ooc DAT SURVEY
SO I HEARD THIS IS THE NEXT BIG THING
Body and Appearance
1. Describe the character's height and build. Is he heavyset, thin, short, rangy?
It isn't specified, but as far as I'm concerned Neku is on the short side (he's 15, he's allowed to be stuck in that awkward "I haven't hit the second growth spurt" stage if I say he is). He's horrendously skinny and probably noticeably underweight, but that's just how he's built. He can't help it.
2. How old is he?
15
3. Describe his posture. Does he carry himself well or does he slouch?
He's getting better about posture, actually. When he's in Antisocial Bitch Mode, he'll probably be slouching and trying to hide in his stupid turtleneck - but normally his posture's not so bad.
4. How is his health? Is he fit or out of shape? Any illnesses or conditions? Any physical disabilities?
Boy runs around for three weeks nonstop fighting huge battles in between without really stopping much, so I'd say he's in pretty decent shape. His muscle mass is kind of pathetic compared to Beat but it doesn't really matter. -- I don't think being dead for three weeks counts as a medical condition?
5. How does he move? Is he clumsy, graceful, tense, fluid?
Tense, if I have to pick from that. BUT HE FLOATS AROUND LIKE A LITTLE FAIRY when he has convenient psychic powers. However, he spends most of his time standing around with tensetensetense body language because crossing his arms and not being touchy-feely with people is totally one of his various comfort blankets.
6. How attractive is this character physically? How does he perceive himself in the mirror?
He's skinny and short and has stupid hair. But he has a cute face. He doesn't look at himself on a scale of attractiveness most of the time because OH WHAT A SURPRISE his previous hating the world attitude extends enough into his self esteem to make him not think so highly of himself at first glance. Poor Neku he is a little emu.
7. Describe his complexion. Dark, light, clear, scarred?
PALE BECAUSE HE'S ANTISOCIAL AND DOESN'T GET ENOUGH SUN except that now he does.
8. Describe his hair: color, texture, style.
He models his haircuts after comic book characters. He's also a redhead on the browner side of ginger. Mostly, his hair is stupidly pointy and doesn't make any sense.
9. What color are his eyes?
Blue.
10. Does the character have any other noteworthy features?
... No, not really. Not other than "really bad fashion sense" - you would think he'd have learned by now.
11. What are his chief tension centers?
I don't know what this means oops. /skips it
12. What is the character's wardrobe like? Casual, dressy, utilitarian? Bright colors, pastels, neutrals? Is it varied, or does he have six of the same suit?
Hideous. He wears turtlenecks without sleeves, alright. And a lot of purple. A lot.
13. Do his clothes fit well? Does he seem comfortable in them?
Comfortable: yes. Fit well: NO BECAUSE HE'S TOO SKINNY TO LIVE.
14. Does he dress the same on the job as he does in his free time? If not, what are the differences?
Haha Neku with a job. WELL, HE WEARS A BUG CATCHER OUTFIT SOMETIMES.
15. You knew it was coming: Boxers, briefs or commando?
Boxers.
Speech
1. What does this character's voice sound like? High-pitched, deep, hoarse?
Neku's voice is so cute.
/CHEATS
2. How does he normally speak? Loud, soft, fast, evenly? Does he talk easily, or does he hesitate?
/points up
Also he hesitates because he's socially awkward.
3. Does the character have a distinct accent or dialect? Any individual quirks of pronunciation? Any, like, you know, verbal tics?
RRGH.
4. What language/s does he speak, and with how much fluency?
Japanese, but lol language barriers. Any English he knows is probably the basic stuff/some random phrases he learned at school.
5. Does he switch languages or dialects in certain situations?
Uh, no.
6. Is he a good impromptu speaker, or does he have to think about his words?
He tends to do a lot of pausing to think first. If he doesn't he runs the risk of saying something completely stupid because what are social norms.
7. Is he eloquent or inarticulate? Under what circumstances might this change?
Neku is never eloquent. He just gets MORE inarticulate when he does any of the following: talks to Mr. H, talks to Josh, talks to anyone who sees right through his tsundere and reads him like a children's book, ETC ETC.
Mental and Emotional
1. How intelligent is this character? Is he book-smart or street-smart?
For some reason he can recite the square root of 3 to like 15 places (TAKE THAT SHO no, Neku is hopeless) and other randomly academic things, so he's not doing badly as far as book smarts. He's in no way as street-competent as other people, but he manages.
2. Does he think on his feet, or does he need time to deliberate?
He's pretty quick. Definitely the type to think himself out of doing something if he spends too much time deliberating the pros and cons, so yeah.
3. Describe the character's thought process. Is he more logical, or more intuitive? Idealistic or practical?
Neku's really bad at people because he shut himself up in his head for too long at the age he's at, so while he isn't expressly one or the other (re: logical vs. intuitive) he's really only either of them where it pertains to him. When thinking about things that extend beyond himself (i.e. a lot of things oops), he's...well, it's a learning process. Same goes for the other one, too. Pretty much, unless he's thinking about himself and his own actions and his own responses to those actions, his thought process is kind of hit or miss. He tries?
4. What kind of education has the character had?
MIDDLE SCHOOL \o/ ..... in Japan.
5. What are his areas of expertise? What, if anything, is he interested in learning more about?
CAT. Neku is a creep. Also music. He's probably more interested in art/CAT than the music, though.
6. Is he an introvert or an extrovert?
I N T R O V E R T
but he's working on it.
7. Describe the character's temperament. Is he even-tempered or does he have mood swings? Cheerful or melancholy? Laid-back or driven?
He's such a little ball of anger and nerves. He's really easy to irritate and it's a lot harder to calm him down. At most he can go down from high irritability to a low simmer of broody and moody pretty quickly, but to really calm himself down is a longer process. His default mood is annoyed and he tends to come across as apathetic, but he's a huge tsundere. Inside he's an overprotective-of-his-few-friends, stuttering-through-social-situations, it's-not-like-I-like-you-or-anything kid. He is immature and quick to anger and quicker to fall back into his old behavior of being a little prick because it's "safer" and he really isn't good with handling emotional hurt. Tsun tsun tsun.
8. How does he respond to new people or situations? Is he suspicious, relaxed, timid, enthusiastic?
SUSPICIOUS FOREVER. I keep saying this, but it's finally relevant for this question yaaay: Neku is bad at people. He spent an undisclosed amount of time hating everyone and forcing himsel not to get close to people because he was convinced they'd eventually leave him. At his age (and younger), shutting out the world and other people is never a good idea. HE HAS GOTTEN MARGINALLY BETTER and even though he's still a sarcastic, sassy little brat, he is much more open to talking to people and developing friendships than he used to be. He doesn't really go out of his way to make friends and mostly waits for people to come to him (which delves into him being kind of selfish and thinking that if someone wants to talk to him they will and he therefore needn't return the favor OOPS), but he can do it. Closer relationships take a lot more time and effort for him -- losing his closest friend as a child (hello, applying Another Day to main story!Neku, I'm doing it and you can't stop me) put up dozens of walls that he's managed to tone down a little but, well. His closest friends - the people he trusts - are people he literally fought for his life with; gaining Neku's trust in more casual circumstances is, um. Hard. In comparison. He has high standards.
tl;dr socially awkward.
9. Is he more likely to act, or to react?
THIS DEPENDS. Mostly, react - he still can't help but just coast along and wait for things to happen. But if the situations are serious and full of dire circumstances or you fuck with his friends, he will use all of his skinny might to shove you off a building into traffic that's on fire. NEKU IS INCAPABLE OF DOING THINGS IN MODERATION FFFF.
10. Which is his default: fight or flight?
/points above
If he's mad or you threaten him/his friends, he will attempt to fight. But he also realizes that he's skinny and not as powerful without his convenient ability to use every pin in the UG, and has a pretty strong sense of self-preservation. So much that sometimes it encroaches on the "fight" thing and he has to be kicked in the face and told, HEY NEKU, THERE ARE OTHER PEOPLE AROUND, LET THEM HELP YOU.
11. Describe the character's sense of humor. Does he appreciate jokes? Puns? Gallows humor? Bathroom humor? Pranks?
s a r c a s m
Also he hates being the butt of jokes. Forever. DOUBLE STANDARD.
12. Does the character have any diagnosable mental disorders? If yes, how does he deal with them?
Nah.
13. What moments in this character's life have defined him as a person?
-the loss of his childhood friend
-dying
-twice
-the weeks in the Game in general
-.......discovering CAT (everything I type about Neku always turns into his stupid fanboying sigh)
14. What does he fear?
Losing people close to him. NOT REALLY DEATH SO MUCH ANYMORE but he still doesn't want to die and certainly wouldn't let himself die (again). Porcelain No, wrong game.
15. What are his hopes or aspirations?
TO BE AWESOME LIKE CAT FOREVER since you know, the previous goal of MEET CAT!!!!! was kind of accomplished a long time ago. Mostly just to do what he loves and be happy. Neku's kind of a sap.
16. What is something he doesn't want anyone to find out about him?
How much he cares about them. When Neku gets involved with people he's in it for the long haul, but how much he values them is something he still can't really articulate. See: I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT SHIKI I DON'T KNOW WHY YOU WERE MY ENTRY FEE and also everything to do with Joshua ever but that's another can of worms for another time.
Relationships ALRIGHT THE FAMILIAL THINGS HERE ARE ENTIRELY HEADCANON
1. Describe this character's relationship with his parents.
HEADCANON TIME. In my glorious headcanon, Neku lives with his dad. His mother has been gone since he was a wee thing and his dad isn't the most emotionally responsive father. Not that he's a bad guy -- he just doesn't get the differences between connecting emotionally with adults and connecting with kids, so he's a little distant unintentionally. Thiiiis is my headcanon because Neku's antisocial behavior was really extreme so I figure he didn't have anyone he felt like he could talk to after his friend died. So Neku's relationship with his dad isn't really Precious Moments, but it's not bad. It's just there. If anything, it's awkward.
2. Does the character have any siblings? What is/was their relationship like?
Nope.
3. Are there other blood relatives to whom he is close? Are there ones he can't stand?
Nooope.
4. Are there other, unrelated people whom he considers part of his family? What are his relationships with them?
So hey I missed this the first time. SEE: FRIENDS.
5. Who is/was the character's best friend? How did they meet?
IN HIS YOUTH, just another friend probably from school or something. They bonded over CAT and he was the only person Neku really connected to. And then he died and Neku blamed himself and turned off the world.
NOWADAYS the Game gang, which covers how they met. He considers Shiki, Beat, and Rhyme his best friends, although each relationship is pretty different: with Shiki, he's the most open about emotional things because Shiki's the type to listen and be understanding but still hit him in the head and yell at him if he's being a moron about it. Beat is his bro and his closest dude friend, but well. Beat's not very bright NO OFFENSE, MAN and Neku probably wouldn't go to him with trouble with ~*feelings or something sappy and girly like that because Beat, while he cries about his sister, is more likely to tell Neku to stop being a chick than to help him out. He's the least close to Rhyme out of the three, just because she uh was a squirrel during most of the Games, so he hasn't spent as much time with her, but he appreciates her calm attitude and ability to keep Beat in line. And then there's Joshua, who Neku would LIKE to consider a friend because Joshua gets him, in a sense, but Joshua also makes it very difficult to want to talk to him. Oh, and shot him. Twice. But Neku still trusts him and if he can be convinced to get past the SHOOTING ISSUE and other various issues he could consider Josh a good friend too. Just with a lot more effort and a lot more arguing that's less lighthearted than with, say, Shiki.
6. Does he have other close friends?
Oh.
Well, yes. I guess people he knows in Route and considers friends go here. So that'd be Chie, Rise, Gokudera (n-not that he cares or anything), Sora (before Sora ~*vanished)... I'm probably forgetting people. I GUESS I'LL INCLUDE MR. H HERE though that's more like Neku kind of idolizes him. A lot.
7. Does he make friends easily, or does he have trouble getting along with people?
SEE: EVERY OTHER TL;DR ANSWER. tl;dr of tl;dr: no, he has a lot of issues getting along with people.
8. Which does he consider more important: family or friends?
Friends. Given that my headcanon places him with one immediate family member he's not very close to, yeah.
9. Is the character single, married, divorced, widowed? Has he been married more than once?
Single.
10. Is he currently in a romantic relationship with someone other than a spouse?
No.
11. Who was his first crush? Who is his latest?
I'M NOT PUTTING MR. H I see you people. Neku...probably has not ever had a serious crush. Not that he can remember idk he was probably cute and five years old and thought his teacher was the best person ever!! Now.....no, he still has no crush. Give him time, jeez.
12. What does he look for in a romantic partner?
Someone who'll understand him, I guess. :|a And won't judge him. And won't leave him OOPS CLINGY AND POSSESSIVE.
13. Does the character have children? Grandchildren? If yes, how does he relate to them? If no, does he want any?
No. He's fifteen and definitely not thinking about this.
14. Does he have any rivals or enemies?
DOES SHO COUNT? Neku hates Sho forever even if Sho just kind of messes with him for the lulz by this point. I don't think he really has any rivals because he doesn't do anything.
15. What is the character's sexual orientation? Where does he fall on the Kinsey scale?
Alright. Despite what fandom may tell you (you know, that Neku is a huge cockslut and bottoms blushily to everyone ever especially Josh) -- the way I play him, Neku doesn't really even think about these things. He's a teenage boy so yes he looks at people in a physical sense, but there's really no evidence of him leaning one way or the other. IN CANON he tsuns and blushes about pretty much everyone without having a romantic um lead. The closest canon comes to pointing at romantic interest is his tsuning and blushing about Shiki being his entry fee, but given that he cries like a bitch when he learns about Josh betraying him......so yeah. WHAT I SUPPOSE I'M GETTING AT IS canon doesn't point to him being straight or gay and so if a label is slapped on him it's probably going to be bisexual, because what canon does point to is Neku being a lot more concerned with trust and understanding and not being left or betrayed than with whether or not someone is made of ladyparts (or, come on, you know they'd have found a way for him to be overtly into Shiki for being the most lead female).
tl;dr bi I guess. Neku is complicated and bi makes sense. So what is that, between 3 and 4?
16. How does he feel about sex? How important is it to him?
IT'S NOT. Yes he thinks about it sometimes. Yes he plans to get laid sometime in his life. But he's also kind of a prude because of his various psychological issues with people and being close to them and do you realize how emotionally close to Neku you'd have to be before he lets you get him naked. Pretty close. God he's a sappy prude, alright. A sappy romantic prude. Who'd have thought. Also, actually in bed with someone, he would be derpy and awkward and clueless.
17. What are his turn-ons? Turn-offs? Weird bedroom habits?
idk Neku's pretty vanilla. Nothing too exciting. ALSO HE'S A VIRGIN.
Beliefs
1. Do you know your character's astrological (zodiac of choice) sign? How well does he fit type?
In the western zodiac I've dubbed him a Pisces (February 22!), because it fits him well enough in my interpretation. Dunno about the Chinese zodiac.
2. Is this character religious, spiritual, both, or neither? How important are these elements in his life?
Not very important at all.
3. Does this character have a personal code of morals or ethics? If so, how did that begin? What would it take to compromise it?
Yes he does! It began when he decided everyone sucks and he's the only person who can do right for him. He still kind of thinks like that but he's open to other people more these days. WHAT IT TAKES TO COMPROMISE IT already happened, sorry. It's called the UG and it took Neku's ethics and kicked them in the balls.
4. How does he regard beliefs that differ from his? Is he tolerant, intolerant, curious, indifferent?
Mostly indifferent unless they directly attack him or piss him off or something.
5. What prejudices does he hold? Are they irrational or does he have a good reason for them?
I don't know how many times I have to say that Neku has prejudices that developed when his friend died and he stopped caring about the world. Which I think is his definition of "good reason." BUT, AGAIN, HE GOT BETTER.
Daily Life
1. What is the character's financial situation? Is he rich, poor, comfortable, in debt?
... Comfortable I guess.
2. What is his social status? Has this changed over time, and if so, how has the change affected him?
Like, class system? Middle class. He's been middle class since he was born.
3. Where does he live? House, apartment, trailer? Is his home his castle or just a place to crash? What condition is it in? Does he share it with others?
HEADCANON probably an apartment since he lives in. Shibuya. Nice, but average, and comfortable enough for two people.
4. Besides the basic necessities, what does he spend his money on?
CAT stuff. Music.
5. What does he do for a living? Is he good at it? Does he enjoy it, or would he rather be doing something else?
Nothing, he's a kid in school.
6. What are his interests or hobbies? How does he spend his free time?
CAT. Music. Art in general. He listens to music aaaall the damn time (I see you, endgame, but I don't believe for a second that he left his designer CAT headphones lying in the street or gave up all his music that fast) and stares at murals and, hi headcanon, dabbles in art of his own. Naturally he is inspired by CAT, so his art - while not graffiti - is similar in style and he's pretty decent at it because, as canon points out over and over, his imagination is a BEAST.
7. What are his eating habits? Does he skip meals, eat out, drink alcohol, avoid certain foods?
Ramen is good, man. Ramen is good.
Associations
Which of the following do you associate with the character, or which is his favorite:
1. Color? Blue.
2. Smell? ......Paint. I don't know.
3. Time of day? Probably the afternoon.
4. Season? IT'S TOO WARM FOR ICE IN SHIBUYA thank you Beat - since Neku's lived there all his life I imagine he's used to it being warm but not oppressively so and wouldn't do well in cold weather.
5. Book? I have no idea. A book about CAT.
6. Music? See: TWEWY soundtrack.
7. Place? Neku lauv Shibuya.
8. Substance? What does this even mean.
9. Plant? If you dyed his hair green I bet he'd make a nice tiny palm tree.
10. Animal? HACHIKOOO?
END
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I apologize for how horrendously tl;dr I am. tl;dr of this entire post: Neku is bizarre and I talk too much about psychological bizarreness.
Body and Appearance
1. Describe the character's height and build. Is he heavyset, thin, short, rangy?
It isn't specified, but as far as I'm concerned Neku is on the short side (he's 15, he's allowed to be stuck in that awkward "I haven't hit the second growth spurt" stage if I say he is). He's horrendously skinny and probably noticeably underweight, but that's just how he's built. He can't help it.
2. How old is he?
15
3. Describe his posture. Does he carry himself well or does he slouch?
He's getting better about posture, actually. When he's in Antisocial Bitch Mode, he'll probably be slouching and trying to hide in his stupid turtleneck - but normally his posture's not so bad.
4. How is his health? Is he fit or out of shape? Any illnesses or conditions? Any physical disabilities?
Boy runs around for three weeks nonstop fighting huge battles in between without really stopping much, so I'd say he's in pretty decent shape. His muscle mass is kind of pathetic compared to Beat but it doesn't really matter. -- I don't think being dead for three weeks counts as a medical condition?
5. How does he move? Is he clumsy, graceful, tense, fluid?
Tense, if I have to pick from that. BUT HE FLOATS AROUND LIKE A LITTLE FAIRY when he has convenient psychic powers. However, he spends most of his time standing around with tensetensetense body language because crossing his arms and not being touchy-feely with people is totally one of his various comfort blankets.
6. How attractive is this character physically? How does he perceive himself in the mirror?
He's skinny and short and has stupid hair. But he has a cute face. He doesn't look at himself on a scale of attractiveness most of the time because OH WHAT A SURPRISE his previous hating the world attitude extends enough into his self esteem to make him not think so highly of himself at first glance. Poor Neku he is a little emu.
7. Describe his complexion. Dark, light, clear, scarred?
PALE BECAUSE HE'S ANTISOCIAL AND DOESN'T GET ENOUGH SUN except that now he does.
8. Describe his hair: color, texture, style.
He models his haircuts after comic book characters. He's also a redhead on the browner side of ginger. Mostly, his hair is stupidly pointy and doesn't make any sense.
9. What color are his eyes?
Blue.
10. Does the character have any other noteworthy features?
... No, not really. Not other than "really bad fashion sense" - you would think he'd have learned by now.
11. What are his chief tension centers?
I don't know what this means oops. /skips it
12. What is the character's wardrobe like? Casual, dressy, utilitarian? Bright colors, pastels, neutrals? Is it varied, or does he have six of the same suit?
Hideous. He wears turtlenecks without sleeves, alright. And a lot of purple. A lot.
13. Do his clothes fit well? Does he seem comfortable in them?
Comfortable: yes. Fit well: NO BECAUSE HE'S TOO SKINNY TO LIVE.
14. Does he dress the same on the job as he does in his free time? If not, what are the differences?
Haha Neku with a job. WELL, HE WEARS A BUG CATCHER OUTFIT SOMETIMES.
15. You knew it was coming: Boxers, briefs or commando?
Boxers.
Speech
1. What does this character's voice sound like? High-pitched, deep, hoarse?
Neku's voice is so cute.
Click to view/CHEATS
2. How does he normally speak? Loud, soft, fast, evenly? Does he talk easily, or does he hesitate?
/points up
Also he hesitates because he's socially awkward.
3. Does the character have a distinct accent or dialect? Any individual quirks of pronunciation? Any, like, you know, verbal tics?
RRGH.
4. What language/s does he speak, and with how much fluency?
Japanese, but lol language barriers. Any English he knows is probably the basic stuff/some random phrases he learned at school.
5. Does he switch languages or dialects in certain situations?
Uh, no.
6. Is he a good impromptu speaker, or does he have to think about his words?
He tends to do a lot of pausing to think first. If he doesn't he runs the risk of saying something completely stupid because what are social norms.
7. Is he eloquent or inarticulate? Under what circumstances might this change?
Neku is never eloquent. He just gets MORE inarticulate when he does any of the following: talks to Mr. H, talks to Josh, talks to anyone who sees right through his tsundere and reads him like a children's book, ETC ETC.
Mental and Emotional
1. How intelligent is this character? Is he book-smart or street-smart?
For some reason he can recite the square root of 3 to like 15 places (TAKE THAT SHO no, Neku is hopeless) and other randomly academic things, so he's not doing badly as far as book smarts. He's in no way as street-competent as other people, but he manages.
2. Does he think on his feet, or does he need time to deliberate?
He's pretty quick. Definitely the type to think himself out of doing something if he spends too much time deliberating the pros and cons, so yeah.
3. Describe the character's thought process. Is he more logical, or more intuitive? Idealistic or practical?
Neku's really bad at people because he shut himself up in his head for too long at the age he's at, so while he isn't expressly one or the other (re: logical vs. intuitive) he's really only either of them where it pertains to him. When thinking about things that extend beyond himself (i.e. a lot of things oops), he's...well, it's a learning process. Same goes for the other one, too. Pretty much, unless he's thinking about himself and his own actions and his own responses to those actions, his thought process is kind of hit or miss. He tries?
4. What kind of education has the character had?
MIDDLE SCHOOL \o/ ..... in Japan.
5. What are his areas of expertise? What, if anything, is he interested in learning more about?
CAT. Neku is a creep. Also music. He's probably more interested in art/CAT than the music, though.
6. Is he an introvert or an extrovert?
I N T R O V E R T
but he's working on it.
7. Describe the character's temperament. Is he even-tempered or does he have mood swings? Cheerful or melancholy? Laid-back or driven?
He's such a little ball of anger and nerves. He's really easy to irritate and it's a lot harder to calm him down. At most he can go down from high irritability to a low simmer of broody and moody pretty quickly, but to really calm himself down is a longer process. His default mood is annoyed and he tends to come across as apathetic, but he's a huge tsundere. Inside he's an overprotective-of-his-few-friends, stuttering-through-social-situations, it's-not-like-I-like-you-or-anything kid. He is immature and quick to anger and quicker to fall back into his old behavior of being a little prick because it's "safer" and he really isn't good with handling emotional hurt. Tsun tsun tsun.
8. How does he respond to new people or situations? Is he suspicious, relaxed, timid, enthusiastic?
SUSPICIOUS FOREVER. I keep saying this, but it's finally relevant for this question yaaay: Neku is bad at people. He spent an undisclosed amount of time hating everyone and forcing himsel not to get close to people because he was convinced they'd eventually leave him. At his age (and younger), shutting out the world and other people is never a good idea. HE HAS GOTTEN MARGINALLY BETTER and even though he's still a sarcastic, sassy little brat, he is much more open to talking to people and developing friendships than he used to be. He doesn't really go out of his way to make friends and mostly waits for people to come to him (which delves into him being kind of selfish and thinking that if someone wants to talk to him they will and he therefore needn't return the favor OOPS), but he can do it. Closer relationships take a lot more time and effort for him -- losing his closest friend as a child (hello, applying Another Day to main story!Neku, I'm doing it and you can't stop me) put up dozens of walls that he's managed to tone down a little but, well. His closest friends - the people he trusts - are people he literally fought for his life with; gaining Neku's trust in more casual circumstances is, um. Hard. In comparison. He has high standards.
tl;dr socially awkward.
9. Is he more likely to act, or to react?
THIS DEPENDS. Mostly, react - he still can't help but just coast along and wait for things to happen. But if the situations are serious and full of dire circumstances or you fuck with his friends, he will use all of his skinny might to shove you off a building into traffic that's on fire. NEKU IS INCAPABLE OF DOING THINGS IN MODERATION FFFF.
10. Which is his default: fight or flight?
/points above
If he's mad or you threaten him/his friends, he will attempt to fight. But he also realizes that he's skinny and not as powerful without his convenient ability to use every pin in the UG, and has a pretty strong sense of self-preservation. So much that sometimes it encroaches on the "fight" thing and he has to be kicked in the face and told, HEY NEKU, THERE ARE OTHER PEOPLE AROUND, LET THEM HELP YOU.
11. Describe the character's sense of humor. Does he appreciate jokes? Puns? Gallows humor? Bathroom humor? Pranks?
s a r c a s m
Also he hates being the butt of jokes. Forever. DOUBLE STANDARD.
12. Does the character have any diagnosable mental disorders? If yes, how does he deal with them?
Nah.
13. What moments in this character's life have defined him as a person?
-the loss of his childhood friend
-dying
-twice
-the weeks in the Game in general
-.......discovering CAT (everything I type about Neku always turns into his stupid fanboying sigh)
14. What does he fear?
Losing people close to him. NOT REALLY DEATH SO MUCH ANYMORE but he still doesn't want to die and certainly wouldn't let himself die (again). Porcelain No, wrong game.
15. What are his hopes or aspirations?
TO BE AWESOME LIKE CAT FOREVER since you know, the previous goal of MEET CAT!!!!! was kind of accomplished a long time ago. Mostly just to do what he loves and be happy. Neku's kind of a sap.
16. What is something he doesn't want anyone to find out about him?
How much he cares about them. When Neku gets involved with people he's in it for the long haul, but how much he values them is something he still can't really articulate. See: I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT SHIKI I DON'T KNOW WHY YOU WERE MY ENTRY FEE and also everything to do with Joshua ever but that's another can of worms for another time.
Relationships ALRIGHT THE FAMILIAL THINGS HERE ARE ENTIRELY HEADCANON
1. Describe this character's relationship with his parents.
HEADCANON TIME. In my glorious headcanon, Neku lives with his dad. His mother has been gone since he was a wee thing and his dad isn't the most emotionally responsive father. Not that he's a bad guy -- he just doesn't get the differences between connecting emotionally with adults and connecting with kids, so he's a little distant unintentionally. Thiiiis is my headcanon because Neku's antisocial behavior was really extreme so I figure he didn't have anyone he felt like he could talk to after his friend died. So Neku's relationship with his dad isn't really Precious Moments, but it's not bad. It's just there. If anything, it's awkward.
2. Does the character have any siblings? What is/was their relationship like?
Nope.
3. Are there other blood relatives to whom he is close? Are there ones he can't stand?
Nooope.
4. Are there other, unrelated people whom he considers part of his family? What are his relationships with them?
So hey I missed this the first time. SEE: FRIENDS.
5. Who is/was the character's best friend? How did they meet?
IN HIS YOUTH, just another friend probably from school or something. They bonded over CAT and he was the only person Neku really connected to. And then he died and Neku blamed himself and turned off the world.
NOWADAYS the Game gang, which covers how they met. He considers Shiki, Beat, and Rhyme his best friends, although each relationship is pretty different: with Shiki, he's the most open about emotional things because Shiki's the type to listen and be understanding but still hit him in the head and yell at him if he's being a moron about it. Beat is his bro and his closest dude friend, but well. Beat's not very bright NO OFFENSE, MAN and Neku probably wouldn't go to him with trouble with ~*feelings or something sappy and girly like that because Beat, while he cries about his sister, is more likely to tell Neku to stop being a chick than to help him out. He's the least close to Rhyme out of the three, just because she uh was a squirrel during most of the Games, so he hasn't spent as much time with her, but he appreciates her calm attitude and ability to keep Beat in line. And then there's Joshua, who Neku would LIKE to consider a friend because Joshua gets him, in a sense, but Joshua also makes it very difficult to want to talk to him. Oh, and shot him. Twice. But Neku still trusts him and if he can be convinced to get past the SHOOTING ISSUE and other various issues he could consider Josh a good friend too. Just with a lot more effort and a lot more arguing that's less lighthearted than with, say, Shiki.
6. Does he have other close friends?
Oh.
Well, yes. I guess people he knows in Route and considers friends go here. So that'd be Chie, Rise, Gokudera (n-not that he cares or anything), Sora (before Sora ~*vanished)... I'm probably forgetting people. I GUESS I'LL INCLUDE MR. H HERE though that's more like Neku kind of idolizes him. A lot.
7. Does he make friends easily, or does he have trouble getting along with people?
SEE: EVERY OTHER TL;DR ANSWER. tl;dr of tl;dr: no, he has a lot of issues getting along with people.
8. Which does he consider more important: family or friends?
Friends. Given that my headcanon places him with one immediate family member he's not very close to, yeah.
9. Is the character single, married, divorced, widowed? Has he been married more than once?
Single.
10. Is he currently in a romantic relationship with someone other than a spouse?
No.
11. Who was his first crush? Who is his latest?
I'M NOT PUTTING MR. H I see you people. Neku...probably has not ever had a serious crush. Not that he can remember idk he was probably cute and five years old and thought his teacher was the best person ever!! Now.....no, he still has no crush. Give him time, jeez.
12. What does he look for in a romantic partner?
Someone who'll understand him, I guess. :|a And won't judge him. And won't leave him OOPS CLINGY AND POSSESSIVE.
13. Does the character have children? Grandchildren? If yes, how does he relate to them? If no, does he want any?
No. He's fifteen and definitely not thinking about this.
14. Does he have any rivals or enemies?
DOES SHO COUNT? Neku hates Sho forever even if Sho just kind of messes with him for the lulz by this point. I don't think he really has any rivals because he doesn't do anything.
15. What is the character's sexual orientation? Where does he fall on the Kinsey scale?
Alright. Despite what fandom may tell you (you know, that Neku is a huge cockslut and bottoms blushily to everyone ever especially Josh) -- the way I play him, Neku doesn't really even think about these things. He's a teenage boy so yes he looks at people in a physical sense, but there's really no evidence of him leaning one way or the other. IN CANON he tsuns and blushes about pretty much everyone without having a romantic um lead. The closest canon comes to pointing at romantic interest is his tsuning and blushing about Shiki being his entry fee, but given that he cries like a bitch when he learns about Josh betraying him......so yeah. WHAT I SUPPOSE I'M GETTING AT IS canon doesn't point to him being straight or gay and so if a label is slapped on him it's probably going to be bisexual, because what canon does point to is Neku being a lot more concerned with trust and understanding and not being left or betrayed than with whether or not someone is made of ladyparts (or, come on, you know they'd have found a way for him to be overtly into Shiki for being the most lead female).
tl;dr bi I guess. Neku is complicated and bi makes sense. So what is that, between 3 and 4?
16. How does he feel about sex? How important is it to him?
IT'S NOT. Yes he thinks about it sometimes. Yes he plans to get laid sometime in his life. But he's also kind of a prude because of his various psychological issues with people and being close to them and do you realize how emotionally close to Neku you'd have to be before he lets you get him naked. Pretty close. God he's a sappy prude, alright. A sappy romantic prude. Who'd have thought. Also, actually in bed with someone, he would be derpy and awkward and clueless.
17. What are his turn-ons? Turn-offs? Weird bedroom habits?
idk Neku's pretty vanilla. Nothing too exciting. ALSO HE'S A VIRGIN.
Beliefs
1. Do you know your character's astrological (zodiac of choice) sign? How well does he fit type?
In the western zodiac I've dubbed him a Pisces (February 22!), because it fits him well enough in my interpretation. Dunno about the Chinese zodiac.
2. Is this character religious, spiritual, both, or neither? How important are these elements in his life?
Not very important at all.
3. Does this character have a personal code of morals or ethics? If so, how did that begin? What would it take to compromise it?
Yes he does! It began when he decided everyone sucks and he's the only person who can do right for him. He still kind of thinks like that but he's open to other people more these days. WHAT IT TAKES TO COMPROMISE IT already happened, sorry. It's called the UG and it took Neku's ethics and kicked them in the balls.
4. How does he regard beliefs that differ from his? Is he tolerant, intolerant, curious, indifferent?
Mostly indifferent unless they directly attack him or piss him off or something.
5. What prejudices does he hold? Are they irrational or does he have a good reason for them?
I don't know how many times I have to say that Neku has prejudices that developed when his friend died and he stopped caring about the world. Which I think is his definition of "good reason." BUT, AGAIN, HE GOT BETTER.
Daily Life
1. What is the character's financial situation? Is he rich, poor, comfortable, in debt?
... Comfortable I guess.
2. What is his social status? Has this changed over time, and if so, how has the change affected him?
Like, class system? Middle class. He's been middle class since he was born.
3. Where does he live? House, apartment, trailer? Is his home his castle or just a place to crash? What condition is it in? Does he share it with others?
HEADCANON probably an apartment since he lives in. Shibuya. Nice, but average, and comfortable enough for two people.
4. Besides the basic necessities, what does he spend his money on?
CAT stuff. Music.
5. What does he do for a living? Is he good at it? Does he enjoy it, or would he rather be doing something else?
Nothing, he's a kid in school.
6. What are his interests or hobbies? How does he spend his free time?
CAT. Music. Art in general. He listens to music aaaall the damn time (I see you, endgame, but I don't believe for a second that he left his designer CAT headphones lying in the street or gave up all his music that fast) and stares at murals and, hi headcanon, dabbles in art of his own. Naturally he is inspired by CAT, so his art - while not graffiti - is similar in style and he's pretty decent at it because, as canon points out over and over, his imagination is a BEAST.
7. What are his eating habits? Does he skip meals, eat out, drink alcohol, avoid certain foods?
Ramen is good, man. Ramen is good.
Associations
Which of the following do you associate with the character, or which is his favorite:
1. Color? Blue.
2. Smell? ......Paint. I don't know.
3. Time of day? Probably the afternoon.
4. Season? IT'S TOO WARM FOR ICE IN SHIBUYA thank you Beat - since Neku's lived there all his life I imagine he's used to it being warm but not oppressively so and wouldn't do well in cold weather.
5. Book? I have no idea. A book about CAT.
6. Music? See: TWEWY soundtrack.
7. Place? Neku lauv Shibuya.
8. Substance? What does this even mean.
9. Plant? If you dyed his hair green I bet he'd make a nice tiny palm tree.
10. Animal? HACHIKOOO?
END
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I apologize for how horrendously tl;dr I am. tl;dr of this entire post: Neku is bizarre and I talk too much about psychological bizarreness.