// character info // sp application
Character Information
General
Canon Source: Tiger & Bunny
Canon Format: Anime series (26 episodes, currently at 21)
Character's Name: Kotetsu T. Kaburagi (a.k.a Wild Tiger)
Character's Age: 39 years old.
What form will your character's NV take? The Heroes in the anime already canonly wear PDA wristbands on which they can make voice and video calls. Kotetsu wears his on his right wrist (here). Video feeds appear as a hologram above the PDA, and the words 'CALL' light up on it in blue when a call is being received or made. For text posts a similar hologram to the video call will come up with keyboard keys that can be interacted with, similar to the pop-up keyboard on an iPad or iPhone.
Abilities
Character's Canon Abilities: Kotetsu's ability is known as the 'Hundred Power' in his world; his strength, power and agility increase hundredfold (his muscles are shown to expand slightly during this time) for the duration of five minutes, with a limit of five minutes per hour. This power can also be used to intensify certain senses (such as hearing) or help his body recover in a short period of time. Whilst activating this power his irises and body give off a blueish glow, but this is just a visual effect.
Weapons: The watch on his left wrist has a built-in high-tension cord or line that can be shot out to about ten metres, with a strong suction cup on the end that can carry his weight, in the style of Batman's grapnel gun-- in the show he uses this to swing from buildings, etc.
History/Personality/Plans/etc.
Character History:
Kotetsu has lived in the United States of America for most of his life. The Kaburagi family emigrated to the country when he was very young and settled in Oriental Town, a rural town on the east coast mainly populated by Japanese immigrants. There he grew up with his mother and older brother, Muramasa, and attended school outside Oriental Town.
At the age of 10 (year: NC 1948) he became a NEXT (Notable Entity with EXtraordinary Talent)-- meaning that he developed superhuman powers due to a sudden mutation, a condition that had been discovered and named only a decade prior. Even in the modern day there is no explanation for why people become NEXTs and develop powers. Just like many new NEXTs, Kotetsu could not control his powers of super-strength immediately. He tried to hide them at first but was soon discovered: his mother had trouble dealing with a super-strong child, and Kotetsu was told to stay far away from other people when they activated in case he harmed others. There was tremendous prejudice and hatred towards NEXTs at that time, and he had nobody else to go to for help with his powers.
It was at this time that he was caught up during a bank robbery when visiting Sternbild. The city's first famous NEXT branded as a superhero (a 'Hero'), Mr. Legend, came to the scene to save the trapped civilians and stop the robbers. In desperation one of the robbers grabbed the young Kotetsu to use him as a hostage, but he panicked, his powers activated spontaneously and he managed to throw the robber off and knock him out. Mr. Legend talked to Kotetsu and convinced him that his NEXT powers were meant for good, and that he, too, could be a fighter for justice. From then on Kotetsu was inspired to become a Hero for Sternbild City with Mr. Legend as his idol.
Throughout his teenage years he continued to pursue his dreams of becoming a Hero, although he wasn't very outspoken about his plans, and still had to fight to defend himself against others who victimised him for being a NEXT. The first person to find out was his classmate, Tomoe, when he was in high school. She talked to him often about NEXTs and Heroes since she was a huge fan of Hero culture, and even tried to help him come up with cool-sounding Hero names (since his ideas were... particularly lame).
Antonio Lopez, one of his fellow students, heard of his reputation of never having lost a fight and called him out repeatedly, although he never rose to it. Believing Tomoe to be Kotetsu's girlfriend, one of Antonio's punks kidnapped her to use her as bait to lure Kotetsu out into a fight. Antonio proudly possessed a NEXT power of physical invincibility. The two fought, Antonio throwing around his superpower and unaware that Tomoe was used as bait, but it wasn't until the warehouse the punks had left Tomoe in burst into flames that Kotetsu activated his power and ran in to save her. After she was safely rescued, Kotetsu explained that he chose to only use his powers for good, thus helping to inspire Antonio in turn. The two became close friends and rivals, both aiming to become Heroes.
Tomoe gave Kotetsu his Hero name 'Wild Tiger', based off the Chinese character for 'tiger' in his first name and the fact that tigers fight alone. She and Kotetsu started dating soon after, and were married in their early twenties. Kotetsu continued to strive for employment as a Hero in Sternbild City-- the Hero culture created by the business entrepeneur Albert Maverick had evolved into a scene merging the bringing of criminals to justice, saving civilians from disaster, the flamboyant use of superpowers, corporate advertising and reality television, all on a television station 'Hero TV'. Thus, to become a Hero, it is necessary to be employed by a company affiliated with Heroes, who will then fund and provide Hero costumes and equipment (complete with logos and sponor names), merchandising and publicity shows, the concealment of personal identity and, of course, paying a Hero's paycheck. Antonio became a Hero some time before Kotetsu, under the name 'Rock Bison', of Kronos Foods.
Kotetsu finally made his debut on Sternbild's Hero scene as 'Wild Tiger' at the age of 29, sponsored by the company TopMag. His tendency to cause wild amounts of damage to public property and go to any lengths to save people and apprehend criminals earned him the title of 'Crusher for Justice'. One year later, Tomoe gave birth to their daughter, Kaede. But as crimes and disasters could befall Sternbild at any time, Kotetsu had to remain on constant hold for any call to help the city, and as such rarely had time to spend with his family, although he did the best he could to support them personally and financially. Soon Tomoe began to develop an illness which became more serious as time passed on, leading Kotetsu to be more and more reluctant to continue working as a Hero when she was so weak. However, she asked him to pursue his dream of protecting people, and made him promise to continue being a Hero. In 1972, she passed away in hospital while Kotetsu was saving civilians from a collapsing building: he was too late to be there in her final moments.
Unable to balance his full-time job and raising Kaede alone, he entrusted her to his mother back in Oriental Town while he lived and worked in the centre of Sternbild. While she knows that he is a NEXT, she does not know that her father is a Hero (most Heroes' identities are not public knowledge; they usually wear masks or wigs as Heroes), and thus resents him deeply for never being there for her or taking time off work, although he makes video calls nearly every day and tries to see her when she is in town. Through Hero TV Kotetsu came to know his co-workers a little better, making friends with Nathan Seymour ('Fire Emblem' of Helios Energy) and his boss at TopMag, Ben Jackson, along the way.
In NC 1978 (the present day) Wild Tiger's popularity is dwindling. He was known as the 'Veteran Hero', having been on-scene for ten years and (unlike Rock Bison) steadily declining in popularity and criminal-catching rate. Rather, he was best known for destroying property whilst saving people and earning himself massive damage fines. During one criminal-catching mission he is even saved from plunging into solid ice after his power burns out by another unknown and unbranded Hero, who catches him before he lands, which rounds off his bad image.
Sponsor and company success is often affected by their Heroes' success, and the company sponsoring Wild Tiger was bought out as he plunged to the bottom of Hero TV's points chart, leaving Kotetsu with a shady arrangement to meet the boss of the new company, Apollon Media. His new boss, Lloyds, arranges for him to have a new, technologically-advanced mechanic suit to enhance his powers (as opposed to the old spandex suit he wore under TopMag), and for him to pair up with another rookie Hero with the same NEXT power as him, to market them as a pair. This new partner is Barnaby Brooks Jr., who does not conceal his identity and is very popular with Hero TV fans for his charming air and young good looks. He and Kotetsu are almost polar opposites, and do not get on at all at first-- Kotetsu gets so aggravated by Barnaby's nimble leaping about and heavy reliance on strategy and planning that he mocks him and nicknames him 'Bunny', a nickname that sticks with him for the rest of their time together. Similarly, Barnaby holds little regard for Kotetsu and calls him 'old man'.
Over the next few months up until the present point they are made to work together and with the other Heroes to protect the city and steadily become closer as a team. Kotetsu learns about Barnaby's troubled past, the murder of his parents, and promises to help Barnaby find out about their murderer and apprehend him-- at the same time, Kaede becomes Barnaby's fan and treats her father with more and more disdain, much to Kotetsu's dismay.
Point in Canon: Post-episode 13, in the ten-month timeskip between this arc (episode 11-13) and the next part of the series (episode 14-onwards).
Previously the entire city of Sternbild, built on three vertical levels supported by pillars and an island connected to the mainland by a highway, had been taken hostage by two particular members of the criminal organisation, Ouroboros. The one leading the operation, Jake Martinez, also has superpowers and made a game of holding the city hostage. He randomly picked out the city's Heroes one by one to fight them individually over the course of two days, with the bet that if any one Hero defeated him, the organisation would withdraw and leave the city intact, but if too much time passed and he defeated them all, the pillars supporting the city would be destroyed and Sternbild would be crushed.
Kotetsu had earlier had a lapse in judgement with his fighting partner, Barnaby, which resulted in an argument and Barnaby's resentment; so when the two of them were drawn together for a battle, Barnaby refused to participate at the same time. Kotetsu was mercilessly beaten by Jake (with his powers drained, so the damage sustained was much greater). Later, he devised a plan to defeat Jake by using a bomb; he used his Hundred Power to temporarily recover from his injuries, left hospital to come to Barnaby's aid during his battle, and convinced him to use the bomb. Jake died in the resulting events and his partner in Ouroboros barely survived. Meanwhile, the other Heroes had defeated the machines used by Ouroboros to destroy the city's pillars, so the city was saved, and Kotetsu and Barnaby's bonds renewed. The point I'm bringing Kotetsu in from is four months after this battle, so he would have just about recovered from his internal injuries, and the city and his relations with Barnaby are stable again.
Character Personality:
Workmates call him goofy, rude and irresponsible; his daughter calls him uncool; and, mostly, they're right. Kotetsu lives a little too comfortably in his own skin. For a Hero who regularly appears in interviews and on television, he's not great at masking his own opinions and feelings, and being made to do so is more likely to make him disgruntled than to act his age and go along with it. He wears his heart on his sleeve-- but mostly on his face and in his actions. Since his feelings are out in the open he is easy to rile up in the most trivial of situations, whether getting into a heated argument with a child over trading cards or being spurred on in his joy at a stupid idea. He rarely tries to conceal his own silly mannerisms in order to maintain a cooler appearance, and so comes across as a lot rougher and less intelligent than he actually is (although he can be somewhat slow at grasping new concepts and often forgets words mid-sentence), with his mouth talking faster than his brain can think at times. The exaggerated gestures and faces he makes to express himself seem theatrical compared to most people, both when he's jesting and honestly just making a point.
That isn't to say he can't be serious-- he just occasionally lacks tact and can't read people too well, despite being quite emotionally sensitive himself. He carries a lot of loss, guilt and grief within him from his wife's death, and from his lack of communication from his daughter: a burden he doesn't share with anybody (even when sympathising with others or explaining his circumstances, he never reveals his true feelings about those matters). It isn't obvious from the way he behaves so carefree (or careless, what with his lack of self-awareness, to the point of being plain lazy) normally and his cheesy sense of humour; while his way of glossing over any worries he has is to act as goofy as usual, his close friends can tell when he's making an effort.
Although he is mostly laid-back, there are certain things that annoy him at surface level-- things that disrupt his good moods, or people who refuse to get along with others. Being somewhat impatient (and habitually having to make decisions quickly due to the five-minute limit on his power), he relies heavily on gut instincts and rash decisions with no regrets, so being faced with people who bide their time and strategise when under pressure makes him antsy to the point of snapping and yelling at them. Without a specific repeated annoyance, though, he feels he doesn't have the energy to hold grudges or spite people, unless their actions harm others. Instead he tends to get involved in other peoples' lives whether they want it or not, fussing over how well a coworker is eating, or trying to cheer up somebody who seems down. On the flipside, he acts overly apologetic and worries over people to whom he has obligations but cannot attend to in person. Also, if there is a common point where he can sympathise with another person, he will do so, but he's no good at understanding how other people feel without that shared trait.
His rash, tactless behaviour only serve to make him lose any semblance of seriousness and capability in comparison to other people his age, especially to the other Heroes. Jokes at his expense, quips on his age or his sense of style-- unless he's the one joking about himself, he balks and argues over such claims, but doesn't keep lasting grudges over them. At heart, Kotetsu thinks of himself as a good guy, even if he isn't as striking, charming or popular as other superheroes enforcing justice beside him. He realises that people can only be kind of others show kindness to them, and ultimately wants to protect as many people as possible whilst maintaining a somewhat childlike, innocent view of 'justice'.
Conditional: Personality development in previous game:
Character Plans: He's all about saving people even when not on duty, so any kind of work where he could help civilians (police, Greeters, security?) would be good for him! Likely he'll still be geared up in sponsorship mode so there's a chance of him affiliating with one of the factions. The ambiguous justice systems of the city are not too different from his own, so he'll fit right in. Also, another Hero from Sternbild will be apping in this round, and the mun and I are planning on having these two start up a kind of freelance Heroes' agency where the heroes can be hired out for help. Or as an extra pair of hands.
Appearance/PB: Image here. For range of facial expressions please see icons.
Writing Samples
First Person Sample
[ When the video feed switches on he is already talking fluidly, nearly sat back into a chair that he keeps leaning forward from to gesture with his words. It's almost as if he had been talking for a while, or there was a delay in his NV, before starting recording at all. The only other thing that might seem strange is the green-and-black eyemask he wears with his casual clothes. ]
--thing is, when I first landed, it could’ve easily passed off as some backstreets in Sternbild! Apart from all the dark, I mean! And the baseball ground is much bigger. And… there aren’t any monorails, or the Poseidon airships. Or TV screens on the buildings.
[ His face falls a little, then he tuts and quirks his mouth as though admitting a secret against his will. Well, that's almost it-- the city feels like it's watching him. ]
To be honest with you... this ain’t like Sternbild in looks, but there’s something about the place that feels special, you know, that real sense of opportunity. Like there’s some hidden potential, the Ameri… er, Sternbildist Dream lurking about. I mean, waiting to be discovered. By me, I guess! Since I’m so new here, everyone else's probably discovered it, whatever it is, hahaha… Ah.
[ He buries a hand in the spikes of his hair again, mussing it with a sense of discomfort and a mutter that’s not as subtle as he thinks it is. ]
Might jus’ be the Afterglow districts, come to think of it. They need a clean. Not like I can talk. Either way, there's a resemblance. I can feel it. But at the same time, it's totally different, and I can't access my bank account from here, plus Bison owes me twenty bucks still... [ Sighing, he slumps-- then kicks back again and grins widely, all confidence, mimicking a beast's claw with his hand. Or maybe just a beckoning cat. ]
But don't be fooled! Watch out, city! Wild Tiger's on the loose!
[ He stays completely still for a moment, increasingly awkwardly with his claw-hand, then tries to talk out of the corner of his mouth with the grin--] ... Eh? It's not switching off? Ahh, hang on! [ The last shot before the feed ends is him poking the buttons with his grimace and a claw-finger. ]
Third Person Sample
For the first time in a stiflingly hot minute, the subway carriage lurched suddenly, sending a splash of coffee from his travel-cup onto the front of his pale waistcoat. Kotetsu only let slip a 'whoa!' as he staggered in the swaying carriage, his wrist pulling on the overhead handle to keep him steady; but as the realisation of why there was a hot patch on his chest sank in (along with the muddy brown into the white linen), it turned to a louder shout, earning him the glares of all the commuters crowded near him.
"Ah, s- sorry, sorry about that..." he babbled out just as quickly as he'd shouted, giving half-bobs of his head in apology and barely stopping himself from waving his hand as well when he realised it still held the cursed coffee-cup in it, streams of warm drink running down to his wrist. Soon his apologising petered out to a low, frowning grumble no more subtle than his initial yell had been. Why were subway trains always made to jolt no matter what world he was in? No matter how far he travelled, if he was in a city, this seemed bound to happen-- ignoring the constant sense of inevitable despair the moment he stepped onto moving transport whilst carrying a drink, of course. Stubbornly disregarding the fact it was always bound to happen (he liked his coffee as much as he liked sleeping in, but much more than he liked having to run to get to work on time), he frowned down at the stain on his waistcoat as though a really resentful glare could substitute for detergent. His lip jutted out until he was pouting, and he sighed in defeat, shoulders slacking and fingers loosening on the subway handle.
"It's the last one I've got here, too..." More fiery looks were shot his way, but Kotetsu hung his head and sighed even more heavily until the general atmosphere seemed more concerned about his deflating than annoyed by his constant talk. The train crawled to a rickety stop and the doors opened with a final unexpected jolt, too sudden for him to get any more than a handful of air in his grasp rather than the handle, an unreserved ‘gah!’ and a sideways stagger as the coffee-cup left his hand entirely, folded-up newspaper wedged under his arm following suit.
The train devoid of other passengers, he crouched transfixed, watching the puddle of coffee spread over the (already scummy) floor of the carriage, face stuck into a miserable mask of bereavement. A loud beeping rang from the doors, signalling that they were going to slam mercilessly shut in a few seconds: Kotetsu jumped at the noise, sweating, seized the newspaper soggy at the edges, turned, and bolted from the carriage just in time for the doors to shut on a wet page of the newspaper and tear away the crossword he had completed.
Pressing a coffee-slicked hand onto his cap in the thick gust that followed the train's departure, he stood precariously on the edge of the platform, watching it leave with the puzzle page wedged in the door, flapping limply in the distance. He tutted as the lights from the carriage disappeared into the darkness of the tunnel, stupid train, and pouted at the dirty, damp newspaper that was now seeping ink into his waistcoat.
"You've seen some adventure already, huh. And it's only Tuesday morning." he muttered against his collar, undoing the buttons of the waistcoat: with a roll of his shoulders he slipped it off, slung it over his shoulder, and entertained a resigned smile on his mouth. Maybe he could admit; wearing white, it probably was inevitable that something like this could happen. Probably.
... The smile fell back into a grimace. Like hell it was inevitable! He'd gone so long avoiding stains that this was a pathetic defeat. He puffed his cheek irritably and set off towards the subway exit, letting out an exasperated sound.
"I ain't gonna spend my paycheck on dry-cleaning!"
General
Canon Source: Tiger & Bunny
Canon Format: Anime series (26 episodes, currently at 21)
Character's Name: Kotetsu T. Kaburagi (a.k.a Wild Tiger)
Character's Age: 39 years old.
What form will your character's NV take? The Heroes in the anime already canonly wear PDA wristbands on which they can make voice and video calls. Kotetsu wears his on his right wrist (here). Video feeds appear as a hologram above the PDA, and the words 'CALL' light up on it in blue when a call is being received or made. For text posts a similar hologram to the video call will come up with keyboard keys that can be interacted with, similar to the pop-up keyboard on an iPad or iPhone.
Abilities
Character's Canon Abilities: Kotetsu's ability is known as the 'Hundred Power' in his world; his strength, power and agility increase hundredfold (his muscles are shown to expand slightly during this time) for the duration of five minutes, with a limit of five minutes per hour. This power can also be used to intensify certain senses (such as hearing) or help his body recover in a short period of time. Whilst activating this power his irises and body give off a blueish glow, but this is just a visual effect.
Weapons: The watch on his left wrist has a built-in high-tension cord or line that can be shot out to about ten metres, with a strong suction cup on the end that can carry his weight, in the style of Batman's grapnel gun-- in the show he uses this to swing from buildings, etc.
History/Personality/Plans/etc.
Character History:
Kotetsu has lived in the United States of America for most of his life. The Kaburagi family emigrated to the country when he was very young and settled in Oriental Town, a rural town on the east coast mainly populated by Japanese immigrants. There he grew up with his mother and older brother, Muramasa, and attended school outside Oriental Town.
At the age of 10 (year: NC 1948) he became a NEXT (Notable Entity with EXtraordinary Talent)-- meaning that he developed superhuman powers due to a sudden mutation, a condition that had been discovered and named only a decade prior. Even in the modern day there is no explanation for why people become NEXTs and develop powers. Just like many new NEXTs, Kotetsu could not control his powers of super-strength immediately. He tried to hide them at first but was soon discovered: his mother had trouble dealing with a super-strong child, and Kotetsu was told to stay far away from other people when they activated in case he harmed others. There was tremendous prejudice and hatred towards NEXTs at that time, and he had nobody else to go to for help with his powers.
It was at this time that he was caught up during a bank robbery when visiting Sternbild. The city's first famous NEXT branded as a superhero (a 'Hero'), Mr. Legend, came to the scene to save the trapped civilians and stop the robbers. In desperation one of the robbers grabbed the young Kotetsu to use him as a hostage, but he panicked, his powers activated spontaneously and he managed to throw the robber off and knock him out. Mr. Legend talked to Kotetsu and convinced him that his NEXT powers were meant for good, and that he, too, could be a fighter for justice. From then on Kotetsu was inspired to become a Hero for Sternbild City with Mr. Legend as his idol.
Throughout his teenage years he continued to pursue his dreams of becoming a Hero, although he wasn't very outspoken about his plans, and still had to fight to defend himself against others who victimised him for being a NEXT. The first person to find out was his classmate, Tomoe, when he was in high school. She talked to him often about NEXTs and Heroes since she was a huge fan of Hero culture, and even tried to help him come up with cool-sounding Hero names (since his ideas were... particularly lame).
Antonio Lopez, one of his fellow students, heard of his reputation of never having lost a fight and called him out repeatedly, although he never rose to it. Believing Tomoe to be Kotetsu's girlfriend, one of Antonio's punks kidnapped her to use her as bait to lure Kotetsu out into a fight. Antonio proudly possessed a NEXT power of physical invincibility. The two fought, Antonio throwing around his superpower and unaware that Tomoe was used as bait, but it wasn't until the warehouse the punks had left Tomoe in burst into flames that Kotetsu activated his power and ran in to save her. After she was safely rescued, Kotetsu explained that he chose to only use his powers for good, thus helping to inspire Antonio in turn. The two became close friends and rivals, both aiming to become Heroes.
Tomoe gave Kotetsu his Hero name 'Wild Tiger', based off the Chinese character for 'tiger' in his first name and the fact that tigers fight alone. She and Kotetsu started dating soon after, and were married in their early twenties. Kotetsu continued to strive for employment as a Hero in Sternbild City-- the Hero culture created by the business entrepeneur Albert Maverick had evolved into a scene merging the bringing of criminals to justice, saving civilians from disaster, the flamboyant use of superpowers, corporate advertising and reality television, all on a television station 'Hero TV'. Thus, to become a Hero, it is necessary to be employed by a company affiliated with Heroes, who will then fund and provide Hero costumes and equipment (complete with logos and sponor names), merchandising and publicity shows, the concealment of personal identity and, of course, paying a Hero's paycheck. Antonio became a Hero some time before Kotetsu, under the name 'Rock Bison', of Kronos Foods.
Kotetsu finally made his debut on Sternbild's Hero scene as 'Wild Tiger' at the age of 29, sponsored by the company TopMag. His tendency to cause wild amounts of damage to public property and go to any lengths to save people and apprehend criminals earned him the title of 'Crusher for Justice'. One year later, Tomoe gave birth to their daughter, Kaede. But as crimes and disasters could befall Sternbild at any time, Kotetsu had to remain on constant hold for any call to help the city, and as such rarely had time to spend with his family, although he did the best he could to support them personally and financially. Soon Tomoe began to develop an illness which became more serious as time passed on, leading Kotetsu to be more and more reluctant to continue working as a Hero when she was so weak. However, she asked him to pursue his dream of protecting people, and made him promise to continue being a Hero. In 1972, she passed away in hospital while Kotetsu was saving civilians from a collapsing building: he was too late to be there in her final moments.
Unable to balance his full-time job and raising Kaede alone, he entrusted her to his mother back in Oriental Town while he lived and worked in the centre of Sternbild. While she knows that he is a NEXT, she does not know that her father is a Hero (most Heroes' identities are not public knowledge; they usually wear masks or wigs as Heroes), and thus resents him deeply for never being there for her or taking time off work, although he makes video calls nearly every day and tries to see her when she is in town. Through Hero TV Kotetsu came to know his co-workers a little better, making friends with Nathan Seymour ('Fire Emblem' of Helios Energy) and his boss at TopMag, Ben Jackson, along the way.
In NC 1978 (the present day) Wild Tiger's popularity is dwindling. He was known as the 'Veteran Hero', having been on-scene for ten years and (unlike Rock Bison) steadily declining in popularity and criminal-catching rate. Rather, he was best known for destroying property whilst saving people and earning himself massive damage fines. During one criminal-catching mission he is even saved from plunging into solid ice after his power burns out by another unknown and unbranded Hero, who catches him before he lands, which rounds off his bad image.
Sponsor and company success is often affected by their Heroes' success, and the company sponsoring Wild Tiger was bought out as he plunged to the bottom of Hero TV's points chart, leaving Kotetsu with a shady arrangement to meet the boss of the new company, Apollon Media. His new boss, Lloyds, arranges for him to have a new, technologically-advanced mechanic suit to enhance his powers (as opposed to the old spandex suit he wore under TopMag), and for him to pair up with another rookie Hero with the same NEXT power as him, to market them as a pair. This new partner is Barnaby Brooks Jr., who does not conceal his identity and is very popular with Hero TV fans for his charming air and young good looks. He and Kotetsu are almost polar opposites, and do not get on at all at first-- Kotetsu gets so aggravated by Barnaby's nimble leaping about and heavy reliance on strategy and planning that he mocks him and nicknames him 'Bunny', a nickname that sticks with him for the rest of their time together. Similarly, Barnaby holds little regard for Kotetsu and calls him 'old man'.
Over the next few months up until the present point they are made to work together and with the other Heroes to protect the city and steadily become closer as a team. Kotetsu learns about Barnaby's troubled past, the murder of his parents, and promises to help Barnaby find out about their murderer and apprehend him-- at the same time, Kaede becomes Barnaby's fan and treats her father with more and more disdain, much to Kotetsu's dismay.
Point in Canon: Post-episode 13, in the ten-month timeskip between this arc (episode 11-13) and the next part of the series (episode 14-onwards).
Previously the entire city of Sternbild, built on three vertical levels supported by pillars and an island connected to the mainland by a highway, had been taken hostage by two particular members of the criminal organisation, Ouroboros. The one leading the operation, Jake Martinez, also has superpowers and made a game of holding the city hostage. He randomly picked out the city's Heroes one by one to fight them individually over the course of two days, with the bet that if any one Hero defeated him, the organisation would withdraw and leave the city intact, but if too much time passed and he defeated them all, the pillars supporting the city would be destroyed and Sternbild would be crushed.
Kotetsu had earlier had a lapse in judgement with his fighting partner, Barnaby, which resulted in an argument and Barnaby's resentment; so when the two of them were drawn together for a battle, Barnaby refused to participate at the same time. Kotetsu was mercilessly beaten by Jake (with his powers drained, so the damage sustained was much greater). Later, he devised a plan to defeat Jake by using a bomb; he used his Hundred Power to temporarily recover from his injuries, left hospital to come to Barnaby's aid during his battle, and convinced him to use the bomb. Jake died in the resulting events and his partner in Ouroboros barely survived. Meanwhile, the other Heroes had defeated the machines used by Ouroboros to destroy the city's pillars, so the city was saved, and Kotetsu and Barnaby's bonds renewed. The point I'm bringing Kotetsu in from is four months after this battle, so he would have just about recovered from his internal injuries, and the city and his relations with Barnaby are stable again.
Character Personality:
Workmates call him goofy, rude and irresponsible; his daughter calls him uncool; and, mostly, they're right. Kotetsu lives a little too comfortably in his own skin. For a Hero who regularly appears in interviews and on television, he's not great at masking his own opinions and feelings, and being made to do so is more likely to make him disgruntled than to act his age and go along with it. He wears his heart on his sleeve-- but mostly on his face and in his actions. Since his feelings are out in the open he is easy to rile up in the most trivial of situations, whether getting into a heated argument with a child over trading cards or being spurred on in his joy at a stupid idea. He rarely tries to conceal his own silly mannerisms in order to maintain a cooler appearance, and so comes across as a lot rougher and less intelligent than he actually is (although he can be somewhat slow at grasping new concepts and often forgets words mid-sentence), with his mouth talking faster than his brain can think at times. The exaggerated gestures and faces he makes to express himself seem theatrical compared to most people, both when he's jesting and honestly just making a point.
That isn't to say he can't be serious-- he just occasionally lacks tact and can't read people too well, despite being quite emotionally sensitive himself. He carries a lot of loss, guilt and grief within him from his wife's death, and from his lack of communication from his daughter: a burden he doesn't share with anybody (even when sympathising with others or explaining his circumstances, he never reveals his true feelings about those matters). It isn't obvious from the way he behaves so carefree (or careless, what with his lack of self-awareness, to the point of being plain lazy) normally and his cheesy sense of humour; while his way of glossing over any worries he has is to act as goofy as usual, his close friends can tell when he's making an effort.
Although he is mostly laid-back, there are certain things that annoy him at surface level-- things that disrupt his good moods, or people who refuse to get along with others. Being somewhat impatient (and habitually having to make decisions quickly due to the five-minute limit on his power), he relies heavily on gut instincts and rash decisions with no regrets, so being faced with people who bide their time and strategise when under pressure makes him antsy to the point of snapping and yelling at them. Without a specific repeated annoyance, though, he feels he doesn't have the energy to hold grudges or spite people, unless their actions harm others. Instead he tends to get involved in other peoples' lives whether they want it or not, fussing over how well a coworker is eating, or trying to cheer up somebody who seems down. On the flipside, he acts overly apologetic and worries over people to whom he has obligations but cannot attend to in person. Also, if there is a common point where he can sympathise with another person, he will do so, but he's no good at understanding how other people feel without that shared trait.
His rash, tactless behaviour only serve to make him lose any semblance of seriousness and capability in comparison to other people his age, especially to the other Heroes. Jokes at his expense, quips on his age or his sense of style-- unless he's the one joking about himself, he balks and argues over such claims, but doesn't keep lasting grudges over them. At heart, Kotetsu thinks of himself as a good guy, even if he isn't as striking, charming or popular as other superheroes enforcing justice beside him. He realises that people can only be kind of others show kindness to them, and ultimately wants to protect as many people as possible whilst maintaining a somewhat childlike, innocent view of 'justice'.
Conditional: Personality development in previous game:
Character Plans: He's all about saving people even when not on duty, so any kind of work where he could help civilians (police, Greeters, security?) would be good for him! Likely he'll still be geared up in sponsorship mode so there's a chance of him affiliating with one of the factions. The ambiguous justice systems of the city are not too different from his own, so he'll fit right in. Also, another Hero from Sternbild will be apping in this round, and the mun and I are planning on having these two start up a kind of freelance Heroes' agency where the heroes can be hired out for help. Or as an extra pair of hands.
Appearance/PB: Image here. For range of facial expressions please see icons.
Writing Samples
First Person Sample
[ When the video feed switches on he is already talking fluidly, nearly sat back into a chair that he keeps leaning forward from to gesture with his words. It's almost as if he had been talking for a while, or there was a delay in his NV, before starting recording at all. The only other thing that might seem strange is the green-and-black eyemask he wears with his casual clothes. ]
--thing is, when I first landed, it could’ve easily passed off as some backstreets in Sternbild! Apart from all the dark, I mean! And the baseball ground is much bigger. And… there aren’t any monorails, or the Poseidon airships. Or TV screens on the buildings.
[ His face falls a little, then he tuts and quirks his mouth as though admitting a secret against his will. Well, that's almost it-- the city feels like it's watching him. ]
To be honest with you... this ain’t like Sternbild in looks, but there’s something about the place that feels special, you know, that real sense of opportunity. Like there’s some hidden potential, the Ameri… er, Sternbildist Dream lurking about. I mean, waiting to be discovered. By me, I guess! Since I’m so new here, everyone else's probably discovered it, whatever it is, hahaha… Ah.
[ He buries a hand in the spikes of his hair again, mussing it with a sense of discomfort and a mutter that’s not as subtle as he thinks it is. ]
Might jus’ be the Afterglow districts, come to think of it. They need a clean. Not like I can talk. Either way, there's a resemblance. I can feel it. But at the same time, it's totally different, and I can't access my bank account from here, plus Bison owes me twenty bucks still... [ Sighing, he slumps-- then kicks back again and grins widely, all confidence, mimicking a beast's claw with his hand. Or maybe just a beckoning cat. ]
But don't be fooled! Watch out, city! Wild Tiger's on the loose!
[ He stays completely still for a moment, increasingly awkwardly with his claw-hand, then tries to talk out of the corner of his mouth with the grin--] ... Eh? It's not switching off? Ahh, hang on! [ The last shot before the feed ends is him poking the buttons with his grimace and a claw-finger. ]
Third Person Sample
For the first time in a stiflingly hot minute, the subway carriage lurched suddenly, sending a splash of coffee from his travel-cup onto the front of his pale waistcoat. Kotetsu only let slip a 'whoa!' as he staggered in the swaying carriage, his wrist pulling on the overhead handle to keep him steady; but as the realisation of why there was a hot patch on his chest sank in (along with the muddy brown into the white linen), it turned to a louder shout, earning him the glares of all the commuters crowded near him.
"Ah, s- sorry, sorry about that..." he babbled out just as quickly as he'd shouted, giving half-bobs of his head in apology and barely stopping himself from waving his hand as well when he realised it still held the cursed coffee-cup in it, streams of warm drink running down to his wrist. Soon his apologising petered out to a low, frowning grumble no more subtle than his initial yell had been. Why were subway trains always made to jolt no matter what world he was in? No matter how far he travelled, if he was in a city, this seemed bound to happen-- ignoring the constant sense of inevitable despair the moment he stepped onto moving transport whilst carrying a drink, of course. Stubbornly disregarding the fact it was always bound to happen (he liked his coffee as much as he liked sleeping in, but much more than he liked having to run to get to work on time), he frowned down at the stain on his waistcoat as though a really resentful glare could substitute for detergent. His lip jutted out until he was pouting, and he sighed in defeat, shoulders slacking and fingers loosening on the subway handle.
"It's the last one I've got here, too..." More fiery looks were shot his way, but Kotetsu hung his head and sighed even more heavily until the general atmosphere seemed more concerned about his deflating than annoyed by his constant talk. The train crawled to a rickety stop and the doors opened with a final unexpected jolt, too sudden for him to get any more than a handful of air in his grasp rather than the handle, an unreserved ‘gah!’ and a sideways stagger as the coffee-cup left his hand entirely, folded-up newspaper wedged under his arm following suit.
The train devoid of other passengers, he crouched transfixed, watching the puddle of coffee spread over the (already scummy) floor of the carriage, face stuck into a miserable mask of bereavement. A loud beeping rang from the doors, signalling that they were going to slam mercilessly shut in a few seconds: Kotetsu jumped at the noise, sweating, seized the newspaper soggy at the edges, turned, and bolted from the carriage just in time for the doors to shut on a wet page of the newspaper and tear away the crossword he had completed.
Pressing a coffee-slicked hand onto his cap in the thick gust that followed the train's departure, he stood precariously on the edge of the platform, watching it leave with the puzzle page wedged in the door, flapping limply in the distance. He tutted as the lights from the carriage disappeared into the darkness of the tunnel, stupid train, and pouted at the dirty, damp newspaper that was now seeping ink into his waistcoat.
"You've seen some adventure already, huh. And it's only Tuesday morning." he muttered against his collar, undoing the buttons of the waistcoat: with a roll of his shoulders he slipped it off, slung it over his shoulder, and entertained a resigned smile on his mouth. Maybe he could admit; wearing white, it probably was inevitable that something like this could happen. Probably.
... The smile fell back into a grimace. Like hell it was inevitable! He'd gone so long avoiding stains that this was a pathetic defeat. He puffed his cheek irritably and set off towards the subway exit, letting out an exasperated sound.
"I ain't gonna spend my paycheck on dry-cleaning!"