(no subject)
Name/Handle: Andy
Timezone: CST
Personal LJ: Nique
E-Mail: 2icsection9 (at) gmail (dot) com
AIM/other: DominoAK47 (AIM)
Series: Peacemaker/Peacemaker Kurogane
Series' Medium: Manga
Character: Hijikata Toshizou
Age: 29/29
Sex/Gender: Male
Canon Role: Technically a mentor to the series protagonist, but features heavily in the plot for the series.
"Real" Name: William Sato
How long have you roleplayed your character, if at all?:
I have not really played him before.
Where have you roleplayed in general and/or with this specific character?:
Only in posts on dear_mun and FoC.
Are you personally familiar with your character's canon?:
Yes, I've read the manga and watched the anime for the series, although I'm only using the manga for canon.
Please give us a personal history of your character's life and explain to us in detail how they grow and develop over the course of their canon:
Hijikata was born in Hino (a suburb of Edo) in 1835. The youngest of six children of a well-to-do farmer, he lost both his parents at a young age and was raised by his elder brother and sister-in-law. He spent his youth selling Ishida Sanyaku, a medicine produced by his family used in treating such ailments as bruises and broken bones. He also spent time practicing kendo, separate from any particular dojo or school of swordsmanship. Eventually, he met Kondou Isami and enrolled in the Tennen Rishin-ryu's Shieikan dojo where he met several other members of what would eventually become the Shinsengumi.
In 1863, a group comprised of ronin from around Edo called the Roshitai was formed to serve as an escort for the shogun as he traveled to the capital in Kyoto. Members of the Shieikan including Kondou Isami, Yamanami Keisuke, Okita Souji, and Hijikata joined in hopes of eventually finding a master to serve under and legitimizing their samurai status. Eventually, a petition was sent to Matsudaira Katamori, who granted the members peace-keeping status in the city as the Mibu Roshigumi, later renamed the Shinsengumi. In the same year, Hijikata helped in the assassination of one of the group's original leaders, Serizawa Kamo. Although the assassination was ordered by Matsudaira himself, the act became a point of contention between Hijikata and his co-vice-commander, Yamanami.
As vice-commander, Hijikata dictates many of the group's regulations, which tends to make him somewhat unpopular with the men, occasionally overriding even Kondou's decisions on matters. After interrupting fifteen-year-old Ichimura Tetsunosuke's fight with Okita, he opposes Kondou's suggestion that the boy be allowed to join the Shinsengumi on the basis that Tetsu is still a child. Okita, in an attempt to show Tetsu what is in store for him, gives the boy instructions to go and watch at a certain location that evening.
It turns out that a group from the rebel faction that the Shinsengumi are engaged in protecting Kyoto and its citizens from (comprised largely or ronin from the Choshu region of Japan) have set up a trap, hoping to be able to kill Hijikata. The plan fails as Hijikata himself dispatches the attackers, including the woman who was sent to seduce him, before other Shinsengumi members arrive on the scene as backup. Finally, after witnessing Tetsu's determination to join the Shinsengumi despite the bloodshed he has witnessed and Hijikata's warnings, Hijikata allows Tetsu to join the group on the condition that he will serve only as his own page. Despite this, upon his return to Shinsengumi headquarters, Yamanami takes a dim view of Hijikata's actions, raising yet another point of dispute between the two men.
As one of the two vice-commanders of the Shinsengumi, Hijikata gives orders to the group's two spies, Yamazaki Susumu and Yamazaki Ayumu. After Susumu's attempts to infiltrate a Kyoto merchant's store, which is suspected of being a front for the rebel faction stalls out, Hijikata orders his sister to give up her current cover as the Shinsengumi's housekeeper and infiltrate a suspected rebel headquarters under the guise of a hairdresser. Unfortunately, Ayu's cover is compromised, and she loses her life in the course of her mission. This causes Hijikata a great deal of guilt, though he forces it away and uses the incident to further the Shinsengumi's mission by capturing the merchant and personally torturing him until he gives up information regarding the rebel's next plot.
In an attempt to stop the Choshu rebels from setting fire to Kyoto and abducting the emperor in the process, The Shinsengumi are split into two groups to search the city. The rebels are eventually found at the Ikedaya, which the Shinsengumi raid. Hijikata is with the second group, who make it to the inn only after the fighting is ended. Hijikata is then forced to fend off soldiers from Aizu (Matsudaira's domain) who are attempting to take credit for the raid. Afterward, he aids Okita, who was injured in his fight with Yoshida Toshimaro.
Following the Ikedaya incident and Choshu's retaliatory strike at the Hamaguri Gate, things pick up for the Shinsengumi. Several return to Edo in order to recruit more members, and Yamanami asks Hijikata to demote him to accounting, claiming his sword has been no good since Serizawa's assassination. The two fight, with Yamanami accusing Hijikata of manipulating people and killing whoever gets in his way before storming out of the room without giving Hijikata a chance to respond to the accusations.
In the fall of 1864, Itou Kashitarou joins the group, and the Shinsengumi undergoes restructuring to accommodate the new recruits brought in from Edo. While the other members all seem quite taken with the man, Hijikata suspects Itou's true intentions. Unfortunately for Hijikata, Itou has taken an interest in him. In addition to this, Hijikata must contend with worries about Okita's continued illness and his ongoing dispute with Yamanami.
In response to the Shogunate order for the subjugation of Choshu domain, a new ordinance is drawn up. While the rules are exceedingly harsh, it is used largely as a ruse in order to smoke out suspicious behavior, especially on Itou's part. Yamanami voices his objection to the new rules and Hijikata's announcement that the Shinsengumi will be moving to Nishi-Hongan temple, which once harbored Choshu rebels. Following the meeting, Hijikata is intercepted by Saitou, who confirms that Itou has been moving amongst the troops, engaging in private conversations with them.
Not long after, a series of events leads Yamanami to believe that Hijikata and Kondou are plotting to 'remove' him from the Shinsengumi, much in the way Serizawa was. He takes the initiative and flees on horseback. Desertion is one of the crimes punishable by seppuku, and when he is discovered missing, Okita leaves to track him down. He finds Yamanami and brings him back to headquarters.
Once there, he is sent before Kondou and Hijikata, who he accuses of trying to eliminate him. This belief, however, was in error, as the two never planned any such thing. Despite this revelation, the man is determined to go through with his punishment. Kondou objects, but Hijikata instead offers Yamanami his old sword and tells him to die like a samurai.
Instead, Yamanami draws the sword at his hip and strikes at Hijikata with it. Acting on instinct, Okita stabs him from behind. As it turns out, the sword he struck with was made of bamboo, and would have done Hijikata no harm. Mortally wounded, he apologizes to Hijikata for what he feels was a failure on his part to help keep Hijikata 'on course.'
As of the end of the third volume, Hijikata is having to contend with the continued threat from the inside that Itou poses, as well as growing unrest owing to increased instability in the country as a whole. During the course of the series, he has had to make tough decisions and face the outcomes of those choices, learning that victory often comes at a price, and struggling with the weight of the losses that have already been suffered as well as those he can sense looming on the horizon.
What point in time are you taking your character from when he/she appears at Landel's and why?:
The end of volume 3 of Kurogane. The second series gives us a deeper insight into the way Hijikata's mind works and just how far he is willing to take things for the sake of the group. He's made some difficult decisions at this point, and had to face the sometimes tragic results of those decisions.
Please give us a detailed description of your character's personality:
Hijikata is a force to be reckoned with. Inside the Shinsengumi, he's known as the 'demon vice-commander' owing to his temperament. It is easy to see him as very serious, overly strict, and generally not very fun to be around. A lot of this, however, is owing to the fact that both Kondou and Yamanami are rather soft-hearted men, and someone has to play the 'bad guy.' Hijikata is undeniably a gruff, blunt, sometimes downright abrasive person, but he is not without his softer side, though it's a side of him few people beyond Okita and Kondou will ever see.
Hijikata takes his responsibilities very seriously. He began life as the son of a farmer and spent time as a traveling merchant before settling in to study swordsmanship in earnest at the Shieikan. Part of Hijikata's drive comes from wanting to prove himself as a true samurai and overcome the low social status of his birth. Before leaving for Kyoto, he has a conversation with Yamanami, telling him that he knows once they make it to the capital, he'll do anything he can to move up in the world and that all he cares about is results. He also tells him that, more than anything, he hates having regrets.
It's true that he can be ruthless. Despite accusations, however, he does not use people as pawns without any thought for them. He cares about the people around him far more than he ever admits to, and in fact feels a great deal of guilt and remorse over things. Having had a hand in Okita's training, Hijikata feels guilt over having forged him into such a merciless fighter. And when Ayu dies on the mission he assigned her to, Hijikata displays a rare moment of emotion in front of Okita, in which it is very clear that he feels a measure of personal responsibility for her death. Part of the reason he initially refuses to allow Tetsunosuke into the Shinsengumi is because he does not want the boy to turn out like Okita has, and allowing him to serve only as his page is Hijikata's way of protecting Tetsu.
He's a man who is constantly looking towards the future, but still plagued by his past, and who keeps his worries to himself. In the past, he has been something of a womanizer, though his job as vice-commander keeps him busy enough that this has become less of an issue. He prefers to sleep in late, is almost never without his pipe in hand, and when he's not working, he enjoys writing haiku. He's not very good at it, but he's very protective of his writing. Even around those he cares about, he can be grouchy and irritable, but there's no mistaking the fact that underneath all the armor, he's a good man, albeit one with ambitious goals, and a willingness to do whatever it takes in order to achieve them.
Please give us a physical description of your character:
Hijikata is rather tall and broad-shouldered for a Japanese man, and good physical condition. He has no significant scars to speak of and is considered to be quite good looking, if somewhat stern looking. He prefers wearing black, and dresses in a rather casual manner. His hair is very long, hanging past his waist even when perpetually pulled up into a ponytail, with shorter strands falling somewhat sloppily around his face.
What kinds of otherwordly abilities does your character have, if any?:
None.
If present, how do you plan to tweak these powers to make your character appropriately hindered in the setting of Landel's?:
N/A
Does your character have any non-otherworldly abilities/training that surpass the norm?:
While Hijikata has never mastered the Tennen Rishin-ryu techniques, he has developed his own brand of swordsmanship that serves him well in conflicts. His true strength, however, is as a planner and a leader. While he has some difficulties with interpersonal relationships on an individual level, he is very good at commanding people, taking stock of situations, and planning the most effective strategies in order to obtain a desired outcome.
What do you see your character doing in the scope of the game and how do you plan to use the setting of Landel's Institute to develop them and affect their psychology in a unique, interesting way?:
Hijikata's ultimate goal will be to get out of the institute and back to the conflict he was pulled away from back home. To that end, he will likely use all of his abilities to attempt to discover what is going on and how best they can free themselves from the institute's grasp. Of course, being far removed from his own time, he'll have to learn to adapt to an unfamiliar environment and deal with challenges and threats the likes of which he has never encountered before. He'll be removed from his comfort zone as one of the Shinsengumi's top leaders and realize that he won't be able to simply order people around the way he could in Kyoto. He may even have to improve his social skills a little in order to earn the sort of trust he's accustom to having from those around him.
Given that this RP takes place in an unsettling and outright horrific environment, how do you justify your character as being appropriate in both body and mind for this kind of setting?:
While Peacemaker has a very limited amount of 'supernatural' events in it, the series is set in a country on the brink of a civil war, where violence and the possibility of death is constant. Hijikata himself has killed people before, as well as knowingly sending others into great danger. He's an adult who's well aware that life can be nasty and brutal and knows how to handle these sorts of situations.