OOC: Application [Raidou Kuzunoha, Soul Campaign]
[ CHARACTER INFORMATION ]
Name: Raidou Kuzunoha
Age: 17
Gender: Male
Fandom: Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner
Timeline: Sometime between the first game - Raidou Kuzunoha vs. the Soulless Army - and the second game - Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abbadon.
History: For the first game and for the second game
Character Personality:
Unless they’re from his time period, most people are likely going to dismiss Raidou as eccentric and maybe a little cheeky at glance: he’s a tallish and clean-faced boy, handsome, even, by most standards, but it’s kind of hard NOT to ignore the fact that he insists on going around in that strange military-ish school uniform, complete with cap and cape and sword. He’s also very quiet, so quiet that he’ll likely come off as ridiculously intense, and he displays an air of confidence that could be mistaken as arrogance to anyone with a chip on their shoulder. And, with the way he just watches people…
Talking to Raidou, however, will almost immediately dismiss this initial impression. Raidou is a rather precocious boy who wields words with ridiculous ease, and he’s EXTREMELY polite regardless of who or what he happens to be talking to at the moment. If there was a book on social graces, he’s studied that from cover to cover, along with any secondary or tertiary sources related to the topic. That is not to say, however, that he can’t get his hands dirty when he needs to, or hold his own in a fight - Raidou is no pushover once he’s got his eyes on the prize. That is something that rougher types and arrogant dolts often discover the hard way.
Raidou display a maturity that one doesn’t often find in teenagers (especially teenaged boys), and it goes to follow that Raidou is extremely serious about his job (because it’s more than just a job to him: it’s his life!). Overall, Raidou definitely doesn’t act his age… some may even think that he acts way too old for his own good, and doesn’t know how to loosen up. What they are not aware of is the fact that Raidou has a very dry sense of humor (perhaps it comes from the work he does, and the things that he’s probably seen), and is secretly rather sadistic. It’s nothing too harmful in the long run, but may come as an unpleasant surprise to people who end up on the receiving end of Raidou’s occasional whims.
Character Abilities:
For all intensive purposes, Raidou appears to be the perfect detective: calm and reserved, amazingly level-headed and self-possessed, curious, inquisitive and sharp as a knife when it all boils down to the details. He is also extremely observant and very perceptive (it comes with the territory), and often applies his analytic mind not just to the cases he’s out to solve but also on the people around him. While this might normally come off as asocial behavior, Raidou is at least aware enough of ways to play people and put them at ease in order to keep them from getting too unnerved or suspicious - people reveal more when they’re not scared, after all.
As a licensed detective, Raidou is permitted to carry a gun and can wield it rather well too… he is, however, much better at using a sword (a katana, in particular), as that is the traditional weapon of his family. Beyond the hand-to-hand combat aspect of his work, however, Raidou’s abilities are generally directed towards sleuthing and criminology - he is an extremely intelligent young man, a genius in every right, and it shows in how well he can turn situations inside and out, solve things on the spot and draw up eerily accurate conclusions based on but a few observations alone. Raidou’s strongest point, however, is his amazing strength of will, which aids in demon-trapping.
The Kuzunoha family is a long line of devil summoners who, through ancient rituals and dark magic, defeat and bind demons, trapping them in test tubes until they have a need to summon them to aid them in their work. Their magic works on two principles: the principle of strength (the devil summoner must first be able to defeat the demon of choice in a fight; whether it’s a physical duel or a magical one depends on the demon), and the principle of naming (the devil summoner must be able to successfully guess the demon’s true name).
Devil summoners are also taught several tricks of trade in order to help them along - or they should be, anyway. Beyond the binding magic and being able to perceive ghosts and demons even when they have concealed themselves from everything else, however, Raidou knows little of the secret arts. Thankfully, his latest major case has given him a rather keen sense in combat, with more than just a book-bound knowledge of tactics and strategy.
On another note, it is important to emphasize the fact that the phases of the moon greatly affect the conditions in which a devil summoner must work - although there are exceptions to this rule, it has been commonly understood that demons are at their strongest during a full moon, and their power waxes and wanes according to the rest of the phases. This works both for and against devil summoners like Raidou, as he uses demons to fight against other demons.
Character Weaknesses:
While it may look like Raidou is nice enough in his own way (or at least, capable of getting along with people when he has to), Raidou is, in actuality, merely mimicking what he sees other people do: he has noted down the patterns of behavior that seem to work for people, and is merely following that example in order to get what he needs. He actually doesn’t understand human emotions very well, nor is he capable of really relating to them - he can pick things up based on observation and draw the necessary conclusions, but he just can’t relate with the situations that people find themselves or the reasons why they feel a particular way. To make a long story short, he tends to relate better with the demons he traps and the monsters he kills than he does with other people.
Second, the downside of turning one’s job into one’s life at such an early age is that it pretty much governs everything for a person, and Raidou is no exception. He never does things without purpose, and will never approach another person first unless he feels that it will benefit him or further his current investigation in one way or another. Furthermore, the job has always come first before everything for the Kuzunoha - they are not an evil bunch, but eliminating or trapping a demon operating in the area takes first priority, with concealing their identities and leaving no trace of their presence coming in as a close second. Even if doing both of these tasks means endangering human lives, a Kuzunoha is not supposed to hesitate to do all that is necessary to complete their mission.
…That’s how it should be, anyway. Raidou is particularly torn over this idea, and hopes that he’s not going to find himself in a situation like that anytime soon.
Raidou’s biggest weakness in combat would be the fact that his overall battle strength depends mostly on the demons he happens to have on his roster - they provide most, if not all, of the firepower for him. He may be a trained fighter, but a devil summoner is more of a sorcerer than anything else: he can hold his own in combat, but it may not be enough to save him against very skilled opponents. He is also more accustomed to fighting inhuman creatures than he is human beings - he’s trapped demons and slain monsters before, but he has never killed people. He will certainly hesitate to fight other people, and will probably lose it if he is ever forced to seriously injure or kill another person.
Boy genius as he might be, even child prodigies need to start somewhere. Raidou has only done one major case that commanded every ounce of his attention and the exercise of all of his faculties in order to resolve it - he may have SOME experience, but he’s likely got a long way to go.
It might be also good to know that he has a weakness for cats.
[ MEISTER SECTION ]
Why your character should be a Meister: Due to the nature of his work and his personality, Raidou is very used to quite literally handling different creatures - living weapons - in battle. Every single one of his demons are individuals, in their own right, with likes and dislikes, favored strategies and pet peeves. Raidou, as their summoner, walked the way through with each one of them, learning to understand them as most average people might grow to understand their good friends, and eventually figuring out how best to optimize their use in a fight.
With that sort of experience, it’s only logical that someone like Raidou would make a great Meister. The setup in Shibusen is actually a lot more close to home for him than one would think.
[ SOUL INFORMATION ]
Soul Description: calm, resilient, discerning, driven, versatile, balanced
Soul Appearance: Raidou’s soul is gray in color, and almost gradient in the sense that the gray deepens the further one goes in. When it’s expanded around him, whorls of Japanese kanji and Sanskrit spin about over the sphere like rings around a planet - the speed varies according to Raidou’s emotions and actions at the moment of observation. When its face is visible, the expression on Raidou’s soul is serene, with is lips occasionally drawn upward just so, in a tiny little smile. It also has his signature sideburns, and his detective’s cap.
[ SAMPLES ]
First Person:
[PUBLIC]
Salutations. I wish to express my deepest gratitude to the individuals who aided me during my first week here. In the same spirit, I wish to apologize for any indiscretion on my part - I am as of yet unaccustomed to the demands of my role here. I do solemnly swear to make acclimatize myself quickly.
For the purpose of acquainting myself to any who may not have witnessed my initial post, I will reintroduce myself here. My name is Raidou Kuzunoha, a junior detective under the employ of Mr. Shouhei Narumi of the Narumi Detective Agency. My services are always and ever at your disposal.
PRIVATE:
5:30 AM - Woke up exactly an hour before intended. Note to self: regularize your hours. (See Personal Notes, Item #1)
9:00 AM - Finished personal rituals and presented myself, once more, to the authorities before continuing my investigation of the town. (See Personal Notes, Item #2)
2:00 PM - returned an hour later than projected, due to the distraction presented by a sizeable group of neighborhood cats (see Personal Notes, Item #3). How now?
Personal Notes:
#1: The celestial bodies of this place are… unnerving, at best. Further investigation into their nature is in order.
#2: Map updated with relevant locations. Refer to index.
#3: A feline companion is a most desirable thing to have. Gouto’s absence remains sharp to my memory.
Third Person:
Original version’s on his app for theskytides.
It was a most peculiar little thing, and Raidou Kuzunoha was absolutely certain that he had never seen the likes of it before in his life. The young man was down on one knee with his chin on one hand, peering thoughtfully at the strange, glowing green thing bouncing around in the alleyway he was in front of - he had been on his way to meet with the chief of police regarding a new case when he had spotted the creature in the corner of his eye. Now he was thoroughly occupied with trying to figure out what it was. It LOOKED like a cactus, but it SOUNDED like a bird. And it had eyes. And a mouth.
Of course, as Raidou was the only one who could actually see the creature and it was in the middle of a busy weekday in the city, quite a number of people had stopped to stare at Raidou in a futile attempt to figure out what he was looking at. Raidou, of course, was oblivious to this. The creature was far too fascinating.
“…Hm.”
Raidou eventually stood up, brushing the dust off his knees; his eyes never wavered from the demon in front of him as he straightened up, slipping one gloved hand into his cloak and feeling for one of the tubes holstered at his chest. He planned on waiting until the crowd trickled out before attempting to track and catalog this one.
[ NOTES ]
Reserved him before! He’s also my fourth character, but I don’t think Roy’s passed an activity check yet… I hope this is okay. ;w;
Also: they’re never too clear in canon about Raidou’s age. I sort of had to take a wild guess for that.
…Come to think of it, a lot of this is improvisation based on my understanding of Raidou’s character in the game. There’s a good amount to go on, but there are still a few significant blanks. orz