Umeda Hokuto (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
playingdoctor) wrote2006-06-25 05:42 pm
playingdoctor) wrote2006-06-25 05:42 pm
(no subject)
OKAY I haven't essayed about Umeda in an age, have I?
So.
Umeda and Letting People Talk things Out
So, Umeda is normally a noisy jerk, likes to tease and pick on people, but when it seems they have a problem, he sort of shuts up and starts poking them with questions, right?
Why?
Well uhh. Umeda likes people. I KNOW THIS SEEMS LIKE A GIVEN but it seems worth mentioning, because, you know, he acts like a grumpy irritable cynic who likes to yell at people and kick them in the head. He doesn't want them to KNOW he likes people. In fact, in canon, he tends to, when he's REALLY going out of his way for someone, try to do it in a way they won't find out about. Ie, when Mizuki's brother's harrassing her, Umeda talks to him in private and never brings it up with Mizuki. He's got a reputation, and he doesn't want people to think of him as, well, a pushover.
But he kind of, in some ways, is.
Oh, sure, if you're FAKING an injury, he'll show you no sympathy. And he's none too gentle when he does doctor -- volume ten has a "what Umeda's day is like" segment at the end, including this:
NARRATION: He takes the train to work at 9:00 AM (Look out, Umeda! You're going to be late to work!)
Kid: "Oww!"
Umeda: [applying what looks like a sterilizing agent on a cloth to the kid's back] "Life is pain. Deal with it."
Kid: "But it hurts!"
NARRATION: Nonetheless, he takes his job seriously. But he has no mercy to his patients.
...which is basically how he doctors. He will treat just about any REAL injury -- he's known to come out of nowhere to check a twisted ankle, because he is honestly, genuinely concerned about his students -- but that dosn't mean he'll be particularly gentle.
Likewise, he can say some very, very harsh things. He's KINDA A JERK. XD There's a scene where Mizuki very seriously talks about something Nanba had told her about love:
Umeda: You can never have the same love twice, hmm? He's finally gotten past it, then?
Mizuki: Yeah... because love is something that grows with you. So you have to grow up too, he said. And to treasure each love so that it'll bloom like a flower. [small smile]
Umeda: [head tossed back, superior, smug grin] What a SNOT!
...Yeah. XD He's a jerk. He's quite deliberately a jerk. He says mean things about people to their face. There's this one chick who is SO TRAUMATIZED by going through college with him that she screams and cries and runs away if she so much as SEES him.
But at the same time, he does, in fact, like people, and this is... wacky to balance. But we see it a LOT with Mizuki. Mizuki comes to talk to him a lot, though he teases her and mocks her and strips at her (I ... will be getting to that later). But at the same time, though he occassionally teases her for coming for advice, the moment she DOES need it -- even over something small, he shuts up.
Well, not entirely shuts up. He asks leading questions (which does make me think he maybe did a rotation in psychology or psychiatry XD), he listens to her talk, and when she asks about things, he answers in an intelligent, calm manner. You know. "We're not like that!" "What are you like, then?" "H...he says we're precious friends... and..." "Hmm... Well, I wouldn't expect you to want any more than that, the way you are now. But the time is coming when this won't be enough for you. I'm sure of it."
Basically, although he acts like a dick normally, when people want to talk, he's a good listener.
I've tried to portray that too, though sometimes I worry that I'm expanding too much from how he treats Mizuki. But I think it's valid. I'm pretty sure he treats Mizuki like that in the manga because, unlike anyone else, she trusts him. She COMES to him with comments and questions and asks for advice. She LISTENS when he talks. The majority of the students spread rumours about him, don't like him, consider him the 'scary gay school doctor'. And, sure, he encourages this, but we have scenes like the following, when Umeda is accompanying them on a school trip.
Boy 1: "Ughhh, HE's our supervisor? We're going to get killed!"
Boy 2: "We're going to get molested!"
Umeda: [throws two books, gets them both in the forehead] "QUIET DOWN DURING CLASS. Ugh, I'd never touch a kid."
And that's basically his interactions with the majority of school. He acts like a jerk, they don't get close, he doesn't show them that he really does sort of want to help them. He's always been like this -- we see a chapter of him at age 15, where he gets picked to help out in the culture fest, and though he protests, his friends are sort of like "You know, though, that's Umeda for you. He's grumpy and violent and mean, but he's a really good organizer and leader and helps out if you need him."
Of course, ONCE he's helped you out, you're fair game again. In fact, he's almost OBLIGED to tease and mock, because he doesn't want you to think he's a wimp. One of the ways he does this -- and one of the ways he initially reacts to a problem being introduced, BEFORE dealing with it seriously -- is stripping.
I am not making this up. Umeda has a stripping problem. It's like a disorder. Seriously.
Yeah, really. Just. When a problem arrives, Umeda strips at it. Umeda is the MASTER of the speed strip. He can get his clothing off and on in under three panels. He gets a lot of practice.
So, basically what I'm saying is, I hope this has been coming across, but if your character does need an outlet to vent, Umeda may bitch but he'll always listen, and he may even have something serious and thoughtful to say.
Also, he will probably take his clothing off for you.
And let's face it.
You want that.
So.
Umeda and Letting People Talk things Out
So, Umeda is normally a noisy jerk, likes to tease and pick on people, but when it seems they have a problem, he sort of shuts up and starts poking them with questions, right?
Why?
Well uhh. Umeda likes people. I KNOW THIS SEEMS LIKE A GIVEN but it seems worth mentioning, because, you know, he acts like a grumpy irritable cynic who likes to yell at people and kick them in the head. He doesn't want them to KNOW he likes people. In fact, in canon, he tends to, when he's REALLY going out of his way for someone, try to do it in a way they won't find out about. Ie, when Mizuki's brother's harrassing her, Umeda talks to him in private and never brings it up with Mizuki. He's got a reputation, and he doesn't want people to think of him as, well, a pushover.
But he kind of, in some ways, is.
Oh, sure, if you're FAKING an injury, he'll show you no sympathy. And he's none too gentle when he does doctor -- volume ten has a "what Umeda's day is like" segment at the end, including this:
NARRATION: He takes the train to work at 9:00 AM (Look out, Umeda! You're going to be late to work!)
Kid: "Oww!"
Umeda: [applying what looks like a sterilizing agent on a cloth to the kid's back] "Life is pain. Deal with it."
Kid: "But it hurts!"
NARRATION: Nonetheless, he takes his job seriously. But he has no mercy to his patients.
...which is basically how he doctors. He will treat just about any REAL injury -- he's known to come out of nowhere to check a twisted ankle, because he is honestly, genuinely concerned about his students -- but that dosn't mean he'll be particularly gentle.
Likewise, he can say some very, very harsh things. He's KINDA A JERK. XD There's a scene where Mizuki very seriously talks about something Nanba had told her about love:
Umeda: You can never have the same love twice, hmm? He's finally gotten past it, then?
Mizuki: Yeah... because love is something that grows with you. So you have to grow up too, he said. And to treasure each love so that it'll bloom like a flower. [small smile]
Umeda: [head tossed back, superior, smug grin] What a SNOT!
...Yeah. XD He's a jerk. He's quite deliberately a jerk. He says mean things about people to their face. There's this one chick who is SO TRAUMATIZED by going through college with him that she screams and cries and runs away if she so much as SEES him.
But at the same time, he does, in fact, like people, and this is... wacky to balance. But we see it a LOT with Mizuki. Mizuki comes to talk to him a lot, though he teases her and mocks her and strips at her (I ... will be getting to that later). But at the same time, though he occassionally teases her for coming for advice, the moment she DOES need it -- even over something small, he shuts up.
Well, not entirely shuts up. He asks leading questions (which does make me think he maybe did a rotation in psychology or psychiatry XD), he listens to her talk, and when she asks about things, he answers in an intelligent, calm manner. You know. "We're not like that!" "What are you like, then?" "H...he says we're precious friends... and..." "Hmm... Well, I wouldn't expect you to want any more than that, the way you are now. But the time is coming when this won't be enough for you. I'm sure of it."
Basically, although he acts like a dick normally, when people want to talk, he's a good listener.
I've tried to portray that too, though sometimes I worry that I'm expanding too much from how he treats Mizuki. But I think it's valid. I'm pretty sure he treats Mizuki like that in the manga because, unlike anyone else, she trusts him. She COMES to him with comments and questions and asks for advice. She LISTENS when he talks. The majority of the students spread rumours about him, don't like him, consider him the 'scary gay school doctor'. And, sure, he encourages this, but we have scenes like the following, when Umeda is accompanying them on a school trip.
Boy 1: "Ughhh, HE's our supervisor? We're going to get killed!"
Boy 2: "We're going to get molested!"
Umeda: [throws two books, gets them both in the forehead] "QUIET DOWN DURING CLASS. Ugh, I'd never touch a kid."
And that's basically his interactions with the majority of school. He acts like a jerk, they don't get close, he doesn't show them that he really does sort of want to help them. He's always been like this -- we see a chapter of him at age 15, where he gets picked to help out in the culture fest, and though he protests, his friends are sort of like "You know, though, that's Umeda for you. He's grumpy and violent and mean, but he's a really good organizer and leader and helps out if you need him."
Of course, ONCE he's helped you out, you're fair game again. In fact, he's almost OBLIGED to tease and mock, because he doesn't want you to think he's a wimp. One of the ways he does this -- and one of the ways he initially reacts to a problem being introduced, BEFORE dealing with it seriously -- is stripping.
I am not making this up. Umeda has a stripping problem. It's like a disorder. Seriously.
Yeah, really. Just. When a problem arrives, Umeda strips at it. Umeda is the MASTER of the speed strip. He can get his clothing off and on in under three panels. He gets a lot of practice.
So, basically what I'm saying is, I hope this has been coming across, but if your character does need an outlet to vent, Umeda may bitch but he'll always listen, and he may even have something serious and thoughtful to say.
Also, he will probably take his clothing off for you.
And let's face it.
You want that.