Personality
Akseli's introversion is one of the first things people notice about him. He is more stereotypically Finnish rather than Portuguese in this regard; he is terrible at small talk (he wonders why you would talk about nothing to try to fill up silence rather than just let it be) and he often won't say anything unless he is being addressed or it would fit the situation. He tends to regard strangers with caution and suspiscion. But with his friends (who are mostly all quite close), he is much more relaxed and will participate in conversation and sometimes initiate it. In silence or in conversation, he is not as outwardly pleasant as he was when he was younger, but he is still far from gruff or sour. That said, he still has a quite confident air about him and when there is a task to complete, he will go right to it and take care of it, and speak very directly. Annoy him, and he will not hesitate to retaliate with extra snark.
A lot of his mannerisms are dominated by the aftereffects of his assault. The most noticeable one was his aversion to unexpected conscious touch, which has subsided for the most part; however, bad feelings can still well up when it happens, especially when a woman touches him. He discovered this extends to sexual touch too, although much less severely (strong discomfort rather than outright aversion). Because of his circumstances, he also has a severe dislike of lying and liars, particularly when a liar tries to throw someone else under the bus in order to escape. And while he is not an alcoholic, he is still prone to occasionally binge drinking in order to escape from stress and anxiety (though the one thing he will not abuse in this manner is his father's family's wines).
Being rather introverted, Akseli requires a lot of alone time and he will take whatever he can get. However, his preference is to go into the outdoors every once in a while to recharge; because of this, he is a very outdoorsy person and really loves to camp and fish. When fishing, he only keeps what he will eat, and when he has caught enough for his food needs, he will stop. He hunts much less frequently, but he follows the same principle when hunting; he does not kill the fauna for sport only and he abhors this practice. He is also a very adept archer; if his high school had had an archery team, he would have been on it and likely would have been the top performer.
Aside from his outdoor activities, Akseli is alo an avid reader of fiction and nonfiction alike. History (particularly the histories of Portugal and Finland) and historical fiction are his two preferred reading genres, although he keeps a wide palette. Reading the news is also an important ritualistic activity for him, partially out of interest in what's happening in the world and partially out of habit from his studies. He also makes time to journal every night before he goes to bed; he finds it helps him to decompress and keep him from having trouble falling and staying asleep.
Akseli's introversion is one of the first things people notice about him. He is more stereotypically Finnish rather than Portuguese in this regard; he is terrible at small talk (he wonders why you would talk about nothing to try to fill up silence rather than just let it be) and he often won't say anything unless he is being addressed or it would fit the situation. He tends to regard strangers with caution and suspiscion. But with his friends (who are mostly all quite close), he is much more relaxed and will participate in conversation and sometimes initiate it. In silence or in conversation, he is not as outwardly pleasant as he was when he was younger, but he is still far from gruff or sour. That said, he still has a quite confident air about him and when there is a task to complete, he will go right to it and take care of it, and speak very directly. Annoy him, and he will not hesitate to retaliate with extra snark.
A lot of his mannerisms are dominated by the aftereffects of his assault. The most noticeable one was his aversion to unexpected conscious touch, which has subsided for the most part; however, bad feelings can still well up when it happens, especially when a woman touches him. He discovered this extends to sexual touch too, although much less severely (strong discomfort rather than outright aversion). Because of his circumstances, he also has a severe dislike of lying and liars, particularly when a liar tries to throw someone else under the bus in order to escape. And while he is not an alcoholic, he is still prone to occasionally binge drinking in order to escape from stress and anxiety (though the one thing he will not abuse in this manner is his father's family's wines).
Being rather introverted, Akseli requires a lot of alone time and he will take whatever he can get. However, his preference is to go into the outdoors every once in a while to recharge; because of this, he is a very outdoorsy person and really loves to camp and fish. When fishing, he only keeps what he will eat, and when he has caught enough for his food needs, he will stop. He hunts much less frequently, but he follows the same principle when hunting; he does not kill the fauna for sport only and he abhors this practice. He is also a very adept archer; if his high school had had an archery team, he would have been on it and likely would have been the top performer.
Aside from his outdoor activities, Akseli is alo an avid reader of fiction and nonfiction alike. History (particularly the histories of Portugal and Finland) and historical fiction are his two preferred reading genres, although he keeps a wide palette. Reading the news is also an important ritualistic activity for him, partially out of interest in what's happening in the world and partially out of habit from his studies. He also makes time to journal every night before he goes to bed; he finds it helps him to decompress and keep him from having trouble falling and staying asleep.