OOC:
Name: Raserei Hojo
Are you over 16?: Yes
Personal LJ:
winterhorseEmail: lucaviitzaru [at] gmail [dot] com
Timezone: EST
Other contact: AIM: WintryHorse
Characters already in the game:
halcyonism &
stumbleliesHow did you find us?: Magic.
IC:
Character name: Ryotaro Dojima
Fandom: Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4
Timeline: December 3rd, Evening :|
Age: 41
~*Magical*~ abilities and strengths: No magical abilities to speak of, unlike his nephew and his crazy friends. He is, however, a wonderful detective. He can't cook; he can't do laundry; but he sure can make the coffee! It's... pretty much his only chore at home. Oops. He's got pretty darn good deductive reasoning skills (...Again, detective) and logic at his disposal. He's also pretty good at speeding down streets in the dark, making wild turns as he gives chase to criminals.
How would they use their abilities?: FOR JUSTICE. No, really. Unlike certain detectives whose names Adachi shall not be mentioned, Dojima actually uses his skills for bringing about proper justice. Not just perceived justice, either. If a police case doesn't sit right with him, he'll keep working at it until it's closed in a satisfactory way-meaning the culprit has been identified, apprehended, tried, convicted, and Dojima no longer has any doubts about the case.
Appearance:
Visual Aid Dojima is a man just under 6 feet tall with slightly tan skin, dark hair and brown eyes. He's slender, but has enough muscle on him to do the physical portion of his job well. A permastubble has made itself home on Dojima's chin, and more often than not, his face is settled into an intense, serious stare. He dresses the part of a police officer and detective, preferring to wear semi-casual attire. Dojima often carries his coat over his shoulder instead of actually wearing it properly.
Background/Personality: Once upon a time, a man named Ryotaro Dojima was born~! Yaaaay! He had an older sister (mother to the Protagonist/Souji Seta) at the time. He grew up, then became a police detective and eventually married a woman named Chisato. At some point, Dojima and his wife had a single child, a daughter by the name of Nanako.
Things were pretty okay! His sister and her family lived in ~the big city~ somewhere while Dojima lived in the small town of Inaba with Chisato and Nanako. Because of his work, Dojima was often pretty busy and therefore frequently left the responsibility of raising Nanako up to Chisato. And, of course, as any busy father discovers, when one becomes consumed with work it's hard to stay close with your family! The only chore at home which he really had time for was making the coffee.
But they managed.
One day, Chisato was on her way to pick up Nanako from school. A car struck Chisato on her way there and the driver proceeded to drive away from the scene of the crime. At the time, Dojima was at work and, as he expected his wife to pick up their daughter, never bothered to make sure Nanako was actually picked up. Because of that, Nanako spent a long while waiting for her mother. After Dojima found out that his wife was killed and Nanako was left waiting for someone who would never come to pick her up, he became somewhat tormented by this fact.
But time passed. The chores had all fallen to Nanako with Dojima keeping his only job of brewing coffee. Nanako admirably performed the chores (cooking, cleaning, laundry) while Dojima continued to be absorbed in work. It bothered him intensely that his wife was killed by a hit-and-run driver and so he added that case to his workload and worked on it during his spare time.
Eventually, Dojima came to realize that the car which had struck his wife was a sedan made outside of Inaba and probably outside of Japan as well. He very much understood that that meant Chisato's killer was probably out of the country and that he or she would never be brought to justice. For a long while, it's a thought Dojima can't cope with and so he continues to work on the case of his deceased wife, uncaring of how fruitless his efforts may be.
A short time into the year of 2011, his older sister asks him to take care of her son while she and her husband go to work overseas. Although Dojima has his hands full with work and caring (sort of?!) for Nanako, he accepts his sister's request.
The day his nephew is meant to arrive, there's an interesting piece of news on. Taro Namatame, a local councilman, was having an affair with Mayumi Yamano, a popular announcer. No one in Inaba particularly thinks much of it, not realizing the event's importance. Dojima soon after leaves with Nanako to pick up his nephew from the train station. After stopping at the gas station on the way back, Dojima properly welcomes his nephew into his house, stating that the Dojima Residence would be his home for the next year. He asks his nephew to settle in.
Before Dojima even gets to enjoy his meal, he's interrupted by a phone call. He leaves his daughter to the care of his nephew and leaves the house.
The next day, Souji Seta finds out that the body of Mayumi Yamano, the announcer who was having a relationship with the married Taro Namatame, was found dead. Not just found dead in any old fashion, either. Her body was found hanging on a TV antenna. Cause of death? Unknown. Suicide, accident, or homicide? Unknown. Great, more work for Dojima.
As Dojima is cleaning up the crime scene, his nephew walks right on by the scene of the crime. Dojima, angry that the principal of Souji's school apparently didn't tell the students not to walk through that area, orders his nephew home. In the mean time, Dojima also deals with his assistant, Adachi, who's apparently throwing up. How very helpful. Please don't vomit on the evidence, Adachi. Dojima needs that.
Adachi interviews Saki Konishi, the girl who discovered Mayumi's body. He also does some... other things. But, as far as the police department knows, Saki had nothing to do with Mayumi's murder apart from finding the corpse. Neither did Taro Namatame, who has a solid alibi. Namatame's wife and enka singer, Misuzu Hiiragi, also has a solid alibi. Damn.
Not long after Saki discovered the body of Mayumi, Saki's corpse is found. Suspicious! Her body was also hung from a TV antenna. The set up was exactly the same as the incident surrounding Mayumi. But, try as Dojima might, he can't come up with any reasoning. Even interrogating local residents gets him nowhere.
Over the next few months, several students affiliated with Yasogami High School where Souji Seta attends vanish. The police department fears that these victims may die-since the only thing the police department knows for sure is the fact that Mayumi and Saki were both kidnapped, most likely during the day, before they were killed and hung from TV antennas.
And one other thing the disappearing victims have in common? Dojima's nephew, Souji. Now, Dojima cares for his nephew. He doesn't think Souji's guilty, but he IS a common factor in all of the disappearances and the two murders. So like any good detective, he questions Souji. However, when Souji says he isn't involved, Dojima believes him.
Good decision, Dojima.
Around the time of the second disappearance, a young detective is sent to Inaba to help with the investigations. Dojima doesn't take that information very well. Not only does he have to put up with the bumbling Adachi who keeps telling his nephew and his friends what the police department is up to, but with a far-too-young detective who thinks he knows it all as well? Dojima loses his patience with the police department and indulges himself to drinking a liiiittle bit too much. So the night that the Prince Detective is transferred to Inaba's police department, Adachi has to carry home a fairly drunk Dojima.
July soon rolls around and Inaba is pretty quiet. The murders happened all the way back in mid-April! People disappeared, but they came back quickly enough! Joy and peace everywhere! Yippie!
NOT SO.
There's another murder. This time, it's Kinshiro Morooka, Souji's homeroom teacher. Damn, Souji, just how are you involved?!
Things are a little different this time, however. Morooka's body was indeed hung, but this time it was from a water tower. However, the cause of his death was actually known! Blunt trauma. To the head. Ouch.
Apparently, Morooka's death was due to a copycat killer. Which, Dojima knows, makes sense. The circumstances of Morooka's death, while similar to Mayumi and Saki's deaths, were still too different. The copycat killer, Mitsuo Kubo, claims he killed all three victims: Mayumi, Saki and finally Morooka. The police department doesn't exactly believe Mitsuo and pawns him off on Adachi.
Which was a bad idea. Yeah.
Dojima continues to work on the case of the mysterious murders, paying attention to his nephew's activities while also working on the case of his deceased wife on the side. Souji denies actual involvement with the case, and so Dojima continues to believe him. He has no reason not to.
November rolls around, and though only one other disappeared during this time, a fellow detective, things are mostly calm! Dojima is still poring over the files from the very first murder case. But everyone else claims things are good!
They're noooooooot.
Dojima arrives home to a request for a new kotatsu. And a letter. It has no return address, but the name on the letter is his nephew's. Getting suspicious as all hell at this point, he takes Souji down to the police station to properly interrogate him. The letter was threatening in nature and linked Souji to the case, after all. Dojima had no choice.
Still, Dojima is an father and an uncle! He's willing to listen to Souji. All Dojima wants to hear is the truth. Except his nephew is spouting this insane fairytale about pushing people into TVs and the Midnight Channel and Souji what are you smoking? Irritated that Souji isn't telling the truth (shame on you, Dojima), he decides to leave Souji alone for a while. Truth be told, he's disappointed that in the months Souji has spent in the Dojima Residence that his nephew won't open up to him properly.
Adachi goes into the room where Dojima interrogated Souji. Adachi, being the blabbermouth that he is, tells Souji that Dojima was probably only worried about him since that letter was so threatening. Any father would protect someone they considered to be their son! Dojima slams something in the other room as a warning for Adachi to shut up. Adachi obliges!
Shortly after midnight, a group of Souji's friends burst into the room. Dojima is ready to tell them to either spit out the truth or leave, but the first thing out of their mouths is "Nanako is mising."
Oh.
Nanako is Dojima's everything. Sure, he loves Souji, too, but Nanako is his life. He already lost his wife and isn't prepared to lose his daughter, too. Dojima calls his residence and sure enough Nanako doesn't answer.
Panicking on the inside, but calm and collected on the out, he calls up an officer on duty and orders them to check all highway checkpoints: there's been a kidnapping. The officer is kind of dumbfounded. After all, Dojima is telling him there's been a kidnapping when there's no evidence other than Nanako not answering the phone. Dojima doesn't even sound sure of what's going on when relaying what little information he has. But the officer says he'll see what he can do.
Knowing that the police department won't be of much help since they've publicly stated they had the killer in custody by now, Dojima declares he's going to look for his daughter and storms out.
Go, Dojima, go!
Adachi tells Souji and his friends that Dojima had been going over the first murder's files and that maybe something is in there. The group decides that the murderer must be a delivery man (whom almost anyone would open the door for; they want their package! Or a free package) who carries a TV in the back of the truck (...oh. Souji was telling the truth?!). A man of this description who could possibly be a match is in the files for the first murder: Taro Namatame, the man who was having an affair with Mayumi. Adachi runs off to tell Dojima this so that Dojima isn't running around all half-cocked.
Due to good fortune, Dojima has just seen the delivery truck Namatame has been driving! Actually, Dojima was on his way to Namatame's house. But either way, Namatame drives right past him. And boy does Dojima give chase! Namatame, in a moment of panic, pulls the emergency break and jackknives the delivery truck. Dojima swerves!
Crash....
By the time some of Souji's friends arrive on scene, there's smoke from the crash and Dojima is outside of the car, injured and lying on the ground. The Prince Detective, Naoto Shirogane, calls an ambulance for Dojima. All Dojima wants to know is where Nanako is. Naoto wants to investigate the truck for clues, but Adachi is defiant. Gotta preserve the scene of the crime and all! Naoto investigates the truck anyway while Dojima waits for the ambulance and is cared for by Adachi.
Hey, look. A TV is in the back of the truck! And a diary full of the names of both the murder victims and the people who disappeared but came back safely. Namatame is looking awfully suspicious as the culprit! Adachi agrees.
Dojima is taken to the hospital. He tells Naoto and the others that his daughter is his reason for living. If she's dead, he might as well be dead, too. He questions what kind of father he is: a father unable to protect his daughter when she needed his protection most!
The police (as well as Souji and his friends) look for Namatame. Souji and co. are successful at apprehending him soon enough. Adachi takes care of sending Namatame to the hospital since he's in pretty poor condition and he's too injured to properly be interrogated. Nanako is also brought to the hospital; she's alive, but she isn't doing very well. None of the doctors know what's wrong with her, just that her body is close to shutting down.
In late November, an incredibly heavy fog covers the town. Dojima is slowly recovering and is in a wheelchair at this point, worrying himself sick over his daughter. He pretty much has himself attached to Nanako's side. Nanako's condition stays mostly the same.
Theeeeeen December 3rd rolls around.
Namatame still isn't well enough to be properly interrogated. Dojima is being a pretty bad hospital patient. His daughter is his pain. The doctors don't know why, but Dojima expects them to fix it anyway. If he would just behave and stop leaving his room while he's injured, things might be a little... calmer.
Eventually, Souji, his friends and Dojima are... evicted from Nanako's room. Turns out they're not being any calmer than the patients outside who are screaming about the fog covering Inaba being poisonous. Dojima is taken back to his own room where he should have been to begin with. But ah, a father's love. He keeps opening up his wound because he won't stay put, for heaven's sake!
Then. A doctor comes out into the hall where Souji and his friends are. He asks if Nanako's family is around, then ushers them back into the room. The doctor's call for Dojima (THE ONE TIME HE ISN'T AT NANAKO'S SIDE) while Souji and the others reassure her that everything's gonna be okay!
Spoilers: Everything will be okay indeed of landing in space means everything will be okay. If you ignore the whole... exploded planet... thing.
All in all, Dojima's a pretty serious guy who values proper justice. He's a detective because he can help others, not because of the perks that come with it (like being able to legally carry a gun). He may seem rough and gruff on the inside, but he does at times show a much softer side.
He loves Nanako very much, but he isn't sure how to go about raising her. She's growing up to look so much like Chisato, so it's difficult for him to be around her, but he loves her all the same.
But it isn't just Nanako he cares for either. It's evident that pretty much all of Inaba has a place in his heart. Even someone like Adachi, who is later revealed to have done some pretty awful things, is treated with respect by Dojima-though most people would never do so for Adachi considering what he did, Dojima requested an ambulance and stretcher for him. Even if Adachi had committed some atrocious crimes in the past, Adachi was still his partner.
He even has the best interests of people like Kanji Tatsumi, a teenager who is seen as a bully and thug, in mind. When Kanji skips school, Dojima is frustrated and concerned. When the idle Rise comes to Inaba, he stands guard around her tofu shop for a while because she needs the protection, not because it's just his "duty" as a police officer and detective.
If the player decides to initiate Social Links with Dojima, and therefore tightening the relationship between Souji and Dojima, Dojima becomes more at ease with himself and Nanako. He will be able to better accept the fact that he may never catch his wife's killer and he will also learn to be a better, more attentive father.
Although Nanako may question whether or not Dojima loves her and her mother, Dojima's inner workings make it clear he does love her. By being a detective, he's protecting Nanako as well as everyone else. At times, Dojima feels lonely. After all, he too lost someone very dear to him in Chisato. But he hasn't forgotten his wife's memories, even though his secrecy about working on the case and rarely talking about Chisato aloud may make people think otherwise.
Even though Dojima is always busy with work, he remembers to call Nanako when he won't be home until the next day so she won't worry about him. He often brings his daughter small gifts, like souvenir t-shirts and the like. Yet he has a difficult time getting into the mindset of his daughter. When Dojima is given a large watermelon, he doesn't expect that Nanako would want to smash it as in old tradition. So when he brings it home, already sliced and shared with the neighbors, Nanako is disappointed. Still, Dojima tries his best to be a good father.
Have you read up on how the game works?: Yes! The Guide plug-in that allows characters to communicate with each other is called the FlamingFerret. Three ways you can make money on the ship are: Through missions, stealing it (naaaughty) or by starting a business.
1st person sample:
[ Audio ]
[ Giving a sigh! ]
Coffee.... It had always been my job to make the coffee at home, so I don't think I should be so surprised that it ended up being my job here as well.
[ There's the sound of him clearing his throat, then the pouring of what is most likely coffee. ]
But doesn't this ship have any normal flavors of coffee? These flavors would be intolerable for the stomachs of most people. Bezoar flavor, Seasalt flavor.... I'm not even sure the curiosity of my daughter would help her stomach it. This coffee house acts like it's a crime to take your coffee black these days, too. It's healthier black and you can taste the bitterness of the coffee beans as well.
It isn't really a crime, so if you drop by the Lizardscale Coffee House, I suggest you ask for your coffee black. It'll take some getting used to, but in the long run, it's better for you.
3rd person sample:
He certainly wasn't in Inaba anymore, was he? If he had told anyone from the police department that he was on a spaceship that was on its way to another planet, they wouldn't believe him. Not that he could ever get back to Inaba's police department. No one would believe him at all. Hell, Dojima wasn't even sure if he believed it.
But the evidence was laid bare before him. No amount of pinching or slapping himself would ever wake him up. This was, unfortunately, his reality. An unbelievable and twisted reality, but a reality nonetheless.
Inaba, Japan, Earth. All of it was gone. All of the people in his small, mostly unremarkable town were simply... gone. It was as if the person who was behind those two murders-the first ones that were so mysterious that investigators were unable to determine the cause of death-had just decided to end it all.
It almost made Dojima want to believe his nephew's fantasy story 100%. That there really was some strange TV world. That when people get pushed through TVs, they're in danger of being dead. This ship was far too unrealistic. Aliens, "magic powers." It all sounded like something out of a crazy anime or manga.
But he'd only been on the ship a small amount of time. What he needed to do was collect evidence to prove one way another what was happening. People didn't just end up as a refugee on a space ship every day. They didn't have to do paperwork with Vogons looming over you, either.
Yet eye-witnesses obviously said otherwise. People claimed to have been on the Thor for over a year. Yet he had just arrived. If he stayed for a while longer-as if he had a choice-surely he would be able to deduce if this was all some strange mass-hallucination. Maybe the rumors were true; maybe the fog covering Inaba was poisonous. With enough time, he would be able to find out the truth.
...But...
He really couldn't afford to spend time here. He needed to find Nanako. Inaba was important, but Nanako was the most important thing to him. She hadn't been that far away from him when he found himself on this ship, so she couldn't be far. All he needed to do was look for the evidence that would point to her location. Maybe there was something that belonged to his daughter nearby...?
Once Nanako was safe with him, then he could put the rest of his energy into figuring out what was going on.
Questions?: Nope.
Did you put your characters name and fandom in the subject: I did!