Underground Application
Apr. 17th, 2010 10:22 pmPlayer information
Name: Tetra
Contact:
Tetradecimal; AIM: Tetravolte
Are you 18 or over? y
Other characters played: N/A
Character information
Name: Heiji Hattori
Age: 200ish
Date of Birth: August 15, 1815
Canon: Detective Conan
Species: Fae. Heiji is a normal human in Detective Conan, but I think he could make an interesting fox spirit. In canon, he serves as a foil for the main character, Shinichi Kudo, who is often referred to as the "Heisei (modern-day) Holmes". By contrast, Heiji is referred to as the "Naniwa Detective" or "Naniwa Swordsman", incorporating an archaic term for the Kansai area of Japan. Heiji is often tied to old Japan, through his hobbies (kendo), origin (the Kansai area is the location of the old capital of Japan, Kyoto), the knowledge he's required to draw on to solve cases, and the occasional movie or TV special in which he runs around fighting katana-wielding criminals. His parents are similarly oldschool. As Japan has a rich history of spirits and supernatural creatures that are also tied closely to its past, I think Heiji would fit in rather well to the background.
Seelie Court (knight): Heiji is generally happy to lend his talents (such as they are) whenever needed. He is an excellent investigator, should a more high-ranking member of the court require it, and actively keeps up on developments in normal London, as he is highly curious and excellent at blending in. He has no qualms about wading wherever in the mortal world he wants, and generally respects the rule of law. In pursuing rulebreakers, he can be a tireless opponent, but he's extremely friendly and might serve a valuable role in interacting with other species. Or at least steamrolling over their objections in conversation until they give up and decide to roll at his pace.
If not charged to do anything in particular by the court, Heiji would probably spend a lot of his time among the humans of London, familiarizing himself with the streets and goings-on. He might get a job that allowed him a lot of free time and access to people-watching, like a part-time waiter.
Background: Heiji is a keen-eyed, quick-witted young fox spirit from Osaka, Japan. He is approximately 200 years old and comes from a prominent family of foxes, who sent him abroad to broaden his horizons and maybe end up a more even-tempered supernatural citizen in the bargain.
Heiji’s father, Heizou, is a strict, patriarchical type who once rose to a fair amount of fame as a police official in 18th century Japan, back when the average human believed more strongly in the supernatural and it was more common/acceptable for supernatural creatures to interfere in human affairs. After "retiring" from the human world, Heizou instead became a high-ranking lord in the fae community, with an extensive network of friends and relatives throughout the otherworldly Kansai area. Though Heiji's mother, Shizuka, often doted on her son, Heizou continued to voice reserve about Heiji's fascination with the human world -- which only contributed to his son's continued interest.
Perhaps because he was raised in the Other Realm with a father in such close contact with Court proceedings, Heiji is fascinated with the human world, which is populated by humans who live their lives on an entirely different and highly-compressed time scale. This impression was only strengthened by the time period in which Heiji was born, as Heiji lived through the flood of Western novelties into Japan during the Taisho era, and thus remembers Japan before, during, and after the rapid series of reinventions that made his country what it is today. Because he has spent a large amount of time in both the human world and the Other Realm, and because he switches between the two regularly, Heiji also makes little distinction between the worlds in terms of which is his true "home" -- which in his mind is Osaka, regardless of whether it's the human or fae version of Osaka under discussion.
Heiji does see humans as amusing to mess with and isn’t a big fan of other types of canines (i.e. werewolves). However, he is by nature a friendly sort, and many of his kind are actually benevolent towards the average human. A few of his extended family have even married human partners, though Heiji considers marrying someone with a much shorter lifespan rather a bad investment.
Heiji’s fascination with human detective novels has made him a mystery enthusiast; some of his favorite sleuths include Ellery Queen and Hercule Poirot. With his shapeshifting skills and quick wit, Heiji would actually make an excellent detective – if it weren't for his family's insistence that he keep a low profile, of course. Nevertheless, Heiji has helped solve quite a few human murder cases over the years, usually in disguise or by influencing investigators to stumble on the answer themselves. His contributions include returning a stolen Buddha statue to its home temple and debunking murders perpetrated by normal humans but blamed on things like kamaitachi or cursed dogs.
A slightly unusual aspect of Heiji is that in his default human form, he’s unusually dark-skinned (for a Japanese person, anyway). This has gotten him mistaken for a foreigner on a few occasions. Heiji in fox form is similarly dark-furred; he claims to inherited this trait from his grandfather.
Like any fox, Heiji enjoys fried tofu and azuki beans, but he also loves regional Osakan dishes, like okonomiyaki and iced coffee. He is enormously proud of his background, and will textwall about Osaka to anyone who will listen.
Personality: Characters from Osaka are often stereotyped as humorous or shrewd operators -- they are traditionally boisterous, overly familiar, a little provincial, quick-witted, and deft with finances. Heiji is no exception in this regard, but he is also warm, generally cordial, and a loyal ally. In fact, he is gregarious to the point of being obnoxious, with noticeably thicker skin and less sense of propriety than foxes from other areas of Japan. Heiji is physically affectionate and mischievous; like most foxes, he takes particular delight in practical jokes. When relationships get serious, however, he tends to be a bit jealous and even possessive.
While friendly, Heiji is also quick-tempered, impulsive, and impatient, especially with those he regards as lazy or incompetent. Rather than wait for help, he may simply rush into danger, particularly if he has a personal stake in a conflict. In fact, Heiji's temper and strong regional accent might make him easy for other characters to pigeonhole as naive or stupid. Often, however, Heiji takes advantage of this impression to take action before anyone can notice he actually has a plan. If challenged, Heiji relies on a combination of luck, intuition, and resourcefulness to pull through. His long lifespan has made him adept at quickly reading a situation, so he succeeds more often than not.
Despite the occasional unintentional flouting of social niceties, Heiji is capable of surprising generosity and warmth to those in his 'in-group', including family, friends, and guests. He can also be quite perceptive and sensitive in regards to people he cares about. For example, he can pick out romantic interest between shy characters or instantly understand why a woman might be suspicious of her son's new fiancée. When it comes to asking before he drops in for a visit, however, Heiji is often remiss.
As an Osakan, Heiji loves haggling and loathes paying full price. If he is forced to do so, he will almost invariably use leaves, twigs, or stones magicked to look valuable as part of the payment. Heiji's most prized trait is his intelligence and he is quite susceptible to flattery regarding his reasoning skills. While he doesn't mind being bested in contests of reasoning, he hates being used or tricked – he’s the one who’s supposed to do the deceiving!
Heiji's feelings on humans are mixed -- over the years, he's seen some good and a whole lot of bad. Nevertheless, he is fascinated by a handful of human inventions: motorcycles, swordsmanship, baseball, and detective novels. He is absolutely enamored with the idea of deductive reasoning, maintains a huge stockpile of mystery paperbacks, and would love to be a renowned detective himself. When presented with a murder, Heiji often forgets that a death was even involved, treating the affair as a fascinating puzzle. Ironically, this lack of human empathy is something Heiji shares with many of his favorite human detectives… though in Heiji’s case, he at least has the excuse of not actually being human.
Powers & Possessions: Heiji has a number of powers that overlap with those of a typical fae, such as long life and magical powers -- particular specialties are shapeshifting and illusion. For example, kitsune are fond of transforming into elderly men or beautiful women, and are said to have control of ghostly balls of fire similar to will-o-the-wisps, which they occasionally employ to lead travelers astray. Heiji specializes in offensive fire and lightning magic.
Kitsune are often depicted as guardian spirits, capable of warding off evil or using their magic for the benefit of a host or companion; similarly, Heiji has something of an inclination to maintain order and use his powers to protect those close to him. In general, foxes are known for granting those they favor with protection, knowledge, or long life. That said, Heiji is also prone to using his abilities for seduction, or to benefit his friends by taking from others -- for instance, by lifting it from a neighbor's house.
Heiji possesses a small gem called a fox ball, which houses a portion of his power. While it's doubtful that anyone other than another fox could use it for much, someone could easily blackmail him over it and he would be unable to use that part of his power until it was back in his possession.
As far as kitsune go, Heiji is a fairly powerful specimen, though on the younger side. Traditionally, foxes are known for their magical ability and intelligence. In the latter, Heiji is unrivaled among foxes his age, with an eidetic memory and excellent reasoning skills. He loves being complimented on his deductive reasoning in particular. Heiji has an incredibly broad base of knowledge, including but not limited to the names of subway stations, Japanese history, basic forensic science, etc. But conversely, there may be odd gaps in his knowledge that come from not being human, from being 200 years old, or from being a Japanese dude in London.
Heiji is an accomplished swordsman in human form -- though he's stronger/more magical as a fox. Due to his supernatural nature, he is superhumanly strong and able to scale buildings and leap along rooftops with relative ease. He can be a bit standoffish around dogs, some of whom can instinctively tell something's up with him.
Possessions:
• An antique Muramasa sword
• A wooden practice sword
• A white baseball cap
• A lot of detective novels
• A cloth charm, ostensibly supposed to grant good luck. Its efficacy is doubtful, and Heiji maintains that it might actually be an unlucky charm.
Samples:
http://vivarium.dreamwidth.org/9788.html?thread=1829692#cmt1829692
http://vivarium.dreamwidth.org/10863.html?thread=2117487#cmt2117487
And some TDM threads:
World building
Locations:
Items:
Fox ball
high level ♦ arcane
Stores a portion of a fox’s power. It can’t really be ‘made’, as Heiji was born with it, so it’s irreplaceable unless replaced by another fox’s gem.
Magic:
Name: Tetra
Contact:
Are you 18 or over? y
Other characters played: N/A
Character information
Name: Heiji Hattori
Age: 200ish
Date of Birth: August 15, 1815
Canon: Detective Conan
Species: Fae. Heiji is a normal human in Detective Conan, but I think he could make an interesting fox spirit. In canon, he serves as a foil for the main character, Shinichi Kudo, who is often referred to as the "Heisei (modern-day) Holmes". By contrast, Heiji is referred to as the "Naniwa Detective" or "Naniwa Swordsman", incorporating an archaic term for the Kansai area of Japan. Heiji is often tied to old Japan, through his hobbies (kendo), origin (the Kansai area is the location of the old capital of Japan, Kyoto), the knowledge he's required to draw on to solve cases, and the occasional movie or TV special in which he runs around fighting katana-wielding criminals. His parents are similarly oldschool. As Japan has a rich history of spirits and supernatural creatures that are also tied closely to its past, I think Heiji would fit in rather well to the background.
Heiji's personality as a friendly, curious, mischievous person also fits with the typical description of a kitsune rather well -- and in fact, he's referred to his father as a 'fox' in canon, when frustrated at being used as bait in a criminal investigation. Interestingly, his father is usually depicted with his eyes closed, which is a common trait ascribed to foxes or foxlike characters in Japan.
Role: Two choices here...Seelie Court (knight): Heiji is generally happy to lend his talents (such as they are) whenever needed. He is an excellent investigator, should a more high-ranking member of the court require it, and actively keeps up on developments in normal London, as he is highly curious and excellent at blending in. He has no qualms about wading wherever in the mortal world he wants, and generally respects the rule of law. In pursuing rulebreakers, he can be a tireless opponent, but he's extremely friendly and might serve a valuable role in interacting with other species. Or at least steamrolling over their objections in conversation until they give up and decide to roll at his pace.
If not charged to do anything in particular by the court, Heiji would probably spend a lot of his time among the humans of London, familiarizing himself with the streets and goings-on. He might get a job that allowed him a lot of free time and access to people-watching, like a part-time waiter.
Redbright Institute (instructor): Heiji is probably too old to be a student, but he could be an instructor, as he can tl;dr on and on about forensic science or Japan or swords or whatever else -- though his classes would be slightly eccentric ones. Being in a more structured environment where he was expected to protect people might also bring out more of his responsible, benevolent fox side. And being a few hundred years old would probably give Heiji a unique perspective on whatever existential teen crises his students have, of course.
Rank: level 2 Background: Heiji is a keen-eyed, quick-witted young fox spirit from Osaka, Japan. He is approximately 200 years old and comes from a prominent family of foxes, who sent him abroad to broaden his horizons and maybe end up a more even-tempered supernatural citizen in the bargain.
Heiji’s father, Heizou, is a strict, patriarchical type who once rose to a fair amount of fame as a police official in 18th century Japan, back when the average human believed more strongly in the supernatural and it was more common/acceptable for supernatural creatures to interfere in human affairs. After "retiring" from the human world, Heizou instead became a high-ranking lord in the fae community, with an extensive network of friends and relatives throughout the otherworldly Kansai area. Though Heiji's mother, Shizuka, often doted on her son, Heizou continued to voice reserve about Heiji's fascination with the human world -- which only contributed to his son's continued interest.
Perhaps because he was raised in the Other Realm with a father in such close contact with Court proceedings, Heiji is fascinated with the human world, which is populated by humans who live their lives on an entirely different and highly-compressed time scale. This impression was only strengthened by the time period in which Heiji was born, as Heiji lived through the flood of Western novelties into Japan during the Taisho era, and thus remembers Japan before, during, and after the rapid series of reinventions that made his country what it is today. Because he has spent a large amount of time in both the human world and the Other Realm, and because he switches between the two regularly, Heiji also makes little distinction between the worlds in terms of which is his true "home" -- which in his mind is Osaka, regardless of whether it's the human or fae version of Osaka under discussion.
Heiji does see humans as amusing to mess with and isn’t a big fan of other types of canines (i.e. werewolves). However, he is by nature a friendly sort, and many of his kind are actually benevolent towards the average human. A few of his extended family have even married human partners, though Heiji considers marrying someone with a much shorter lifespan rather a bad investment.
Heiji’s fascination with human detective novels has made him a mystery enthusiast; some of his favorite sleuths include Ellery Queen and Hercule Poirot. With his shapeshifting skills and quick wit, Heiji would actually make an excellent detective – if it weren't for his family's insistence that he keep a low profile, of course. Nevertheless, Heiji has helped solve quite a few human murder cases over the years, usually in disguise or by influencing investigators to stumble on the answer themselves. His contributions include returning a stolen Buddha statue to its home temple and debunking murders perpetrated by normal humans but blamed on things like kamaitachi or cursed dogs.
A slightly unusual aspect of Heiji is that in his default human form, he’s unusually dark-skinned (for a Japanese person, anyway). This has gotten him mistaken for a foreigner on a few occasions. Heiji in fox form is similarly dark-furred; he claims to inherited this trait from his grandfather.
Like any fox, Heiji enjoys fried tofu and azuki beans, but he also loves regional Osakan dishes, like okonomiyaki and iced coffee. He is enormously proud of his background, and will textwall about Osaka to anyone who will listen.
Personality: Characters from Osaka are often stereotyped as humorous or shrewd operators -- they are traditionally boisterous, overly familiar, a little provincial, quick-witted, and deft with finances. Heiji is no exception in this regard, but he is also warm, generally cordial, and a loyal ally. In fact, he is gregarious to the point of being obnoxious, with noticeably thicker skin and less sense of propriety than foxes from other areas of Japan. Heiji is physically affectionate and mischievous; like most foxes, he takes particular delight in practical jokes. When relationships get serious, however, he tends to be a bit jealous and even possessive.
While friendly, Heiji is also quick-tempered, impulsive, and impatient, especially with those he regards as lazy or incompetent. Rather than wait for help, he may simply rush into danger, particularly if he has a personal stake in a conflict. In fact, Heiji's temper and strong regional accent might make him easy for other characters to pigeonhole as naive or stupid. Often, however, Heiji takes advantage of this impression to take action before anyone can notice he actually has a plan. If challenged, Heiji relies on a combination of luck, intuition, and resourcefulness to pull through. His long lifespan has made him adept at quickly reading a situation, so he succeeds more often than not.
Despite the occasional unintentional flouting of social niceties, Heiji is capable of surprising generosity and warmth to those in his 'in-group', including family, friends, and guests. He can also be quite perceptive and sensitive in regards to people he cares about. For example, he can pick out romantic interest between shy characters or instantly understand why a woman might be suspicious of her son's new fiancée. When it comes to asking before he drops in for a visit, however, Heiji is often remiss.
As an Osakan, Heiji loves haggling and loathes paying full price. If he is forced to do so, he will almost invariably use leaves, twigs, or stones magicked to look valuable as part of the payment. Heiji's most prized trait is his intelligence and he is quite susceptible to flattery regarding his reasoning skills. While he doesn't mind being bested in contests of reasoning, he hates being used or tricked – he’s the one who’s supposed to do the deceiving!
Heiji's feelings on humans are mixed -- over the years, he's seen some good and a whole lot of bad. Nevertheless, he is fascinated by a handful of human inventions: motorcycles, swordsmanship, baseball, and detective novels. He is absolutely enamored with the idea of deductive reasoning, maintains a huge stockpile of mystery paperbacks, and would love to be a renowned detective himself. When presented with a murder, Heiji often forgets that a death was even involved, treating the affair as a fascinating puzzle. Ironically, this lack of human empathy is something Heiji shares with many of his favorite human detectives… though in Heiji’s case, he at least has the excuse of not actually being human.
Powers & Possessions: Heiji has a number of powers that overlap with those of a typical fae, such as long life and magical powers -- particular specialties are shapeshifting and illusion. For example, kitsune are fond of transforming into elderly men or beautiful women, and are said to have control of ghostly balls of fire similar to will-o-the-wisps, which they occasionally employ to lead travelers astray. Heiji specializes in offensive fire and lightning magic.
Kitsune are often depicted as guardian spirits, capable of warding off evil or using their magic for the benefit of a host or companion; similarly, Heiji has something of an inclination to maintain order and use his powers to protect those close to him. In general, foxes are known for granting those they favor with protection, knowledge, or long life. That said, Heiji is also prone to using his abilities for seduction, or to benefit his friends by taking from others -- for instance, by lifting it from a neighbor's house.
Heiji possesses a small gem called a fox ball, which houses a portion of his power. While it's doubtful that anyone other than another fox could use it for much, someone could easily blackmail him over it and he would be unable to use that part of his power until it was back in his possession.
As far as kitsune go, Heiji is a fairly powerful specimen, though on the younger side. Traditionally, foxes are known for their magical ability and intelligence. In the latter, Heiji is unrivaled among foxes his age, with an eidetic memory and excellent reasoning skills. He loves being complimented on his deductive reasoning in particular. Heiji has an incredibly broad base of knowledge, including but not limited to the names of subway stations, Japanese history, basic forensic science, etc. But conversely, there may be odd gaps in his knowledge that come from not being human, from being 200 years old, or from being a Japanese dude in London.
Heiji is an accomplished swordsman in human form -- though he's stronger/more magical as a fox. Due to his supernatural nature, he is superhumanly strong and able to scale buildings and leap along rooftops with relative ease. He can be a bit standoffish around dogs, some of whom can instinctively tell something's up with him.
Possessions:
• An antique Muramasa sword
• A wooden practice sword
• A white baseball cap
• A lot of detective novels
• A cloth charm, ostensibly supposed to grant good luck. Its efficacy is doubtful, and Heiji maintains that it might actually be an unlucky charm.
Samples:
http://vivarium.dreamwidth.org/9788.html?thread=1829692#cmt1829692
http://vivarium.dreamwidth.org/10863.html?thread=2117487#cmt2117487
And some TDM threads:
World building
Locations:
Items:
Fox ball
high level ♦ arcane
Stores a portion of a fox’s power. It can’t really be ‘made’, as Heiji was born with it, so it’s irreplaceable unless replaced by another fox’s gem.
Magic:
Adds/Edits
Date: 2015-07-15 05:53 am (UTC)