pinkisforlove

Name: Erin

Pronoun: she/her/etc.

Email address: ekat531@msn.com

Preferred contact: Skype is cursive.dragon; tumblr is gloomy-chan.

Other characters: None, but my second application will be for Franziska von Karma!

CHARACTER STUFF

Name: Yoshiya Kiryu

Aliases: Joshua, The Composer
Canon: http://twewy.wikia.com/wiki/Joshua

Role: Anti-Hero (Independent powered teenager who works towards his own interests; his role will depend very largely on his personal motives.)

Species: Human (Former)/Deity

Gender: Male

Age: 15 (deceased for an undisclosed amount of time)

Appearance: Normally, Joshua appears as he does in canon. He finds the idea of wearing separate clothing to fight in completely ludicrous, and even laughable, but he does recognize the need for secrecy—particularly as he is technically (and legally) deceased. As such, when he comes to the RG (Real Ground) to work towards his goals—whatever they may be—he wears a simple domino mask in addition to whatever outfit he feels is necessary. Joshua wears expensive clothing regularly, from brands such as Dragon Couture, and though he varies his outfits more than enough, he much prefers simple to flashy. Despite the large amount of fighting that he does, his clothes rarely seem to get torn or dirty (though when they do, it becomes a very prickly thorn in Joshua’s side). His favoured outfit is a simple, tailored light-blue button down, slim black jeans, and sneakers—the outfit that he wears in canon.

Origin story: Yoshiya Kiryu was born to two wealthy Japanese immigrants after their arrival in Los Angeles, and displayed an immediate propensity for music. His parents were extremely invested in developing these skills, and Joshua (his chosen ‘English name’) was able to play the piano from a very young age. However, he displayed one other talent that his parents were not quite so proud of—even as a small child, serious, intelligent Joshua was able to see the dead. Constantly plagued by sights of spirits—creatures called Noise—and dead people playing a game for their life, Joshua confessed his sights to his parents. At the age of eight, despite his protestations, Joshua was diagnosed with early-onset Schizophrenia. The medications did not clear him of the visions, and only stifled his creativity and ability to compose, and the intelligent boy grew even more withdrawn.

He was obsessed with death, and had no companions, but for a barista who discovered him wandering San Francisco one day, being chased down by some Noise that had noticed him. This barista explained to him the two worlds—the two cities, parallel to each other, called the Real Ground (RG) and the Under Ground (UG). With frequent visits to the barista’s coffee shop, Joshua began to understand his unique ability and its potential applications; he grew even more isolated from others his own age and was able to begin composing his own music again. However, though his demeanor improved, the intelligent boy remained completely obsessed with death and the UG, increasingly believing that he belonged in that world where he could truly hone his power and not the RG.

His parents, who worked long hours, did not notice this preoccupation, or else ignored it. The obsession began to affect his music, and he began to skip school to spend hours discussing the Game and all it entailed with his friend the barista. At the age of 15, consumed by his desire to enter the UG and grow powerful and reach his full potential, Joshua killed himself.

He played the game and became the Composer of LA, rendering himself (in effect) a God. However, even upon obtaining power beyond his wildest imagination, Joshua remained lonely and unhappy. The game pleased him no more than real life had, and he grew disillusioned and angry. Convinced of the unworthiness of humanity, he now travels between the UG and the RG, doing what sees fit with his powers as they manifest in the real Los Angeles. He wants to destroy the city, one that he sees growing increasingly plagued by crime and debauchery, and while in the UG, he has the power to do so on a whim. However, something draws him back to the RG—those seen as heroes by the populace, the supposed most virtuous of humanity—and Joshua wants nothing more than to test their mettle and see if Los Angeles is worth saving. Joshua has one particular hero in mind.

Neku Sakuraba was chosen to be Joshua’s proxy when Neku was younger, having played and won the game. Unbeknownst to Neku, Joshua ran that game, having fondly given the winner some degree of power, which seem to have manifested after he returned to the RG. Joshua, more than aware of the hatred of humanity that lay in his chosen proxy’s heart, is quite content to tail the boy for now…until, of course, a situation prevents itself.

Personality: Joshua’s personality is much the same as his canon counterpart. He is petulant, scheming, and intelligent, and would most certainly prefer to lie with a smile and stab you in the back smoothly than to get into a fist fight. His experiences in life have made him bitter beyond his years, though he often disguises this through a giggling, smirking demeanor. He is someone with unimaginable power, yes, and someone ambitious who had wanted to obtain that power, but this has only made him spoiled, more self-assured of his own worth, though it is not without a tinge of loathing. He is lonely in death as he was in life, and hates others for being able to form the connections that he was never able to. In short, Joshua is a very lonely individual, stunted emotionally and angry at the world; however, through his intelligence and charisma, attempts to hide this.

Differences from canon: Joshua’s backstory in this version is much more detailed than his backstory is as presented in the game; however, this is not true canon deviation, as it was not gone into in great detail in-game. Joshua remains the Composer, as he was in canon, but the setting is changed; he remains Japanese, though in this he becomes Japanese-American. Joshua’s abilities have been toned down with the notion that while he is still powerful, it would be much more difficult for him to remain so in the RG; hence the exhaustion from the use of his more strenuous powers. Unlike canon Joshua, my Joshua cannot appear in his true form (an angel-like being composed entirely of bright white energy) to keep in line with the fact that it takes a ton of effort to materialize in the RG at all, toning down his abilities some.

Power level: A (in the UG, Joshua is extremely powerful and can bend reality itself; however, that is because he is a God there. In the RG, his powers are extremely limited, as his Frequency is toned down; thus, while he is still quite the threat in a fight, he is nowhere near as powerful as he would be in the UG. I assume that little to none of the roleplay will be taking place in the UG, as I primarily would like to use it as a vehicle for backstory for Joshua—if allowed to include it at all—so I do hope that this is all right.)

Powers: In the RG, Joshua’s powers are limited; however, this doesn’t mean that he is not a very real threat in any sort of fight. He uses his cell phone (an antiquated flip-phone model with an obscene amount of cutesy charms hanging from it) as a method of channeling his abilities, and he can often be seen texting away on it, even when he is not in battle. The reason behind this constant interaction with his cell phone (as well as the fact that it never seems to die) is unknown. Primarily, his powers deal with reality manipulation; he can conjure things of limited importance from nowhere with the snap of his fingers, but it never appears to be magic. He can also shoot beams of pure energy from his phone at enemies; the power of this varies, but it is oftentimes very strong. Joshua has limited abilities in terms of flight (he, in fact, possesses white wings, though he usually keeps these hidden) and levitation, but it exhausts him, and is thus less common. Because Joshua is in the RG and it takes a certain level of energy to maintain his tangibility within that state, he tires easily during battle, and prefers to hang back.

Team affiliation: He works alone.

First person sample: http://reluctantproxy.dreamwidth.org/398.html?thread=9614&posted=1#cmt12942

Prose sample:
When a Game was not being played and night fell in the UG, things were silent; almost peaceful. Reapers had a few well-deserved days off—they were probably in the RG, attending concerts covertly, messing with the living by playing Reaper Creeper. He was alone in his quarters, idle save for the drumming of his fingers against the arm of his uncomfortable throne. Joshua concentrated the slightest bit (it was barely an afterthought, really, and when had this become so easy?), and music began to resound in time with the tap of his fingers against the hard, cold stone.

It was beautiful, rich, and full; as though his fingers pressed into the keys of a piano instead of unyielding rock. The music swelled with the sounds of gently added accompaniment—the trill of a flute, the light and beautiful melody of a violin, the rich, deep, soulful voice of a cello. The music built, layer upon layer, a beautiful crescendo—his own piece, his own music. Everything was his, the sort of music that he’d tried to compose in life, and it came to him so very easily. It had always come to him easily.

His fists clenched. The music stopped abruptly with a terrible crash, as though someone had slammed down upon the keys of a piano. It stopped long before it would have climaxed, a halted crescendo, leaving the air in the room echoing with loss. Joshua hopped from his seat, pacing.
God, Joshua hated it like this.

He was so bored.

In his pocket, his cell phone buzzed. Joshua weighed the options of answering it carefully—it was likely some sort of responsibility he cared not to address. Not currently, anyway. He sighed as his feet hit the floor particularly harshly, closing his eyes and halting. Concentrating.

The wind whipped through his hair, stinging his face, long before Joshua opened his eyes. He glanced around cautiously—the beachfront. Perfect. No one was likely to be near the water at the middle of the night in the dead of winter. He carefully checked the area around his eyes with his long pianist’s fingers—his preferred black domino mask was in place. He wondered vaguely if he should get a more…well…heroic outfit, and considered for the briefest moment dressing up as the pink Power Ranger. Joshua sniggered to himself, finally opening his eyes and critically inspecting the surrounding area.


All was quiet. What a shame. Though Joshua wasn’t quite a fan of heroics, he did need to build up at least a bit of credibility before running into his dear proxy. Walking around on foot was cumbersome, and Joshua hated to sweat, but he couldn’t afford to fly right now. There was a difference between building a reputation and drawing too much attention to himself, and suddenly sprouting what would appear to be angels’ wings and flying across the city would be bound to attract…some sort of attention, at some point.

Sighing, Joshua set off on foot, hoping to intercept in some paltry crime. This was LA, after all, Joshua’s city, and he had no doubt in its propensity for criminal activity in the wee hours of the night. He flipped his hair, smirking a bit to himself, even as his ever present hatred for the city and all of its inhabitants resurfaced itself.

Paltry evildoers, beware! Joshua narrated in his head, somewhat sarcastically, as he began his patrol The Composer is on the case! Heehee…