Kirika

Kirika is a contestant in Total Drama: The Next Generation. She is labeled as **The Hikikomori**.

## Kirika

### Friends

Max, Gabe, Naveen, Eddy, Vivi, Clara, Tiffany

## Biography

Kirika doesn't get out much. Her parents removed her from public school, due to bullying, in favor of online schooling. Now, Kirika barely leaves her room. She knows almost all there is to know about the outside world through the internet. She enjoys reality television.

Kirika joined the Total Drama series because her parents feel they made a mistake and want Kirika to get out more, so they appealed to her love of reality tv.

## Total Drama: The Next Generation

When Kirika arrived, she commented on Byron potentially being in disguise, similar to past contestant Marcello. She also needed to remind the host, Jack, that he was on the same season as Marcello. Jack also noted that Kirika didn’t have her own boat for her arrival. She admitted to having shared a boat with Byron for fuel efficiency. Kirika introduced herself hastily and went to stand by the others. Tiffany however, tripped Kirika, pretending it was a mistake. Tiffany then commented on her braces and called her a loser. Max was quick to help Kirika to her feet. He assured her the she could stand with him, and also pointed out that they both wore braces.

Kirika was teamed with early friends, Max and Clara, as well as early rival, Tiffany. During the first challenge, which required the contestants to identify who their opponents were dressed as from past seasons, Kirika was analytical, and able to identify the majority of her opponents, singlehandedly. She gave direction to her team member Naveen, so as to take the spotlight off of herself. He then told the others who was dressed as who. She also gave the direction for the players who knew the show the least to run back to the name tags, while the players who knew the show best could stand behind and analyze the opposing team. Kirika then vanished for the majority of the challenge, only to emerge in order to eliminate Orlando, securing the win for her team. Max and their team members hoisted Kirika up to celebrate their victory while Tiffany lamented that Kirika being credited with the win was worse than losing the challenge.

That night, Kirika protested Clara bringing up the challenge, again, not wanting to be the focus. During the task challenge, Tiffany intentionally paired Kirika with a difficult opponent, on a seemingly strength based challenge. Kirika used her brains to transport a prop boulder by tricking a crew member into moving it via boat. Kirika was one of the few on her team to win their portion of the challenge, but The Cool Cats lost overall. Kirika was safe, as Tiffany focused her ire on Winnie.

After losing their second challenge in a row, Kirika, Clara, and Vivi discussed strategy. They suggested that Kirika be the one to suggest that one of the guys help vote out Tiffany, but she protested as she felt she didn’t have a way with words. Clara then volunteered to be the one to try. This attempt failed miserably, as the guys, including Max, all sided with Tiffany and voted out Clara.

Kirika was selected as look out for a challenge to call to blindfolded teammates where puzzle pieces were strewn about in a field, with no protesting from Tiffany. This struck Vivi as odd, and she was correct in her assumption. The male team members and Tiffany were seeming to do the exact opposite of what Kirika was instructing them. Kirika eventually used this to her advantage, telling the guys and Tiffany to walk the wrong way, so they would go the opposite way, and causing them all to walk into each other and knock themselves out. She also used Orlando, a member of the opposing team who mistook her for his team member Yolanda, and Vivi to complete the challenge successfully for her team, earning invincibility for them.

For the cosplay challenge, Kirika was embarrassed by her costume, though Max assured her that she looked cool, which annoyed Tiffany. Andrea, a member of the opposing team, found Kirika in her locked cage, but kept moving. Wolf next came across Kirika, and while Kirika refused to help him find Andrea, he deduced where Andrea went. Kirika’s team lost the challenge. Wolf credited Kirika with his help in finding his team member, which upset Tiffany. Kirika was safe, however, due to a burgeoning romance between Naveen and Vivi, with Vivi being eliminated.

In the following episode, Kirika admitted to appreciating having made friends on the island, but felt lonely now that they were being voted out one by one, as well as Tiffany being out with her boyfriends at all hours. She didn’t stay lonely for long, as Jasmine, Naveen’s sister, stopped by Kirika’s window in order to ask how he was doing on her team. Kirika assured that he was doing well standing up for himself. Jasmine admitted to Kirika that she was so protective of Naveen because she was asked to watch him on a shopping trip, and she got distracted. While he was safe, she panicked at the thought of what might have happened to him, and took it upon herself to watch after him from then on. Kirika encouraged Jasmine to allow Naveen to have his own life experiences.

Wolf appeared at Kirika’s window next. He felt that Andrea was avoiding him because they felt he was creepy, had bad breath, or felt he was making romantic advances. He decided to apologize for whatever the issue was. He left, and Naveen soon came for advice. She assured him that Vivi genuinely liked him. He also asked how they could eliminate Tiffany, and Kirika admitted to having to think on it.

During the challenge that involved knocking opposing team members from a platform, Kirika evaded the others well. When she had an opportunity to eliminate Wolf from the challenge, Tiffany pulled her into the water, effectively losing the challenge for their team. Kirika was spared, yet again, as Eddy had to be medically evacuated, and no vote had to be held. Before leaving, he apologized to Kirika for his siding with Tiffany.

Tiffany was upset after her boyfriend alliance members broke up with her. As she cried into her pillow, Kirika offered to comfort her. Tiffany told her to leave her alone. During the escape room challenge, Kirika led the team in solving puzzles, while Tiffany was mostly ignored. Max offered to take Kirika to an amusement park, when acknowledging the escape room setting. Tiffany seemed annoyed. Later, the team stopped worrying about the challenge when Kirika lost her glasses. Kirika kicked the glasses aside, stalling the challenge further. While Tiffany found an important component to the challenge, Kirika received hugs from the guys for solving a music based puzzle. They ended up capturing a bad guy in a mask and winning the challenge.

Max later approached Kirika in order to apologize for siding with Tiffany. The two then struck a final two alliance with each other. During the game show themed challenge, Kirika was again propelled into the leadership position. She did well in predicting the correct answers. She also seemed to notice that Tiffany was suggesting good answers, while the rest of the team was ignoring her. Kirika received credit again for leading the team to victory, though she chose Tiffany’s answer. She attempted to commend her for her answer, but Tiffany insisted that she only used it in an attempt to vote her out. Kirika assured her that she didn’t need a reason to get her voted out, which offended Tiffany. She again asked to be left alone.

When down to ten contestants, Kirika speculated that a merge might take place soon. She mentioned to Gabe, Max, and Naveen that they needed to be concerned about Tiffany defecting to the other team, giving them a numbers disadvantage. They agreed that Max should attempt to negotiate with Tiffany. At the challenge to identify every day objects posing as cake, Kirika was among the first few to be eliminated. She was nervous about the vote, but Max assured her that he would handle the vote. Unfortunately, things did not go their way and Max was voted out. Kirika was shaken by the revelation.

Naveen, in particular, took Max’s elimination hard. Kirika attempted to encourage him, stating that things were not over yet, and that he shouldn’t give up. During the horror movie inspired challenge, Kirika was hiding in a cardboard television set. The set was knocked down and landed on Gabe. Kirika stood up, only to fall down, again. Gabe, another former member of The Cool Cats was eliminated.

With Tiffany defecting to the other team after the merge, Naveen and Kirika felt alone. Kirika went to talk to Naveen, but he was slumped over in front of the door, not wanting to exert any effort. Kirika demanded that he come talk to her, as he owed her after treating her poorly earlier in the competition. He came to speak with her, despite putting his clothes on the wrong way. Naveen admitted to voting out Gabe, thinking he himself would be the one voted out, and he ended up feeling guilty. She reminded him of his wanting to step out from his sisters shadow in order to prove that he could take care of himself, revealing that Jasmine had confided in her. After remembering that Kirika never gave up despite the odds being against her, Naveen was determined to put his best effort going forward.

During the laser tag challenge, Kirika came across Andrea and attempted to eliminate them by throwing the boomerang she found at their device. Andrea seemed alarmed by something behind Kirika. Kirika turned to see Wolf behind them, and he quickly eliminated Kirika from the challenge. Andrea thanked Wolf, though admitting that Kirika was not much of a threat. Wolf then proceeded to eliminate Andrea as well, to which Kirika commented as cold hearted. Wolf seemed confused, not thinking teaming up with friends was an option. Kirika and Andrea were removed from the area by crew members. At the elimination ceremony, Naveen was eliminated. He hugged Kirika and lifted her off the ground, and asked her to wipe the floor with Tiffany.

Kirika was writing in her journal in her cabin when Andrea and Wolf asked if they had seen a stuffed doll they had. Kirika explained that she had allowed the cleaning crew to throw it out. They rushed off. Tiffany then entered the room and took Kirika’s journal from her when it fell to the floor. She read through the journal at Kirika’s protest, and found writings on other players. She thought the writings on Max her romantic in nature, which Kirika denied. When getting to the entry about herself, Tiffany was stunned to discover that all she wrote about her were positive things about her being intelligent. Tiffany then assured Kirika that she was next. Kirika proposed that they start working together, which Tiffany declined. Kirika asked if Tiffany was content with sixth place since the former members of The Chilly Dogs did not like her. Tiffany felt insulted and went to bed.

During the challenge, Kirika observed the dynamic between Yolanda, Declan, and Suzy. Specifically, that Yolanda seemed attached to and protective of Declan, where Suzy seemed jealous of their friendship. After being verbally attacked by Suzy, Tiffany decided to take Kirika up on her offer, but insisted that Kirika would need to be the one to convince Suzy to vote out her ally, Declan, after Kirika came up with the idea to tell Suzy that Yolanda and Declan would choose each other over her in a final three situation. Kirika reluctantly agreed to the idea, and was successful in getting Declan voted out.

Later that night, Tiffany and Kirika celebrated their success, and concocted a plan to divide Yolanda and Suzy, as well as make Suzy feel like she was trying too hard in challenges and would be less of a target if she threw the next challenge. Kirika also noted that something seemed strange during this season, but Tiffany didn’t seem to care. Kirika later explained to Suzy that people who win four challenges in a season, historically are voted out after losing, so she would be okay with three wins. Kirika seemed to sigh deeply after deceiving Suzy.

During the challenge, role play as their teammate in a therapy setting, Kirika did well in the eyes of the therapists, though Tiffany seemed offended. Finally, after being frustrated by Kirika clearly being favored in the challenge, Tiffany admitted to being jealous of Kirika for putting no effort into being popular, unlike herself, and yet having many friends throughout the season. Kirika finally let her emotions show, after staying calm most of the season. She yelled that Tiffany made her terrified to do much of anything without feeling attacked. She also brought up her agoraphobia after being bullied in middle school. Tiffany admitted that Kirika’s calmness under pressure annoyed her, but apologized for how she had treated her. The pair won the challenge with it being clear that Kirika accepted the apology. Then, in a surprising twist, Suzy and Yolanda were eliminated for doing the worst in the challenge. The two’s friendship was clearly in tatters, which seemed to bother Kirika.

Kirika asked Tiffany if she ever felt bad in breaking up friendships for her game play, to which Tiffany admitted that it did, but then she reminded herself of the end game. The two now focused their attention on Wolf and Andrea. They rummaged through Wolf’s belongings and tried to convince Andrea that he was keeping secrets with a photo that appeared to be him with three young children that looked like him. Later, Wolf explained to Kirika and Tiffany that he was one of three identical triplets, and he was a test tube baby. They then explained what he said to Andrea, who took it to mean that he was a clone.

During the challenge, Tiffany insulted Andrea to get them to mess up the plush constructing challenge. Then Tiffany encouraged Kirika to try her hand at getting into Wolf’s head, telling him to think of the first thing he thought of as cute. Tiffany commended her for her efforts, as she assumed he would do something science related that would make him fail. Kirika revealed her red panda in a kimono plush, something which the judges did not personally identify with, so they did not consider it worthy of winning. Tiffany won the challenge, and she further tried to drive a wedge between Wolf and Andrea, telling Andrea that Wolf was not trustworthy. Kirika observed and caused her own elimination by voting for the other option. She admitted to having too difficult time dividing friends.

In the finals between Wolf and Andrea, Kirika sat in Andrea’s cheering section.

## Trivia

* Kirika is inspired by The Anonymous User who taught me what a Hikikomori is. She is also fairly introspective similar to Sebastian who The Anonymous User created.
* Kirika’s sweater features a taco cat, a popular palindrome.
* Kirika wearing cyan is meant as an indication that cyan is no longer the color of cool people, as noted by Tiffany.
* Kirika was one of the easiest characters for me to redraw. Her baggy clothes helped with that.
* Kirika was meant to seem like the winner of the story, similarly to Kendall.
* Kirika is not the first Hikikomori to play the game. Irene played the game from home for most of her initial season. I wanted to feature an agoraphobic character playing in person, after suffering from agoraphobia for a short time myself. I feel I didn’t feature this much with her character, though my agoraphobia triggered when thinking of going to specific places, as opposed to being outside in general. With her being a victim of bullying, it makes sense that she would be able to cope with an unfamiliar setting and group of people.
* In the earliest planning stages of the story, Kirika and Max were going to form a secret alliance after bonding. Kirika was going to be the brains, though socially ineffective. Max was going to be the muscle, as well as the social player of the team. Kirika would instruct Max to use his social charms in order to lure people into alliances, as well as to do the dirty work in betraying them after making genuine bonds. She would convince him that it was all a game when he was feeling guilty for his actions. Once they made it to the final four, Max would learn how the other players viewed him, and would feel very depressed. He would leave the game.
* In the above version of the story, Kirika was going to be the villain.
* Kirika was also going to have a crush on Max, and would be very jealous of his relationships with others in that version of the story.
* Kirika was slated to place second in that version of the story, although I initially thought of Max and Kirika making the final two in that story. Kirika would have won in that scenario.
* Kirika and Max having similarly colored braces was a hint at their connection.
* I enjoyed writing Kirika so much that I struggled with not slating her to be the winner. I seriously considered changing the story for her to be the victor.
* Kirika, as a fan of the series, was a good way to reference my past stories.
* Kirika stowing away on Byron’s boat, as well as speeding through her introduction, was an indication that she was not comfortable being the center of attention.
* For the cosplay challenge, Kirika was a reference to Marvel’s Mystique. I, however, slipped in a reference to Marvel’s Blink with her color scheme.
* In the horror movie challenge, Kirika is an homage to Sadako from The Ring.
* In the laser tag challenge, Kirika’s costume is referencing Noriko Nakagawa from Battle Royale. Noriko is also assigned a boomerang in the novel and manga adaptation. In the film, though, she receives binoculars as her ‘weapon’.
* Kirika has her laser receiving device around her neck, as the participants in Battle Royale have detonation devices around their necks that explode if they refuse to participate in the combat. When drawing her in this character image, I forgot to put the device on her chest, and then thought it would be a fitting reference to put one on her neck instead. It may seem unfair as a smaller target, but she’s one of the first few eliminated so it didn’t help her in the end.
* I wanted to do my own take on a Heather and Gwen rivalry, but to go deeper with it. This is what Tiffany and Kirika were modeled after.
* I wish I had considered having Kirika having written in her journal shown earlier so it didn’t feel like it came from nowhere, but I didn’t think of the idea soon enough. This was a reference to Heather reading Gwen’s diary.
* Kirika’s plush being not considered as a contender for it not being relatable to the judges is a take on reality competition shows involving a product. I observe this to happen many times, even recently, that a mostly white panel doesn’t understand something culturally different to them, and then tend to say things like ‘we shouldn’t need for it to be explained to us’.
* I decided to have Kirika and Tiffany be friends by the end of the season in order to go against how the Heather and Gwen relationship was. I considered just leaving it at being partners for necessity, but felt it necessary to have them reconcile and become friends, as that seemed natural to me.
* Kirika was meant to feel like the underdog at first, then a front runner, and then an underdog, and then a front runner again.

## Gallery

Kirika in her sleepwear.Kirika in her swimwear.Kirika’s original image.