Saturday, March 5, 2022

Which GTA V Protagonist Am I Most Like?

You might have noticed in my earlier blog posts that I recently bought The Sims 4 and Grand Theft Auto V on sale on Steam.
I often don't talk about a wide variety of games because, being a person with Asperger's syndrome, I stick heavily to my interests, even those within the wide umbrella topic of video games. In addition, I have other priorities in life like hoarding enough money for a real-life house. As such, I prefer to enjoy a few video games I already have, leading to me having highly specialized knowledge of those games to the point many casual fans can't keep up with my level of interest.
I bought these ones though because, #1, again, they were on sale; #2, I freakin' love these franchises and how huge and influential they are. GTA, in particular, contributes about 20% of my love for adventuring; 75% comes from Pokémon and 5% from other games.

I've only gone through a few missions with the first two protagonists, Franklin and Michael, but oh boy, do I already love their personalities. I have some...rather unique life experiences that make me relate to these characters more than other people do (who I think are more like Trevor these days to varying degrees from simply being lazy to having vices to being mean to others either on the Internet or IRL).

Let's break it down because I'm lazy to do introductions. My mind isn't feeling so fit to write.

Note that "Differences" will not cover character abilities or personality traits that are unlikely to be possessed by many average Joes such as Trevor's flying ability.
However, "Similarities" and "Zig-Zags" will cover such abilities/traits if applicable. For example, I don't know any real-life person who is as addicted to fighting in real life as I am.

Franklin

Similarities

  • Franklin wants to start a life of his own away from the usual gangbanging. Similarly, at some point, I want to quit my job as a salesman for my mom's store...but I haven't reached a point yet where I can earn enough to feed myself. (Note that, due to company rules, I have the right to not answer questions about my English-teaching job.)
  • Franklin is the youngest and most athletic of the three protagonists. I'm very young compared to many tutors who either already have work experience or still have full-time jobs. In addition to my English skills, I also brag about my physical abilities.
  • Franklin starts with the lowest shooting skill among the protagonists. I also generally have a bad aim in shooting games and Nerf wars; the only shooting game I'm good at is Call of Duty Mobile where I have a self-rated shooting skill of 6/10 and a near-100% win rate in Battle Royale.

Differences

  • Franklin specializes in driving cars and motorbikes. Dad freaks out a LOT when I'm behind the wheel.

Zig-Zags

  • Although Franklin often disagrees with his best friend Lamar's ideas, Franklin goes along with them anyway.

Michael

Similarities

  • Michael starts the game as a rich retired criminal with plenty of experience--he's got a luxury house to go along with it. He also has a bad temper and gets revenge in extreme ways like literally bringing down what he thought was the house of a tennis coach who had sex with his wife. Although I am far from "rich", many people's first impression of me is very similar to a person like Michael: rich, scary, and smart.
    • I often talk about things that ordinary Filipinos typically don't experience like English teaching, martial arts, and PC gaming.
    • I think my ability to use rarely-used words in both English and Filipino, as well as my Spanish accent when speaking Filipino, contribute to the "smart" impression. I think this reminds people of their bosses, parents, or teachers, hence the unintended intimidation factor. When I brag more about my smartness, the intimidation is boosted.
      • This is why my YouTube channel fans got nervous about inviting me to their Facebook chat group. Although, as of writing, I have 13 subscribers, they see me as a celebrity: someone who is way out of their league.
    • I often try to hide my anger by acting stoic: something which I think Michael doesn't do. However, when I DO show my anger, I shout swear words and commands and make people suffer the Wrath of the Rock. Few people have seen this side of me, namely my family members, Aby, and YoSquid.
      • Raging at people is likely a trait I got from Mom and Dad who both rage at people who give us awful customer service, though mine is, I think, less intense. In the last few times I raged at non-family members, I used English polite expressions and Japanese keigo sarcastically, such as "With all due respect..." to a hypocritical professor I hate, as well as "desu" and "masu" to a customer who doesn't know Japanese and who spammed the same "life story" statements quickly and repeatedly when I didn't ask for a recap.
      • At some point, I am willing to actually beat someone up. That time hasn't come yet, though.
  • Sometimes, when I'm angry (especially when I'm also Uncomfortable), I begrudgingly work even if Mom tells me not to do so. I typically teach English for 2 hours but I once taught for 7 hours straight in a fit of rage...and as un-Japanese as I know it is, I openly reveal my mood to my students unless Mom is nearby, to which I reply to "How are you?" by saying "I'm sorry. I'm not allowed to tell you."
    • I normally make deliveries with a bike or car, but when Mom didn't allow me to use either, I appeared to have stormed out of the house when, in fact, I secretly delivered something from my bakery to Mom. Mom later got mad again because me going on foot makes her look like a bad boss.
  • As opposed to my tutoring job where I'm very young, I'm usually the oldest among groups of gamers. While students rant about their difficult quizzes and exams, I talk about work and my past experiences like osmanthus wine tasting the same as I remember.
  • Michael sleeps the shortest among the protagonists: 6 hours. I also sleep the shortest either because I want to prepare for emergencies or I'm checking on my video games. If I sleep too long, I may risk missing work.

Differences

  • Michael has the lowest strength stat among the three protagonists. In my family, I'm the second strongest, and in groups of gamers, I'm the most sporty and physically fit.
  • I wouldn't dare date someone like Amanda, a prostitute, in the first place. Boy, am I glad my high school crush "Keqing" is nowhere close to being one.
  • I hate alcohol. Michael is a massive alcoholic. (Side note: When my younger brother first played GTA V, he made Michael get super drunk 'cause it's funny.)

Trevor

Similarities

  • The biggest one: I GREATLY enjoy fighting and killing in video games. Depending on the game, I may do this to pretend to cut down the enemy's morale in my head (such as gangs, militaries, and law enforcement agencies), to grind EXP and loot (RPGs like Genshin Impact), as target practice, or simply because I'm raging IRL.
    • I also enjoy fighting IRL too. I don't get a lot of opportunities to test my skills in a real fight so I've grown a little desperate for sparring. Instead, I hunt mosquitoes for the family.
  • In addition to my great physical strength, I'm also able to facetank punches even without being angry...which is ironic given my lack of weight and visible muscle. With anger, I gain resistance to interruption.
    • I was able to fight two Gold's Gym trainers alone and they were still scared of me despite this being a friendly fight. Similarly, I fought three kids alone in karate and got hit only a few times while I hit them many times.
  • I sometimes can't help but use complicated words even though I aim my blog posts towards teens and young adults.

Differences

  • Anger actually enhances my fighting skill rather than turning me into a mindless "random bullshit go!" beast. In addition to the ATK increase experienced by most people, I gain increased ATK SPD, CRIT Rate, and CRIT DMG to the point I can KO a full HP enemy in one Charged Attack punch to a weak point. And since I can initially hide my anger, add a sneak attack multiplier. (If I have Energy Recharge, increase that too.)
  • I don't always keep my workplaces clean, but when I do, I get REALLY serious. If I had my own house, I would treat it with plenty of care and ensure guests do the same.
  • Unlike Filipinos who get scared of me almost immediately, Japanese people actually think I look gentle even when I openly show off my brains and brawn and act intimidating when explaining how I would handle criminals.

Zig-Zags

  • I typically appear to have low stamina since I don't sleep well--I often complain about it to my students when they ask "How are you?". However, when doing something I REALLY like, like dating, I get a surge of stamina.

TL;DR summary: Like Franklin, I wanna get out of my salesman job and start a new life. Like Michael, I sound like I have a ton of experience. Like Trevor, I enjoy fighting and am extremely strong in physical combat.

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