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[coolerjunpei]

OOC

Handle: Laura
Contact: melodrama
Over 18? yes
Characters Played: Merlin (Merlin) is me as well

THE CHARACTER

Character Name: Junpei Tenmyouji
Series: Zero Escape: Zero Time Dilemma
Canon Point: True End/CQD-End:2 aka "Payoff 2" it's the last ending out of 32 possible, stay with me
Character Age: 22
Background: The game, the endings, Junpei. Thanks to his SHIFT ability, he has the knowledge of everything that happened to him in the "other histories," or the other endings of ZTD. He does not know all the bad endings of the first game, 999, or anything about Virtue's Last Reward. Time travel. So: all ZTD endings, 999 True Ending, and no VLR information at all.

Personality: Junpei is a nice kid who's seen more shit in a short time than he was ever really capable of seeing. At 22 he's cynical, impatient, and comes across as very selfish, all of which is very different from the person he used to be. In the short span of a year Junpei was forced to see the worst humanity had to offer and acknowledge that "humans aren't as beautiful as [he] used to think," which has transformed him from an earnest and determined (if a little dorky) young man into the survivalist cynic he is today. But he still has that earnestness and good heart in there somewhere.

On the surface, Junpei is a bit of a prick. He has almost no brain to mouth filter and will say anything he thinks, even when it's sarcastic, rude, or downright cruel. This ranges from teasing his friends about having sister complexes to, in the same hour even, saying plainly that if his group is going to survive they're going to have to get used to killing other people. He doesn't back down from his occasional callous behavior easily, either; even when he's yelled at by the person he cares about more than anyone, his first response is a kneejerk reaction about how he's right and they have to be realistic about the situation. Junpei's "realism" about situations tends toward the pessimistic, obviously—sure, trusting in their other companions is an option, because none of them are murderers (as far as anyone knows), but Junpei would rather take the short option that definitely guarantees his survival instead of leaving things up to hope. He's had enough of "playing the hero" because he "grew up," and now he'd like to take the shortest path to the most acceptable ending, if the "best" way out isn't 100% guaranteed to work.

Which isn't to say that he's all about things going to hell all the time. When things turn out in his favor without something atrocious needing to happen first, he's quite happy—full of adrenaline, even, and quick to suggest celebrating. He'll even reluctantly admit that his brash impulsiveness and "trust no one" attitude have been wrong before, so really, his actual problem is that his faith in people has been shaken up and he's always been quick to rush into anything. He claims he isn't playing the hero anymore, but he certainly is. He's even called out on this during the history where he and Carlos follow Junpei's plan to save themselves and Akane by killing themselves and SHIFTing into another history, where Akane can then follow them with her own SHIFT and use their death-given passwords to get out of the facility they're trapped in. He genuinely volunteers himself and Carlos for suicide like it's not a big deal, and can't wrap his mind around why Akane is so upset by this when the plan succeeds—it worked, didn't it? So what's the big deal? Junpei needs to be reminded, frequently, that putting himself in danger for the sake of saving someone else isn't smart or without consequences just because he was "okay" in the end.

So really, he definitely is playing the hero. His whole life he's rushed into danger alone to save someone else (even pets), and if he survives the experience then it doesn't matter to him how hurt he got in the process. The end definitely justifies the means for Junpei, and the means are usually throwing himself into life-threatening situations to help the people he cares about. He battled his way through the perilous Nonary Game of 999 to help Akane, who he hadn't seen since childhood, and was willing to lay down his life for her (in the future and the past) as well as try to run into an incinerator about to be activated to save someone else he'd only known for a few hours. In Zero Time Dilemma, he's willing to sacrifice himself whether or not it involves SHIFTing; when his suicide-and-SHIFT plan doesn't work and they're alive, but they can't escape, his first reaction after anger is to kill himself so that at least Akane and Carlos can get out safely. Really, the boy does not have an "off" switch when it comes to giving his all for anyone he cares for even a little.

This is obviously self-sacrificing and belies his poor sense of self-preservation, but it also isn't necessarily always noble. In several histories he's willing to betray Carlos to save Akane, and he would let the others in the facility die if it meant Akane could escape with her life. Akane is the sticking point for Junpei in a lot of ways; he's ruined his life and lost his faith in humanity looking for her, he's angry at her for orchestrating the Nonary Game and then disappearing, he's suspicious of her being involved in the Decision Game of ZTD as well—but he'd still do anything for her. He even tries to propose. Once you get inside Junpei's heart there's really very little to get you back out again. Even his loyalty is kind of extreme. Akane could straight up murder him in one history and he'd still forgive her in another, and while he has a bad temper and isn't shy about telling people exactly how they've pissed him off, his forgiveness is still really easy to come by if you're someone he cares for.

While he is very sarcastic and doesn't abide by things like "having a filter," Junpei's rude dude front is in some part just that: a front. He's seen too many horrors in a short time to be really okay, and his aggressive cynicism is his response to that. By his own words he's spent a considerable amount of time drinking himself to sleep every night just to get away from the things he saw as a private detective during the year between 999 and ZTD, and much of his behavior makes it obvious that some part of his biting remarks are more of a defense mechanism than anything else. Ultimately, he is a sweet person; while he can be pessimistic, and rude, he's quick to fold and make an awkward apology for himself when he really crosses a line. He's also not shy about sharing his mood when he's actually happy, such as when he loudly demands Akane and Carlos celebrate being alive with him by getting super wasted and partying for the time they have left. For as much as he can be at someone's throat when he disagrees with them, he'll turn around and appreciate just being around people easily. He wants people to be safe and happy, his cynicism just serves as a blinder between him and the way to make that possible a lot of the time. The cynicism makes him give up quickly unless someone inspires him not to, but he'll still be there to offer sympathy if someone does need it.

No matter the situation though, he's a dweeb. He's intelligent, sure - in both the Nonary and Decision Games, it's Junpei who's able to figure out something absolutely crucial: in the Nonary Game, it's that one of their number can't distinguish faces, which literally is the key to blowing the top off a murder and half the game's backstory; in the Decision Game, he's able to figure out in one history who Zero is just by learning who's still alive after everything goes horribly wrong. So he's smart, but he also mixes up left and right sometimes and talks to inanimate objects. Laughing hysterically about being alive and wanting to party is the most like his "old self" that he is throughout the duration of the Decision Game, so really, he's still just as dorky under all the bad moods and eye rolling.

In the end, Junpei is just as earnest and determined to protect everyone he cares about as he's always been. It's buried under smart ass remarks and edgy nonsense these days, but he's a good guy who'd do anything for his friends if you can break through his unpleasant outer shell.

Powers/Abilities: Junpei's only supernatural skill is that he is a SHIFTer, which in the fewest words possible means he can throw his consciousness between alternate timelines. Obviously this isn't viable for an RP game where "the other histories" aren't a thing, so I'm just nerfing that here and now.

Power Nerfs (if applicable): yeah it's impossible so it's just going to be turned off

Inventory: His clothes.

Incentives: Loved ones insurance works but he won't turn down some sweet cash either. Maybe if he can fly some cool rocketships? Nice.

SAMPLES

one, with threads
two, toplevels