I. Basic Attributes
* Given Name: Kotomi Yamagishi
* Nickname(s): Orphan (Call sign)
* Appearance: Kotomi is thin and a little taller than average height, though her posture and build make her look a bit wiry. She has long and straight hair that is as black as night, usually tied back in a simple but long ponytail. Even when its tied back though, the ponytail still goes nearly all the way down her back. She ties it back with a simple white hair band, really nothing more than a white piece of string. She is of Asian descent, specifically Japanese, and her facial features reflect that. Her face is a little rounded, almost childish, but her facial features are sharp and give her a bit of an intense look. Or rather it would if she were to actually seem as though she was paying attention. She always looks a bit spaced out, and rarely does she ever look serious. You can even find her seemingly staring into space for minutes on end.
For her usual outfit, Kotomi wears a simple black and white striped shirt, a bit thicker than a t-shirt but not quite a sweater, more of something in the middle. The shirt is long sleeved, and the stripes are horizontal and a bit thick, somewhat reminiscent of a stereotypical prison garb. She also wears a simple pair of dark khaki pants that have a softer texture, being made of cotton rather than denim. An oil and grease stained cloth is usually hanging from her left pocket, and a tool of some sort, usually a small wrench, screwdriver, or pair of scissors, can often be seen sticking out of her right pocket.
Her pilot suit is a simple black suit, with white gloves and boots. Various sensors and padding mark over various points of the suit, such as her sides, shoulders, and neck.
* Race/ethnicity: Asian (Japanese)
* Physical abilities/limitations: Extremely calm and unshaken in almost any situation. High intellect, excellent memory, and a near inhuman aptitude for running calculations and statistics. Crippled by a severe lack of empathy and an inability to express and relate to strong emotional cues. Her petite frame gives her little physical strength.
II. Socioeconomic class/standing:
* Religion: A loose belief in Karma and a Creator is all she adheres to. She believes that no religion is entirely correct and that such matters are beyond the ability of humans to understand.
* Place of birth: Unknown, presumed to be Tokyo, Japan.
* Place and time of story: Not too distant future.
* Parents' profiles: Her parents are believed to have died while she was still an infant. No record of her before her arrival at the orphanage exists.
* Brothers/sisters/significant-other relatives:
N/A
* Family structure/life:
Kotomi has no siblings or family, and "friendship" is an all but unknown concept to her. She keeps everyone at arm’s length, never afraid to start or end a relationship as circumstances dictate. She leads an almost Spartan-like lifestyle, holding on to very little personal belongings and almost no sentimental keepsakes.
III. Brief Life Story
Kotomi’s past is a bit of a mystery. She doesn't like to share personal details with people, and as a result tends to keep most of her history to herself. She grew up as an orphan, having lost her parents early on, to this day she doesn't know exactly what happened to them. All she knows is that she doesn’t even remember them, not their voices, not their faces, she has been alone for her whole life. Perhaps it is because of this, or perhaps it is because she found solace in books rather than people, but either way she grew up immersed in textbooks of all kinds, shunning the company of fellow people. You could say that had the orphanage had a larger collection of fiction books, then she would have become lost in other worlds and fantasies, but since the library was nothing more than a collection of discarded and donated textbooks, she quickly became obsessed with learning all sorts of things, from philosophy to psychology to physics to mechanics and so on and so forth.
She had pretty much no hope of adoption. Given the choice of a “normal” kid who liked sports and a kid who sat in dark corners with a college level textbook in her lap and a pair of ever opening and closing scissors in hand, who did you think the potential parents were going to pick? After spending fourteen years as such, its only natural that she have the conversation skills, vocabulary, and mannerisms of a desktop computer.
Although, these lonely days wen't to last forever. As fate would have it, she was stumbled upon by a company representative of Arisawa Heavy Industries. The man thought there was something different about her, and after subjecting the young girl to various tests, it became apparent that she had substantial AMS potential. So, at the age of sixteen, she began to work for AHI. Officially, she was hired as a "consultant". However what they were really planning was preparing her to be an AC pilot. Someone of her natural skills would be a benefit to the company if she were to prove to be loyal to them. However, the ceasefire came too soon for this dream. Now with a trained pilot and an AC that served essentially no use to them, they were forced to relinquish both, as the AC was technically the pilot's, Kotomi's, property. Once Collared came around though, Kotomi finally had something to focus on again. She committed herself to the perfection of her piloting skills, determined not to put what the corporation did for her to vain. She has managed to quickly rise through the ranks, and is proving to be quite the newcomer to the scene. Even now though, she still holds some loyalties to Arisawa Heavy Industries, and gives missions that benefit them priority, a practice that the company is well aware of.
IV. Psychology
* Outer Goal: Outwardly, Kotomi is primarily concerned with her utility. She wants nothing more than to apply her skills in as helpful and skillful a fashion as possible.
* Inner Goal: Inwardly, Kotimi is a bit more complex. Though she would never show it, she is constantly wrestling with selflessly following her duty and perusing her own individuality. She longs to feel useful and needed, but she is also afraid of losing herself to the cause
* Superobjective: Kotomi's greatest desire is to be needed. This fuels her obsessive drive to learn and perform.
* Life, career, or personal goals outside of the realm of the story: Kotomi seeks little more from her life than to apply her utility as effectively as possible. In other words, she simply wants to do what she can, while she can. She has given little if any though to settling down and has no plans for retirement.
* Defining characteristic: Her speech patterns, expressions and mannerisms are so rigid and mechanical in nature that at times she seems more machine than human.
* Hopes/desires: Kotomi is hopeful that she can be of service to her team and her patron company without being a burden or causing any problems. She is also struggling to overcome her current inability to relate and express herself normally with other people, and is hopeful that she can manage it.
* Fears/phobias: In a word, loss. Its why she keeps herself at a distance. Its why she treats her Armored Core like a work of art. She is terrified of losing anything that she holds dear. Its why so precious few things hold a spot in her heart. She doesn't want to be alone again.
* Dirty Secrets: When she's sure she's alone, she talks to her Armored Core, almost as if its a diary of sorts.
* Introvert or extrovert?: Introvert
* More thinking or feeling?: Thinking
* What do you see is the biggest contradiction(s) your character lives out?: She longs to be needed, yet keeps people at arm’s length. She is afraid of loss, yet unwilling to hold onto things.
* Tends to be self-centered? Selfless?: Selfless
* Favorite and hated foods/drinks: She loves anything sweet or salty. She hates sour things. She is not much of a meat eater, preferring seafood or vegetables when given the chance. She is both a coffee and a tea drinker. Breakfast foods are a personal favorite as well, and bacon can be something of a guilty pleasure.
* Education or important learning experiences: She tirelessly self-studied since she taught herself to read at the age of 3 and was at a college level in core subjects at the age of 12. She was further educated by Arisawa Heavy Industries upon her recruitment. She has an abnormally high IQ and a high aptitude for complex puzzles and problems.
* Most hated activities: Pointless tasks and repetition.
* Most enjoyed activities: Piloting and working on her AC and reading.
* Deepest secret or wildest fantasy: When she talks to her AC, she sometimes wishes her AC would talk back.
* Sense (or lack!) of humor: Kotomi's humor is very dry and often just a bit off beat. Dark humor is a personal favorite of hers. Despite this, she rarely laughs out loud.
* Who is your character's hero, or who do they admire or emulate? In Kotomi's own words: "All heroes are fail-able. No human can achieve perfection worthy of adoration and idolization." That said, she does have respect for several artists, scientists, and inventors including Tesla, Van Gogh, Schrödinger, Da Vinci, Galileo, and others who confronted established beliefs at the time.
V. Philosophy & Morality
* Attitudes toward:
Self - You are what you choose to be. Challenge yourself and exceed your limits.
Others - Other people are something of an enigma to Kotomi. Try as she might, she simply can't seem to grasp the way the average person feels and thinks.
Friendship - "An established and collectively understood exchange of time, energy, ideas, and emotions to support mutual gain among two or more individuals. A form of symbiosis."
Sex - "The means by which animals procreate."
Love - Kotomi has a crippled sense of empathy. This in turn causes her difficulty in feeling or accepting love. Unwilling to feel something she can't understand, she suppresses all thoughts of the matter behind what theory and psychology she can grasp. That love is nothing more than a chemical imbalance, almost a mental illness. Something that defies rational thought.
Family - As far as Kotomi is concerned, her "family" is comprised of herself and her Armored Core. Though recent long-term exposure to a certain team of pilots has her willing to expand this sphere.
Marriage - "A mutual agreement between a male and a female to merge all respective aspects of their life and to refrain from intimacy with others outside of the agreement. Primarily motivated by emotional instability, desire to raise offspring, and/or monetary gain."
Country - Though Japanese, Kotomi holds little if any patriotism for her homeland. The global scale of her occupation demands that she avoid such attachments in order to better serve her clients.
The World - "The world is what humans have molded it to be. Nothing more, nothing less. This world is not perfect because humans are not perfect."
Religion - "Mankind's attempts to explain and understand that which by its very nature cannot be explained or understood."
* Political philosophy: Kotomi is very muted when it comes to politics. Her beliefs are very ground in statistics and rational thought, leaving little room for "what ifs". This makes her more closely align to trains of thought such as Ayn Rand, though she is far from vocal about, only offering her input when directly asked. In her mind, it is pointless to argue relative truths to those who believe otherwise. Her views on environmentalism vary. She will be approving of anything that causes a net good, disapproving of anything that doesn't, and quick to offer logical, if off the wall alternatives.
* Superstitions?: Kotomi believes that people possess unique souls. She believes that cherished objects do as well. She remains open minded about anything that science can't quantify or explain.
* Catchphrase that defines their worldview?: "You are what you choose to be." and “When it is not in our power to determine what is true, we ought to follow what is most probable.”
VI. Life & Lifestyle
* Closest friend(s): None.
* Job/career/occupation: Armored Core pilot.
- Attitude towards job: A necessary act of violence to prevent unnecessary bloodshed.
* Noted accomplishments: An extremely qualified pilot for her young age. Very high mission success rate.
- Famous/infamous?: Famous for quick clean missions done with utmost care and precision. Infamous for being notoriously hard to match with an operator that can keep up with her vernacular.
* Clubs/organizations belonged to: Strong ties to Arisawa Heavy Industries. Employed by Collard. Part of a special team of Irregulars.
* Favorite music or group/favorite TV shows or films: Kotomi is a huge fan of classical and jazz music, though she also appreciates any type of music with strong talents across all instruments. She prefers instrumentals to vocal tracks as she prefers to experience her own interpretation of the emotional cues in the music rather than the forced lyrics of a singer. She is also an avid reader of mystery novels.
* Hobbies: Reading, studying, and working on her AC.
VII. Food for Thought
* How would your character react to:
- Inheriting $1 million: The high payoff of her occupation means that she is already quite wealthy by normal standards. $1 million would simply be a nice bonus to upgrade her AC with.
- The death of a loved one: This is something Kotomi couldn't bear. It would drive her close to the breaking point if she were to open up to someone only to have them snatched away.
- A natural disaster: hurricane/earthquake, etc.: "Such occurrences are natural. It is of no benefit to despair, only to offer what assistance you can."
- Being fired: This would also be a problem simply because it could cost her her AC. Unable to part with it, if it came to that she might flee to the underworld in order to remain a pilot.
- Meeting an old friend or enemy not seen for years: Kotomi keeps no close attachments, positive or negative. Meeting an old friend or enemy would simply mean less time would be needed on both accounts to glean relevant tactical information.
- Having or raising children: This is another enigma for Kotomi. Having avoided all manner of intimacy, its simply something that she has never given much consideration towards. If it were to happen, she would have no choice but to adapt to the circumstances and take responsibility for the child. Unable to part with her AC, this would cause a serious conflict of interest that would result in her neglecting one or the other. Either way she would feel guilty, and the result would be a massive strain on her psyche leading her to completely cut off either her child or her AC from her life.
- Being raped/mugged/violated in some way: Kotomi would sooner die than allow herself to be at the mercy of someone with ill intentions. She always carries something she can use as a weapon. But should the worst come to pass, her thoughts would be consumed by the need to bring that person to justice in some way. As a deeply private person, such a violation would strike some deep chords in her psyche, perhaps causing her to become even more distant from those around her.
- An unexpected kindness or compliment: A brief moment of pause, perhaps confusion would give way to a curt thank you and a return to business as usual. Depending on the nature of the kindness, Kotomi may become curious as to the doer's reasons or motives for the act leading to some investigation.
- A serious illness such as AIDS or cancer: Acceptance. Kotomi may be deeply introspective, but she holds no strong attachments to this world. She fears the death of those around her more than her own death. Though she would prefer to live a long life, so as to maximize her usefulness, becoming stricken with a serious illness would force her to re-prioritize the aspects of her life in an effort to make the biggest impact she can while she is still alive.
- A flat tire on the expressway: If it happens to someone else, she will offer what assistance she can. If she has a tire, she will offer it as a replacement. If not, she will simply call it in, perhaps not even stopping her own vehicle to do so. Should she be the one with the flat tire... well, then she'll have to take matters into her own hands. She isn't afraid to hitchhike if need be.
- An interracial relationship: Kotomi fails to understand why this would even be an issue. Interracial breeding promotes increased gene variety.
- Five minutes on local or national TV: Kotomi is entirely unimpressed with fame. Given the opportunity to speak on television, she would simply spend it doing something she felt would be of benefit to whoever was listening. Even if she has to give a lecture or bring a current issue into focus.
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More In-depth, thought provoking questions to think about:
For further analysis of your characters, you should ask yourself, or rather, your character, thought-provoking questions that explore personal philosophy, morality, politics, knee-jerk reactions, secret fantasies, wishes, and much more. Questions to think about would be:
A. If your character were to die this evening with no opportunity to communicate with anyone, what would they most regret not having told someone? Why haven't they told them yet?
She would regret not properly expressing her thanks to the man who rescued her from the orphanage and brought her to AHI.
B. Would your character accept $1,000,000 to leave the county and never set foot in it again?
Kotomi values her freedom to come and go more than the size of her bank account.
C. Your character is given the power to kill people simply by thinking of their deaths and twice repeating the word "good-bye." People would die a natural death and no one would suspect them. Are there any situations in which they would use this power? [If they can imagine themselves killing someone indirectly, could they still see doing it if they had to look into the person's eyes and stab the person to death? Have they ever genuinely wanted to kill someone or wished them dead?]
It would certainly make eliminating high priority targets a lot easier. Otherwise, Kotomi probably wouldn't use the ability at all. It would be nothing more than a combat tool to her.
D. What would constitute a "perfect" evening for your character?
A quiet hangar, a surplus of spare parts, a playlist of jazz and classical music, and her AC.
E. Would your character rather be extremely successful professionally and have a tolerable yet unexciting private life, or have an extremely happy private life and only a tolerable and uninspiring professional life?
Kotomi's life is her work. Her private life is of little importance to her, so naturally she would want her professional life to be successful.
F. If your character could wake up tomorrow having gained any one ability or quality, what would it be?
Logically, she would want something to assist with her job. Some sort of ability to help her achieve her job. Precognition or the ability to pause time are at the top of her list. However, deep down, she also longs to become more like a normal person, able to feel and express herself normally.
G. Your character has the chance to meet someone with whom they can have the most satisfying love imaginable - the stuff of dreams. Sadly, they know that in six months the person will die. Knowing that pain that would follow, would they still want to meet that person and fall in love? What if they knew their lover would not die, but instead would betray them? [In love, is intensity or permanence more important to them? How much do they expect from someone who loves them? What would make them feel betrayed by their mate - indifference? Dishonesty? Infidelity?
Loss is Kotomi's biggest fear. Knowing that the loved one would leave her soon, never to return, would taint the entire relationship. She would be unable to enjoy the good times, as she would be fixated on the loss to come. She would rather never know the person at all.
H. Does your character prefer being around men or women? Do their closest friends tend to be men or women?
Gender has no impact on how Kotomi treats or interacts with people.
I. Would your character be willing to murder an innocent person if it would end hunger in the world?
In short, yes. Logically speaking, 1 death, innocent as they may be, to save millions from starvation is a choice that simply cannot be turned down.
J. What is their most treasured memory?
The day her AC was presented to her.
K. If your character knew there would be a nuclear war in one week, what would they do?
Everything she could do to lessen the damage. Depending on the circumstances, she would either try to stop the war or try to save as many "high priority" people as she could. As this is a doomsday scenario, she would not hesitate to put herself in mortal danger or to lay down her own life if it would improve the situation.
L. What is the greatest accomplishment of your character's life? Is there anything they hope to do that is even better?
Her mission success rate is in the 90 percentile, which means there's always room for improvement.
M. One would be the one material item your character would save during a fire?
Either her collection of reference books from the orphanage, or her reproduction of Van Gogh's The Starry Night.
N. Your character is offered $1,000,000 for the following act: before them are ten pistols - only one of which is loaded. They must pick up one of the pistols, point it at their forehead, and pull the trigger. If they can walk away they do so a millionaire. Would they accept the risk?
It depends on how much she needed the money. Nine out of ten isn't terrible odds, that's still a 90% chance that you will walk away. In her current situation though, money is no issue, so she would refuse the offer.
O. If your character could choose the manner of their death, what would it be?
Kotomi would prefer to die in battle, to go down with her core.
P. For what in your character's life do they feel most grateful?
Her second chance at life after the orphanage. Even if it is as a glorified mercenary.
Q. How forgiving is your character?
Probably more so than most. Kotomi is a believer in circumstance, if there is a reasonable excuse for why someone did something, she will usually not hold it against them. If she profiles a person as a repeat offender however, then they might get a harder time of earning her forgiveness.
R. When your character tells a story, do they often exaggerate or embellish it? If so, why?
Not at all. If anything, her manner of speaking could make even the most exciting story dull.
S. How much does your character feel in control of the course of their life?
Generally speaking, not very. Her course in life is already set. She has no other options ahead of her than to continue on as an AC pilot. However, this isn't a negative thing to her. She is more than content with her role, and so long as she can still choose which missions to accept and which to refuse, she has no qualms.
T. Is it easy for your character to ask for help when they need it? Will they ask for help?
Kotomi might never admit it, but she has her pride. She will ask for help if she sees no other alternative, otherwise, she will want to exhaust all other options first. She likes to be able to accomplish things herself.
U. Would your character like to be famous? In what way?
Kotomi cares little for fame. If she had to be famous, she would prefer to be remembered after her death, for the actions she performed in her life.
V. What are your character's most compulsive habits? Do they regularly struggle to break those habits?
Kotomi has a habit of over-analyzing things. This can occasionally cause irritation among her colleagues, so she tries to keep it in check. Otherwise, she does have a compulsion to clean or maintain mechanical devices, even to the point of ruining a shirt just to wipe a grease stain off an AC's foot. She sees this as a service rendered however, and doesn't think it a problem.
W. What does your character strive for most in their life: accomplishment, security, love, power, excitement, knowledge, or something else?
Accomplishment, in a way. To be more specific, she wants to be useful. She wants to do her job and do it well. Anything she can do to improve her performance is fair game. Exercise, study, research, simulations, its all on the table. Being useful and being needed are what keeps her going. She couldn't bear it if she were cast aside.
X. How easily embarrassed is your character?
Kotomi does NOT fluster easily. At all. Some things normal people would find mortifying, cause only a mild reaction, if any, from Kotomi. She does have common courtesy, and an understanding of proper social etiquette, but beyond that seeing her cheeks red is a rare event.
Y. Does the fact that your character has never done something before increase or decrease its appeal to them?
Increase. New experiences promote new learning, new ideas, and new growth. Kotomi is not much of a risk taker unless the odds are in her favor, but she is willing to try just about anything new.
Z. What’s the most dangerous thing your character has ever done?
As an AC pilot, every mission involves putting herself in harm’s way. Facing death is a commonplace occurrence for her. That said, one of her most dangerous missions involved going outside her core to perform something of an espionage mission. Removing the giant war machine from the equation certainly ramped up the danger level.
