#ix. meme

fill out & repost ♥

My muse is:  canon / oc / au / canon-divergent / fandomless

Is your character popular in the fandom?  YES / NO

Is your character considered hot™ in the fandom?  YES / NO (I mean, he’s often called ‘pretty boy’ or ‘handsome’ and is implied to be attractive in-game)

Is your character considered strong in the fandom?  YES / NO

Are they underrated?  YES / NO

Were they relevant to the main story?  YES / NO

Were they relevant to the main character?  YES / NO / THEY’RE THE PROTAG.

Are they widely known in their world?  YES / NO.

How’s their reputation?  GOOD / BAD / NEUTRAL.

How strictly do you follow canon?

I try to incorporate all canon bits into my writing, but mostly weave these parts together with a lot of my own headcanons and interpretations of the things that I think could lead Akiyama to ultimately be who he is and act the way he does. He’s a very interesting and unique character - the one civilian who’s constantly dragged into Yakuza business and who lives in this very much gray zone in terms of morality but who is one of the good guys at his core.

SELL YOUR MUSE! Aka try to list everything, which makes your muse interesting in your opinion to make them spicy for your mutual.

Akiyama’s charisma is off the charts - it’s impossible not to like him! I try my best to bring his sense of humor and how smooth he is to the writing, because to me that’s one of his trademarks - a lot of charm, very skilled conversationalist and overall likeable person who entrances others quite easily. It makes a lot of sense that during his chapters in Y4 you can enlist others as your ‘allies’, because he just makes connections that fast.

His adaptability to life - he doesn’t shy away from the period of homelessness and how it ultimately freed him? He goes as far as thanking the man who framed and destroyed his (once) brilliant career for this. Akiyama becomes someone so comfortable in his own skin and so genuine - he’s one extremely resilient person even if sometimes it looks like blind luck (it’s not - his strength is less tangible and physical).

He has plot reasons to be mostly anywhere and do everything - I mean, he ended up babysitting idols, waltzing right into evil lairs of badass yakuza to accuse them of crimes and using his own fortune to bait others. He’s a super unpredictable but devoted individual who will stop at nothing to get to the bottom of things or protect the town he loves while being a civilian - so he’s not bound by the Tojo hierarchy at all. Nothing is really out of character for this man. Not even dance battles.

Brains over brawn for once - Akiyama can fight (and does so with style!), but that is not his preferred way of solving problems. By nature he’s diplomatic and very intelligent, and he will try to to avoid unnecessary fights if possible - but if all comes down to kicking the bastards where it hurts, he’ll do it. I think his approach to things in a franchise built on Kiryu punching his way through problems is super refreshing - and adds a lot of variety. :)

Now the OPPOSITE, list everything why your muse could not be so interesting (even if you may not agree, what does the fandom perhaps think?).  

Akiyama being seen as the ‘humorous’ character or someone just ‘lazy’ and incapable of doing his job correctly. I have a LOT of feelings here - and I disagree with this overall idea that Akiyama is a ‘joke’ - but I can see him being considered some sort of walking meme and leading people to believe he’s just not worth their time to build an interesting plot (despite the fact he’s the protagonist of 3 games and a supporting character in at least other 2).

The fact he’s not as strong when compared to other protagonists of the franchise - and this is true; if you put Akiyama side by side with most guys who have been given the spotlight over the years, Akiyama is probably stronger than Tanimura only (or maybe it’s a tie). He doesn’t look like your typical Yakuza protagonist - he doesn’t even punch others when fighting, it’s just kicking! I can see this being something that would rank him ‘lower’ or as someone ‘less interesting’ or ‘less important’ because he’s not hitting others like a derailed freight train such as Saejima or Kiryu.

What inspired you to rp your muse?  

I was smitten with Akiyama after five minutes with him, really. I loved how fresh his interactions with Hana sounded, and the way he talked to people was so open and fun for once (Kiryu is not a great conversationalist, let’s face it). Then his introduction by Kido, where he gets described so mysteriously and yet with these obvious pointers towards the way he fosters other people’s dreams and his unpredictable behavior? An immediate win for me. 

Akiyama is so entertaining - his charm, his lines, his voice (thank you Yamadera Koichi for this AWESOME job), his substories, the fighting style, the dancing battles! Honestly there is nothing about Akiyama that I don’t adore - he’s hard to read, smooth like silk, good guy at his heart, awesome sense of humor, devilish handsome, looks like he knows how to please a woman and leave them craving for more, incredibly smart to the point of being complimented by an actual police detective - hell yeah. What’s not to love?

What keeps your inspiration going?  

Akiyama does it by himself, haha. Honestly, the games and the existing lore have done plenty, and I’ve gone really deep into what I perceive as his motivations/drivers. The second thing in addition to canon sources is the interest/discussions with partners? Really, @sixthxchairman has played a fundamental role here, from giving me a space to run him as a test muse to listening to a lot of incessant yelling about all things Akiyama. Having someone else interested in him makes me want explore all the sides of the muse. :)

Some more personal questions for the mun.

Give your mutuals some insight about the way you are in some matters, which could lead them to get more comfortable with you or perhaps not.

Do you think you give your character justice?  YES / NO (I mean, I have PAGES written about Akiyama and everything, I hope this is coherent?).

Do you frequently write headcanons?  YES / NO.

Do you sometimes write drabbles?  YES / NO.  

Do you think a lot about your Muse during the day?  YES / NO.

Are you confident in your portrayal?  YES / NO / More like getting to ‘yes’ with each passing day?

Are you confident in your writing?  YES / NO / Increasingly getting to yes?

Are you a sensitive person?  YES / NO.

Do you accept criticism well about your portrayal?

Yes, to a degree. Akiyama is not my character so of course there are a lot of things I’ve built and developed/fleshed out that may be different from what the creators intended or even other muns would have imagined/explored with him. I will say I do not oppose criticism if it’s rooted in actual canon and happens to be something that heavily contradicts what Akiyama does in such official sources - I do not write him as canon divergent, after all. 

However, a lot about my Akiyama portrayal is my own; there is a heavy influence of my headcanons in relation to his hobbies, likes & dislikes, preferences, tastes, etc. These details are all very fundamental in how I write him and will show up in my replies - his disregard for hierarchy, the way he likes to be underestimated, the way he talks to and acts around people etc. On these aspects of my interpretation, I’d prefer not to get any criticism on simply because there is no right or wrong; I just appreciate that there are different views on what makes Akiyama who he is and I’d rather not be compared.

Do you like questions, which help you explore your character?  

Yes! These are always fun and often directed at stuff I haven’t yet thought about, so I love working on these headcanon asks. :)

If someone disagrees to a headcanon of yours, do you want to know why?

I am willing to listen, sure - especially if it is rooted in canon sources, as indicated above. I don’t care much for someone arguing something like ‘Akiyama cannot play the violin because he’s obviously a trumpet player’ - there is no way either of us will know for sure unless the creators one day say something about it. But other than that, I welcome good discussions and how we may view the same scene differently (for instance, the ending of Y5 when Watase and the other families bowed to Akiyama - I interpreted that scene in a way, other people may be able to see it in another direction).

If someone disagrees with your portrayal, how would you take it?

As long as this doesn’t translate to anon hate (which simply gets blocked), then I have nothing to say about it! I think everyone has the right to disagree with my views and perceptions of Akiyama, I just don’t see the point of lingering around and following me if that is the case. I’m always excited to yell about him and discuss plots/interactions with willing parties - but if my version of Akiyama isn’t someone’s cup of tea, I’m sure there are other takes on him that will work well for these people.

If someone really hates your character, how do you take it?  

I would frankly be surprised because, at least online, Akiyama sounds like he’s a REALLY popular fella with a very good fanbase - and I personally think that Akiyama is a fucking delight and I worship the ground he walks on - but to each their own? Again, I disagree with some of the takes I see on Akiyama where he’s reduced to some sort of failure or joke who’s incapable of doing anything by himself, but as long as the hate for Akiyama does not translate in anon hate/actual fandom war, I have no issue with that.

Are you okay with people pointing out your grammatical errors?  

YES, ALWAYS. IN FACT, PLEASE DO. I am not a native English speaker and while I do check spelling/meaning of certain words sometimes, there is always a typo or some random word that escapes my review and makes me groan when reviewing my replies later. I will always appreciate anyone helping me correct and grow as a writer. :)

Do you think you are easy going as a mun?