(no subject)

[galrider]

MATSUKO "MATTHEW" GOTO Age 23 Gender Female Height 5'10"/177.8cm Build Athletic Species Human BACKGROUND Growing up, Matsuko Goto wasn't anything remarkable. She was hardworking and studious, but her grades never really approached top of the class. She had a good rapport with her classmates, as well as some close friends, but she was far from what you'd call popular. She had her after school activities, but there was no pastime she particularly excelled at. Matsuko Goto was a girl you could find in any classroom all over the world, several times over. However, the one thing that set Matsuko Goto apart from the rest of her schoolmates was her family's legacy. Dating back centuries, the Goto clan (having gone through several different names at different times) were spiritualists; they dedicated themselves to combating the supernatural in order to keep the human world safe from harm. Each member of the current generation would be given their roles to play, but most would simply take a supporting role to that of the clan's chosen warrior. They would be trained from birth to take up the mantle of their clan's hero the knight gallant, equipped with magical armaments and in depth information on how to combat all manner of demonic spirits, backed up by the support of their family. In the modern era, that person is Matsuko. In truth, she never had much of an issue with her role. Ultimately, becoming the knight gallant was about helping others and fighting evil, which she thought a noble cause; as one of the few people standing between humanity and those who would take advantage of them, she thought it was only right for her to use what she was given by fate in order to protect the helpless. What she was not prepared for, however, was the price she would pay for her powers. Come the end of second to last year of high school, her father initiated her into the role of clan warrior - as well as explained, only after the initiation was complete, what it took to empower her. As the clan's mightiest warrior, much of her powers revolved around the manipulation of time; however, in order to use it, the user of their clan's magic was forced to give up their own time in exchange. Starting from the day of her 18th birthday, she would only live ten years before passing away as a result of her powers, leaving one of her other family members to take her place. As terrifying as the prospect was to her, it also lead her to the conclusion that her mother - who had died when she was especially young - must have died due to similar reasons. Once her father all but confirmed it, she became resentful of her circumstances and lost sight of her former resolve. However, disillusioned as she was now with the legacy of her family, Matsuko still couldn't bring herself to simply abandon her duty. The damage had been done; even if she forsook her responsibility, people would simply die at the hands of malignant spirits from the otherworld while she slowly rotted away to an early grave. With an entire summer break to mull it over, she came to the conclusion that she would make the most of her remaining years and fulfill her role simultaneously. Once a fairly plain girl that didn't stand out all that much, she underwent a total image change upon returning to school that shocked everyone on the campus. The first few days were hectic; she had been pulled aside and spoken with repeatedly by several teachers, eventually the principal and, inevitably, her father was brought in to discuss her situation. Having found out his daughter was acting like a total delinquent, between skipping classes and having lost any kind of positive relationships she'd had before, yet unable to admit to the true reason behind her change, her father simply explained it as her "acting out" - which was the truth, really - and that he would handle it. However, when he did attempt to confront her over it, she simply brushed him off, stating she'd live how she wanted given she'd given up everything else in the name of their legacy. With little alternative, her father used his connections to ensure she wouldn't be kicked out of school, but reassured the faculty of her school that she would still have to take her studies seriously and get back on track. Unfortunately, her bad behaviour simply escalated. Shrugging off all social etiquette, she cut ties with her friends - some being told she simply tolerated them due to it being the polite thing to do, while others were simply deemed unsuitable company for her new persona. Many took it as simply her shrugging off "normal" friends for people more in line with her delinquent lifestyle, but in truth she simply distanced herself from others to avoid the pain she knew it would bring - to her and, eventually, others. Rather than waste her time on anything long term, Matsuko became a hedonist who spent her time simply having fun. Plenty of junk food, alcohol, garish clothing and expensive jewellery, not all of which was bought on her own dime. She would occasionally steal, but more often than not "borrow" money from students she knew came from wealthy backgrounds with no intention of paying it back. As she'd quickly garnered a reputation as a delinquent, many found themselves incapable of standing up to her. All in all, her selfish pursuit of quick thrills and materialistic happiness was all a distraction, only so she wouldn't have to think of her last remaining years. Even so, she acknowledges what a selfish, terrible person she'd become for the sake of that, never once denying her new nature. Despite this however, Matsuko remains devoted to her role as her clan's chosen warrior. With her clan's armour "gallant" at her disposal, she rebranded it as "galrider" to better suit the modern era's image of a superhero rather than the dated one of that of a knight. She will practically drop everything to pursue hints of otherworldly occurrences that are the work of spiritual entities ruining the lives of humans. Only then does she display her hardworking and determined side, even if reaching the conclusion and exorcising the offending spirit tends to involve unusual methods. Matsuko acknowledges her day to day behaviour is unjust; she doesn't have any expectations due to how she behaves and won't deny accusations hurled at her, assuming they're true. However, she still strives to protect humanity because she's one of the few people who can. To do otherwise would be the kind of selfishness she couldn't bring herself to engage in. Since leaving school Matsuko's devoted herself to combating the supernatural even as her end draws closer and closer. PERSONALITY At a glance, Matsuko is a carefree, irreverent girl with little interest in the world around her. She strives to fulfill a need for stimulation and cheap thrills at any given moment; this can be a desire as simple as food, or a need for material goods such as jewellery and fancy clothing. Part of her need for this stimulation can involve how she goes about getting these things, as sometimes it's the process rather than the result that fulfills her; she enjoys taking advantage of others to get what she wants, from simply borrowing the money she needs with no intention of paying it back or outright stealing what she wants and trying to get away without being caught. While she was once a fairly serious, straightforward person with a hardworking nature, nowadays she can be found neglecting her classes, from anywhere in between simply not partaking, sleeping through it or at worst skipping altogether. Her personal relationships aren't much better, as she's a very upfront and crass person at times; she enjoys antagonizing others more than she enjoys making friends with them, so if her anti-social behaviour doesn't drive people away, generally her personality will. Even those who used to be her friend will simply tell you that after that fateful summer, she returned to school a changed person with no interest in continuing her friendships with them. This attitude wasn't always the norm however; in the past, Matsuko was known by student and teacher alike as a fairly plain, forgettable but otherwise good student you wouldn't really have a bad word to say about. It was only in the wake of the summer preceding her final year of high school that she returned with her change in attire and personality. This change was brought on by the discovery of the terrible price she had to pay for her clan's signature powers: in ten years time, she would die without a hope of salvation. Deciding she had too little time left to maintain her attitude in line with social norms, she cast off her former image and reimagined herself as she is now. On a most basic level, she simply refuses to tolerate anything she doesn't like, be they people or commitments decided for her by others. This extends to her schoolwork and even her future prospects, feeling they've been robbed from her. This is why her life is simply a series of quick thrills and hedonistic indulgences, rather than working towards establishing anything longterm: with such a short lifespan ahead of her, anything she'd build for herself would be nothing more than dust in the wind, with no guarantee she'd achieve anything. In truth, she simply feels an emptiness inside of her that she can't fill, with little choice (in her belief) but to try and fill it with disposable distractions. Given her anti-social tendencies, it might be paradoxical to say that Matsuko possesses a strong sense of justice and responsibility for her duties, but it's true. As the galrider, she's the only one with the power to stop supernatural beings from taking advantage of humankind. Her lineage may have been a death sentence, but her powers have already done their damage: regardless of whether or not she helps people, she'll die in just ten years, so she decided to simply do what she could in order to help people, possibly as another way of filling the emptiness inside of her with something more admirable than simple, shallow indulgences. When an incident occurs relating to the interference of the otherworld, Matsuko becomes surprisingly dedicated in trying to investigate any disturbances, looking into individuals whose behaviour may have suddenly changed (for the worse) or stumbled into good fortune seemingly without explanation. She won't give up until she's solved a case, usually for the better. Because of her circumstances, she can be reckless in her pursuit of helping people affected by it - likely due to the fact that death is hanging so closely over her that she doesn't fear dying. In truth, however, she is terrified of her fate. While it is true that everyone has to die, knowing she is going to die so young not only frustrates her, but it scares her. She usually feels every second of every minute passing by with great awareness, something she seeks to distract herself from with the indulgences she pursues so often. Although she'll claim she doesn't care if she dies protecting someone else, the fact is every time it happens she's terrified and regrets it. Her personality can be in conflict with itself a lot on account of these radically different attitudes towards her duties, but with no other choice to cope, all she can do is push past her fears and doubts to seek success. Abilities & Inventory TIMEDRIVER The timedriver is a device that sits on Matsuko's belt like a buckle. It is essentially the source of her power, allowing her to call on the Gallant armour no matter where she is: she simply has to activate it, at which point the belt will materialize the armour onto her body. The belt also controls her ability to change forms, as the gallant armour can tap into the individual abilities of the sorcerers that created it, causing the armour's appearance to change with her change in abilities. The belt also has a secondary effect of being able to empower vehicles in a similar fashion; while in earlier times this meant outfitting a horse or other mounted creature with armour similar to gallant, in the modern age it allows Matsuko to control and modify anything that can be perceived as a "vehicle" to her, granting the gallant knight a suitable steed, no matter what form it may take. When she first went through initiation, it was the timedriver that absorbed the years she's lost in order to seal the contract between them. TIMEPIECE The timepiece is the signature weapon of the knight gallant; in its dormant state, it is no larger than a keychain and takes the form of a small clock. When the timedriver is active however, the timepiece changes form to be used as a weapon; the form it takes is dependent on the armoured form Matsuko is currently using. By default, it becomes a pair of clock hands, one the size of a longsword and one the size of a dagger. Each blade has a hook at the end to resemble a clock hand. TIMECYCLE The timecycle is a motorbike specially suited for use with the timedriver. In its normal state, the bike is a fairly regular looking civilian motorcycle that wouldn't look out of place on a busy road. It's only when the bike is in use alongside the gallant armour that it becomes less conspicious; as Matsuko changes forms, the bike changes forms as well, even being capable of traveling on the surface of water or sailing through the sky, on top of equipping itself with all sorts of weaponry. Although any motorcycle can be used in conjunction with the belt, the timecycle is specially designed to appear when called by the knight gallant, making it more accessible. It's only when the timecycle is somehow inaccessible that Matsuko will make use of other means. permissions art credit, code credit