DDD app
Player nickname: Orlando
Player LJ: elspeth_vimes
Way to contact you:
Email: agreylady@gmail.com
AIM: Elspeth Vimes
Other: ElspethVimes on plurk
Are you at least 15?: Y.
Current Characters: Batou, Alberich, Ivan Vanko, Christopher Carrion, November 11, Megamind
Character: Sumimura Masamori
Fandom: Kekkaishi (manga)
Character Notes:
History:
Masamori was born into the Sumimura family, one of the two families of Kekkaishi ("barrier masters") which have for generations protected the sacred and magically dangerous ground of Karasumori (on top of which a combined middle and high school now sits). Unlike his grandfather, Masamori was not born with the "houin" mark on his right hand that would mark him as a legitimate successor, the most honored and useful of Kekkaishi. But that was of little consequence. After all, Masamori's mother wasn't a legitimate successor either (though incredibly powerful and skilled). The mark has been known to skip a number of generations, especially when one legitimate successor is still alive. Masamori was smart and gifted, and started receiving training for his abilities at a young age. You don't have to be a legitimate successor to protect Karasumori.
Then, when Masamori was seven, his younger brother Yoshimori was born. Yoshimori had the houin mark.
Since then Masamori's has revolved around two things- excelling at what he does and wondering why he wasn't chosen to be a legitimate successor. This isn't to say he was a bad brother. He tried to be helpful and understanding. But he was left constantly questioning himself, and more than a little angry, with the result that at the very least he came across as aloof (to Yoshimori, that is. to others he was a more positive figure).
When he was around 15 or 16, Masamori left home (his grandfather sent a shikigami to finish high school for him) and joined the Urakai, an organization of people with unusual abilities who, for one reason or another, either couldn't inherent the family business or had none to inherit. The Urakai investigate and resolve paranormal matters which cannot be solved by other means, and attempt to generally regulate the unseen world of Japan. Upon joining the organization Masamori was largely tutored by "the immortal" Mudou, a man with a somewhat Machiavellian world view but who taught and was well-respected by the younger members of the Urakai. Masamori found himself discontent with the existing structure of the Urakai and, encouraged by Mudou, founded his own task force. The Yagyou ("Night Troop"), as they came to be called, became a group which specialized in eliminating urgent threats, and was largely composed of younger members, doubling as both a form of on-the-job training and, for many, serving as a family. As the chief of the Yagyou, Masamori obtained a great deal of status and power within the Urakai at a remarkably young age (at the most, he would have been seventeen). But that power is insufficient- he's aiming for the executive committee, the Council of Twelve.
If accepted, I'll be taking him from just a touch before his first physical appearance in chapter 30. Mudou has just recently defected and become an ayakashi, leaving the seventh seat on the Council of Twelve open and Masamori poised to take it. He might also be subtly encouraging a certain ayakashi user to go to Karasumori and see what happens, but you can't prove that.
Personality:
On the surface, Masamori is everything you could want in an older brother figure. He's friendly and easygoing, frequently seen with a smile on his face. He takes an interest in people, in their interests, and in how they're doing both individually and in relation to others. He's observant, and tries to give people appropriate attention. He can be teasing, but it's good-natured teasing, and only to people he knows can handle it. He's encouraging, recognizing potential strengths and trying to foster them. He frequently give people second and third chances, believing that they will pay off (and often, it does), and even if it doesn't quite work as planned valuable lessons will be gained. He is apparently very forgiving. He frequently doesn't punish people for mistakes and moves past some betrayals.
He's been accused of being "soft," on account of his willingness to let mistakes go and even to accept known traitors back into the fold for a second chance. Masamori is not soft. People fall into three categories with him. There the people who are "his," his family or the family he has made with the Yagyou. He cares about these people and will protect them in any way he can. There are the people he can use, the ones he doesn't trust but knows he can manipulate or benefit from. And then there are his enemies, the ones who threaten or harm "his" people without having something to offer him. Masamori doesn't really make enemies lightly. But when he does, he is out to destroy them completely.
Masamori is highly intelligent and methodical. He's curious, he likes to understand everything that's going on. He's creative in his use of his powers- he's the first one we see to use the technique of layer kekkai for greater effect. As previously stated, he's observant, and has a good memory for what he observes. He tends towards long-term thinking. If something or someone may be useful to him in the future, he'll hold onto it or them for years. Anger can be a powerful motivating force for him (arguably his most powerful motivating force), but he controls it. He waits for his time, for the best opportunity to act. Even in his fight with Ogi, after Ogi causes the death of several members of the Yagyou, Masamori first seeks a truce, realizing that at that moment he is at a disadvantage and would be better served by gaining more time to discover a method to destroy Ogi. He is also unflinchingly pragmatic. If the only way to gain an important ally for the Yagou is to give away some information about his family, he'll do it. It's a question of who is more likely to be truly hurt- that is his first priority.
Beneath the big brother act, and driving the intelligence, is a proud, angry individual. Masamori wants to be the best. He wants to have control. He doesn't take slights to himself well, and takes threats to "his" people even more badly. He may not act impulsively on his anger, but man, can he ever hold a grudge. He doesn't trust easily, preferring to handle everything he can by himself.
But he is, in his way, a good guy. He genuinely cares about "his" people and wants them to lead relatively safe, happy lives. He'll fight for that. He'll fight dirty if he thinks that's the best way to make sure they're protected. He expresses horror at leaders who use their underlings as canon fodder- that's not how the relationship should work. He'll even avoid hurting his opponents' underlings whenever possible. If he hurts someone innocent, or comes to believe someone deserves a chance to be saved, he'll expend all his available resources in that effort, even at the cost of some of his ambitions.
For all his seeming control, he can act rather illogically at times. He has a strong sense of both responsibility and guilt. He is the one who has to protect the Yagyou, he is the one who has to stop an old friend who has become an ayakashi. He perceives it as his duty. He blames himself if something wrong, even if there was no reason for him to predict it, and he'll take it upon himself to fix things. This leads to him occasionally doing things like taking on possibly suicidal missions by himself.
Masamori has a serious inferiority complex, courtesy of Yoshimori and other powerful figures (including his mother). He is not good enough, or strong enough. He hates being ineffective or powerless, but also feels that he's fated to be that way. It's why he fights hard for and clings to the power he has, why he keeps such a proud attitude, and why he works himself to the absolute limit of his abilities. He's not "special," even though he's been surrounded by people who are. He wants that kind of recognition desperately, and harbors rather bitter feelings towards those who make it through life because they're "chosen" or just possess more natural talent (and even when someone's not really doing that, Masamori can be inclined to see them that way).
Compared to the "chosen" Yoshimori, Masamori is the angry one, the ambitious one, the overly proud one, the bitter one. And Masamori knows it. "My pride, my immaturity...it's all detestable," he thinks at one point. But for all that he realizes this and wishes he could be as good as Yoshimori, Masamori doesn't really see how he can change. He feels that he has been exiled to the shadows (even if, in truth, he's the one who put and keeps himself there) and that all he can do is use that fact to protect the people who are closer to the light.
Other:
Sometime early in his involvement with the Urakai, Masamori gained a scar in the middle of his forehead which goes up into his hair.
Between his monkish style of dress and his general confidence and big-brother attitude, Masamori can seem like he's a good bit older than 21. This is probably entirely deliberate.
He is fond of accompanying his kimonos and robes with slightly ridiculous patterned scarves. The why of this is unknown.
Masamori has an enormous sweet tooth. If it's a dessert, he likes it, and will probably be seen eating substantial amounts of it. Possibly justified in that it's extremely likely he's constantly pushing himself almost to the limit of his power, and needs the energy (he is still in very good shape).
As a kekkaishi, Masamori's skills include: creating cube-shaped shields (the contents of which he can either protect or destroy, or he can use them to walk on- THEY'RE USEFUL), creating somewhat prehensile strings, creating shikigami (which can very from being a simple bird to being physically identical to Masamori himself), spreading a magical kind of shadow through which his familiar can move (his familiar detects ayakashi), and surrounding himself with a spherical zone that destroys anything that enters it.
On a fundamental level, Masamori's abilities are the manipulation of space. In the series, this includes being able to make pathways to other worlds. If accepted, I would like mod permission for him to be able to worldhop. The creation of pathways requires concentration and no little expenditure of power, so he wouldn't just be gallivanting about.
Additional Links:
Wiki
Kekkaishi Wiki (note: they misidentified his scar as lighter hair)
t.v. tropes (he's first under "Yagyou")
First Person (entry type):
Dramadramaduck? That's a pretty original name. I can't say I have particularly anything against dramas or ducks, but social networking sites have never really been my thing. Especially not the kind that take over with a computer virus.
I don't want to get you in any trouble, I'm not going to report you to anyone- I just want to get back to work. So how about one of you tell me how to get rid of this and keep it off, and we'll call it even.
I'm not sure Hatori will ever forgive me if it turns out I broke her laptop.
Third Person:
Masamori sifted through the new reports. There were more of them now than there had been just a few months ago. A good deal of it was small things- the sighting of a minor ayakashi in one village, rumors that the ones on a certain mountain were growing more hostile. Those were things that a lot of the members of the recently-formed Yagyou would probably have been sent out to deal with as training even if they had been channeled into other divisions. But it showed that the Urakai were becoming used to the Yagyou- they were learning to rely on it. Masamori smiled. Good.
A few of the reports were more troubling. He'd have to send a team to scout out the situation to the south that looked like a gathering of ayakashi. And this one...Masamori gently moved the other papers to the side. A powerful ayakashi had been spotted moving into urban areas. Areas close to Karasumori. He reached for his cell phone.
"Hatori? Yeah, it's me. I'm calling a meeting, there are a few jobs we need to discuss." He picked up the last report and moved it onto the stack with the others. "I'll probably take care of a few of them myself."
Player LJ: elspeth_vimes
Way to contact you:
Email: agreylady@gmail.com
AIM: Elspeth Vimes
Other: ElspethVimes on plurk
Are you at least 15?: Y.
Current Characters: Batou, Alberich, Ivan Vanko, Christopher Carrion, November 11, Megamind
Character: Sumimura Masamori
Fandom: Kekkaishi (manga)
Character Notes:
History:
Masamori was born into the Sumimura family, one of the two families of Kekkaishi ("barrier masters") which have for generations protected the sacred and magically dangerous ground of Karasumori (on top of which a combined middle and high school now sits). Unlike his grandfather, Masamori was not born with the "houin" mark on his right hand that would mark him as a legitimate successor, the most honored and useful of Kekkaishi. But that was of little consequence. After all, Masamori's mother wasn't a legitimate successor either (though incredibly powerful and skilled). The mark has been known to skip a number of generations, especially when one legitimate successor is still alive. Masamori was smart and gifted, and started receiving training for his abilities at a young age. You don't have to be a legitimate successor to protect Karasumori.
Then, when Masamori was seven, his younger brother Yoshimori was born. Yoshimori had the houin mark.
Since then Masamori's has revolved around two things- excelling at what he does and wondering why he wasn't chosen to be a legitimate successor. This isn't to say he was a bad brother. He tried to be helpful and understanding. But he was left constantly questioning himself, and more than a little angry, with the result that at the very least he came across as aloof (to Yoshimori, that is. to others he was a more positive figure).
When he was around 15 or 16, Masamori left home (his grandfather sent a shikigami to finish high school for him) and joined the Urakai, an organization of people with unusual abilities who, for one reason or another, either couldn't inherent the family business or had none to inherit. The Urakai investigate and resolve paranormal matters which cannot be solved by other means, and attempt to generally regulate the unseen world of Japan. Upon joining the organization Masamori was largely tutored by "the immortal" Mudou, a man with a somewhat Machiavellian world view but who taught and was well-respected by the younger members of the Urakai. Masamori found himself discontent with the existing structure of the Urakai and, encouraged by Mudou, founded his own task force. The Yagyou ("Night Troop"), as they came to be called, became a group which specialized in eliminating urgent threats, and was largely composed of younger members, doubling as both a form of on-the-job training and, for many, serving as a family. As the chief of the Yagyou, Masamori obtained a great deal of status and power within the Urakai at a remarkably young age (at the most, he would have been seventeen). But that power is insufficient- he's aiming for the executive committee, the Council of Twelve.
If accepted, I'll be taking him from just a touch before his first physical appearance in chapter 30. Mudou has just recently defected and become an ayakashi, leaving the seventh seat on the Council of Twelve open and Masamori poised to take it. He might also be subtly encouraging a certain ayakashi user to go to Karasumori and see what happens, but you can't prove that.
Personality:
On the surface, Masamori is everything you could want in an older brother figure. He's friendly and easygoing, frequently seen with a smile on his face. He takes an interest in people, in their interests, and in how they're doing both individually and in relation to others. He's observant, and tries to give people appropriate attention. He can be teasing, but it's good-natured teasing, and only to people he knows can handle it. He's encouraging, recognizing potential strengths and trying to foster them. He frequently give people second and third chances, believing that they will pay off (and often, it does), and even if it doesn't quite work as planned valuable lessons will be gained. He is apparently very forgiving. He frequently doesn't punish people for mistakes and moves past some betrayals.
He's been accused of being "soft," on account of his willingness to let mistakes go and even to accept known traitors back into the fold for a second chance. Masamori is not soft. People fall into three categories with him. There the people who are "his," his family or the family he has made with the Yagyou. He cares about these people and will protect them in any way he can. There are the people he can use, the ones he doesn't trust but knows he can manipulate or benefit from. And then there are his enemies, the ones who threaten or harm "his" people without having something to offer him. Masamori doesn't really make enemies lightly. But when he does, he is out to destroy them completely.
Masamori is highly intelligent and methodical. He's curious, he likes to understand everything that's going on. He's creative in his use of his powers- he's the first one we see to use the technique of layer kekkai for greater effect. As previously stated, he's observant, and has a good memory for what he observes. He tends towards long-term thinking. If something or someone may be useful to him in the future, he'll hold onto it or them for years. Anger can be a powerful motivating force for him (arguably his most powerful motivating force), but he controls it. He waits for his time, for the best opportunity to act. Even in his fight with Ogi, after Ogi causes the death of several members of the Yagyou, Masamori first seeks a truce, realizing that at that moment he is at a disadvantage and would be better served by gaining more time to discover a method to destroy Ogi. He is also unflinchingly pragmatic. If the only way to gain an important ally for the Yagou is to give away some information about his family, he'll do it. It's a question of who is more likely to be truly hurt- that is his first priority.
Beneath the big brother act, and driving the intelligence, is a proud, angry individual. Masamori wants to be the best. He wants to have control. He doesn't take slights to himself well, and takes threats to "his" people even more badly. He may not act impulsively on his anger, but man, can he ever hold a grudge. He doesn't trust easily, preferring to handle everything he can by himself.
But he is, in his way, a good guy. He genuinely cares about "his" people and wants them to lead relatively safe, happy lives. He'll fight for that. He'll fight dirty if he thinks that's the best way to make sure they're protected. He expresses horror at leaders who use their underlings as canon fodder- that's not how the relationship should work. He'll even avoid hurting his opponents' underlings whenever possible. If he hurts someone innocent, or comes to believe someone deserves a chance to be saved, he'll expend all his available resources in that effort, even at the cost of some of his ambitions.
For all his seeming control, he can act rather illogically at times. He has a strong sense of both responsibility and guilt. He is the one who has to protect the Yagyou, he is the one who has to stop an old friend who has become an ayakashi. He perceives it as his duty. He blames himself if something wrong, even if there was no reason for him to predict it, and he'll take it upon himself to fix things. This leads to him occasionally doing things like taking on possibly suicidal missions by himself.
Masamori has a serious inferiority complex, courtesy of Yoshimori and other powerful figures (including his mother). He is not good enough, or strong enough. He hates being ineffective or powerless, but also feels that he's fated to be that way. It's why he fights hard for and clings to the power he has, why he keeps such a proud attitude, and why he works himself to the absolute limit of his abilities. He's not "special," even though he's been surrounded by people who are. He wants that kind of recognition desperately, and harbors rather bitter feelings towards those who make it through life because they're "chosen" or just possess more natural talent (and even when someone's not really doing that, Masamori can be inclined to see them that way).
Compared to the "chosen" Yoshimori, Masamori is the angry one, the ambitious one, the overly proud one, the bitter one. And Masamori knows it. "My pride, my immaturity...it's all detestable," he thinks at one point. But for all that he realizes this and wishes he could be as good as Yoshimori, Masamori doesn't really see how he can change. He feels that he has been exiled to the shadows (even if, in truth, he's the one who put and keeps himself there) and that all he can do is use that fact to protect the people who are closer to the light.
Other:
Sometime early in his involvement with the Urakai, Masamori gained a scar in the middle of his forehead which goes up into his hair.
Between his monkish style of dress and his general confidence and big-brother attitude, Masamori can seem like he's a good bit older than 21. This is probably entirely deliberate.
He is fond of accompanying his kimonos and robes with slightly ridiculous patterned scarves. The why of this is unknown.
Masamori has an enormous sweet tooth. If it's a dessert, he likes it, and will probably be seen eating substantial amounts of it. Possibly justified in that it's extremely likely he's constantly pushing himself almost to the limit of his power, and needs the energy (he is still in very good shape).
As a kekkaishi, Masamori's skills include: creating cube-shaped shields (the contents of which he can either protect or destroy, or he can use them to walk on- THEY'RE USEFUL), creating somewhat prehensile strings, creating shikigami (which can very from being a simple bird to being physically identical to Masamori himself), spreading a magical kind of shadow through which his familiar can move (his familiar detects ayakashi), and surrounding himself with a spherical zone that destroys anything that enters it.
On a fundamental level, Masamori's abilities are the manipulation of space. In the series, this includes being able to make pathways to other worlds. If accepted, I would like mod permission for him to be able to worldhop. The creation of pathways requires concentration and no little expenditure of power, so he wouldn't just be gallivanting about.
Additional Links:
Wiki
Kekkaishi Wiki (note: they misidentified his scar as lighter hair)
t.v. tropes (he's first under "Yagyou")
First Person (entry type):
Dramadramaduck? That's a pretty original name. I can't say I have particularly anything against dramas or ducks, but social networking sites have never really been my thing. Especially not the kind that take over with a computer virus.
I don't want to get you in any trouble, I'm not going to report you to anyone- I just want to get back to work. So how about one of you tell me how to get rid of this and keep it off, and we'll call it even.
I'm not sure Hatori will ever forgive me if it turns out I broke her laptop.
Third Person:
Masamori sifted through the new reports. There were more of them now than there had been just a few months ago. A good deal of it was small things- the sighting of a minor ayakashi in one village, rumors that the ones on a certain mountain were growing more hostile. Those were things that a lot of the members of the recently-formed Yagyou would probably have been sent out to deal with as training even if they had been channeled into other divisions. But it showed that the Urakai were becoming used to the Yagyou- they were learning to rely on it. Masamori smiled. Good.
A few of the reports were more troubling. He'd have to send a team to scout out the situation to the south that looked like a gathering of ayakashi. And this one...Masamori gently moved the other papers to the side. A powerful ayakashi had been spotted moving into urban areas. Areas close to Karasumori. He reached for his cell phone.
"Hatori? Yeah, it's me. I'm calling a meeting, there are a few jobs we need to discuss." He picked up the last report and moved it onto the stack with the others. "I'll probably take care of a few of them myself."