Character meme: Kanzaki Nao, Liar Game
Jan. 16th, 2011 10:37 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dagas_isaFor maat_seshat, who asked for either Nao or Unohana. This is Nao.
These answers are about things I find fundamental to characters. I really do like playing around with varying possibilities, crack theories, different identity conceptions and a lot of other things that sound really pretentious when it's obvious that I write a lot of mediocre short fic, but these are things that regardless of twisting (such as that In Nomine/Liar Game crossover where Nao is a Mercurian of Yves in service of Novalis in a chess game between Novalis and Malphas or a young trans woman creating a story wherein she gets to be completely girly and save the world her way and get both the guy and a best-friend/mentor) that hold true for the character. Sorry. >.> Just saying, these are the fundamentals.
You might find me a bit *ahem* opinionated as to how to write Nao, and I'm about 99% positive that that way I see her is unlike how most of the rest of the fandom sees her. So this is what makes her both 'in-character' for me and worth writing about as a character. Oh yeah, and this is Manga!Nao because I write her pretty much exclusively.
1. Nao has a deeply engrained philosophy. I believe it goes something like this:
1. Every single person has value and has a good heart inside.
2. It's better to trust someone and be tricked than it is to turn someone away and lose them.
3. Most people will be honest if they're given the opportunity.
4. It's okay to lie, if necessary, for the benefit of many, but not okay to lie in the case of self interest.
It's a naive, sickly-sweet moral code, but it's been tested in and out of the Liar Game (it's indicated that she's been made fun of for acting on it) and passed. Writing Nao in character means a) accepting this as a fundamental part of her worldview, only to be changed by lots and lots of character development and angst and b) that since at least the first revival round, this is a belief that she has found works for her in reality.
2. Nao is intelligent.
Sometimes her initial naivety is such that it's very easy to be all: "OMG SHE'S SOOOOO STUPID" about her, and in fact, this appears to be a typical reaction to Nao for the first 28 chapters. Then things change, and suddenly her intelligence seems to sky-rocket, you know because it becomes clear that there's a reason for her behavior.
She's smart. She's not at Akiyama or Yokoya's level as far as sheer braininess goes, and she doesn't have Fukunaga's level of experience, but she learns quickly, and she actually reasons things through according to said philosophy. She had a reason for provoking Yokoya, a reason for trusting Fukunaga, a reason for returning to the Liar Game when she didn't have to. I think it's very easy to underestimate her brainpower partially because quite a bit of what she does flies in the face of common sense, and partially because she often deliberately hides her intelligence, but she's quite capable of thinking things through. Plus (if we're looking at multiple intelligences) her interpersonal and intrapersonal intelligences are both exceptionally high.
So, I think at the very minimum Nao needs to be written as a very smart person who occasionally shows an astonishing lack of common sense, and if I had the energy, I'd even argue that she doesn't even lack common sense as much as she has a very deliberate blind spot when it comes to trusting people.
3. Nao knows who she is.
So, Nao knows her beliefs and her experiences have confirmed them. Her actions mesh with her image as an honest person, and she's developing more faith in her ability to make a change. I wouldn't call it complete-confidence and self assurance so much that Nao's secure enough in who she is that she's capable of facing just about anything without breaking.
This is probably my favorite fangirly point about Nao, especially in her interactions with others. It's what makes her friendship with Fukunaga work (they're both completely different people who are confident enough in themselves to get along despite that), and what makes shipping her with Akiyama not-so-squicky despite the difference in age and experience. Because Nao's complete self-possession/security in contrast with Akiyama (who pretty much lives and acts against his values) makes up for her inexperience.
4. Nao's going through some tough times.
So let's see: Nao has just started college and moved out on her own. Her father (who is her only living parent) is terminally ill. She's regularly having to face down the threat of getting thrown deeply into debt, and it's widely implied that she has no close friends or relatives for her support system.
Yeah. She might be under a bit of stress right now.
This is both plot bunnies particularly angsty plot bunnies, and I think possibly why she's so intent on building support systems in the Liar Game, plus the most plausible reason for Akiyama to be a part of her life beyond just the Liar Game. It's also (one of the reasons) why I like the Akiyama/Fukunaga/Nao OT3, because after her experience with just her father as a support system and now being in a situation where she can lose that easily, I can see why a triad would be very appealing to her, since if she loses one person, she still has someone else.
5. Nao faces things head on.
This, like Nao's intelligence, is something I think is easy to overlook. Yeah, she does sometimes go along with other people without reallly thinking, but Nao isn't someone who can stand aside. At most, she'll cry for a bit and then determine that she needs to do something, even if it's a really stupid something like enlisting a con-artist to help (who wasn't exactly falling over himself to join her). She's not at all easy with any strategy that's remotely like "wait it out" if there's anything she can actually do. And she'll come back to the site of a game that lost her 100 million yen because sitting at home isn't doing anything for her. Got a terrifying "clairvoyant" tyrant that needs dealt with? Guess who actually stands up to face him? It's Nao. She breaks stalemates and doesn't hesitate to make the first move.
Is she a damsel in distress? At times. But a damsel who actively participates in her own rescue, and then goes back to save other people. I feel like agency is a part of her character, even in situations where she needs a little help from someone else. She doesn't need to be a powerhouse 24/7, but I think her standing in the background while someone else solves her problems is definitely an OOC thing for me.
If you'd like, you can still ask for a character here and I'll give them a similar treatment.
maat_seshat, who asked for either Nao or Unohana. This is Nao.These answers are about things I find fundamental to characters. I really do like playing around with varying possibilities, crack theories, different identity conceptions and a lot of other things that sound really pretentious when it's obvious that I write a lot of mediocre short fic, but these are things that regardless of twisting (such as that In Nomine/Liar Game crossover where Nao is a Mercurian of Yves in service of Novalis in a chess game between Novalis and Malphas or a young trans woman creating a story wherein she gets to be completely girly and save the world her way and get both the guy and a best-friend/mentor) that hold true for the character. Sorry. >.> Just saying, these are the fundamentals.
You might find me a bit *ahem* opinionated as to how to write Nao, and I'm about 99% positive that that way I see her is unlike how most of the rest of the fandom sees her. So this is what makes her both 'in-character' for me and worth writing about as a character. Oh yeah, and this is Manga!Nao because I write her pretty much exclusively.
1. Nao has a deeply engrained philosophy. I believe it goes something like this:
1. Every single person has value and has a good heart inside.
2. It's better to trust someone and be tricked than it is to turn someone away and lose them.
3. Most people will be honest if they're given the opportunity.
4. It's okay to lie, if necessary, for the benefit of many, but not okay to lie in the case of self interest.
It's a naive, sickly-sweet moral code, but it's been tested in and out of the Liar Game (it's indicated that she's been made fun of for acting on it) and passed. Writing Nao in character means a) accepting this as a fundamental part of her worldview, only to be changed by lots and lots of character development and angst and b) that since at least the first revival round, this is a belief that she has found works for her in reality.
2. Nao is intelligent.
Sometimes her initial naivety is such that it's very easy to be all: "OMG SHE'S SOOOOO STUPID" about her, and in fact, this appears to be a typical reaction to Nao for the first 28 chapters. Then things change, and suddenly her intelligence seems to sky-rocket, you know because it becomes clear that there's a reason for her behavior.
She's smart. She's not at Akiyama or Yokoya's level as far as sheer braininess goes, and she doesn't have Fukunaga's level of experience, but she learns quickly, and she actually reasons things through according to said philosophy. She had a reason for provoking Yokoya, a reason for trusting Fukunaga, a reason for returning to the Liar Game when she didn't have to. I think it's very easy to underestimate her brainpower partially because quite a bit of what she does flies in the face of common sense, and partially because she often deliberately hides her intelligence, but she's quite capable of thinking things through. Plus (if we're looking at multiple intelligences) her interpersonal and intrapersonal intelligences are both exceptionally high.
So, I think at the very minimum Nao needs to be written as a very smart person who occasionally shows an astonishing lack of common sense, and if I had the energy, I'd even argue that she doesn't even lack common sense as much as she has a very deliberate blind spot when it comes to trusting people.
3. Nao knows who she is.
So, Nao knows her beliefs and her experiences have confirmed them. Her actions mesh with her image as an honest person, and she's developing more faith in her ability to make a change. I wouldn't call it complete-confidence and self assurance so much that Nao's secure enough in who she is that she's capable of facing just about anything without breaking.
This is probably my favorite fangirly point about Nao, especially in her interactions with others. It's what makes her friendship with Fukunaga work (they're both completely different people who are confident enough in themselves to get along despite that), and what makes shipping her with Akiyama not-so-squicky despite the difference in age and experience. Because Nao's complete self-possession/security in contrast with Akiyama (who pretty much lives and acts against his values) makes up for her inexperience.
4. Nao's going through some tough times.
So let's see: Nao has just started college and moved out on her own. Her father (who is her only living parent) is terminally ill. She's regularly having to face down the threat of getting thrown deeply into debt, and it's widely implied that she has no close friends or relatives for her support system.
Yeah. She might be under a bit of stress right now.
This is both plot bunnies particularly angsty plot bunnies, and I think possibly why she's so intent on building support systems in the Liar Game, plus the most plausible reason for Akiyama to be a part of her life beyond just the Liar Game. It's also (one of the reasons) why I like the Akiyama/Fukunaga/Nao OT3, because after her experience with just her father as a support system and now being in a situation where she can lose that easily, I can see why a triad would be very appealing to her, since if she loses one person, she still has someone else.
5. Nao faces things head on.
This, like Nao's intelligence, is something I think is easy to overlook. Yeah, she does sometimes go along with other people without reallly thinking, but Nao isn't someone who can stand aside. At most, she'll cry for a bit and then determine that she needs to do something, even if it's a really stupid something like enlisting a con-artist to help (who wasn't exactly falling over himself to join her). She's not at all easy with any strategy that's remotely like "wait it out" if there's anything she can actually do. And she'll come back to the site of a game that lost her 100 million yen because sitting at home isn't doing anything for her. Got a terrifying "clairvoyant" tyrant that needs dealt with? Guess who actually stands up to face him? It's Nao. She breaks stalemates and doesn't hesitate to make the first move.
Is she a damsel in distress? At times. But a damsel who actively participates in her own rescue, and then goes back to save other people. I feel like agency is a part of her character, even in situations where she needs a little help from someone else. She doesn't need to be a powerhouse 24/7, but I think her standing in the background while someone else solves her problems is definitely an OOC thing for me.
If you'd like, you can still ask for a character here and I'll give them a similar treatment.
