Player info
Your Name: The Sheep
Your E-Mail/AIM/Whatever: rschwarz@gm.slc.edu
Livejournal:
bad_vegan Your age: 22
Character info
Series/Fandom: Loveless
Character's Name: Agatsuma Soubi
Character's Sex: Male
Character's Age: 21
Canon point: After the incident at the Seven Voices, during the chapter in which an omelet is made for him and the Zero boys return.
Abilities: The world of Loveless is partially populated by magic-wielding people called “Fighters” and “Sacrifices”. In their obscure underground community, Fighters can attack others using the imagery and beautiful poetry of “wordspells”. Every Fighter is paired by destiny with a Sacrifice, a person who cannot usually cast wordspells of his own but who is able to command a Fighter’s attacks while in battle, as well as take the damage from the opposing Fighter’s attacks. Fighters and Sacrifices are born with an English word branded on their skin. A Fighter and Sacrifice know they are paired if they have the same word on parallel parts of their bodies. This word is called a Fighter/Sacrifice pair’s “true name”.
Soubi, as you might have guessed, is a Fighter. Specifically, he known as the strongest Fighter in the world at current time. He is known for the incredible speed and power of his attacks, and he is skilled at doing damage to an opponent’s mind as well as body. However, Soubi is also what people in the Fighter/Sacrifice world call a “Blank”, a Fighter who is not paired by destiny with a Sacrifice. Instead, he can be claimed by any one Sacrifice who wants to command him. The Sacrifice can brand, carve or tattoo his true name on Soubi’s skin, and Soubi will be his Fighter forevermore, even when the Sacrifice’s destined Fighter appears as well.
Background: Soubi’s mother was, like him, a Fighter. Though it is not said explicitly, it is commonly thought that she ran away from her Sacrifice, Ritsu Minami, because he was being cruel to her. She lived away from the Fighter/Sacrifice world and gave birth to Soubi. However, when Soubi was six years old, both she and her husband died, leaving Soubi with no family to care for him. Soubi was taken in by Ritsu, who had been in love with his Fighter. When Soubi fell into his care, he decided to exact revenge for his Fighter’s rejection by making Soubi into everything his mother was not.
From that point Soubi’s life became a long succession of brutal training sessions. Ritsu kept him at the Fighter School he ran and forced him into complete submission, hammering into his head that all he is good for is fighting, beating him brutally for pain tolerance and obedience, and eventually raping him to show that Soubi did not control even his own body and mind. This went on until Soubi was seventeen. By this point his idea of his own identity had been entirely stripped from him.
At that point Seimei Aoyagi, a fourteen-year-old Sacrifice, arrived at the school to claim Soubi as his own. Soubi had by now been convinced that Ritsu would claim him as his own, and he would fight for Ritsu forever. He was not told that Ritsu would be giving him up until minutes before he met Seimei. This came as a huge shock - Ritsu had abandoned him despite how much Soubi had tried to please him. He was utterly heartbroken when he left the school with Seimei. However, Seimei promised him that as soon as he claimed him as his own, he would never be abandoned again. In his words, “love and hate change minute by minute, but control - that is forever.” Seimei then used a knife to carve his true name, Beloved, into Soubi’s neck, along with a barbed-wire design. He now covers up the scars with bandages.
Soubi, convinced that Seimei wanted and needed him, threw his heart and soul into doing whatever Seimei wished. Seimei, however, was an obsessive-compulsive germophobe, constantly concerned for his own purity. He would not let Soubi near him, as he felt Soubi was dirty. He trained them until they were an unbeatable Fighting pair, and there is a strong implication that he let Soubi take damage in battle for him, while he stood by to direct Soubi’s actions, and forced Soubi to kill opponents. He often injured Soubi himself to show that he was in control, and Soubi reveled in it.
But the legendary Beloved pair was short-lived. Seimei was a part of the highest authority in the Fighter/Sacrifice world that we know of, the Seven Moons (of which many teachers at the school, including Ritsu, were also a part). However, at some point he committed an unknown offense against the other Seven Moons. Within a short time, Seimei was (apparently) killed; he was found burned to death. Soubi was more broken than he had ever been in his life; he stopped functioning as a person and became, as a friend puts it in the manga, “a zombie”. However, he was unable to kill himself because before his death Seimei had willed him to his brother Ritsuka, whose true name was Loveless. Seimei told Soubi to protect Ritsuka at all costs and to obey him as a new master, but never to tell him anything about what Seimei did with him.
When, after some time, Ritsuka had never come to find him, Soubi came to Ritsuka’s new school to find him. The twelve-year-old had never heard of the Fighter/Sacrifice world before, and had therefore never heard of him. During their first meeting Soubi told Ritsuka that they needed to create a bond and become connected, so that he would be able to protect him as well as possible. Only minutes later they were attacked by another Fighter/Sacrifice pair. The pair was out to bring Ritsuka to the Seven Voices school, the same Fighter school that Soubi attended, by force. Soubi easily fought them off, but after that incident it was clear that he would have to fight off multiple attacks from the school.
Afraid that Ritsuka was not ready to fight, Soubi started taking on those who challenged them by himself. The effect of this was reducing his power to a quarter of its potential, as well as forcing him to take all damage inflicted. When Ritsuka started seeing that Soubi was injured, he ordered him not to fight alone ever again. Soubi still had to follow the orders of Seimei to keep Ritsuka safe, however, so he disobeyed Ritsuka’s orders. This has caused Soubi and Ritsuka’s relationship to become a rather strained one: as close as Soubi wishes to get to Ritsuka, Ritsuka pushes him away in an effort not to be betrayed again.
Just before the point I hope to take Soubi from should I get into this RP, Ritsuka followed the trail of those who he thought had murdered Seimei to the Seven Voices school. Much as Soubi was loathe to bring Ritsuka to the place, Ritsuka ordered him to drive him to the school. Not long after their arrival, the school was broken into by none other than a very-much-living Seimei. Seimei was accompanied by his true Fighter, Nisei. Soubi had met Nisei once before, and was utterly heartbroken to realize that Seimei had abandoned him for Nisei. (As a note, it is unclear whether Soubi knew that Seimei was alive the whole time, or if he only found out during his first meeting with Nisei.) When Nisei and Soubi met again here, they engaged in a spell-battle. Soubi’s utter hatred of Nisei helped him to knock Nisei unconscious and take him prisoner. Meanwhile, however, Seimei had been trapped in the building. When Seimei met up with Soubi and Ritsuka, he reminded Soubi that even though he had been given to Ritsuka, he was still Seimei’s Fighter. Soubi had not wanted to help Seimei because Seimei had been threatening Ritsuka, but when Seimei ordered him to help him break out of the school, he was compelled to follow orders. After branding him a traitor, Seimei left.
After returning home, Soubi fell into another deep depression, hating himself for being a traitor as Seimei called him. He saw himself as a traitor to both Seimei and Ritsuka; he believed he was a failure in all aspects. Luckily, before he was able to become completely dysfunctional, Ritsuka arrived to make him some food and promise that they will bring Seimei to justice. Deeply touched by this gesture, Soubi began to feel better. Which was helpful, because his one-time wards, the team of boys called Zero, decided to come back and make their home in Soubi’s apartment. It is from this point that I hope to take Soubi to star_Kingdom.
Appearance: Soubi is a pretty stereotypical bishounen. He’s thin and extremely tall, with pale skin, blond hair that grows down past his shoulder blades and blue eyes, over which he wears round glasses. He is usually seen wearing the admittedly effeminate clothing characteristic of the series: tight and stylish shirts and pants with long, furred or feathery coats. However, he is almost never shown wearing anything that shows off much skin because of the myriad scars that cover him. Around his neck he always wears white bandages, which hide his most distinctive feature: over his throat, the word English word ‘Beloved’ has been carved into his skin. A pattern that looks like a thorny vine is carved around his neck. The Beloved marking is a scar, but it is prone to bleeding whenever he performs magic that is not in the name of his former master, Seimei. Other known scars are some gouges across his chest seen in some unofficially-released art and a large quantity of lash marks across his back. In my own head-canon, I believe that Soubi has many more scars than these.
Personality: Soubi is one messed up guy. When he speaks about himself in canon, one statement tends to contradict others: he says that he hates pain, but he says he seeks it. He says that he will obey his master Ritsuka at all times, but in fact goes directly against orders often. This is partially because his life is ruled by two opposing forces and he must obey them both.
When Soubi is around most people, he behaves like a robot. He is completely unemotional and apathetic, even when doing something he enjoys. He goes about whatever business he has without talking to anyone, much preferring to be alone. When someone approaches him and tries to be friendly, however, he actively pushes them away by being brusque and abrasive. Most people at the college he attends have given up trying to speak with him, saying that when bothered he looks “scary”.
When Soubi is around his Sacrifice Ritsuka, however, he is completely different. For most of his life he has been treated like an animal, broken in and forced to surrender his will to another person. He now thinks of himself as sub-human. In his mind, his brain, body, and will are not his own; they are his Sacrifice’s. His consciousness serves only as a tool to carry out his master’s will. It is a general rule that Fighters’ magic is directed by the Sacrifice during battle, but Soubi has been trained to take obedience to an entirely new level. He often referred to his former Sacrifice, Seimei, as his “master” or his “god”. He was deeply in love with Seimei and is by this point in canon even more in love with Ritsuka. He says in canon that Seimei’s word is his law, and now Ritsuka’s is too; he physically cannot disobey anymore. This also makes him a huge perfectionist, obsessed with satisfying his Sacrifice. He cannot stand doing things incorrectly, incompletely, or imperfectly.
Specifically when around those he feels comfortable with, Soubi has a “goofy” side. He normally falls into this state when he has something to hide or is covertly trying to illicit a certain reaction out of those around him. Though Soubi is in actuality a very intelligent person, at these times he plays dumb, taking statements literally or acting as if he doesn’t understand important comments. He also tends to use sexual innuendoes to shock people.
Though Soubi has been labeled a masochist even by himself, it is not pain that he wants. It important to remember here that in his heart of hearts, all Soubi wants is to be wanted. In fact, he does not look for pain from anyone but his master, and this is because it is not the pain he is looking for. Soubi assumes that pain given to him by his master means that his behavior is being controlled. In being controlled, he is made fully aware of what his master wants from him and can act accordingly. This is the only way, he believes, that his master will want him. He can only gain love from perfect service to his Sacrifice.
It should also be noted that Soubi tends to deal with people in a very sexual manner. He sexually objectifies himself when talking to others, and he is shown within the series to be rather promiscuous. In his youth his teacher used sex as a lesson in submission, another way to be controlled. Soubi, starved for the constant control of a Sacrifice who is not always around, uses sex as a substitute for the leash of his master.
Samples
Action/Journal Sample: [The camera flicks on to show a disgruntled Soubi. He speaks in a low voice with no hint of hesitation or embarrassment.] If anyone in this place has spare cigarettes, please contact me. I’m willing to barter the use of my body or skills for a time to get them.
[With that, the feed turns off. Then, moments later, it switches on again.]
[Locked to Ritsuka.]
[Now he’s wearing a completely different expression: he’s grinning casually and leaning into the camera instead of standing straight. He waves a hand covered in flour.]
Ritsuka, can you come down to the kitchen? I’m in the middle of making brownies and I need a taste-tester for the chocolate. I’m not sure it’s sweet enough!
RP Sample: Soubi was not usually a jumpy person. Crashes of thunder sounding so close to his ears that they would be left ringing for days, the roaring of long coils of fire as they shot explosively from nowhere and headed directly for his chest, the musical searing sound of shards of glass long and sharp as swords flying at him - none of it even caused him to blink anymore. Nothing scared him, except for the magnified crackling of static coming from the building in front of him at this moment.
He could still remember the thrills of terror this same sound had shot through his spine, once, twice, ten times a day, not so long ago. That single clipped stutter of noise - a beat of silence - then there was the crackling that sounded like sonic booms to his ears as the microphone turned on. His heart would leap into his throat as that deep, dreaded voice would sound over the intercom.
Sometimes it would say, “if Nagisa-sensei is in the building, please report to the office”, or, “Kurotani-san, you are needed in the laboratory by three”, and then shut off with a short click, harmless. Sometimes days or weeks would go by when the intercom gave only ordinary, passing announcements and then shut off without another sound. And then Soubi would be left in the calm background noise of the room to catch his breath and stop the world from spinning wildly around him, let the cold sweat dry on his skin, calm the desperate fluttering of his heart by slumping down onto the cool desk. Or sometimes he would need to excuse himself from class and sprint off to the bathroom to be sick. But that would be it. Then it would be over, and he would be able to come back to class as any other student.
But sometimes, once a day or twice a day or every other day or week, the deep voice would say something different. He could still hear the words, pauses, inflections in his head: “Agatsuma-san, please report to the Headmaster’s office immediately.” He could not remember the click of the intercom, not really; clearer in his mind was the ringing silence in the room as all of the other students stopped talking or working and turned to look angrily at him, as if they envied him the privilege of being teacher’s pet. And he could remember the feeling of standing up in the midst of all those angry eyes, taking breaths from deep under his ribs and keeping hold of the chair back in case his shaking legs gave way under him, steadying himself, and making his way, step by quavering step, from the room. He could remember his brain switching itself into a rushing state of emergency, thinking of nothing but pacifying his rebelling body. Calm down, please calm down, calm down, please… oh God, please… The effort of opening the door and entering that dim office and striding over to his teacher and seeing the rope whip curled in his hands took courage that he barely believed he had.
“Take off your shirt, Soubi-kun. Turn your back to me. Brace your hands against the wall.”
“Yes, Sensei.”
Crack.
It would all change when the lesson started. All of it. His reeling mind would go blank as paper, his tense body would loosen and become mobile once again. His heart would slow to a calm, thumping rhythm, like that of an athlete preparing for a game he knows he cannot loose. He would fix his eyes on the wall, on the rows of glass frames under which lay spread the hundreds of beautiful, dead butterflies his teacher would collect and pin to thick canvas. He would no longer be frightened, no longer upset at the prying eyes of the students who wanted to be in his place, no longer even angry at his teacher. His mind was completely numb, clear of feelings, a blank slate to be marked up the way his teacher saw fit. It was release to give up being scared or trying to be calm. Because now the lesson had started and would go the way it always did. He knew what was coming and he could not fight it. It was a relief to give in.
The sound of crackling was coming from the loudspeaker outside the public school in front of him. Once, not so long ago, he would have been waiting to hear the low voice of his teacher telling him to come to his office. Not now, though. Now that terror in the pit of his stomach was quickly turned into fluttering anticipation. The end-of-day announcements at Ritsuka’s school had started. In two minutes and forty seconds, the bell would ring and the dark-haired child would step out of the school and into the sun to meet him. Ritsuka would finally be by his side again.
His master would be coming. What a relief to give in and obey.
Notes: None!