(no subject)

[neargenius]

PLAYER INFO

Name/Nickname: Cee
Age: twenty threeeee
Journal: wer3wolph
AIM/MSN/IM: twotimesafew
Email: twotimesfew at gmail dot com

CHARACTER INFO

Character Name: Near (Nate River)
Canon: Death Note
Point taken from canon: Chapter 77, just after Mello pulls the gun on him in the SPK headquarters.
Age: 18
Gender: Male
Preferred Village: Kusasato

Appearance:
Near is diminutive, completely child-like in appearance. Weighing in at only 88 pounds and standing at a tiny 5'1", he spends most of his time crouched on the floor, his shoulders hunched and his head bent over whatever he's working on. And he's always working--well, playing is really a better term for the things that Near does. His little hands are constantly busy with toys--blocks and dominoes and darts and action figures. He doesn’t sit normally, either on the floor or in chairs, but crouches or kneels or flops over like a ragdoll. He has terrible posture, and prefers sitting to standing. He wouldn’t walk very far if he had the choice-he likes to be stationary, with all his tools spread out within reaching distance.

His hair is white, almost colorless, and can appear nearly gray in the right settings. His eyes are large and dark: black, expressionless. His skin is extremely pale, as if he’s never been outside, and there are no marks or blemishes on him-no scars or distinguishing features. He has a small face-round cheeks and a little pointed chin, a little mouth and a button nose. To all intents and purposes, he almost looks like a doll or a toy himself-or, at the very least, a child. He certainly doesn’t appear to be 18 years old.

His arms and legs are thin, with little to no muscular definition. He has almost no muscle or fat on his body-just skin and bones, a little skeleton boy in pajamas. He’s underweight-thin wrists, thin ankles, easily breakable. But his stare is extremely cold, and his little mouth is almost always scowling. He doesn’t look so cute or friendly when he’s smirking at you in that awfully superior way of his, or dryly informing you of your error.

Near always wears white pajamas-a button-down top with overlong sleeves that drape slightly over his little hands, and baggy elasticized pants that droop over his socks. Their looseness disguises the smallness of his frame, and allow him the freedom to roll around on the floor and bend in his traditional slump. He wears shoes only when forced, and would prefer to keep his socks on at all times.

Physically, he is quiet and unassuming and always underestimated or dismissed as a child. There’s a sharp disconnect between his childlike movements and predilections and his intelligence that often makes him come off as extremely creepy.

Background:

Near's entry on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Near_%28Death_Note%29

Near is the younger of L’s two successors, and the one who ends up following more closely/traditionally in his detective-ing footsteps. From Death Note: How to Read, we learn that Near was born Nate River on August 24th, 1991. Since he lived at Wammy’s House (Watari’s orphanage), it is assumed that Near is an orphan, though the details of his life previous to the House are never disclosed. (A supplemental live action movie--L: Change the WorLd--depicts Near as the only survivor of a Thai village ravaged by disease. This history does not mesh with other known facts about Near--in an additional one shot manga, he himself states that he has never met L-but we can assume that Near’s origins were of a similar nature.)

At Wammy’s House, young children are constantly groomed and guided toward a single purpose: succeeding L in the position of world’s greatest detective. Through some undisclosed rating system (probably schoolwork, aptitude tests, etc.), Near is determined to be first in line, followed by Mello, another boy at Wammy’s. Mello is insanely jealous of Near, and is in a constant hot-headed struggle to surpass him. Near is uninterested in any competition--in fact, Near seems basically uninterested in everything besides his toys. Being number one does not seem to take any effort to Near.

When L dies, Near and Mello are summoned to Roger’s office, to discuss L’s succession. Roger tells them that L never chose a single heir, and that they are now to work together to catch Kira. Mello is shocked at the mere suggestion, but Near accepts the idea with his usual calmness and continues his work on his puzzle. Mello storms out, leaving Near alone as L’s official heir. Near does not show pleasure or distress at this situation--as usual, he doesn’t show anything at all.

Five years later, Near is seen working for the United States with the SPK (the Special Provision for Kira), which he established at some point with the intention of investigating the Kira murders. He quickly deduces that the Japanese task force is in fact in possession of a Death Note. When Mello kidnaps Light’s sister, Sayu with the intention of obtaining a Death Note, Light (acting publically as L) attempts to contact the American law enforcement for assistance. Instead he reaches Near. Referring to himself “L the second” and “N”, Near agrees to cooperate with Light in the search for Sayu.

Light’s father, Yagami Soichiro, the sub-director of the Japanese police force, boards a plane to America to recover Sayu. The plane is rerouted in mid-flight, and Light is forced to contact Near. He attempts to elicit help from him in the of the hijacking. Misa uses her shinigami eyes and figures out the name of the hijacker, and Light passes this detail onto Near--who takes immediate notice of how quickly he was able to come up with the name. Still, Near cooperates with Light in this stage, dispatching a helicopter to pick up Light’s father from Mello’s bunker. The exchange takes place as promised--Sayu for the Death Note--and Mello loads the Note onto a missile. Near is not particularly troubled by this--in fact, he seems almost amused. At this point, Light suspects that Near may be involved in the kidnapping, working side by side with Mello--but Near denies this, though he says that he would have welcomed such a connection. He reiterates that he is after the Death Note, and Kira, and that the kidnapping would have served his purposes, but he was not involved. Near takes Yagami into custody in order to question him about the exchange. He remains amused at Light’s incompetence, almost gloating over his ineptitude to hold onto the Note, and though he says that he would not have fared much better in Light’s position (given the circumstances), he would have been willing to sacrifice innocent lives in order to secure the Death Note, displaying a ruthless quality to his character.

Near figures that Mello is the kidnapper, based on several small clues. Most notable is the sound of Mello chewing chocolate over the phone, a detail so slight no one would have thought to note it. Near recognizes this as a challenge, that Mello is purposefully leaving clues so that Near will realize it is him. This is their old competition again, on a larger scale: Near versus Mello in the search for Kira. He does not reveal this information to Light at this time, but hypothesizes that the kidnapper might be convinced to return the Death Note in exchange for his photograph. Of course, Near just happens to have the only photo of Mello--but he doesn’t tell this to Light, either! Light suspects that Near knows the identity of the kidnapper and tries to get him to reveal his theory, but Near declines, stating that they agreed to cooperate with Light in the reclamation of Sayu, but not in the Kira investigation. He says that he will capture Kira and the kidnappers on his own, without any help from Light.

Personality:
Near has the poorest social skills of all the Wammy’s House kids, ranking even with L. How to Read states that his calmness in high-stress situations ranks even above L’s. Where Mello is explosive, Near is placid, almost emotionless. Generally, Near is very laconic in his dealings with others, and shows little to no emotion. Even when his life is threatened, after a brief reaction of shock, Near appears dispassionate and uninterested. He has a really good personal control over his emotions, and can suppress them to the point of complete and total blankness. It would take a great deal to truly shock Near. Canonically, there are only a few points where he seems surprised-the announcement of L’s death is one significant example (though there are others).

Near is not as cooperative as his predecessor was, but he is like L in that he is willing to lie or suspend the truth in order to get results in his endeavors. He is candid in admitting that he would sacrifice human life in order to bring justice to Kira. He’s occasionally more blunt than L was, and openly disapproves of the Japanese task forces’ actions previous to his involvement in the investigation. Many of his quirks are reminiscent of L’s--he has a penchant for stacking things in towers, he fiddles with things while thinking, he is always poised in a crouch, and he is always clad in white pajamas, lending him a similar shabby, unkempt air that also effused L. His reclusive nature is also an echo of L’s. Even as a child at Wammy’s House, he is pictured as avoiding the company of other children, engrossed in his own activities. How to Read cites this evasion as a flaw--though he is a genius, he is unable to interact with others, and needs to rely on his team to get his work done.

Near’s main obsession is toys. He is always depicted as being surrounded by various toys or games. Puzzles, darts, dice, cards, robots, models, puppets, matchsticks--you name it, Near’s got it. And, like any kid, he seems to have favorites (in chapter 60, when the SPK is forced to flee their hide out, he is shown gathering several toys to take with him). This quirk is only really odd when you remember that Near is seventeen or eighteen through the latter Death Note chapters. The toys are a catharsis, a means to help him work out the details of his theories. He occasionally will use figurines or dolls to act as L or Kira, and at one point, he crafts puppets of all the major players in the Kira case, reenacting several scenes with them in a Lego city.

This childishness is a part of his personality in more ways than just his fixation on toys. Despite his characteristic dispassion, he does have an irritating, cheeky side to him that occasionally makes itself known. When dealing with Light, the “false L”, Near greets him nonchalantly with a little smirk: “L the second, pleased to meet’cha!” He taunts Light from time to time, or simply makes snide little comments. His bratiness even extends to his relations even with the SPK-he’s very demanding in his laconic way. When Light contacts the SPK for the first time, Near simply holds out his hand and says, “Phone.” Furthermore, Near is just as fixated on winning as the other main players of Death Note. To him, life is a game, and the Kira case is the best game of all. Each person is a player or a pawn, and must be catalogued and utilized, or simply opposed. It’s also important to note that Near wants to see Kira arrested-not killed. That’s a better end to the game, and one that would confirm his victory beyond a doubt.

I made brief mention to his lack of morality before, but this is yet another factor of Near’s personality that is in keeping with L’s, though perhaps for different reasons. Near isn’t solving the Kira case for the sake of justice, necessarily. He’s solving the case to win, and he’ll do what it takes to secure that win. That’s not to say that he’ll act himself-he delegates the tasks to others, and controls things from behind the scenes, much like a player in a chess game or a puppeteer. And as L, he has to work beyond the restrictions of Right and Wrong, in a way. In order to catch Kira, certain measures must be taken.

But at the same time, Near isn’t judgmental in a general sense. He only seeks to define or judge criminals or cases that interest him. If he isn’t interested, he won’t bother even thinking about them. In Another Note, Near is depicted in his twenties, still building card castles and working on cases. Here again, like L, he doesn’t take on cases unless they interest him. If they’re boring or too easy, he won’t take them on. Even in the one-shot, where another Death Note is being used to kill people, Near largely ignores the case on the grounds that it’s not as interesting as Kira was. His own personal entertainment is worth more than the pursuit of something so mundane as justice. Small cases are for the regular police to worry about.

In dealing with others, Near is distant and sometimes a little disdainful, though perhaps not always on purpose. He is not social in the slightest bit, and doesn’t pay people very much attention on a personal level. He prefers to relate to them from the standpoint of work. People are pawns, and conversation with them must be directed and focused. There isn’t much time for small talk. That’s not to say that Near couldn’t develop a personal relationship with someone-but it would be extremely difficult. The closest thing that Near has to a personal relationship at all is his intense and consuming rivalry with Mello. Near does not seem to have any hatred for Mello-on the contrary, he holds Mello in some esteem. At the end of the series, he admits that he would not have been able to solve the case without Mello’s help. How to Read says that Near actually likes Mello in some small capacity. The author of the series cites Near’s accurate and careful puppet design as a sign that Near was at least interested enough in Mello to carefully craft the toy in his likeness. And while Near is not exactly a passive player in the race against Mello, he does not have the same hateful drive that Mello does. He acts more out of a need to win this game.

Part of the responsibility for his eschewing of friendship or immediate personal contact is the constant paranoia that rules the lives of anyone intending to be L. The identity of the successors is a huge secret-so much so that their names were changed (Nate River to Near, Mihael Keehl to Mello, Mail Jeevas to Matt, etcetera). The knowledge of their names and faces can’t be compromised, due to the nature of Kira’s method of killing. As a result, Near never shows his face to anyone that he doesn’t trust. He either communicates via voice only, or-when he is forced to meet with Light in person-he wears a paper mask designed to look like L. There is very little that would get Near to be open, or to show his face to anyone that he doesn’t trust. Cameras can take pictures, after all, and a photograph and a name could be the death of him. And he does not intend to die before he wins the game.

Despite his self-control and the robotic nature of his behavior, Near is human. He has small fears-large crowds and forced social interaction, physical contact, and emotion (his own emotion, since it’s unexplainable and random-implicit in there is his fear of personal connection, too). On a larger scale, his biggest fear is the fear of not being in control-being forced to do something he doesn’t want to (unwittingly manipulated or tricked, or obviously forced). It could also manifest itself as a fear of someone taking control from him-the rules or stakes of a game being changed midway through, or new players, or anything that he can’t manipulate or influence suddenly having great importance in the playing of his game. A fear of a lack or restriction of free will or choice is entailed in all that as well. And a fear of losing-because to Near, winning games is everything. He will not be a loser.

Abilities/Strengths:

Near is, in two words, a child prodigy. As one of L’s successors, he terribly intelligent, terribly analytical, and terribly intuitive. By suspending his own personal feelings, he’s able to think clearly about situations-more clearly than many people are able to. He is extremely collected and calm in almost every instance and rarely displays signs of outward emotion, either facially or through other modes of body language. This impressive self-control allows him an element of surprise, in a way, since he generally won’t react the way that others expect him to, which is slightly disconcerting. He is also very skilled at building models, dice towers, and card castles, which displays a certain amount of technical skill and control-and he is excellent at games and puzzles.

Weaknesses:

His biggest flaw is his inability to work with people. His poor social standing makes him extremely reclusive, and he’s forced to rely on a team to do his work for him. There are other smaller flaws that go hand-in-hand with this overarching one. He hasn’t personally lived like other people have. He’s rarely gone outdoors, and he’s never been forced to survive on his own-he’s never cooked a meal, swept a room, driven his own car. Everything was done for him. As a result, he’s a little helpless, and a little vulnerable, too. Physically, he’s very small and frail, and has no real way to defend himself. His tendency to ignore or disdain others is also a weakness-he doesn’t make full use of the potential for allies, and would prefer people to come to him rather than him having to exert the work to contact them.

Defining Quote(s):

1. “If I cannot solve the puzzle, I will be a mere loser.”

2. “If you are wrong, a simple sorry will do.”

3. “You are merely a killer.”

4. Near: “Thank you for your useful information. You two may go back now.”

Aizawa: “You heard that much, and you just say ‘go back’?”

Near: [pouting] “I did thank you for your useful information.

5. Near: “I’m also going to Japan.”

Lester: “So during that time you want me to come to New York and stay watch?”

Near: “No… I’ve never experienced the first class procedures of riding a plane alone, so I want you to come back so we can go together.”

6. Near: “What is it, L?”

Light: “Misa Amane and Mogi are missing.”

Near: “Yes. We have abducted them.”

Light: “Near… For what reason?”

Near: “For insurance.”

7. Giovanni: “If there are shinigami, I might die, right?”

Near: “Yes.”

Giovanni: “….”

Near: “If you are scared, I will ask Lester to go.”

Lester: “….”

Also, I have several songs that I identify with when thinking about Near’s character-for both the content of their lyrics and their general sound.

1. Preparedness by the Bird and the Bee (http://www.metrolyrics.com/preparedness-lyrics-the-bird-and-the-bee.html)

2. Sang Real by Dredg (http://www.metrolyrics.com/sang-real-lyrics-dredg.html)

3. Bad Sun by the Bravery (http://www.metrolyrics.com/bad-sun-lyrics-bravery.html)

Other:
I have some small bits of headcanon for Near that I like to incorporate when I play him. Since not much is canonically known, I’ve tried to fill in some of the gaps while maintaining believability. I don’t often reference these details in a game, since it would be in character for Near to remain a little vague about his past, but in this game, such things could have potential importance.

Near was born Nate River in Buckinghamshire, England. His parents were quite young and were involved in both politics and in higher education, and as a result were away from their home a great deal of the time. They were a little disinterested in their son, and Nate River was largely left alone, or in the care of nannies. He was given everything but wasn’t necessarily doted on, at least emotionally or physically. His earliest memory is of sitting at the bottom of a big staircase, making a puzzle and waiting-either waiting for his parents to come down the stairs on their way out the door, or waiting for them to come home. When they weren’t working, they were frequently vacationing or attending fundraisers and various social functions. Additionally, I imagine that Near had some health problems as a child. He’s physically very small and very underweight, and that likely began at a young age. He wouldn’t have played outside very much, and he would have been fairly isolated, which would predispose him to the mentality that he has as an older child, and follow him into adulthood.

Near’s parents were killed in an accident when he was still quite young. They were away on business at the time, and their deaths were actually quite mundane--just a car wreck, perhaps, in the wrong place at the wrong time--but the significant part of their deaths was that they hadn’t written a will. No provisions had been made for Near’s future, and there was no family to raise him-his grandparents had been dead for quite some time, and neither of his parents had siblings. Near was turned over to an orphanage as a ward of the state. Eventually, his skill and intelligence was noted, and at six years old, Near was scouted by Wammy’s House as a potential successor to the title of L. Once instated in the school, Near quickly proved himself to be the best of the best, surpassing the other students in scores across the board and landing in the coveted position of successor to L-a position that he shared with Mello, his rival.

Action Writing Sample:
[The video clicks on. There is a moment of white, all encompassing, covering the device. A quick breath is heard and the video feed shakes as the Hitomi is moved, sweeping in a quick pan of its surroundings-a quick glimpse of a dark eye, narrowed at the device. The video clicks off just as abruptly as it came on.]

[A long pause. And then, an audio transmission instead. The voice is slightly shaky, but it strengthens with each word:] This device connects to a network. Where does the network come from?

[Another pause; a shuffling sound, like fabric being scraped across the Hitomi. It can’t be seen, of course, but on his end, Near is moving slowly to look himself over, shifting the device from hand to hand as he studies himself with some scrutiny. His last immediate memory was of Mello pointing a gun at him-there are, however, no injuries.] I am not accustomed to being outdoors. The wind is particularly annoying. I am not sure how I came to be here. It was abrupt. [Another pause for thought, followed by a small breath, almost a sigh.] There is a map on this device, but it is not very helpful if I do not know where this place is supposed to be, or how I came to be here. Perhaps-

[Yet another pause, longer this time.]

I will require more than two dice to construct a proper tower. Of equal importance is a prompt explanation of this situation.

Third Person Writing Sample:

Near was prepared. Near was always prepared. Near was never without a plan. He did his best to calculate every possible outcome in every situation, so he would know how to act when it happened-whatever it was; whenever it happened. Calculating the odds was what he knew how to do, what he had been raised to do.

When his dice tower began to fall, Near knew that it was time to start calculating again in earnest.

The gunshot was startling, certainly. The sudden crack tore across the room. The acrid stench of gunpowder and blood filled his nose. But Near did not move. He did not bat an eye. He did not join Lidner in her gasp. He had been expecting this - or something like this eventuality-ever since he learned that this useless new L had lost the notebook to the kidnapper-to Mello.

The notebooks. They were a piece that he did not fully understand yet. How they gave their owner the ability to kill at will-how they worked-where they came from- It was as if he were constructing a puzzle with half the pieces missing. But Near had experience with puzzles. There were never any true missing pieces, only pieces he had yet to find. They could be under the rug-beneath a table-even lying in plain sight. It was all a matter of discovery. And he would discover what they were.

Near plucked one of the fallen die from the table and pinched it tightly between his fingers. Mello was the kidnapper. 100% certain. More importantly, it was Mello who now held one of the notebooks. 100% certain. This bold act-killing three members of the SPK, one right after another-was many things. But primarily, it was a declaration, an invitation, a rekindling of a one-sided competition that Near had never really participated in-at least, not actively. Mello was certainly volatile, but he was predictable in his own way. And just because he hadn’t participated did not mean that he wasn’t interested.

A puzzle. Near looked down at the hand clutching the dice. The hand. His hand, but when he stared at it, it was wrong. He didn’t have any cuts on his skin. He didn’t do anything to earn cuts. No-these weren’t cuts, they were cracks, like fine webbing in a bit of broken porcelain. He opened his fingers and raised his hand in front of his face. The die clattered to the tile floor, but the sound was distant, far away; Near could only hear his own heartbeat in his ears, a black and endless noise.

Cracks, lining his hand, breaking the skin into furrows. They looked slight at first, but they were deepening-and it didn’t hurt, but it should have, and he couldn’t figure that out. He raised his other hand too-cracks, tiny things, splintering into bigger things, shooting up from his fingers, tracing over his wrists, his arms-

Near didn’t make a sound.

Blood began to ooze from between the lines, slow and thick and dark, darker than any blood should be. Or was it ink? But why ink, why cracks, why any of this-

The cracks were defining themselves, splitting his skin into fractured patterns, and Near smiled just a little. He recognized this now. Puzzle pieces. The lines of a white and unmarked puzzle, tracing over his body-a puzzle oozing ink, and his heartbeat was so loud; had it always been this loud? He shut his eyes, the warm ink streaming down his wrists, down his arms, pooling on his lap, staining his pajamas, coating them black, black-

When Near opened his eyes, L was in front of him. L, faceless, nameless, no one Near had ever met, someone Near knew everything about, someone Near was; he was L, he had become L. He stretched his hands out to the faceless person, a mute gesture.

The figure took Near by the wrists.

A puzzle.