application

[sportscar]

Player Information

Name/Alias: nadya
Player Journal: nadezhda
Contact: volchitsa
Timezone: est
HMD:
In-Game/Processing: none

Character Information

Name/Alias: Shinya Hīragi
Fandom: Owari no Seraph
Canonpoint: ch 35
Gender: male
Age: 24

Physical Description: here

History:
character-specific ; series specific ;

although the links provice a generally alright idea of what occurs in canon, below is another summation of the events that occur up to canon point.

► at age 5, shinya was essentially sold into the hiragi house (adopted), while his parents received 300 million yen for him. chosen as part of a search for the best 'partner' for the hiragi house heir, he was made to compete with other children, proving his skill by winning. like battle royale, except younger children and magic. he won after the 5 year duration of the trials and was selected as the top candidate to support the hiragi bloodline of perfection and impecable dna.
► met his fiance after victory, though was informed she would never love him; it didn't make sense why he had to go through all the challenges if that was the case, and his biggest let-down wasn't that she wouldn't love him as much as he technically still lost the convoluted competition. since he figured he no longer had a purpose for her, he was sure the hiragi would just kill him, but mahiru (fiance) assured him she would pretend. he agreed in turn to act as a cover up for her and the one she actually loved.
► skip over a few more years and he is in high school, where he first meets guren - his to-be ally, and mahiru's actual love. it's a rought start, due to them being from directly opposing families.
► shinya constantly is trying to see how strong guren is, before offering him to be his ally against the hiragi, whom he hates as well.
► i haven't managed to find translations for all the light novels but we know that somewhere during the time mahiru also goes against the hiragi, experiments and completes the reasearch on demon weapons, and becomes fully possessed in the process. but does essentially save the world, even if all she cared about was becoming strong enough to be with guren.
► somewhere along that vein, shinya and guren become better allies.
► fast forward a few more years and there is a virus that affects the majority of humanity, while the vampires swoop in and assume tight control on the meager humanity left, calling them livestock.
► the japanese imperial demon army was formed a little before that, though the details of its creation are unknown. the army is headed by the hiragi, and is used as main combatant against the vampires.
► shinya - along with guren and a few others who later become part of the same squad - contract the demon weapons in order to be stronger.
► we first see shinya in the shinuya high arc, shown in a meeting of the top-ranked members of the JIDA; guren is being guren and shinya has to smooth things over with the other hiragi's because of it. it's looks to be a constant thing.
► second appearance is in the shinjuji arc (ch 14) as reinforcements, seen using his specialized long range weapon, byakkomaru. he nearly takes out the vampire, ferid, though misses due to the vampire noticing his intention.
► next he is present in Yuichiro's interview in the aftermath of the destructive battle, and the unclear reports of what actually happened on the battle field. kureto, the heir to the hiragi household, first attacks and beats yu, and then orders shinya to do the same. reluctantly, he complies, though demonstrates sharp and practiced technique, before informing that this wepaon is actually no good against hand to hand and close-range stuff.
► reveals that he too, much like yu, is under suspicion and investigation of being a spy.
► follow through to the nagoya ark, and his stylish entrance into it. shinya heads to group with guren and the rest of the moon demon company at the ebina rest stop; on the way he spots a sportscar and ditches the military vehicle for that.
► guren remarks how the thing is too loud and shinya points out that he used a bunch of muffling talismans to keep the thing quiet, since horsemen kept jumping out.
► technically not supposed to be there since he is a hiragi but he says it's a suicide mission and that he couldn't miss it, and decides to help anyway.
► trolls and generally teases guren on what seems to be a regular basis, from how short his speech was to how guren calls them family, though only teammeber goshi (just as much a joker as he) gets punished for the remarks.
► yu says that if he fights shinya now, he'll win, something shinya voices as being adorable.
► guren tests shinoa's squad with Mito and Shinya against the 5 of them. guren's team wins.
► in nagoya, shinya and yoichi act as sniper support to shinoa's and narumi's squads. he informs the youth the details and importance of a sniper's job, and how they must kill their allies should anyone get captured. the noble vampire they try and kill catches the attack last minute and engaged the ground team in battle while the two snipers take care of the rest of the normal vampires before regrouping with the ground team and aiding in the fight; they are succesfull in destroying the target; more so they made it look easy.
► the moon demon company regroups, waits for guren, and another sergeant informs of how most of her squad was wiped out; simultaneously, news of 30 hostages reach guren and the rest and they embark on the hunt to kill 13th progenitor crowley eusford and two others below him.
► the plan is to distract crowley and try and kill him while the other 2 squads work on freeing the hostages.
► crowley proves to be way too OP, and he parries their attacks like they're nothing, and successfully traps the two commanders, intending to take them in for questioning.
► shinya and guren manage something of an escape, though shinya is injured by crowley, who nearly crushes his chest.
► yu and the rest of shinoa squad rush in to help, though guren tells shinya to assume command and orders them all to leave.
► the retreat is a rough one, and where yu is vocal and tries to get them all to go back, shinya is quiet, before reminding yu of guren's words of coming home victorious, not just protecting the family. then he thanks goshi for the illusion that allowed them to escape.
► yu is the little shit he always is and rushes back in to save guren, but teammember kimizuki pulls him out after he goes too far with his demon. they flee, as vampire reinforcements are coming though as they retreat - with yu unconscious - they are first met with a single vampire, mika hyakuya.
► shinya stabs mika, though later shinoa sends him careening away and her squad steps in to save mika and tells him to take yu.
► after mika takes yu and leaves, one of the other soldiers attacks shinoa, a thing shinya orders to stop, though its makoto who stops the direct attack.
► the reinforcements come then, and he orders a retreat despite the losses. more vampires come and things are looking very bleak.

Personality:

above all else, shinya is a young man who wears a very practiced mask. outwardly, he is polite and fairly soft spoken; jokes come easily and sometimes it is unclear if he is taking a situation to heart as nearly everything he does is with a smile. he is calm and lighthearted and rarely will he loose that demeanor.

in part, his refined mannerisms and amicability is as much a result of survival instinct as his skills; he was adopted into the prestigious, yet vicious hiragi family as a result of a 5 year competition between other selected children. he won, and was given the family name, and his life. everything in his outward personality was nearly a requirement - polite, and respectable, he drew the attention of people simply because of the name attached to him. it's one of the most consistent masks he wears, and takes the ridicule of the rest of the family members with a smile and a laugh, lets it roll off of him as water rolls off rock. but his experience as the outlier of the family has made him entirely aware of the position he has in this world - that as long as he keeps being useful, he will stay alive. as soon as his use expires, so does he. this has influenced his humour in that his jokes are often bitter, situationally self-depricating.

the awareness of his position - of his use - has also by necessity made shinya aware of both his strengths and weaknesses; he admits he isn't much use if close-range fighting, as his demon weapon is long-range. he has no qualms about saying so.

another factor, highlighted when kureto orders him to attack yu, is shinya's reluctance to fight against those he knows are weaker than him; if someone can't defend themselves against him, he would strongly not want to fight them. once he learns that yu is capable of handling his own, he doesn't hold back.

shinya is someone who is exceptionally self-aware. he knows exactly what sort of air he is putting out, and he will likely act in a way he wants others to perceive him. he would much rather be underestimated, only to prove them wrong quickly; he doesn't always fight fair, relying on momentum and illusions and talismans (magic); he'd rather catch someone off guard. his smile can be genuine, though with the frequency he wears it, it is simply habitual. it hides his thoughts, and intentions and feeling very well, and he is far more likely to turn a smile cold than drop it entirely. he isn't as fluffheaded as he leads everyone to believe. he may arrive to crucial missions in flashy sportscars because he felt like it, but he will muffle the exhaust because he isn't an idiot.

ultimately, the way he reaches out to guren is through highlighting the commonality in their hatred. shinya's hatred is deeply set against the hiragi family - starting from his parents being paid for handing him over, to the fighting and training and the competitions held each year against the other children, killing his competitors of the honor of being named the bast 'partner' for mahiru hiragi, and thus contributing only the most prestine dna to the family. he thinks a world controlled and run by the hiragi would be dark and twisted, and ultimately worse than it is now. he approached guren seeking an ally in the hopes of exacting his revenge, though that drive was put aside when the vampire threat hit humanity. he will never openly defy the hiragi however, because survival is engrained into the marrow of his bones, probably as soon as his five year old self stepped into the family. he fought for his life, to prove he was worth giving it to him, which is a terrible mindset that unquestionably shaped every aspect of his personality.

growing up within the hiragi household, and despite his outward soft spoken nature, he is not above being entirely ruthless. even if he has no hiragi blood, hiragi principle was drilled into his for his entire childhood. so when in high school he attacked guren, to see his power and worth, it was a normal action driven by the need to achieve his goal.

if his facade drops to let his anger show, it is vicious and entirely cold, a storm beneath still waters. it can border on childish too, though it is far more than a tantrum. he is pragmatic always, and when guren calls him a pessimist, he is first to correct him, saying he's simply a realist; he takes the situation as is, and when it is necessary, he will sacrifice someone if the end result meets his goal or intentions. he won't be happy about it, but he understands the meaning of hard decisions, and will be fine to put that decision on his shoulders.

survival instinct aside, shinya is loyal to the few friends he actually has - name guren, and by extension the rest of his squad. he doesn't have to wear his facade as much around them, and easily turns teasing around them. goshi and him constantly poke fun at guren, and when he comes to the mission, he basically tells guren that "hey you might die so i came to help"; he might offer quips and jokes, but he will openly express concern too. later he does so with no humour at all, upon many of the moon demon company being lost to htem and him quietly asking guren how he's handling all of this. he also held no ill-feeling towards shinoa, while the rest of the hiragi family had distanced her as punishment for her sister's (mahiru's) betrayal; seemingly, he acted closest to a big brother role, though growing up in the hiragi family, the concept is skewed at best anyway, and their interaction so far has more seemed like commander and subordinate. shinya is also genuinely helpful and friendly towards the younger members of the squad - shinoa's teammates - and talks a nervous yoichi through his first sniper mission quite successfully. so while friendliness and ease of character is a front, it's also become quite a defining trait of his own character. act a certain way long enough, and it will be a constant engrained in all your instincts.

shinya is a realist who is incredibly self-aware; he wears a smile as easily as breathing, and will only let show to others what he wants them to see; he's a lot more calculating and practical than the air he lets on, outwardly friendly and social and a bit airheaded.

Abilities:

as part of the japanese imperial demon army, shinya is contracted to a demon weapon.
his is byakkomaru (white tiger), a long-range rifle, whose bullets manifest in ferocious white tigers.
of his attacks, he is able to make a single shot aimed to distract and attack the opponent from behind. the rifle also has a bayonet-like knife attached at the end, though its main weakness is still close-range combat.
talismans are essentially spells, put into slivers of paper and depending on the casting, will summon powerful curses, cause explosions or simple disorientation, or muffle noise. he's been shown to be exceptionally proficient at these.
combat while long distance is his comfortable specialty, due to his training from childhood, he is still far from defenseless in a combat situation. he isn't the strongest fighter, but considering his victory in the competition against other children, trained much like him, his desire and drive to win will act as necessary fuel to help him in a fight. he also fights dirty, because to him the ends justify the means. if he can throw a well timed trip, he will. if he sees a weakness he can exploit, you better be sure he will do just that. don't fight someone whose entire existence is based on survival techniques.

Samples

Dialogue:
tdm link!
Exposition/Introspection:
The losses had piled high in Nagoya; it was to be expected, perhaps, since the very nature of the mission was written in fatalistic clarity. Losses in something like this were unavoidable. In some ways, they were necessary and when he looked to his comrade, ally, friend he saw the toll of the body count weight black against squared shoulders. He never handled this well, a more outward exhibition against the numb coil Shinya felt. But they both swallowed it down because the heat of battle was no place for ruined sentiment; nothing that could compromise everyone that was still alive so they push forward because that is the only thing that remains left to do.
While they unmistakably went in against the nobles with a certain confidence that may have been bordering on reckless; the nature of the mission wasn't only elimination for the bloodsuckers, but as a distraction for whatever Kureto was planning that that unsettled Shinya more than the low likelihood of this mission's success.
His concerns prove palpable when the thirteenth progenitor waves away both of their attacks as if they were nothing more than fruit flies flitting uselessly about.
It was for distraction, but they were sorely underpowered and losing fast.
And now he looked and Yu, at the boy that Guren once brought in and how disbelief and outrage settled brighthot on his young face, on how anger flares in green eyes and all Shinya can do is speak in a tone that's disgustingly calm. His breath draws against the hollow of his throat and while he wants to rush back in for Guren just as much as Yu - maybe even more - he knows that a commander cannot jeopardize the rest. That they have already lost too much and while they dealt a fine blow against the nobles here, it wasn't nearly enough. So when Yu turns on his heel and sprints, sprints back to the city hall and to Guren, Shinya's veneer drops, and the words stop him are a near snarl falling from scowling lips.
Come home victorious, was it? What a load of bullshit.