ooc → survey of doom

[treasurehunted]

Body and Appearance
1. Describe the character's height and build. Is he heavyset, thin, short, rangy?
To get this out of the way, Motochika is tall. Easily taller than Masamune and a lot of the characters in the series, so I'll pin him as over 6', maybe somewhere near 6'3" or so. As for his build, it's actually rather deceitful. He is muscled, no doubt, and wickedly in shape but he's not overly so or bulky by any means. His abs are defined as are his arms, but he's not a big man at all.

If a comparison must be made, we can consider him to have more of a boxer's build than a football player's. In canon, he's probably more similar to Masamune than Kojūrō himself actually. Despite his height, he's deceptively not that large by any means.

2. How old is he?
While it's fudgy, I like to pin him at about 22 years old. Also at this point I feel like I should mention I believe the BASARA timeline for Motochika contrasts greatly with actual history.

3. Describe his posture. Does he carry himself well or does he slouch?
He slouches, actually. He leans forward a lot and if he's not leaning forward, he's leaning on his anchor. It's not really for balance since his balance is actually quite good, but he's just a very loose pirate. He doesn't think about it and he doesn't even sit up straight to look intimidating. In fact, he really doesn't care about how he carries himself and falls into a natural pattern of slouching and putting his hands in his pockets.

It may come from the fact that he's often putting his anchor across his shoulders. The slouching movement offsets the weight some, as he might have had to adjust as a teenager, and while the weight doesn't bother him at all now, the habit just stuck.

4. How is his health? Is he fit or out of shape? Any illnesses or conditions? Any physical disabilities?
He's actually in perfect condition, if not better. He's extremely well-exercised and fit and you could probably punch those abs and he wouldn't even feel it. While he often takes beatings, he recovers easily (as does everyone in the series) and his health actually isn't much of a concern at all.

... Well, if you consider the fact that he can't see out of his left eye. It's the only disability he has. It blocks out a fair amount of his vision but he's managed to adjust rather well to it. As a child, he was pale and frail, but it can only be explained as He Got Better.

5. How does he move? Is he clumsy, graceful, tense, fluid?

It's incredibly fluid, though it's noticeable he often likes to move in short motions if he's at ease. He'll take even steps from side to side when speaking, or jump down from areas and land and pause. He's perfectly capable of both slowing things down as well as keeping up with the speedy ones. Just as he stands at a moment's notice, he'll also suddenly sit down without being perturbed at all.

He'll react to a threat immediately and pick up his anchor spear like it's nothing more than a twig. A lot of his fighting motions involve him swinging his spear back and forth, making broad sweeping gestures.

6. How attractive is this character physically? How does he perceive himself in the mirror?

Another major deceit from Motochika.

In his childhood, he was called "little princess" and was known for being gentle, dainty, weak, and frail. Considering that it was "princess" instead of "prince", he was probably also extremely pretty. While it's true that now he's anything but those things, having become a scarred, rough, and gruff pirate, that hardly changes his facial structure.

He's attractive if you're into the rough ones when he's being his pirate-y self, complete with smug looks and cursing and shirtless wonder. But if you actually get him to button on a shirt and remove all the extremities of his clothes, he's actually capable of a far tamer kind of handsome. Considering he is not as big as he builds himself up to be and actually quite the softie, he's capable of being perfectly attractive if you get him to quiet down.

Fat chance of that happening, though. At least he's still nice to look at.

As for how he perceives himself, he more or less does it all on purpose- at least for how he looks. He is actually fairly aware he's not a big guy naturally like Shingen or Shimazu and he thinks that's a problem when you're trying to command respect amongst pirates who are bigger than you- and older, too. So he does the things he can to command a more dominating appearance, mostly consisting of what he wears to make himself appear larger and more intimidating. Also anything to cover up what could make it clear that he was once a frail little boy that was often mistaken for a girl.

7. Describe his complexion. Dark, light, clear, scarred?
A bit tanned, unsurprisingly. The man spends his time out at sea and rarely puts a shirt on. Admittedly, he's not even remotely as tanned as he should be, but what can you do when BASARA fails to make sense on most things? He is a bit darker than most, though. That much is for sure.

Also he's noticeably scarred- ... depending on what media you're poking your head into. In the anime, those lines at his right side are distinctly made into scars. In the third game, they're far wider and straighter and look like he was messing around with paint. His artwork is kind and doesn't seem to show them at all.

It might be best not to question it.

8. Describe his hair: color, texture, style.

... Silver? It's pretty unruly. Slicked back out of his face and jutting out at all directions, but the eye patch might help keep it out of his eyes too. He really doesn't seem to care much for how it looks as long as it doesn't get in his way- and it really doesn't.

9. What color are his eyes?
In most versions, he's got a blue eye. It's a pretty light blue, too. In the third game, he has a gold eye. No real reason, apparently. I'm still going to go with blue though.

10. Does the character have any other noteworthy features?
He's missing his left eye and I could go crazy about how and why but I'll make a headcanon post later because I swear I wrote fic on it. The nitty gritty is that there was conflict when he was a boy and there was an attack on the Chōsokabe house and he got caught up in it and they got the poor boy in the eye.

11. What are his chief tension centers?
I'm going to make a random guess at what this means and say his shoulders because that's where his anchor tends to sit. Oh boy.

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?

.... Obnoxious, flow-y, and lacking. Why? Because it's completely pink and purple (though no one seems to notice), has a lot of extra pieces that serve no purpose except to flow in the wind, and the man isn't wearing a shirt. Come on. There's a bunch of straps that lead to nowhere and the only one that seems to actually have a use is apparently to attach his jacket of sorts down to the cape portion of his pants. What? Also a pink sash- but that one involves headcanon.

That said, it does make at least a little bit of sense in terms of armor. While he does go shirtless, there's a slightly wide strap that goes across his chest that has metal studs embedded on it- offering some protection if you use your imagination. He then has shin guards and more metal on his legs, as well as his arms with the gloves he has. Lastly, he has a neck guard sort of thing that's made of metal and well- it's got to serve some sort of purpose, right?

That said, all the cloth he wears seems to have some sort of floral pattern at least on one side. The wrong side of his jacket and cape portion of his pants are in fact floral, while the right side is a solid purple. The pink pants and cloth around his waist also noticeably have patterns. Motochika likely didn't bother to get custom cloth and instead picked up whatever caught his eye at the market place- it seems like something a lazy pirate would do, right? Also one who doesn't want to bother folks who could spend time making fabrics for everyone else while he could take the already made stuff.

He's probably only got the one outfit. Yeah. Well, pirate. They have no problem being nasty and gross.

13. Do his clothes fit well? Does he seem comfortable in them?
No, they don't fit him well, but yes, he's extremely comfortable in them! It was his own choice to make it so that they don't work out. Why? It's to make himself seem bigger and more intimidating, of course.

The jacket that sits on his shoulders- well, the part where the sleeve itself begins doesn't match up with where his shoulder is at all. It makes for a sharp line that broadens his shoulders and then the sleeves flail about which is partly cool, partly ridiculous. So it's the SenBASA usual right there. His pants puff out too, even with his shin guards so that's kinda weird. Then he doesn't wear a shirt and it looks like his jacket won't close even if he tried, so that's just proofing that Motochika adjusted whatever he's wearing for the sake of a pirate-y appearance.

So what have we learned, ladies and gentlemen?

We have learned that Chōsokabe Motochika should not be allowed to dress himself because his clothes don't fit and he's apparently proud of this. For shame, Aniki.

14. Does he dress the same on the job as he does in his free time? If not, what are the differences?

He's a pirate, bro. Do you think he has an option to choose? Nah, he wears the same thing all the time. Maybe once in a while he'll change out of it (and essentially just wear some pants and nothing else) if there's peace but he'll be back on the ship to go treasure hunting in no time.

15. You knew it was coming: Boxers, briefs or commando?
He wears a SEJUE: Sengoku Era Japan Underwear Equivalent.

Speech
1. What does this character's voice sound like? High-pitched, deep, hoarse?
Collection of game cutscenes, ahoy! But well, Motochika has a fairly deep voice and there’s a guttural quality to it when he speaks at times. It sounds rather throaty honestly and it definitely has a rough tone to it a lot of the time. He’s more prone to slurring and his tone isn’t clean at all when he yells.

2. How does he normally speak? Loud, soft, fast, evenly? Does he talk easily, or does he hesitate?

3. Does the character have a distinct accent or dialect? Any individual quirks of pronunciation? Any, like, you know, verbal tics?

4. What language/s does he speak, and with how much fluency?
He speaks Japanese and he's perfectly fluent. But... only in Japanese. If he ever finds himself in an unknown land on his travels, he thinks he can rely on hand gestures and scary faces.

Interestingly enough, there is the occasional solitary English word in his speech. Probably picked up from Masamune but also to emphasize points.

5. Does he switch languages or dialects in certain situations?

6. Is he a good impromptu speaker, or does he have to think about his words?

7. Is he eloquent or inarticulate? Under what circumstances might this change?

Mental and Emotional
1. How intelligent is this character? Is he book-smart or street-smart?
... Well first off, Motochika is extremely intelligent even though you may not expect him to be. True, his actions occasionally reek of ego and recklessness, but he's not foolish by any means. That's a personality trait ruled by impulse, not actual intelligence. Because honestly, Motochika is smarter than most probably give him credit for. As a member of the Chōsokabe household, he probably did receive some basic schooling that was appropriate for high families during the time period. So he has some book smarts in him and is capable of reading and writing, on top of the knowledge of technical things.

That said, he is largely street-smart and that's what you see more. His intelligence comes from understanding people and their tendencies and choices. So from coming to understand others, he's able to decide upon other things and remains savvy about the world. He's good at noticing the little things which helps him get by and definitely works to his advantage in the street-smart thing.

2. Does he think on his feet, or does he need time to deliberate?
Trick question, he does both. PV

In all honesty, if it's a serious matter and he's able to pause and take a moment, he will. He won't rush a decision when it's the Sengoku Era and one false move that comes from hastiness can cause you to forfeit the lives of your men. Looking at you, Yukimura. So to do things in an efficient matter, he pauses and takes his time for as long as he can. He knows waiting too long is detrimental too, but if the opportunity arises for him to consider his steps, he'll be more than happy to take it.

That said, if he doesn't have time and needs to make a decision, he often makes up his mind very quickly. As opposed to war strategy where he can move as he likes, he actually comes to a decision much quicker if someone else acts first. For example, he knows right away that he should go with Masamune to rescue Kojuurou instead of going ahead because that'd leave Masamune alone- not to mention it would help if they left the surprise attack for when they're at their strongest. Losing the One-Eyed Dragon would cause his troops to hesitate and worry on top of the drop in military strength. In both terms of friendship and strategy, he wouldn't allow Masamune to be reckless because it would affect them all. That decision was made in seconds and his friend was persuaded in minutes even without the full argument. What a beast, right?

His brain works quickly and he does tend to go with gut feeling and then logic it out from there.

So I guess the way to answer this question is that he genuinely doesn't need time to deliberate on most matters, but that doesn't stop him from doing so when he can. Often when he does go to think on a subject, he does so by himself.

3. Describe the character's thought process. Is he more logical, or more intuitive? Idealistic or practical?
Gut feeling and then logic it out from there. No, really. He's loud and impulsive and it extends to (or maybe stems from?) how he thinks. In general, he doesn't make a lot of judgments right off the bat, but there are some people who give you the creeps and some people you just like. The difference is that Aniki's impulse is incredibly optimistic 98% of the time. He would trust all of his men with his life and they all look like rough brutes who would take you aside and jump you for money- but he knows they're not. In general, he tries to understand a person so he is perceptive often without even trying. His tendency is to try to work out another person's thought process before he makes his final judgment, but his gut leads him too.

In terms of people, he'll consider everything about them. What it looks like their priorities are, what he's heard from other people, and the general situation. In terms of Matsu and Toshiie, he knew a couple things. He knew they were Nobunaga's vassals, he knew Nobunaga was a bad guy and would use dirty tricks to acquire wealth, and he knew what Keiji told him about them. Overall, he could discern that despite how they egged him on and challenged him, they were likely forced with no other choice and actually really good, if rather desperate, people. Even if his head told him to fight and take them out there, he instead settled for believing in his friend's words and trying to persuade Matsu and Toshiie instead. And it worked.

Motochika's general attempts with people is trying to understand why they do what they do, because he figures most people have reasons. He's both understanding and perceptive, taking in all details and what he knows about a person and it helps keep him from getting too needlessly riled up.

His decisions are made in similar fashion: gather details, consider, act. Though it always goes in rapid succession and right after the other so it hardly looks like he's thinking too hard about and... most of the time, he really isn't? Most of these things come really simply to him so he rarely exerts energy specifically for gathering and organizing his thoughts.

He's both idealistic and practical in the sense that he wants for a better world and believes in people a lot of the time but he also can't ignore what's in front of him. A lot of the time, the idealism and kindness weigh out the practicality because he's always certain he'll work out a plan and he so often does. Perhaps it's easiest to say that his kindness and generosity drive him and them he figures things out from there.

Motochika's head is a trippy place where impulse, kindness, and details all kind of collide into this one mindset that allows him to be right a lot of the time. There's a reason why he's the most open and generous guy Keiji knows.

4. What kind of education has the character had?
Two kinds of education: formal academics and rough knowledge pounding from experience. Yes, the second one counts!

As I mentioned before, he did come from the Chōsokabe family and when your family is prominent in the time period, you're probably more educated than others. Basic things come to him like math, reading, writing, and other common things even if he doesn't exactly use them a lot- though reading is one of the skills he has to pull out more often. On top of that comes his interest in science that shows itself in his advanced machinery and he learned more about that from books because he knew how to read in the first place. However from mid-teenaged years on, he abandoned most of his interest in education except for the occasional reading of whatever he needs to know for his machines.

The second kind of education affected both how he came to understand the world and just how he got his bearings on a pirate ship. If he abandoned formal education as a teen, that's approximately when these lessons started. His teachers were not scholars and books but instead rough sailors and hard work. It let him understand the way the world works and how tough things can be when you're not coddled and pampered. Also the basic education of how to handle things on a boat and think on your feet- things that books tried and failed to explain to him because he learns best from experience and speaking with other people. He came to understand mechanics and technology in the same way- via observation and experiencing it all first-hand.

5. What are his areas of expertise? What, if anything, is he interested in learning more about?
His areas of expertise are people, fights, and machines, if you're willing to believe that. He's strong, perceptive, and intelligent which allows him to understand people and welcome them onto his island and into his heart. It's almost no wonder that he has a following like he does when he does his best to treat people well. While he doesn't go out of his way to earn people's loyalty, he ends up with a lot of people adoring him anyway because he does go out of his way to help others because he feels the need to.

The second most prominent would be machinery because while he's not renowned for strategy or anything of that sort, most people really can't argue that as far as technology goes, he's pretty amazing. He's able to create giant cannons (plural!) to put onto his floating fortress that sits on three ships, and on top of that has multiple other cannons and let's not forget that the Fugaku is perfectly capable of sustaining life like trees and a waterfall... Yeah, he's a pretty crazy capable mechanic for the time period. Not even counting his Rising Sun projects from the third game.

Also fighting is mentioned because this is Sengoku BASARA and all major generals know how to hold their own in a fight and decimate armies by themselves. It's nothing really special but he can fight Masamune evenly with just one arm and ties with Keiji with his hand in his pocket. It's practically a requirement in this series that you have to kick a lot of ass in order for anyone to remember your name.

He's also incredibly willing to learn about... everything in general? Most importantly what catches his attention tends to relate to people and machines and good fights. Basically everything I mentioned above? Yeah, he just figures there is always more to learn about it all.

6. Is he an introvert or an extrovert?
Extrovert for sure. He's honest and loud and a people person in every single way possible. He asserts his position like you have no idea and is incredibly outgoing. He gets to know people as much as he can and tries to understand them too. It's not even limited to his happier moments but he's open about his melancholy moments too. Everything that Motochika feels can pretty much be read on his faith except on very rare occasion when he needs to keep up a poker face and... even those don't last very long.

His interests tend to flay out and extend to other people and he rarely takes a moment to analyze himself at all. Truly he's a very, very strong extrovert.

7. Describe the character's temperament. Is he even-tempered or does he have mood swings? Cheerful or melancholy? Laid-back or driven?
... Wow, this is hard. Motochika is extremely multi-faceted so let's split this up into a few sections. In general, with his crew, with acquaintances, and with fellow samurai he's close to.

In general, he tends to be a hard guy to seriously anger. While he is extremely rough and quite the brute, he doesn't to around yelling about it or how he's the best. Go away, Musashi. He's amiable and relaxed, putting up zero fronts and requiring zero formalities. He'll tell you his name but doesn't really expect you to care about it. It's simply that he doesn't have a lot of expectations when he tends to deal with people except for maybe a good fight from the people who are known for that. There isn't a single tense bone in his body and he's quite honest with how he feels- and that goes for everybody. Enemies, allies, crew, and strangers alike receive complete honesty from him. He won't go out of his way to seem pirate-y or rough past his appearance and that's for the sake of keeping his land protected and secure. He's said himself that he doesn't recall "acting" about anything before. When he does something, he is extremely blunt and straight-forward about it. This goes for everything.

Now for his crew, Motochika treats them differently than most other people. While they do get the brunt of the name calling and insults, they also receive the Aniki treatment. They get ordered around and nagged and pushed and chewed out, but they also receive his help in absolutely everything they could ask for. He does it all with a straight face and hands out orders like candy, expecting them to be done within seconds and generally not being disappointed. Around them, he builds up a stronger air of confidence and certainty, explaining things in a crystal clear sort of way. He also isn't against barking at them when they're doing something wrong, so his normally rare outbursts and reprimanding statements aren't rare with them at all. He'll tell them when to back off and when to attack, showing no inch of hesitation and being the leader they look to him to be.

(In Vatheon, it can be said that he treats his adopted set of little brothers in similar fashion except he won't hit them quite as hard as he would hit a grown man on his crew. He's also more concerned with their development as they're young so he explains things more thoroughly and tries to make points through questioning as well. They aren't spoon-fed or protected as thoroughly because they're growing up still and they're not on his crew, which means he can't bark orders at them either. He's learning to expect a little less too.)

Alright! Now let's take acquaintances. By acquaintances, I mean from common people who either he presides over or someone else presides over- villagers who are not on his pirate crew, from his land or someone else's. Right off the bat, he doesn't treat them half as informally or badly as his pirate crew. Why? Because these are honest folk who work the land and only want to get by with smiles and a life that hopefully isn't too hard. As said before, Motochika doesn't act so don't think that he's treating them nicely to build a reputation- no, he genuinely respects this kind of lifestyle and so he doesn't bark at them at all. It's not even a matter of being polite because he still talks to them informally, and on top of that, he has no problem lecturing them too. Around people he knows but doesn't really know, he might actually be a few bits invasive because he's curious about them as opposed to his crew or friends who he feels like he knows a lot about. Either way, around them he's very cheerful and he does his best to be understanding, but firm. He'll make his points through words as opposed to brute force, though. He's also a lot more even-tempered unless someone manages to rile him up with a challenge.

Lastly, there are the people deemed equals, mostly lords and people of note from other lands like Masamune or Keiji or Ieyasu. These guys receive the warmest of welcomes from Motochika and while he would never place them above his crew, they're brothers in their own kind of way. He's downright cheerful with them around, mostly because they're the kind of people he doesn't see for long periods of time. Still, he considers all of them to be his friends and welcomes them to enjoy time on his ship or a drink of sake. They chat and they're friendly, exchanging ideas and Motochika never sees a reason to lecture them or offer anything more than encouragement. They're the people he will bow his head to if he does wrong them, as opposed to others where he offers an honest apology only. These kinds of people are friends, not family and not people he has to protect. He welcomes their different views and enjoys finding out about them, too.

... and then there's Sayaka but I swear there's a separate section for this somewhere down there.

So he does tend to treat everyone differently and his temperament largely depends on the relationship you have with him. He tends to be laid-back for the most part, though.

8. How does he respond to new people or situations? Is he suspicious, relaxed, timid, enthusiastic?
Enthusiastic! Always enthusiastic. He wants to know more about what he's gotten himself into and the people around him if he doesn't know them very well. He's curious about them all and doesn't hesitate to ask questions or discover new things on his own. He's all up for adventuring and freedom and hunting for treasure and information alike. He exercises just the smallest amount of caution possible, really.

9. Is he more likely to act, or to react?
... Tough because again, it's easy to say both. A lot of the time he'll act of his own accord and do ridiculous things like build crazy machines or do things on a whim. But this is mostly if he has free time and a lot of his acts are harmless (in a sense...) and don't affect anyone else. Honestly if he has nothing else to do, he'll settle for simple things like making useless devices of mass destruction but... he rarely involves anyone else because he's far more occupied with simple things.

Now his biggest motions are only reactions. It takes someone doing something ridiculous and reckless that brings out the level-headedness in him and when someone moves to invade his territory, of course he'll fight back. It takes him a lot of time to deliberate on any actual acts of note, but his reactions are quickly decided upon and he moves about them quickly. So it's probably best to say that it's far easier and more likely for him to react.

10. Which is his default: fight or flight?
Fight fight fight. This is Sengoku BASARA, bitch. Flight turns you either into a coward, a bird, or that one Yoshimoto guy who got killed in the second episode. Yeah, that loser! Even the old guy fights by default! It is in a warrior's heart to just go for it!

... That said, Motochika will tell his soldiers to fall back (if he's not, you know, pissed off beyond belief) and retreat if it'll save their lives from a losing battle. Their lives are more important to him than just about anything. Except if he is pissed off, his actual order is "fight until you die" and you have to hope he cools down somewhere during the battle or else thinks could get ugly.

11. Describe the character's sense of humor. Does he appreciate jokes? Puns? Gallows humor? Bathroom humor? Pranks?
His sense of humor tends to include laughing at another person. So naivete and confusion at what he thinks is simple tends to get a chuckle out of him without even trying. Long stories with punch lines or jokes can get to him too, but it's actually important that it's time-period appropriate for him to understand the joke. Also what's the point of knock knock jokes? Yeah, those would only get pity laughter in response. Pranks can get laughs out of him too, but general, innocent misfortune at someone else's expense makes him laugh as well.

It's a pretty rough and rude type of sense of humor, but that'd pit his pirate persona pretty damn well.

12. Does the character have any diagnosable mental disorders? If yes, how does he deal with them?
Not off the top of my head. He lacks the self-centeredness to have a Messiah complex or anything.

13. What moments in this character's life have defined him as a person?
Headcanon? Yeah, lots of it. Also a really screwy timeline. Delicious.

Age 0 : born under the Chōsokabe house with a weak and frail constitution
Age 0 - 14 : Himewakako Period of gentle nature, slight mockery from guards, mistaken for a girl, and generally a bit sickly
Age ~ 6 : met Sayaka, who became best friend and the person who kept him company and looked after him
Age 15 : began to rebel against Himewakako name and develop a harsher nature to combat mockery
Age 16 - 20 : Oniwakako Period of rebellion to accompany teenage years. Spent fighting battles to unify Shikoku and gathering crew members. Sayaka went from person to look after him to the person who yelled at him when he was being reckless. An interest in machines was cultivated at this time.
Age 16 : first battle won him more territory for the family and he discarded the Himewakako title completely. He showed natural combat ability in the battle.
Age 16 : father passed away shortly after first battle.
Age 18 ~ 21 : mother and brothers passed away during conquering time period.
Age 19 ~ 20 : Sayaka marries and moves to the mainland, leaving Shikoku.
Age 20 - Present : Saikai no Oni period. Found a balance between overbearing demonic and rough nature he grew accustomed to and the kindness and generosity he tends to express.
Age 21 : Shikoku unified under his rule.
Age 21 ~ 22 : stayed out of conflict on mainland and instead went treasure hunting.
Age 22 : completed Fugaku fortress, the culmination of all his machinery work.
Age 22 : pulled into encirclement strategy against Nobunaga.
Age 22 : began to take in refugees from Mouri and Toyotomi lands.
Age 22 : fought Toyotomi Hideyoshi and lost

14. What does he fear?
The main fear lies in his own ability, worrying that he honestly isn't strong enough to take care of everyone like he has been promising. Now in his region this isn't much of a problem just because you can only have so many super strong warriors in one area according to SenBASA logic. But then when someone like Hideyoshi waltzes on in and punches the ocean away, proceeding to beat Aniki into a pulp, it's a little more worrisome for the pirate captain. Normally he doesn't have trouble dealing with defeat except for some minor ego bruising but then now that he represents the strength of Shikoku and acts as the leader, he has to work hard to be hard to beat so no one gets any ideas about taking his land. While it's true that he regards most of his fellow samurai as good and respectable guys, Shikoku is still Demon's Island and therefore his territory until he's willing to give it up which looks a lot like never. So his major fear lies in his strength and while he manages to meet most of the others evenly, the beatdown from Hideyoshi was a wake-up call. When he has so many people depending on him, who he promised to protect, it shook him to think that he really could have failed them.

On a smaller scale, this is a fear he faces when with his crew who he regards as his younger brothers. Yeah, he leads them into danger all the time but they come so willingly that he understands they put a lot of faith in him- to the point that the majority lay down their lives without hesitation. The loyalty and faith is inspiring and helps solidify his confidence, but it also keeps him thoroughly grounded about what kind of responsibility he had. He knows that when a life is lost, you won't get it back and while casualties are impossible to avoid in the Sengoku period, he stills doesn't want to fail his crew in how he leads them. Losing too many would be too much even for him to take.

15. What are his hopes or aspirations?
Despite his actions occasionally implying otherwise, he does wish to unify the Land of the Rising Sun. His motivation for this is because you never know when another horrible person, like Hideyoshi or Nobunaga, would try to claim it for themselves again. What he desires is for the constant war to stop not because he doesn't enjoy the fighting but because he's seen what happens when a bad ruler is in charge. The people end up neglected and he simply won't stand for it. He doesn't see the people of other lands as enemies, not even if they work for his rival, because they are not the ones fighting the war. He thinks their jobs are much more important and also more innocent than that. If he had his way, the war would stop for the sake of the people who deserve better lives than that. So now that he conquered Shikoku by himself, he would next like to move on to the rest of Japan.

... That said, it doesn't have to be him to do it. Truly, if placed in a moment of the decisive battle - either he gets the country or someone else does - and if he trusts his opponent and believes in their ability... He will let the opportunity go and concede defeat even if he won the fight. Motochika's dream of a unified Japan - while he would like to make it come true himself and will fight for it as long as possible - does not have to be accomplished by him, not as long as the people are taken care of. While it is true that it is a dream he is the one dreaming and wishing for and hoping for, he isn't self-centered enough to think he's the only one capable of doing it.

So like just about everyone else, he hopes for a unified Japan. The key difference is that if he trusts the ruling person... he will give up going after it himself, because it's true that another may be more suited for it than he. The most important thing to Motochika is that the fighting ceases and the people are taken care of.

16. What is something he doesn't want anyone to find out about him?
Right off the bat, there's Himewakako AKA his childhood of being mistaken for a girl and gentle crybaby nature and all that stuff that's really embarrassing. It's not that he thinks being that way is weak- but it's not what he thinks that would be an issue. He has to protect his reputation or else people might see him as a pushover and that might lead to conflicts that affect Shikoku or his men. So to avoid that, he'd rather not have anyone know about his childhood or the Little Princess days.

Past that, he's incredibly open and wouldn't think of anything else that he wouldn't want people to know. He really doesn't think he has anything to hide...

Relationships
1. Describe this character's relationship with his parents.
As a minor note, all of the following questions will be placed under Headcanon Central, since SenBASA hardly goes into the whole ‘parents and siblings’ thing.

Alright! So historically, Motochika’s father is Kunichika and his mother is… unnamed. Oh. Well. To begin with the facts, Kunichika was recognized as a very… interesting man. After his father was killed after they abandoned their last castle, he was determined to get it back. When his caretaker told him (while they were drinking) that if he were to jump off the edge of the castle they were sitting on, he would assist him in taking back that land. And… Kunichika did it. Already, Papa Chosokabe set a very high standard for badassery.

Honestly, the two had an interesting dynamic. Motochika was not the ideal heir at first, a frail and weak young boy who had a penchant for perhaps the more feminine things. Yet despite this, Kunichika would threaten to bite off the head of whoever would insult his son and didn’t do much to push him right away. It was more of a focus to keep Motochika alive and hopefully he would come to learn and grow into a proper Feudal Warlord. Either way, he still didn’t really coddle the boy and was a bit rough with him, having no issue with tossing him into the sea so he would get used to it. He came to approve when Motochika finally started to grow up and especially when he entered the Oniwakako phase, though he wasn’t sure what to make of his son’s constant sea venturing. However when he died shortly after Motochika’s first true battle as a warlord, they were on good terms and he had no problem leaving everything with his son.

Lady Chosokabe was also a tough lady, though there really isn’t any documentation on her at all. She was the one who coddled Motochika and despite everything, she didn’t have an issue with him being rather feminine at all. She would hold his hand around the manor and teach him how to arrange flowers or make daisy chains, giving him all the luxuries that he wished for and would develop an expectation of. As he grew older, she let the reins a bit loose but would still express her opinion on all the less-than-noble activities he took part in. She also helped in keeping Motochika in line when he started getting a bit more insane than usual.

His parents are the only two people in the world that Motochika would use formal language with all his life, as he respected them like nothing else and to this day, he calls them Mother and Father instead of the Ma and Pa he uses to addresses everyone else’s parents. While they weren’t the final say in his actions, their opinion would weigh a lot on him and they built his expectations high. His father was the one who dreamed of uniting Shikoku and Motochika followed through with that when his father didn’t get the chance to, and he also came to be used to the luxury and that developed his lust for expensive and rare trinkets. Motochika’s parents were very important to him and losing them was hard, but he visits their graves each year with high-class sake for his father and flowers for his mother.

2. Does the character have any siblings? What is/was their relationship like?
Historically, Motochika had 3 younger brothers…. who all supported him but died before he did. In Sengoku BASARA, he doesn’t seem to have any particular notable blood brothers so… I took that as a sign that they died. On that note, he was highly protective of all of them and his youngest brother even suffered from a fatal disease. Despite that, he was said to have been a very large fellow who was incredibly cheerful at all times. Motochika visits all of their graves quietly by ducking out of his position and status for a day to spend a day in remembrance. They were very important to him, but at this point, he has come to accept that he won’t be getting them back. All he can do is pay his respect and keep his current ‘brothers’ alive.

3. Are there other blood relatives to whom he is close? Are there ones he can't stand?
None, really. If he has relatives, they are distant ones that he isn’t as close to because he’s constantly traveling and he treats them as he would any native of Shikoku. They’re all part of his family and I guess that can be answered in the next question, huh?

4. Are there other, unrelated people whom he considers part of his family? What are his relationships with them?
Everyone on Shikoku is part of Motochika’s family. They support him, they care for him, and they are what keep him afloat in these turbulent times - which is what family truly does, right? He considers his crew to be like his pack of brothers and by extension, their families are his families. He goes out of his way to remember the names of everyone he can and try to keep up with their situations, because that’s what a big brother is supposed to do, right?

In general, they are very positive relationships where Motochika will do anything to keep his family happy and they tend to feel the same loyalty to him - enough to be willing to avenge his death bare-handed if they must.

5. Who is/was the character's best friend? How did they meet?
So… this is a lot of insight on my part, admittedly, but I suppose that is what happens when BASARA doesn’t give you much to work with at all.

Saika Magoichi is not Motochika’s best friend. Sayaka is.

To be honest, it’s only because there are very few people in the world who can apparently keep Motochika in line. Ieyasu can’t do it, Masamune alone can’t do it, and if those two aren’t able to, then everyone is just about fucked-until someone thinks to ask Sayaka. It says a lot that in the game, the only way to get Motochika’s good endings are to go through the Saika Faction’s camp and confer with their leader. Sayaka can get away with bonking him over the head and calling him an idiot, an honor reserved for… very few, if anyone else at all.

They met on Shikoku when Sayaka lived by the sea and Kunichika was expanding the territory. Himewakako got lost one day and ran into a headstrong girl who lived in the village and she took him back to the closest public official so that he could be returned back home. From then on, Motochika couldn’t forget the kind favor that had been done and would always invite Sayaka back to spend time with her. It helped that she was far more serious and level-headed than he was already, whereas he was a frail little child who cried and asked for her whenever he could.

But then they started growing up. Motochika got more out of hand and Sayaka went from the one who had to get him to stop crying to the person who had to make sure he didn’t do anything too stupid and make other people cry. He grew more devilish and truly seemed to need her less, though he would argue that he always wanted to have Sayaka alone, though it was true that he rebelled against her advice more and more. Still though, he was an important figure in his life and someone whose opinion he did trust… but didn’t always take. However not too long after, Sayaka got married and left for the mainland, leaving Motochika frustrated for a while before he got over it.

To this day, he considers her to be his best friend because they grew up together and know each other very well. He knew her before she took on the cold persona of Saika Magoichi and refuses to leave behind the memories of the days they spent together as friends on Shikoku.

(Also as a note, should I ever get a Sayaka in Vat, I’m all for totally editing or tossing out this headcanon entirely. o/)

6. Does he have other close friends?
He does indeed! While I could say that he’s close with all of his bros (and he is, since he knows the majority of their life stories and family situations), that’s a little too obvious and they still remain to be Motochika’s crew and not his equals. So for other close friends, I’ll have to answer that question with Date Masamune and Tokugawa Ieyasu.

Date Masamune and Motochika are actually kindred spirits, I’ve gotta say. They’re both pretty reckless, loud, dumb, and awesome. They have no problem starting off fights as a greeting and not holding it against each other, and despite the fact that they pretty much fight all the time, there’s an understanding and trust there between generals. Masamune will trust Motochika to look after his men and Motochika would return the favor without a second thought. Masamune is another person whose opinion Motochika will trust and take into consideration when things go a little crazy.

Tokugawa Ieyasu on the other hand, is someone that Motochika would never want to admit that he’s similar to. … but he can’t get away from the fact that it’s so obviously the truth. They both care a lot for the Land of the Rising Sun and should they ever have to come down to a fight for it, Motochika will actually willingly leave the country in Ieyasu’s hands and think that’s alright. They’re good friends who joke around and laugh and are generally just two idiots together who follow their whims. Motochika will never stop vouching for how good of a person Ieyasu is and he can’t seem to handle it very well when he feels like that level of trust and faith has been betrayed.

7. Does he make friends easily, or does he have trouble getting along with people?
Eventually, you will like Motochika. This is true in all cases unless you lack a heart like Motonari.

First impressions differ horribly from ‘wow this guy is a cool pirate’ to ‘ew, what a brute’. Both are accurate! Motochika sucks at first impressions and no one likes him all that much at first because he really is a ruffian and you can’t get around that. It makes sense that people are wary at first and he’s entirely aware of this, but he needs that type of aura so that he can keep Shikoku safe because everyone is on their toes around him.

Hoooowever, he also can’t hide the fact that he’s a huge squishy underneath it all. It’s not hard to see how much he cares about people and cares about everyone, even if it’s mostly just a lot of subtext. He cares for the development of people and making sure they’re alright. He tries to understand everyone’s different stories and does his best not to judge too harshly upon actions without understanding. So after that… yeah, he definitely makes friends easily. It’s just a matter of getting to know Motochika past the fact that he makes it very obvious that he wants to be regarded as a rawr rawr angry pirate.

But since when does anyone listen to what Motochika wants?

8. Which does he consider more important: family or friends?
Family. In his head, Shikoku is family and the rest of the world are friends. While he will care for other people from other lands, they aren’t his responsibility for long periods of time and they will eventually go home, right? So while both are incredibly important to him and the problem doesn’t come up often, he does hold a great bias toward the people of Shikoku and will keep them safe first. The entire point of fighting this war is to make sure that his land is prosperous-though that doesn’t mean he’ll treat people of other lands unfairly.

9. Is the character single, married, divorced, widowed? Has he been married more than once?
Single with many passing fancies that built up over the years, but never married. He's not a player exactly, because he won't involve himself with a woman who doesn't understand that he is a whimsical pirate who lacks both time and interest necessary for committing.

10. Is he currently in a romantic relationship with someone other than a spouse?
He doesn't... really do "relationships" honestly. Too many things would complicate it at the moment. He's focused on other things even though he won't say no to a lady's company.

11. Who was his first crush? Who is his latest?
Hi headcanon, how are you today?

His first crush didn't come until he was in his mid-teens, because before that he was too busy floundering around as a little girly boy who was prettier and more gentle than most of the girls he knew. Oops. I haven't pinned details but we can say his first romantic inclination first arose probably when he was in his Oniwakako days, about 16 or so, and he decided one girl in town was really pretty. It wasn't a full out crush, but then again, I don't think Motochika has ever had a full crush on someone- he just seems like the kind of guy who appreciates a girl but doesn't do the whole head over heels thing. He's kind and not careless with her feelings, but not really able to put her above his other concerns. So that's how his first crush would've been.

His last crush was probably on Sayaka, which he forcefully nipped in the bud as soon as she ended up engaged- which would have been a handful of years ago. As childhood friends, he would've cared for her more than most as is, appreciated all that she did to help him grow up, and probably be intrigued with the way that she never gave him anything that he wanted. It would've been an interest that was whimsical but if left alone for a couple years, probably could've gotten serious but then she went and got engaged. So he kind of squished his own feelings for her sake early on - which might've really been for the best since he never truly saw her as a love interest when she was his best friend first and foremost.

Since then, he hasn't really felt as strongly for anyone else to the point of calling it a crush- probably because he just doesn't want to make any promises and end up breaking them. That's really the simplicity of it all.

12. What does he look for in a romantic partner?
He largely... doesn't. Honestly, he isn't sure if he needs to find one right away. So for now, he doesn't exactly have any set requirements of any sort.

13. Does the character have children? Grandchildren? If yes, how does he relate to them? If no, does he want any?
At the moment, he has no children, but more than that- it doesn't matter if he wants any because he knows he needs to have a son. His heir is important and at the moment, he sees it to be vital that he has a blood heir to keep the Chōsokabe family going. He'd actually really prefer to put it off a while longer because he doesn't think he has enough experience to take care of a child properly. In the future though, he definitely wouldn't be opposed to the idea and looks forward to the idea of having children but. That's definitely quite far forward.

14. Does he have any rivals or enemies?
His rival’s name is Mouri Motonari and no, he’s not an enemy. There’s a clear distinction between the two, though they’re seemingly only rivals on the level of wits and the argument over the Inland Sea. They’ve battled enough times that Motochika considers them to be ‘rivals’, though they admittedly don’t have the burning soul connection that Masamune and Yukimura have.

Motonari is someone that Motochika doesn’t understand and that’s probably a big part of their argument. Motochika finds that he can get along with just about everyone except Mister Ray of Deadly Sunshine. He’s tried to reach out and try to figure out how the mind of Motonari works, but it’s hard when that guy is sacrificing his men (and Aniki’s men) left and right. Motochika thinks that’s just downright wrong and while most of the time, he’ll be a sensible guy and tell you that Motonari is just different from everyone else, it’s really a matter of timing. In a bad mood, he can be just as likely to tell you that Motonari is a sick bastard who needs to die to make up for all the lives that have been lost because of his actions.

15. What is the character's sexual orientation? Where does he fall on the Kinsey scale?
... Despite the ridiculous amounts of Ho Yay that can be found in the series, I genuinely pin Motochika to be 0 - distinctly heterosexual. Perhaps 1 at the absolute most. It's this way only because he adopts most guys as his brothers and brother figures. They mostly take on roles as his little brothers, with only the occasional fellow general to break the trend, and even then he gives them nicknames like "Dragon Bro". It would be a bit odd for him to think of them in any way even close to sexual or romantic, which leaves him to be pretty damn straight.

16. How does he feel about sex? How important is it to him?
Not important but also not opposed at all. It's not vital to him by any means but when you spend months at sea with your bros, he can't help but want a bit of a feminine touch when he gets back home. He goes with his whims in his free time and if his whims bring up sex, then he'll shrug and go along with it like everything else. He hardly acquaints romantic feelings with the act, though he does try to respect his partner as much as possible. His main concerns are satisfaction and not leaving a broken heart behind.

17. What are his turn-ons? Turn-offs? Weird bedroom habits?
I'd rather not think about this- not to mention I don't think Aniki is all that strange in the bedroom. Maybe he's a bit rough but that's about it.

Beliefs
1. Do you know your character's astrological (zodiac of choice) sign? How well does he fit type?

2. Is this character religious, spiritual, both, or neither? How important are these elements in 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?

4. How does he regard beliefs that differ from his? Is he tolerant, intolerant, curious, indifferent?

5. What prejudices does he hold? Are they irrational or does he have a good reason for them?

Daily Life
1. What is the character's financial situation? Is he rich, poor, comfortable, in debt?

2. What is his social status? Has this changed over time, and if so, how has the change affected him?

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?

4. Besides the basic necessities, what does he spend his money on?

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?

6. What are his interests or hobbies? How does he spend his free time?

7. What are his eating habits? Does he skip meals, eat out, drink alcohol, avoid certain foods?

Associations
Which of the following do you associate with the character, or which is his favorite:

His Favorite : My Association

1. Color? Purple
2. Smell? Sea Breeze : Sakura
3. Time of day? Dawn : Afternoon
4. Season? Summer
5. Book? N/A
6. Music? N/A
7. Place? Ship : Beach
8. Substance? N/A
9. Plant? N/A : Sakura
10. Animal? Macaw Parrot : Albatross

END
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