APP | MoM

[fuckinstoplights]

〈 PLAYER INFO 〉
NAME: Red
AGE: 29
JOURNAL: redfirelight
IM / EMAIL: AIM @ thisismyomnitool
PLURK: redfirelight
RETURNING: Yes?

〈 CHARACTER INFO 〉
CHARACTER NAME: Kagerou (BP-500X)
CHARACTER AGE: Actual age: less than a year. Mental Age is... hard to say. He acts like a teenager.
SERIES: Brave Police: J-Decker
CHRONOLOGY: Midway through episode 10
CLASS: Anti-hero, or wanting to be one.
HOUSING: Any.

BACKGROUND:
So in Japan, and later the rest of the world, the "21st Century" brought a lot more problems than it did anything else. Problems in the form of super-advanced crime and high-tech criminals. This tends to include everything from mutated monsters, to evil robots, to men who dress like clowns releasing mind-altering substances into the air. And, in order to combat this, the law enforcement system decided the best course of action would be to create giant police robots. More specifically, Commissioner Juzo Saejima decided this was the best course of action -- sort of like if Commissioner Gordon decided Gotham needed a giant Batman robot, and then was allowed to do so, then added strobe lights 'because it was cool'. Which... is pretty much Saejima in a nutshell, but that's beside the point.

They were known as the BP series, or Brave Police. Because this is Japan and everything has to sound like that. Outfitted with a special kind of AI -- or super AI -- they had personality, emotions, and were, on occasion, very nearly humans. Albeit humans in giant robot bodies. They were also pretty effective, enough to where more models, with different capabilities, were warranted.

Enter the prototype ninja robot -- no joke -- known as BP-500X, or Kagerou.

He was designed as a test. Meant to see how well his model would perform, before they went forward and designed the real thing. And, once the new model, another ninja robot known as Shadowmaru -- also no joke -- came along, Kagerou was tasked with training him, and testing him, until Shadowmaru was ready to operate in the field. And that's about when the problem started.

Very quickly, Shadowmaru became the most important person, or robot, in Kagerou's life. In a completely and utterly healthy fashion, he completely defined himself by Shadowmaru's existence -- and by their experiences together. His world began and ended with his double, though he himself always felt he stood in the shadow of the other, given he was well aware of his prototype status. He wasn't the important one, or the one that mattered. In the end, it was Shadowmaru who was valuable, who would go on to work alone.

Somewhere along the line, he found out what the department responsible for their creation had in mind for him, and really didn't like it. The higher-ups saw no reason to get rid of a functional model completely, so they decided they would simply reassign Kagerou once Shadowmaru's training was complete. However, reassignment meant a massive reformat of Kagerou's processor, effectively erasing the data he already had stored -- basically erasing all of his memories. And, since Kagerou's world was centered around Shadowmaru, forgetting him, and their training time together, was basically a death sentence. And he couldn't have that.

As soon as the training was deemed complete, the normally taciturn robot broke through the wall of the facility and, basically went on a rampage. Apparently, his intent was to get a message out to the higher-ups regarding his feelings on the matter, but it got sort of muddled up when he started smashing talking electronics like vending machines and stoplights. Apparently, something about the fact they were talking machines with no AI really got to him. Either that or Kagerou just really didn't like waiting at stoplights and a vending machine ate his last quarter. Or, more likely, it was a stab back at the humans who wanted to wipe his precious memories.

The good people of Japan were understandably nervous about this, and thus the Brave Police were called on to put an end to the rampaging robot. However, when Kagerou broke out, he was closely followed by none other than Shadowmaru. Why he never directly captured/arrested Kagerou isn't clear -- he had more than one opportunity, and instead used them to keep the Brave Police off his prototype's tail, claiming he'd deal with Kagerou himself. After a confrontation, Kagerou dropped off the map, along with Shadowmaru, until the former turned up at a convenient talking electronics fair, with the intent of smashing the place up. Human police officers opened fire, which caused him to take a hostage, and hole up in the building hosting the fair. He, very calmly, stated that if anyone came after him, the woman would die. It was the first time he ever directly threatened a human life, and he did it in the same calm, casual sort of manner he smashed up vending machines and stoplights.

The Brave Police team attempted to go after the wanted robot, but were stopped by some crazy saxophone music Shadowmaru again, who after showing off, went into the building on his own to deal with his prototype. The others stayed outside and got caught up on the situation thanks to some exposition by Saejima and his chief engineer.

Meanwhile, inside, the two ninja robots confronted each other. They had a conversation about life, memories, the usual. In which Kagerou basically said he was nothing if he couldn't retain his memories of their time together -- of Shadowmaru. It was also the only time he really showed any sort of emotion, raising his voice toward the end of their discussion, and generally being edgy and upset the entire time, whereas before, he'd been completely nonchalant, in control of himself. It's thus safe to say he has a few Issues regarding memories. In light of these revelations, Shadowmaru relented, and allowed Kagerou to get out of jail free, more or less, under the condition he wouldn't cause any more destruction again. It looked like everything would end up going all right...

Until, as he took off for parts unknown, Kagerou crashed headlong into electrified nets, dangling from helicopters a lot more stealthy than he was.

The helicopters were owned by the head of Excellent Corporation -- no, that's actually its name -- known as Shinjo. He had a hand in the development of the BP series of robots, but never really liked how they were so emotive. And, you know, not mindless automatons. Plus he had some kind of crazy lung disease, and wanted a giant robot body of his own, so, logically, the only thing to do was steal a Super AI chip from one of the BP Series. And implant his own mind onto it.

Which was what ended up happening to Kagerou. In the end, his memories were completely obliterated, save for a brief moment of recognition -- related, of course, to Shadowmaru -- and he died horribly, the reformatted AI chip implanted in a submarine, which then blew up at the bottom of the sea.

PERSONALITY:
For the most part, Kagerou embodies the entire ninja persona. He's quiet, reserved -- and prefers it that way. He doesn't speak much, doesn't even reveal much in the way of emotion. At least, not with facial expression or his tone of voice. During his entire rampage, he never says so much as a single word, until confronted by the Brave Police. And only then, it's a very flat, clipped order for them to back off. He doesn't raise his voice, or appear angry. He just tells them to get out and go home. Even when he abducts a human girl, fully intending to kill her if he isn't left alone, he doesn't so much as scowl. It's safe to assume he keeps a tight lid on his emotions, since, being AI, he is fully capable of feeling, he just chooses not to, save for circumstances in which emotional strain is just too much to hold back.

He's still a child, in many respects, after all.

He never appears even remotely upset about the situation, until his confrontation with Shadowmaru later on, in which he seems to break down, all but shouting at him, and going into great detail about his feelings. He actually emotes when the other ninja-robot is around him -- and is shown to actually have smiled during a brief flashback of the two of them. Likely, it's only Shadowmaru he feels comfortable enough to really act normally around, instead of acting as his stealth/ninja training dictates.

Which isn't entirely surprising. Shadowmaru is literally the reason Kagerou exists. You're not going to build a prototype if you're not going to improve it later on. At least, that's what he feels. Whether or not he's right doesn't matter, not to him. Even so, he was okay with this. He threw everything into making Shadowmaru a good reason to live - the training and whatnot - in subconscious justification for his whole mindset. He defines himself completely and utterly by Shadowmaru's existence, directly stating this during their confrontation. Without one, there couldn't be the other. And, so he is naturally... attached. Over time, that attachment became important to him. He actually cared about his "improved version", along with everything else he felt. And he cared a lot -- still does, if he's being honest. He couldn't imagine living without him - either in memory or in the physical sense. It's safe to say that Shadowmaru is, without a doubt, the most important person on the planet to him. He displays extremely dependent personality traits, focused entirely on Shadowmaru.

Considering he seems to have spent the entirety of his life in a training and testing facility, as he and Shadowmaru were kept secret from even the other Brave Police, it's safe to assume that, in addition from being quiet and withdrawn, Kagerou is also supremely sheltered. He spent his life interacting with one other individual, primarily, with the addition of engineers and mechanics when necessary, and, given how he only really seems to show his feelings when in his fellow "ninja's" presence, likely only really knows how to deal with him in a social situation.

Also, given that his solution to the problem of reformatting was property damage and hostage-taking, he lacks real problem-solving experience in the "real world". He saw nothing wrong with his actions. He was scared, and it seemed to be the only way out -- thus he took it. It's less that he is amoral, or lacks morals, given that he was created for the purpose of law enforcement, but more that he panicked, and lashed out. He knows how to fight, and how to perform his functions -- he had to, in order to train Shadowmaru. But beyond that, he gets out of his depth. And covers it simply by not speaking.

He, understandably, takes issues with being treated as a simple machine, or the loss of memory. Memories are how he built his existence, and they, like Shadomwaru himself, are vitally important to who he is. Given that humans were the ones to threaten him with reformatting, he has become somewhat mistrustful of them, and clearly does not seem to value their lives as much as he does that of fellow robots -- while he kidnaps a girl, threatens her, he never once raises a weapon against his own kind. Not while he's himself, anyway.


POWER:
Controlling Stoplights
... pretty much what it says on the tin. In person, as in, if he is standing on the street nearby, he can control the lights. Make them blink, change to red, green, or yellow. Being in physical contact with the light in question allows him to make it speak -- think the "WALK SIGN IS ON" automated voice crosswalks use sometimes.

Robot Form
With effort, Kagerou can, complete with sparkles and dramatic sounds, transform into his robot form. It's about 17 feet tall, blue-green in color, and vaguely humanoid. In order to function, his body needs to use gasoline as fuel. He was designed with stealth in mind, and stealth is what he's good at. He's equipped with "stealth sensors", which basically means very high-tech seeing ability -- heat, electromagnetic fields, the works. If it's alive, or electronic, he can probably see it, via the scanner attached to his right optic.

This also means that he, himself, is incredibly difficult to detect -- at least by electronic means. You can definitely see a giant green robot strolling around. But to try and pick him up on a security system would result in nothing but a "ghost". Or a "shadow".

Another unique feature is his ability to hack into security systems – though this is shown to be used by Shadowmaru, it's a safe assumption Kagerou is also capable of the same, considering they were built to be almost identical in form and function. This security hacking allows him to remotely view the feed of security cameras, and break into high-tech locks. Like ninjas do.

And yes, he does, in fact, transform. He has two alternate forms, in fact. One being a giant bird, and the other a car. Because one form is flight-capable, this also means he is as well, even in his robot form. Overall, he's fairly agile, for a robot, capable of impressive jumps and quick movements. And, of course, there's the typical robotic strength -- smashing through walls, ripping out stoplights, the usual. However, for one of his kind, he's not particularly strong or durable.

The longer he stays a robot, and the more of his robotic abilities he uses, the more exhausted he becomes, until he forcibly reverts to human form, unable to maintain the robotic body. He'll likely not be conscious if this happens.

Perfect/Photographic Memory
Pretty much a version of panmesia. He can perfectly recall any event, conversation, or bit of information, provided he deems it important to him. He has to make the conscious decision he wants to remember something. And then, he will recall it as if it had just happened. These certain memories cannot be altered, though he isn't immune to memory-altering effects altogether. Nor can he choose to forget these memories. In times of great stress, he loses this control, and everything is remembered -- so if he were seriously wounded or terrified, these memories would be permanently imprinted on him regardless of his choice.

〈 CHARACTER SAMPLES 〉
COMMUNITY POST (VOICE) SAMPLE:
I don't understand this.

[That's all there is for a few moments. As if he's trying to determine the right thing to say.]

Why me? Why was I brought here? I'm nothing like a... like a "Hero". I've never helped a human being. And why should I? None of you have ever done anything for me.

Why should I be a "hero"?

Why should I do anything for human beings?

LOGS POST (PROSE) SAMPLE:
TDM Thread

FINAL NOTES:
If I need to edit anything as far as the robot mode goes, let me know!