application ☰ khuioduan

[sanzulines]

 • Player Information •

Name: Li
Age/18+?: 18+
Contact: sojourney or Discord @ Sphinx#5619
Other Characters Played: Yami Bakura (denyamenti), Elizabeth (isochrone)
Most Recent AC Link: N/A

 • Character Information •

Name: Death the Kid
Canon: Soul Eater (anime)
Canon Point: Post-series/epilogue timeframe
Age: 16
Type of Character: Canon
Reference: Death the Kid on Wikipedia | Kid @ SE Wiki | Soul Eater description @ Wikipedia

Personality:

Kid's place in the Soul Eater story is as one of the three main partnerships in the series. He lives in Gallows Mansion with his weapons the Thompson Sisters and as the only son of Lord Death (henceforth referred to as Shinigami for ease), he is introduced first as a mysterious person taking high-level missions and causing the other students to wonder on his identity. His father assigns him to take on the necromancer witch in Egypt at the Temple of Anubis, which introduces us both to his weaponry skills but also to the tip of the iceberg when it comes to his OCD when he leaves Liz and Patty in Egypt to check on the alignment of the picture frames in his house.

Kid presents the image of a very serious and studious young man -- which, for the most part, is correct. He's very levelheaded and overly mature for his age, using formal modes of address. This is especially true when he refers to his father, using the polite "chichiue" form both in said parent's presence and when in the abstract. He's a dedicated advocate of his father's academy and believes him to be beyond ordinary reproach. He appears to have a close relationship with his parent, although it's not overly demonstrative on Kid's part (though it's more than made up for from Shinigami's side). Kid respects his father greatly and takes his duty as Death's heir very viscerally but it is not a completely blind love, as evident in an unusual development when, during a mission, it was implied that the Reaper and the mage Eibon were the same. It led Kid to doubt his father's intentions for collecting the demonic tools, and made him question whether to give him the one he possessed and also to warn his teammates that Shibusen "was not to be trusted without caution". A point of frustration between himself and his father is the limited information Kid has been given of his own abilities, such as the true purpose of his Sanzu lines. His father remarks that he's proud of Kid for connecting them during the battle with Mosquito even as it appears to cause Shinigami pain/distress, something that remains unknown to Kid at this time.

He's naturally arrogant but not in an overtly offensive way, as opposed to boastful like Black*Star; it's more of a quiet superiority, unless something incites him to be more direct about it. (This is not to say he can't be a pompous ass in the right situation, it's just not his natural state.) As a shinigami himself, Kid is not subject to many of the human frailties as his friends and partners, giving him a rather detached point of view on their business. That isn't to say that he doesn't care about them or their welfare, as all human lives fall under the purview of a Reaper's responsibility, but he is less inclined to be make an emotional judgment on a situation and can (with the exception of symmetry-related things) remain almost 100% practical and pragmatic. It will take an extreme situation for him to react emotionally when symmetry isn't involved, such as when he swore to never forgive Gopher acting on Noah's orders when he ordered Maka to be killed.

When Kid was with his father and observing the "maintenance lessons" assigned to Maka and co. against Sid and Stein; he is repeatedly and genuinely surprised by the power displayed by the two partner pairs. When Black*Star is supposedly killed, he stands and declares he won't let this continue (suggesting that his father kept him in the dark as to the true purpose of the challenge, although the opening of the arc implied that Kid was unfamiliar with Stein as a person, which is incorrect) and leaves to stop it. Shinigami says he can't interfere as he's not a student at Shibusen, to which he simply requests to be enrolled on the spot. He never actually makes it to the battle however, having an OCD fit over whether he remembered to fold the toilet paper ends into triangles.

After he enrolls in Shibusen where he starts as a one-star meister (which he doesn't have to, as his battle abilities already outstrip most of the students there), he's almost immediately challenged by Black*Star and Soul. Although he technically wins the fighting, he immediately passes out afterward because Soul managed to shave a few hairs off. The resulting asymmetry is more than he can handle, making them all agree it was a draw. After this, the seven of them becomes friends and Kid hangs out with them on occasion, like when playing basketball and dinner at Maka and Soul's house. He seems to find the actual day to day lessons taught at Shibusen beneath him, not studying for the exams because he, as a reaper, "already knows everything there is to know about souls". This backfires on him when he can't write his name on the exam without sobbing about the unevenness of the "K" until he simply passes out and fails with a zero score. However Kid also acknowledges his position as a student and obeys Shibusen's rules, teachers and schedules, for the most part.

In continuing with his relationships, the closest and most obvious ones he has aside from the one with his father is with his weapons, the twin demon pistols of the Thompson sisters: Liz, the elder one and Patty, the younger. Although as a shinigami Kid had no need to develop his skill as a meister, Kid decided that he wanted to as it would give him a better perspective on the workings of Shibusen. Although he'd been previously offered many partners (though whether that was his idea, his father's, or Spirit's given that they were all attractive females, remains unclear) he turned them all down as they weren't symmetrical and Kid couldn't bring himself to wield any weapon that wasn't. He sought out the sisters despite their Brooklyn reputation and when they attempted to mug him, he offered them instead a chance to come back with him to Death City as his weapons. This showcases well Kid's typically excessive lengths he will go to achieve perfect balance. Kid's relationship with Liz and Patty isn't solely that of meister and weapons however, and he shows clear and marked concern for them such as when he told them to stay outside the Stone Coffin City, citing that humans had previously disappeared without a trace and he didn't want them to fall victim to that -- going to far as to forbidding them to follow. (They didn't listen, which saved his shinigami ass.) His experiences with the other Shibusen students are generally positive and Soul, Maka, Tsubaki and Black*Star are even able to drag him out on the occasional social trip.

A huge part of Kid's personality is dictated by his obsession with symmetry; it literally infuses every aspect of his life and perception. It originally began under the premise of equilibrium, in that his father lectured him about the importance of good balancing evil, but manifested primarily in a hyper dependency to things being even or symmetrical. It's speculated that Kid has either OCD or OCPD, or a combination thereof. It's not simply that Kid wants things to be neat and organized, but that he needs them to be for him to properly function or even interact with it. Even the smallest detail can literally send him into a panic: some common canon examples are the paintings hanging in his mansion are aligned by the millimeter, and the candles are constantly resculpted as they burn down with wicks are trimmed to an exact length. When Kid is exposed (an accurate term) to asymmetry he literally loses control of himself, experiencing alternating revulsion and panic attacks, coupled with the overwhelming urge to correct the "wrongness" of it. The Sanzu lines in his hair are a particularly devastating feature for Kid because despite his best efforts to be rid of them, they're resistant to human means of dyeing and trimming. When they're pointed out, Kid's self-confidence is immediately destroyed and he'll refer to himself as "worthless trash" and other epithets. In extreme cases, he'll have seizures or explode blood and pass out. Liz and Patty are one of the few who can snap him out of this state with encouraging words and well-timed distractions, reminding him of pleasant things like the number eight and other similar designs. In more than one case they've used his obsession to refocus his ability to fight, such as when they pointed out that Free only wore one ball and chain, making him "uneven" which prompted Kid into a berserker rage to eliminate him.

It's hard for most people to grasp how deeply ingrained this disorder is for Kid, not understanding that it's not something he can simply push aside given the situation. In the fight against Anubis in the early series, he's literally unable to fire upon his enemy for fear of destroying the perfect symmetry that the sarcophagus has. Despite receiving a bloody pounding that would've killed any regular human, it was only when the mummy inside is revealed to be uneven can he bring himself to defeat it. In situations like aboard the ghost ship Niddhogg, Kid finds himself unable to wield Patty in gunform without Liz. Even something as simple as writing his name (as some letters are asymmetrical) can cause Kid to labour over it for hours without accomplishing anything. Consequently, anything that is balanced and symmetrical brings Kid great joy and happiness, to the point where he will completely lose track of everything else while admiring it; a good example of this is when, in the middle of a heated chase across the desert, he saw a symmetrical sunrise and let Crona and Ragnarok escape.

Appearance:

Kid appears as a slender, pale young man with vividly yellow eyes. His hair is black except for three stark white lines on the left side of his hair (called Sanzu lines) which continue to be a source of torment for him. He typically dresses in a black suit with white rectangular inserts along both shoulders and down his chest, atop a white, collared button-down shirt which is fastened with a long-faced skull at his neckline. He wears two identical silver rings with the same skull on his middle fingers. He takes meticulous care to ensure his appearance, is obsessively neat and completely symmetrical. Quite noticeable is the overt skull motif that can be seen in his rings and necktie, and also in the use of his powers. [ IMAGE ]

Abilities:

Foremost Kid's battle ability comes from the fact that he isn't human but a Reaper or shinigami, which means his body is extremely resilient and durable, and also resistant to everything from UV rays to poison to hair dye (he tried). Though his primary manner of combat is now by wielding Liz and Patty, Kid also employs a style of hand to hand called Death God Martial Arts. It seems to be a highly formalized set of poses called "stances" (ex: Stance of Punishment, Stance of Crime) which have various defensive or offensive purposes. He is extremely lithe and agile, making it difficult for enemies to strike him. Of note as a non-combat, but still a key ability which he might use in play, is his Soul Perception: the ability to see the souls of living things.

When in gun form, both Liz and Patty fire (as opposed to actual shells) bullets made of a compressed soul wavelength. Kid wields them with extreme dexterity with an unconventional hold, using them upside down and with his pinkie finger on the triggers. When using his weapons through Soul Resonance, Kid is able to extend the power and range of them, changing the shape to "Death Cannons". Although he's well-known for wielding the Thompsons, he's more than capable of fighting without any weapons at all, as demonstrated by the duel with Black*Star, as Kid is able to stand at par with the other meister who is generally considered the best physical fighter among them. He also has access to shinigami-based abilities which are directly connected to the Sanzu lines on his head; that is, he was able to use them after they "activated" during the battle with Mosquito. These typically include the creation/summoning of Death Arm Shields which could in the same vein be used to create weapons as well. Finally, Kid has control over a black, shadow-like shroud which he can use to cloak himself; this same shroud also manifests in the Dark Needles used to discharge his excess soul wavelength during the firing of the Death Cannons.

Suitability:

Kid's been raised to one day take on responsibility for the entire world, so needless to say he's pretty good with responsibility. Shinigami's parenting style is... unique... so Kid's used to taking care of himself as far as necessities goes. That said, he's definitely come to rely on Liz and Patty, and his friends, to keep him socially anchored, and so he'll end up seeking other people in their place to associate with. The other thing he'll need fairly straightaway is some kind of task or job to keep him focused, but once he's settled in with these things, he'll do fine.

Inventory: Just his usual outfit and its associated accessories (rings, tie collar, etc).

Talent Preferences: Illusion, Alteration, Restoration

 • Writing Sample •

Test drive meme thread with Eve