Application to Velvet Key
Player Info:
Nickname:
Lan
Age:
old
Personal LJ:
so_low
Method of Contact:
AIM: OcularDoomsday; plurk: hellglass
Characters Played:
N/A
Character Info:
Name: Kaiji Ito
Age: 23
Canon: Gambling Apocalypse Kaiji
Pull Point: Series 2 of the anime, right after Kaiji's crushing defeat of Ohtsuki in the chinchiro dice game. Kaiji figured out how Ohtsuki was cheating and turned the tables on him, winning millions in the currency used in the labor camp. He had teamed up with a few other men, and instead of splitting the money, they gave it all to Kaiji to buy a 3-week-long pass from the camp to go back to the outside world, in the hopes to win enough gambling to pay all their debts, releasing them from hard labor. They believed Kaiji had better luck with him using all their money, then them all going out to do it separately. Kaiji will have been on the surface one day before showing up in Prospero.
Background Info:
History: Have a wiki!
Personality:
At first glance, Kaiji seems like your typical Japanese NEET: “no employment, education or training”. Lazy and shiftless, Kaiji has no direction and finds reality to be too demanding and difficult to deal with. He wallows in self-pity and apathy, more prone to cry about his problems than actually do anything productive about it. He spends his time drinking and playing pranks to keep himself occupied, bitter at other people with money or directions in life.
But, with the right motivation - when the chips are down, and everything is against him - that's when Kaiji really shines. It just might take a life-or-death struggle to bring it out. Kaiji learns through these torturous games that luck isn't on your side, or fate won't fall your way without working every angle you can to make it happen. Kaiji has shown nothing short of genius strategy and unstoppable determination in the face of adversity. His plans show quick-witted thinking, hard work and believing in his friends and allies will overcome any sick excuses for entertainment these yakuza put them through. He is willing to put anything on the line to get there, too: his life, his body, and unfathomable amounts of money, secure in himself and his friends that the underdog can truly overcome.
However, this underdog usually doesn't. Kaiji loses a lot, but it hasn't stopped him yet. He still fights, and will keep doing so. Even so, Kaiji has a charisma, an appeal to those like himself, and manages to rouse up complete strangers down on their luck. He manages to win them over, bringing them back from the depths of despair, ready to fight as tenaciously as he does - even if they know what they're getting into is a terrible idea or looks completely unwinnable.
Those thoughts are getting further and further from his mind as Kaiji slaves away for the yakuza in an large underground construction operation. Months after the final gambles against Tonegawa and Hyoudo, Kaiji falls back to his old life. Not only is Kaiji back to being desperately broke, shiftless and directionless, it's obvious that he also misses the rush of adrenaline and the thrill of the gambles that almost cost him everything. Finding the loan shark that initially got him into this mess to begin with, Kaiji is dragged off to pay for his debts into hard labor for the Teiai Company, slaving away as a construction worker with little food and rest with a 15-year sentence hanging over his head. Kaiji almost buckles under the pressure, but is waiting for his chance to break out. He still manages to scrape together what little hope his situation gives him to devise a plan out of there, one small step at a time.
Game Specific:
Arcana: Fortune
Justification:
Kaiji thrives in situations where luck and fate seem to be against him. He lives for the thrill of a gamble, dealing in high-risk games that deal with not only his life, but the lives of others. They've given him a purpose in life. He plans and waits for the right opportunity, and never hesitates to take the chance.
Samples:
First Person Sample:
[There's an irritated and confused voice over the line. Kaiji doesn't know how he got here, but he's assuming it's some sort of yakuza trap. Might as well make use of this phone thing.]
I don't know what the hell is goin' on now, but I want some damn answers! How many times do you asshole kidnap and move guys, huh? Or this just another one of your sick games?! Shit... Where the fuck even am I? Pretty much anything is better than that underground hell, I guess...
Who else brought here? Miyoshi? Maeda? Anyone?
Third Person Sample:
Kaiji paced outside of Prospero's casino, leaving a trail of cigarette butts and ash as he did. In his short time here, he'd managed to avoid it. After all, acclimating to this new situation had taken priority, and part of him had hoped that maybe this could help him make a clean break from his old habits. What better way to do it? He was given a second chance that few ever did. Old ties were cut, given incredible power and a new life. He felt like he almost didn't deserve it. But this is how it was, and he had to deal with it, no matter how weird it all was. Gambling would come later.
But old habits die hard, and he had missed that thrill even before he was tossed down into that underground hell, suffering hard labor for the yakuza he owed millions to. How he had begged Endo for a gambling fix, wanting to try to get back on top. He knew he could. They just screwed him over like the do to everyone.
He had a chance here, though. No yakuza to keep him down. There was no threat of death, dismemberment or slavery here. He could play as he wanted. He could have time to strategize, find out how the house worked, and play their system. It should be easy. Child's play compared to the things Kaiji had gone through.
So, was it really worth it? Was there a point to doing this? Only one way to find out.
Finishing off his last cigarette, Kaiji through it down and stamped it out. Enough thinking. Time to see what this town was made of. Smirking to himself, Kaiji entered the casino, ready to face its challenges.