Character Survey!
Body and Appearance
1. Describe the character's height and build. Is he heavyset, thin, short, rangy?
Thin, definitely thin. I don't think he's given a definite height, but I imagine him as average height or slightly taller than it.
2. How old is he?
Unspecified, but I estimate around thirty.
3. Describe his posture. Does he carry himself well or does he slouch?
He slouches slightly, I think-this mainly came about after his scandal.
4. How is his health? Is he fit or out of shape? Any illnesses or conditions? Any physical disabilities?
Normally he's okay. Canon, he gets into a truck accident and then goes into a world of debilitating fog and ends up in the hospital for a while. Um.
5. How does he move? Is he clumsy, graceful, tense, fluid?
Awkward, especially as of late.
6. How attractive is this character physically? How does he perceive himself in the mirror?
He's...average. He's not ugly, but there isn't a huge amount to be said for his appearance overall. Namatame himself thinks he looks all right.
7. Describe his complexion. Dark, light, clear, scarred?
A little light, with a weird dot on his head? I don't know.
8. Describe his hair: color, texture, style.
Uh. Blocky. No seriously, I tried to doodle it and I swear I remember it being kind of squareish on top.
9. What color are his eyes?
Brown, I think.
10. Does the character have any other noteworthy features?
His character portraits have awkward expressions that are either exaggerated or just stare at you.
11. What are his chief tension centers?
…Eyes, forehead? If I'm understanding this right.
12. What is the character's wardrobe like? Casual, dressy, utilitarian? Bright colors, pastels, neutrals? Is it varied, or does he have six of the same suit?
He has two known outfits: the green deliveryman uniform and his normal work clothes, a white work shirt and black pants. That and the hospital thing, but that's not really wardrobe. I doubt either varies too much.
13. Do his clothes fit well? Does he seem comfortable in them?
Yes and more or less.
14. Does he dress the same on the job as he does in his free time? If not, what are the differences?
He might wear something different in off time, though he's never seen that way.
15. You knew it was coming: Boxers, briefs or commando?
Um. Let's say briefs.
Speech
1. What does this character's voice sound like? High-pitched, deep, hoarse?
Oh heck, I’m not a good judge of this at all. A little deep? It depends on what he's talking about-he has this vaguely hoarse edge to his voice whenever he's talking about subjects like the TV world or Mayumi.
2. How does he normally speak? Loud, soft, fast, evenly? Does he talk easily, or does he hesitate?
Pretty evenly, and if I remember right a decent amount of ellipses from his questioning. He might be a little quiet.
3. Does the character have a distinct accent or dialect? Any individual quirks of pronunciation? Any, like, you know, verbal tics?
None!
4. What language/s does he speak, and with how much fluency?
Just Japanese.
5. Does he switch languages or dialects in certain situations?
Nope!
6. Is he a good impromptu speaker, or does he have to think about his words?
He's got some skill-he is in public service and hoping for a political career, after all.
7. Is he eloquent or inarticulate? Under what circumstances might this change?
He hasn't been the most articulate since Mayumi's death, though, especially when it comes to personal matters. The main thing that would stimulate a difference would be when he's got his mind fixed on something, like saving someone in danger.
Mental and Emotional
1. How intelligent is this character? Is he book-smart or street-smart?
Book-smart, if anything. He's pretty average any which way, though.
2. Does he think on his feet, or does he need time to deliberate?
Thinking time. Definitely.
3. Describe the character's thought process. Is he more logical, or more intuitive? Idealistic or practical?
He's is a bit intuitive and idealistic-see also his thought process with saving people who appeared on the TV, and he is just. Idealistic in general, only he can't quite follow through on the idealism.
4. What kind of education has the character had?
Standard all the way through college!
5. What are his areas of expertise? What, if anything, is he interested in learning more about?
He's a politician, so he's probably decently knowledgeable on that when he's not being depressed. Learning more...not really sure.
6. Is he an introvert or an extrovert?
Introvert!
7. Describe the character's temperament. Is he even-tempered or does he have mood swings? Cheerful or melancholy? Laid-back or driven?
Melancholy, very melancholy! He's usually very passive unless you really trigger him (e.g., Mayumi) at which point he'll be either really depressed or really angry/determined. The angry/determined part is what really gets him going on a "mission," like trying to save the TV victims-no way am I letting more people die when I know they're going to be targeted!
8. How does he respond to new people or situations? Is he suspicious, relaxed, timid, enthusiastic?
Before the scandal, he responded fairly well-good-natured guy, maybe a little awkward at times but pretty normal. After the scandal, he's just a mess and the TV world really freaked him out so shoving new stuff at him isn't the best.
9. Is he more likely to act, or to react?
React. Most of what he does in the story is reactionary, actually.
10. Which is his default: fight or flight?
Flight, definitely.
11. Describe the character's sense of humor. Does he appreciate jokes? Puns? Gallows humor? Bathroom humor? Pranks?
Sort of light right now. He understands humor, it just doesn't amuse him as much as it used to.
12. Does the character have any diagnosable mental disorders? If yes, how does he deal with them?
Nope! I do call him depressed, but I don't know if he fits the qualifications for clinical depression.
13. What moments in this character's life have defined him as a person?
Mayumi's death, big-time. Also venturing into the TV world for the first time and realizing the world he thought a safe haven was really out to kill people. Both of these were very traumatic for him!
14. What does he fear?
More people dying, especially because of him.
15. What are his hopes or aspirations?
Consciously, to do something useful. Subconsciously, he really wants to be appreciated, by himself or by others-it's all about validation, and being able to feel that he really is needed by somebody.
16. What is something he doesn't want anyone to find out about him?
At this point (in Soul Campaign), nothing to strong degrees. He'd rather not talk about the whole kidnapping thing but he's not entirely opposed to it either because he knows what he did was wrong and even freely admitted upon entry that he was a criminal.
Relationships
1. Describe this character's relationship with his parents.
A little awkward. Ever seen Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs? Kind of like that, without the resolution-his mother is dead; he and his father genuinely care for each other somewhere, but neither is really good at communicating it and both wish things were a little different so it could be easier.
2. Does the character have any siblings? What is/was their relationship like?
No siblings!
3. Are there other blood relatives to whom he is close? Are there ones he can't stand?
None specified.
4. Are there other, unrelated people whom he considers part of his family? What are his relationships with them?
Nope, unless you count Misuzu/Mayumi but that's a different can of worms.
5. Who is/was the character's best friend? How did they meet?
...None.
6. Does he have other close friends?
None, okay. He was kind of a loner, nobody he really got close to enough for them to call on him after the scandal.
7. Does he make friends easily, or does he have trouble getting along with people?
He's not that good being truly personal, really. He can laugh, make jokes, socialize a little-but making a good friend that he can really confide in is something that he never got to do in canon.
8. Which does he consider more important: family or friends?
Family by default, with no significant friends to speak of.
9. Is the character single, married, divorced, widowed? Has he been married more than once?
...Divorced. Very much divorced. It's painful.
10. Is he currently in a romantic relationship with someone other than a spouse?
Mayumi. MAYUMI. Totally could/would be current if she hadn't been murdered that kind of throws a wrench into things.
11. Who was his first crush? Who is his latest?
I'd say Misuzu was the first woman he really loved, all the way from university through to their marriage. Actually, he still loves her in some way but isn't really getting what he needs emotionally from her-both of them know that she made it big, but he's lagging behind and there's a sense of inequality between them because of it. Which is where Mayumi came in: she loved him even knowing his position, and by the time they met he had a lot more in common with her than he did his own wife.
12. What does he look for in a romantic partner?
Somebody who loves him unconditionally, who sees him as an equal or better. It would have to be somebody willing to close the distance when they're having problems and reassure him when he has doubts, which is why he and Misuzu didn't work out as well: neither of them were willing to broach the gap between them once her career took off, and that just dug them both in deeper.
13. Does the character have children? Grandchildren? If yes, how does he relate to them? If no, does he want any?
No children. He would have liked them down the line, but...
14. Does he have any rivals or enemies?
None that he actually knows. Does Adachi in general count as Mayumi's murderer?
15. What is the character's sexual orientation? Where does he fall on the Kinsey scale?
1. He is pretty heterosexual. I can theoretically imagine him leaning for a guy, but I'd say this is a pretty good measure.
16. How does he feel about sex? How important is it to him?
His introduction is as a politician cheating on his wife and he definitely hints at a sexual relationship with Mayumi ("I couldn't help getting intimate with her"), so! It's definitely important to him, but less so than the emotional component of a relationship. For him intimacy is only for the people he really loves (Misuzu, Mayumi) and sex without love is...just meaningless.
17. What are his turn-ons? Turn-offs? Weird bedroom habits?
...I don't even know. Sexual kinks are not something I really think about, nor are they something I really try to think about.
Beliefs
1. Do you know your character's astrological (zodiac of choice) sign? How well does he fit type?
Not for sure, but given headcanon (thirty years old, birthday December 21) he’d be a Sagittarius and Rooster. Neither...fit him that well, ahaha. Eccentric extrovert? Not so much.
2. Is this character religious, spiritual, both, or neither? How important are these elements in his life?
He's neither, really. They aren't major parts of his life.
3. Does this character have a personal code of morals or ethics? If so, how did that begin? What would it take to compromise it?
He doesn't like killing people or condemning them to death. Soul Campaign, he would regret it if Adachi died if there was much of a choice. He prefers that people are brought to justice and hopefully made to reform. He also places people's safety as above the law, as evidenced by his willing to kidnap people to supposedly save them from murder. Compromise would take...well, it depends. If you're like SC!Adachi and have murdered over a dozen people (including Nanako) he'd understand a death penalty, or what Shibusen actually did to Adachi-he actually thinks that wasn't a bad thing to do, to put the murderer's soul to use protecting people after he was brought down.
4. How does he regard beliefs that differ from his? Is he tolerant, intolerant, curious, indifferent?
Confusion or mild curiosity, mostly.
5. What prejudices does he hold? Are they irrational or does he have a good reason for them?
OKAY THIS IS KIND OF MOSTLY HEADCANON BUT. I kind of imagine that Namatame has biases about women and kids-namely, that they need to be protected or helped and stuff. Up until the murders it was mostly mild stuff, nothing that would significantly affect his interactions (but it would affect his thoughts; he was bothered by the fact that his wife didn't really need him), but afterward this tendency is exacerbated when it comes to women being attacked or traumatized because of what happened to Mayumi and Saki and because of what he did to Nanako. (This is why he sort of got attached to Rachel Price in Soul Campaign, because he saw her as a second Saki.)
Daily Life
1. What is the character's financial situation? Is he rich, poor, comfortable, in debt?
He had a modest income working in the city, but once he moved back to Inaba he didn't really earn anything, living with and working for his dad. He has a little money, but not huge amounts.
2. What is his social status? Has this changed over time, and if so, how has the change affected him?
Social status: once average, now pretty darn low as an ex-politician recovering from a scandal now convicted for several kidnappings. He's fallen pretty far, and this has really hurt him. He broke by his own admission when Mayumi was found murdered, and finding out he was the bad guy on top of the TV world experience basically broke him even further when he'd just managed to figure out how to put himself back together.
3. Where does he live? House, apartment, trailer? Is his home his castle or just a place to crash? What condition is it in? Does he share it with others?
He lives in his father's house in Inaba, though formerly he occupied a small house with his wife (now ex-wife). It's in okay condition, not the neatest but not a mess either. It's not home, either, but nowhere really is anymore since Mayumi can't be there.
4. Besides the basic necessities, what does he spend his money on?
Some books, and a few hobbies that he never really fully gets into and abandons after a while.
5. What does he do for a living? Is he good at it? Does he enjoy it, or would he rather be doing something else?
He used to be a city council secretary, now he just works for his father's delivery business. Or not, because he's due for jail. He would really rather be out there doing good and helping people on a daily basis-he might actually be pretty well suited to working for charities or nonprofit causes.
6. What are his interests or hobbies? How does he spend his free time?
He enjoys classical literature. He doesn't really have hobbies, or at least ones he really enjoys and can put himself into. He spends most of his free time trying to find things to do or mulling over Mayumi-Souji can find him talking about his job or about the murders even before November.
7. What are his eating habits? Does he skip meals, eat out, drink alcohol, avoid certain foods?
He did drink heavily to drown his troubles and all after the scandal. Ladies and gentlemen, a picture of mental health! Okay, seriously. I can imagine him skipping meals pretty easily, doesn't really eat much and basically everything ever tastes bland to him when he's in a darker mood and he feels even less like eating.
Associations
Which of the following do you associate with the character, or which is his favorite:
1. Color? White.
2. Smell? Fresh evening air.
3. Time of day? Night.
4. Season? Fall.
5. Book? A small novel that isn't well known, but which he's read several times.
6. Music? Classical.
7. Place? The restaurant where he first went out with Mayumi.
8. Substance? ...Silk scarves. Aaaah.
9. Plant? Flowers.
10. Animal? Dogs.
END
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