Entry tags:
ooc; application.
Name: Jelle
Personal Journal:devilism
Contact Info: queeningsquare[at]gmail[dot]com | aim: Lunixhime |queeningsquare
Invited by: Rosh
CHARACTER
Name: Peko Pekoyama
Source: Dangan Ronpa (to be more specific, its sequel, Super Dangan Ronpa 2: Farewell Despair Academy)
History: I don't think there's a full summary anywhere online, so I'll summarize it myself here.
At a young age Peko was already taken in by the famous - or rather, infamous - Kuzuryuu family, practically a very big yakuza (Japanese mafia) group/family after being abandoned by her own parents. The biggest yakuza family around, in fact. From that moment on she was assigned to be the bodyguard of the family's heir, Fuyuhiko Kuzuryuu. So from a young age Peko already started her swords training, already carrying around a sword when she was that little according to canon pictures, and always stuck around the boy.
And she's been sticking around him ever since. Even when they were invited to Hope's Academy, a school for high school students who were the most talented at something, Peko still went along with Fuyuhiko. He was the 'Super High School Level Gangster', and she was the 'Super High School Level Swordswoman'. But a terrible incident happened at the school, a student whose brains were tampered with to give him more talent just completely snapped and killed a near dozen of the other students. The higher ups tried to cover the story up, but one particular student, Junko Enoshima, took it as her cue to start spreading the news and shock everyone. After all, there was one thing that girl liked more than anything: despair. In the chaos that followed she took the opportunity to talk to various students in the school and practically brainwash (she's really, really good with words and all that) them into following her, making them her group called 'Super High School Level Despair'. Among these students were also Fuyuhiko and Peko. Junko caused the incident to spiral into something bigger and bigger that eventually even took over the whole world, causing despair everywhere: people killing each other, rioting, all that kind of stuff. And her group of SHSL Despair of course helped her with it. The game stated they killed people for her, offered their own families to her so she could kill them, all admired her and practically wanted to have babies with her - they had just completely turned crazy after Junko practically brainwashed them.
But there was a small group fighting against all of that. After Junko was killed (during the events of Dangan Ronpa 1, which I'll skip over here), that group, the survivors of the murder game in DR1, managed to capture the group of SHSL Despair students. They decided that the only way to return them to their original selves and get them out of their near-brainwashed state was to subject them to a virtual reality simulation. All of them were put to sleep and instead lived in the simulation - a simulation of a school trip on an island where they were all told to become friends with each other and have fun after their memories of the time ever since they became SHSL Despair were taken from them. The group thought that this kind of 'hope' was the only thing that could combat the 'despair' that Junko had put into the students.
But it went wrong. Junko had infected the simulation as a bug, a virus, and she immediately started to spread despair again. Her avatar, Monobear, told the students that a murder game was going on now. He told them that the only way to leave the island they were on was to kill another one of their students and get away with it - after each murder a 'trial' would be held to see if the rest of the students could figure out who the culprit was. And if the culprit would be found out, they wouldn't be able to leave the island but would instead get killed themselves. If the students, on the other hand, couldn't find out the culprit they would all be killed instead and the real culprit would be able to leave the island. Of course none of the students knew that all of it was a useless effort either way, they weren't really on an island so there was nowhere to get away from, but without their memories they were clueless about it.
Fuyuhiko and Peko were both in the simulation as well, even though they pretended like they didn't know each other in front of the others so they'd have an ace up their sleeve. Peko instead watched over Fuyuhiko from afar, although after the first murder she did kill someone for him - the girl named Mahiru Koizumi. Eventually she was found out during the school trial though, but she tried to get everyone to vote for her as the culprit. Once they did, she told Fuyuhiko to tell everyone he ordered her to. If he would, that would make him the true culprit, which meant he would be allowed to leave the island while everyone else would be killed and Peko - as his bodyguard and tool - would have fulfilled her duty. If he didn't, then Peko would be executed as the true culprit and the rest would be left behind on the island. So Peko would die either way, but she didn't care, she just wanted Fuyuhiko to be safe since she thought she was only his tool either way. But Fuyuhiko couldn't claim himself to be the true killer, he didn't want to do that to Peko - instead he told her that she wasn't just a tool to him at all, instead he just always wanted her to be by his side. But of course it already was too late, Monobear ordered Peko to be executed as the culprit. Her execution consisted of battling a huge army of soldiers, but Peko was actually doing pretty well and killing a lot of them in the big battle. It wasn't until Fuyuhiko jumped in to save her and she accidentally struck him that she stopped fighting in her sadness and shock and was stabbed by the other soldiers over and over until she died, but at least protecting Fuyuhiko with her body until the very end.
Personality: Peko gives off a very distinct impression, even usually as a first impression. She seems very distant and standoffish or even downright cold, but it's because of her business-like attitude. She's always very to the point with what she says and asks and hardly voices her own feelings or concerns, which is why she can seem very closed as well. Her formal and stiff way of talking and posing doesn't really help this either, it only makes the impression come across more. The upside of this kind of attitude though is that she can usually seem pretty level-headed even in situations that are weird, difficult or downright dangerous. Sure, we do see her being fazed by the events in canon (since it's not as if any teen could just generally not react shocked to being dumped on an island and having to play a murder game) but she's generally got it more together than most, if not nearly all of the other island teens.
This attitude can be off-putting or easy to deal with for people who don't like getting close to people, but for some people it can also be downright scary. Peko doesn't hesitate to be forceful when she needs to be, after all. When Hinata first approaches her, she immediately harshly asks him "... do you want something?" with her arms crossed. When Monobear announces that the students have to murder each other, she immediately tells them that she'll stop anyone who thinks of murder by force. She's therefore not necessarily a bad person, but her forceful attitude might make it seem that way at times. In fact, Hinata remarks to himself when he first meets her that "her stare alone makes me feel like I'm being cut to pieces.." Her reputation as a magnificent swordswoman probably doesn't put people who are already sort of scared around her in general to ease. But it really is true that despite being forceful when she needs to be, she doesn't necessarily want to be all the time - she remarks "I... don't want to have to cut anyone." It's just that she realises when a little force is needed and isn't afraid of using it at those times, but otherwise despite how stiffly she appears, she's not someone who will just randomly lash out for no reason.
In fact, if she would do anything bad to begin with, it would just be for Fuyuhiko's sake. She's his bodyguard, after all, and it's all she's ever done for all her life, so she's definitely more than just a little attached to the duty by now. She would literally do anything for him as his sword and shield, even if it would mean putting her life into danger and eventually - in canon - even sacrificing her life for his'. She does it all without a second thought for him, both because of her duty and because she really does care for him. (It's mentioned multiple times in her free time events that she has a crush on some childhood acquaintance, which obviously refers to Fuyuhiko, so it's even downright love even if she wouldn't say it easily, if at all.) In his name, she would do anything and even commit any crime - she murders Mahiru for his sake and doesn't even seem too terribly troubled over it. So whereas her morality is pretty straightforward otherwise, it becomes a little more messy when Fuyuhiko is involved.
Her sense of being his bodyguard even goes so far that she only views herself as a 'tool'. She doesn't think she's a person, no, she only sees herself as a tool for Fuyuhiko to use. It's obvious why she thinks that way since she was abandoned by her own parents and then adopted into another family for one purpose only, so that purpose became her entire life, her reason to live. As she says in canon: "Anyway, until now, I tried to think of myself as being just a tool. I thought it would be fine just as long as I was his tool..." So in the end practically everything in her life comes down to her place as a tool and her duty to protect him, to a point where being a bodyguard is all she can think about. She likes Fuyuhiko, even loves him, but she knows she can't tell him that since she's just a tool. Even right before she's about to die she still doesn't dare to think of herself as anything other than his tool. ("Young master Fuyuhiko... just one last thing... please let me make a selfish request. I wish for you to remember... That a tool called Pekoyama Peko was at your side... I wish for you to remember it. ... That is all.")
It's why when it comes to Fuyuhiko, she actually shows more emotions. She looks really sad and worried when she accidentally strikes him in the middle of her execution and she's even killed over it since she forgets to fight and instead fusses over him. She actually even cries when Fuyuhiko tells her that he never needed a tool, just someone to be at his side - so Peko was never just a tool to him. When it comes to Fuyuhiko she can feel true emotion, whether it's happiness, sadness or even being flustered or embarassed, like when Hinata confronts her about her feelings for that childhood acquaintance she was talking about: "Could that be about.. taking that guy you like on a date?" "N-, no! Th-, that's not it!")
I should mention that being flustered is an emotion that generally seems to come more easily to Peko. For example, when Teruteru starts talking about her underwear out of nowhere (no, seriously, completely out of nowhere) she immediately starts blushing and gets incredibly flustered, to a point where she's even still flustered and talking about it even when everyone else has already moved on: "R...Regular underwear make it difficult to move...! I have no ulterior motives...!"
So there really are more emotions possible for Peko. The problem is that she's never really properly learned them, since she's never been around people. She's just always been with Fuyuhiko ever since she was just a little girl, so he is all she's used to. She can't think of other people as anything other than possible enemies. When she's with Hinata when he wants to spend time with just her, she's only thinking about the fact that he's probably just doing it to catch her off guard and attack her, she even worries he might be a hitman. The concept of friendship is just something she's never learned, hence why she's so stiff and distant to begin with - she doesn't know how to care for anyone other than Fuyuhiko since she was never taught anything but to care about him. But considering how motherly she is with him and how much she cares for him, she would actually be a good friend once she finally does get friendships. So it definitely takes patience and a lot of effort, but it's possible to get through to Peko. And once she's started one friendship, others will probably come more natural and easily.
To show this point more, I'd like to quote this conversation. The fact that she can actually show more emotions and make friendships once she's used to it is mostly visible in her Dangan Island ending with Hinata, where they've actually become friends:
Pekoyama Peko: ... Hinata, I'm really grateful to you. It' s thanks to you that I am who I am now.
Hinata Hajime: That's.. an exaggeration.
Hinata Hajime: I just wanted to talk to you. That's all.
Pekoyama Peko: Because you did that, you reminded me of what it means to smile.
Pekoyama Peko: You were the one who taught me, who was nothing more than a tool, about this feeling.
Pekoyama Peko: I feel strangely calm talking to you. It's the first time I've felt this way...
Pekoyama Peko: What's this feeling, that I have for you...
Pekoyama Peko: Heheh... I see... this is what it feels like to think of a friend...
Pekoyama Peko: Hinata... I don't know what to say in thanks.
Pekoyama Peko: Until now, I didn’t have anyone to call a friend...
Pekoyama Peko: So, you're important to me as my first friend.
Pekoyama Peko: Hinata... will you continue to be my friend from now on?
Biggest Fear: Her biggest fear would be for her to be unable to protect Fuyuhiko like she's supposed to and wants to - that he'll die or get hurt even though she's supposed to be his protector and 'tool'.
Powers: Peko doesn't have any kind of supernatural abilities. However she was invited to Hope's Academy as a Super High School Level Swordswoman, so her skill with fighting with her sword (which she always carries around with her on her back) is unparalleled. Nagito states in the game that "her swordplay is so good that most adult men can't beat her." Yup, adult men, even though she's an about seventeen year old girl. During her execution she also manages to strike down quite a lot of soldiers before they finally manage to strike her when she's too distracted by Fuyuhiko being hurt - so she can definitely fight for herself if she has to and do it pretty well, even if it's physically rather than magically.
SAMPLES
Third Person:
[ It hurts.
It's strange, since nothing has ever hurt before. Everything has always been so.. so simple. She was just Peko Pekoyama, a tool for Fuyuhiko Kuzuryuu's sake. Nothing mattered except making sure he was safe, no matter the occasion. Even if it was something like this island filled with murder and betrayal, possible danger for her master everywhere, that wasn't a problem. She would just have to try harder to protect him. That didn't hurt at all.
There's never even really been loneliness. You can't miss what you don't have. So since Peko never knew the joys of friendship, she didn't even knew it was something people had - so she never missed it. She wasn't lonely. She wasn't sad. All this time she's only been happy to be by Fuyuhiko's side, just that much was enough. That much was enough to make a simple tool happy.
But this is different.
It's no longer just her and Fuyuhiko, it's her and Fuyuhiko and an entire room full of other high school students staring at them. High school students and a robotic bear. And they're not at school anymore, they're not even just out on the island or back at the Kuzuryuu family's home. No, they're in a court room, and the slot machine displays her face and the word 'guilty'. Even that doesn't hurt too much. She was prepared to throw away her life for him from the very start. That much is a tool's duty. Even if she would have to be executed for his sake, that would be fine. As long as he's okay, then it's fine. It doesn't matter. It doesn't hurt.
But right now he's standing in front of her and completely lacking his usual outward attitude. Instead he seems.. frustrated, almost, but she knows him well enough that it's more than that, that he's actually trying to hold back his feelings, just like all those times they sat at the table eating and he was trying so hard to endure having to drink milk. Except they're not kids anymore, and it's not about milk, but it's about her and her life.
She opens her mouth, almost awkwardly for once. ]
Young master--
[ He cuts her off, telling her that he doesn't need a tool, that she never was a tool to him to begin with. That he just wanted.. for her to be by his side..
Something breaks inside her. A notion that she's held up all her life is completely shattered by the person it was meant for all along. She's not just a tool, she's actually a person who's been with him all this time. Does that mean she's allowed to have her own feelings? Does that mean she's allowed to tell him too just how much he means to her, how she just wanted to stay by his side forever as well, to help him and be with him and talk to him, and.. even more than that..
The boy starts crying.
And for the first time in her life Peko Pekoyama cries as well.
Maybe no longer a tool, but now doomed to never be able to live out that new life. Never allowed to be at his side as something more than that.
The bear brings his hammer down, and her execution begins. ]
First Person:
[ .. Well. Talking to people still doesn't come very easy, especially without Fuyuhiko around, but.. she knows it from the island. For all of them to survive here, it's better for there to be no ill feelings, for all of them to at least communicate - no matter how ironic the thought is, considering she killed someone back there to begin with. ]
Forgive me, but I have a question.
[ It's not as obvious that she's really awkward though, even now she seems generally linefaced and calm. Despite the topic she's about to bring up. ]
Has anyone else tried going to the laundry room as well? I thought to go there to insure my clothes would be clean, but there seems to be something strange going on there.. [ ... ] .. much like anywhere else in this place. [ She'll admit that much. ]
The lights kept coming on and off and the water turned a strange color, so I did not think it a wise idea to actually try to use the machines there. I am not sure if it is a matter of simply malfunctioning machinery or that there is something more going on, although I suspect the latter.
[ .. okay, this part is the most difficult.. she's not used to working to people at all, so she clears her throat. ]
I was wondering if anyone else would like to take another look there with me to get a better idea of the situation if someone has some time available.
[ a nod. ]
That would be all.
Notes: At the end of the game we find out it's all been happening in a virtual reality and that their real bodies are lying and sleeping somewhere else. I'd like to app Peko as her form from the virtual reality, since according to the game her (and everyone else's) real bodies might be looking different from these forms. Peko herself is unaware of the whole virtual reality thing either way, so she will just think appearing like this is natural.
Therefore she will also lack memories of her time as part of the Super High School Level Despair group.