OOC: Application
Modified: Ritsuka no longer has cat features
Removed: mun's gender and email
Room M35 - Patient #2
Name/Handle: MurasakiKaze or Kaze
Age: 22
Timezone: Pacific Standard Time
AIM/other messenger screenname: AIM - souzoupi
Personal LJ username: murasaki_kaze
Character you're applying for: Aoyagi Ritsuka
Series the character is from: Loveless (manga)
Character's age: 12
Character's gender: Male
Character's "Real Name": Jordan Becker
How long have you roleplayed your character, if at all?: I have never roleplayed Ritsuka before.
Where have you roleplayed in general and/or with this specific character?: The Silhouette Project (now defunct), Dead Inside (character driven tabletop RPG), text based AIM roleplays.
Have you played the game/watched the movie or anime/read the book or comic, etc. that your character hails from?: I have watched the anime series (downloaded and through YouTube when the downloads went down), and own all of the manga series that has been published so far in Japanese.
Please give us a detailed personal history of your character: Ritsuka was born in Japan, near Tokyo (or so I assume, given that the places they visit resemble the Tokyo area) and is currently a 6th grader attending a normal Japanese elementary school. However, his life is anything but normal. Two years prior, Ritsuka lost his memories and experienced a drastic personality shift. Once an outgoing boy who achieved average grades, he has since become a cynical and distant child who excels at school. He began going to a psychiatrist to uncover the cause of his amnesia, but so far nothing has resulted of this. In the meantime, he takes photos of everything and almost everyone he meets so he will not forget them or be forgotten when his old personality reasserts dominance.
Ritsuka does not know why he lost his memory and changed personalities, but when this happened, his mother turned abusive. However, Ritsuka's innocence and unconditional love for his mother caused him to remain silent and take the punishment as it came. He felt guilty that he couldn't bring the old Ritsuka back for her, despite her constant requests to do so.
Since Ritsuka's father was always absent, his older brother Aoyagi Seimei stepped in to save him. Ritsuka looked up to Seimei as his father figure and as the only one who would save him. Then one year later, Seimei was brutally and mysteriously murdered, presumedly burned to death. Seimei's burnt corpse was found in Ritsuka's old elementary school, sitting in his little brother's seat. Without Seimei, no one is there to protect Ritsuka as his mother's violence escalates.
Enter Agatsuma Soubi, who meets Ritsuka one day after school claiming to be Seimei's friend and fighter. Soubi reveals to Ritsuka that his brother's real name was Beloved, and Beloved was part of a strange world that hides beneath the surface of the real world, a world of fighters, sacrifices and spell battles. A Fighter is a person who uses the Sacrifice's power to conduct spell battles with words, and Seimei and Soubi were an unstoppable duo until Seimei's sudden death. Soubi tells him that when Seimei died, he bequeathed Soubi to Ritsuka, and reveals that Ritsuka's real name is Loveless, one without love.
Although Ritsuka is slow to believe Soubi, it doesn't stop the older man from following Ritsuka around, trying to get the boy to act as his master. Ritsuka hates giving orders or controlling other people, so he refuses, but slowly begins to give in as he realizes Soubi cannot act without orders. As the pair battle with other Fighter and Sacrifice pairs, Ritsuka begins to uncover the truth about Seimei's double life as Beloved and is given clues regarding his murderers, the Seven Moons. Thus, as untrained and ignorant as Ritsuka is regarding the world of the spell battles, he accepts his role as Soubi's Sacrifice so he may uncover the truth about his brother and his lost memories.
Please give us a detailed description of your character's personality: More than anything, Ritsuka is motivated by his desire to uncover the truth about his brother's murder and his memory loss. He lives with the fear that, inevitably, his old self will return and erase the person he is now, taking away the memories he has built up since the incident, but he also wants to return to that personality to make others happy.
Ritsuka is very innocent and naive in some respects, but he is also very mature in others. He doesn't know much about sexual love or relationships, but he endures his mother's beatings because he loves her and knows if he leaves her, she'll have no one. He is also a pacifist, possibly stemming from the brutality of his brother's murder. Yet, despite what others say, he believes that Seimei was a kind and loving person and refuses to believe otherwise. Although doubt is beginning to creep into his mind, Ritsuka only saw the kind side of Seimei and wants to believe that everyone else is lying. For that reason, he is quick to defend him, or even his mother, if people bad-mouth them.
Although Ritsuka acts distant, it is really because he is afraid if he gets too attached to people, he'll only get hurt when his other personality comes back. Still, he can't help himself and becomes friends with people like Yuiko, Yayoi and, of course, Soubi.
Ritsuka's feelings toward Soubi are complex - on the one hand, it's good to have someone who will protect him, but on the other he's not sure if he can completely trust him. He desperately wants to trust Soubi, to believe in what the older man says, but past experiences have made him wary. Ritsuka is also confused regarding whether or not he returns Soubi's "feelings" or if those "feelings" are even real. While Soubi professes to "love" Ritsuka, it could all very well be nothing more than a command that Seimei left to him.
Please give us a detailed physical description of your character: Ritsuka is of average height, slim with unusual violet eyes and dark, almost black hair. When living with his mother, Ritsuka usually has a smattering of bandaids and other bandages scattered about his body as testament to his mother's treatment. He shares many physical features with his brother.
What point in time are you taking your character from when he/she appears at Landel's?: Volume 7 of the Japanese manga, page 35 - after Soubi has shown Ritsuka the scar Seimei gave him, but before they arrive at the Fighter School. Ritsuka has just found out from Kio that Seimei was very violent toward Soubi, although Soubi denies it. Ritsuka has remembered things about Seimei - his adversion to dirt, germs and handmade things and his obsession with Ritsuka - and despite it, still professes to love his brother rather than fear him.
What kinds of magical/special/crazy powers does your character have, if any?: None, other than his role as a Sacrifice. Sacrifices have their "real names" written on them somewhere, but Ritsuka does not know where his is.
If present, how do you plan to tweak those powers to make him/her appropriately hindered in the setting of Landel's?: Since Ritsuka has no powers of his own, he is essentially a normal person.
Does your character have any other non-magical skills or abilities that we should know about?: Ritsuka is very intelligent, excels in school, and is oddly enough very good at rock-paper-scissors.
How about improbable appendages?: Other than the cat ears and tail, nothing of note.
Please give us an idea of where you'd like to take your character within the scope of the Landel's Damned RP: Ritsuka will probably just try to get by, survive and make friends while he's there. He'll also try to discover why he is there, where Soubi is, and (eventually) why Seimei is still alive. Once he discovers these things and the horror of the Institute, he'll try to escape by any means possible and take Seimei with him.
What kind of psychological effect do you see Landel's Institute having on your character?: Ritsuka has had amnesia before, and undergoes psychiatric counseling already, so I see him almost accepting everything about being in the Institute, until they tell him that his world wasn't real. Ritsuka will be in denial and will probably cling to the memories he has, but begin to doubt their validity because of his past experience. Also, if he ever meets Seimei, I forsee a lot of trauma since he believed for so long that his brother was dead.
Given that this RP takes place in an unsettling and outright horrific environment, how do you justify your character as being appropriate in both body and mind for this kind of setting?: Ritsuka has seen battles before - even if they are only spell battles. Since he has undergone psychiatric evaluation before, he would find it natural (during the day) that he is in another one of these places. His mind would probably rationalize it out, thinking that he'd had another bout of amnesia. Ritsuka may be a 12 years old, but he's already experienced the trauma of finding his brother's corpse, being beaten on a regular basis and finally being thrust into the violence of the Fighter-Sacrifice battles. Ritsuka handles most situations surprisingly well, and knows how to endure a great deal of mental and physical pain. Although young, he has matured beyond his years to deal with the events in his life and, despite the horror of Landels, I believe he will be able to push past it even if he has nightmares about it.
Removed: mun's gender and email
Room M35 - Patient #2
Name/Handle: MurasakiKaze or Kaze
Age: 22
Timezone: Pacific Standard Time
AIM/other messenger screenname: AIM - souzoupi
Personal LJ username: murasaki_kaze
Character you're applying for: Aoyagi Ritsuka
Series the character is from: Loveless (manga)
Character's age: 12
Character's gender: Male
Character's "Real Name": Jordan Becker
How long have you roleplayed your character, if at all?: I have never roleplayed Ritsuka before.
Where have you roleplayed in general and/or with this specific character?: The Silhouette Project (now defunct), Dead Inside (character driven tabletop RPG), text based AIM roleplays.
Have you played the game/watched the movie or anime/read the book or comic, etc. that your character hails from?: I have watched the anime series (downloaded and through YouTube when the downloads went down), and own all of the manga series that has been published so far in Japanese.
Please give us a detailed personal history of your character: Ritsuka was born in Japan, near Tokyo (or so I assume, given that the places they visit resemble the Tokyo area) and is currently a 6th grader attending a normal Japanese elementary school. However, his life is anything but normal. Two years prior, Ritsuka lost his memories and experienced a drastic personality shift. Once an outgoing boy who achieved average grades, he has since become a cynical and distant child who excels at school. He began going to a psychiatrist to uncover the cause of his amnesia, but so far nothing has resulted of this. In the meantime, he takes photos of everything and almost everyone he meets so he will not forget them or be forgotten when his old personality reasserts dominance.
Ritsuka does not know why he lost his memory and changed personalities, but when this happened, his mother turned abusive. However, Ritsuka's innocence and unconditional love for his mother caused him to remain silent and take the punishment as it came. He felt guilty that he couldn't bring the old Ritsuka back for her, despite her constant requests to do so.
Since Ritsuka's father was always absent, his older brother Aoyagi Seimei stepped in to save him. Ritsuka looked up to Seimei as his father figure and as the only one who would save him. Then one year later, Seimei was brutally and mysteriously murdered, presumedly burned to death. Seimei's burnt corpse was found in Ritsuka's old elementary school, sitting in his little brother's seat. Without Seimei, no one is there to protect Ritsuka as his mother's violence escalates.
Enter Agatsuma Soubi, who meets Ritsuka one day after school claiming to be Seimei's friend and fighter. Soubi reveals to Ritsuka that his brother's real name was Beloved, and Beloved was part of a strange world that hides beneath the surface of the real world, a world of fighters, sacrifices and spell battles. A Fighter is a person who uses the Sacrifice's power to conduct spell battles with words, and Seimei and Soubi were an unstoppable duo until Seimei's sudden death. Soubi tells him that when Seimei died, he bequeathed Soubi to Ritsuka, and reveals that Ritsuka's real name is Loveless, one without love.
Although Ritsuka is slow to believe Soubi, it doesn't stop the older man from following Ritsuka around, trying to get the boy to act as his master. Ritsuka hates giving orders or controlling other people, so he refuses, but slowly begins to give in as he realizes Soubi cannot act without orders. As the pair battle with other Fighter and Sacrifice pairs, Ritsuka begins to uncover the truth about Seimei's double life as Beloved and is given clues regarding his murderers, the Seven Moons. Thus, as untrained and ignorant as Ritsuka is regarding the world of the spell battles, he accepts his role as Soubi's Sacrifice so he may uncover the truth about his brother and his lost memories.
Please give us a detailed description of your character's personality: More than anything, Ritsuka is motivated by his desire to uncover the truth about his brother's murder and his memory loss. He lives with the fear that, inevitably, his old self will return and erase the person he is now, taking away the memories he has built up since the incident, but he also wants to return to that personality to make others happy.
Ritsuka is very innocent and naive in some respects, but he is also very mature in others. He doesn't know much about sexual love or relationships, but he endures his mother's beatings because he loves her and knows if he leaves her, she'll have no one. He is also a pacifist, possibly stemming from the brutality of his brother's murder. Yet, despite what others say, he believes that Seimei was a kind and loving person and refuses to believe otherwise. Although doubt is beginning to creep into his mind, Ritsuka only saw the kind side of Seimei and wants to believe that everyone else is lying. For that reason, he is quick to defend him, or even his mother, if people bad-mouth them.
Although Ritsuka acts distant, it is really because he is afraid if he gets too attached to people, he'll only get hurt when his other personality comes back. Still, he can't help himself and becomes friends with people like Yuiko, Yayoi and, of course, Soubi.
Ritsuka's feelings toward Soubi are complex - on the one hand, it's good to have someone who will protect him, but on the other he's not sure if he can completely trust him. He desperately wants to trust Soubi, to believe in what the older man says, but past experiences have made him wary. Ritsuka is also confused regarding whether or not he returns Soubi's "feelings" or if those "feelings" are even real. While Soubi professes to "love" Ritsuka, it could all very well be nothing more than a command that Seimei left to him.
Please give us a detailed physical description of your character: Ritsuka is of average height, slim with unusual violet eyes and dark, almost black hair. When living with his mother, Ritsuka usually has a smattering of bandaids and other bandages scattered about his body as testament to his mother's treatment. He shares many physical features with his brother.
What point in time are you taking your character from when he/she appears at Landel's?: Volume 7 of the Japanese manga, page 35 - after Soubi has shown Ritsuka the scar Seimei gave him, but before they arrive at the Fighter School. Ritsuka has just found out from Kio that Seimei was very violent toward Soubi, although Soubi denies it. Ritsuka has remembered things about Seimei - his adversion to dirt, germs and handmade things and his obsession with Ritsuka - and despite it, still professes to love his brother rather than fear him.
What kinds of magical/special/crazy powers does your character have, if any?: None, other than his role as a Sacrifice. Sacrifices have their "real names" written on them somewhere, but Ritsuka does not know where his is.
If present, how do you plan to tweak those powers to make him/her appropriately hindered in the setting of Landel's?: Since Ritsuka has no powers of his own, he is essentially a normal person.
Does your character have any other non-magical skills or abilities that we should know about?: Ritsuka is very intelligent, excels in school, and is oddly enough very good at rock-paper-scissors.
How about improbable appendages?: Other than the cat ears and tail, nothing of note.
Please give us an idea of where you'd like to take your character within the scope of the Landel's Damned RP: Ritsuka will probably just try to get by, survive and make friends while he's there. He'll also try to discover why he is there, where Soubi is, and (eventually) why Seimei is still alive. Once he discovers these things and the horror of the Institute, he'll try to escape by any means possible and take Seimei with him.
What kind of psychological effect do you see Landel's Institute having on your character?: Ritsuka has had amnesia before, and undergoes psychiatric counseling already, so I see him almost accepting everything about being in the Institute, until they tell him that his world wasn't real. Ritsuka will be in denial and will probably cling to the memories he has, but begin to doubt their validity because of his past experience. Also, if he ever meets Seimei, I forsee a lot of trauma since he believed for so long that his brother was dead.
Given that this RP takes place in an unsettling and outright horrific environment, how do you justify your character as being appropriate in both body and mind for this kind of setting?: Ritsuka has seen battles before - even if they are only spell battles. Since he has undergone psychiatric evaluation before, he would find it natural (during the day) that he is in another one of these places. His mind would probably rationalize it out, thinking that he'd had another bout of amnesia. Ritsuka may be a 12 years old, but he's already experienced the trauma of finding his brother's corpse, being beaten on a regular basis and finally being thrust into the violence of the Fighter-Sacrifice battles. Ritsuka handles most situations surprisingly well, and knows how to endure a great deal of mental and physical pain. Although young, he has matured beyond his years to deal with the events in his life and, despite the horror of Landels, I believe he will be able to push past it even if he has nightmares about it.