Yomo “scruffy uncle” Renji (四方 蓮示) (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
procuration) wrote2015-08-05 03:43 pm
procuration) wrote2015-08-05 03:43 pm
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ARCHIVE: APPLICATION
Player Information
Name/Alias: Alex
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Timezone: EST
HMD: Link.
Character Information
Name: Renji Yomo (四方 蓮示)
Fandom: Tokyo Ghoul
Canonpoint: Post-canon
Gender: Male
Age: Unspecified; estimated early 30’s
Physical Description: Link.
History: Wiki page.
Personality: Yomo is a character who is, more often than not, seen but not heard—and even with this distinction, he manages to command a strong presence. Tall, broad, silent, and almost completely impassive, he is a very intimidating person. Even getting to know him past first impressions and into initial acquaintanceship, this does not change. Yomo offers very little about himself. Actually, he offers very little at all, typically only speaking when it is absolutely necessary (and even then, it is only by his own decision of that necessity). Because of this verbal passivity, one can be tricked into thinking that Yomo is either uncaring or unaffected by what happens around him. This is entirely untrue, but because of the particular nature of how he sees himself and the limitations he finds himself with, Yomo keeps himself at a distance which can reinforce that misreading.
To truly understand Yomo’s character as he is at the end of the series, one must understand where he started from. Loss of family in a ghoul’s life is something highly normalized in their collective experiences; when telling his story, Yomo remarks that it was a “common story for a ghoul” for both of his parents and his older brother to have been killed when he was very young. He was raised by his older sister, and what really was the initial galvanizing point in his life was when she was killed by ghoul investigators. Of his sister he remarks that “[to] me, there was absolutely nothing else.” After she was taken from him, Yomo sets out to the tumultuous 4th ward where he disregards all of the rules of the ghouls already living there, fighting and eating and even cannibalizing along the way. With all of his familial ties severed, Yomo becomes a danger to himself and everyone around him—he pays no heed to societal norms (as ghouls are typically raised to respect hunting territories, and cannibalism of other ghouls is regarded as a taboo) in a blind and fervent attempt to become stronger.
This drive was fueled by another one that was “common enough” among ghouls: revenge. Yomo knew that it was the ghoul investigator Arima Kishou that murdered his sister, so he sought out all avenues that he could pursue in order to become strong enough to avenge her. This very nearly got him killed by causing too many problems amongst the 4th ward ghouls (and it was only Uta’s interest in him and his making the effort to speak and befriend him that saved him from that fate) and also when he challenged Arima when the investigator finally showed up in the 4th ward as well. His rage made him formidable (as even Arima commented on his speed and strength) but it also blinded him—he was taken down by Arima’s subordinate rather than the associate special class investigator himself.
The reason to understanding how reckless and dangerous Yomo was in his youth is in seeing how much he changed after he met Yoshimura, the manager of the Anteiku cafe in the 20th ward. Yoshimura saved Yomo’s life by dragging him away from the fight with Arima. Afterwards he took him under his wing, mentoring him. It is noted that, during this time, Yomo’s drive for revenge which had driven him to such life-threatening and socially objectionable lengths slowly died down. He mellowed out and became much more mature, seeming to attempt to embody the patience and understanding that Yoshimura offered him and many others as well.
One might not discern this of him at first, but perhaps the most important thing to Yomo is his “family” (or, rather, the people he has assumed as his family). The first and foremost person to him is Yoshimura (to the extent that, in his character bio, his “Likes:” field is actually answered as Yoshimura). As the man who saved his life and helped give him purpose after the death of is sister (the death of his “everything”), he is eternally indebted to him. Yomo is very defensive of Yoshimura’s decisions and often stands up for him, like when Kaneki grew angry at information Yoshimura kept from him (for his own safety, as Yomo had been told). Only slightly secondary to the manager are all of the other ghouls at Anteiku. Though not one to function very well in the spotlight (he does not have the personable nature to be a barista in the cafe), Yomo works tirelessly behind the scenes to make things as easy for them as possible. Because he finds it difficult to express how he feels verbally (which will be discussed in detail later), he finds way to express it through his actions instead.
To strangers, Yomo will often remain a stranger. To those he is close with, he ends up fulfilling a very particular role in both their group and to them individually. No natural leader, Yomo is the quintessential “right-hand man,” acting as Yoshimura’s eyes and ears in the 20th ward as well as his muscle should he ever need their rules enforced. He is known throughout the Anteiku ghouls as the watcher, protector, and also the provider (as he is often the one to bring home scavenged meat for ghouls unfit to hunt to eat). Because of his age and experience with ghoul groups as well as dealing with doves from his history in the 4th ward, Yomo’s expertise is often listened to in these regards. He tends to focus both on the immediate issue as well as the big picture. When Ryouko Fueguchi was endangering the ghouls of the 20th ward by visiting her husband’s grave (which could’ve been under surveillance by the ghoul investigators), he tells her that he was worried for her moving on her own as well as warning her that her actions could bring trouble to all of them, not just her.
It often takes some time for Yomo to truly accept someone into his very small ring of people close to him. After Yoshimura initially accepts Kaneki into Anteiku, Yomo is wary of him. He takes him on an expedition to a cliff to “collect food” (harvested from the corpses of suicide victims), a task which he tells Kaneki he wouldn’t even bother to do with him had Yoshimura not asked him to. Yomo only comes to accept Kaneki personally after he witnessed him hold his own against Amon, a ghoul investigator, and then warn the dove to leave before he lost control of himself and killed him. Yomo actually goes far enough to take a stab through the chest from Kaneki instead (so he wouldn’t lose control and do it to anyone else). Afterwards he remarks, “I think I know the reason that Yoshimura-san is partial to you. I also… want to see what you’ll become from here on out. Return, Ken.” From then on out, he has accepted Kaneki as someone close to him and is extremely protective of him. He remarks to Yoshimura after Kaneki’s near-death (twice over) at the hands of Tsukiyama that he might just take the ghoul out so Kaneki would be safe (though Yoshimura tells Yomo that Kaneki should fight his own fights). He also offers to “lend a shoulder” to Kaneki after they come to rescue him from the Aogiri base, and his quite upset when Kaneki refuses him.
All of this is an example of the method by which Yomo tends to get close to others. It usually takes a familial sort of likeness or an interest in order to initiate this sort of change. Another example in a different vein is when the ghouls of Anteiku find an injured bird and take it in. Yomo becomes very invested in the bird’s wellbeing, even staying in the cafe at night to take care of it and trying to teach it new words while the others weren’t watching (much to the manager’s simultaneous amusement and chagrin).
Unlike Yoshimura and other ghouls of Anteiku, however, Yomo is far more “ghoul” than they are in some of his thought processes. His morality is somewhat skewed in that way. When “gathering food,” Kaneki makes a comment of how all of the ghouls of Anteiku eat from suicide victims so they wouldn’t have to kill someone. Yomo seems aggravated by this statement and immediately corrects him, stating “there are times when I kill and eat people too.” To Yomo, who was raised as a ghoul and lived a particularly violent life as one for some time, this is normal. He seems to see a natural divide between people and ghouls, one which might have initially prevented him from caring for Kaneki. Despite all of this, however, Yomo is not shaded to be a cruel individual. When harvesting the food in that selfsame instance, Kaneki observes him clasping his hands together as if in prayer over the body for a long moment before going about his job. Because that’s what it is to him: a duty. Killing for food is something cut-and-dry for Yomo, done not out of hate or revenge but because he sees it as a natural necessity.
The last piece to Yomo’s characterization worth mentioning is one very important to how he interfaces with other people: the issue of his speech (or lack thereof). Though it’s insinuated that Yomo is naturally quiet, choosing to listen and observe rather than contribute to conversation, it is actually revealed in the “bonus content” of the volumes that he has a lack of self-confidence with his speech. He states that he is aware that he is slow to speak up and has difficulty expressing his feelings verbally. “Those things are different than what I intend. I perceive things at a different angle and am unable to clearly express that… but even though I say that, of course, that’s still my fault.” He admits that one of his biggest goals is to improve at this so that he can speak “like everyone else.” Ironically, the only way he actually gets very chatty (and the way that all of this was revealed) is if he manages to get intoxicated off of “blood wine” or something similar.
Regardless, Yomo is very aware of (and very apologetic for) his own shortcomings when it comes to speaking. At one point, when Kaneki started to break down in self-doubt in regards to his own strength, Yomo very carefully bolsters him with simple, frank words of his own observation, telling him that he had watched him this whole time and that Kaneki had always fought with his own strength. After this, though, he tells Kaneki he can’t express the way he feels very well and apologizes. It’s all a matter of timing and necessity—sometimes Yomo can force himself into speaking to help someone if he thinks it’s needed. All the other times, however, he works with a kind of inhibition.
In short, Yomo is a character who is deceptively complex—an example of a stoic and short-of-words character who has historical and personal reasons for all of these particular character traits. Despite his reticent nature, Yomo cares very deeply for those that he is close to and has assumed as his “family,” and he would go to dangerous extents to keep them safe.
Abilities: Yomo is a ghoul. As a ghoul, he has increased strength and speed to that of a normal human (estimated to be five to seven times that of a human, though Yomo himself is known to be very strong by ghoul standards). He also has sharper senses, allowing him to see far-off things with extreme clarity and distinguish scents from one another both individually and by species. Also as a ghoul, he has a very specific diet, one which requires him to eat human (or ghoul) meat to survive. Any other form of food is indigestible to him and will both make him extremely ill and also weaken his strength and reflexes.
The crux of all ghoul abilities is a particular organ they have called a “kakuhou” which functions as a repository for rc cells in the ghoul’s body. Rc cells are the primary resource ghouls metabolize from the meat of humans and other ghouls—they function as the “fuel” for a ghoul’s abilities. The primary ability a ghoul has is to extend and withdraw a “kagune,” a hunting organ, from the kakuhou. The form, strengths, and weaknesses of each kagune is unique to each ghoul, and is largely dependent upon genetics and what “rc type” each ghoul is. Yomo is an “ukaku” (or “shining feather”) type, meaning that his kakuhou is located between his shoulder blades. His kagune takes the form of dark wings which can crystalize instantaneously and be used either short-range (to cut or to shield) or at long-range as projectiles.
Ukaku kagune are known to be the “fastest” among ghouls, as the time of the cycle of construction, formation, and destruction of the rc matrix that forms the kagune is by far fastest for them. It happens so quickly it seems to be instantaneous, producing an effect that their kagune seem to “float” rather than taking a consistent solid form. The main weakness to an ukaku kagune is that they burn through the ghoul’s rc stores far faster than any other rc type. They can expend too much energy at the beginning of a fight and run out of stamina, thus becoming vulnerable for counterattack.
Another aspect of ghoul biology is the “kakugan,” a particular condition of their eyes which causes the sclera to become pitch black and the irises to become bright red. This and the kagune are the primary methods of identifying a person as a ghoul. Kakugan are cosmetic; they have no particular “power” and only stand to signify that the kakuhou is active and sending rc cells throughout the body.
Ghouls have a much higher rate of regeneration than humans. Recovering from minor cuts can take a few minutes and severe lacerations can take a day or two. Major injuries such as broken bones and even being impaled through the chest also seem to be not much of an issue for them (Yomo himself was impaled through the chest by Kaneki’s kagune early on and he continued to walk around and even carry Hinami afterwards). The main caveat to this is that this healing process requires rc cells to function. A ghoul who runs low on rc cells will eventually “run out” and will be unable to use their kagune or regenerate from wounds. They will then need to eat to regain these skills.
As a ghoul, he largely impervious to conventional weapons. Traditional blades bend or break when used against ghouls. Bullets are largely ineffective as a ghoul can simply regenerate the damage they inflict. The only weapons truly effective against ghouls are the kagune of other ghouls, as well as q bullets and quinque (man-made weapons reverse-engineered from kagune material).
Set apart from all of his qualities as a ghoul, Yomo is still a very competent fighter. He is a very daunting opponent, incredibly watchful of his enemies and able to discern patterns and weaknesses in their movements. He has helped tutor both Touka and Kaneki in fighting hand-to-hand and with their kagune, and he is generally regarded as the enforcer of Anteiku's directives in the 20th ward.
Samples
Dialogue: One and two.
(Note: As discussed in the Personality field, Yomo is extremely short of words, usually deigning to not speak whenever possible. If more of a dialogue sample is necessary, I will write it out, but the only time in canon he is ever actually "talkative" is when he's drunk.)
Exposition/Introspection: One, two, and three.
Name/Alias: Alex
Player Journal:
novaphaseContact:
Timezone: EST
HMD: Link.
Character Information
Name: Renji Yomo (四方 蓮示)
Fandom: Tokyo Ghoul
Canonpoint: Post-canon
Gender: Male
Age: Unspecified; estimated early 30’s
Physical Description: Link.
History: Wiki page.
Personality: Yomo is a character who is, more often than not, seen but not heard—and even with this distinction, he manages to command a strong presence. Tall, broad, silent, and almost completely impassive, he is a very intimidating person. Even getting to know him past first impressions and into initial acquaintanceship, this does not change. Yomo offers very little about himself. Actually, he offers very little at all, typically only speaking when it is absolutely necessary (and even then, it is only by his own decision of that necessity). Because of this verbal passivity, one can be tricked into thinking that Yomo is either uncaring or unaffected by what happens around him. This is entirely untrue, but because of the particular nature of how he sees himself and the limitations he finds himself with, Yomo keeps himself at a distance which can reinforce that misreading.
To truly understand Yomo’s character as he is at the end of the series, one must understand where he started from. Loss of family in a ghoul’s life is something highly normalized in their collective experiences; when telling his story, Yomo remarks that it was a “common story for a ghoul” for both of his parents and his older brother to have been killed when he was very young. He was raised by his older sister, and what really was the initial galvanizing point in his life was when she was killed by ghoul investigators. Of his sister he remarks that “[to] me, there was absolutely nothing else.” After she was taken from him, Yomo sets out to the tumultuous 4th ward where he disregards all of the rules of the ghouls already living there, fighting and eating and even cannibalizing along the way. With all of his familial ties severed, Yomo becomes a danger to himself and everyone around him—he pays no heed to societal norms (as ghouls are typically raised to respect hunting territories, and cannibalism of other ghouls is regarded as a taboo) in a blind and fervent attempt to become stronger.
This drive was fueled by another one that was “common enough” among ghouls: revenge. Yomo knew that it was the ghoul investigator Arima Kishou that murdered his sister, so he sought out all avenues that he could pursue in order to become strong enough to avenge her. This very nearly got him killed by causing too many problems amongst the 4th ward ghouls (and it was only Uta’s interest in him and his making the effort to speak and befriend him that saved him from that fate) and also when he challenged Arima when the investigator finally showed up in the 4th ward as well. His rage made him formidable (as even Arima commented on his speed and strength) but it also blinded him—he was taken down by Arima’s subordinate rather than the associate special class investigator himself.
The reason to understanding how reckless and dangerous Yomo was in his youth is in seeing how much he changed after he met Yoshimura, the manager of the Anteiku cafe in the 20th ward. Yoshimura saved Yomo’s life by dragging him away from the fight with Arima. Afterwards he took him under his wing, mentoring him. It is noted that, during this time, Yomo’s drive for revenge which had driven him to such life-threatening and socially objectionable lengths slowly died down. He mellowed out and became much more mature, seeming to attempt to embody the patience and understanding that Yoshimura offered him and many others as well.
One might not discern this of him at first, but perhaps the most important thing to Yomo is his “family” (or, rather, the people he has assumed as his family). The first and foremost person to him is Yoshimura (to the extent that, in his character bio, his “Likes:” field is actually answered as Yoshimura). As the man who saved his life and helped give him purpose after the death of is sister (the death of his “everything”), he is eternally indebted to him. Yomo is very defensive of Yoshimura’s decisions and often stands up for him, like when Kaneki grew angry at information Yoshimura kept from him (for his own safety, as Yomo had been told). Only slightly secondary to the manager are all of the other ghouls at Anteiku. Though not one to function very well in the spotlight (he does not have the personable nature to be a barista in the cafe), Yomo works tirelessly behind the scenes to make things as easy for them as possible. Because he finds it difficult to express how he feels verbally (which will be discussed in detail later), he finds way to express it through his actions instead.
To strangers, Yomo will often remain a stranger. To those he is close with, he ends up fulfilling a very particular role in both their group and to them individually. No natural leader, Yomo is the quintessential “right-hand man,” acting as Yoshimura’s eyes and ears in the 20th ward as well as his muscle should he ever need their rules enforced. He is known throughout the Anteiku ghouls as the watcher, protector, and also the provider (as he is often the one to bring home scavenged meat for ghouls unfit to hunt to eat). Because of his age and experience with ghoul groups as well as dealing with doves from his history in the 4th ward, Yomo’s expertise is often listened to in these regards. He tends to focus both on the immediate issue as well as the big picture. When Ryouko Fueguchi was endangering the ghouls of the 20th ward by visiting her husband’s grave (which could’ve been under surveillance by the ghoul investigators), he tells her that he was worried for her moving on her own as well as warning her that her actions could bring trouble to all of them, not just her.
It often takes some time for Yomo to truly accept someone into his very small ring of people close to him. After Yoshimura initially accepts Kaneki into Anteiku, Yomo is wary of him. He takes him on an expedition to a cliff to “collect food” (harvested from the corpses of suicide victims), a task which he tells Kaneki he wouldn’t even bother to do with him had Yoshimura not asked him to. Yomo only comes to accept Kaneki personally after he witnessed him hold his own against Amon, a ghoul investigator, and then warn the dove to leave before he lost control of himself and killed him. Yomo actually goes far enough to take a stab through the chest from Kaneki instead (so he wouldn’t lose control and do it to anyone else). Afterwards he remarks, “I think I know the reason that Yoshimura-san is partial to you. I also… want to see what you’ll become from here on out. Return, Ken.” From then on out, he has accepted Kaneki as someone close to him and is extremely protective of him. He remarks to Yoshimura after Kaneki’s near-death (twice over) at the hands of Tsukiyama that he might just take the ghoul out so Kaneki would be safe (though Yoshimura tells Yomo that Kaneki should fight his own fights). He also offers to “lend a shoulder” to Kaneki after they come to rescue him from the Aogiri base, and his quite upset when Kaneki refuses him.
All of this is an example of the method by which Yomo tends to get close to others. It usually takes a familial sort of likeness or an interest in order to initiate this sort of change. Another example in a different vein is when the ghouls of Anteiku find an injured bird and take it in. Yomo becomes very invested in the bird’s wellbeing, even staying in the cafe at night to take care of it and trying to teach it new words while the others weren’t watching (much to the manager’s simultaneous amusement and chagrin).
Unlike Yoshimura and other ghouls of Anteiku, however, Yomo is far more “ghoul” than they are in some of his thought processes. His morality is somewhat skewed in that way. When “gathering food,” Kaneki makes a comment of how all of the ghouls of Anteiku eat from suicide victims so they wouldn’t have to kill someone. Yomo seems aggravated by this statement and immediately corrects him, stating “there are times when I kill and eat people too.” To Yomo, who was raised as a ghoul and lived a particularly violent life as one for some time, this is normal. He seems to see a natural divide between people and ghouls, one which might have initially prevented him from caring for Kaneki. Despite all of this, however, Yomo is not shaded to be a cruel individual. When harvesting the food in that selfsame instance, Kaneki observes him clasping his hands together as if in prayer over the body for a long moment before going about his job. Because that’s what it is to him: a duty. Killing for food is something cut-and-dry for Yomo, done not out of hate or revenge but because he sees it as a natural necessity.
The last piece to Yomo’s characterization worth mentioning is one very important to how he interfaces with other people: the issue of his speech (or lack thereof). Though it’s insinuated that Yomo is naturally quiet, choosing to listen and observe rather than contribute to conversation, it is actually revealed in the “bonus content” of the volumes that he has a lack of self-confidence with his speech. He states that he is aware that he is slow to speak up and has difficulty expressing his feelings verbally. “Those things are different than what I intend. I perceive things at a different angle and am unable to clearly express that… but even though I say that, of course, that’s still my fault.” He admits that one of his biggest goals is to improve at this so that he can speak “like everyone else.” Ironically, the only way he actually gets very chatty (and the way that all of this was revealed) is if he manages to get intoxicated off of “blood wine” or something similar.
Regardless, Yomo is very aware of (and very apologetic for) his own shortcomings when it comes to speaking. At one point, when Kaneki started to break down in self-doubt in regards to his own strength, Yomo very carefully bolsters him with simple, frank words of his own observation, telling him that he had watched him this whole time and that Kaneki had always fought with his own strength. After this, though, he tells Kaneki he can’t express the way he feels very well and apologizes. It’s all a matter of timing and necessity—sometimes Yomo can force himself into speaking to help someone if he thinks it’s needed. All the other times, however, he works with a kind of inhibition.
In short, Yomo is a character who is deceptively complex—an example of a stoic and short-of-words character who has historical and personal reasons for all of these particular character traits. Despite his reticent nature, Yomo cares very deeply for those that he is close to and has assumed as his “family,” and he would go to dangerous extents to keep them safe.
Abilities: Yomo is a ghoul. As a ghoul, he has increased strength and speed to that of a normal human (estimated to be five to seven times that of a human, though Yomo himself is known to be very strong by ghoul standards). He also has sharper senses, allowing him to see far-off things with extreme clarity and distinguish scents from one another both individually and by species. Also as a ghoul, he has a very specific diet, one which requires him to eat human (or ghoul) meat to survive. Any other form of food is indigestible to him and will both make him extremely ill and also weaken his strength and reflexes.
The crux of all ghoul abilities is a particular organ they have called a “kakuhou” which functions as a repository for rc cells in the ghoul’s body. Rc cells are the primary resource ghouls metabolize from the meat of humans and other ghouls—they function as the “fuel” for a ghoul’s abilities. The primary ability a ghoul has is to extend and withdraw a “kagune,” a hunting organ, from the kakuhou. The form, strengths, and weaknesses of each kagune is unique to each ghoul, and is largely dependent upon genetics and what “rc type” each ghoul is. Yomo is an “ukaku” (or “shining feather”) type, meaning that his kakuhou is located between his shoulder blades. His kagune takes the form of dark wings which can crystalize instantaneously and be used either short-range (to cut or to shield) or at long-range as projectiles.
Ukaku kagune are known to be the “fastest” among ghouls, as the time of the cycle of construction, formation, and destruction of the rc matrix that forms the kagune is by far fastest for them. It happens so quickly it seems to be instantaneous, producing an effect that their kagune seem to “float” rather than taking a consistent solid form. The main weakness to an ukaku kagune is that they burn through the ghoul’s rc stores far faster than any other rc type. They can expend too much energy at the beginning of a fight and run out of stamina, thus becoming vulnerable for counterattack.
Another aspect of ghoul biology is the “kakugan,” a particular condition of their eyes which causes the sclera to become pitch black and the irises to become bright red. This and the kagune are the primary methods of identifying a person as a ghoul. Kakugan are cosmetic; they have no particular “power” and only stand to signify that the kakuhou is active and sending rc cells throughout the body.
Ghouls have a much higher rate of regeneration than humans. Recovering from minor cuts can take a few minutes and severe lacerations can take a day or two. Major injuries such as broken bones and even being impaled through the chest also seem to be not much of an issue for them (Yomo himself was impaled through the chest by Kaneki’s kagune early on and he continued to walk around and even carry Hinami afterwards). The main caveat to this is that this healing process requires rc cells to function. A ghoul who runs low on rc cells will eventually “run out” and will be unable to use their kagune or regenerate from wounds. They will then need to eat to regain these skills.
As a ghoul, he largely impervious to conventional weapons. Traditional blades bend or break when used against ghouls. Bullets are largely ineffective as a ghoul can simply regenerate the damage they inflict. The only weapons truly effective against ghouls are the kagune of other ghouls, as well as q bullets and quinque (man-made weapons reverse-engineered from kagune material).
Set apart from all of his qualities as a ghoul, Yomo is still a very competent fighter. He is a very daunting opponent, incredibly watchful of his enemies and able to discern patterns and weaknesses in their movements. He has helped tutor both Touka and Kaneki in fighting hand-to-hand and with their kagune, and he is generally regarded as the enforcer of Anteiku's directives in the 20th ward.
Samples
Dialogue: One and two.
(Note: As discussed in the Personality field, Yomo is extremely short of words, usually deigning to not speak whenever possible. If more of a dialogue sample is necessary, I will write it out, but the only time in canon he is ever actually "talkative" is when he's drunk.)
Exposition/Introspection: One, two, and three.