-Application: Asgard Eventide-

[realmenknitplushies]

OOC Information;
Name; Sleepy
Personal Journal; DW sleepyphoenix
Contact; Plurk: sleepyphoenix, AIM: oneirologue
Other Characters; n/a
Activity Proof; n/a


IC Information;
Character Name; Kanji Tatsumi
Canon point; Between the ending of Persona 4 and the start of Persona 4 Arena.
Age; 16
Appearance; http://images.wikia.com/megamitensei/images/b/b3/Kanji_Tatsumi_render.png

House; Freyr (creative, artistic)
Power; drawing life

World Info;

Kanji's world is very close to the real world (Japan, 2011/12): the only notable differences lie in the existence of Persona users - those able to summon mythical guardians from their psyche - and Shadows - demon-like creatures born from the human heart and mind. (Some technology elements are more advanced, but nothing that's affected his life so far.)

Background;

Kanji comes from a small town in rural Japan by the name of Inaba. Growing up around his family's textile business, it was only natural for him to pick up an interest in the subject himself - he developed it into a hobby, creating cute plushies and similar. However, this passion caused others around him to look down on him, seeing him as strange and 'unmanly', and to make accusations about his sexuality - in return, he started to fight back, becoming known as rather a vicious delinquent in the process.

This changed when he was fifteen, in his first year in high school, when he was abducted and thrown into another world (through a TV!) by someone with strange powers - there, he was forced to confront a being, his Shadow, made from the aspects of his personality he refused to face. Fortunately, he was soon rescued, but not without having to accept the truth of what the Shadow was presenting to him - in doing so, gaining the earlier mentioned Persona power, and the ability to travel into that world. With the assistance of a group who he'd soon become fast friends with, he's spent the last year helping to rescue others in the same situation as he was forced into, and investigate a series of strange kilings related to the world he was in. And at the same time, with the help of his new friends, he's learned to become happier with and understand who he really is.

Personality;

At first glance, it's easy to make assumptions about Kanji. He's a drop-out. A delinquent. The sort of person who just wants to cause trouble, and doesn't care what anyone else thinks. The way he carries himself, his dress, his hair: he could be any gang member on the streets. This image carries through in a casual conversation with him, too: his speech patterns are rough and casual with a fair helping of bad language and he's all too likely to go on the attack at the slightest provocation. He loves to fight, loves the challenge and the adrenalin rush, and he's extremely adept at improvising with weaponry (being known for attacking opponents with a chair!)

However, while it's inaccurate to refer to his rough exterior as entirely a front, it's not the entirety of who and what he is. It's a defense mechanism, developed over many years, that's worked a little too well in protecting his inner self from the scrutinies of others. Inside, Kanji's spent a long time deeply insecure about who he is, and while during the course of the game he's worked to overcome this and become happy with himself it's taken him a long time to do so. If he's in any way accused of being strange or weird - or if he perceives it, something which he has a tendency to do so over the smallest thing - it's very likely that he'll go straight for the throat in his replies. Even worse, he's very likely to fly off in a rage if his berserk buttons are pressed, though he's working on controlling that much.

On a more positive note? He's very generous, when he gets the chance to be, being willing to give both his time and his handiwork very freely to others. He's a very protective individual, too, standing up for those weaker than him against accusation and trouble at the drop of a hat. A lot of his history of conflict comes from him trying to do what's right and look out for others: he's been known to go as far as tearing a whole biker gang apart single-handedly just to save his mother's sleep at night. When he warms up to someone, he softens quite a bit, becoming extremely caring and possibly more than a little awkward - he's not the greatest at admitting to his feelings, to say the least. He blushes, he flails, he can't find the right words.

Kanji's problems ultimately largely stem from a conflict between his natural interests and preferences, what society expects of him, and how what he likes and would otherwise act are perceived. He's spent his whole life trying to be a 'real man', thanks to his dying father's urges and influences - but he's grown up with hobbies that are seen as 'unmanly', loving to sew and knit thanks to his upbringing around his family's textile business and being fond of putting his considerable skills to use on creating such things as cute charms and plushies. Putting it bluntly, he loves cute and fluffy things! (Such things as fur coats and his teddy-bear team-mate have all caught his attention at some point…)

Unfortunately, not only have his hobbies been dismissed as 'unmanly', but they've caused plenty of accusations about his sexuality. He's had reason to consider that he might be gay on his own, and acknowledges there's a part of him that's bothered regarding relationships with girls, but overall, he's a rather confused young man as to where his actual attractions lie (particularly given that he fell for a cross-dressing team-mate without knowing her true gender…)
In the end, though, he's been known to state that his problems aren't about the gender of who he's attracted to - but whether he knows that they won't reject him in the same way as he's often felt rejected by society. And for all he's struggled with the idea of what being a 'real man' means, he's come to accept it as meaning putting his all into everything he does... a trait that he's proud to have.

Samples;
Network Sample;

Yo. Hey, guys.
Just letting everyone know, I finished that first bunch of dolls you were all after. Took ages, but they're looking good. So damn cute you're gonna have to hold onto your teeth. Lemme upload a picture for you all - okay…

[The image is of a row of rather adorable looking creatures sitting on a bed.]

Been trying something a bit different with 'em. Freaking fuzzy wool's a pain in the ass to work with, though. I've got bits of fluff coming outta my ears. Stuff's kind of expensive, too. So if anyone else wants something doing in it, you're gonna have to pay extra, okay?
Looks good, though, right?

Come and pick them up any time - if I'm not at home, I'm going to be at the usual place.

Right. Second thing. I'm still thinking about the whole thing with setting up a business. Could really use a bit of extra cash, I'm not gonna lie. But you guys know I'm not good with all the numbers and that shit, right? I'm really gonna need a bit of help working that all out. So does anyone mind coming over and having a look at this stuff for me? I think I'm just going to stick with the basic stuff for now, but if anyone's got any ideas for the kinds of things that'd sell, yeah, I'd like to hear them too.

Alright, that's it for now. I'm out.

Log Sample; Test drive meme: http://assguardians.dreamwidth.org/38095.html?thread=16409807#cmt16409807