Character History: No. 6 -- a post-apocalyptic utopia whose citizens want for nothing. Or, you know, a hideous dystopia where anyone who gave any indication of discontent is swiftly and efficiently disappeared. Whichever.
Shion was a gifted member of No. 6's society,living in THE section of town for the elite, when on his twelfth birthday a violent criminal -- a boy his age, Nezumi, who was bleeding nastily after escaping the authorities -- broke into his bedroom and held him hostage. Rather than turn him in, Shion patched his wounds, fed him pie, and got extremely excited when said criminal threatened to slice his throat open with a spoon. The boy left, Shion got caught by the authorities for harbouring a dangerous criminal and he and his mother lost all elite privileges and were forced to move to the unprivileged section of No. 6, Lost Town. Four years later, working as part of the city park cleanup crew, Shion got in trouble for showing discontent against the city, and was to be disappeared -- except Nezumi showed up to save him and smuggled him to the slum outside the city walls, West Block. There, the two lived together, ideologies frequently clashing as the innocent and idealistic Shion tried his best to be good to everyone, and the jaded and bitter Nezumi tried to teach him to survive by trusting only himself. Their ideological war took place on the battlefield of No. 6 which Nezumi wanted to see destroyed, and which Shion wanted to save for the sake of its people. But even with that, the two of them fell reluctantly (Nezumi) and passionately (Shion) in love with each other.
Also, there was a major plot about killer bees in there.
Personality: On the one hand, Shion has genius-level intelligence. He retains information with amazing ease, can pull it out at a moment's notice, and is immensely talented at understanding and analysing situations he's presented with. On the other hand, he's a natural airhead with no ability to read the mood. Shion cares about people deeply and intensely, crying for their losses, sympathizing with their wants, and understanding their situations. He agonizes when he sees injustices in front of him, but he also isn't a hypocrite; he is aware that sometimes people must commit atrocities for the sake of what they are living for, and he's completely non-judgmental of how other people have had to live. But he cares about people's ability to gain happiness much more than just their survival, and the people of West Block who get to know him are simultaneously completely disgusted by his tendency to try to help everyone, yet strangely charmed by how earnest he is.
Basically, on a general level, and as what most people will see of him, Shion is friendly, kind, affectionate, loves animals and children, always willing to help others at any risk to himself, very smart but totally lacking wisdom, outgoing, and above all, determined to keep trying to live and understand what it truly means to live.
That said, underneath these tendencies is a rather more dangerous thread of reckless thrillseeking -- Shion lacks a normal reaction to fear and instead responds to terrifying scenarios (aside from concern for the people who could be harmed with them, of course) with pleasure. Nezumi's death threats are a total turn-on to the point that he has to remind himself that no matter how heart-pounding the idea of Nezumi murdering him is, any idea that ended in his death is probably not a good one. Plus on top of this, when the things Shion cares about are threatened -- or, much worse, insulted -- Shion can easily snap into a violent rage; basically, if you imply Nezumi's a whore, you can expect to find Shion on top of you, strangling you and slamming your head into the floor. So essentially he has an intensely subtle but strong sado-masochistic streak underlying his genuine concern and care for others. But he's totally safe and sane, okay. Really.
Writing Sample:
01. If given a choice, what would you like to be called? My name's Shion, so doesn't it make sense to call me that? I think it'd be hard for me to remember any other name, since I'm much too used to my own.
02. Do you require socks to be part of your uniform? Um, require is putting it a bit firmly, isn't it? I have a hard time imagining any scenario someone might require socks over anything else... maybe they have really sensitive feet? Or a skin condition they don't want to pass on to anyone else and... well, that would only really apply if people have to share shoes, I suppose. I don't have a skin condition like that, so I think I'd be fine.
It would be nice if we don't have to share shoes, though, while we're talking about the uniform. Thanks for your consideration.
03. Not including mandatory periods of silence, what is the longest you have gone without talking? I haven't ever timed myself, so I think it'd be difficult to give a properly accurate assessment. I wouldn't want to throw off the results of this survey by giving an inaccurate answer. That said, if you don't mind something more generalized, I do usually sleep six to eight hours a night when I can get it, and I'm fairly sure Nezumi would have told me if I talked in my sleep, so let's say an average of seven consecutive hours within a twenty-four hour period is probably normal... something like that.
04. Are you plagued by suspicions that other people, including coworkers and relatives, may be doing things behind your back that will hurt you? This is a very hard question to answer generally! I could go on at length, probably, breaking apart whether coworkers (No) or relatives (No) might be doing things behind my back, or assess a more general city authority when I was in No. 6 (but does it count as being plagued by suspicions if you know it's true?), or look at life in the West Block (No, mostly because I think the ones who know me pity me enough that if they wanted to hurt me they'd at least do it to my face in the hopes that I would show some understanding of why my life had come to this).
But I think on average my answer is No, with Yes only when I've been given specific evidence that indicates that people might be doing things to hurt other people generally. I mean, I'm just a single person. It's not all about me. And situations are really hard to generalize.
05. Other than a large egret, what wild animal would you like to domesticate? A large wild rat, of the kind you can find in the slums. I think given the right approach I might be able to pet it, and maybe get it to eat out of my hand.
Now I'm really curious about the egret, though.
06. Are you functionally incapacitated by witnessing other people's misery? Do you mean 'functionally incapacitated' in that my normal functions would be incapacitated as a whole such as leaving me catatonic or unable to react to the situation at the time, or do you mean that certain functions might be, such as subsequent emotional breakdowns when the situation is over? Either way, I don't think it's tolerable to just witness someone else's misery. One must intervene either to help or to harm, but just being a silent witness, yes, I think that's a sign one might already be incapacitated.
07. What is your favorite flatware for, purely as an example, eating cake? That's not a great example. Basically people only use forks for cake, or I guess if they're out of forks, spoons, but there's a pretty limited set of flatware that CAN be used for cake from which one could draw a favorite. Anyway, I'm not so excited by flatware to call it a favorite, but I'd pick a fork.
08. Do you trust yourself? I don't really think about that particularly much. I'd probably have to consider it more before I gave an answer.
09. Please list a crime that only you would know that you have committed. Isn't that a logistic flaw? If I list it, I already know that you would then know I committed it, so by the time I put it down on paper, but before you read it, it's no longer a crime only I would know that I've committed. So by the time you read it, it's a crime that you and I would know that I committed. In fact, the only way to list a crime that only I would know I've committed is to say "I'm listing it here", and not finish writing.
So I've listed it here:
10. If you disappeared tomorrow would anyone miss you? Yes, but he'd rather swallow his own tongue than admit it. I like his tongue just where it is, so I'd rather not disappear, if it's all the same. At least, not unless he comes with me. Thank you.
Shion | No. 6
Canon: No. 6
Reference Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._6
Character History:
No. 6 -- a post-apocalyptic utopia whose citizens want for nothing. Or, you know, a hideous dystopia where anyone who gave any indication of discontent is swiftly and efficiently disappeared. Whichever.
Shion was a gifted member of No. 6's society,living in THE section of town for the elite, when on his twelfth birthday a violent criminal -- a boy his age, Nezumi, who was bleeding nastily after escaping the authorities -- broke into his bedroom and held him hostage. Rather than turn him in, Shion patched his wounds, fed him pie, and got extremely excited when said criminal threatened to slice his throat open with a spoon. The boy left, Shion got caught by the authorities for harbouring a dangerous criminal and he and his mother lost all elite privileges and were forced to move to the unprivileged section of No. 6, Lost Town. Four years later, working as part of the city park cleanup crew, Shion got in trouble for showing discontent against the city, and was to be disappeared -- except Nezumi showed up to save him and smuggled him to the slum outside the city walls, West Block. There, the two lived together, ideologies frequently clashing as the innocent and idealistic Shion tried his best to be good to everyone, and the jaded and bitter Nezumi tried to teach him to survive by trusting only himself. Their ideological war took place on the battlefield of No. 6 which Nezumi wanted to see destroyed, and which Shion wanted to save for the sake of its people. But even with that, the two of them fell reluctantly (Nezumi) and passionately (Shion) in love with each other.
Also, there was a major plot about killer bees in there.
Personality:
On the one hand, Shion has genius-level intelligence. He retains information with amazing ease, can pull it out at a moment's notice, and is immensely talented at understanding and analysing situations he's presented with. On the other hand, he's a natural airhead with no ability to read the mood. Shion cares about people deeply and intensely, crying for their losses, sympathizing with their wants, and understanding their situations. He agonizes when he sees injustices in front of him, but he also isn't a hypocrite; he is aware that sometimes people must commit atrocities for the sake of what they are living for, and he's completely non-judgmental of how other people have had to live. But he cares about people's ability to gain happiness much more than just their survival, and the people of West Block who get to know him are simultaneously completely disgusted by his tendency to try to help everyone, yet strangely charmed by how earnest he is.
Basically, on a general level, and as what most people will see of him, Shion is friendly, kind, affectionate, loves animals and children, always willing to help others at any risk to himself, very smart but totally lacking wisdom, outgoing, and above all, determined to keep trying to live and understand what it truly means to live.
That said, underneath these tendencies is a rather more dangerous thread of reckless thrillseeking -- Shion lacks a normal reaction to fear and instead responds to terrifying scenarios (aside from concern for the people who could be harmed with them, of course) with pleasure. Nezumi's death threats are a total turn-on to the point that he has to remind himself that no matter how heart-pounding the idea of Nezumi murdering him is, any idea that ended in his death is probably not a good one. Plus on top of this, when the things Shion cares about are threatened -- or, much worse, insulted -- Shion can easily snap into a violent rage; basically, if you imply Nezumi's a whore, you can expect to find Shion on top of you, strangling you and slamming your head into the floor. So essentially he has an intensely subtle but strong sado-masochistic streak underlying his genuine concern and care for others. But he's totally safe and sane, okay. Really.
Writing Sample:
01. If given a choice, what would you like to be called?
My name's Shion, so doesn't it make sense to call me that? I think it'd be hard for me to remember any other name, since I'm much too used to my own.
02. Do you require socks to be part of your uniform?
Um, require is putting it a bit firmly, isn't it? I have a hard time imagining any scenario someone might require socks over anything else... maybe they have really sensitive feet? Or a skin condition they don't want to pass on to anyone else and... well, that would only really apply if people have to share shoes, I suppose. I don't have a skin condition like that, so I think I'd be fine.
It would be nice if we don't have to share shoes, though, while we're talking about the uniform. Thanks for your consideration.
03. Not including mandatory periods of silence, what is the longest you have gone without talking?
I haven't ever timed myself, so I think it'd be difficult to give a properly accurate assessment. I wouldn't want to throw off the results of this survey by giving an inaccurate answer. That said, if you don't mind something more generalized, I do usually sleep six to eight hours a night when I can get it, and I'm fairly sure Nezumi would have told me if I talked in my sleep, so let's say an average of seven consecutive hours within a twenty-four hour period is probably normal... something like that.
04. Are you plagued by suspicions that other people, including coworkers and relatives, may be doing things behind your back that will hurt you?
This is a very hard question to answer generally! I could go on at length, probably, breaking apart whether coworkers (No) or relatives (No) might be doing things behind my back, or assess a more general city authority when I was in No. 6 (but does it count as being plagued by suspicions if you know it's true?), or look at life in the West Block (No, mostly because I think the ones who know me pity me enough that if they wanted to hurt me they'd at least do it to my face in the hopes that I would show some understanding of why my life had come to this).
But I think on average my answer is No, with Yes only when I've been given specific evidence that indicates that people might be doing things to hurt other people generally. I mean, I'm just a single person. It's not all about me. And situations are really hard to generalize.
05. Other than a large egret, what wild animal would you like to domesticate?
A large wild rat, of the kind you can find in the slums. I think given the right approach I might be able to pet it, and maybe get it to eat out of my hand.
Now I'm really curious about the egret, though.
06. Are you functionally incapacitated by witnessing other people's misery?
Do you mean 'functionally incapacitated' in that my normal functions would be incapacitated as a whole such as leaving me catatonic or unable to react to the situation at the time, or do you mean that certain functions might be, such as subsequent emotional breakdowns when the situation is over? Either way, I don't think it's tolerable to just witness someone else's misery. One must intervene either to help or to harm, but just being a silent witness, yes, I think that's a sign one might already be incapacitated.
07. What is your favorite flatware for, purely as an example, eating cake?
That's not a great example. Basically people only use forks for cake, or I guess if they're out of forks, spoons, but there's a pretty limited set of flatware that CAN be used for cake from which one could draw a favorite. Anyway, I'm not so excited by flatware to call it a favorite, but I'd pick a fork.
08. Do you trust yourself?
I don't really think about that particularly much. I'd probably have to consider it more before I gave an answer.
09. Please list a crime that only you would know that you have committed.
Isn't that a logistic flaw? If I list it, I already know that you would then know I committed it, so by the time I put it down on paper, but before you read it, it's no longer a crime only I would know that I've committed. So by the time you read it, it's a crime that you and I would know that I committed. In fact, the only way to list a crime that only I would know I've committed is to say "I'm listing it here", and not finish writing.
So I've listed it here:
10. If you disappeared tomorrow would anyone miss you?
Yes, but he'd rather swallow his own tongue than admit it. I like his tongue just where it is, so I'd rather not disappear, if it's all the same. At least, not unless he comes with me. Thank you.