[ Application ]
Player
Name: Gabe
Livejournal Username: skaldadottir
E-mail: facingira@gmail.com
AIM/MSN: facingira
Timezone: CST
Current Characters in Route: N/A
Character
Name: Magoichi Saika (aka Sayaka)
Series: Sengoku BASARA 3: Samurai Heroes
Timeline: Before her Red and Blue paths diverge and she chooses whether to side with Ieyasu or Mitsunari.
Canon Resource Links:
Sengoku Basara Wikia Entry
Wiki Summary
Sengoku Basara General Wiki Entry
Personality:
The first thing anyone learns about Saika Magoichi, and the first thing she wishes people to know, is that she is the leader of the Saika Faction, a renowned group of mercenaries known for their skill in battle, technological advances, and unwavering pride. Magoichi’s entire life centers on the fact that she is Saika; it colors everything from her goals to her personal beliefs.
In Magoichi’s mind, she is Saika Magoichi and any other identity has long been buried. However, the fact that the name is a title and her true name is Sayaka is important when considering her as an individual. When she took on leadership of the Saika faction, Magoichi made a choice to lay aside who she had been before and the emotions that followed with it. It seemed utterly necessary to give up not only her individuality to serve the Saika, but her own identity.
Her husband had been a Saika Magoichi himself (likely the second of that name), and after his death it is implied by Keiji that the Saika faction fell apart for a short while. Magoichi speaks of the time after her husband’s death as a time of great mourning, where she wept until she could no longer. It is obvious that she does feel emotions deeply. However, though she encourages other characters to express their emotions, she herself represses what she can, to the point that when she feels the pang of something like pity it surprises her.
The Saika consider themselves “as all one: individually and collectively.” Magoichi considers herself to have an unfailing duty to consider the Saika as a whole and not herself as an individual due to her role as leader. Though she is a mercenary, the money received from being hired is not of concern to her past the point where it is necessary to care for her people. What is more important is reviving the Saika name and making certain that the Faction as a whole is treated with honor and respect. They are more than family and more than a remembrance of her husband: the Saika faction is her reason for living and breathing, and in taking care of them she is taking care of herself.
However, she keeps people, her own men included, at arm’s length. It is difficult to win her respect and even harder to win her friendship. She does not often speak of personal matters, and her mind is consistently focused on her role. This can make her seem callous and emotionless, though it also adds to her image of fearlessness and confidence: she does not fear speaking her mind to anyone, whether they be someone who hired her or an enemy.
When someone does win her friendship, however, few can say there are more loyal friends. When the Saika Faction makes a contract with a force they do not consider morals, but instead that they are given the proper respect and power which they are due. In addition, they swear their very lives to the pact, and consider betrayal a cowardice. Despite all her loyalty and belief in following those contracts, one of the few times Magoichi makes personal decisions is when her friends come into the picture. When it appears that Mitsunari wishes her to attack Chosobake Motochika, she balks and bluntly tells him that she will dissolve the pact if he orders her against him (it seems she has no problem breaking in when she finds out Mitsunari wishes to negotiate and having a “friendly” battle with Motochika, however).
With her friends it is also hinted that there is a slight playfulness that can be dragged out of her in the right situations. It is seen only briefly, and with only a few certain people. While her sense of humor is very dry and it can be quite difficult to separate what is serious and what is a joke, it is obvious, for instance, that some of the nicknames she gives out are said in spite, but others are out of fondness. She also has no trouble having “friendly” fights, as mentioned above, despite the fact that she is well known for being a cool-head, preferring information and planning over impulsiveness.
In the end, Magoichi is a woman firmly dedicated to her people and her freedom of mind, though one that cannot completely repress her individuality and personal connections.
Strengths/Weaknesses:
Personality
+
Fearless - Almost nothing fazes her, to the point she does not even blink when Mitsunari suddenly pulls his sword at her throat.
Confident - Though not immune to periods of self-doubt, she does not allow them to hamper her on her way to her goals.
Loyal - For all that she will call you plenty of unflattering names, once you are her friend she will watch out and assist you when needed, even if money or contracts call for her to do otherwise.
Resourceful - Magoichi obviously has a brilliant mind for weaponry and traps, and an ability to get materials and weapons that makes other leaders seek her out.
+/-
Outspoken - Whether it should be said or not, Magoichi will speak her mind every time.
-
Abrasive - She insults people plenty and points out their flaws, as well as giving them often unflattering nicknames.
Withdrawn - As mentioned above, she keeps people at arm’s length and rarely discloses personal information.
Violent - She will slaughter her enemies without blinking, whether it be by gunshot or a full-on bazooka. Her friends get it slightly better: if they are simply being stupid, she has been known to punch at least one in the head. However, she does seem to simply trust that her friends are quick enough not to get hit when she shoots at them.
Physical
+
Agility - As she mentions, “agility is one of my most prized skills.” She is very quick and nimble.
Strength - Though not as powerful as some of her canonmates, she can block full-force hits from noted warriors, lift and fire a bazooka nearly as big as she is, and kick a man nearly a foot taller to her into a snow bank.
Aim - As befits a woman known for her guns, she has spot-on aim.
-
Defense - She is a lot lighter weight than a lot of her contemporaries, and wears little armor to keep up her speed. This means, like many rogues, she can take a lot less direct hits and must rely on her speed and accuracy to keep her safe and sound.
Pokémon Information
Affiliation: Trainer
Starter: Murkrow
Password: Taco Bell
Samples
First Person Sample:
People of Johto: we are the Saika Faction. I am Saika Magoichi, and have shortly been forced to this land. If you are one of the Saika, report to me immediately.
If you are also from the Land of the Rising Sun, I would like to speak with you, particularly if your name is known to me. As it seems that this contraption will let us communicate without the need of messengers, you may contact me via it.
…on another topic, what is it that I feed this beast? It is apparently called a Murkrow. Will it feed itself, like a proper carrion bird, or must I pamper it?
Third Person Sample:
The thing that weighed most heavily on Magoichi’s mind was the fact that she felt naked. Though she had walked proudly amongst even the most prudish of places clad in what could honestly be called a corset, now she felt uncomfortable in her own skin. The familiar weight of the holsters around her thigh was gone; so too was the pouch carrying her grenades. Every gun, explosive, and weapon that she had kept on her person even in sleep was missing, right down to the knife she kept for emergencies in the front of her corset.
Worse than all of that put together was the fact that none of her people surrounded her. The Saika were all feathers of one mighty crow, and she now found herself a single feather, adrift on the wind.
If she would allow herself to, she might very well have admitted she was afraid.
Seemingly to mock her, the world she found herself in had provided her with a funny bird that looked more like a parrot than a proper crow. It followed her around whether she liked it or not, occasionally landing on her shoulder and grooming her hair before she managed to swat it away. It became the center of her ire very swiftly. She scolded it throughout the day, calling it a turkey and telling it how when she returned home it would be naught more than a tasty dish on the Saika’s dinner table.
Still it followed her, occasionally squawking “Magoichi!” as if it were Motochika’s damnable parrot. When she finally settled down to camp for the night in the nook of a great tree’s roots, she pinged the creature with small rocks until it finally shut up and flapped off in a huff.
She did not sleep well, waking up at every small sound and reaching for the hilt of a pistol that was no longer there.
In the morning, Magoichi started back upon the road, eyes red from lack of sleep and foul of mood. She stopped abruptly a half-mile down when she spotted the Murkrow on a fence post. A rock was in her hand as it called out “Magoichi!”
It made it to her shoulder before she could knock it silly, and promptly chirped, “We are the Saika!” Magoichi froze. She had said the words to the bird the last day; the stupid thing probably did not have a clue what it was saying.
A huff escaped her lips as she struggled against the sudden tight feeling in her chest. “Foolish turkey,” she scolded it. Yet when it settled further on her shoulder and began to groom her hair, this time she did not shake it off.