History Main / LightFeminineAndDarkFeminine

* * ''WebVideo/NintendoHigh'': Sweet and innocent ClassPrincess Peach is the Light Feminine, while haughty and manipulative AlphaBitch Pauline is the Dark Feminine.

* "WebVideo/NintendoHigh": Sweet and innocent ClassPrincess Peach is the Light Feminine, while haughty and manipulative AlphaBitch Pauline is the Dark Feminine.

* "WebAnimation/NintendoHigh": Sweet and innocent Peach is the Light Feminine, while haughty and manipulative Pauline is the Dark Feminine.

!!Examples:

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* ''Series/TwoBrokeGirls'': Max is the Dark Feminine (snarky, dark-haired), Caroline is the Light Feminine (blonde, rich, and a bit naïve).
* At the beginning of the second season of ''Series/AgentCarter'', Daniel Sousa is attracted to two women: Violet, his bubbly blonde nurse girlfriend ([[FeminineWomenCanCook who bakes]]), and Peggy, the snarky brunette secret agent coworker for whom he harbors an unresolved crush that hasn't quite gone away.
%%* ''Series/AmericanIdol'' had Mikalah Gordon and CarrieUnderwood, to the point that they were called the bad girl and good girl of the season.
%%** Lampshaded by Sophie, the title character in ''And the Upstairs Neighbor'' when she compares them to a chocolate and vanilla cupcake respectively.
* In ''Series/{{Arabela}}'', we have sisters Xenia (dark, seductive) and Arabela (light, pure).
* In ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' Buffy and Faith are Vampire Slayers, the Chosen Two. Bad girl Faith says that killing vampires always makes her hungry and horny contrasted with Buffy who sometimes craves a nonfat yogurt afterward and cares about always doing the right thing. This trope gets a thorough workout when [[spoiler:their bodies are switched.]]
* ''Series/ConversationsWithFriends'': Frances is more shy, reserved, and vulnerable. Her best friend/former lover Bobbi is bold, confident, and very outspoken. Frances complains about how they clash at times, with Bobbi thinking that she's repressed as her emotional life isn't as strong and open while judging things too much for her tastes. It's a pretty interesting portrayal of an introvert and extrovert being friends, who have realistic difficulties given that. However, even so, Frances movingly tells Bobbi that she's the center of her world.
* ''Series/DegrassiTheNextGeneration'' has the noble Emma as light and her best friend the provocative Manny as dark.
%%* ''Series/{{Dexter}}'' has Rita and Lila.
* ''Series/DoctorWho'': In "The Enemy of the World", the two heroic "Bond girl" characters are Astrid--wholesome, a pilot working for the good guys, optimistic and with a StiffUpperLip; and Fariah, a woman heavily implied to have dark secrets in her past. Astrid is innocently charming, very honest, and fights with straightforward ActionGirl methods, while Fariah is beguiling, mysterious, and fights with social manipulation. Both Astrid and Fariah flirt with men at one point to get them to do what they want, but when Astrid does it she just ends up gushing to the Doctor about how wonderful he is, while Fariah will smolder on cue if it means Salamander is less likely to suspect her of leaking information.
** Rose Tyler and Lady Cassandra are presented in this fashion. Rose is an honest, fun-loving, and caring [[WorkingClassHero humble heroine]] with a slight selfish streak that loves the Doctor in an almost naive fashion. Lady Cassandra, being a Foil to Rose, is an [[RichBitch arrogant, vain, and racist upper-class lady]] that lived a good part of her life [[TheVamp fooling her lovers]] in order to gain more wealth. The story arc involving the two explores British class warfare, ideas of beauty, and what makes a person "human".
* ''Series/DontTrustTheBInApartment23'': Most of the show's storylines are generated by the contrast between the short, trusting, and sweet June and the tall, manipulative, and promiscuous Chloe. Of course, the plot is driven by the fact that June can keep up with Chloe and regularly gives her a taste of her own medicine.
* ''Series/{{Euphoria}}'':
** Brunette Maddy and blonde Cassie. The former wears outfits with darker colors like purple while Cassie's outfits have lighter tones like pastel blue. Maddy is more seductive and brooding. Cassie is sweet and desperate for love.
** Rue and Jules similarly have brown vs blonde hair while wearing darker or lighter colors. In Rue's case, she's a troubled drug addict who's pretty cynical and keeps aloof a lot (except for from Jules). Contrasting this, Jules is more light-hearted, open, and wants approval. They date but have a difficult relationship.
* ''Series/TheFreshPrinceOfBelAir'' has the ProudBeauty Hilary (dark) and the NiceGirl Ashley (light).
* ''Series/GilmoreGirls'': For a while, Rory unexpectedly enters the role of Dark Feminine in a BettyAndVeronica triangle with Lindsay, Dean's wife. Seeing how OOCIsSeriousBusiness, it doesn't last that long and comes with some repercussions.
* ''Series/TheGoldenGirls'': Rose and Blanche are the most traditionally feminine of the four characters. Where Rose is a [[KindheartedSimpleton sweet, if somewhat ditzy]] woman, Blanche is [[ItsAllAboutMe self-centered]] and [[LovableSexManiac obsessed with men]].
* ''Series/GossipGirl'': Best friends and sometimes enemies Serena and Blair. Serena is usually the light, and Blair usually the dark, but it's zigzagged & subverted throughout the series. Serena acted as a dark feminine pre-series whereas Blair was fierier but ultimately light feminine before both use both types at different places during the show's run.
%% ** During the latter half of Season 1 this was exaggerated with Georgina and Serena.
* In ''Series/GreysAnatomy'', there are several distinct duos. Lexie, TheIngenue, is the light to her friend Sadie, who has all the markings of TheTease, as well as Julia, Mark's other love interest at this point. Ellis Grey, the bossy former mistress of Richard is the dark to his wife, Adele. In a similar fashion, and in a rare example where the protagonist is played in some way as the dark half of this duo, Meredith is played for a while as the dark to Addison's light.
* ''Series/Hawkeye2021'' has a case that twists the visual reference, in that Kate Bishop, who loves dark colors (specially [[PurpleIsPowerful purple]]) is the cheerful optimist, while Yelena Belova dresses in bright colors (aside from her black tactical suit) yet is cynical and distrustful.
* ''Series/{{Hex}}'' has a little fun with this trope.
** Bookish, virginal Cassie, kindly teacher Jo, and nice Series 2 BetaBitch Alex start out as the Light. [[spoiler: Yet Cassie under Azazeal's control becomes a full-blown [[TheVamp vamp]] for a while and then sacrifices herself to protect the resulting son. Jo also falls for Azazeal's charms and undergoes a [[FaceHeelTurn Face Heel Turn]] for his sake.]] Alex goes darker when [[spoiler: Malachi grants her wish to supplant Roxanne as the [[AlphaBitch Queen Bee]] and is turned into a succubus as a result.]]
** [[AlphaBitch Roxanne]], [[BetaBitch Gemma]] and [[BadassLongcoat Ella]] all lean towards the Dark with the first two being more concerned about sex than relationships and the latter being willing to [[spoiler: use Leon as demon bait. Gemma becomes the Light as she leaves the school when Troy does, realising she really does love him, Roxanne undergoes a moral awakening late in Series 2 and Ella comes to realise how much she really does love Leon, and spends the last moments of the series making out with him as the apocalypse begins.]]
%%* The title characters of the short-lived sitcom ''Hope And Gloria'' respectively
* ''Series/ItsOkayToNotBeOkay'': Nam Ju-ri is the Light to Ko Moon-young's Dark. Ju-ri is a kind, shy nurse from a modest background. Moon-young is an antisocial, elegant dark children's book author often dressed in haute couture.
%%* Kahlan (light) and Cara (dark) from ''Series/LegendOfTheSeeker''.
* ''Series/{{Merlin 2008}}'':
** The series has [[SpiritedYoungLady Guinevere]], the good-hearted heroine, and [[LadyOfBlackMagic Morgana]], the villainess. Interestingly, Gwen is linked more with desire than Morgana, who (despite a couple of early FemmeFatale scenes) almost comes across as asexual in her complete lack of interest in men. And as an added ironic bonus, Guinevere (light) is played by mixed-race Creator/AngelCoulby, and Morgana (dark) is played by extremely pale Creator/KatieMcGrath--though with very dark hair.
** In the episode ''The Hunter's Heart'', Guinevere gets a turn at playing the dark feminine in contrast to visiting Princess Mithian's light.
* In ''Series/MrRobot'', Angela Moss is the Light Feminine to Darlene Alderson's Dark Feminine. Angela is blonde, innocent, even-tempered, in a steady relationship, and holding a steady job with a cybersecurity company. Darlene is dark-haired, flirty, hot-tempered, unafraid of casual sexual encounters, and involved with a radical hacker group. Their first scene together, in a ballet class, subtly highlights this: Angela wears a traditional pink leotard with a skirt, while Darlene wears provocative black short-shorts with a gothic-looking black mesh top.
%%* ''Series/NewGirl'': Jess is the Light Feminine while Cece is the Dark Feminine.
* ''Series/NoTomorrow'': Evie is sweet, cheerful, naive, and only wants to have a monogamous, committed relationship. Kareema, her best friend, is a sarcastic nihilist who (before Sofia) only engages in casual sex.
* In ''Series/ParksAndRecreation'', the bubbly and optimistic blonde Leslie is the ''epitome'' of Light Feminine. Her foil is the brunette Ann Perkins, who is realistic and snarky, as is Leslie's protégée April Ludgate.
* ''Series/PrettyLittleLiars'' has two pairs among the four main characters: Hanna and Emily are light, while Aria and Spencer are dark--they are more flirtatious and employ different degrees of the FilleFatale trope.
** Allison is a Dark feminine contrast both to Emily herself when they enter a relationship, and to Paige - her rivaling love interest for Emily. Paige is also the light to Maya's dark [[spoiler: before Maya is killed]].
** There is also a similar contrast between Paige's love interests: NiceGirl Emily and Shana the WildCard, who is an aggressive flirt [[spoiler: as well as a total psycho]].
** Allison is also the dark to Aria's light as [[spoiler: Ezra's love interests]].
* In ''Series/{{Riverdale}}'', the OG Betty and Veronica are a pretty obvious case of light and dark - Betty is the chaste GirlNextDoor and a StepfordSmiler, while Veronica is a flirty SpicyLatina from the BigApplesauce.
** Later in the season, a new BettyAndVeronica duo appears - Valerie is the light feminine, girly, and a bit of a pushover, while Miss Grundy is the HotForStudent cougar with a DarkAndTroubledPast. Veronica is also later contrasted as the dark to Valerie's light both as her short-term replacement with the Pussycats and as Archie's eventual love interest.
** After the reveal of their family bond, Betty and Cheryl can be an example as well as [[HairOfGoldHeartOfGold Betty]] is the light while [[ManipulativeBitch Cheryl]] is the dark.
* ''Series/RobinHood'':
** The first 2 series has Marian as the light feminine, who was replaced by Isabella, the dark feminine.
** In the third series, in which Isabella and Kate are rivals for Robin's affection, Kate would also count as the light feminine in contrast to Isabella's dark. However, after Isabella's FaceHeelTurn it became a blatant MadonnaWhoreComplex.
* In ''Series/Runaways2017'', Nico the surly brunette [[LadyOfBlackMagic goth girl with black magic powers]], and Karolina the blonde [[StepfordSmiler smiling sweetie]] [[HalfHumanHybrid with an alien heritage]]. [[spoiler:[[OfficialCouple They're an item.]]]]
* ''Series/SchittsCreek'':
** Moira's hair color changes with her wigs, but she often has dark hair and dresses in black and white clothes, and she has a melodramatic, self-centered personality. Her friend Jocelyn, on the other hand, is a blond, StepfordSmiler who often puts the needs of others above her own, at least until she reaches her RageBreakingPoint.
** Dark-haired Stevie is an introverted, cynical, and pessimistic young woman, while the blond Alexis is a bubbly, cheerful, optimistic, and energetic young woman.
* At the beginning of ''Series/{{Smash}}'', sweet, Midwestern NaiveEverygirl Karen is the Light Feminine to sexy, jaded, and been-around-the-block Ivy's Dark Feminine. In a variation on the usual corresponding physical tropes, Karen is tall and brunette while Ivy is short and blonde. As the series goes on and Karen comes face-to-face with the ruthless ambition required to be a star on Broadway, her wide-eyed innocence fades.
* ''Series/StarTrekPicard'': Jurati is the light to Raffi's dark. Jurati is bubbly and talkative while Raffi is a brooding drug addict. Subverted, however, when Jurati proves to be less light than she seems.
* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' has a very literal version of this trope in Season 4, which sees Sam Winchester enter into a destructive love affair with a dark-haired, manipulative demon named Ruby while his brother Dean has a fling with a kind, idealistic, red-headed FallenAngel named Anna. In a twist, when Ruby and Anna spend time together, they get [[LesYay along quite well]].
* ''Series/TheTudors'' has the seductive, manipulative, and tragic Anne Boleyn (dark-haired) contrasting with the good-hearted, subservient, and also tragic Jane Seymour (light-haired). Exaggerated though it may be for fiction, this fits the traditional views of both doomed women.
* ''Series/TheVampireDiaries'': Elena is the Light Feminine and Katherine is the Dark Feminine. Elena and Katherine, who are both doppelgangers, share an uncanny physical resemblance, but in terms of morals, Elena is known as good and moral, while Katherine is known as bad and immoral.
* A ''Series/VeronicaMars'' episode plays the dark/light contrast between Meg and Veronica herself (who also serve as a BettyAndVeronica triangle for PrincelyYoungMan Duncan), in his own dream. Veronica is wearing a skimpy black outfit--Meg is in an angelic white dress. Veronica ''gags'' Meg who scolds Duncan for forgetting about the love they had and then goes off on Duncan for his childish feelings for Meg.
--> '''Veronica:''' Is that really what you want? Teddy bears and mash notes. Grow up. Grow up and get over it!
* ''Series/XenaWarriorPrincess'' (dark, being a warrior) and Gabrielle (light, being more of a diplomat). Granted, Xena was a TomboyPrincess, but in her first appearance, she was also quite decidedly TheVamp.
%%* Most of the final two contestants of ''Series/AmericasNextTopModel'' counts. This is evident with pairs such as: Cycle 1's [[{{Tomboy}} Adrienne]] (dark) and [[TheIngenue Shannon]] (light), Cycle 2's [[BewareTheNiceOnes Yohanna]] (dark) and [[TheCutie Mercedes]] (light), Cycle 3's [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Eva]] (dark) and [[TheSmartGirl Yaya]] (light), Cycle 4's [[FormerTeenRebel Naima]] (dark) and [[TheHeart Kahlen]] (light), Cycle 5's Nicole (dark) and [[NiceGirl Nik]] (light), Cycle 10's [[BigBeautifulWoman Whitney]] (dark) and [[PluckyComicRelief Anya]] (light), Cycle 12's [[OurdoorsyGirl McKey]] (dark) and [[ValleyGirl Samantha]] (light), Cycle 12's Teyona (dark) and Allison (light), Cycle 13's [[CloudCuckooLander Nicole]] (light) and [[CovertPervert Laura]] (dark), Cycle 14's [[BewareTheQuietOnes Krista]] (dark) and [[GenkiGirl Raina]] (light), Cycle 15's [[ShrinkingViolet Ann]] (light) and [[MrExposition Chelsea]] (dark), Cycle 16's [[TheDutifulSon Brittani]] (light) and Molly (dark), Cycle 17's Lisa (dark) and [[AlwaysSecondBest Allison]] (light) and Cycle 18's [[FunnyForeigner Sophie]] (light) and [[AllWomenAreLustful Laura]] (dark).
* On a meta level are two female-targeted cable networks--Creator/HallmarkChannel (light) specializes in light {{Romance}} and heartwarming drama, while Creator/{{Lifetime}} (dark) has a lot of {{Thriller}} and CrimeDrama material (though both channels devote every December to Christmas RomanticComedy). Many production companies contribute starkly contrasting original movies to both channels.
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* ''Toys/MonsterHigh'' plays the trope straight but inverts the colour-coding. GenkiGirl VegetarianVampire Draculaura (Light Feminine) dresses mostly in black clothing, and LovableAlphaBitch Cleo (Dark Feminine) wears a lot of glittery gold... and is deathly afraid of the dark.

** In ''VideoGame/Splatoon1'', there is Callie (Dark) and Marie (Light). Callie is the black and pink Inkling who acts confident and short-tempered. Marie is the white and green Inkling who acts sensitive and level-headed.

* The two leading ladies in Nathaniel Hawthorne's ''The Blithedale Romance''. Priscilla is the demure, fragile, domestic (read: conservative) Light Feminine; Zenobia is the mysterious, sensual, outspoken, transcendental feminist (read: liberal) Dark Feminine.

* The Jack Weyland book ''Michelle and Debra'' has the obedient Michelle as the light and her rebellious best friend Debra as the dark.

* ''Practical Magic'' has motherly Sally (light) and seductive Gillian (dark). That goes double for [[Film/PracticalMagic the movie adaptation]]. In fact, a quote in the book used to describe them sums up this trope quite nicely:

* ''Fanfic/DanganronpaKommSusserTod'': Nanae Mochizuki is a SweetBaker who dresses in [[CheeryPink bright pink]]. Her best friend, who she is rarely seen apart from, is Mayu Ikezawa, a BrokenBird who wears dark, morose purple clothes.
* ''Ghosts of the Past'', sequel to ''Fanfic/ChildOfTheStorm'', has Jean as the [[NiceGirl Light Feminine]] in both personality (sweet, affectionate, and generally lovely) and dress sense (favouring warm colours, greens and reds in particular) to [[spoiler: Maddie, a.k.a. Rachel Grey, Jean's stolen at birth twin sister]], the [[TykeBomb Dark Feminine]], who's darker, grimmer, and more brooding, and generally favouring cold colours.
* In the ''Fanfic/InfinityTrainBlossomverse'', we have [[Characters/InfinityTrainBlossomingTrailChloeCerise Chloe Cerise]] and Amelia Hughes in ''Fanfic/InfinityTrainBlossomingTrail'' and ''Fanfic/InfinityTrainVoyageOfWisteria''. Chloe is the young GenkiGirl who wears white and has bundles of enthusiasm towards the stuff on the Train (Light Feminine) while Amelia is the older, stoic and a DefrostingIceQueen while wearing a grey suit (Dark Feminine). ''Fanfic/InfinityTrainSeekerOfCrocus'' plays with this since while they still play off their Light/Dark dynamic, [[Characters/InfinityTrainSeekerOfCrocusChloeCerise Chloe's]] final outfit for Act 1 is completely in black and her love of demons is more pronounced while Amelia has a lighter side by showing that she has a tendency for corny puns and is lightening up more.

* Downplayed in ''Fanfic/TheSpectreTrilogy''. Tally is a friendly NiceGirl who has pink as a signature colour, and Carla is a little more aloof and wears dark colours. Ironically, Tally has black hair and Carla is blonde.

* ''Fanfic/TheStoryOfApolloDaphneAndLucaAnItalianTragedy'': [[TheIngenue Rosa]] and [[DeadpanSnarker Bianca]]. Rosa is [[TheCutie sweet, kind, innocent]] and [[ThinksLikeARomanceNovel a hopeless romantic]], while Bianca is [[SugarAndIcePersonality cool-headed]], [[BrutalHonesty blunt]] and [[AloofAlly aloof]].
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* Alvaro Véliz's songs "Ni tú ni ella" ("Neither you nor her") are about a guy who can't choose between two loves. The girl he's "singing" to is the Light Feminine -- sweet, gentle, kind, whom he cares for dearly. The other girl he's referring to in the lyrics is the Dark Feminine -- sensual, a BlitheSpirit, passionate and able to bring out his wilder side.
* The two halves of off-beat duo Music/GarfunkelAndOates are this trope: Creator/KateMicucci (dark, Italian-American) and Creator/RikiLindhome (blonde, Swedish-American).

* ''Manga/CountCain'''s sweet, energetic, {{Rebellious|Princess}} but utterly good-hearted baby sister Meriweather and [[{{Yandere}} jealous]], [[SneakySpider Trickster-ish, spider-controlling]]... ''[[CloningBlues some]][[StalkerWithACrush thing]]'' Mikaela vie for his attention through much of the ''Godchild'' arc. They even dress in clothes that resemble [[UsefulNotes/LolitaFashion Sweet and Gothic Lolita]], respectively.

* ''Fanfic/DanganronpaKommSusserTod'': Nanae Mochizuki is a SweetBaker who dresses in [[CheeryPink bright pink]]. Her best friend, who she is rarely seen apart from, is Mayu Ikezawa, a BrokenBird who wears dark, morose purple clothes.

** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'' has the Princesses of Nohr, Camilla and Elise. Dark Feminine Camilla is a MsFanservice with BoobsOfSteel, {{Stripperiffic}} attire, and a MagicKnight-like fighting style, whereas Light Feminine Elise is a GenkiGirl with pigtails and WhiteMage abilities.

* ''VideoGame/ArTonelico2'' has this dynamic with Light Feminine Cloche (a bossy long-haired blonde wearing a FeatherMotif dress) and Dark Feminine Jacqli (a long dark-haired antisocial girl DressedLikeADominatrix).

* ''[[VideoGame/FatalFury Garou: Mark Of The Wolves]]'' gives us BadassAdorable Hotaru Futaba as Light and GoodBadGirl Bonne Jenet as Dark.

* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'': For the first half of the game, the only two female party members are Yuna and Lulu. As TheIngenue, Yuna is the Light Feminine: she wears mostly [[WhiteIsPure white]] and [[GracefulLadiesLikePurple purple]], is optimistic and somewhat naive due to her sheltered upbringing as a future summoner. She is also a bit reserved and innocent, often speaking in a gentle tone and getting easily flustered by the teasing from the other squadmates. Lulu is the Dark Feminine: a LadyOfDarkMagic, she wears an all black outfit that combines TooManyBelts with a plunging cleavage revealing neckline. While she is often MrExpository, explaining the world of Spira to Tidus, outside of those moments, she walks with an [[DarkHairedAloofGirl aloof air]] and expresses quite a bit of cynicism. As Yuna's guardian from long ago, she also has a motherly protectiveness over Yuna that extends to Tidus once she warms up to him. GenkiGirl Rikku joining the team later, changes this dynamic into more of a TheThreeFacesOfEve set-up, with Yuna as the Wife (calm, supportive, inviting), Lulu as the Seductress (mysterious, sexy), and Rikku as the Child (playful, prone to emotional outbursts).

* Franchise/WonderWoman and her FriendlyRival ComicBook/{{Artemis}} have this dynamic. While Diana is diplomatic, patient, and kind, Artemis is brash, aggressive, and rude to anyone who isn't a Bana Amazon.

** In the manga version, the kind and sweet YamatoNadeshiko Tohru Honda is the Light to the sexy BrokenBird Rin Sohma's Dark.

** Later in the manga, we also get sweet, happy Tohru and the depressed, broken [[spoiler:Akito, a much-abused young woman who keeps the Sohma clan's reins through fear and anger (and sometimes sex, in the case of Kureno and Shigure). Tohru then helps the Sohmas through her issues, thus she becomes Akito's target... and she ultimately manages to reach for ''her'' too.]]
%%* ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'': During the latter parts of the series, on the heroes side, we have both Riza Hawkeye as Light Feminine and Major General IronLady Olivier Armstrong as the Dark, who also play on the pairing.%%How is Riza Light Feminine?

* ''Manga/InuYasha'' has the good-natured, cheerful Kagome, and the brooding, vengeful Kikyou. Despite Kagome being Kikyou's reincarnation, inheriting her looks and Miko powers, the two are exact opposites of each other: Kagome is plucky and optimistic while Kikyou is broken and embittered.

* ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'', [[PseudoRomanticFriendship "best friends"]] Madoka and Homura (post-reveal) are Light and Dark respectively. Madoka is an open-hearted, generous girl who grew up in a good neighborhood [[spoiler:and grows up to become the goddess of hope itself]], and Homura is a determined, pragmatic warrior who doesn't trust most people further than she can throw them. Their {{shipping}} fanart usually plays up this contrast.

* This trope used in reverse is significant in ''Literature/TheSchoolForGoodAndEvil''. Blonde, pink dress-wearing, fairy tale-obsessed Sophie and sullen, black-wearing, morbid Agatha appear to everyone as a cut and dry Light and Dark respectively, but Sophie is vain, selfish, and seductive while Agatha is gentle, considerate, and loyal.