APP for asgardeventide
IC Information;
Character Name; Tokidoki Rikugou
Canon; Amatsuki - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amatsuki
Canon Point; ch 58
Age; presumably 16-17
House; Sigyn, for his bleeding heart
Power; Growth
Personality; Until being attacked by a monster, losing sight in his left eye, and being trapped in a strange version of Edo Period Japan, Tokidoki was a bit of a sad example of a high school student. He drifted through life without particularly caring about anything, feeling as if he never quite fit anywhere and as if the world just sort of moved around him -- as if he wasn't really a part of it. He did what he was supposed to do because it was expected. He hung out with friends that presented themselves, smiled and laughed but never truly connected to any of it. He was detached, existing in a limbo of boredom and apathy in which he contributed little and gained little. Though at the time he avoided thinking about it much, upon later thought he admitted that the reason for this behavior was because of something contradictory to it -- the desire not to lose connections. As his parents sent him from the country to the city for school at age 6, the only people Toki was ever really close to were a trio of adults that became almost a pseudo family, particularly one Suou Kuwata and his companion Chitose, for whom Toki had very strong familial feelings. However, due to tradgedy those bonds had been broken, and since then he'd avoided making any further attachments that he might lose.
Since coming to Edo, though, Toki's true personality traits have come to shine. He's very idealistic, believing in the natural good of people and in their ability to get along and live in harmony. He is slow to judge, giving people the benefit of the doubt in most cases until they've given him a very good reason to distrust them. His idea of the way people think and act is, however, sometimes very much romanticized. Though Toki is a master of suave elegance when he decides to charm someone in a casual setting, serious conversation often leads to innocent blunders. Toki expects people to act according to the often generalised view he gets of them based on the traits he's first exposed to, and tends to be surprised when life doesn't go along like a visual novel script. However, despite those mistakes, he genuinely cares about and tries to understand everyone around him. He's accepting of everyone, regardless of their affiliation or their opinions, provided they have done nothing to disprove his belief that anyone he likes at all must be a Good Person. In his canon, that leads to him befriending demons and demon-slayers, temple staff and the possessed, rich and poor, humble and larger-than-life. He doesn't believe in any one person or type of person being better than any other, and in his mind the playing field is always level.
This, too, can and does sometimes backfire as well, though. Since Toki is open, naive, and accepting of all viewpoints, he has a very hard time when forced to make important decisions. He has a hard time with the ideas of the good of all having precedent over the good of the individual, of kill-or-be-killed, or of fate determining anything. He can't sacrifice one person or even one idea for another, and his neutrality often ends in things blowing up for both sides when he refuses to choose one. For this reason, it's both good and bad that he is someone who isn't touched by fate, and who has the potential to take over that very role. He would be fair and kind, but he generally lacks the conviction necessary to get anything done. However, when the choice is easier, when the line between right and wrong is bold, Toki is perfectly capable of being desicive. If it will help someone, he'll throw his all into it, even at the risk of his own well-being. At heart, Toki is a very big-hearted person who wishes to see the happiness and prosperity of those around him more than he wants anything else.
In day-to-day situtions though, Tokidoki's a bit silly, airheaded, and at times childish. He's liable to do things that lack common sense, or to whine and complain about trivial things, indulging in carefree humor when he can, in order to better treasure the time he has with his friends. He learned the hard way when he nearly lost people again that it's best to cherish those he loves to the best of his ability, and to always hold on, just in case they do go away. The power of love, platonic or otherwise, is something he recognises as able to defeat even fate -- if one cares deeply for their friends, and smiles with them, that affection can transcend even the toughest obstacles. It's the friends he's made in the Edo era that have helped him come out of his shell and find the value of connecting again. Seeing Kon, Toki learns how to do what he wants to and what he believes in even if it's against social convention, and to just be comfortable being himself. Kuchiha and Tsuyukusa show him that there is no black and white. The two of them have taught him the meaning of pride, of standing up for one's place in the world no matter how hard you have to claw and climb to get it, and that every side of every argument has their own reasons. It's seeing people fight and struggle, laugh and play, and just exist to the fullest that's taught Toki that he can do the same. He's still terrified of losing those close to him, but he's learned that the emotions and memories created by even a fleeting friendship are the most important things in the world.
As Suou taught him: you can fool the senses, but you can't fool the heart. The things you want aren't the duties you pay lip service to -- they're the things you can truly love from the bottom of your soul.
Samples;
Network Sample; (YOINKED FROM A ZODION APP)
[He looks mighty confused, when he comes on camera, but it clearly has nothing to do with working the device. Despite his clothing (old fashioned Japanese kimono), this kid seems completely comfortable with the idea of recording himself. It's more the tattoo on his face, over his off-coloured left eye, that he seems confused about, as his free hand keeps prodding at it as if he expects it to move or something. Other than that, he's relatively calm when he starts to talk.]
So, this doesn't look like where I was at all. At first I thought maybe it was just someplace Id never been, but-- I mean, it is someplace I've never been, but it seems like it's not even the same reality. But, uhm, who are these "Twelve"? And what was that letter about? What's any of this about?
Ugh, It's like I'm some kind of magnet for things that make you change settings! I'm starting to feel like I'm in a TV and someone keeps changing the channel.
I wonder if anyone I know is here... Kon? Kurotobi-san? Tsuyukusa? ...Anyone?
I hope they're alright.
Log Sample; One of the hardest things to get used to in the Edo Era was the concept of silence. In modern day Tokyo, there was really no such thing. At any given time the city was awake and breathing, with people going to and fro, vehicles on the road, the murmur of city life a constant buzz in the backround. It didn't even register to the ears after living there most of his life, so to Toki, that urban roar was "silence". Even the honk of taxis and the shouts of human joy and anger that would jar him close by were like nothing when he was at home -- it was like the walls of his apartment nullified every outside noise into tuned-out nothingness. That was just how it worked -- you couldn't survive if you paid attention.
Edo, on the other hand, though it had its share of nightlife, was silent in the darkest hours. There were times when, even if you strained your ears, you couldn't hear anything but a cricket or two at best, maybe the rustle of a bird in a tree or a single burst of barking from a stray dog. It was strange, but that silence filled his ears more completely than the voice of the city, and was somehow distracting in its stillness.
It made him more aware of all the little things going on around him, though. Just like the people he'd met, it seemed that this place, this time was designed to penetrate the fog of his empty existence. He was sitting on the edge of the temple porch one night, drawing in the dirt with his toe, when the thought came to him, as it did every so often, that there was a lot to be said for these simple times. It had been so long since he'd connected with anything, out of fear, and he was beginning to wonder how that had even happened. How had he given this up? Or honestly, had he ever been this aware of his world? He couldn't remember if he'd ever really taken the time to feel grass under his feet, to listen to a bird sing, or noticed the way sun sparkled on clean water (had he even seen natural clean water since coming to the city?), but it seemed kind of like he never had.
He'd even almost forgotten the feeling of smiling because he was really happy, and laughing til he couldn't breathe. There was a lot he did to waste time in Tokyo, but not much he'd done to fill his time, and this was an entirely different situation. Even when things got ugly, even with that choice hanging over his head, he was pretty happy. Here, he was learning to cook, learning to trust, learning all sorts of things, and it never ceased to awe him. He had the brief thought that maybe, even if he could go home, he wouldn't. Maybe he could just stay here, with these people -- because he didn't want to lose them. It was becoming hard to imagine spending his days without being teased by Kon and yelled at by Kuchiha. The thought of goofing around with them made him smile, more than anything had in years.
Reminiscing for too long in the open air was never a really good idea, though, because of those sample people. He was too distracted to notice the incoming trouble until it had hit him already -- hard, in the back of the head, in the form of a fist.
"It's going to rain. If you don't want to get sick, stop staring into space and come inside!"
"You'd better listen to her, y'know. No one wants to play nursemaid, and it's dinner time anyway."
Sputtering a bit, Toki turned to frown up at his friends, half-pout and half-effort not to smile. Casual violence was something he was getting used to, too -- but it was fun to roughhouse, so he didn't mind.
"Yeah, Yeah. I guess I should come in before Kuchiha eats my share, huh?"
"Shut up!"
Toki laughed, the sound echoed by Kon, and hopped to his feet to follow his now-bickering friends back inside. Yeah, he could live like this. If only things would stay so happy...