Application: Izaya Orihara (Marina Asylum)
Player
Your Name: Aly
Your Email and/or IM Nicks: ohfourplan [at] gmail [dot] com / phantasm brigade (AIM)
Other Criminals Played: Yosuke Hanamura, Mitsuru Kirijo
Character
Character Name: Izaya Orihara
Fandom: Durarara!!
Timeline: Post Novel 4.
Crimes: Abiding and abetting, assault, bribery, burglary, conspiracy, criminal recklessness, cyber bullying, disorderly conduct, disturbing the peace, extortion, frame-up, fraud, identity theft, money laundering, possessing stolen property, reckless endangerment, weapons possession, willful non-compliance.
Personality:
In a few words, you could describe Izaya as conniving, manipulative, and essentially, the game master of Durarara!! From start to finish, he’s the type to manipulate others around him - he bends them to his will to get results that will ultimately keep him entertained and aid in achieving his own personal goals.
At first glance, though, you may never guess this of Izaya. In fact, you may even think he’s a nice guy. Not knowing much about him though, you could assume he’s something of an enigma. He speaks with a smile - sometimes jovial, sometimes darker. That's just how he carries himself. He's never too shy about the fact that he's not the most trustworthy guy; he doesn't advertise it, but he doesn't hide it either. He knows what he wants from life and the people around him, and he knows how to get what he wants. He never morphs his personality, per say, but he does carry himself in whatever way he sees fit for a situation. Be it something of a friendly nature, such as when he first meets Mikado and pushes him into “saving” Anri from the girls who were bullying her, to the darker, more informed attitude he carries when he first begins to deal with Namie in her quest to find Seiji, he displays a variety of attitudes. At least, he does so outwardly.
When he's amused, he laughs. His laugh his powerful, sometimes even bone-chilling and twisted. He slips in and out of places, often being completely unnoticed until he choose to make his presence known - usually with a jovial greeting or the offer of help or information... in exchange for more information. He can be fun and playful, though his idea of playful usually consists of teasing, sometimes in quite a vindictive manner.
For those who know him a little better, his intentions always seem a bit questionable; it's difficult to say whether or not this guy is on their side or against them, but he never seems to let up with a hint. It's his selfishness, his desire to please himself that drives that.
He claims to love people - all people, with the exception of Shizuo. He finds them interesting, and he enjoys watching a situation playing out just as he predicts. The wildcards seem to be the most interesting to him - discovering things such as the true natures of Mikado and Anri, for example. Shizuo, on the other hand, he considers nothing more than a constant thorn in his side - someone who gets in his way and simply annoys him to the point of wishing he’d just die.
Izaya is also something of a coward, something he isn’t eager to admit, but does when prompted. Though he likes to use his abilities as an informant to play his own game, rarely will he be seen faced with any conflict directly. He uses a combination of his flick blade and mastery in parkour to keep on his toes, usually avoiding face-to-face conflict. Even when it comes to Shizuo, who is abrasive and violent, Izaya will do his best to avoid attack (though this sometimes fails, evidenced in episode 3 when Shizuo blindsides him and hits him with a trash can) and run away given the first opportunity for Shizuo to be distracted.
His manipulation and desire to get Shizuo out of his hair isn’t limited to small things - he’s even gone as far as framing him for crimes and having him arrested. Of course, it didn’t last long, but was certainly enough to fuel their continuing rivalry.
But just what it Izaya after? The anime series doesn’t cover the extent of his goals, nor does it delve into his fears. The novels cover his biggest and perhaps most driving fear. It’s not death that scares him; it’s the afterlife, or lack thereof. He doesn’t believe that anything happens when you die, but the idea of an eternity filled with nothing is one that makes him uneasy.
He holds the belief that Celty, while being a Dullahan, is also a Valkyrie - a legend of Norse mythology that brings her chosen war victims to an afterlife in Valhalla. Whether or not he truly believes in this is unknown, but he seems to feel that if Celty’s separated head can be awoken by great conflict (which, by the way of Norse mythology would be Ragnarök), then when he dies, he can be brought to a true afterlife and rest there in some sort of peace.
That’s not to say he’s without any sense of humanity or remorse, however. In fact, it’s the opposite it certain circumstances, namely that of old friend Shinra Kishitani. He’s not quick to admit it, but he harbors a great deal of guilt over the fact that in middle school, Shinra got stabbed in an attempt to protect Izaya from a very displeased Nakura. He expresses it in a strange way though - taking the blame for it himself. He’d rather have people think he was the one who stabbed Shinra, rather than let anyone believe that Izaya himself is worth taking such a wound for. It’s severe enough, though, that Shinra merely mentioning “what happened in middle school” is enough to get Izaya to keep his mouth shut. It doesn’t stop there, however. He even expresses a vague reluctance in awaking Celty’s head, knowing full well that it could make Shinra’s life unhappy.
Of course, he harnessed that to his advantage in a strange way, with Nakura, at least. He “bought” Nakura’s name from him to use for his own purposes… such as goading teenage girls into suicide pacts just to prove the worthlessness of a single human life.
Needless to say, for a guy who was raised in a fairly normal family environment, Izaya Orihara is anything but.
Abilities: Izaya is a pretty average guy in terms of ability, save for his quick wit and his skill in parkour.. He's pretty skilled at using a switchblade in a fight when need be (because you have to be skilled to shave someone's head in one swift motion, seriously), though he generally does try to avoid physical confrontation. Granted, he's got good endurance, considering he can get smashed in the head with trashcans/street signs/vending machines and get up without much problem - but he's not impervious to injury, either.
Multifandom Test: Izaya would have something of a hilarious relationship with Karkat Vantas of Homestuck. While humans are Izaya's priority - he loves them, after all - he does take a decent interest in the non-human types. But Karkat's short temper and ridiculous outbursts would be able to keep him entertained, if for nothing more than the idea of "trolling the troll." Even though he's dealt with angry people before, if it's on his terms, Izaya would love to harness it for his own entertainment. He'd make up ridiculous nicknames for him, purposefully ask him questions about troll culture just to blow him off and tell Karkat he doesn't really care, and generally go out of his way to do and say things specifically to garner a reaction from him. He'd probably even go as far as to "anonymously" send gifts to Karkat just to see if he'd react.
Really, everything about dealing with Karkat would be nothing more than a game to Izaya. Fun and interesting, kind of shallow, but enough to actually be able to learn about the trolls - how they think, their similarities to humans... and of course, how all of this could be used to his advantage in the future.
Third person sample:
This definitely had the potential to be interesting. Izaya couldn't help but have that thought as he eyeballed his surroundings. Communicator in hand, rather than where it belonged, he tossed it in the air lightly, and then swiftly caught it as gravity brought it back down. A smirk appeared on his face - despite the annoyance of the situation, he was sure to find someone of interest nearby. And really? If they were that interesting, it would compensate for the inconvenience of being taken away from all of the things he knew.
That was the worst part about this, after all. There were no advantages; in fact, it was the exact opposite. He knew less about his current situation than the other people who were presumably here did. Izaya leaned down, eyebrow arching curiously at the basket before him. Most of its contents were useless to him, but the brochure at least had something he could use. Not enough though. He was definitely not happy with that aspect.
Something came over him though. A realization. A reprieve. This could be it - his opportunity. There were others, he was sure. Others who were like him. Some who belonged in a prison, many who didn't at all. This place, and Acumen may have duped him and been able to pull him away from his home, but this would be the first and last time something like that would happen. No... This facility was full of promise and opportunities. With the right words and the right acquaintances, so many interesting things were possible. New options and ideas, maybe even a way to achieve his goal without the methods he would have had to implement back in Tokyo.
A plan was forming in his head. Yes. He’d find out who was around; first anyone he knew, than anyone else of interest. Things would be quiet for a while anyway - the last thing he wanted to do was give anyone a reason to be explicitly suspicious of him. Unless, of course, someone amongst his acquaintances in Ikebukuro wanted to ruin that. In which case... he'd take care of it.
"Whatever it is, it'll be amazing. I can't wait to meet these people! All sorts of people! Criminals! The wrongly accused! AHAHAHAHA! Things are about to get so interesting." Izaya couldn't help it - he burst out into a fit of laughter. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.
First person sample:
[It's hours after most of the new arrivals have made themselves known before Izaya decides it's the appropriate time to make his presence known. Not that he expects anyone to know him, of course.]
My, my. Acumen-sama isn't much of a fair warden, is he? Really, I can't imagine just how he comes up with the criteria for these "crimes!" [A blatant lie, of course. He knows what a son of a bitch he is.] More so... shameful that those who deserve it don't appear to be here.
But I digress, I digress. This isn't what I wanted to talk about, after all! Not exactly, at least. I want to hear about my fellow inmates! Why you're here! If it was just! This situation is... curious. Unique. I'd really hate to go any longer without knowing these things. The basic information only gets me so far, of course. [He smiles into the camera. Really, doesn't he look fair an unassuming? He's just curious!]
Of course, you'll have my gratitude - we're all in the same situation now, after all. [To which he abruptly cuts the feed. Smiling darkly out of view, he can do that a whole lot.]