neonrequiem app

[metafictions]

OOC:

Player Handle: Danni
Contact: smithsyndicate
Pronouns: she/they

Invite/Current Player: Invite Link
Other Characters: n/a

IC:

Character Name: Kamui Uehara
Age: physically mid-late 20s; mentally 200+
Canon: No More Heroes

(quick note: Kamui has technically crossed over from Suda51's Kill the Past series via The 25th Ward: The Silver Case, but as most of his characterization comes from his No More Heroes appearances, and this is the most likely series castmates would app from, I've chosen "No More Heroes" as his canon name over "Kill the Past".)

Canon Point: post-Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes

CRAU: After 7 months in jigokucho

Kamui arrived in Jigoku-cho in March 2022. Like all other "Lost Souls" he was hired by one of the criminal factions that controlled Jigoku-cho, specifically the Shuten clan ruled by the oni Toraguma. He started settling in and making friends: he and Kim became coworkers at a convenience store together and quickly grew close. He also befriended Harry Du Bois when they got into a fight together. Carefully, he began to open up to others, namely Kim and Emily, about his life. However, conflicts between clans began to grow violent. In April a festival ended in a riot, leaving Kamui shaken: if he died, he wasn't sure he would return as the same Kamui Uehara. And for the first time, he was starting to like the person he was becoming, rather than thinking of himself as expendable.

In May, he became fast friends with Andromache of Scythia when they fought a Tamamo clan kitsune together. He also met Tama Mizumori and Minato Suizenji. However, a curse fell over the town in June, causing characters to see fear-based hallucinations. Kamui and Andy encountered a false Travis Touchdown who wanted to kill Kamui rather than spare him; the stressful experience brought Kamui and Andy even closer. Kamui also revealed to Tama that, like him and Minato, he'd also endured numerous time loop deaths. Andy and Minato were part of a small team sent into the Enma's tower to break the curse; Kamui accompanied Tama to the tower to welcome the two back from their mission safely.

By July, Kamui was really growing into himself. He and Andy started having sex. To celebrate the curse being broken, she, Kamui, Harry, and Kim all went bowling together. With his old space destroyed by flooding, Kamui moved to a new apartment beside the Hashihime cast, actively improving his living space for the first time. His castmate and best friend Travis Touchdown arrived in Jigoku-cho to his great excitement and relief; even Travis noticed that there was something different and more assured about Kamui. Annnd then a bombing kicked off more city-wide conflict in September. Kamui was injured badly enough in the resulting chaos that he was hospitalized for a couple days. Here, he bonded with fellow patient Aerith and clinic volunteer/worried friend Kim. At his hospital bed, Kamui and Andy finally revealed to each other that they were both functionally immortal and could relate to each other on a deeper existential level. They began an unnamed relationship-shaped?? thing? from then on. All this solidified how much his friends cared about him as a distinct person, another important step on Kamui's path to having his own identity.

Tl;dr - Kamui's a lot less awkward and a lot more personable now! He's also grown confident enough in his own identity to have gained a healthy amount of both self-preservation and self-esteem.

Core CR:
- Travis Touchdown, No More Heroes (cast)
- Kim Kitsuragi, Disco Elysium
- Harry Du Bois, Disco Elysium
- Andromache of Scythia, Old Guard
- Emily Dyer, Identity V

Other Close CR:
- Aerith Gainsborough, Final Fantasy VII Remake
- Hizen Tadahiro, Touken Ranbu
- Dante, Devil May Cry
- Shuuichi Natori, Natsume Yuujinchou
- Tama Mizumori, Hashihime of the Old Book Town
- Minato Suizenji, Hashihime of the Old Book Town
- Eiichi Segawa, Hashihime of the Old Book Town

Kazuma Asogi:
- Kazuma Asogi, The Great Ace Attorney (he didn't know him well but Kazuma JUST took him to the hospital... so he'll remember him lmao)

History: Wiki; I have a more detailed write-up if needed, just lmk mods <3

Personality:
Kamui Uehara, past, present, and future, isn't so much the main character of the Kill the Past series as he is the story's main fixture. He is many things to many people-- a symbol of chaos, a supernatural threat to be eliminated, a vision of hope, an urban legend, a cautionary tale. Even Kamui himself views himself as an archetype and harbinger of the future before anything; after all, he's just another child imprinted with the personality base of the original Kamui Uehara, carrying out the same cosmic mission of other Kamuis before him.

One crucial aspect makes this Kamui different, however: unlike the many Kamuis who came before him, he's lucky enough to have the opportunity to simply be human.

A lifetime of following orders and doing what he's supposed to do have made him a little passive when it comes to asserting his own preferences. Due to the deep abuse and neglect suffered in his childhood, as well as the knowledge of his own role in Kill the Past, he's still in the process of building up his own identity past his enormous importance in the grand scheme of the universe. He’s in an odd space of lacking in a sense of self while also being hyperaware of his own importance; he’s supposed to drive progress and action instead of prioritizing his humanity and needs as a person. It's not that Kamui has low self-esteem, it's that he's still getting accustomed to needing it, period: he's a utility, a vehicle from point A to point B, so considering his individuality is on the backburner most of the time.

That doesn't mean he has no likes or dislikes, or that he doesn't have a personality. Past the phenomenal cosmic destiny, Kamui's a soft-spoken and mild-mannered young man. He's got simple tastes, and he enjoys the creature comforts of good food and unjudgmental company. Having once been a detective, he's perceptive and intelligent, which translates to a love for picking apart mysteries and puzzles, as well as an emerging dry wit. However, as these parts of himself are still blooming out of a near blank slate, he can come off as awkward or even creepy around others. He's not used to socializing like a normal person, at least not for anything other that keeping appearances, so he can come across as stiff or detached. He’s not very good at it yet, but behind all that, he really is trying to open himself up as best as he can.

No matter how much he grows into his own identity, though, Kamui can't escape the legendary killer he was always fated to become. He's quite morally ambiguous and has a casual relationship with both death and violence, having experienced them both firsthand over and over; when it comes to his own abilities as a killer, he's utterly no-nonsense and confident, to the point of eerie detachment from both killing and his own mortality. After all, another incarnation can and will always replace him. In fact, until Travis himself hesitates, Kamui is willing to kill-- or be killed by-- someone he's been completely friendly with for the sake of moving towards a goal. He breaks down in tears after having been shown this kindness, showing just how foreign it is to his expectations for the bloody utility with which he handles his own life.

In Kamui's last appearance in Travis Strikes Again, Travis Touchdown tells Kamui to "live in the light" -- a callback to The Silver Case, and a plea for his friend to embrace his identity no matter what fate has in store for him. He acknowledges how difficult it'll be, but, because he trusts Travis, promises to try. This is the crux of his growth and character. Although Kamui has lived life as little more than a human weapon, he's been presented the opportunity for friendship and life following his own will and heart. As hard as it is, he's doing everything he can to seize that light, and to become more than just another Kamui Uehara.

Abilities:
SKILLS/ABILITIES:

Combat proficiency: Competent with hand-to-hand combat, firearms, and basic weaponry like knives. He is a former police detective and has been trained to be a killer since childhood, to the point that he can fight the most powerful assassin in his canon to a standstill. However, this all remains within human limits.

Observer: Kamui is fourth wall aware on the level of characters like Deadpool and Travis Touchdown. He knows he is from a video game, speaks directly to the player, interacts with a character who is literally the UI of The 25th Ward, and is overall aware of meta conventions and to a degree able to manipulate the structure of the reality he inhabits. (I will NEVER use this without player permission, and Kamui is not pop culture aware enough to fourth wall/info mod the majority of canons.)

Special points: Kamui is able to detect "special points" - essentially, an interaction point for advancing the adventure video game that is his reality. Outside of its meta explanation, he describes himself as a compass: he has a strong intuition for being at the right place at the right time. Exerting this ability will sometimes give Kamui nosebleeds.

Criminal power: Kamui is able to sense an individual's criminal power. Criminal power is an abstract measure of a person's potential for chaos, lawbreaking, and violence, detectable by the supernaturally attuned in the Kill the Past series. It's most similar to reading an aura, mixed with a very unspecific version of Dragonball's power level-- for example, a powerful villain would ping Kamui as having a high amount of criminal power. This doesn't mean that anyone with a large amount of criminal power will be a villain, though: it just means they'd be capable of destruction. Anti-heroes and heroes who could feasibly be pushed to chaos would also ping high, while an unenthusiastic henchman would ping moderate to low. Kamui, in turn, radiates this energy in spades, and people with a good sixth sense (or even just a really good intuition) would be able to sense something was off or strange about him.

Silver eye: The silver hyena's eye implanted into Kamui's left socket is a mystical item that grants him supernatural abilities. First, he does not physically age, although he can be killed; secondly, he has some reality-warping abilities. This allows him to teleport, travel through time, and move between dimensions and realities.

Inventory:
- Harpoon gun: a device like a Batman-style grappling hook, except instead of climbing it's for stabbing
- Phone from Jigoku-cho (no bars whatsoever)
- An artificial rose
- Half-full bottle of naproxen

Eternal Reward: The ability to fully control his jumps to other timelines and worlds.

Goals/Ideas:
Development-wise, I'd love to continue Kamui's journey towards having a fuller sense of self! He's gotten a great start from his last game, but he's got a long way to go. I want to get him to a place where he can communicate his wants, needs, and ambitions more freely, because... he is definitely not there yet, and still shows a lot of the influence of people who have been kind to him.

It would be fun to get existential about alternate universes, now that it applies to his canon AND CRAU. I'd also like to mess with his powers more now that he's not nerfed as he was in his last game (i AM going to be doing stupid teleporting nonsense i prommy).

Otherwise, he and I will just be vibing :]

Samples: Expiation TDM (specifically CRAU)
The City TDM (not CRAU)

Secret Code Phrase: "My curse is my redemption."