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[deaftly]

Player
Name: Redd
Personal Journal: pokerap
E-mail: pokerap.redd @ gmail.com
AIM/Plurk/Etc.: AIM: writersblockredd | pokerap
Timezone: EST
Current Characters in Route: Mondo Oowada (diamondo), Frank Archer (sadisticwarfare), and Isaac McDougal (glaciates)

Character
Name: Naki
Series: Tokyo Ghoul
Timeline: Chapter 104, after Naki, his bodyguards, and Tsukiyama flee the battle against the doves
Canon Resource Links:

Tokyo Ghoul @ Wikipedia | Naki @ Tokyo Ghoul Wiki
Unfortunately the wiki doesn't give much information on Naki's role in canon.

At some point before chapter 90, Naki was captured by the CCG, the Commission of Counter Ghoul, the organization responsible for hunting down ghouls and either killing or capturing them. Naki was given an S-rank prior to his capture and was kept in a secure location with another four S-ranked ghouls. Aogiri Tree busted Naki and the other four ghouls out and offered them protection against the "doves", the members of the CCG. Naki was a member of Aogiri Tree prior to being imprisoned, so he went back to work serving the higher ups in the organization without any complaint.

Naki's boss (and most important person) was Yakumo Oomori ("Yamori"), and Naki desperately wanted to see Yamori after his escape. Unfortunately for him, Yamori had been killed and eaten by the protagonist, Ken Kaneki. If a ghoul eats another ghoul, they gain the abilities of the ghoul they ate, so this was a calculated move on Kaneki's part, though it really didn't help that Yamori was torturing him for an extended period of time.

The first time Naki appears in person is to do Aogiri Tree's bidding in capturing and interrogating a nurse who worked for Dr. Kanou. Kaneki and his group wanted to get their hands on the nurse as well, since Dr. Kanou was the one responsible for Kaneki's organ transplant that led to him becoming a ghoul. Naki fought with Kaneki's group for a little while (though it was mostly Matasaka Kamishiro doing the fighting and Naki being a failure) before they fled with the nurse in tow. Naki is later seen complaining about how he didn't get to torture the nurse to get information out of her.

Later on Naki shows up during the raid on Dr. Kanou's laboratory. This isn't surprising since they presumably got the information about the laboratory's location from the nurse, but what is surprising is Naki's entrance, where he blocks a hit that would have severely hurt Tsukiyama. Considering the fact that Tsukiyama was his enemy in the last battle, Naki realizes that he screwed up his entrance. Tsukiyama and Naki immediately begin fighting, completely ignoring everyone else, but that doesn't last long since a group of doves show up. Tsukiyama insists that they form an alliance and the two of them fight the doves, along with Naki's bodyguards.

At one point during this battle Naki leaps in front of an attack that would have hit one of his bodyguards (who are unimportant characters who barely get any lines and only serve to protect Naki, apparently), claiming that physical pain is much better than emotional pain, and he doesn't want either of his bodyguards to deal with the death of his brother, since Naki understands the pain of losing someone close to him. After that the group decides that they'd better leave and the bodyguards carry Naki out. Before they depart, Tsukiyama admits that he might hold some respect for Naki after that battle and as usual, Naki mishears him.

This is the canon point I'm taking Naki from, though he doesn't make another appearance until the end of the manga, which provides nothing more in terms of characterization.

Personality:

Have you ever looked at a character and wondered "how do you even exist in this setting?" That's Naki in a nutshell. Naki is from Tokyo Ghoul, a story about a young man who becomes a ghoul through no fault of his own. Ghouls are human-like creatures who can only eat humans. Their eyes turn solid black with red pupils and they can summon a kagune from their bodies to fight. They're being hunted by the CCG and if they aren't killed immediately, they're captured and thrown in prison. Naki is a ghoul who seems too stupid to live in a world like this. Granted, he was captured and kept in a cell for an unspecified amount of time, but one would think that Naki would have been killed long ago.

The first thing to note about Naki is his intelligence. Naki doesn't seem particularly book-smart and actually prides himself on being able to pay for things as opposed to stealing them. Considering the fact that most ghouls don't go to school (or spend large amounts of time around humans, where they could be discovered), it's important to note that Naki actually prides himself on things like this because not all ghouls are capable of it. He's also very proud of his ability to run simple errands for Yamori, his boss. He genuinely enjoys his work as well, though that might have to do with the fact that he likes Yamori. So in terms of book-smarts, Naki is definitely lacking. He's not much better off in terms of street-smarts either; he not only managed to get himself captured by the CCG, he's just dense in general. It doesn't occur to him until midway through a battle that it might be a good idea to team up with another ghoul to help his chances for survival against the CCG, for example. He's not only dense about combat situations, he's very dense when it comes to dealing with other people. Naki tends to assume that having a positive conversation or experience with someone means that they're friends. Surprisingly, this has not come back to bite him in the ass so far, but there's a first time for everything.

Naki has major issues with abandonment and being left alone. This is partially due to the (unspecified) amount of time he spent in prison, but this mostly has to do with the fact that he was expecting to get out of prison and serve Yamori again, only to find out that Yamori had been killed. Naki openly laments about the death of his boss to the point of seeming horribly hammy. It's not Naki seeking sympathy however, he's genuinely upset about losing someone close to him and being left alone. He's not completely alone however; he has twin bodyguards who are incredibly minor characters with barely any lines at all. Naki purposefully leaps in front of an attack meant for one of his bodyguards, saying that he wouldn't want the other bodyguard to be left alone without his brother. It's a self-centered reason (everything he says is about himself and his pain) but the fact that he was willing to take an attack meant for his bodyguard says something. It's interesting because Naki doesn't seem very close to his bodyguards. It also brings up some major concerns with his survival instincts, seeing as how the attack he jumped in to take was an attack from a dove, a member of the CCG trained to attack and capture or kill ghouls. Naki was already captured by the CCG once and kept imprisoned for at least a little while, but he willingly takes an attack for one of the people supposed to be protecting him from the group of individuals who captured him in the first place. Part of this is "Naki does not think things through" (which we will get to in a moment) but this is also Naki's survival instincts clearly lacking a bit. He relies very heavily on his ability to regenerate (a trait of all ghouls), so he fully believes he can take the attack, but he would leap in to protect his bodyguards from hits even harder than that without stopping to think about it.

Naki really doesn't think things through. He's certainly capable of thinking things through, but the fact of the matter is that he usually doesn't. For example, in the battle against the doves in the lab, Naki agrees to work with Tsukiyama and promptly rushes the doves. There are quite a few of them and while ghouls are naturally stronger than humans, Naki really shouldn't be taking on so many humans by himself. It never once occurs to him to back off, and he even goes as far as to take a bite out of one of the doves' legs once he starts weakening. He only decides to retreat after taking some serious injuries and having his kagune vanish thanks to an experimental gas one of the doves deploys, but if he thought he could win, Naki wouldn't have given up.

It's no surprise that Naki is very confident in his abilities (otherwise he wouldn't rush into battle without thinking twice about it), but Naki relies on them very heavily and in a setting like Route, that's going to be problematic. It doesn't help that he's not great at figuring when to keep his mouth shut, so while he's used to trying to keep the fact that he's a ghoul a secret, he's also kind of dumb and will probably let something slip. It doesn't help that Naki is a very trusting person and once he's decided to befriend someone, he will happily tell them whatever they want to know. He can easily be manipulated this way, but Naki is actually a surprisingly good friend. He's very loyal and will do almost anything for someone he genuinely cares about.

Speaking of people Naki cares about, let's talk about Yamori. Yamori was Naki's boss before Naki got captured by the CCG, and Yamori is the source of a good deal of Naki's abandonment issues. Yamori can also be blamed for a good deal of Naki's appearance and behavior - Naki purposefully wears suits that are reminiscent of what Yamori wears, he says he's very fond of torture (which Yamori was obviously a little too fond of), and it's very obvious that Naki's relationship with Yamori was more than just a boss and subordinate relationship. Exactly how Yamori treated Naki is never shown in canon, but obviously Naki really adored and looked up to Yamori, enough to emulate him even after his death. Naki enjoyed serving Yamori, and actually prides himself on being able to run simple errands for his boss and taking care of the most mundane tasks. As long as he was helping Yamori, he was content. Being captured obviously wasn't part of the plan and neither was Yamori dying, but Naki actually manages to pick himself up after Yamori's death and... well, "move forward" is a bit strong since it's obvious he's still mourning, but boy is Naki trying.

Yamori isn't the only friend Naki has though, and while it's an extreme example, Naki is willing to put his life on the line for people he cares about. The fact that Naki does care about people might be surprising, seeing as how he's an awful person otherwise and it might be more in line to think that Naki doesn't care about anyone but himself. As stated above, he's willing to put himself in danger to protect his bodyguards and the same can be said of any of his friends, even if he's only talked to a person a few times and scarcely knows them. That doesn't matter to Naki as long as those conversations were positive. He never really had very many friends because of his off-putting personality, so finding people he gets along with means that they're friends for good. Expect to deal with abandonment issues!

Just because he acts and stylizes himself to look like Yamori doesn't mean that this is all a facade, however. Naki genuinely is what he presents himself to be, and that's unfortunate for everyone involved. He genuinely does love torturing others (not being tortured, but apparently Yamori is the exception) and he's an awful person, but he embraces that and doesn't hold back. In fact, Naki doesn't know the meaning of the word "restraint", be it in battle or conversation. Good luck dealing with him, because no matter who you are, you're going to need it.

It's impossible to summarize Naki's personality without mentioning his biggest flaw. Naki is kind of deaf. He mishears things all the time, and most of the time he manages to mishear things in ways that don't even make sense. Almost everything comes back to sex, and more specifically, insults aimed at him. This could be pointing to some underlying issue, but no one really wants to get into that. Needless to say, Naki's deafness is played as comedic relief, but it's a very important thing to point out since he's prone to getting upset over things that no one is saying.

Naki can basically be summed up with a combination of "Naki why" and "you tried". He's kind of stupid and can be easily manipulated, but he's loyal and willing to do anything for the people he considers friends. He's got a lot of issues that he likes to cry about as well, but Naki's biggest concern isn't about dealing with said issues or figuring out a way home. He's more concerned about what he's going to do for his next meal. Naki is pretty simple like that when all is said and done.

Strengths/Weaknesses:

✔ LOYAL
Well, Naki is very loyal to Aogiri Tree. More specifically he's loyal to Yamori, but he'll happily serve anyone who makes a good impression on him. Whether you want his loyalty or not is another question entirely...
✔ STRENGTH
As a ghoul, Naki is naturally stronger than humans. He also has access to the kagune, a weapon built right into his anatomy. Naki's manifests itself as a massive blade that covers his right arm. It can be used for attack and defense, but it means that Naki moves slowly. Even without the kagune, Naki is a decent fighter and can take a few hits. He was given an S rank by the CCG for killing doves in the past, so clearly Naki's doing something right when it comes to fighting. Obviously this won't be as important in Route, but it's something he's actually good at. His skills aren't strictly paranormal however, so he'll keep a tiny bit of his strength which will be surprising to anyone fighting this tiny guy.
✔ CARING
"He's capable of caring" really shouldn't be a good sign, but with characters like Naki, it's sort of a necessity to point out. Naki genuinely cares about his bodyguards and puts himself in danger to save one of them (or more accurately, to save the other one from having to deal with the loss of his twin brother). Naki is definitely capable of making and keeping friends and he's very loyal to the ones he cares about, it's just getting past his... Naki-ness.
✔ GOOD SUBORDINATE
Naki is actually very good at listening to people and following orders. He's not a leader by any means, and if you can get past the fact that he's bound to be in tears at some point or mishear your orders, Naki can actually be quite useful. He does Aogiri Tree's bidding without any complaints and he actually does manage to get things done, such as kidnapping the nurse. Apparently he was also given simple tasks like running errands for Yamori and handling money, which means he's at least competent with... that. It's sad when that's actually something worth mentioning.

✔/✘ SELF-PRESERVATION
Naki's a weird one when it comes to looking out for himself. He obviously wants to keep living, but he'll purposefully throw himself in front of attacks and take the damage instead. This was admittedly to protect one of his bodyguards (they're a set of twins) because in his opinion, nothing is worse than being alone. Physical pain is much better than the pain of losing someone you care about, in his opinion. So he'll jump in front of attacks, he'll leap into battle (and accidentally save his opponent, whoops), and he'll pick fights no matter who his opponent is, but Naki does ultimately want to stay alive. He's a little weird.

✘ HEARING ISSUES
Though it's never elaborated on in canon, Naki has difficulty hearing things. This is played for comedic effect and doesn't come into play all the time, but if someone is speaking quietly or too quickly, Naki is going to mishear them in a spectacularly stupid way. He misheard "forge an alliance" as "four gem lions", for example.
✘ DENSE
Naki isn't exactly stupid, but he sure is thick. It takes him a moment to realize that teaming up with another ghoul to fight the doves would actually be a good thing.
✘ TRUSTING
As a ghoul, the last thing you want is to trust other ghouls. Naki never seemed to get that memo. Not only does he fully trust (most of the members of) Aogiri Tree, he also trusts Tsukiyama. You know, that guy who he fought with for about ten minutes. His trust is ridiculously easy to gain, as is his loyalty, which is definitely not a good thing in ghoul society.
✘ YAMORI
Naki has basically molded himself to look and act like Yamori. Naki isn't shown in any flashbacks so it's impossible to tell why he's so devoted to Yamori, but it's very obvious that he's styled himself after Yamori. Naki wears a light colored suit, he cracks his knuckles in the exact same way, and he revels in sadism just like Yamori. It's possible that all of this started as an act, but by the end of the manga Naki is still dressing and acting like Yamori, so it appears genuine. This is definitely a negative thing because Yamori is awful and he's the last person you would ever want to style yourself after.
✘ GHOUL
Ghouls appear to be human, but they have some physical abnormalities that will hinder Naki here. Ghouls need to eat humans - they can consume other food, but it makes them sick and makes it harder to fight. As such, Naki doesn't eat human food at all and only consumes people (and coffee, because black coffee is something they can consume without any ill effects). He's not going to want to eat human food here in Route, which is going to lead to some problems immediately. Ghouls are also capable of regeneration and using a part of their body called a kagune as a weapon. Without either of these, Naki is going to get himself into a lot of trouble very fast. He's used to relying on healing (not to the extent some ghouls are, but he does rush into battle and throw himself in the way of attacks with the thought that they'll be healed eventually) and his kagune is how he fights, so not having either of those will put him at a severe disadvantage. Society is also different among ghouls. The majority of ghouls don't spend too much time with humans; Naki is one of these. He knows the basics when it comes to reading and writing, but he has no formal education because going to school could have potentially outed him as a ghoul and that was the last thing he wanted to deal with. Aside from not knowing how to interact with humans, Naki also has problems keeping his mouth shut, which isn't going to be a big problem here unless he mentions that he eats people. Hopefully he won't bring that up. Hopefully.

Pokémon Information
Affiliation: Team Rocket
Starter: Cubone + Magikarp
Password: Spring Rolls

Samples
First Person Sample:

--piece of shit, it won't turn on...!

[Well, that sure was a great way to introduce himself to Johto. Finally Naki gets the video working and relaxes a bit, leaning back so he's mostly in the frame. He's dressed in the white suit, dark undershirt, and he's still wearing an obscene amount of eyeshadow, but for the moment he looks content.]

I've got a question. I'm sure it's come up plenty of times before, but I'm new here, so help me out. Why are "Po-kay-mon" such a big thing here? I thought that was just some kind of weird fad back home.

[A weird human fad, but he'll keep that thought to himself.]

While we're on the subject of Po-kay-mon, can anyone tell me what I'm supposed to do with this thing?

[He turns the camera to focus on a Magikarp. It's flopping kind of pathetically on the floor. Apparently it didn't cross Naki's mind that it might need water.]

Honestly I think it'll be more useful as a bludgeon than as a fighter, but maybe I'm missing something. Someone tell me what I'm supposed to do with this shitty thing.

[The camera pans quickly back to Naki, who now looks bored.]

I'd also like to find a way home, but I guess if there's a lot of us here then there is no way home. Ugh, just what I needed...

[He props his elbow on the arm of the chair he's sitting in and rests his chin against his hand. He's still fully aware that the video is turned on, he's just going to brood for a moment because this is apparently how Naki is rolling today.]

Oh, and I guess if you've got any other tips for a new-comer those would be appreciated.

[If you think he's going to thank you for it, you've got another thing coming. Naki looks like he's going to say something else, then shrugs and turns off the video. The audio is still on, however, and Naki can be heard addressing someone or something before the feed shuts off entirely.]

I'm so hungry... Guess I'll have to see if there's anything good to eat around here.

Third Person Sample:

Johto is a weird place. It's taken Naki two weeks to come to that conclusion, but it's a valid conclusion and one he's quite happy with. Well, maybe "happy" isn't the right word, but the point is that Johto's a strange place, even for a ghoul. Maybe especially for a ghoul, since apparently they're no longer ghouls. It would have been nice to know that earlier, but Naki's not going to complain about that. Who knew cake was so delicious?

Anyway, he's flopped on the bed in the Team Rocket base today, flipping through his Pokédex out of boredom. He doesn't have very many Pokémon to look at the 'Dex entries for, but it's amusing for the time being. Some of these creatures sound like they'd be downright terrifying back home, but everything seems so cute and cuddly here.

He finally pauses on one entry in particular, scanning it several times before the message sinks in.

Cubone pines for the mother it will never see again. Seeing a likeness of its mother in the full moon, it cries. The stains on the skull the Pokémon wears are made by the tears it sheds.

"Ah..." Naki sits up, still staring intently at the entry. "You..." He looks toward the Cubone, sitting on a pillow at the end of the bed. The Pokémon in question doesn't look upset right now, instead just tapping his bone club against the wall to create repetitive patterns. "Your mother...?"

The Cubone looks like it's about to burst into tears and Naki's expression isn't doing anything to help. He looks like he's going to cry too and he reaches out to scoop the Pokémon up into his arms. Cubone doesn't protest and instead starts wailing loudly, clutching at Naki's white suit. It doesn't take long for Naki to follow the Pokémon's example, sobbing just as loudly.

"You poor thing! Your mother... The death of a loved one always hurts, but you lost your family at such a young age...!" Naki doesn't even bother to try to wipe away the tears. His breath hitches for a moment but he carries on a very melodramatic fashion, "I too lost someone I care deeply about! Yamori-san, why did you leave me? There were so many things I wanted to do with you--!"

Apparently their wailing has attracted someone else's attention and the door to Naki's room opens and a Grunt pokes his head in, looking displeased. "Hey, keep it down! Your wailing's giving everyone a headache."

"Who said anything about whales?" Naki looks horribly confused for a moment before he brushes it off and stands, pointing dramatically at the Grunt, tears still flowing unchecked. "You wouldn't understand! None of you would understand! Being left alone is the worst feeling in the world!! You wouldn't understand!!"

The Grunt just rolls his eyes and shuts the door behind him, leaving Naki to continue crying on the Cubone. Once again it looks like Naki's going to do nothing useful today.