Understand the secrets and have some fun

[these_balls]

APPLICATIONS!
Currently: Closed!
Route 29 has closed as of May 30th. For the continuation of the game, please visit victory_road!

Applications will be normally checked during the weekend following the first and third Sunday of each month unless otherwise stated, and we will allow one application per person during one application cycle. Remember, the most characters one player can have at a time is currently set at five.

Applications received after 11:59 PM EST on Saturday of the first and third weekend of each month will be checked the following app weekend unless otherwise stated.

We now ask that potential applicants post their application in comments rather than linking. If their application contains explicit references to 'hard' spoilers (character death, unforeseen plot twists, big reveals, he was evil all along etc), players should put the application in their own journal or their character's journal and link it, making sure to mention the presence of spoilers within. For further clarification on our spoilers policy and whether or not your application needs to be linked, please check this page. Thank you for your cooperation!

The comment character limit on dreamwidth is 16,000 characters so apps no longer need to be split into multiple comments; however this is at players' discretion.

Please use the form below and post your application in comments rather than linking if you can. If you have any questions, feel free to ask either of the mods. You can reach us through emails, IMs, or PMs.

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Helpful links!
Taken: 1|2|3 / Reserves
Please do not app a character from either of these unless you reserved them!
Starter Pokémon!
A compiled list of the starter pokémon to choose from offered in Route 29!
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Navigation


<u><b>Player</u></b> <b>Name:</b> <b>Personal Journal:</b> <user name=""> <b>E-mail:</b> <b>AIM/Plurk/Etc.:</b> <b>Timezone:</b> <b>Current Characters in Route:</b> <b><u>Character</u></b> <b>Name:</b> <b>Series:</b> <b>Timeline:</b> <b>Canon Resource Links:</b> Here we would have the links to wikis and other information sites. If none of those seem to provide enough information, feel free to add more about the character here. However, please do not use this section as a full history section unless your canon is ridiculously obscure. General rule of thumb: if there are a good amount of descriptive resources, please just link them and use this section to add in what may have been left out, as opposed to writing an entire history section. <b>Personality:</b> Give us at minimum 2-3 full paragraphs of how you understand your character's personality. Talk about basic characteristics, any major developments over the course of their canon, their motives, their social behavior, and anything else you can think of that shows off your knowledge of this character. <b>Strengths/Weaknesses:</b> Try to cover the good points of what they can do, their life skills (not necessarily powers, but things they're just good at). Go into their biggest fears and what they just can’t do. <b><u>Pokémon Information</u></b> <b>Affiliation:</b> What career path will your character be taking? Breeder, Trainer? Or maybe even down the dark path of becoming a member of Team Rocket? Note: All Rocket members start as grunts. (For right now, only those three positions are available, whether your character chooses to follow their assigned path or not.) <b>Starter:</b> What starter pokémon do you want your character to have? Please use the list linked above to choose from. Certain pokémon have an orange star next to their names; if you choose one of these starters (Deino, Zorua, Litwick, Pikachu, Scyther, Dratini, Bagon, Gible, Axew, Ralts, Riolu, Beldum, Larvitar, Eevee, or Beldum) you must provide reasoning. You do not need to explain your reasoning for pokémon other than those listed above. <b>Password:</b> This is where you'll put the passwords from the Rules and the F.A.Q. There are two words, to assure you've read both. <b><u>Samples</u></b> <b>First Person Sample:</b> The sample must take place in Route_29's setting. Eight sentences is the minimum. This is a PokéConnect post--one that will be on the character's journal, broadcast to the network. Although it is short, it needs to show how your character would communicate with others, as well as be descriptive enough to express the character's voice without sounding too generic. <b>Third Person Sample:</b> The sample must take place in Route_29's setting. The minimum is 300 words. Please note that what we are looking for is an inner working into the character’s thoughts and actions, and how the character responds to the setting, not something that could be taken as an excerpt fanfic. You may use other characters to bounce your characters actions off of, but everything should still be mostly from their point of view.

Comments

Raidou Kuzunoha XIV || SMT:DS:RK || reserved

[perfecthat]

Personality:
I know what you're thinking: "Personality? What personality? He's a silent protagonist! You have to give him personality." This is true, although not entirely. If you look closely at the conversation options and reactions of the people around him, you can see that Raidou already has a personality, even if he doesn't talk much. In fact, you could say that not talking much is part of his character and not just the silent protagonist trend of the SMT games.

So what is this visible personality? It's the strong, silent type. He still speaks when it's necessary, but it's rare for him to string more than two sentences together. Not because he's dumb, no, because he's indeed intelligent and a good strategist, but because he had been raised from a young age to master his ability to see and control demons. And how do you successfully control demons? By showing them no fear. By being an alpha male, but not the kind of alpha that would require you to be macho, no. Instead Raidou had to be steady and tough and not at all noisy on the outside no matter how much emotion he's feeling, because that's the kind of stereotype that would command the most respect out of anyone.

To quote a guy in the red light district: "He looks like he is calm, but every inch of him is on guard. [Yakuza boss] didn't approve of him for nothing, he's good!"

To quote a kinda-boss: "You hide it well, but I can see you're burning with passion."

However, there's also another reason as to why Raidou is a quiet person, aside from the demands of his clan and the job. You could also say it's another result of the high demands of the clan-- Raidou is lonely.

Imagine this: everyday teenagers wake up, go to school, play with friends and spend time with their families. There are outings, family dinners, movies and simply hanging out with friends. And then imagine yourself sitting at your window or in the backyard, watching them go about their own colorful lives while you're stuck inside. Raidou has never had the opportunity to go out and have fun with friends because of the unusual circumstances of his life. He's been kept in his village for the entirety of his life (so far) and has done nothing but train and train. There's no one to talk to and be a normal child around, and so he tamps down on his thoughts and emotions so often that he's become what he is today.

It's not something he can get rid of so easily though, even when he's already living in the Capital and far away from the village-- his job as the city's protector comes first. He may be in school and somewhat respected among his peers and he may be a young detective with a lot of contacts, but he hasn't opened up to them because being a devil summoner, especially a Raidou, is a 24/7 job. All work and no play, so on and so forth. In fact, the number of people he's managed to form a real bond with is a sad two-- Gouto-douji and his employer, Narumi. Because of this, he's just crap at handling people in situations that aren't professional and is totally unaware of this fact. The line between 'Raidou' and 'Jouhei' is blurry to the point of being smudged chalk drawings on a sidewalk and he finds it difficult to cast off the cape of the devil summoner in order to go and be a kid for even a day.

He's not standoffish or a jerk though. Go look up "polite" in the dictionary and chances are his face is right there, and mothers would swoon to have a son as well-behaved and mature as Raidou. He's unfailingly well-mannered, even when he's about to brain someone with a bottle or surrounded by bad guys. In fact, he'd get the person's attention first and make them look at him instead of going for something that they'll never see coming. Scary, but even when he's kicking someone's ass he's polite.

However, being polite and respectful doesn't mean he sugar-coats things. It may be his lack of socialization or a dislike for lying and vague comments, but Raidou is definitely straightforward and doesn't lie about something even if it's the more merciful thing to do. Because of this, some would see him as blunt or insensitive. He doesn't mean to be, of course, but he's just like that.


Strengths/Weaknesses:
Strengths:

Weapons mastery: Specifically, a katana and a gun. It's rare to see a high school student so well-versed in one weapon, let alone both. He does more damage with his sword, but he has access to elemental bullets with his pistol.

Physical strength: Got no weapons? No problem. He can beat someone with his bare fists. A lot of someones in fact, and still have energy to spare.

Devil Summoner abilities: He's capable of communicating, fighting, capturing, commanding and negotiating with demons and is so good at it that he's earned his title of Raidou, one of the Four Great Summoners of the Kuzunoha clan, at a really young age.

Badassery: He walks around naked in a yakuza-run bath house. He stares down the craziest, scariest monsters and sticks them into tubes. He willingly goes into the Dark Realm to save people. He smacked Rasputin over the head with a bottle. Kid's got balls of steel.

Weaknesses:

Squishy human-ness: In the end, if you take away his demons and weapons, he's still human. Sure, he can go fisticuffs and is more physically powerful than most, but that's not exactly the way to fight properly, and even with his weapons, going up against high-level demons without his own is suicide. Hell, if he wasn't a summoner, then he wouldn't be a Raidou.

Other summoners: Raidou may be an accomplished summoner, but like the horribly complicated Pokémon element chart, he's weak to his own kind. There are other summoners out there and they may be more powerful than him and able to do things that he cant, like magic whereas others can cast spells.

Limited moveset: Similar to the above points, Raidou cant do a lot of things and there's only so much he can get from his demons-- and even then, he needs to work his ass off for their complete cooperation. Case in point, Rasputin sent him to a parallel dimension, and he needed outside help in getting home.

Isolated life: He was born and raised in the Kuzunoha village and was only allowed to leave when he finally earned the title of Raidou-- it's highly likely that he still doesn't know much about culture and people in the cities, or anywhere else for the matter.

In between:

Gouto-douji: As Gouto is his guardian and constant companion, anything he suggests or orders is followed. It's usually a good idea to do what he says, since he's been in the summoning gig for a long time. Should Gouto disappear, Raidou wouldn't know what to do in a complicated crisis-- it's happened before, but it doesn't really count when the power of plot gives you a guide again.

Age: He's still a teenager, so he absorbs knowledge quickly and has the advantage of youth over his peers, but he lacks proper experience, hence needing Gouto around. There's still a lot he doesn't know despite being a prodigy.

Selfless yet reckless: Raidou takes his job as protector very seriously. So seriously in fact that sometimes he doesn't give a damn if he's injured in battle. He never rushes into battle like an idiot or let himself get maimed or killed because a dead or dumb protector is a shit protector, but he's the type to take a bullet (or a sword. or spell. he's not picky) for someone.

Pokémon Information
Affiliation: Trainer
Starter: Absol
Password: scrambled eggs

Samples
First Person Sample:
[The camera is shaky-- to any long-time residents of Pokémonland, they can certainly see the signs of someone who isn't used so such technology. Because what sorcery is this the closest thing he's ever seen to this are those huge awkward cameras. Not... some tiny doodad that can actually capture every move you make.

He's got it working though, even if it's a little lopsided and not actually pointing at him but partly at one side of his face (and dem sideburns) and partly at the curious Absol that's looking over his shoulder. What part of his face captured betrays a little of what emotions he's feeling right now though. His mouth is in a thin line and his eyes are hard.]

My name is Raidou Kuzunoha the fourteenth. [Manners are important after all.] I would like to know where I am, and where the closest streetcar is.

What in the world is a streetcar?

It's transportation. I need to return to Tokyo.

Never heard of it. You're sure it's a real place?

[... What kind of demon hasn't heard of the Capital?] I'm sure.

I've heard of a train, but I don't even know what a streetcar is. You didn't get hit that badly over the head by the Pidgey, did you? [Of course, to other people it'd just seem like a one-sided conversation, typical Absol rumbling and grunting aside. Though Raidou's not listening to her anymore and trying to... well. Turn the damn Gear off.

Absol huffs though.] Oh, honestly. I have to do everything around here, don't I? [Reaches out with a paw and smacks the Gear off.]


Third Person Sample:
He knew monsters and demons. He dealt with them on a regular basis-- nowadays he even spent most of his waking hours with at least one of them following closely behind, ready to jump the moment he commanded. He was used to strange sights and even stranger powers.

But he wasn't used to this. He wasn't used to demons that roamed so freely about the land and no one else thought them strange despite them being visible and tangible to non-summoners.

Or were they all summoners of a sort? In his world, it was usually just him who could see the demons. In this world, they seemed to be an integral part of society and could be contained in little balls that were similar to his tubes, yet not quite the same. The demons could be controlled and trained with a few simple commands, yet none that he'd ever heard of before. Gone were Zio, and Dia and in their place were things such as Scratch, Leer and other names of techniques that didn't seem like magic yet were natural in the creatures all the same. In a way they made sense, but he found himself longing for the spells his demons used.

He also wished for Gouto to be by his side once again-- he might not know this world any better than Raidou, but a familiar face would be comforting.

No use waiting for someone who cant come, though.

Raidou looked to his new companion. It was black and white and had a single wide horn that looked more imposing than a bull's, yet had the body and grace of a large cat. It had the air of mystery and intelligence around it, making it somewhat of a substitute for his late mentor.

"Take care of me while I'm in your company," he told it.

It looked up from cleaning its paws with a look of pure incredulity. "What kind of line is that?" A scratchy, breathless voice with a slightly high pitch...

Oh. Female. Not quite like Gouto then.

ACCEPTED!

[these_balls]

Welcome to the Wonderful World of Pokemon!
Congratulations, you have a fun and exciting adventure awaiting you.

Now that you've been accepted...
[○] Respond to this with your character's journal. This is a must!
[○] Comment in the Taken Characters post, alphabetized by series: # thru H, I thru R, or S thru Z.
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[○] Join the following communities: route_29, route_006, route_1065, pokedaycare. Only Team Rocket personnel should join rocket_hq, but we ask that all Route members subscribe to it.
Note! You will not be accepted to the main or logs community until you've commented in the aforementioned places.
[○] If you're still on the reserved list, please let us know that they've been accepted.
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We'd also like to take this moment to inform you of the Eastern Kanto Ferry! For only P2000, you can take a three day, all-inclusive ferry ride from New Bark Town to Pallet Town and begin a new pokémon journey in the Kanto region! Otherwise, feel free to start in Johto!

Thank you! See you in the Pokémon world!

Re: ACCEPTED!

[perfecthat]

Reporting for duty!