History SoYouWantTo / WriteAFourTemperamentEnsemble

Sanguines are often the joker or TheMcCoy of the group: more lighthearted, carefree and optimistic. They provide moments of levity necessary in the work and urge the rest of the group forwards with their bright outlook on life. Website/TheOtherWiki also pegs them down as imaginative and artistic. Sarah is likely the glue that sticks the group together. She's the one with great dreams and plans, but may also be fairly naive (hence the [[BlowYouAway air]] association) and / or InnocentlyInsensitive. Almost always the absolute RedOni of the ensemble and more likely than not to be TheBigGuy. In addition to being protagonist material, her style of leadership is likely Charismatic.

There might not be a clear advantage or disadvantage to being down one character; however, they still have goals they need to accomplish and paths they need to take toward those goals. These scenes were already touched on in SoYouWantTo/WriteAFiveManBand; they apply to the ensemble more often than not.

* Paula might seem like TheSlacker to him, but they're also likely to bond over being {{the quiet one}}s of the four. A TallDarkAndHandsome melancholic guy is not at all unattractive to phlegmatics, by the way.

The Emotional pair. The combo that grapples mainly with the impractical / disorderly issues. If any two characters aren’t at odds, at least for too long, it’s probably this pair. Conflict may arise from the fact that while Sarah is more outgoing and optimistic, Matt avoids too much contact with people and prefers to plan for the worst. There's a good chance they won't see eye-to-eye on a possible IndyPloy.

The Unemotional pair. The combo that grapples mainly with the practical / orderly issues. If any two characters are at odds for an extended period, it’s most likely this pair. Paula's empathy and emotiveness can go a long way to calm Craig down and teach him patience, or at least make him relax a bit and take his mind off work. They're also likely to have a far deeper respect for each other than they ''dare'' let on.

Emphasize the inner workings of the ensemble's base. [[UnfazedEveryman Phlegmatic protagonists]] tend to appear in British science fiction and urban fantasy, see [[Literature/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy Arthur Dent]], [[Literature/{{Neverwhere}} Richard Mayhew]] or [[Series/DoctorWho Rory Williams]] for pointers. Also, Creator/JulesVerne liked to have a HypercompetentSidekick slash ComicRelief phlegmatic on the team (e.g. Conseil in ''Literature/TwentyThousandLeaguesUnderTheSea''). Generally, short of just pulling the rug from under their feet, the trick is to find that one special person your phlegmatic [[TheFourLoves cares about the most]] - and put them in danger. This special person doesn't need to be part of the team - indeed, if Paula's goal is to rescue someone, they're probably not. Although, sometimes YouCantGoHomeAgain, so Paula and her ward will have to find a permanent place in the group (see [[Series/{{Firefly}} Simon and River Tam]]). If the special person is part of the team, Paula's UndyingLoyalty will make it impossible for her to let them InHarmsWay on their own. And after she's been with the group for a while, she'll tend to slip into the role of TeamMom. Also, while Matt may fail to apply himself due to indecisiveness, procrastination or lack of interest, Paula's much more likely to just be BrilliantButLazy or SubmissiveBadass.

''But why would I want such a cliched scheme?'' Well, like the FiveManBand, it works ''precisely'' for that reason (and probably others). However, ''unlike'' the Band (whose purest depiction applies TheSmurfettePrinciple to TheChick), it has no pure or chronological designation and can be of any moral alignment whatsoever. The SwordOfPlotAdvancement can also be used by any one of them. They are as suited to low-key SliceOfLife activity as they are to the hardest core of SpeculativeFiction. Long as you have exactly four, it doesn’t matter how many are male or how many are female.[[note]]See "Adding on to the ensemble" below for another analysis. Website/TheOtherWiki has a section about the ''Five'' Temperaments, this fifth (neutral) one being '''leucine''' or '''supine.''' Whether you think it works in a FiveManBand is another matter.[[/note]] Despite being based primarily on their ''personalities,'' they all have a purpose, no one is redundant, and eventually we get to know them all one-on-one. Moreover, it's another framework to set up the characters: start with their position in the ensemble and build from there. It also outlines their basic relationships with each other and eventually the wider world, greatly simplifying your work. Furthermore, you don't have to worry too much about pseudoscientific mumbo-jumbo in the long run.

Make it a challenge - a contest with high prizes is one way to do it, but for some cholerics bragging rights are prize enough. Or the warm, fuzzy feeling of having won! (Yeah!) Just look at [[WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender Toph Bei Fong]], the best earthbender in the world! Although, cholerics may have such high standards TheBGrade is a veritable catastrophe for them (we're looking at you, [[Series/{{Friends}} Monica Geller!]]) and they will move heaven and earth to stay [[PunctuatedForEmphasis The. Best]]. Alternatively, he might be OnlyInItForTheMoney (WellExcuseMePrincess) - see [[Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy Rocket Racoon]]. Or, especially if he's villainous, for power. [[EvilLaugh Unlimited power!]] Then again, if your choleric is one of the good guys, it might be power to do the right thing - a good-guy choleric might well believe they're the only person there who can be trusted to get stuff done. A RebelLeader might very well be choleric, like [[Franchise/StarWars Leia "Into the chute, flyboy!" Organa]], for example. Other cholerics have a Dream (the capital very much supposed to be here) to realise and will stop at friggin' nothing till they achieve it - [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII Cid Highwind]] is one of those. Especially think about the FinalBattle and the role Craig is going to play in it.

'''How does she handle anger''': And why is it important? Well, anger is our emotional reaction to real or perceived ''unfairness''. The "this is wrong" emotion. Unsurprisingly, as each temperament has its own reaction style, emotions are processed somewhat differently, and anger being the one that motivates a lot of heroics (and villainy), as well as a rather visible one, is a good indicator of temperament.

Sanguines are often the joker or TheMcCoy of the group: more lighthearted, carefree and optimistic. They provide moments of levity necessary in the work and urge the rest of the group forwards with their bright outlook on life. Wiki/TheOtherWiki also pegs them down as imaginative and artistic. Sarah is likely the glue that sticks the group together. She's the one with great dreams and plans, but may also be fairly naive (hence the [[BlowYouAway air]] association) and / or InnocentlyInsensitive. Almost always the absolute RedOni of the ensemble and more likely than not to be TheBigGuy. In addition to being protagonist material, her style of leadership is likely Charismatic.

''But why would I want such a cliched scheme?'' Well, like the FiveManBand, it works ''precisely'' for that reason (and probably others). However, ''unlike'' the Band (whose purest depiction applies TheSmurfettePrinciple to TheChick), it has no pure or chronological designation and can be of any moral alignment whatsoever. The SwordOfPlotAdvancement can also be used by any one of them. They are as suited to low-key SliceOfLife activity as they are to the hardest core of SpeculativeFiction. Long as you have exactly four, it doesn’t matter how many are male or how many are female.[[note]]See "Adding on to the ensemble" below for another analysis. Wiki/TheOtherWiki has a section about the ''Five'' Temperaments, this fifth (neutral) one being '''leucine''' or '''supine.''' Whether you think it works in a FiveManBand is another matter.[[/note]] Despite being based primarily on their ''personalities,'' they all have a purpose, no one is redundant, and eventually we get to know them all one-on-one. Moreover, it's another framework to set up the characters: start with their position in the ensemble and build from there. It also outlines their basic relationships with each other and eventually the wider world, greatly simplifying your work. Furthermore, you don't have to worry too much about pseudoscientific mumbo-jumbo in the long run.