High Seas App

[soundandfurry]

[Name]: gsai
[Age]: 27
[Contacts]:
♦ DW: gonsai
♦ AIM: gonsaifong
♦ Plurk: prefer not to give
[Timezone]: CST
[Other Characters]: n/a



[Name]: Kagerou Imaizumi
[Canon]: Touhou Project
[Age]: Unknown, but appears to be an adult
[Gender]: Female
[Canon Point]: Post Double Dealing Character

[History]: character wiki + scripts for the six routes she's encountered in (they vary only slightly): 1, 2, 3. 4, 5, 6.

[Personality]:
The first thing her official profile notes about her is that she has a "calm nature". This is unfortunately rather nebulous and vague, and because of the plot of the game, we don't even get a glimpse at this in her dialogue (ZUN basically wrote two personalities for her, the one in her profile, and the one displayed because of the Lucky Mallet's influence on her). But, since a lot of elements of Kagerou's personality seem to be pulled from dog-like behaviors, we can safely assume that this "calm nature" is rather dog-like. While she can get excited over things, she's usually not one to get TOO riled up and exude enthusiasm or extreme emotion. Simply making friendly conversation or taking long naps are pretty ideal for her.

Something that seems consistent with Kagerou between all her canon interactions is a desire to be noticed. To be recognized for who she is. This can be a bit conflicting at times, addressed later, but it's worth nothing that while the Lucky Mallet inspired her to act, the idea to be recognized was already in her head. She likes the idea of becoming popular and well liked. She is part of a grassroots organization of lesser youkai in canon, having made lots of social connections. Odds are on she'll go out of her way to make herself likeable to people. The opposite... well that goes a bit deeper. Also addressed later.

Kagerou is self conscious. Very self conscious. On a superficial level, she is embarrassed by her fur and other external canine features and instincts. This seems a bit contradictory given her desire for popularity, but much of it likely has to do with the largely negative reputation wolves have. Wolves are always the villains in fairy tales, and are generally considered untrustworthy by the general populous. So many stories and idioms warn against wolves and wolf-like behavior. She hates the idea of being hated just for who she is, so she will often go out of her way to hide that fact, even if she loves making friends and increasing her social visibility.

It all comes down to her most wolf-like trait; a desire for companionship. ZUN's commentary on her theme music suggests that she is a "lonesome werewolf", who hates being alone. She will always seek out some kind of togetherness, especially with friends. It's the one instinct she can't fight against. Even if she's a werewolf and not a true wolf, that desire to form a pack is still there. She wants a pack of her own, a group of people she can trust to always be there with her. Being the last of her kind (the Honshu wolf is extinct in the outside world) probably has a lot to do with it.

Kagerou, as a werewolf, largely lives in the wild and hunts for her food. She does have interaction with humans and whatnot that come near or through the Bamboo Forest (the Eientei Clinic is located within, so she finds opportunities to do so) but because wolves are particularly reviled in the sort of colloquial Edo-era-esque Japan that Gensokyo is set in, humans tend to react to her rather negatively. Kagerou really hates this fact, and hates that the "big bad wolf" is always the villain in the stories. It's part of why she does what she does, to get noticed and draw attention to the fact that she's not such a bad person. It also goes back to that "lonely werewolf" part of her personality that ZUN brings up in her music.

ZUN doesn't give much detail on her grassroots club other than that it exists (and that it has at least one other member, Wakasagihime) but one can extrapolate from the overall plot of DDC (comments from Seija in particular) that their intention is to band together as weaker youkai so that they are not so easily stomped on and taken advantage of by stronger beings in Gensokyo. The pecking order in Gensokyo is, after all, fairly rigid, with differences in strength forcing a hierarchy of influence. Kagerou, being normally not very strong at all, obviously rests towards the bottom.

All in all, Kagerou is actually a rather forgettable person in the grand scheme of things in Gensokyo (something that bothers her because she is lonely and resentful of the negative image wolves and werewolves get in fairy tales) and created (or helped create, as we have no idea who founded it) a small group of friends to help foster a place for herself in this fantasy society. She doesn't want to be alone, seeking popularity and acceptance, which is really really hard to get in a place like Gensokyo if you haven't got a lot of power, or are a social pariah by virtue of birth.

[Abilities / Strengths & Weaknesses]: Kagerou can make use of basic magic, like most characters in her canon, but none would say she's particularly skilled at it, and it's likely her power was only as much as it was thanks to the Lucky Mallet's influence. Still, she's a capable fighter, and can defend herself if needed.

[Limited Powers]: The cycle of the moon determines Kagerou's strength, power, and speed. The fuller the moon, the more "wolf like" she is, in both appearance and ability. She also has the ability to transform into a wolf completely, rather than just her were form, when the moon is out.

[Other Important Facts]: There is still limited information on her, as no new guidebook has been released detailing these characters. Still, she is a pretty straightforward and simple character, with blanks filled in by extrapolation from myth and symbolism in her design.

[Samples]:
♦ Thread: http://gearbox.dreamwidth.org/6967.html
♦ Post: -It's a full moon out. And you hear a definite, distinct howling.

And normally this would be a frightening, hair raising horror. Because werewolves are scary, right?

Well, seeing as this Kagerou lady's been around the islands for awhile now, you're probably just tired of it by now. But still, there's something cool about watching her take up a perch , howling at the moon's elegant light. Some might even say she looks gorgeous in that light, in spite of how she tries to hide how furry she gets during the full moon...

Though eventually, she realizes that she had meant to put something else in the journal, and looks incredibly embarrassed when she realizes her instincts too over-

Um... Can we just pretend none of you all saw that? That would probably best... Sorry to wake any of you up! It's one thing to do this on a ship, but for everyone out there in the ether to hear it too... How embarrassing.