"How has your character developed?" The meme of legends.

[thorny]

Because introspection is fun.

Basically, exactly as stated - how has your character developed throughout their time in Death City, from their state upon application? Feel free to be as TL;DR: as you want, because I want to read all of it this is a writing based hobby, words are what we're here for!

ARBITRARY RULES:

• Post your characters as a header
• Reply to your comment with explanation!
• ???
• spam emotes at everyone else's development arcs


stolen with love from towerofanimus!

Comments

[perfectorder]

CAN NPCS PARTICIPATE?

[shipper]

I DON'T SEE WHY NOT, THEY'RE CHARACTERS IN THE GAME TOO

/Len, too lazy to switch journals

Death the Kid | Soul Eater

[perfectorder]

WHOO /will just comment here then so as not to spam.

It's hard to really start this off as "when he's apped" since he's technically been here since game start and I personally apped him back in August last year. Still, he's definitely developed quite a bit, particularly within these last few months.

People know Kid as how he's first introduced in the series—SYMMETRY FOR LIFE. He goes through such extremes over it and would have mental breakdowns even over his hair. He still has symmetry issues, but it's been two years since the end of the anime canon and nine months since his father's death. Most (or perhaps some—really it's quite situational) has been subdued because unlike in the past, he can't act like a 14/15 yr-old anymore. It's been at least two years and he's aged and matured. Due to the circumstances of the game, he has to take responsibility for his actions (thanks BREW) and take up the adult position and has to figure out what as a Shinigami he has to do. He still believes in perfect balance, but how he views it has been tempered toward more to order, which is also a large part of his personality, and the proper duties of a Shinigami, properness also being a part of his personality. I also derive this from the manga where old man Shinigami and Kid himself are embodiments of "order" (and that's partly why I play him more akin to OCPD with OCD tendencies—that's another essay for another day >_>).

So now, he no longer really freaks out or fusses about it as much. That isn't to say never, just not as frequent as one might assume. Oh he definitely still goes around straightening things, putting things in neat, perfect order or some sort of symmetrical look. And he would never be caught dead wearing something where the button was misaligned or there was a frayed thread. But he doesn't fly off the handle if just the littlest thing is out of place as he did in the past. A person could comment on his stripes and he would no longer go into a blubbering mess (exception: mentioning while he's already in one of his "moods" or is already stressed/in a tense attitude—then he'll break down and sob over how much of a failure he is). It still definitely bothers him (a lot), but there is another reason why it does along with the lack of symmetry which I will get to later.

He is working very hard to overcome his extreme need for symmetry and order, especially in the more mudane things. Part of this is due to his realization that he needs to learn how to wield the current Death Scythes, all of whom are singular and some asymmetrical. This caters toward his desire to be a proper Shinigami. When he focuses on the proper aspect of something, he can then handle the asymmetry/imbalance of it all. For further proof, just look at his martial arts stances. Not only are they "Kid what are you doing—" thought inducing, but they are completely asymmetrical. If he could master and be able to fight like that without a fuss, then he can do this.

This also affects his sense of confidence. Or rather, a highly doubted one. Kid has always been harsh on himself and sets very high expectations that he believes are necessary for him to be a proper Shinigami. All the recent events have constantly made him question if he really is fit to be in his position. He strives to be so, but there is always that niggling in the back of his mind that will drag him mentally down. He'll always compare himself to his father and will never believe that he could be as great of a shinigami as he was. There is also the issue of his stripes. They are actually a symbol of his youth as a shinigami. The lines actually connect as he unlocks more of his powers, and in anime canon, he has only managed to connect all three once during the battle against Asura. It has never really been made clear what happens after that (in the manga he's only connected two), so we're running on the notion that he didn't actually become a full fledged shinigami at that point and that he still has a ways to go before then. So with that in mind, the fact that he had yet to reconnect them bothers him. The stripes now bother him more on the fact that they remind him how still inadequate he is.

On the other hand, he is different now than he was in the beginning of the game start. Before he always said he was the "current acting" Shinigami in part because he did not believe he was the Shinigami yet and also in somewhat denial that his father was dead. Now he does not refer to himself as just "current acting." Around the time he decided to learn how to wield the Death Scythes, he accepted the fact that yes, he is the Shinigami now. His father's gone and he has to step up whether he thinks he's ready or not. So there is a bit more confidence there, if tenuous. But it's basically a sign that he is finally ready to really step out as the leader of this world and do what he was born to do—maintain the order and protect all those who live in it.

That includes the guests. Needless to say, the guests have had a huge impact on how he looks and handles things. Not only does he have his own world and people to look after, but also the people he unwittingly dragged in. He feels a great weight of responsibility, and it was pretty rough when the game started (or so I observed from looking back through the archives). I'd say he probably took the resentment personally. But now things have eased and shifted to something more comfortable. He still feels the weight whenever a new group appears, but at this point, any accusations or negative statements thrown at him are taken in stride. He knows that nothing can be done for now and that they need to focus on the war. He still has moments of doubt and insecurity, but in the end he does know that he has to stand firm and continue moving forward. So in some ways, the guests both help and hurt his confidence. But I think it's been a benefit overall. Plus, he's learned a great deal more and has been exposed to many different cultures and people. That alone gives him additional experience and influence.

But overall, his biggest development change so far has been that shift from hypersensitivity to symmetry to a more tempered and shift toward order and properness is a pretty big change development wise. It's also still slow going. That is why whenever anyone asks what he is striving for, he still says he wants "perfect balance." But it's not so much "Everything is symmetrical!" but more of "perfect order."

I am probably leaving some other things out, but I think this is the biggest change worth mentioning. And it's pretty long. So I'll just cut it here |D