(Not enough appreciation for the fact that Chara filling their cup all the way to the brim because it's "more efficient that way" is, ironically, rather inefficient. They definitely spilled more water than they actually drank that way.)
[ PLUTO ] what is your muse's relationship with individuality ? do they feel that they need permission to be themself ?
[ PALLAS ] how perceptive is your muse ? can they pick up on things other people don't ?
[ CHIRON ] what does your muse do to cope ? are their coping mechanisms healthy, or do they lean into bad habits to get through tough times ?
ASTROLOGICAL HEADCANON MEME.
[ PLUTO ] what is your muse's relationship with individuality ? do they feel that they need permission to be themself ?
Chara's relationship with individuality is complex. On one hand they have a past of being forced into suppresssing their personality, in favor of whatever made them come off as "acceptable" in front of others. They often didn't get to have any control over how they expressed themself. Their clothes were chosen for them, their hair was cut for them, their behavior was endlessly surveiled and criticized. If they tried to step out of line, then they'd be physically punished. ("If you're cuter, then monsters won't hit you as hard.")
This made them feel pretty stifled, so now if they suspect an authority figure of trying to suppress their individuality... Yeah, they're lashing out.
At the same time, however, they don't really like themself. So even after they escaped their old family and are welcomed into the Dreemurrs', they still have a nasty habit of downplaying any trait of theirs they think of as "unseemly". They probably don't even notice that they do it half the time, and as a result they bottle things up until they finally explode. Then they consider that lash out as indisputable evidence that they're an inherently bad person. Which makes them suppress themself more. It becomes a vicious cycle.
The one exception to this was Asriel, who was both another child and a pushover, which meant he was seen as non-threatening. So Chara felt like they could let their guard down around him, and it helped that Asriel didn't seem to impart much judgement either. (Even in cases where he really should've.)
Honestly I'm not sure If I'd say Chara feels like they need "permission" to be themself. If someone tried to tell them that, they'd probably deny that they're even doing it. Or insist that nobody would like who they really were, so this was ultimately for the better. It'd take a lot more to convince them that showing their more abrasive traits openly won't be the end of the world.
[ PALLAS ] how perceptive is your muse ? can they pick up on things other people don't ?
What kind of perception are we talking about? Perception of a physical space, or the perception of other people's emotions? Because they're great at the former, but have an absolutely horrendous case of tunnel vision for the latter.
[ CHIRON ] what does your muse do to cope ? are their coping mechanisms healthy, or do they lean into bad habits to get through tough times ?
Oh, they are extremely unhealthy with their coping mechanisms. Best case scenario is that they smile and laugh through stress, because "big kids don't cry". Worst case scenario is that they start lashing out, usually with themself as the primary target for their frustrations.
Funny gio ask! Make an AU for your muse where they still fill their same 'canon' role, but have the opposite personality - for example, if they're a funny comedic villain they remain an antagonist but they act way more serious and cruel. What would change? Would their goals and relationship stay the same? Do you think they'd have an easier or harder time?
Bonus points if you don't make their opposite too 'obvious'!
THIS IS REALLY DIFFICULT TO THINK ABOUT ACTUALLY?? A lot of Undertale's story is reliant on Chara's actions and personality, for better AND for worse. I'm operating under the assumption that everyone else stays the same (well, for the most part- Chara's influence on Asriel/Flowey would undoubtedly be different for example). I'll also be putting this under a cut because it got a little long!
- They wouldn't be a misanthrope in this case. This could mean they either love humanity or hate monsterkind. Or both. For the sake of still fulfilling their role, I'm gonna say they just love humanity and monsterkind.
- Believes peace among humans and monsters is possible, but naively wouldn't understand that it'd take some hard work and effort at first.
- They wouldn't value efficiency as much, instead preferring to take their time. They might even be a bit lazy.
- They'd lack the self destructive and manipulative parts of Chara's personality in canon, which means they'd probably just... never even came up with the buttercup plan? The initial accident with poisoning Asgore would probably still happen because that was caused by two kids misreading a recipe and not a personality thing, but Chara wouldn't feel the need to punish themself for it.
- As a result this would probably be a Chara who's content with growing old and dying naturally, letting their SOUL get harvested then. Asriel would probably be king at that point, so it'd still be his responsibility to absorb their SOUL and make peaceful contact with the humans... Though I'm still not sure if it'd work out this time. I don't think Asriel would want to risk damaging Chara's older, frailer body by carrying them to the surface. So the humans wouldn't see him carrying a corpse. However a monster with a human soul is still described as an unsettling sight, which means it may not necessarily matter if Asriel just looked menacing enough.
- If it did work out peacefully then the events of Undertale would be so derailed that they just... wouldn't even need to happen. Monsters would have already been long free well before Frisk was even born.
- If it didn't work out and Asriel still dies, well... In canon's Pacifist Route, Chara is portrayed in a sympathetic light before it's revealed that they were a much more complicated and (for lack of a better word) problematic person. I think maybe the reverse would happen with Opposite!Chara. Monsterkind would be bitter at humanity for the loss of their king, to the point that they'd take out their anger on Chara's memory and portray everything they did in the most unfavorable light ever. Chara was on the lazier side? Clearly this meant they were the personification of the Sloth Deadly Sin itself. Chara waited until they died of old age before letting their SOUL get absorbed? Obviously this was because they were a selfish person who valued their singular life more than all of monsterkind's. This would piss off Asriel/Flowey to no end, and you'd learn from both him and the tapes that Chara was literally just a sweet person who happened to have a chronic resting angry face.
This was a fun thought exercise thank you for sending it in =)
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