route 29 application
Player
Name: Manda
Livejournal Username: asael
E-mail: clockworkangel [at] msn
AIM/MSN: librarynin [AIM]
Timezone: Currently GMT +9, but I'll be moving in about a month to PST (GMT -8)
Current Characters in Route: None
Character
Name: Seiichi Yukimura
Series: Prince of Tennis
Timeline: Post-Nationals, after the end of the first manga series
Canon Resource Links: Prince of Tennis Wiki
Personality: Off the tennis court, Yukimura is a kind and courteous boy with refined tastes. He likes poetry, art, classical music, and gardening. He's friendly, though he's somewhat distant except to friends, who he'll occasionally tease playfully. He comes across as rather aristocratic, to paraphrase one of the series' fanbooks, and his appearance and past illness can make it seem as though Yukimura is delicate.
On the court and in other moments of pressure, 'delicate' is usually replaced by 'intimidating'. Yukimura is an extremely strong player and the captain of his school team, and he has a terrifying reputation, even being nicknamed 'Child of God' for his skill. He has a strong competitive spirit and the drive to be the best at what he sets his mind to. That drive extends to the people he feels responsible for - in canon, his team. Yukimura is strong-willed and stubborn and expects nothing but the absolute best from them and from himself, and he'll do what he has to to achieve those results, even if it might make someone angry. He's used to being a leader and to being obeyed, which can give him a certain arrogance sometimes when it comes to things he believes he excels in. He is, however, capable of accepting defeat gracefully if it comes to that.
Yukimura has also managed to fight through his own greatest fears already, during a life-threatening illness that also promised to rob him of his ability to play tennis. He did have his moments of anger and defeat, showing that even someone as confident and stubborn as Yukimura can doubt himself, but in the end his strong will carried him through. He doesn't usually rely on others, and is used to being looked up to and relied on, and as such he tries to overcome his weaknesses as best he can.
Strengths/Weaknesses:
Strengths:
Determination - Yukimura fought his way through an illness, first accepting a surgery with only a 50% survival rate and then suffering through extensive physical therapy to get back to his top condition despite his doctors' belief that it was impossible.
Leadership - He lead a wacky team of slightly terrifying tennis players to victory twice, and second place once. Though they don't obey him blindly and completely, it comes pretty close sometimes.
Being a Classy Dude - As mentioned before, outside of tennis Yukimura's interests are things like French poetry, painting, classical music, gardening, and Jean-Luc Godard movies. He's particularly good at watercolor painting, and knows a lot about animals and plants.
Tennis - Yukimura is really, really good at tennis - not that that's particularly useful in Johto, but it's definitely something of note. Of course this means he's in pretty good shape physically, too, being an athlete.
Weaknesses:
Competitive - Not necessarily a strictly bad thing, but it does have the potential to make his personal relationships more difficult. If it comes to a competition between him and a friend, Yukimura won't hesitate to go all out, seeing it as the most respectful thing to do. Naturally, not everyone sees things that way. He's not a sore loser, but you can bet he'll do everything in his power to beat his opponent's ass into the ground with no remorse. Oh, you thought you were just playing a friendly game? Whoops, sorry.
Bossy and Strict - The flip side of his ability to lead is Yukimura's tendency to think he knows what's best for people. He'll push them to excel even if that involves long hours of practice, and he'll intervene if he thinks they're going down the wrong path. He also expects people to listen when he talks and obey him, particularly if he's responsible for them in some way - since obviously he knows what he's doing and they should recognize that!
Fear of Illness - Though he successfully beat his illness, Yukimura has bad memories of that time. He dislikes hospitals and chemical smells that remind him of them, and health is often in the back of his mind - he's that guy who reminds you to wash your hands, cover your mouth when you cough, and get enough rest. It's not a full-blown phobia, but it's definitely something he can't quite get past, since he's so afraid of getting sick again.
Pokémon Information
Affiliation: Rocket, to go with his canonmates
Starter: Chikorita
Password: Seasalt icecream
Samples
First Person Sample: [The feed clicks on to show Yukimura's face - quite close, a little too close. Frowning, he fiddles with the device, making the video swing wildly, until his expression clears and he nods, moving back and looking straight at the camera.]
I'm sorry, I'm afraid technology isn't my strong point, but I think I see how this works now.
[He clears his throat softly.]
I trust I won't seem too naive if I ask where exactly I am? I've never seen this place before. While it doesn't seem like a terrible place, I have to object to arriving so suddenly - I have tennis practice in two hours, and as the Captain my presence is required.
[With a slight smile, Yukimura shakes his head, apparently more amused than annoyed. At least for the moment.]
Beyond that, I have two more questions. The first is about my new companion: while he's very cute, I'm not entirely sure how to take care of him. Should he be treated as an animal or a plant? Normally I'd say animal, but there is a leaf growing out of his head.
Finally, why have I been given these new clothes? Black isn't really my color.
Third Person Sample: He hadn't recognized the room he'd woken up in. Naturally that alarmed Yukimura a bit, but the note he'd found along with a pile of other things had calmed him a bit - at least he wasn't entirely without clues.
There was something about it that was familiar, too. 'Team Rocket'. Yukimura had heard that before. Despite a lack of interest in video games, it was pretty much impossible not to have learned a little bit just from being around his teammates. But Yukimura couldn't remember much beyond the basics - little monsters that trained, an organization named Team Rocket. Maybe he should have listened all those times his friends had talked about it, but it was too late for that now.
He picked up the note, reading it again. Yukimura had to admit that those words - 'our winning team' - appealed to him, especially after his own team's recent loss. A slight smile curled his lips. Though he wasn't sure if he would like taking orders from someone else, for now it wouldn't be a terrible thing to give this Team Rocket a try. If it turned out to be not to his liking, he would leave - whether they approved or not.
Crumpling up the note, Yukimura picked up the ball he'd seen earlier. If he remembered right, there might be one of those monsters in there - a creature he could train. That, at least, he had plenty of experience with.
"Let's hope you're a bit easier to control than Akaya," Yukimura said with a laugh as he opened the ball, stepping back.
"Chikaaa!"
"Oh," Yukimura said, kneeling down to greet his new companion. "How cute." And it was, all green and cuddly-looking. The leaf on its head waved and Yukimura caught a whiff of a sweet, relaxing scent. "Almost like a plant. I have quite a few of those, you know."
It rubbed its head against his hand, almost as if it could understand him, and Yukimura smiled. "You don't look very strong, but that's all right. You can consider yourself a member of Rikkai now, and that means you'll get much stronger."
"Chika," the creature said, and Yukimura took that as agreement.