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May. 31st, 2013 11:06 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
OOC:
Name: Dr. Shika "Deerling" McDeer the Third Esquire
Are you over 16?: I'm old enough to experience regret
Personal DW:
deerleisure
Email: spiffystudios at gmail
Timezone: EST
Other contact: AIM: OTAShika
Characters already in the game: Twilight Sparkle, Bonnibel Bubblegum
How did you find us?: By being in the game
IC:
Character name: Yagyuu Kyuubei
Fandom: Gintama
Timeline:After the genderbent arc Current chapter (445) (446)
Age: 17, apparently. So says the wiki.
~*Magical*~ abilities and strengths: No magic, but she cut up shit good with a katana. Also, the power of love lets her consume Tae's cooking. If you've ever seen Tae's cooking, you'd know why this is such a feat.
How would they use their abilities?: Protect the weak, fight bad guys, train a lot, that sort of thing.
Appearance: Kyuubei can be (and often is) mistaken for a man, albeit a short one, and sometimes a (male) child. She tends to dress as a guy, and even though she has long black hair, it's usually pulled back into a masculine ponytail. Otherwise, she's a slim, fairly short Japanese girl. The most notable aspect of her appearance is that she's missing her left eye, which is always covered with an eye patch. And since she's a samurai, she's rarely, if ever, seen without her sword.
Background/Personality:
Before we start, a word about the world of Gintama: the series takes place in an alternate past, during the late Edo period (1800s or thereabouts.) In this alternate past, instead of the western world arriving to Japan and opening its borders, it was... aliens (referred to in series as "Amanto," which describes every alien species.) The Amanto now basically control Japan from the shadows, and officially the Japanese government provides them with full cooperation. Thanks to their intrusion, 19th century Japan has technology which fluctuates between modern (mopeds, cars, game systems, mp3 players, etc.) and futuristic (spaceships, robots, etc.) while still retaining a semblance of a more historical Japanese culture.
With that out of the way, on to Kyuubei. Her clan, the Yagyuu clan, had served for generations as the sword instructors for the shogunate. They were top-ranked aristocrats, celebrities, and swordsmen. And it was tradition that the firstborn male would be heir to the family's legacy. However, Kyuubei's mother died shortly after Kyuubei was born, and she had no brothers. Her father refused to remarry and have another child, because doing so would strip Kyuubei of her own standing, and so she was instead raised as a boy. It was, rather than a ploy to keep the family legacy secure, more a way to protect her.
This is the most influential aspect of her past, and the most important character trait she has. Kyuubei was raised as a boy, to be a strong samurai and worthy heir to the Yagyuu clan. This has led her to have a lot of issues regarding her gender. When she was young, she would try to insist that she was a girl, and aimed to simply be a strong girl like her friend Tae. However, as she grew up, her thoughts became more befuddled. She followed her family's wishes and showed herself as a man, and very seriously considered gender reassignment surgery. However, her original thoughts were still buried in there, too: her desire to be a woman, but a strong one befitting a samurai. After her introduction in the series, she made several attempts to become more feminine, although they were met with mixed success, due mostly to her own discomfort with being a woman. This all came to a head in the most recent arc of the manga, where she actually becomes a man thanks to some sort of advanced biological alien weapon. In the end, after living as a guy in what could almost be described as her ideal world, she comes to the conclusion that she prefers living as she did: a woman who acted as a man, being caught in between rather than being forced into a single role. Kyuubei, not Juubei.
One of the things that confounded Kyuubei's gender, for both herself and others, was her love and devotion to her childhood friend, Shimura Tae. As children, Kyuubei admired, and eventually had a crush, on the older girl, who was openly feminine, but still kicked the butts of all of the boys who would make fun of others. As a child, Kyuubei even lost her left eye trying to protect Tae. When Kyuubei is first introduced in the series, she's arriving to take Tae as her bride, to honor a promise made in childhood about becoming a strong samurai capable of protecting Tae. Despite giving up on that in particular, Kyuubei remains devoted to Tae, obviously infatuated with her still, and even openly trying to date her at some points, such as when Kyuubei becomes a guy for real. This only causes more confusion for her gender identity, since it's hard for her (and others) to differentiate between loving a woman and wanting to be a man. Still, her feelings are very real, to the point that she'd willingly give up on her own happiness and chance to be with Tae if it meant that Tae would be happy. In one story arc, she literally teams up with a rival for Tae's affections to save the third rival for Tae's affections – because her goal is to make Tae happy.
Still, man or woman, Kyuubei is a true samurai. She will always follow her duties, even when it's something ridiculous like training a troublesome monkey. She's strong, strong enough to tangle with the series' heavy-hitters like Gintoki and Hijikata. She takes her training very seriously, enough to leave on a training journey for three years, and also enough to be considered the "greatest prodigy to come out of the Yagyuu clan." And she has a big heart, always willing to help out those in need. During the Ryugu Palace arc, she was the first person to suggest stopping Otohime's plan themselves, knowing they were the only people in a position to do so. And like any true samurai, she takes her duties very seriously, always following instructions she's given and never doing anything to stain her family's honor. Usually. In short, she's kept her promise with Tae, and lived up to her family's legacy.
Her role in Gintama is that of the "serious" character. In other words, she heightens the comedy by calmly accepting the ridiculous situations as non-ridiculous, or in perpetuating ridiculousness with complete seriousness. This is different than Shinpachi's role as the straight man, who is serious, but doesn't accept the situations and instead points out their inherent ridiculousness. For example, when she is forced to train a monkey by orders of the shogun, she goes to her friends for help naming him... and then puts all of their suggestions (which are mostly horrible) together, and refuses to shorten his name, constantly referring to him by full name. The role of the serious character used to be taken by Katsura, something that's caused animosity on Katsura's side towards her.
Despite usually being the serious character, Kyuubei has been known to act ridiculous from time to time... usually when Tae's involved. Like sending postcards about killing gorillas, or shooting love rivals with a cannon. You know, that sort of thing.
Her story and personality, in summary: Kyuubei loves Tae.
Why should that character be in this game:For OCs only.
Why do you want to continue their history here:For characters from other games only.
For applicants considering an alternate version of a character already in game, please use this as your chance to explain the key differences between your character and the one already in play: Nope.jpg
Have you read up on how the game works?: Considering that I'm in the game, yes.
1st person sample: [ The Guide's camera turns on to show a cute girl with a heart-shaped eye patch. However, all thoughts on cuteness should be immediately discarded once it's seen that she is currently holding a vogon up by a grip on its head, and it seemed the alien was suffering from a broken nose. ] Are you sure this is working? [ After it gives a nod, the girl releases the vogon. ] Thank you.
[ ...And without the vogon there, the scenery could be seen. The new arrivals station. Blood on the walls. Forms cut into pieces and strewn about. Vogons on the ground. Chaos. ]
Hello, my name is Yagyuu Kyuubei. I'm not sure how I ended up aboard this ship, but I have to get back to Earth – to Edo, Japan. These Amanto [ a back glance to the vogons strewn about ] were less than helpful.
I should have arrived with a few others – we're called Diamond Perfume. So if you see Shimura Tae, please let me know immediately. [ Yup, doesn't even care about the others. ] And if anybody else from Edo is here, we'll all get back together.
[ She seems satisfied with that, and goes to turn it off. But... the vogon she had asked for help was KOed.
....Welp. Enjoy like a full minute of her trying to figure out how to turn off the dang thing. She doesn't keep up to date with these fancy tablet things, okay!? ]
3rd person sample:
Kyuubei adjusted the guitar on her back and the katana at her side. When had she arrived on what was obviously a spaceship? She didn't remember going to space. She didn't remember even any vague mentions of going out to space. Last thing she remembered was the grand debut of Diamond Perfume, the backup dancers to... Diamond Snot? Was that the name of Kagura and Otsuu's duo?
That wasn't important. This situation was. Was this a publicity stunt? Were they putting on a show for the Amanto? Why would they be brought aboard a spaceship without telling them in advance, though? Was it a kidnapping, then? She'd heard that famous bands were targeted by criminals, was this something like that?
...And even more importantly, where was Tae-chan?
She approached the nearest Amanto, a strange green-skinned alien wearing glasses and going over paperwork. She peered at him for a moment, a sense of familiarity coming from him... "Shinpachi?" She examined the glasses closer. No, not Shinpachi. "Ah, sorry, my mistake." She could be forgiven for making that mistake, though. She cleared her throat. "Could you please tell me how to get back to Edo?"
The vogon (as she'd later learned they were called) paused, slooowly looked over at her from his paperwork, then turn his attention back to said paperwork. "Fill out the salmon-colored forms for any inquiries." And that was that.
Except Kyuubei wouldn't accept that. Without so much as a second thought, the forms in the vogon's grasp were sliced in two, courtesy of Kyuubei's sword. "I asked you a question, not for forms."
This wouldn't end well...
Questions?: Does she have to fill out forms for Jugem-Jugem Poop Throwing Machine Shin-chan’s Day Before Yesterday Underwear Shinpachi’s Life Balmunk Fezarion Isaac Schneider One Thirds Pure Feeling Two Thirds Worried-Over-A-Hangnail Feeling Though Betrayal Knows My Name I Know The Unknown The Cuttlefish Tastes Kind Of Different Than It Did Last Time Because It Was Caught Near The Pond And Served With Oil From A Hoofed Mammal, Pepepepepepepepepepepe Take Care From Here On In Please And Finally The End Bichigu Somaru? Because that will seriously take her a lot more time.
Did you put your characters name and fandom in the subject: I hope so.
Name: Dr. Shika "Deerling" McDeer the Third Esquire
Are you over 16?: I'm old enough to experience regret
Personal DW:
Email: spiffystudios at gmail
Timezone: EST
Other contact: AIM: OTAShika
Characters already in the game: Twilight Sparkle, Bonnibel Bubblegum
How did you find us?: By being in the game
IC:
Character name: Yagyuu Kyuubei
Fandom: Gintama
Timeline:
Age: 17, apparently. So says the wiki.
~*Magical*~ abilities and strengths: No magic, but she cut up shit good with a katana. Also, the power of love lets her consume Tae's cooking. If you've ever seen Tae's cooking, you'd know why this is such a feat.
How would they use their abilities?: Protect the weak, fight bad guys, train a lot, that sort of thing.
Appearance: Kyuubei can be (and often is) mistaken for a man, albeit a short one, and sometimes a (male) child. She tends to dress as a guy, and even though she has long black hair, it's usually pulled back into a masculine ponytail. Otherwise, she's a slim, fairly short Japanese girl. The most notable aspect of her appearance is that she's missing her left eye, which is always covered with an eye patch. And since she's a samurai, she's rarely, if ever, seen without her sword.
Background/Personality:
Before we start, a word about the world of Gintama: the series takes place in an alternate past, during the late Edo period (1800s or thereabouts.) In this alternate past, instead of the western world arriving to Japan and opening its borders, it was... aliens (referred to in series as "Amanto," which describes every alien species.) The Amanto now basically control Japan from the shadows, and officially the Japanese government provides them with full cooperation. Thanks to their intrusion, 19th century Japan has technology which fluctuates between modern (mopeds, cars, game systems, mp3 players, etc.) and futuristic (spaceships, robots, etc.) while still retaining a semblance of a more historical Japanese culture.
With that out of the way, on to Kyuubei. Her clan, the Yagyuu clan, had served for generations as the sword instructors for the shogunate. They were top-ranked aristocrats, celebrities, and swordsmen. And it was tradition that the firstborn male would be heir to the family's legacy. However, Kyuubei's mother died shortly after Kyuubei was born, and she had no brothers. Her father refused to remarry and have another child, because doing so would strip Kyuubei of her own standing, and so she was instead raised as a boy. It was, rather than a ploy to keep the family legacy secure, more a way to protect her.
This is the most influential aspect of her past, and the most important character trait she has. Kyuubei was raised as a boy, to be a strong samurai and worthy heir to the Yagyuu clan. This has led her to have a lot of issues regarding her gender. When she was young, she would try to insist that she was a girl, and aimed to simply be a strong girl like her friend Tae. However, as she grew up, her thoughts became more befuddled. She followed her family's wishes and showed herself as a man, and very seriously considered gender reassignment surgery. However, her original thoughts were still buried in there, too: her desire to be a woman, but a strong one befitting a samurai. After her introduction in the series, she made several attempts to become more feminine, although they were met with mixed success, due mostly to her own discomfort with being a woman. This all came to a head in the most recent arc of the manga, where she actually becomes a man thanks to some sort of advanced biological alien weapon. In the end, after living as a guy in what could almost be described as her ideal world, she comes to the conclusion that she prefers living as she did: a woman who acted as a man, being caught in between rather than being forced into a single role. Kyuubei, not Juubei.
One of the things that confounded Kyuubei's gender, for both herself and others, was her love and devotion to her childhood friend, Shimura Tae. As children, Kyuubei admired, and eventually had a crush, on the older girl, who was openly feminine, but still kicked the butts of all of the boys who would make fun of others. As a child, Kyuubei even lost her left eye trying to protect Tae. When Kyuubei is first introduced in the series, she's arriving to take Tae as her bride, to honor a promise made in childhood about becoming a strong samurai capable of protecting Tae. Despite giving up on that in particular, Kyuubei remains devoted to Tae, obviously infatuated with her still, and even openly trying to date her at some points, such as when Kyuubei becomes a guy for real. This only causes more confusion for her gender identity, since it's hard for her (and others) to differentiate between loving a woman and wanting to be a man. Still, her feelings are very real, to the point that she'd willingly give up on her own happiness and chance to be with Tae if it meant that Tae would be happy. In one story arc, she literally teams up with a rival for Tae's affections to save the third rival for Tae's affections – because her goal is to make Tae happy.
Still, man or woman, Kyuubei is a true samurai. She will always follow her duties, even when it's something ridiculous like training a troublesome monkey. She's strong, strong enough to tangle with the series' heavy-hitters like Gintoki and Hijikata. She takes her training very seriously, enough to leave on a training journey for three years, and also enough to be considered the "greatest prodigy to come out of the Yagyuu clan." And she has a big heart, always willing to help out those in need. During the Ryugu Palace arc, she was the first person to suggest stopping Otohime's plan themselves, knowing they were the only people in a position to do so. And like any true samurai, she takes her duties very seriously, always following instructions she's given and never doing anything to stain her family's honor. Usually. In short, she's kept her promise with Tae, and lived up to her family's legacy.
Her role in Gintama is that of the "serious" character. In other words, she heightens the comedy by calmly accepting the ridiculous situations as non-ridiculous, or in perpetuating ridiculousness with complete seriousness. This is different than Shinpachi's role as the straight man, who is serious, but doesn't accept the situations and instead points out their inherent ridiculousness. For example, when she is forced to train a monkey by orders of the shogun, she goes to her friends for help naming him... and then puts all of their suggestions (which are mostly horrible) together, and refuses to shorten his name, constantly referring to him by full name. The role of the serious character used to be taken by Katsura, something that's caused animosity on Katsura's side towards her.
Despite usually being the serious character, Kyuubei has been known to act ridiculous from time to time... usually when Tae's involved. Like sending postcards about killing gorillas, or shooting love rivals with a cannon. You know, that sort of thing.
Her story and personality, in summary: Kyuubei loves Tae.
Why should that character be in this game:
Why do you want to continue their history here:
For applicants considering an alternate version of a character already in game, please use this as your chance to explain the key differences between your character and the one already in play: Nope.jpg
Have you read up on how the game works?: Considering that I'm in the game, yes.
1st person sample: [ The Guide's camera turns on to show a cute girl with a heart-shaped eye patch. However, all thoughts on cuteness should be immediately discarded once it's seen that she is currently holding a vogon up by a grip on its head, and it seemed the alien was suffering from a broken nose. ] Are you sure this is working? [ After it gives a nod, the girl releases the vogon. ] Thank you.
[ ...And without the vogon there, the scenery could be seen. The new arrivals station. Blood on the walls. Forms cut into pieces and strewn about. Vogons on the ground. Chaos. ]
Hello, my name is Yagyuu Kyuubei. I'm not sure how I ended up aboard this ship, but I have to get back to Earth – to Edo, Japan. These Amanto [ a back glance to the vogons strewn about ] were less than helpful.
I should have arrived with a few others – we're called Diamond Perfume. So if you see Shimura Tae, please let me know immediately. [ Yup, doesn't even care about the others. ] And if anybody else from Edo is here, we'll all get back together.
[ She seems satisfied with that, and goes to turn it off. But... the vogon she had asked for help was KOed.
....Welp. Enjoy like a full minute of her trying to figure out how to turn off the dang thing. She doesn't keep up to date with these fancy tablet things, okay!? ]
3rd person sample:
Kyuubei adjusted the guitar on her back and the katana at her side. When had she arrived on what was obviously a spaceship? She didn't remember going to space. She didn't remember even any vague mentions of going out to space. Last thing she remembered was the grand debut of Diamond Perfume, the backup dancers to... Diamond Snot? Was that the name of Kagura and Otsuu's duo?
That wasn't important. This situation was. Was this a publicity stunt? Were they putting on a show for the Amanto? Why would they be brought aboard a spaceship without telling them in advance, though? Was it a kidnapping, then? She'd heard that famous bands were targeted by criminals, was this something like that?
...And even more importantly, where was Tae-chan?
She approached the nearest Amanto, a strange green-skinned alien wearing glasses and going over paperwork. She peered at him for a moment, a sense of familiarity coming from him... "Shinpachi?" She examined the glasses closer. No, not Shinpachi. "Ah, sorry, my mistake." She could be forgiven for making that mistake, though. She cleared her throat. "Could you please tell me how to get back to Edo?"
The vogon (as she'd later learned they were called) paused, slooowly looked over at her from his paperwork, then turn his attention back to said paperwork. "Fill out the salmon-colored forms for any inquiries." And that was that.
Except Kyuubei wouldn't accept that. Without so much as a second thought, the forms in the vogon's grasp were sliced in two, courtesy of Kyuubei's sword. "I asked you a question, not for forms."
This wouldn't end well...
Questions?: Does she have to fill out forms for Jugem-Jugem Poop Throwing Machine Shin-chan’s Day Before Yesterday Underwear Shinpachi’s Life Balmunk Fezarion Isaac Schneider One Thirds Pure Feeling Two Thirds Worried-Over-A-Hangnail Feeling Though Betrayal Knows My Name I Know The Unknown The Cuttlefish Tastes Kind Of Different Than It Did Last Time Because It Was Caught Near The Pond And Served With Oil From A Hoofed Mammal, Pepepepepepepepepepepe Take Care From Here On In Please And Finally The End Bichigu Somaru? Because that will seriously take her a lot more time.
Did you put your characters name and fandom in the subject: I hope so.