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[telewarped]

OOC INFORMATION
Name: Kibi
Contact: Kibi#8509 (Discord) | kibikon
Age: 27
Other Characters: Lusamine

CHARACTER INFORMATION
Character Name: Shoka Sakurane
Age: 16
Canon: The World Ends With You
Canon Point: several months post-NEO
Character Information: Character Wiki

Personality:
Abrasive and sarcastic, Shoka seems to have the most fun when she’s riling others up. Facing the world with a bored, devil-may-care attitude, she always has a smug quip or caustic remark at the ready to amuse herself with. As a low-ranking Reaper, her primary duty is to introduce new Players to the Reaper’s Game, a task she appears to be completely disinterested in and uses as an opportunity to mock the (justifiably confused) newbies. She seems intent to provide only the barest minimum of information and makes sure to wrap any actually helpful pointers in an insult or two, having no qualms with letting Players know exactly how unimpressed she is by them. Though a few are able to roll with her punches or even find her entertaining, her blunt and often condescending personality tends to grate on most, and it isn’t long before even the usually passive and mellow Rindo gets fed up with her antics.

Shoka’s wit is just as sharp as her tongue, and she is capable of great cunning, able to easily trick others when her Reaper duties call for it. She does this both to the detriment and benefit of the Wicked Twisters over the course of the Game, first only pretending to defect from the Reapers in order to spy on the Wicked Twisters for Shiba, then working against the Reapers by secretly dispensing hints and advice to Rindo.

This cunning streak combined with her guarded nature means that she is also quite skilled at putting on a brave face and hiding her true feelings. She tends to distance herself emotionally from others, even those she’s closest to, and in moments of distress, prefers to bottle up her feelings and isolate herself. Rarely does she allow herself to be vulnerable or sincere in front of anyone, and it is only well into the story that her actual intentions and allegiances are fully revealed.

While her constant jabs and quips may make her seem like an entirely uncaring and cruel person, inwardly, Shoka yearns to connect with and be accepted by others—warts and all. She is actually quite selfless and, for all the boredom and disillusionment she feels toward the Game and being a Reaper, willing to fight tooth and nail for the things and people she cares about. Occasionally, even her most scathing comments can hide pieces of genuinely helpful advice, and over the course of the Game, she more and more frequently goes out of her way to aid the Wicked Twisters, having grown fond of both them and Shibuya as a whole. Ultimately, after being stripped of her Reaper status for choosing to side with the team (a decision which, it is later revealed, she knows will eventually lead to her erasure), she joins them as a Player and dedicates herself to helping them save Shibuya from Inversion. The more time she spends with the Wicked Twisters, the more open and less harsh she becomes, even aiding them in side quests to help residents of the RG with their everyday problems, seemingly motivated by nothing but a Wicked Twister-induced compulsion to do good.

Shoka’s choice to join the Wicked Twisters forces her into direct conflict with the other Shinjuku Reapers, who she is shown to have built up close friendships with. Looking at her interactions with these Reapers reveals another side of Shoka that is friendlier, more sincere, and deeply loyal. In flashbacks, she speaks more openly and comfortably around them, refers to them with affectionate nicknames, and even seems to think of them as her family, later outright admitting to Rindo that she sees Ayano in particular as her sister. This sentiment appears to be mutual between all of the Shinjuku Reapers, with Shiba saying at one point that he trusts Shoka implicitly, Susukichi trying to spare her when it comes time for them to fight, and Ayano promising repeatedly that she will do everything in her power to keep Shoka safe.

However, her hope to save Shibuya makes Shoka their enemy. When they inevitably come to blows, Shoka is deeply conflicted and does all she can to prevent any erasures. Before facing a Plague Noise-stricken Ayano in particular, Rindo must use his Replay ability to convince Shoka in a highly specific way that fighting Ayano is necessary; otherwise, Shoka will refuse to fight, unable to accept the thought that Ayano is beyond saving, and perish trying to rescue her. Later, when Susukichi tricks the Wicked Twisters into trapping themselves under the Shibuya Stream (an attempt at sparing them from Shibuya’s Inversion), Shoka becomes extremely distressed, upset that he would not tell her honestly what he was planning. Though she allows herself little time to grieve due to the pressing matter of Shibuya's impending Inversion, both Ayano and Susukichi’s erasures leave Shoka devastated. She is quick to bottle up these feelings, telling Rindo, "It's probably for the best that we've got other things to do. Keeps us from thinking too much."

Through her online persona, Swallow, Shoka is also shown to be open, kind, and more overtly helpful to Rindo, and he trusts her to such an extent that he reaches out to her repeatedly for advice throughout the course of the story, unaware that Swallow (his supportive and always understanding online friend of several years) and Shoka (the rude Reaper who has been hassling him for the past couple of weeks) are the same person. Swallow is not a false persona, and rather just another facet of Shoka’s personality; it can be assumed that Shoka does not reveal her identity to Rindo because she wanted him to get to know and accept all parts of her, without making any assumptions about her real-world self based on their online relationship.

In summation, those who do take the time and care to connect with Shoka will find in her a truly loyal—albeit moody and snarky—companion. There is, however, one thing that Shoka is utterly apathetic about: her own life.

Prior to the events of NEO, Shoka played and won her own Reaper’s Game, and as her prize chose to become a Reaper herself. Unlike many Players, Shoka had no desire for a second chance at life after her death; she admits to Rindo that she didn’t particularly care if she was erased or not during her Game, and the only reason she tried at all is because being able to use Psychs made her feel “powerful” (implying that, when she was alive, she felt powerless). By the same token, she claims that the only reason she chose to become a Reaper is because she saw no reason not to.

This apathy she feels toward her own existence continues to the conclusion of the story, when it is revealed that, according to the rules of the Shinjuku Reapers, Shoka will be erased for defecting during the Game. Though she is given the option to rejoin the Reapers and be spared, she declines, claiming that she has “made her peace” with her erasure. Despite her strengths and eventual determination to save Shibuya, Shoka is also often pessimistic and a bit cynical, and it can be difficult for her to muster the willpower to fight for the things she believes in (this is part of the reason why it takes her until Week 3 of the Game to stand up to Shiba). Likewise, when her boredom and pessimism get the better of her, it can be difficult for her to see the value in her own life or any point in continuing to exist.

Before she has the chance to be erased at the end of NEO’s Game, however, she is suddenly transported to the RG, alive and human, by Shibuya’s Composer, Joshua. After several weeks of settling back into the RG alone, she eventually manages to reunite with Rindo, and finds herself for once grateful to have another chance at life.

5-10 Key Character Traits:
• Selfless
• Playful
• Sharp-witted
• Loyal
• Blunt
• Sarcastic
• Moody
• Apathetic

Would you prefer a monster that FITS your character’s personality, CONFLICTS with it, EITHER, or opt for 100% RANDOMIZATION? FITS, please!
Opt-Outs: Arachne, Naga, Lich, Minotaur, Slime, Merperson, + Faerie (Lusamine)

Roleplay Sample: TDM