Hume Dalrymple

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Hume Dalrymple is the next Hum Drum of “The Light Princess”.

Personality
When people come across Hume Dalrymple in the corridors of Ever After High, more often than not, their first instinct is to take a double take. Hume’s unamused stare, sullen demeanour and punk clothing choices generally contribute to an intimidating atmosphere, while the rumours of his brilliance add to his daunting aura.

As a result, though assumptions of Hume vary, the common consensus is that the next philosopher in the Light Princess is an arrogant asshole who looks down on his peers and refuses to participate in school.

The rumours, are of course, far from the truth.

The next Hum Drum is generally a chill person and seems above the high school drama his peers engage in unless they directly affect him—as he often claims: “I have a high inertia”.

Hume also tends to be quiet and isn’t a person who speaks unprompted. Hence, while the rumours about his image bother him, he remains calm and avoids actions that fuel gossip. This pacificism isn't always positive though, as it also translates to a lackadaisical attitude.

Almost as if he embodies his studies (on metaphysics, materialism, anatomy), Hume’s apathy can be explained by physical terms: chronic stress, adrenal fatigue, physical exhaustion, insomnia --

The truth: Hume is burnout.

After he was assigned the destiny of Hum Drum, Hume joined the clubs recommended by the school, did the coursework expected for a budding materialist anatomist philosopher, and played the role of the studious sedentary scholar. After 2 years of preparing for his role, and 2 more to his graduation, Hume's starting to realise that he’s not happy with the path he’s condemned himself to.

This underlies the dilemma he faces, and is the primary reason for his burnout. As a child prodigy, Hume was brilliant, and when he learnt of the metaphysician role selection, it seemed as though a fire had been lit under him as he prepared for it. And why wouldn’t he continue to work hard once he was selected for the role?

Achieving a destiny would mean that he’s settled for life, his family's future assured and his efforts acknowledged.

Realising that he's locked himself in a road he has no passion for meant that his hard work was wasted and family's trust broken. It would mean that he doesn't have a path to follow, and for Hume who had always relied on going with the flow? It's a terrifying realisation.

Surprisingly, despite the bad reputation Hume gained in his legacy year, it doesn’t mean that he’s without friends.

In his Freedom year, Hume wasn’t as overwhelmed by his studies and was relatively well-liked for his wit and looks. His calm demeanour and attentive nature makes him an ideal listening ear, which is why Hume’s relatively popular in damsel-in-distressing classes — who knew empathy and etiquette are highly appreciated when making small talk?

It’s a pity that people misunderstand Hume to be a bad boy in Yearbook year as he generally has an easy-going charm that is attractive (when he isn’t too drained, that is).

Hanging with his friends
Hume is an ambivert, and greatly enjoys chilling with his friends —whether it is watching movies, goofing around, or just gossiping during sleepovers. Careole finds the fact that people think Hume is a “bad boy” hilarious and has been suggesting he get a motorcycle.

Shitty horror films
Hum Drum was supposed to suggest a graphic method which involves invasive procedures to fix the Light Princess’s affliction. As part of his education, Hume had to learn anatomy, which gave him a stomach for gory stuff. He watches B-movie horror films to laugh at how biologically impossible some stuff are, and it helps that the movies tend to not have much, if any plot, which makes for a brainless watch (heh).

Music
He has a varied musical taste, but tends to listen to pop-rock bands like Panic! At the Ballroom, Green Knight or Snapdragon. Bonus points if the title is something that fits his vibes. Like a true emo, Hume can be found gazing pensively into the distance with his earphones in, all the while sighing intermittently.

Debate
Hume liked to watch people debating (or read transcripts of past debates), and think about possible arguments he would’ve made instead. It used to be a fun exercise to practise his philosophical skills, though Hume has been losing interest in it recently.

Appearance
As Hume enters his third year, it looks like his lips are perpetually set into a frown, and his eyes are always flinty and hard. His eye bags make him appear as if he’s glaring at people.

This sharp gaze, coupled with his brooding aesthetic and good looks mean that many people misunderstand Hume to be a bad boy. Understandably, being mischaracterized frustrates Hume though he doesn’t externally display his feelings.

He’s also like, really attractive. Hume is unfairly blessed with height and good looks

How the Story Goes
{Quote ... “Hear my opinion — From some cause or other, of no importance to our inquiry, the motion of her heart has been reversed. That remarkable combination of the suction and the force-pump works the wrong way - I mean in the case of the unfortunate princess: it draws in where it should force out, and forces out where it should draw in.
 * Hum-Drum was a Materialist, was slow and sententious, had generally the last word.

(And there's a pretty graphic scene of Hum-Drum's proposed cure in the next paragraph)|Excerpts taken from “the Light Princess”}

How does Hume come into it?
Hume was a Labobian who won the destiny by his intellect and prowess in metaphysics (as well as hard work).

He entered EAH at 15, eager to begin what was promised to him as a secured future. Initially, Hume was extremely active in school and participated in all the school activities suggested to him, ignoring his feelings about the activities.

Of course, that was not the healthy decision to take, given his current state in school.

Hume’s views on his story
Hume’s a roybel since he’s conflicted about his role and whether he wishes to choose it. While Hume knows that philosophy isn’t the right subject for him and regrets choosing this destiny, he’s also resigned to the destiny.

After all, he’s already signed the Storybook of Legends and he has to graduate with the role and support his family as the eldest son! And it would be a waste of time and resources if he dropped out — Hume is in EAH on sponsorship, and he’s afraid that he wouldn’t be able to pay the bond back if he refused the destiny.

Parallels

 * Hum Drum is a materialist — that is, he engages in a type of philosophy which posits that everything that happens in history and the world is due to human’s physical (chemical and biological included) processes.
 * On the other hand, Hume doesn’t react to things unless they physically affect him! I think it’s a neat subversion :D
 * Hum Drum claimed that the Light Princess’ lack of gravity is caused by her heart pumping in the opposite direction, while Hume doesn’t go against the flow, so to speak.
 * Hum Drum has been described as “slow and sententious”, and as a person who likes to have “the last word”. Hume is a chill person, and makes up his response to debates after they’re over - he literally has the last word.

Name parallels:
 * Hume Dalrymple sounds similar to Hum Drum, and Hume is the last name of a Scottish philosopher: David Hume!
 * Dalrymple is a Scottish surname, which ties in with the fact that “the Light Princess” is a Scottish fairytale!
 * Hume sounds like Human, and the materialist philosophy ties with the human body. (blame hiddenfolk for noticing the name’s pun-tential)

Timetable
Hum Drum is a materialist, so Hume takes advanced anatomy. He has philosophy seminars every Saturday with ting, vedant and leah. They mirrorcall the School of Metaphysicians every Saturday morning for 5 hours. It is very stressful and Hume dreads the morning class.

Chemythstry Bi-ogre-y (Advanced anatomy) Geografairy Physhex Science and Sorcery Grimmnastics Elective: Heroics 101

Hume’s part of the Enchanted Forest Club because Vedant dragged him there. He isn’t really invested in the club, and goes for like, one session a term

Trivia

 * Hume eats very unappetisingly — it’s almost as if he doesn’t enjoy his food and only eats to get the required nutrients.
 * In the real-world, Hume would be Scottish! He’s like, my one nod to the Scottish origins of “the Light Princess” HAHA
 * He’s definitely not white though! maybe east asian? or southeast asian.
 * Even though Hume’s character is different from what I initially planned, he was written with the intention of critiquing miswritten bad boys. There’s no way he’s one now, but I hope you can keep this in mind as you read his page!
 * (If you’re interested in reading about an actual bad boy, I personally think Vinnnn’s Faebian Auberon is really well-written.)
 * Here’s Hume’s pinterest board!

Specific things he likes:
 * The smiles and laughter of his friends. Hume doesn’t feel happy most days, but he feels really relaxed when he’s around people he loves
 * Patting the shell of his tortoise, Drum. She does that cute thing where her eyes close and it looks like she’s smiling. Hume swears it’s the cutest thing ever.

Specific things he hates:
 * His weekly philosophy classes every Saturday.

Quotes
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