic and social situation. Those who challenge anything without doing their homework. Those who are blinded by faith.
Accessory Characters: None.
