application info
[Player name]
Coffee
[Age]
21
[Personal Journal]
brewmegently (it's still new!)
[Other characters currently played]
none!
[Character name]
Watanuki Kimihiro (Japanese order)
[Age]
unspecified, but probably 17 or 18
[Canon]
xxxHolic manga
[Point in time taken from canon]
chapter 149, before the rescue of Kohane from the tv station
[Background]
an in-depth explanation of Watanuki's history and special circumstances
[Personality]
Watanuki is a series of contradictions, and that's not just because he's nearly a by-the-book tsundere. Most of his positive traits are balanced by their exact opposite negative traits, and he backs all of it up with a whole lot of energy, conviction, and depth of emotion. Above all, Watanuki is an incredibly emotional person, and usually he wears his heart on his sleeve - expressive to a fault.
Watanuki is an incredibly compassionate person. He has particular weaknesses for people who are in similar situations to his own - having grown up alone, lonely, and always feeling as if he doesn't or shouldn't belong, and having spent most of his life afraid of the things he can see that no one else can, he is very open to taking care of and giving his all for people he can feel empathy with. No matter how much he fusses or blusters, he will always go out of his way to make sure his friends are fed and cared for and safe, and if there is anything he can do, he will do it. He has a strong moral compass, and will do what he believes is right, even at the risk of upsetting the people around him. Watanuki is also an energetic and generally positive person with an incredibly good work ethic - even if he complains, he will always get the work done that needs to be done, and will work good and hard at it. He seems to get along very well with people on a general basis, and though he isn't popular, he doesn't tend to make enemies.
However, despite these positives, Watanuki has his own fair share of negative personality traits. He's a complainer, often whining or speaking long diatribes about his life and the things he doesn't feel he should have to do. He also tends to pick fault with the people around him - unless he has a crush on someone (in which case they have no faults) he will berate, lecture, and order people around about what they should be doing better - this actually seems to be something he does more and with less restraint when it involves people he cares about. He also has a great deal of insecurity which leads to compensating with an overblown ego. He often calls himself "the great Watanuki-sama" and behaves as if everything he does is perfect and amazing and should be greeted with bows and awe - still, the way he goes about it suggests that it's hollow self-praise designed to make him feel safer with himself. His high energy also lends itself to a lot of overblown bluster - he'll shout at people and be loud in public at inappropriate times, he'll be offended by the slightest things and gesture wildly to get his point across, and in special cases he may even try to hit or attack other people if they piss him off enough. He can also be quite selfish at times, ignoring or not noticing the feelings of others while he broods or thinks about his own concerns and problems.
At the core of himself, though, Watanuki is something of a frightened little boy with only moderately developed social skills who wants to be loved and to feel safe while at the same time not believing he deserves it. Watanuki, deep down, doesn't feel that he deserves the same treatment that other people do - he doesn't think of the consequences to himself when he does things, and for a very long time he didn't even consider that hurting himself may hurt people who care about him. He's only just starting to realize that people do care for him, and that he's started to have a place in a world he felt alien in for most of his life. Recently, in his canon, this belief has been being challenged, though, which has brought back quite a few of his earlier insecurities (though he deals with them in a more sympathetic way now). He's been falling into the dream world, forgotten most of his past and things that happened outside Yuuko's shop, and has begun questioning his very existence - he isn't even sure if he's human, if he exists, or if his entire life is a dream, which has led him to even fear speaking to strangers lest they not 'see' him. At the point I'm taking him from, Watanuki is very emotionally fragile and reaching out to friends for help even while he remains determined to help the people he cares about. Watanuki does not want to not exist, no matter how much he fears that he doesn't.
[Abilities]
Seeing Spirits: Watanuki was born able to see youkai, ghosts, and spirits, as well as the lingering "bad karma" that can be left on another person when they make bad choices. This extends to smelling and feeling the pressure of these spirits - bad karma and many of the bad spirits make him sick.
Attracting Spirits: Youkai, ghosts, and spirits are attracted to Watanuki - he is a delicious morsel to them, and spirits that are so inclined will try to attack and eat him.
Dream-Seer: Watanuki is capable of accessing the dream world in his own canon. This means that he can speak to other dream seers, and go through dreams to other places while he sleeps.
[Other important stuff]
Watanuki shares an eye with a boy from his canon, Doumeki. It is the right eye, and so his right eye is hazel while his left is blue. It isn't a special ability or anything, and he will have sight in his eye even without a Doumeki. Still, it is worth mentioning since, in case a Doumeki ever apps, that Doumeki will be able to see through Watanuki's vision every now and again. There's no canon proof that Watanuki can see through Doumeki's eye at this stage.
[Sample post]
Whether or not Yuuko-san was here, and whether or not Watanuki ever felt the urge to eat, the cleaning still had to be done. So, donning his apron and the handkerchief he wore on his head for such duties, Watanuki brandished his feather duster and surveyed his territory. The apartment was a mess, a complete mess. Things were out of order, the laundry hamper was half-full, and whether or not there were dishes in the sink, it definitely had to be cleaned out. The blanket on the bed was askew, and everything was a general pigsty.
"Right!" he said, saluting the apartment like a respectful warrior would salute an enemy before charging into battle. This had to be done, and if nothing else, it would keep his mind off of the maelstrom of questions he had about even being here.
At least Mokona was out and wouldn't be knocking things over and getting in his way! And at least there was no Yuuko-san to demand food and liquor and leave her things lying everywhere. That thought set him in an oddly bad mood (as much as he fought against it, he grudgingly had to admit he missed her terrible manners and slovenly living, and her endless impossible demands). Things would get done quickly, though, and then maybe he could think of a good recipe to share with the person he was teaching cooking to.
Goal set in mind, Watanuki stomped his way into the living room, and attacked the shelves with his duster. The work had to start somewhere, and far be it for him to stall! Within a few minutes, his melancholy had passed as he set his mind to the recipe for a cherry cake and wrote up a mental shopping list for the ingredients, the cleaning done on sheer muscle memory.
[What do you hope to do with this character in Somarium?]
I want Watanuki to be able to form friendships and to continue to learn the lessons about himself that he was learning in canon. He needs to learn to care for himself as much as others, and that the things he does can hurt people. I would like for him to interact with canonmates and form panfandom friendships that could help teach him this. I would also like to explore his fears about not being human and being lost in the dreamworld, since Somarium's setting would hit close to home for him on that subject. I'm also interested in him teaching other characters how to cook and bake.
[Which rule was your favorite and why?]
I liked the rule about language consistencies, because that is often not clarified in an RP game. It's nice to see it laid out clearly how language barriers work in Somarium, especially regarding honorifics and such.
[Where did you hear about Somarium?]
Through a friend.
[Any questions?]
I am somewhat curious about how his abilities in the dream world might affect or be affected by the setting of Somarium, but I believe I could speak to a mod about this if I am accepted.
Thank you for reading!