AS YOU'VE PROBABLY NOTICED, EVERY 10 CHAPTERS, I POST A CHARACTER DESCRIPTION. GUESS WHAT IT'S TIME FOR? BULGARIA. THE DANUBE ONE. aka how he's gonna be in my au
should I write his history? nah nah most of u probably know it. if u don't u can always look it up I'm feeling lazy now I won't write it down
so, for starters, I'ma describe how he is in hetalia. in hetalia, he's smug, opportunistic, money-oriented and eccentric. he can be really sassy at times, but at the same time, he can be really sensitive, getting easily upset at the remarks of others when they say he's unproductive or lazy. apparently, he has a low self-esteem bc of how others talk negatively about him and how bad his situation is (he's the poorest in the eu). he's also pretty shy around strangers, but with friends, he's cheerful, confident and extroverted. he doesn't like when others (romania & hungary) are in conflict though. he's polite when he has to be.
in my au, I don't really imagine him as that different. except that he's smugger and bolder. and he actually enjoys conflict sometimes. overall this is how he's gonna be:
* smug
* sassy
* kinda distant from people he's not close with (emotionally)
* reclusive when among people he doesn't know well
* can be protective of his personal space, especially if it comes to people that aren't close to him
* but he's more willing to open up to close friends
* very independent, doesn't like being controlled
* when he was a young child, there wasn't anyone to take care of him, to defend him, to help him, etc (old great bulgaria was dead) so he had to fend for himself. this made him an independent, determined and resilient person but it also resulted in him being withdrawn, untrusting of others and unwilling to open up / appear weak in front of others
* later events in his life only solidified this worldview
* although in recent days, he's a bit more willing to let go of it and be chiller/friendlier with his close ones
* he knows that he isn't strong or rich anymore
* which gives him a feeling of inferiority
* but also makes him more stubborn and more willing to do anything to change his situation
* at times, he seems really thick-skinned but others' negative comments regarding his status are among the few things that can really get under his skin
* this made him kinda withdrawn in recent years, because of it, he's less willing to interact with people who aren't his friends bc he doesn't want to be criticized
* not physically aggressive, but will defend himself if attacked
* when he was a child his self-esteem was skyrocketing though
* "lol I feel bad for u losers bc u aren't me hahahah"
* "it must really suck to be u"
* cmon he was an empire
* TWICE.
* "I CREATED AN ALPHABET LOSERRRRRRZ. now learn it so u don't remain dumb"
* can be fearsome if pushed over the edge
* CONSUME THE SKULL CHALICE.
* likes trolling people
* likes pranking people
* especially if the pranks involve yogurt
* in his childhood, he'd sometimes bully weaker countries
* he did it because of a deep feeling of powerlessness
* by bullying others, he felt strong
* but also, sometimes he'd just chat with others... he'd think of it as of playful banter, while the other countries saw it as him bullying them
* sometimes, he wouldn't realize that he was hurting others with his jokes and words
* overall, sometimes he'd bully people intentionally and sometimes he'd offend people unintentionally
* later, under ottoman rule, he realized how bad it felt to be bullied, so he changed his ways (maybe ottoman rule made him develop a low self-esteem? maybe he developed low self-esteem later, after the national catastrophes... or maybe it happened after he became the worst of the eu)
* he made an effort to understand people better so he doesn't unwillingly hurt them with his words
* he still enjoys banter though
* although if he realizes the other person isn't ok with it he'll stop and apologize
* can be kinda awkward
* as if, he's unaware of the other person's emotional state
* or how he's supposed to respond to something
* sucks at emotionally comforting people
* he's aware of this and it makes him kinda shy and insecure
* yeah he might be bad with emotions but on the other hand, if you want someone to cheer u up with silly jokes and spoofs, he's ur guy
* u gotta be the one who actively tries to start a conversation with him and befriend him bc anyways he's not gonna do it
* the mfer loves yogurt
* "EAT MY YOGURT LOSERS"
* "I'M THE YOGURT FAIRYYYYYY" (after he's drunk and is among several close friends)
* (he probably does that to make them laugh)
* he's canonically the yogurt fairy sooo
* he can talk about it for hours
* he can probably differentiate between different plain yogurt brands just by smell and flavor
* he's also able to tell if there are stuff such as powdered milk or cream that are usually added by some manufacturers to reach a certain consistency
* but nothing beats homemade yogurt
* only bio milk can be used in making yogurt, other milks suck
* oh boiii he can probably deliver a lecture about the different yogurt bacteria, the different vessels that can be used in yogurt making, the difference in taste caused by different bacteria / different temperatures / different fermentation duration
* there are also other milk products but yogurt is his favourite
* he's always been like that
* I suppose he inherited his love for yogurt from his dad? that and his love for banter/pranks
* when he was younger, he couldn't tell that people were annoyed or bored about him yogurt monologues (just like how he couldn't tell that he had upset them) but now he is more aware of their feelings
* he's kinda amused when his friends banter/are about to have a fight/are having a fight that's not really serious or bad
* but if it's something serious, he'll step in and try stopping them
* he might not always show it but he doesn't want his close friends to fight and will be upset by their conflicts
* he has like several close friends and the other people are acquaintances he doesn't really care a lot about / doesn't open up to
* likes having swearing contests with his friends
* neither him nor them get offended
* it's for fun
* and maybe calming down after a bad day
* despite his dark history, he has a cheerful side to him
* it's shown only to his close friends
* he cheers them up and overall has a positive effect on them
* maybe it's a coping mechanism? finding the good things in every situation can be pretty useful
* although there definitely have been (and still are) times when he's been moody, such as after some historic tragedy, or, as of recently, his problems with corruption
* impulsive
* likes thrilling experiences
* can be a real himbo at times (despite being relatively smart)
* he often gets in dangerous situations bc he doesn't think things through
* he never thinks of any potential outcomes
* first acts, thinks later
* can remain cold-headed in a serious or dangerous situation, thinking of logical ways to get himself out of it
* I can't help but imagine him and serbia about to argue, then suddenly turbofolk, pop-folk or chalga begins blasting from somewhere and they start dancing, having forgotten their problems with each other
* likes meme songs
* such as this one: watch?v=67qC71wLxgQ
* lol, it's about collecting sticks
* he likes sticks
* and hitting people with them
* and secretly setting his friends' ringtones to such songs
* then secretly calling them in the middle of a meeting
* as a prank
* when he was a child, his dad treated him and his twin brother as a "part of a set"
* old great bulgaria didn't even give them their own names, he named them after himself and thus they had the same name
* he wouldn't even refer to them with their names, he'd be like "hey, u! come here", "not u, the other one", "hey kid/child/son"
* it was like he and his brother were the same
* and he wanted to have his own identity, dammit
* so he'd look for ways to make himself as different as possible from his brother
* or maybe even unique
* he changed his culture and language to a slavic one
* also he accepted christianity as a state religion, rejecting paganism
* his thoughts regarding christianity were initially mixed
* some of his aristocracy was executed bc they rebelled against it
* he felt sad and hurt bc of that but on the other side, he also felt guilty over feeling sad for them, as if it was a sin
* sometimes he'd question the idea of a all-loving god with all the things happening to him, then feel like a sinner for daring to question it
* also as he entered his teen years he realized he was into both men and women, poggers another reason to hate himself and feel like a sinner
* also the idea that his pagan dad had gone to hell for being a pagan and that his non-christian twin brother was heading towards there was simply heartbreaking
* in modern days, he's not as religious as he used to be
* he miiiiiiiight have had a crush on greece's mom aka the eastern roman empire aka the byzantine empire
* he'd copy some stuff from her culture and rlly look up to her
* when she found out about the crush she made fun of him for it, making it clear that they'd never get together, reason 1: age gap
* simped for russia during socialist times and tried joining the ussr twice but was rejected both times