A Squinty-Eyed Character's Resolve
I've become a squinty-eyed character. Yes, a squinty-eyed character. Simply put, it refers to characters who keep their eyes closed or squinted. But if you dig a little deeper, it refers to characters who possess squinted eyes and follow a very specific, tried-and-true trope.
"Ah, now this is what I'm talking about."
Right now, I was riding a high of squinty-eyed character hype so intense it felt like a lethal dose. Pure, unadulterated hype. There was this squinty-eyed character I'd been keeping my eye on in an anime I regularly watched, and in today's episode, he had absolutely torn the house down.
Usually treated as a weirdo or a frivolous slacker by everyone around him, but in the decisive moment, he opens his eyes, his aura completely shifts, and he dominates the entire room. That sight... it was a scene that squeezed every last drop of flavor out of the trope, the absolute essence of what makes a squinty-eyed character so great.
Starting next week, his real reign of terror would begin in earnest.
"How am I supposed to wait for that?"
For someone currently suffering from a lethal addiction to squinty-eyed character hype, there was no way I could just sit quietly and wait until next week. Just as I was wondering how on earth to soothe this burning fever...
"Ah, right."
A certain game suddenly crossed my mind.
Another World.
The basic framework of the game wasn't much different from any generic, mass-produced fantasy RPG. But it possessed one clear, undeniable strength that set it apart from the rest: customization. From the finest details of their physical appearance to every single aspect of their background. It allowed players to configure a character from zero to a hundred entirely to their liking. In other words, it was a game optimized for pure, unadulterated concept-building and roleplay.
In the past, I had briefly dipped my toes in without any specific concept, but the taste was too bland, so I had set it aside, promising myself I'd pick it up again when I felt the itch for a proper concept run. It seemed now was the time to unfold what I had packed away. I immediately launched the game.
"A major update? I didn't hear anything about this."
After finishing the update, I logged in and entered the character creation screen. Just in case, I checked the customization sharing board—
"Oh, hello there."
The customization file for that exact squinty-eyed character was sitting right on the real-time trending board. It looked like it had been uploaded a while ago but was only now seeing the light of day thanks to today's episode. Indeed, it would be hard for anyone not to get hyped after watching today's broadcast.
"Whoa, it's a spitting image."
The visual synchronization was so perfect it looked like a direct copy-paste. As if possessed, I downloaded the file and applied it.
"Mmm..."
But when I was actually about to hit create, a wave of disappointment washed over me. Even if the appearance was a perfect match, the game's system limitations meant the stats and abilities were a complete mismatch. It felt like catching a common house mouse, dipping it in a jar of mustard, and insisting, 'This is Pikachu. Cute, right? Please don't downvote.' Because of that, even the high-quality appearance suddenly started to look cheap and tacky by association.
"What should I do..."
After a brief moment of contemplation, I reached a conclusion. 'Since it's come to this, why don't I just make one myself?'
Exactly. With my years of veteran otaku experience, did it make any sense to just download a shared customization file and use it as is? 'Absolutely not.' That would be like Gordon Ramsay ordering cheap takeout. Well, Gordon Ramsay could order takeout in real life, but the Gordon Ramsay in my imagination definitely wouldn't.
"Alright."
My eyes snapped open. I immediately focused my mind and began crafting the ultimate squinty-eyed character, synthesizing all my accumulated data on the trope.
How much time had passed? Looking out the window, I could almost hear the "caw, caw" sound effect of a passing crow. Before I knew it, the sun had set, painting the sky in the deep orange of twilight.
"What on earth am I doing..."
Someone once said that if you get serious about character customization in this game, time melts away like premium beef on a hot grill. 'It's true.' Still, the time didn't feel wasted.
"Like this—"
When his eyes are squinted, his aura gives off an infinitely lighthearted, frivolous impression.
"And like this—"
But when he opens them, his atmosphere completely shifts, radiating a deeply ominous, chilling vibe.
Jet-black hair, and skin so pale it looks almost bloodless. His fine, delicate features create a faint impression, as if they would be swept away and forgotten in the waves of memory in an instant. But the beauty mark right beneath his squinted eye turns that faint impression into something strangely, persistently captivating.
After pouring so much time into capturing that dual, mysterious atmosphere—the absolute be-all and end-all of a squinty-eyed character—a highly satisfying result finally emerged. Whenever I watched documentaries and saw pottery masters smashing perfectly fine pots while shouting, "This isn't it!", I used to think, 'Man, if you're going to do that, just give it to me.' But now, I finally understood why they did it. To those masters, the pots they smashed with their own hands were like a squinty-eyed character who speaks casually, or a squinty-eyed character who looks strong even with his eyes closed. Such abominations simply had no right to exist in this world.
How many times had I smashed my own creations, screaming, 'This isn't a squinty-eyed character!'? Finally, a character who was the absolute embodiment of the trope stood before me. 'This is it. This is a real squinty-eyed character.' By my standards, he was even more squinty-eyed than the guy who had given me that lethal dose of hype. I couldn't help but look forward to the squinty-eyed potential of this squinty-eyed character.
"A name that fits a squinty-eyed character..."
Then, a sudden wave of self-loathing hit me for seriously obsessing over an original character at my age—but it was fine. This was how it was supposed to be. If you look back at your own otaku behavior and feel incredibly embarrassed and full of self-loathing, that is proof you are doing it right. Still, let's just make up a name quickly. I had spent far too much time already.
"Since he's squinty-eyed... Sillon... Kai... No, let's just go with Sillon."
Now that the appearance customization was done, the real show began. If the most important thing for a squinty-eyed character was a visual that suited the squint, by the same logic, a background setting that suited the squint was just as important. A squinty-eyed character who is just openly strong? 'Why even squint then?' The most important thing for a squinty-eyed character is the gap between when his eyes are squinted and when they are open. To bring out that point, I examined the trait list with an even more strict, solemn, and serious attitude than when I was working on his appearance.
Description: You have achieved absolute mastery over black magic. To master a dark power that brands you as a public enemy of the world with just a single step... What will happen if your existence is revealed to the world? At the very least, you will certainly receive global attention. How wonderful for you.
Description: You have achieved absolute mastery over assassination arts. Since these techniques were made to kill people anyway, what does honor or dishonor matter? As long as you kill well, that's all that counts. That is the mindset of those who walk the path of an assassin. Right or wrong aside, you should probably give up any hope of hearing good things about yourself.
Description: You possess a natural-born talent for deceiving others. Under any circumstances, you can perfectly conceal your true nature and project whatever persona you wish to show.
Description: You can completely conceal your true power from the perception of others. You must find the attention of others burdensome. Or perhaps, on the contrary, you enjoy their attention in a rather insidious way.
Description: You are completely free from all forms of mental interference. Since you are already thoroughly stained, a little sweat and blood won't even show. It is the privilege of the filthy.
"I guess this is it."
It was the optimal combination culled from the highest tier, the 'Unique' grade trait list. With these traits, the gap between when the squinty-eyed character has his eyes closed and when he opens them could be shown in stark contrast. On top of that, the taboo powers of black magic and assassination arts provided a perfect justification for why a squinty-eyed character would hide his strength in daily life. This might seem trivial, but it was incredibly important. Without that, he wouldn't be an insidious squinty-eyed character hiding his identity; he'd just be a pathetic loser hiding his power. To a layman, they might wonder what the difference is, but from my expert perspective, they are as different as Pokémon and Digimon.
"Wait, but..."
After finishing the selection of Unique traits, I was browsing through the lower-grade trait lists, adding various minor traits to polish the character's quality. Suddenly, a sense of incongruity washed over me.
"Were there always this many?"
There were a lot of traits in the options. Not just a lot, but fucking many. I'm not usually someone who uses such vulgar language, but right now, there were so many that no other word but fucking could fully describe it. Besides, looking at the traits I had just chosen, something felt off.
The traits I remembered were all highly intuitive. Most of them were like, 'This stat goes up. In exchange, that stat goes down. There's no free lunch in this world. Mad? Sucks to be you.' That kind of style. But looking at the traits I chose again, they weren't just traits; they were practically lore settings. They were perfect for roleplaying while customizing, so I had greedily gobbled them up, but now that I looked at them, there were no intuitive stat changes in sight. I wondered how on earth the game was going to express these. Was this what changed in the update just now?
"Hmm."
For a while, I stared at the monitor with a doubtful expression. Then, I reached a conclusion. Whatever. I'll find out once I play.
Leaving behind countless questions and a lingering uneasy feeling, I clicked the character creation button.
"Thinking back, it really was a bizarre turn of events."
Just like that, I was transmigrated into the squinty-eyed character I had created.