empatheias app 2 electric bunnyloo

⌈ PLAYER SECTION ⌉
Player: Pixi
Contact: pixisticks
Age: 26
Current Characters: N/A


⌈ CHARACTER SECTION ⌉
Character: Oz Vessalius
Age: Physically 15, actually 100+ because of time-travel shenanigans
Canon: Pandora Hearts
Canon Point: Towards the end of Chapter 104, right after he and Alice fade away

Background: Here!

Personality: As the main character of a long series full of time travel and identity-related shenanigans, it's probably no surprise that Oz Vessalius' personality goes through a series of evolutions. The difference between his current canon point and the one he came from on his previous trip to Empatheias will become apparent shortly.

At first glance, Oz is your typical cheerful protagonist. The son of Duke Vessalius, he's all smiles and mischief, running around and causing trouble on his search for fun. Aside from some offhanded comments implying a less-than-stellar relationship with his father, he flirts with young ladies, playfully bullies his servant, and seems to be a happy, friendly teenager overall.

In some ways, all of that is true. He is quite friendly, and he definitely has a playful streak. But Oz is not nearly so easy to read, and it doesn't take long for the illusion of a peaceful life to shatter, revealing more and more of Oz's true character as the story progresses.

Getting thrown into the Abyss after being told "your sin is your very existence" would do a number on anyone. But Oz has suffered similar verbal abuse from his father all his life, and that rejection was combined with isolation from the outside world. As such, Oz's bright smiles and easygoing demeanor hide his true thoughts and emotions. Oz is extremely observant and clever, far more than anyone expects of a "sheltered" noble teenager. Throughout the series, he calls out others on their lies and true intentions, even those who have spent their lives fooling others. Xerxes Break, for instance, created his entire personality from the ashes of his former life, and Oz sees through him in an instant. A more recent example would be Glen Baskerville; Oz and his friends chase him through time, trying to prevent him from changing the past to save the world. Oz insists that Glen himself is the one who provided them with an alternative, a tiny thread of hope--that Glen gave them this chance because despite everything, he wants to be stopped. Before he dies, Glen proceeds to prove him exactly right.

That said, intelligence and perceptiveness have never been the only things hiding behind Oz's sunny facade. One of the major facets of Oz's personality throughout the series is his adaptability--his ability to "accept everything", no matter how painful, bleak, or ridiculous. In some cases, this mindset proves useful. For example, he doesn't panic when he finds himself in a strange, dangerous place, and as a result, manages to get out of the Abyss with the "Chain" Alice's help. In another instance, he doesn't get upset when Break reveals he made mistakes that could have (and later, does) cost someone their life. This acceptance smooths over any potential discord and keeps Break from beating himself up too much over unchangeable circumstances.

Unfortunately, for a good portion of the series, Oz adopts this attitude to an unhealthy degree. He internalizes all the dehumanizing abuse his father hurls at him, and places no value on his own life. He even goes out of his way to make sure no one prioritizes him or risks their safety for his. He intentionally puts himself in danger and says outright that he would rather sacrifice himself than watch a friend die, especially if it's for his sake. It's okay if he's the one who's hurt, because his life doesn't matter anyway.

But for better or for worse, Oz has friends who can see beyond what he chooses to show them. Gilbert, Alice and Break all call him out on his behavior, urging him to take better care of himself. In the end, it's Elliot Nightray's spectacular tirade against his selfishness--this would-be 'self-sacrifice' that protects no one but Oz himself--finally opens his eyes. Elliot tells him that people who don't value their own lives have no right to protect others, and while Oz loses his temper (for once), he takes those words to heart and learns to live by them.

Oz is very loyal to his friends. He is the type to accept a person no matter what they've done. It doesn't matter that Alice is a Chain, that Gilbert was adopted by the rival noble family Nightray, that Break has killed over a hundred people. Oz uses his observational skills to judge people by who they truly are, and as a result, is willing to care for and respect them, even if they've made mistakes or harmed others. This loyalty and acceptance of his friends eventually seeps into his view of himself, and he slowly begins to place value on his own life, too. He begins to believe he has a right to exist.

But this positive growth doesn't last, thanks to one Jack Vessalius. The so-called "hero" was believed to reside in Oz's body, but the truth is quite the opposite, and Jack comes out as the villain just in time to undo all of Oz's emotional progress. When Jack reveals the truth--that Oz isn't human at all, but a Chain residing in Jack's body, the very Chain that caused the Tragedy of Sablier--he doesn't hold back, telling Oz that he can accomplish nothing, that nothing belongs to him. Oz takes this the heart the same way he took his father's verbal lashings, telling Echo and Gilbert that he is nothing but a fake.

Oz has their support, of course, and they stand by him, insisting that Jack is wrong. The world begins to fall apart around them, thanks to Jack, and for a while, Oz has no time to stop and consider his own identity. But he never forgets Elliot's words, and in the middle of the chaos, Oz even gets the chance to face his father. The man rejects Oz with his dying breath, but the strength of his friends helps Oz stand tall, and he finally states that even he has a right to exist.

When discussing Oz's character growth, this moment is pivotal. It is, perhaps even the point from which he moves towards the end of the story. By standing up to his father, claiming his right to live, he is standing up to Jack as well. Every terrible thing they've said to him about his worthlessness, his wretchedness, the horrible instances for which they hold him at fault-- it is here that Oz finally turns his back on all of it, choosing, for once in his life, not to accept it. Instead, he accepts his friends, and more importantly, himself.

With that in mind, his final instance of self-sacrifice is nothing like it would've been earlier in the series. To save the world, Oz must destroy the Alice that houses the core of the Abyss, and himself along with her. It's the only way to save the world without changing (and potentially erasing) any part of the story they've lived together. But by this point, he's learned to be selfish, to want things purely for himself. He succeeds in doing what he must, but in his final moments, he allows himself to lean against his precious people and to mourn their lost chances. He weeps for the time they'll never get to spend together, even as he says he's finally learned what it means to be happy. Being able to cry for them, for himself, is something he never, ever would've done ten years and a lifetime ago.

Overall, Oz tends to look towards the future, and he believes in the power of hope to keep everyone moving forward. He tries to encourage Leo to move on after Elliot's death, and he doesn't let Break blame himself for Oscar's death. He follows Glen Baskerville all the way to the past based on nothing but the tiniest sliver of hope. Oz makes a deal with Jack, sacrificing himself and his claim on Jack's body for the sake of that hope, even though Jack could just as easily betray them at the last minute. And even as he and Alice fade away, he acknowledges Gilbert's hope that one day, a hundred years in the future, they'll find each other again.

Abilities: Formerly, Oz was the Chain B-Rabbit, created by the Will of the Abyss. However, since he effectively destroyed her (and himself and Black Alice in the process), he is no longer a Chain and has lost all powers associated with being one.

Alignment: Peromei, as before! He hasn't changed much—he still very much believes in the power of hope, even more so now that he's seen for himself what it's like to conquer despair.

Other: Since Oz will be returning, he'll have his memories of Empatheias, although they'll be slightly fuzzy as he assumed they were part of a dream. Nonetheless, he'll have a vague understanding of the world and how things work already, save for the new things that happened while he was gone, of course.


⌈ SAMPLE SECTION ⌉
Sample: May 2016 test drive, Sosyne log 9/10 2015, memory pods 9 2015

I can also write up a new, original sample if these aren't sufficient. Just let me know!

Questions: As soon as Oz gets back and gets settled, he'll want to try and contact Peromei, or send her some kind of message. Is there a way I could do that?