ight i hate to admit it but caesar would be That Guy in a modern au.
you know the one.
the guy who sits with strangers outside the starbucks down the street, striking up a conversation whether they want to participate or not. he’ll take a long drag from his eighteen dollar vape pen and breathe it out in his company’s face without thinking, talking idly about his ‘batshit ex’ and how he’s ‘working on a novel.’
if they bring up things about themselves, he’ll one up them -- mentioning cooking will earn a talk about his award-winning puttanesca, while exercise will remind him of the fact that he can bench well over 300.
they’re obviously uncomfortable with his company, with the way he takes up over half of the table with the way his elbow rests on it. he’s close enough to them that, between the cheap potpourri-smelling vape juice and the reek of axe bodyspray he applied far too liberally, his presence is damn near suffocating.
he mentions his tribal tattoo.
his company fakes a call and leaves before he can even offer his number.
see i don’t doubt caesar would’ve survived the fight with wham had he not been crushed, but he wouldn’t have fully recovered enough to return his limber and able self. his body was utterly fucked, and the only way he managed to stand up after that sandstorm attack was by pressing his mangled legs together for support. while the ripple does wonders for healing, that’s stretching it.
imo, he’d be a little stiff, and would probably end up adopting a cane if not immediately then within a decade or so.
additionally, even after a near-death experience, that boy wouldn’t have learned a thing! he’d still be a foolhardy idiot! only age would mellow him out in that regard!
gonna preface this by saying i am not a therapist, a doctor, or a psychologist in any sense of the word. this is going off of a copy of the DSM-V and my mediocre amount of schooling and personal experience in the world of psychology. i am not a licensed professional. my word has little, if any, weight to it. this was done for fun – take it with a grain of salt.
anyways, let me begin with my conclusion: from the information portrayed in canon (notably ch 89) we can assume caesar was a well-behaved child up until age ten, when his father disappeared. this immediately led to repeated acts of misconduct, generally including violence, lack of regard for others, and extreme emotional disturbance. despite relative awareness of his own aggression, he often blames his situation and the way he behaves on mario’s disappearance and exhibits extremely (read: violently) volatile behaviour towards him and all others who he feels has wronged him.
in addition to being described as annoying and relatively narcissistic*, he can also be described as irritable, vindictive, and (to a lesser extent) impulsive. his behaviour, especially how he orients himself in relation to others and his quickness to resort to anger above all other responses points towards a complex emotional trauma (defined here as the abandonment by his father and subsequent poor reactions from others in response to his growing ‘Core Problem Behaviours’) leading to an active aversion to abandonment or even possible abandonment by friends, family, acquaintances, or others. as an act of self preservation, he refrains from forming intimate connections with others and holds his company at arm’s length whenever possible, which leads to multitudes of shallow and ultimately forgettable relationships.
considering his behaviour contextually both in and outside his environment, i have found the following diagnoses to be a solid fit:
adjustment disorder with disturbance of conduct (a traumatic disorder)
severe adolescent-onset type aggressive conduct disorder, w/o limited prosocial emotions
possible moderate oppositional defiant disorder
his appearance during the current events of battle tendency indicate a general improvement in character (likely due to provision of support; adolescent correction and a bit of self moderating; etc) without significant addressing of or effort made on specific symptoms. seeing how he is deceased, his path of psychological improvement cannot be traced to any sufficient long-term outcome, but it can be assumed from what we know that he has the potential to settle down and moderate his emotions if given support and the ability to confide. active emotional control, however, is unlikely without psychological regulation or professional help.
now for some notes and elaboration on the disorders themselves as outlined by the DSM-V. italicised are behaviours that either match up with his character from what we known in canon or are heavily implied to be applicable to him. i have not made any assumptions here.
adjustment disorder with disturbance of conduct – 309.3 (F43.24):
A. The development of emotional or behavioral symptoms in response to an identifiable stressor(s) occurring within 3 months of the onset of the stressor(s).
B. These symptoms or behaviors are clinically significant, as evidenced by one or both of the following:
Marked distress that is out of proportion to the severity or intensity of the stressor, taking into account the external context and the cultural factors that might influence symptom severity and presentation.
Significant impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.
C. The stress-related disturbance does not meet the criteria for another mental disorder and is not merely an exacerbation of a preexisting mental disorder. (check)
D. The symptoms do not represent normal bereavement.
E. Once the stressor or its consequences have terminated, the symptoms do not persist for more than an additional 6 months. (check)
*in terms of trauma reaction, especially in his adolescence, we will refer to the 4F defences found in adolescents with traumatic disorders. the habituated 4F defenses (fight, flight, freeze, fawn) offer protection against further re-abandonment hurts by precluding the type of vulnerable relating that is prone to re-invoke childhood feelings of being attacked, unseen, and/or unappreciated.
using his inability to put the blame on himself and his active avoidance of emotional intimacy, caesar most properly fits the “fight type”, e.g. an individual who uses narcissistic defence post-trauma. fight types avoid real intimacy by unconsciously alienating others, as well as featuring angry and possibly controlling demands for the unmet childhood need of unconditional love.
“Fight types are unconsciously driven by the belief that power and control can create safety, assuage abandonment and secure love.”
“Unlike the other 4Fs, fight types assess themselves as perfect and project the inner critic’s perfectionistic processes onto others, guaranteeing themselves an endless supply of justifications to rage.”
trauma reaction in detail taken from article on C-PTSD in children and adolescents
this application is justified due to volatility towards people he finds himself threatened by (notably mario, which is an anger he festered in and fueled himself by, but also joseph to a lesser extent during his introduction arc). generally, he seems to express outrage (narcissistic) first and foremost, with the inability to look upon himself or identify his own behaviour's harmful effects, both on himself and others. caesar has not ever put blame onto himself, and in all likelihood he never will, if only because he lacks the self awareness key of being able to identify and walk himself that higher level of self improvement.
severe adolescent-onset type aggresive conduct disorder, w/o limited prosocial emotions – 312.82 (F91.2):
Aggression to People and Animals
Often bullies, threatens, or intimidates others.
Often initiates physical fights.
Has used a weapon that can cause serious physical harm to others (e.g., a bat, brick, broken bottle, knife, gun).
Has been physically cruel to people.
Has been physically cruel to animals.
Has stolen while confronting a victim (e.g., mugging, purse snatching, extortion, armed robbery).
Destruction of Property
Has deliberately engaged in fire setting with the intention of causing serious damage.
Has deliberately destroyed others’ property (other than by fire setting).
Deceitfulness or Theft
Has broken into someone else’s house, building, or car.
Often lies to obtain goods or favors or to avoid obligations (i.e., “cons” others).
Has stolen items of nontrivial value without confronting a victim (e.g., shoplifting, but without breaking and entering: forgery).
Serious Violations of Rules
Often stays out at night despite parental prohibitions, beginning before age 13 years. (?)
Has run away from home overnight at least twice while living in the parental or parental surrogate home, or once without returning for a lengthy period.
Is often truant from school, beginning before age 13 years. (?)
“As compared with individuals with childhood-onset type, individuals with adolescent-onset conduct disorder are less likely to display aggressive behaviors and tend to have more normative peer relationships (although they often display conduct problems in the company of others). These individuals are less likely to have conduct disorder that persists into adulthood.”
the ACD in his situation is expressed via violent tendencies and behaviour primarily shown in ch 89, including but not limited to physical assault, arson, theft, etc. comorbidity is possible with both the above and below disorder, and the adjustment into a moderately functional person (as seen by age 20 -- see above for long-term traumatic effects) is taken into consideration.
Often argues with authority figures or, for children and adolescents, with adults.
Often actively defies or refuses to comply with requests from authority figures or with rules.
Often deliberately annoys others.
Often blames others for his or her mistakes or misbehavior.
Vindictiveness
Has been spiteful or vindictive at least twice within the past 6 months.
“The disturbance in behavior is associated with distress in the individual or others in his or her immediate social context (e.g., family, peer group, work colleagues), or it impacts negatively on social, educational, occupational, or other important areas of functioning”
“ Furthermore, individuals with this disorder typically do not regard themselves
as angry, oppositional, or defiant. Instead, they often justify their behavior as a response to unreasonable demands or circumstances.”
“In children and adolescents, oppositional defiant disorder is more prevalent in families in which child care is disrupted by a succession of different caregivers or in families in which harsh, inconsistent, or neglectful child-rearing practices are common.”
this is included and considered alongside CD due to emotional effects not present in CD, notably touchiness, temper problems, and emotionally-fueled vindictiveness beyond levels of general reason (also explained by the adjustment disorder). in terms of certainty, i’m not 100% on it, but it explains a lot of his behaviour that is still present today and ODD does feature lasting effects, especially when paired with a traumatic disorder.
caesar’s laugh is horrible. usually it’s just some barking laugh which is, okay, a little weird but not too bad, but if something really gets him? then he’ll go straight to making assorted wheezing and hissing noises. it’s not quite a mute laugh, but it’s quiet. think along the lines of “deflating balloon” or “small mammal in extreme distress” and you’re pretty close.
and seeing how those noises are coming from a 6′1″ man who is (typically) doubled over and shaking while making those noises, he both looks and sounds like he’s dying.
caesar’s love for his friends is honestly such an important aspect of his character and, imo, the sweetest one? he’s a distant guy and keeps most people at arm’s length, but then with those friends he’s more genuine and he fools around and its honestly so nice to see. both because he’s enjoying himself for once in his miserable little life and because it shows he can care, he does care, and while he’s weird with relationships and emotional connections, he’s still a really caring guy (and, canonically, he takes pride in that)
and man, i really love writing that side of him. i love giving him friends and people he cares about. i constantly beat the dead horse of him being some slimy gutterpunk, but he’s a slimy gutterpunk who loves his friends with an intensely and i don’t want you to forget that either.
again i remind you that caesar canonically spent the most psychologically crucial years of his adolescence festering in such an intense hatred for his own father that he frightened people twice his age over how ruthless he was.
the kid was starved from the unconditional love that a child needs to properly develop. he was jumped across multiple houses when he was ten years old and got progressively worse until he was seen as too much of a hassle to take care of by the very people he was supposed to trust. he got dropped off in an orphanage that was described as “worse than a prison” because the people who were supposed to care for him saw that as a better option than dealing with his downward spiral into delinquency.
a lot of his behaviour is the textbook definition of reactions to complex trauma and abandonment issues. i don’t like seeing that be treated lightly or in a joking manner.
caesar was a powerful and feared figure on the streets of rome. that’s not new knowledge. he was tough enough to where people twice his age were afraid of his fifteen year old self even if he was armed with just a wrench. this was in part because of the ripple, which is powerful even when unrefined, etc etc etc.
but like.
the big thing that made him a real danger was that he had nothing to lose. he had no connections, no allies, no moral code, and no regard for himself or others. that’s fucking horrifying when all rolled up into one package. it makes for an unpredictable and intense person who can only be attacked directly, and i’ve already established that that’s not a smart choice.
i was talking with mar stoneslept about it but i do want to make a post about caesar’s characterisation and role with reference to speedwagon and, to a lesser extent, dio.
a lot of this is based on a very big assumption, but it makes a lot of sense to me and i think it’s worth saying, so without further ado, here it is.
for a very long while i’ve been stewing in a theory that both explains speedwagon’s lack of development and his similarity, at least in terms of morals and role, with caesar. in short, i believe that caesar is at least partially who speedwagon was supposed to be, before araki either scrapped or forgot what he intended to do with him. this left us with speedwagon, who was clearly lacking despite his massive amounts of potential as a fully-fleshed character, and with caesar, whose morals right down to his modus operandi in the world of crime is near-identical to speedwagon’s.
it could be to make the supporting character more sympathetic, but despite the fact that both are allegedly dangerous and intense figures in their designated territory, neither have killed (or claim to not have) and though speedwagon was never fully developed, both characters foil dio pretty well despite the fact that it only makes sense for one of them (spw) to do so.
using what little we know about speedwagon before he got declawed and shoved into the position of narrator, it’s obvious their similarities are... striking, to say in the least. to get into the hypothetical, it wouldn’t be too far of a leap to say that the dio’s designated foil had, in his childhood, intended to kill his father but never went through in doing so.
again, this is all based on a pretty big assumption, but caesar just foils dio intimidatingly well and he has more similaries with speedwagon than i can, as somebody who has read PB way too many times, easily ignore.
