#meme || OC perceptions

[symphonicsoul]

the internal debate on whether or not to put my perception of your OCs into one ask or multiple ended in me getting distracted and checking my emails.

eventually (30 seconds ago) i decided that they would be a little of both (broken into categories) so buckle up friendo.

also buckle up for the fact i will be holding no punches in my very totally professional analysis

because somehow this ended in me checking my emails (which is productive), i will start with aamun's associated group (the soul binds, who i propose should henceforth be known as ✨ the sparkle squad ✨)

valo:

oh man oh boy i perceive him alright. he's keeping so much to himself for the betterment of others. he's always "i'm just tired today" but it's more than just tired. beyond that, he's such a kind person. he's a warm person. he seeks to understand but not really to be understood - i have to wonder what made him think in the patterns he does. i have to wonder what or who made him think he can't open up. he has such good control on himself and it's him that i'd be afraid to truly fuck with for that same reason.

palo:

it is impossible not to perceive her. she is loud, boisterous, funny - but what else is there? she became a doctor, an inventor, she wants to help others and save lives, she's sworn a life oath... all these things are serious, but often she's not taken too seriously. i think she should be. i think she'd be someone's worst nightmare if anyone laid a single finger on her liege or any of the others. she's a force to be reckoned with. scary.

sydän:

she's vibing. but she's also stuck in the same loop as her brother and there's no avoiding it - they are constantly compared or treated as one entity in some regard or another. in a way, it makes her a perfect teacher for someone like pilvi, whose expectations aren't something he can separate from himself. and in the same way, it also makes her a great advocate for usva. she's someone who understands a bit where people are coming from without much effort and she's someone who can and will argue effectively against all the bullshit. i feel that she's calculated because, in a sense, she has to be able to tear others' faulty logic apart in order to be anything at all outside of hollow labels and others' assumptions.

aamun:

lonely by twelve, barely held together by people kind enough to take him in. the world is harsh for many military kids, and aamunkoitto is absolutely no exception. there was likely no room and no time for him to be soft in the sense some others are, but he's so loving in his own ways. there is absolutely nothing he wouldn't do for those he cares about, and if anyone is able to see what somebody needs, it's definitely him. there's a lot more there than he would ever let on, and i feel like he shoulders much more blame than he's actually owed. people tend to see a tall, grumpy man who's very no-nonsense, but those same people would run to him in a heartbeat for comfort and safety. like the dawn he's named after, he is reliable and subtly comforting.

revon:

if anyone flipped to the word 'effort' in the dictionary, there would probably be a picture of revon. he is the definition of "just doing his best", and yet he feels somehow it just isn't good enough. he pushes himself to the sideline, watches over these people who love him so much, and never realizes just how fiercely he is loved in return. he would do anything to protect them and measures his self-worth in this sole trait, though the people he's so focused on worrying about think of him as so much more than that. this man deserves the world and he thinks, truly, his whole world are the handful of people he keeps close. how beautiful and tragic a character he is.

How do you perceive my OC || Accepting

AKA Theo attacked me with positivity again

✨ The Sparkle Squad ✨ you kill me. Theo you slay me and just this overwhelming love for them pouring out from you just makes me so much more excited about them and to write them. It makes me excited to write in general. I love you so much. You see them. You see them so clearly and who they are and just Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh Theo you're wonderful, thank you for loving my babies. Thank you for believing in me and my creations.

Thank you.

You see them. You see them all so clearly and I'm so glad they're coming off the way I intended. Ahhhhh yes good.

[cyanbyte]

lmao i found this in my files today

[szilverer]

posts this cursed thing without context. versatile couple

also blinked and ended up with this

ok the context is actually how i was thinking how, in an hypothetical fandom scenario, my stupid ship would definitely be portrayed differently depending on the artist's preferences. yknow the tropes. this amused me Greatly. then i was sent the meme and i knew what i had to do

the context for the selfcest is selfcest. i rest my case. parabolan skinwalkery shit canonically goin on here

bonus for the first panel + the og hot yaoi base

[kris-mage-fics]

2, 3, 9, 10, 17 from here for kyrah & blade? 🥰

2. Big spoon/Little spoon? Blade is the big spoon and Kyrahlise is the little spoon. Though it would be funny if it were the other way around, since she's 10 inches (25cm) shorter than him! It would look like Blade had a Mage backpack, lol! 3. Most common argument? I talked about it in more depth in this ask, but the most common thing they'd argue about is that Blade thinks Kyrah is too reckless and she thinks he's overprotective. She eventually realizes she should consider how her getting hurt or even dying could affect the people she loves and starts to be a more cautious. And Blade backs off some once he understands how frustrating his overprotectiveness is, and sees she's trying to change. So they do get to the point where they reach a middle ground and don't argue about it much. 9. Who worries the most? Blade 100%! He's worries about small things like if she's too cold, has eaten enough, or is sleeping enough. But he also worries about bigger, existential stuff like the shifting political climate and how the Shepherds will be affected. Whereas Kyrah isn't much of a worrier. She mostly detaches her emotions from problems and then gets on with things. Which isn't very healthy long term, but it means she doesn't generally get mired down in worries. 10. Who remembers what the other one always orders at a restaurant? Both. Blade seems like the kind of person who remembers a lot of details if the thinks it's important, and Kyrahlise is obviously very important to him. Kyrah has a good memory for all sorts of things, mainly out of self-preservation. But it's about food, so that makes it a higher priority, lol! 17. Who says I love you first? I don't know how it'll go in-game, but I imagine Blade will say it first. Kyrahlise is bold enough to bring it up herself, but only if she's really sure the other person likes her and just isn't saying anything because they are shy or worried or something. The problem is she keeps waffling back and forth on whether Blade likes her or not. Because the way he treats her is too fucking weird for her dense ass to figure out he's head over heels for her. Even when she suspects he's interested, she's sure if she were to say something first he'd bolt and avoid her forever. So yeah, Blade is going to have to get to the point where he can't keep his feelings locked up anymore and say something. Or make it obvious he likes her and is open to her feelings so she broaches the subject. But we all know he will never handle his crush in a semi-normal way, lol!

[lefillefleur]

[coldgoldlazarus]

One of those truly perception-altering moments in life is when you discover that underneath all the memes and silly copycat OCs and sheer amount of Ow The Edge, Shadow the Hedgehog is genuinely a really compelling and interesting character when done proper justice to.

And then subsequently from that, the realization that yanno what? A black-and-red hedgehog on a motorcycle with a submachine gun (and inexplicably cocking it like a shotgun) is actually, genuinely, unironically awesome as fuck.

[williceunleashed]

Absolutely love your lil guys, they're incredible :)

Do you have any random fun facts about your ocs you'd be willing to share?

Thank you so much !! I love these type of questions AAAAHHH

I do have many fun facts about the little people living rent free in my head 😭 I even have character memes on them !!! I hope this will interest you :)

Dardanne facts :

"Dardanne" isn't Dardanne's legal name until post BW1 where he gets officially registered. He transitioned when entering Plasma as a teen, and quickly made up a new name on the spot when Ghetsis invited him to join Plasma.

Pre-Plasma teenager Dar 100% had a crush on Jeff The Killer (yes, the cringe original creepypasta) and Pyramid Head (yes, the 250cm tall massive monster that tries to kill you in Silent Hill 2)

Despite me never talking about them, Dardanne has a family, including a sister and a brother !

Dardanne is suprisingly skilled in close combat thanks to his Plasma training. He isn't insanely strong, but he is fast and knows where to hurt the opponent. He is rusty by BW2 tho

I chose Dar's ace, mienshao, because it was one of my favorite unovan pokémon as a kid. I realized lately that mienshao's evolutive line is made up of two pokémons only, and as a combat type, it can sweep Zoroark. It's also a bipedal mammal. And it's in the same egg group as Zoroark ?? Fruitsaladshipping so real even their aces mirror each other

Fruitsaladshipping facts :

Dardanne's minccino, Duvet, has a personal beef with N.

While N calls Dar by many petnames, Dar only calls N "N". It took Dar months to stop calling him "Your Majesty", which is already incredible progress

Post BW2, N studies engineering, works for a time at Nimbasa City's amusement park, but then he experiments other jobs (Including but not limited to postman, pokémon center worker, forest guide, pokémon flight trainer...)

N often takes Dar on trips and travels !

Here a meme I made a while ago about their relationship !

Melony facts :

Mel never displays an ounce of formal respect for Ghetsis and instead of saying "Lord Ghetsis" he called him "Ghet" day 1

Melony favors beating people up with his own fists rather than battling.

While Dar and N are on their funky little journey in BW1, Melony sticks by Ghetsis and follows him in Accumula, Castelia, Driftveil, the Dragonspiral tower... I guess Mel and Ghetsis have their own funky journey.

Mel knows how to cook, he just pretends he doesn't know.

Post BW2, Mel has trouble adaptating to being half-blind and keeps bumping into objects, as he lacks 3D perception now

Post BW2 Mel has already tried to attach knives on his prosthetic. Ghetsis took his prothetic away for a day as punishment. Ghetsis casually taking away someone's limb

Rockbottomshipping facts :

Melony actually has way more experience with relationships than Ghetsis. It makes Ghetsis a bit shy.

Ghetsis actually likes cuddles, and he hates that he likes cuddles.

Nach is purely an accident. Neither Mel nor Ghetsis wanted a kid, but the pregnancy was too advanced to end it (Abortion real in pokémon world)

Nach's name comes from NaCl. Because Ghetsis is a salty man and Mel is a biochemistry major drop out

Melony is CERTAIN that Ghetsis' true purpose in life is to be a drag queen and has been begging him to put on a dress and high heels for years

Here is the same meme for Rockbottom !

[superkooku]

Dionysus' iceberg

This post is what remains of an initially very long rant idea. That means there will probably be a part 2 😏.

Here's the reason for my title :

In theory, you can stop there since my meme pretty much summarizes my complaints. But since I like ranting, I'll continue 😈

The tip of the iceberg

When you think "Dionysus", which words come in mind first ?

Probably "wine", "party", "alcohol" "fun god".

These words are what most people remember about Dionysus. And yes, I'm not going to deny, they fit.

Unfortunately, my problem comes with the fact that 9.5 times out of 10, Dionysus' personality will exclusively revolve around these aspects.

Since the issue is about modern adaptations and perceptions, I'll use a modern term.

I'm sure most of you are familiar with flanderization, right ? If not, the link to TV Tropes' article on the subject is available.

Many adaptations fell into that trap for, I think, every single Olympian.

Hades, god of the dead, lord of the Underworld = Satan, evil death god, darkness and sorrow

Aphrodite, goddess of love and beauty = Superficial bimbo who only cares about her pretty face

Zeus, king of the gods, lord of the sky and thunder = 100% pure God OR more recently : evil king god who constantly abuses women.

The gods are stripped of their complexity to fit simpler and more "digestible" characterizations. It doesn't help that the cultural context surrounding them is also taken away...

But this is about grape boi, right? Well, Dionysus is no exception to that rule. In fact, he might be one of the worst cases.

So far, he was never really portrayed in an "insulting" light, like Apollo in Lore Olympus or Hades in the Percy Jackson movie. Fortunately.

But, from all the popular adaptations I've seen, none of them manage to portray Dionysus ! None ! Does that make them automatically bad ? No, of course. It's just something I noticed.

God of war ? Doesn't appear, only mentioned

Disney ? Don't even try 🤣. Just a drunk goofball. Yes, that includes the fantasia segment and Hercules.

Lore Olympus? Well, he's a baby for 99.99999% of the time, so it doesn't count. But he's still a quiet little Gucci bag for Persephone.

Hades I ? Just a nice guy. But hey ! He can give us useful boons ! And I like his sass.

Maybe he'll do more in Hades II. They're usually more accurate than most, right ? Though that's not a very high bar. And they know about Zagreus ! Surely that's a good sign, right ?

Nevermind...

Here's what all these adaptations tell us :

Dionysus is the god of wine, feasts and parties

He's an Olympian

He likes to get drunk and party 🥳

And that's it.

Again, I'm not blaming anyone, but if the myths stopped with those three points, wouldn't everyone wonder why he's even an Olympian ? I sure did when I was a kid.

We have the god of thunder, the goddess of wisdom and war strategy, god of music/arts/medicine/100 other things, the god of the oceans ! Many cool gods !

And some drunk dude. He's not given any particular power, except the power to stay super passive no matter the stakes ! If the story revolves about epic godly fights (which is often the case), he's absolutely useless.

Heck, Hades II even actively depicts him as a pacifist who can't handle war. While he's not physically a weakling, he sure psychologically is.

Why is this a problem ?

I am not going to beat around the bush: this gives us a very incomplete and incorrect perception of the god.

Even the things that aren't forgotten about him (like his link to wine) aren't explored.

The thing with Hades II (that's the last time I'll mention it) is that it tries to deepen the flanderized version of Dionysus. He's not stupid, but afraid. He drinks to forget his issues.

While this characterization can be very interesting taken separately, we must remember that this isn't an OC, but an interpretation of a cultural figure.

It must be accurate ! While I can accept some liberties, I think that those should mostly be an extension of the original material, not a total deviation.

Dionysus isn't a scared little boi or a stupid drunkard you can manipulate. In fact, that's quite the opposite. And he's not afraid to get his hands dirty.

(even if the "dirt" in question is the blood of his enemies).

Under the surface

Though it's rather "stuff you can find on Wikipedia". Or by reading the myths.

More about it in part 2 of the rant...

It'll be about theater, madness, travels, link between mortality and immortality and... pirates turning into dolphins.

The actual interesting stuff about Dionysus.

Edits :

1. Thanks to @st4riel-the-w1tchling for clarifying the situation about Percy Jackson. I made my own research about BoZ. My opinion is basically still the same. Again, nothing terribly offensive, but nothing that interesting for Dionysus either.

2. I made part 2 a while ago, might as well add it here :

[tacticalgrandma]

Doing oc meme things is basically the same as writing about them, right??

Loadout Boxes:

1. Soul armor set: Mask of Soul Perception, Gloves of Soul Catching, Vest of Soul Rejuvenation (all hidden)

2. Boots of Uninhibited Kushigo (hidden)

3. Cloak of Displacement (hidden)

4. Jewelry: Magic Amulet, Eversight Ring, Ring of Protection

5. Manifestation of the Mind unarmed strike, Darkfire Shortbow

6. Camp clothes: Raffish Midnight Garb (black & furnace red), Tiefling Underwear (black & furnace red), Tasteful Boots (Wyll/Lae’zel)

[TEMPLATE] by @arcandoria

[conkreetmonkey]

The problem with actually watching breaking bad is that my perception of the characters as I once had them from memes has been shattered in terms of Walter and pretty much nobody else. Jesse really is the bumbling yet good-hearted "Ayo, Mista White" guy. Finger really is a stone-faced badass who's done with everyone's shit before they even start it. Saul really is the fast-talking sleazebag lawyer with eccentric tastes who's a genius in the courtroom and a dumbass everywhere else. Skyler really is the anxious yet rational wife who just wants the best for her family. Hank really is the lovable yet deeply flawed dad cop who loves minerals and is oblivious to Walter's criminality.

But Walter? He changes over the course of the show so severely that he's not the guy from the memes anymore, or rather never could be. It's what the show is about after all, him "breaking bad" and becoming a hardened crime boss from a mild-mannered schoolteacher. Thus, I find the memes often seem to try and combine traits of Walter from different seasons when they're almost different people. He's a coherent character, to be sure, but not one easily portrayed in a single instance of time, and certainly not in a twenty-second comedy skit, because he is a character who changes. He is not static. Other characters in the show change, to be sure, but retain far, far more than Walter. If you put early and late versions of them in a room, they would recognize each other as the same guy easily. The Walters would tear each other to shreds like incompatible species.

idk what I'm trying to say here. I guess my point is that Breaking Bad memes portray every character mostly accurately, in my opinion, with the exception of the main one, because he cannot easily be put in a box and easily exemplified as "this character." He cannot be given a list of personality traits on an OC ref sheet, and it's hard to put him in wacky scenarios because there are so, so many different Walters.

[serpentface]

34 & 43 for the Feelings Triangle🔺️💔

[ask meme]

Does your OC yell or scream during arguments? Or do they become quiet and withdrawn?

Janeys: already mentioned in this ask meme cycle but he's a yeller and will usually try to win arguments by being the loudest person in the room. Usually doesn't jump to shouting immediately but he'll get there if it goes on long enough. He's liable to scream/start crying if he's really upset. He's got serious issues with emotional regulation so it gets pretty ugly.

Hibrides: She usually tries to behave as unbothered and collected as possible, like she's not even mad. She'll do her best to just keep her voice level and talk in concise and small sentences. In some cases this is just kind of shutting down but trying to at least keep it together, in other cases this is more intentionally trying to make the other person look bad by comparison. This doesn't always work and if she's simultaneously very upset + has some confidence in the situation she will start yelling without really realizing it, and once she's started it's hard to stop.

Brakul: Does the opposite where he becomes very withdrawn and will get more quiet the more upset he is. Sometimes this is him giving the silent treatment/trying to make the other person feel guilty by acting all meek and injured, other times it's him being Very angry, and other times its genuinely an attempt to deescalate or not knowing what to say. It is very hard to tell which is which. On rare occasions where he's Extremely angry he'll very abruptly snap and start shouting and it's kind of scary.

Brakul's silent treatment thing really pisses Hibrides off and it's one of the things that most easily prompts her into yelling. It often 'works' better on Janeys because he doesn't really know how to respond to it and is liable to rapidly cycle through stages of anger and/or distress until emotional collapse and wanting to be comforted (thus ending the argument. yay)

Arguments between Janeys and Hibrides tend to follow the pattern of him raising his voice and her keeping up the unbothered demeanor, but if she loses her volume control it can become a feedback loop of yelling until they're both shouting at each other from the top of their lungs.

How often does your OC add new words to their vocabulary? Do they hungrily pick up new terms and words? Or do they struggle to remember such things?

Janeys: is bilingual (native Wardi speaker and fluent in Seaway Burri, also has a very good reading + decent listening comprehension of High Burri), though this is more the result of it being a facet of his education than any personal proclivities. He really Wants to have a wide vocabulary and broad linguistic knowledge (culturally valued in general for educated men and would have been useful for his intended line of work) but is kind of a slow learner and bad at memorization. He only tends to pick up new vocabulary with repeated longterm exposure or by making a considerable effort.

Hibrides: is the only one of them who is not bi/multilingual. She operates from a subconscious perception that the place she's in/the language she speaks is The Best There Is, and that she's very well educated so knows all she Needs to know in terms of vocabulary. She's also had the typical degree of domestic isolation for female nobility, so hasn't had much close interaction with peasant class commoners and their dialects (much less other languages spoken here, with the near-exclusive exception of Brakul). She's curious about the ways other people live but not enough to have a ready interest in adopting vocabulary outside of her immediate sphere, so it happens very slowly and irregularly.

Brakul: is the only one Actively in the process of learning an additional language (in the present day he can be considered mostly fluent in spoken Wardi but is not fully literate). He's kind of Has to be ready to absorb new vocabulary by necessity, and he's fairly good at it. He's got a knack for rapidly picking up words themselves and is quick to integrate them into his speech (only tends to struggle more with complexities of tone/register/conjugation). This isn't his first time learning wholly unfamiliar words (he knows a couple forms of Chenahyeig besides his native West Rivers dialect, which are not Fully mutually comprehensible) but it's a substantially more complicated process given Wardi is from a wholly separate language family (albeit with some mutual influence). He runs into a lot of frustration finding some words/concepts he considers to be pretty basic or important not being readily translatable in Wardi, so a lot of the time he's like actively Looking to encounter just the right word. Picks up a lot of really uncommon words that way.

[symphonicsoul]

up next in my totally completely professional analysis of kira's ocs: it's dad time (and mom time)

aurinko

he wanted to be a good father and a good ruler and a good husband. how unfortunate is it that he only got to be the latter two under sumu's influence? how devastating for everybody that pilvi didn't get to know the sun as warm and nurturing but instead as explosive and scorching up until the end, but they ran out of time. aurinko couldn't have done a damn thing to stop it either. the poor man.

kuu

she was determined to see her children happy, even though it meant hiding info from her youngest son. did she ever stop to think what brushing off the topic would do? it feels even worse that she fell victim to the same scheme as her husband later on... and then to make matters as bad as they really could get, she lost both sons in a matter of days. she's just as tragic as aurinko, but in a far more subtle way. i feel so sad about her.

How do you perceive my OC || Accepting

And yet more to put Momma Moon and Papa Sun on their own post

I give you Momma moon in response.

Look Aurinko and Kuu take up a very large section of my brain and a very large section of my heart. Especially Aurinko because that poor man had the world's best intentions but Sumu fucked everything up to high hell.

In fact have Sun Puff in response too

These two are just - God I love them so much. I love how they refuse to let me draw them separately and I love how ' I LOVE MY WIFE' Aurinko is. He just had the best intentions and it all went to hell. Everything coulda been so good if Sumu just had stayed the fuck out of it. Both of them wanted the best for their children but they were screwed before things even began.

But nonetheless I love them. I'm proud of them and I'm so happy you love them too. I have worked so hard on them and poured so much into them and I know you know that because you brain rot them with me too.

They are just a beautiful tragic eclipse.

[aetherthetypo]

AND DO YOU HAVE ANY MCSR FIC RECS. FORGOT TO ASK

thank you for the asks! i mostly do my mcsr stuff on my sideblog but since you’re here anon i do have a few (and i will get to the other ask in a bit) i hope you don't mind incomplete fics, because i have quite a few of those in here. anyways, in no particular order:

A Field Guide to Speedrunners by loanword. honestly you should go and read all of tri's stuff but this is the fic that got me. snappy writing style and a great grasp on characterization

Grave Digging by sumactic is an ongoing fic in their pjo au and i am so fascinated by what is going on with their nerdi and k4. good writing and a very interesting dynamic and i cant wait to see more

into this world in wonder from a starlight sky by confusedkestrel is a fun read and i love how they wrote the dynamic between poundy and fein. you should go read all of their mcsr fics tbh

coffee beans, fein-ly ground by igneousarchive and *megamind meme* no villains? by justpressX are two (unrelated) oneshots that i thought were fun.

[FILE: FALLEN ANGEL ET AL VS. SHOCKWAVE ET AL] by weareallstardustfallen is set in a superhero au and also makes use of mixed-media (or, text-based simulations of it), which i am always a big fan of

and now, time for a bit of hashtag self promo but my current ongoing series is outfished. its an au making use of my oc universe setting and can best be described as a modern-day fantasy with a focus on worldbuilding and intrigue. i also play around a bit with css formatting and in-universe documents if you're into that sort of thing.

there's a lot of good fics out there in the tag that i haven't listed here so when you have the time i would recommend just going through the entire tag. its not a terribly huge tag (though it is growing) so its a pretty manageable browse imo. (then again, my perception of reasonable may be a bit skewed. iykyk.)

[thebeauregardbros]

THE BIG POST OF ABANDONED RP MEMES: ALUS BEAUREGARD (Pt2)

I saved these questions bc I wanted to answer them EVENTUALLY but never got around to them. I decided rambling answers are better than no answers so.. HERE WE GO!

What are your wol(oc)'s thoughts on their gender?

IN MY PERSONAL OPINION or my personal headcanon or whatever you want to call it, I feel that the culture within Final Fantasy XIV's canon universe tends to be largely supportive of androgyny and gender-nonconformity in comparison to the real world. This both reflects the creators of the game being Japanese - a culture where feminine-looking men are the beauty standard - and the fact that Yoshi-P has shown pro-queer sentiments; I feel the playerbase of the game largely share his view, and the majority of PCs you meet in the game reflect that. Me and Arc's player have absolutely played around with the idea that the brothers are transmasculine. I will not officially confirm or deny this - in a world where fantasia can change someone's physical sex easily, it's hard to say what a trans journey would remotely look like in the world of Final Fantasy XIV, and I feel uncomfortable making solid statements on how it'd work if my claims conflicted with other players with trans character's ideas on it. I think if you want to believe Alus and Arc are transmasculine, I support this - I think if they are, they transitioned as teenagers. If you don't really feel that way, I also think that is fine. I do not personally feel interested in exploring the psychological struggles of transgenderism in writing Alus at this time, mainly because I've dealt with that shit long enough in my personal life. If he transitioned, it was socially painless and he never looked back, I think. I may revisit my decision on making it canon or not later. ALL THAT BEING SAID, I don't think that he hasn't struggled at least a little bit with the social perception of femininity vs. masculinity. He gets misgendered often due to his insistence on growing his hair out and dressing the way he does, and it doesn't help that he's tall for a male viera and his name often gets mistaken for and mispronounced as the feminine "Alice". He doesn't want it to bother him - he knows who he is, and being mistaken for a pretty lady is still being called 'pretty' to him, which he's flattered by - but there is definitely a need within him for his persona to be fully understood in order to be trusted and admired, so he might get a little snippy about it sometimes on accident. He loves things we in this world would call "typical femininity" - the color pink, frilly lacy fashion, ranting about how the power of love will save all like a shoujo magical girl heroine, but to him these things are just a genre that has nothing to do with physical sex - he's soft, he's kind, he loves beautiful things, that's all it is. It's not male or female. He also is attracted to these aesthetical traits in others regardless of gender, and less attracted to things we in this world would call "typically masculine", regardless of gender. (Vaguely related funfact; Opposite to Alus, Arc is attracted to masculine people regardless of sex!)

How does your wol(oc) feel about death?

holy shit I have a lot to say on this and I hope you can understand why I've struggled to even know where to start on this - the topic of death is a major important factor to Alus' overall characterization, I can't stress this enough. Let's be blunt to start with -- Alus hates death. He's fascinated by it, he's tortured by it, he worships it - it's what most of his life revolves around, it's the source of his bottomless pit of self-hatred, it's what makes him who he is and it's everything he doesn't want to be. It's his destiny to be surrounded by it and his biggest fear to witness. It's a heavy burden that weighs him down and something he finds beautiful. It is the source of every poem I write about him. For a short period at the start of his adventuring career after a major tragedy struck, Alus dropped everything to train as a priest of Thal. He absolutely loathes the majority of the Thaumaturges of the grand Ul'dahn church and finds them disrespectful and abhorrent - he takes death extremely seriously and is far more dedicated to the art of preparing bodies for burial than most anyone you'll ever meet. He has considered joining the church for good numerous times but he is also prone of hypocrisy in his devotion, often showing frustration and resentment with the God of the Underworld for not showing more mercy, even if He is technically not responsible for the souls of the living's arrivals in His halls. His dedication to respectful burial goes all the way to even the lowliest of villains and war criminals, much to the dismay of many the vengeful. To see a grave he aided the creation of be desecrated or dug up is one of the few times you may see Alus truly enraged in reaction. He wishes to grant mercy to those he could not save in life from their tragic journey onto death, often from his or his allies' own blades. He thinks it is the least he could do after he has already failed - give them a chance to climb up through the seven hells after death to their salvation of sin in the afterlife. Alus is a devout pacifist on matters of life and death, if you do not already know this; he may be a warrior, but it is never his intention to kill in battle, only to disarm and arrest. He fully believes that absolutely anyone is capable of a shining future if they dare to reach for it, and he wants to always allow anyone & everyone that chance to do so. It goes without saying that failure to save an innocent is also a source of absolutely tearing him up inside to complete shreds. I think it is a rare occurrence that he does not have nightmares about this, if he does dream.

Next time I'll answer a few more asks I missed! Seeya later!

[moonlightink7]

LISTEN.i'll do it right htis time. ill also consdense each meme i use into a single ask For illymril ::) GOLD 4: Does your OC hold that some social groups have an inherent nobility unavailable to others? Do they perhaps believe in the idea of a "ruling class", with qualities that the lower orders could never hope to evince? Or, conversely, do they believe in the unsullied nobility of the poor, in contrast to the decadent and corrupt upper classes? SILVER 5: What is something that your OC would find incredibly hard to lie about? Even if they really wanted to do so...

COPPER 1: Does your OC believe that they are beautiful? Is their beauty, or lack of beauty, something to which they ever give much consideration?

(For context I gripped and shook my dear friend in private for sending me the asks without prompts. Ily CT you're so silly)

GOLD 4: Does your OC hold that some social groups have an inherent nobility unavailable to others? Do they perhaps believe in the idea of a "ruling class", with qualities that the lower orders could never hope to evince? Or, conversely, do they believe in the unsullied nobility of the poor, in contrast to the decadent and corrupt upper classes?

Neither really? But leaning the latter. Which is interesting, since he grew up as a part of the nobles! Aaand technically he once again is, right now. Well. Okay. He never wasn't well off, but as a man he doesn't have proper access to his family's money. (See context: drow nobles.) Anyway! He does see some inherent bitterness and coldness to nobles, he's been around them and experienced what they're like. Non-nobles just seem... well. Not more carefree, but more themselves? They're not hiding behind so many layers of masks and codes and just... They're just trying to survive. It's simpler. He spent ten years living among them and it was so much less stressful. Granted. That's the autism speaking mostly. ...and the trauma.

SILVER 5: What is something that your OC would find incredibly hard to lie about? Even if they really wanted to do so...

Oh god this is a tough one. He is conditioned to lie well. There is very little he can't lie convincingly about. (Depending on my FUCKING DICE LUCK but that's another matter. In a world where the dice don't exist he generally lies well.) Something he couldn't lie about even if he wanted to though? If someone asked him how he felt about his late spouse. Even if he tried to feign indifference, his front would still waver. Déaglán is a weak spot of his.

COPPER 1: Does your OC believe that they are beautiful? Is their beauty, or lack of beauty, something to which they ever give much consideration?

Oh yeah absolutely he knows he's beautiful. I mean if it weren't for the more depressing reasons he likely would have thought Déaglán was biased because they loved him. Déaglán definitely made sure to tell him, but he was her muse, so it was generally easy to see that they weren't lying. The real reason he still believes it? It's one of the few things his mother doesn't insult about him unless he doesn't present himself properly. He knows better than to not present himself properly. That and Keera (older sister) got SO much worse after he hit puberty. He started looking a little too pretty and her perception of how much of a threat he is got higher. As far as whether he takes his beauty into consideration? Only if he needs to. Granted, this need presents itself every time he's required to leave his room, given that he has standards he's held to, but outside of the manor, he generally tries to keep himself entirely covered. ...for different reasons than one might think, though.

[kitsmits]

Nobody asked, but here are my rambling thoughts about Bleach’s Aizen Sousuke

Aizen Sousuke. The man, the myth, the legend. The villain who ~allegedly~ planned out so much of Bleach’s storyline that the fact that that is a meme is, in itself, a meme. And also probably part of Aizen’s plan.

I’m fascinated by this character, to say the least. I mean, why else would I be writing an Aizen/OC fanfiction on both AO3 and FF.net? (Shameless plug. Sorry not sorry.) Despite my many thoughts - so numerous are they that anytime I reply to a comment on “Mono no Aware,” I wind up with a graduate dissertation - I’m not entirely sure where to start with this guy. He’s complex in some ways, yet simple in others, fitting neatly into some psychological molds until you come across that one trait or act that makes you question your whole thesis. Fitting, really.

I don’t think there is one definitive, absolute answer for who Aizen Sousuke is. Even Kubo’s own idea of him isn’t necessarily the only one - once an artist puts their creation out into the world, that creation is open to interpretation by others. Again, rather fitting that we’re talking about a character whose entire power is based on the ideas of suggestion and perception.

It’s fun to explore various facets and ways to interpret a character though, so today I’d like to look at a few: psychology (Aizen the Sociopath), mythology (Aizen the Trickster), reality(I guess…) (Aizen the Opportunist), and philosophy (Aizen the Ubermensch).

So let’s start with psychology.

Aizen the Sociopath

Antisocial personality disorder, commonly/colloquially referred as “sociopathy,” is defined as “a mental health condition in which a person consistently shows no regard for right and wrong and ignores the rights and feelings of others.” (Mayo Clinic) For the sake of simplicity, I will be using the terms “sociopathy” and “sociopath” here. It’s one of four cluster-B personality disorders within the DSM-V (Diagnositc and Statistical Manual of Mental Health Disorders, 5th Edition - the most recent one as of 2023), along with narcissistic, borderline, and histrionic personality disorders. In other words, it is clinically recognized as a mental health condition by the psychology field, and it’s one of a family of personality disorders characterized as having “a consistently dysfunctional pattern of dramatic, overly emotional thinking or unpredictable behavior.” (Considering who we’re talking about…this is kind of surprising, honestly.

To paraphrase the Mayo Clinic’s list of symptoms, sociopaths…

ignore (or have little/no concept of) right and wrong

often lie, steal, use false names, and/or engage in cons

use charm or wit to manipulate others for personal gain

have an inflated sense of superiority and are extremely opinionated

often violate others’ rights and feel little/no remorse for how their behavior negatively affects others

Keep in mind that for a person to be considered a “sociopath,” one must consistently and repeatedly show these traits. Not every mean person is a sociopath, and not all sociopaths are mean (…all the time). Probably the most consistent descriptors I’ve come across for sociopaths are “manipulative” and “callous” - again, they’ll say/do anything to get what they want, and they have no remorse over whether it harms other people.

So…is Aizen a sociopath? And why should we care?

Setting aside the fact that Aizen is a fictional character, and fictional characters are often meant to be simpler than complex, ever-evolving human beings…I’m of the camp that yes, he is. It certainly explains a LOT of his behavior and actions; even the fact that he seems to have no “true” personality fits this mold. Partly because of how Kubo writes him, we can never be certain that anything Aizen says or does is “genuine,” or if he’s just trolling.

Why we should care if he’s a sociopath or not: Eh. Aside from the fun of armchair-diagnosing fictional characters, this gives us a framework within which to work. It gives us consistent traits that help us understand Aizen as a character. It’s sort of like a character sheet or profile: an easily referenced list of traits and tendencies.

However, even if we could truly diagnose Aizen with something, I don’t think that diagnosis would completely define his character. Far from it. Because this is fiction, every major character usually serves a particular purpose for the narrative that influences how they act and how they affect the characters around them. So let’s look at what I believe Aizen’s role is in the Bleach ‘verse.

Aizen the Trickster

A “trickster,” in terms of mythology and folklore, is “a character in a story…who exhibits a great degree of intellect or secret knowledge and uses it to play tricks or otherwise disobey normal rules and defy conventional behavior.” (Thank you, Wikipedia.) Classic examples of tricksters are Loki from Norse mythology; Anansi the spider from West African folklore; and Coyote from many Native American cultures, particularly groups in California and the Great Basin. Even Greek mythology’s Hermes and, at times, Norse mythology’s Odin act as tricksters, using their intellect to deceive others or defy conventions. Tricksters can be villainess or heroic, depending on the tale and their role in it. Consider Odysseus in the Illiad and Odyssey: in both tales (but especially in the latter), he is cast as a hero, but most of his actions are devious and even reprehensible.

I see Aizen as being a trickster in the Bleach ‘verse in many ways:

He’s highly intelligent and possesses “secret knowledge” (ie: truth of the Soul King…but more on that in a bit)

He seeks to defy convention and push all types of boundaries, from combining/transcending Shinigami and Hollow powers (physical boundaries) to being a Shinigami who commands Hollows (societal boundaries)

He openly questions, disrupts, and mocks authority (Even when he was playing the Nice Captain, he was one of the only people to openly question Rukia’s execution…granted, it was All Part of the Plan(TM), but I still find it interesting that he allowed that to be a part of his character at that time)

He enjoys trolling people and making them question their own beliefs and perceptions. Not even just because it’ll benefit him; I think he honestly enjoys throwing people mentally off-balance.

I mean…he openly says it during the TYBW:

Sure, you might say that Aizen’s goal was to kill the Soul King (…I have thoughts about that too), but THIS is the reason for that goal. If it wasn’t the Soul King, it would be whatever other being tried to reign over him. Yhwach, Ichibe, whoever else…Aizen would not tolerate anyone having authority over him. This fits with the Trickster archetype because, at their cores, this is what tricksters do: they challenge authority.

It’s also worth noting that in most Trickster stories, especially ones where the trickster plays the antagonist, the trickster doesn’t exactly “win.” Often, they’re foiled or humiliated in some way, sometimes due to their own hubris; I mean, Loki wound up being tied up with a snake dripping poison into his eyes because he couldn’t keep his mouth shut about having orchestrated the death of one of Odin’s sons. This is also something we see in Aizen’s role in Bleach: At the pinnacle of his power, he is defeated - not only by the hero of the story, but also by another possible “trickster” type (Urahara) and by his own arrogance and, possibly, not knowing his own deepest desires.

Btw - for an interesting take on Aizen “not knowing himself,” check out this video by Nux Taku: Anime’s Most Relatable Overpowered Sociopath - Aizen from Bleach

“Defeated” doesn’t necessarily mean he didn’t win, though. In my opinion, Aizen is, above all, a master opportunist who will turn ANY situation in his favor.

“All according to keikaku:” Aizen the Opportunist

Aizen definitely fits a classic “mastermind” mold, no arguments here. But I think people take the meme-worthy “it was all part of my plan” thing a little too far with him. Aside from the tendency of sociopaths and tricksters alike toward self-aggrandizing, and the fact that it benefits Aizen to be perceived as omniscient, let’s be real: He didn’t plan everything out himself from the start. To be honest, the idea that a “mastermind” necessarily sees all possibilities 100 steps ahead is…a bit much. Rather, masterminds like Aizen who play the long game are excellent opportunists.

Just look at how Aizen acts during “Everything But the Rain”: As far as Tousen was concerned, the Hollow “White” was a failure because instead of going after the powerful Shinigami captain, it attacked a Quincy - the one creature in the area that couldn’t be Hollowfied. But to Aizen, this wasn’t a failure: it was an unforeseen turn of events that presented an unprecedented opportunity to study the congruence of two diametrically opposed beings. After all, his whole schtick is about transcending the boundaries between species; of course he’d be curious to see if there was a way for a Quincy and a Hollow to mix without destroying each other. Plus, I’m willing to bet that Aizen at least suspected that this phenomenon might draw Urahara out of hiding, which would give Aizen his location (and thus the location of the other Hogyoku). The fact that Masaki survives with White’s Hollow energy inside of her, AND that she, a Quincy, and Isshin, a Shinigami, fall in love and have a kid…that’s all a bonus that he later works into his plans.

TL;DR: Aizen had plans for White, but when those plans fell through, he turned the situation into a new part of his plan. It all worked toward his ultimate goals in the end. THAT is what makes him such a formidable mastermind: he’ll take any opportunity that comes his way.

Aizen the Übermensch

Okay, I’ll admit I’m gonna be a little lazy here and point y’all to a wonderful analysis video by DBZimran that goes into this topic. The gist is that Aizen embodies the Nietzsche idea of the “Ubermensch,” or “super man” (from before the N*zis appropriated the concept), and that Urahara is the opposing “last man.” It’s really interesting stuff, and DBZimran explains it way better than I feel equipped to right now.

Sosuke Aizen: THE FALSE GOD | BLEACH: Character Analysis

While you’re there, check out his other videos about Bleach. I took a lot of inspiration from his analysis of the Hogyoku when writing Mono no Aware, to be honest.

Other interesting takes on Aizen

I can’t get enough of this man, and if you’ve made it this far in this ridiculous long post, I’m guessing you can’t, either. I’m definitely open to writing more about him, answering prompts, giving headcanons…just ask! Here are some other people I like to reference for Aizen and Bleach content in general:

Youtube:

MrTommo2304

DBZimran

This wonderful hellsite, aka Tumblr (not a definitive list - I’m sure I’ll forget peeps):

@bleachbleachbleach - I LOVE THEIR WORLDBUILDING HEADCANONS OMG

@my-my-my - large variety of headcanons and imagines, from worldbuilding/story analysis to romantic/shmexy stuff

@brittscafe - fun, shmexy headcanons with an excellent grasp on the characters

@recurring-polynya - writer who also has lots of interesting and fun headcanons about the Bleach world; also their page is just really pretty

@brainbleached - silly totally-real-not-at-all-made-up incorrect quotes and such