OOC || Application (maisongrise)
the player →
NAME: Rae
JOURNAL: aircrash
CONTACT: haunted jam jar (AIM)
CURRENT CHARACTERS: n/a
the application →
CHARACTER NAME: Beyond Birthday (aliases: B, Backup, Rue Ryuzaki)
FANDOM NAME: Death Note - Another Note
CHARACTER HISTORY: There are not many specific facts known about Beyond Birthday from the text of Another Note before the events of the story in question. What is known, however, is that both of his parents were killed when he was quite young - his father was murdered by a thug, his mother died in a train crash - and he was eventually brought to the Wammy’s House orphanage in Winchester, England, to participate in a rigorous detective training program as B - Backup for the genius detective L.
B was the second candidate enrolled in the program, a child with a brilliant mind and an eccentric demeanor; the first candidate, A, was unable to cope with the various pressures of the intense training program and committed suicide. B excelled in the program for many years, yet ultimately was not chosen as L’s successor, for reasons not specified. It is speculated, however, that the first generation of trainees was perhaps meant to act as prototypes for the program, never intended to actually succeed as a successor to L. B disappeared from the House around May of 2002 - again, for reasons never specified - shortly before orchestrating what would come to be known as the Los Angeles BB Murder Cases in July and August of that same year.
The series of elaborate, grisly killings involved three victims, each seemingly unrelated to the next, save for the fact that each was found in a room locked from the inside, a decreasing number of Wara Ningyo dolls was nailed to the walls of the rooms where the victims were found, and each victim’s first and last name began with the same letter. Believe Bridesmaid, a 44-year-old freelance writer, was drugged and asphyxiated to death with a rope, with post-mortem cuts made on his chest, a code designed to indicate the second victim. Quarter Queen, a 13-year-old girl, was drugged and killed via blunt force trauma to her head; her eyes were crushed in post-mortem. Backyard Bottomslash, a 28-year-old bank worker, died from severe blood loss when her left arm and right leg were hacked off; the arm was never recovered.
The serial murders attracted L’s attention, just as B intended, and L enlisted the assistance of a suspended FBI agent named Naomi Misora in investigating the murders. B approached Naomi at the scene of the first murder, introducing himself as an “unprivate detective” named Rue Ryuzaki who had been hired by the murder victims’ families to investigate the murder, independent of the police. Under the guise of cooperative investigation, B skillfully led Naomi through the obscure clues he’d left behind at the scene of each murder, pointing to the location of the fourth and final murder. B’s intent at the final scene was to commit suicide by setting himself on fire after setting it up to look like another murder, and thus leave L with a puzzle he could never solve. This, in B’s mind, would prove that he was better than L. Naomi, however, was able to piece together the final clues and determine Ryuzaki’s identity as the killer, B, and place him under arrest before he was able to succeed in his suicide plot, though not before B was able to badly burn himself.
B spent the next year and a half recovering from his extensive burn injuries while serving a life sentence in prison for his crimes and died of a mysterious heart attack on January 21, 2004, one of the many, many victims of Kira and the Death Note.
PERSONALITY: The primary thing to know about B is that he is a bona fide genius, albeit a peculiar one - at first glance, there’s just something a little bit off about him. His eccentric manner is heavily influenced by the fact that he has possessed the eyes of a shinigami since birth. The eyes of a shinigami, or death god, allow anyone who possesses them to view any live human’s name and natural life span. The ability to view life spans is the ability to view death, and B has been surrounded with reminders of death from the day he was born. As a result of both this and the fact he was orphaned at an early age, B’s world view is a little more emotionally distant and off-kilter than the average, well-adjusted person. B has experienced a great deal of loss in his life, so I’ve speculated that his personality - his true personality, which is almost always hidden under the facade of his “Rue Ryuzaki” persona and almost never shown directly in the text of Another Note - is a bit subdued and melancholy, with a tendency toward intense anger. He will often appear emotionally detached in some aspects, but he is not entirely unfeeling - on the contrary, he feels quite a lot, but has been trained over the years to present a mask of impassivity to the world. Although he is not prone to outbursts or displays of action not thoroughly calculated, B is still quite emotionally unstable.
B does not, for the most part, maintain close relationships. Since he has been surrounded with reminders of death his entire life, and since he lost both of his parents at an early age, B learned early on in life not to allow himself to form attachments with many other people. He craves affection, attention, and meaningful relationships, however, precisely because he has not had them, and once he was brought to the Wammy’s House orphanage and enrolled in the training program there, B fixated on his absentee role model - the great detective L. L became the object of B’s attention in an obsessive, idol-worship kind of way; L was the only thing that mattered to B.
This sense of disconnect from other people and sense of loss in general is, among other things, a large part in why B’s personality is so obsessive in nature. He clings to things he holds dear because he knows he will, eventually, lose them.
B is also driven, rational and calculating - once he has a goal in mind, B does not give up. His determination is perhaps his greatest character strength. He has been trained to meet his goal by whatever means necessary, even if they are sometimes questionable (such as committing a series of grisly murders), but he is not amoral; B is neither a sociopath nor a psychopath.
Fears: Although not explicitly stated in canon, it’s most likely that B’s biggest fear is that of failure, on a general, all-encompassing scale. He’s dedicated a large portion of his life to training as a potential successor to L, and there seems to be a lot of personal investment in this one thing - that is, his sense of self-worth appears to be wrapped up in the idea of being good enough to be the next L, better than the other contenders. Failure in this respect amounts to a wholesale lack of purpose for B’s very existence, which is, I believe, a large factor in why B intended for his endgame to be his suicide.
Weaknesses: While he is stronger than he appears, B is still not particularly strong - no more so than the average person who spends most of the time indoors and does not train physically. He would be easily overpowered by a show of brute force, or an aggressive attack by someone trained in hand-to-hand combat or martial arts.
B’s greatest personality weakness is shortsightedness with respect to his obsessiveness; his eventual downfall is caused by the fact that he became so fixated on one thing - beating L - that he failed to consider anything else. For example, B underestimated Naomi Misora’s deductive abilities, and she was able to solve the mystery of his identity as the killer behind the series of murders and apprehend B before he was able to set the final stage of his murder plan into motion. B’s skewed world view is also something of weakness, as is his emotional instability - especially considering that the end result of the series of murders was intended to be a rather gruesome suicide.
Strengths/Abilities: Through the Wammy’s House program, B received extensive training in the investigative arts. He is adept at problem-solving, creative thinking, and logical reasoning, as evident in his prowess for both creating and solving puzzles, particularly crossword puzzles. B is an expert speed-reader, speaks both English and Japanese fluently, and demonstrates high proficiency in mathematics. Although it is not stated in the text of Another Note, it is likely B is also proficient in a number of additional languages and highly skilled in various types of computer work, including programming and hacking.
B is a skilled mimic and actor, capable of maintaining a convincing long-term public persona as an “unprivate detective” named Rue Ryuzaki with ease. Under the guise of Ryuzaki, B acts much less intelligent than he actually is, “playing the fool,” in effect, in order to gather information, subtly manipulate other people, and set his plans into motion. Even outside of this act, B lies, frequently and with precise calculation, and will not hesitate to give misinformation if it suits his purpose - and it generally does.
B is not particularly strong or trained in hand-to-hand combat, but he is stronger than his twig-like frame would suggest, and he’s incredibly quick on his feet. B does not generally instigate physical attacks, but when he does, it’s always a calculated maneuver, and he favors stealth and small, simple weapons, such as a club. In defense, B employs quick reflexes and flexibility to dodge.
As far as his personality is concerned, B’s greatest strength is his determination. He will do anything possible to achieve his goals - when his goal is to surpass L, B even turns to murder and becomes a criminal, in order to simply win and become better than L. Once he has a goal in mind, B does not give up. He is very smart, though perhaps misguided.
With the shinigami eyes, B is able to see any live human’s true name and life span. This will only occur if B is able to see more than half of the face, usually the top half. Conversely, if more than half of the person’s face is covered, such as with a mask or large sunglasses, B will not be able to see that person’s name and life span.
TIMELINE: Just before the attempted “fourth murder” (i.e., his suicide).