P L A Y E R I N F O R M A T I O N
Your Name: Miru.
OOC Journal: ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png) databomb
Under 18? If yes, what is your age?: Nup.
Email + IM: miruvix[@]gmail.com | dash chromatique @ AIM
Characters Played at Ataraxion:
▸ Sawyer "Soysauce" Sciarrino (Original | shoyu)
▸ Kazama Souji (Battle Royale II | ironsights)
C H A R A C T E R I N F O R M A T I O N
Name: Kasukabe AKA Haze.
Canon: Dorohedoro.
Original or Alternate Universe: Original.
Canon Point: Volume 16; after being de-aged by Haru again and returning to Hole.
Number: Random, please!
Setting: Dorohedoro @ [ Wiki ] [ TVTropes ]
The setting of Dorohedoro is a rather odd one, to be honest. It's mostly divided into two parts, occupied by several different factions. A summarized rundown of the world of Dorohedoro would be as following:
The Magic Users' World is a world occupied by -- of course -- magic users. Though magic users generally look like humans, their physiologies are drastically different, allowing them to use magic. Magic in Dorohedoro takes the form of black smoke that's expelled from a magic user's mouth or fingertips; this black smoke is capable of producing one, and only one effect, such as splitting apart whatever it touches or transforming whatever it touches into pies or healing up any and all injuries. All magic users thus have special organs in their bodies that produce this black smoke, as well as special arteries and veins that carry this smoke throughout their body. Though it's a lesser-known fact, magic users also have a tiny, peanut-sized tumor in their brains in the shape of a little devil curled up in the fetal position. In a world where there exists magic powerful enough to heal any injury instantly, that devil-shaped tumor can be a magic-user's Achilles heel, as the destruction of the devil tumor means the permanent death of the magic users.
Magic users on the whole are extremely powerful, feared by almost all humans. The most feared of these magic users is an individual named En -- a magic user who runs a mafia-like family that dominates a great portion of the magic users' world. A fearsome man capable of producing smoke that turns anything and everything into mushrooms, En rules the magic users' world with an iron fist, making sure that there is some semblance of law and order amongst magic users. Though En is fierce and merciless when it comes to ruling the city, he's known to be very kind to the men who work under him, and thus has a huge number of followers to respect and work for him; En was also responsible for erradicating some of the tyrannical organizations that exploited magic users in the past, allowing for some semblance of a civilized society, and is thus, perhaps rightfully, worshipped in many parts of the magic users' world.
It should also be noted that not all magic users are actually capable of using magic. Some magic users, despite having all of the necessary organs and veins and devil tumors, are incapable of producing any magical smoke. These magic users are often treated as second-class citizens, bullied and abused and used as lab rats for powerful magic users to try out their magic on. As a result, many weaker magic users will look for ways to subvert this power hierarchy; some attend schools that supposedly teach these people how to produce more powerful magic, while others take to a strange drug called the "black powder" that, when snorted, temporarily increase the potency of one's magic.
Yet others ally to form anti-magic-user groups, the most famous of which is known as the Cross Eyes. Distinguished by the namesake cross-shaped tattoos that members have have around their eyes, the Cross Eyes are a guerilla group determined to bring down the En family and take down the social order of the magic user's world where the strongest magic users are the ones with the most power. If En's family is a magically-powered, deadly parallel to the yakuza or mafia, then the Cross Eyes are a gang of wild-roaming thugs that aim to rule the city one day.
The war between En's family and the Cross eyes is fierce and bloody, yielding many, many casualties including both powerful and less powerful magic users
and, of course, humans.
Hole is where humans live, a complete seperate world from that of the magic users. Transportation between the two world exists only in the form of magical doors that can be summoned by magic users through use of their smoke. Not that there's too big a flood of people eager to cross the line between the magic users' world and Hole. Magic users generally find Hole unpleasant, far too grungy and dirty, and the rain that sometimes falls in Hole will immediately sicken any magic users.
The only reason magic users tend to visit hole is to make use of humans -- as guinea pigs. Due to their inability to use magic, humans tend to make good lab rats, and many weaker magic users will visit hole just to practice their magic on humans in hopes of honing their skills. As a result, humans almost universally fear magic users, and would flee at the first sign of a magical door appearing in the air.
Not that hiding from magic users in Hole guarantees a safe life, of course. Society in Hole is fairly brutal, people often surviving only by the skin of their teeth through deception or violence. With no real police force or government so to speak of, Hole is largely an anarchic society where the strong dominate the weak and the lucky somehow manage to survive.
It's -- a rather messed-up society, to be honest. But even in a place like that, people manage to live on, and even enjoy life sometimes!
History:
▸ Haze is born to someone, somewhere in Hole. The exact details aren't too important, but Haze probably has a decent childhood. Not decent by the standards of most people, but decent by the standards of hole. As in, he isn't killed, mutiltated, mutated, enslaved, or cursed into a quivering, crippled lump of flesh by a rogue magic user. He hits his teens as a perfectly functional kid. The only flaw he suffers: he needs glasses.
▸ Always a smart child, Haze starts to develop a strong interest in science as he grows older. Studious, sharp and hard-working, he blazes through schoolwork and prepares to enter medical school. Studying to become a doctor. After all, a place like Hole is always suffering from a shortage of doctors! However, this doesn't mean Haze is the type to always sit at home, poring over books, sheltered from the elements. He enjoys fieldwork, prying through dead bodies, observing traumatic injuries. His little round spectacles rather clash with the sleeve tattoo's he's managed to amass by age 18, his cheerful smile already clashing with how calmly he can look over a gory injury.
▸ Med school goes by so quickly. Well -- 'med school.' (Surely, you wouldn't expect a proper higher-level educational institute in a place like Hole? Everything's a little chaotic and slap-dash, but in the end, Haze does manage to learn the ins and outs of the medical trade.) Haze enjoys his studies, and is excellent at them. He emerges as a full-fledged doctor with little difficulty and begins working at Hole Central Hospital. He's somewhere in his late twenties by this point.
▸ One rainy morning, as he's walking to the hospital to start his shift, he finds a young woman sitting at the front steps of the hospital. She doesn't look injured or ill, but she does seem to be in bad condition, unable to move away. He asks her what she's doing here, if she's okay.
"Don't worry, I'm a doctor," he says. "Fresh out of med school, though."
▸ She answers, "My name is Kasukabe. But everyone calls me Haru."
▸ Haze smiles and escorts Haru into the hospital, takes care of her. Turns out she's a magic user, and the rain had put her in a bad state that morning. Well, that's okay. Haze doesn't mind too much, he doesn't really discriminate between humans and magic users. He ends up befriending Haru, and she often hangs out around the Hole Central Hospital.
▸ Years pass. Haze and Haru grow close. Very close. And then they marry.
▸ But it turns out, Haru's ill, her condition slowly deteriorating. Of course, Haze can't just sit by and let that happen. He can't just let his wife waste away like that! Though he still does work at the hospital, he begins devoting a significant amount of time to personal research into magic users' physiology. Due to the universal fear that humans have for magic users, and magics users depending far more on magic than scientific knowledge, not much is known about the way magic users work. Haze ends up being the main pioneer in studying magic users' and their workings. And while Haze does enjoy this work -- it's fascinating, and he's always happy in the pursuit of knowledge! -- he does it mostly for his beloved wife.
▸ He doesn't make progress fast enough, though. Twenty five years ago; when Haze is 39, Haru vanishes one morning. Haze has no choice but to assume that she's returned to the magic users' world in search of a cure there. Though he does miss her terribly, there's nothing he can do about it, and Haze moves on from this loss. He devotes himself fully to his studies and his work.
▸ Time continues to pass. Kasukabe is diligent.
▸ Hole continues to be a violent place. There's a small revolution, too. Humans who've grown tired of being preyed on by magic users decide to take a stand and form an anti-magic-user militia focused on wiping out any and all magic users who dare lurk in Hole. Though the fights are bloody and dangerous, the sheer tenacity and brutality of these militia members can't be underestimated. Magic users who wander into Hole to experiment on humans often find themselves ambushed, ripped apart with primitive weapons and put on display as warnings to future magic users. It's gross and barbaric, but very efficient. The number of victims of magic user attacks starts to go down.
▸ Haze, of course, delights in this development. While he isn't particularly happy all the violence or brutality, he isn't about to let something so useful slip out of his hands. Whenever the militia kills and strings up a magic users, Haze swoops in to salvage the corpse as research material. He begins to amass quite the collection of magic user corpses, and his studies move on swimmingly. He manages to piece together huge amounts of information about magic user physiology and culture. Deciding that he shouldn't hoard this information to himself, he begins publishing his findings -- under the name Kasukabe, in memory of his beloved wife.
▸ Somehow, this name becomes the moniker he mostly goes by. Haze stops working in Hole Central Hospital and instead opens up his own little clinic: Kasukabe's Medical Treatment and Diagnosis. He focuses mostly on helping people who've been attacked by rogue magic users, while continuing his study of magic users on the side. He continues publishing books, too. Ends up being known as the most well-versed human when it comes to the study of magic users.
▸ Fifteen years ago. Kasukabe gets an unusual visitor to his clinic. A young boy -- uninjured, healthy -- who goes by the name of Ai. This Ai has an odd request: to be surgically turned into a magic user. Though Kasukabe says that this is impossible, Ai insists and ends up hanging around the clinic working as an assistant.
▸ One day, Kasukabe and Ai find a dying magic user tossed into a pit full of toxic sewage and acidic sludge. Though Kasukabe would like to salvage the magic user for his studies -- a living specimen! -- he knows that venturing into that pit would be deadly. He gives up and turns to return to the clinic, only for Ai to leap into the pit. Ai retrieves the magic users, but sustains lethal damage in the process. Once they're back at the clinic, he makes a dying request of Kasukabe: to have the dying magic user's organs implanted into his own body, so that he may recover as a magic user. Kasukabe knows that this surgery won't work, but he abides by Ai's last request out of sympathy.
▸ But miraculously, Ai survives. Recovers, too. Manages to stand and walk and talk, even. It's absolutely stunning. Kasukabe can't believe it. One morning, when Ai's feeling well enough to walk about safely, he says he'll venture out for a small walk. Kasukabe gives him the okay.
As he heads out, Ai says, "Doctor Kasukabe, I'm a magic user now."
▸ Several hours later, Kasukabe finds Ai's corpse lying on the ground, face lying in the gutter, flesh almost melted away by the steady flow of toxic sewage. Cause of death, unknown. Kasukabe surrenders the body to a normal burial; he never fully understands what Ai was thinking, whether he actually became a proper magic user, how he died.
▸ Time passes. He has to move on from this unsolved mystery. Kasukabe continues studying, continues working. He experiments with magic -- stitches together magic users corpses to see how they work. Experiments with samples of magic user smoke he manages to salvage from those corpses. One memorable incident has him accidentally exposed to a vial of magic smoke, and the effects of the smoke de-age his body to that of his sixteen-year-old self. Well -- he can't complain too much. It's certainly easier to run when he's in this younger form, and it doesn't affect his work.
▸ Ten years ago. Kasukabe ends up with an interesting guest at his clinic -- a teenage boy named Shin. Turns out this kid, Shin, has one magic-user parent and was reported to the militia by a snitch. Shin's father had been killed, and now Shin's on the run, killing any militia who come after him. But tired of all the fights, Shin's been looking for a way to expel the magic smoke that he knows he must have in his body. That search has led Shin to Kasukabe's clinic; Shin breaks into the operation room, uses a laser cutter to chop his arms to slices to find the veins in his arms that will carry the magic smoke through his body. Kasukabe and his helper, Vauks, find Shin sitting in a puddle of blood, surrounded by slices of his own arm.
"Tell the militia," Shin growls in challenge, "You'll get a nice reward."
▸ "Out of question," Kasukabe answers. "I won't get in touch with a bunch of retarded fanatics like them. And besides, your magic interests me."
▸ For no real reason other than to aid in his research (and a little bit for fun!) Kasukabe exposes the magic-carrying veins in Shin's arms and stitches his arm-slices back together into some semblance of a functioning arm. "I hope you'll show me what kind of magic you have, when you get it working!" Kasukabe says as he gets to work with the sutures. Shin responds, "Okay, I promise."
▸ Shin recovers enough to walk. He leaves the hospital.
▸ Several hours later, Kasukabe receives a rather disturing delivery at his clinic: piles upon piles of militia members who've been chopped up into fleshy slices, but are still inexplicably alive. The effects of magic, no doubt. Kasukabe deducts correctly that this must be Shin's work. How fascinating!
▸ Despite intense care, those slices of militia members can't be properly put back together, and expire after a few months. With so much of the militia dead, their morale gone, the militia dissolves in a few months and humans no longer have a unified resistance against magic users.
▸ This, of course, means more people become victims to magic user attacks. As a result, Kasukabe's clinic is as busy as ever. It manages to flourish off those victims, and Kasukabe has even more cases to use in his research of magic users. He certainly can't complain!
▸ His research also proceeds swimmingly. At some point, Kasukabe finds a way to cobble together magic user corpses, flesh and bones to make one of those magical doors that link Hole to the magic users' world. Once he disguises himself to appear more like a magic user, Kasukabe can ever take short jaunts to the magic users' world. He begins spending more and more time with his personal research, leaving his clinic to his assistant, Vauks.
▸ However, he's pulled out of his research by a strange series of events. Notably: a man named Kaiman who's been cursed with the head of a lizard and is immune to magic, accompanied by a magic-user-pretending-to-be-human Nikaido come to ask him about magic users. Kasukabe at first helps them out, lending them his door to the magic users' world and giving them equipment, not expecting much to happen.
▸ But Kaiman and Nikaido end up catching the eye of En and, subsequently, En's "cleaners" (assassins), Noi and Shin. Several deadly fights take placedragged all the way from the magic users' world to Hole and back to the magic users' world. On the one hand, Kasukabe is quite happy to meet Shin again -- Shin, who remembers his help from ten years ago and is willing to act as his temporary guardian in the magic users' world. But on the other hand, this fight between Kaiman and En also seems linked with the Cross Eyes.
▸ While still in the magic users' world, Kasukabe decides to pay his wife's old home a visit in hopes of seeing her. Turns out that home's been overtaken by rogue Cross Eyes members. Kasukabe barely escapes with his life, with help from Shin and Noi, and discovers two interesting facts in the process.
1) His wife, Haru, is now a devil. (Literally. Devils actually exist in this world. Extremely powerful magic users can transform into devils are a length trial process, whereupon they'll be accepted into the ranks of devils -- who magic users revere and humans fear.)
2) the Cross Eye's mysterious and frightening boss actually seems to be Ai, who Kasukabe had thought dead all these years.
▸ Intrigued and puzzled by this mystery, Kasukabe ends up meddling further into the war between En's family and the Cross Eyes. Though he doesn't know the full truth, he uncovers bits and pieces of an underlying conspiracy. It seems the devils are interested in turning Ai, the human-turned-magic-user-ish into something more.
▸ Unfortunately, before he can figure out what exactly is going on, Kasukabe one day wakes up to find himself aboard the Tranquility.
Personality:
Kasukabe is -- well. A good friend(-but-not-really-but-sort-of) describes him as "he doesn't hold any real goodwill, but his skills can be trusted." That's as good a place to start as any.
It's obvious from a quick glance that Kasukabe is an endlessly cheery, optimistic, good-natured guy. Quick to smile, quick to laugh, Kasukabe is almost always seen with a rather dopy expression on his face, lips quirked slightly upwards. He's quite happy to talk to just about anyone, rarely balking at anyone's appearances or first impressions -- though part of it may have to do with the fact that Hole is populated by any variety of freaks and mutants -- and Kasukabe's always willing to offer friendly advice to anyone who asks.
Not that his cheery nature should be mistaken for stupidity or obliviousness. Despite the way he tends to wander around looking a little too content, Kasukabe is a ruthlessly intelligent man; clearly, the association many people hold between intelligence and cynicism doesn't always hold true.
In fact, part of the reason why Kasukabe always seems so satisfied and happy is because he's a man of science and rationality. A true scholar, if you will. He treats every situation as an opportunity to find out more things about the world, to learn new things and observe new phenomena and come to new conclusions; how can ever be upset when the world still holds so many secrets for him to uncover?
It's -- actually a little disturbing, the extent to which Kasukabe can remain upbeat and calm in any situation.
At one point, he says that his life's motto is "anytime, anywhere, remain calm." Notable: he said this while chained spread-eagle against a wall, being beaten with a flail by a torture technician, who quickly grew pissed off by the fact that Kasukabe showed no signs of cracking. (The moment he was let down from his his restraints, he rolled his shoulder to get the stiffness out of his joints and jotted down notes on how to incorporate this into a future research book.) He really does hold true to his motto. No matter what's happening, Kasukabe never seems too ruffled; the most obvious signs of distress he'll ever show is to balk a little bit and mutter, "shit."
Because, you see, Kasukabe is a man of science. And panicking, screaming, crying -- those things don't ever accomplish anything, so they're not rational things to do. Logically, he figures: no matter the situation things will somehow work out, and if they won't, well they won't. Either way, he'll just do the best he can and see how things pan out, and then deal with the aftermath in the most reasonable way he can think of. It's almost a matter of pride that he will never show signs of terror or grief.
Though one should also note that Kasukabe does seem a little unhinged when it comes to being emotionally healthy. Not that he's unemotional in any sense of the word, but Kasukabe does seem to have some sort of strange disconnect with the world.
Most notable would be the fact that, although Kasukabe is a doctor who's presumably sworn to dedicate his entire life to saving people from the brink of death -- he doesn't actually have that much empathy towards most people. It's not that he dislikes people or wishes them death, either; it's just that he lacks care. He'll help people who come to his clinic, of course! After all, that's his job. But Kasukabe isn't a "good person," not at all. It's something he's cognizant of himself, but what Kasukabe has in intelligence, he lacks in empathy; he holds no desire to be a good samaritan just for the sake of it, and it's mostly out of obligation that he'll help anyone.
It's not that Kasukabe is unattached to people, of course not! He makes friends and cares for people just as anyone else would, and when his friends are injured or in danger, he'll fret over and try to find a way to help them, just as anyone else would. But when it comes to a general sort of empathy for another human being, Kasukabe just doesn't have it. And while part of it may simply be because year and years of living in Hole and dealing with the various injuries inflicted by sadistic magic users has made him massively desensitized to any and all violence and brutality -- the fact remains that Kasukabe just doesn't give a shit about humanity as a whole.
Even to people he likes towards, Kasukabe's attachment tends to come across mild at best. He may have devoted himself to the study of magic users to find a cure for his sick wife, but Kasukabe sure didn't seem too disturbed by the thought that she'd abandoned him in Hole and might have died somewhere. He does miss people, of course -- says that it's a little lonely, after his wife has to leave him once more -- and he doesn't hesitate to put himself in danger if it means his friends-slash-assistants might survive an altercation with a knife-wielding nut. But Kasukabe seems to work on the assumption that all people will eventually die, all people will eventually die, so no need getting too flustered over anything! It all goes back to his motto of always remaining calm; he just goes along with the flow.
On the whole, Kasukabe is ... pleasant. Nice enough to work with. An excellent doctor, surgeon and diagnostician, and fiercely devoted researcher. A faithful husband and good friend. But not a "nice person."
Abilities, Weaknesses and Power Limitations:
Though it's never been clarified exactly what kind of education Kasukabe had, it's quite clear that he's a frighteningly good doctor. Capable of conducting most intense surgeries all on his own, excellent at autopsies and dissections, capable of figuring out the workings of an entirely new species on his own, Kasukabe is viciously quick-thinking and dextrous.
Furthermore, he seems to be quite capable in fields other than medicine -- able to rig together simple electronics that can transmit audible-to-bugs-only frequencies or stitch together a ripped-apart body and reanimate it into a half-sentient zombie. Yes, seriously.
Also, he's an unexpectedly excellent sprinter.
On the whole, he's quite useless when it comes to any sort of fight; though he knows the basics of how to handle a pistol, Kasukabe is otherwise completely oblivious when it comes to combat. But that doesn't make him a poor ally, obviously. As long as Kasukabe likes you enough, you won't ever have any worries of suffering any long-lasting injuries.
Inventory:
▸ His regular "work outfit", consisting of:
▹ a Ratty old, black T-shirt
▹ one pair of jeans
▹ one white lab coat, size S, containing:
▹ two opened packs of crinkled cigarettes and a lighter stuffed in the right pocket
▹ a small reporter's notepad and ballpoint pen stuffed in the left pocket
▹ one pair of dirty off-whit sneakers.
▸ His magic-user disguise, consisting of:
▹ a far-too-big V-neck sweater
▹ a plain black T-shirt
▹ one pair of off-white khaki pants
▹ one pair of black ankle-length combat boots
▹ one pair of thick, canvas work gloves
▹ a face-mask and work cap combo, including rabbit ears
▹ a durable belt-pack containing basic medical supplies:
▸ His wallet, containing a fat wad of cash.
▸ His wedding ring!
Appearance:
Here's a hand-dandy chart!
Standing at a somewhat adorable 5'1" and weighing in at a petite 92 pounds, Kasukabe looks very much like a kid in his early to mid teens. Though his ethnicity isn't really made clear -- or may not even be relevant, given the lack of real cultural division in Hole -- Kasukabe is dark-skinned, with constantly-rumpled short hair and bright, black eyes. A notable feature: his arms and lower legs are adorned with sleeve tattoos of chains, crosses and snakes. He seems to wear a lot of clothes that are just too big for him, and he can usually be seen wearing a dopey, cheerful little smile.
Age: 64.
S A M P L E S
Log Sample:
What a curious situation.
It's been a few minutes since Kasukabe woke up in that odd capsule full of blue gel and was deposited on the floor, left to pull that tube out of his throat and get his breathing back in control. A few minutes since Kasukabe managed to swipe enough of the fluid out of his eyes to see properly once more. A few minutes spent just sitting cross-legged on the floor and glancing around at his surroundings, trying to make some sense of what's going on.
Ah, quite odd. Very, very odd. None of the technology here matches what he knows about magic users. Neither does any of it belong in Hole. Kasukabe wipes some gel off his face with the back of his hand, then tries rubbing his fingertips together to see what the gel feels like in his hand -- nothing pleasant, but nothing particularly dangerous either, nothing like the toxic sludge or magically-polluted fluid or he was used to, and thus probably not something to be too worried about. Another little blink before Kasukabe looks down at himself. Clothes off, save his underwear. No injuries, though. But ah -- it's tough to make out past the intricate pattern of chains and snakes, but there's been an addition to his tattoo sleeves. A set of numbers.
Some sort of identification, then? A mark of ownership? Ah, that's not so pleasant, Kasukabe thinks mildly, I belong to Haru! She'd be upset if she knew about this.
But no use just sitting around. That doesn't accomplish anything. Kasukabe makes an old-man-noise as he gets back on his feet, shaking some of the stiffness out of his limbs. Shakes his head to get some of the gel out of his hair, then perks up and looks towards where everyone else is headed.
Might as well go with the flow and see what comes of it.
Comms Sample:
video ;
[ the video starts recording with a small click! and -- there's a rather young looking fellow peering curiously into the camera. adjusting the way it sits on the table slightly before sitting back in his chair. kasukabe seems to have situated himself comfortably enough in his cabin, and he's already dressed in his standard outfit, complete with too-big lab coat. a small pause before he smiles pleasantly into the camera. ]
Hello! I think I've got a decent grasp of the situation thus far, and thought it would be good to introduce myself.
My name is Kasukabe. I operate a clinic back home that diagnoses and operates on victims of magic user attacks. So if there's any way I can lend a hand in that aspect, I'd be glad to hear of it. I'm also a dedicated researcher of magic user physiology and culture, though I think that skillset might not be as needed in this place.
[ a polite little nod before he straightens up. and then he adds, tone of voice quite mild, as if he's merely talking about the weather: ]
Also. I had a friend with me, before I ended up here. I haven't seen him yet, but just in case he's also here, I'd just like to say:
If you see a cockroach that's about -- [ pause, as he thinks for a moment ] -- nine feet tall, wearing sneakers and probably walking upright, don't be scared! His name is Johnson, and he's tame. Unless you attack him, then you should probably hide somewhere, he's scary when he's angry. But just tell him, 'Kasukabe is here, he's looking for you!' and he'll probably run off to search for me.
[ have a wide, beaming smile. ]
That's all.
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IS THAT A KAFKA REFERENCE? don't ask why i'm reading your app.
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