Application

[godeatsgod]

Name: Mark
Plurk/DW/ect: nonfiltered @ plurk, onefivenine @ dreamwidth
Timezone: US/Central
Team preference: None!



Character: Yasuhiro Itto
Canon: Original
Version: N/A
Reference link: N/A. I can write a setting document if need be.
Reference picture: N/A.

World Addition: A small alcove outside of the bathhouse, with a set of fifty coin lockers inside. The majority are only large enough to hold an item about the size of a large purse, a stack of books, or a decapitated head, but the bottom ten are big enough for a traveling backpack, decent sized suitcase, or small child.

Why is your character here: Yasuhiro is here because of a desire to escape his inhuman condition, and the self-destructive lifestyle that had spawned from it. While he was rather adept at the shows of violence required to keep a group of monstrous thugs and delinquents in line, and even had grown rather jaded to the murder that necessitated his own existence, part of him wanted some means of returning to normal. His deteriorating mental state and the slow but steady loss of control frightened him to his core. The need to escape that slow spiral downward, even if it was only to buy time while he tried to find a more permanent solution, brought him here.

Character history: Yasuhiro was born to a Japanese university professor and a Russian expatriate author, in Naha, Okinawa. He is the "older" of a pair of twins. Yasuhiro was a natural overachiever: he maintained incredibly high grades throughout his schooling, and developed an interest in martial arts, eventually obtaining first Dan in Shotokan. This intensity, combined with his somewhat foreign looks, and moody nature, left him with few friends. Thus, when his parents suggested college in another city, he jumped at the chance. His good grades and family background managed to net him a spot at the University of Tokyo, and even a paid internship at a local pharmacological lab.

The internship turned out to be his undoing. While the job was primarily fetching coffee and proofing reports for the corporate overhead, he was occasionally asked to participate in trials, when they were short on test subjects. Far from ethical, but a job is a job. It was one of these that led to Yasuhiro being black-bagged and injected with something. The next few days were a blur, when he found himself awake in an abandoned subway terminal, surrounded by a few others subjects.

There'd been a fire at his job, and he was missing, presumed dead. Furthermore, whatever he had been injected with had altered his physiology. He was capable, with concentration, of assuming a bestial, almost demonic form. While he could control this, he also found he only gained sustenance from living beings, animal and human alike. His old life had been ruined, and he was left with the other testees - largely hapless twenty-somethings and teenagers. Their agreement to stay together eventually turned into something like a gang, or a tribe hiding in the worst parts of Tokyo. This has been his life for the last eight months.

Character personality: Yasuhiro is a man running out of time, and in a situation that would break better men. He keeps everyone at arm's length with a combination of sarcasm and outright cruelty, when the hint is not got. Given the rather extraordinary circumstances of his life, he does not act like a normal person, instead doing his best impression of a brooding film antagonist, like some horror movie's villainous mastermind. To his credit, for someone who spent a majority of their life awkward, he pulls it off rather convincingly. The arrogance comes naturally when you've already felt apart from (and in some ways, superior to) most the people you meet, and when he's not stumbling over himself, he is naturally rather personable.

Of course, when he feels that he can let that act slip, it all comes crashing down rather spectacularly. The exposed result is that Yasuhiro has become a neurotic wreck of a mostly-human being. He second guesses himself constantly, and he doesn't trust anyone enough to actually admit his problems to them. Even among his own, he feels alone, and everyone else he's terrified of getting close to because he or one of the others might decide to make them a meal. The only bits of calm he can steal are when he finds the rare time to read, which allows him to disassociate the problems some. Even in the face of a world-changing horror, his curiosity about the world around him and the people in it hasn't left him. If there's some way of getting through to him, beyond the propped up attitude and the complete dread he feels about his future, it's through appealing to his intellect.

Skill loss or memory loss? Memory loss

Amnesiac Personality: Without knowledge of what happened to him, and how he has acted in response to it, Yasuhiro is actually a great deal more functional, even if it comes at a cost of being charismatic.

Without the massive trauma, his more honest personality resurfaces. This leaves him quiet, and somewhat given to moody introspection. While he retains the tendency to use dramatic turns of phrase, it's more because of a fanciful vocabulary and a desire to show off how smart he is, rather than some grandiose act of inhumanity. He doesn't really get people, due to a lack of experience, but is aware that he doesn't. This might make him seem a bit shy.

With less stress on him, Yasuhiro does not feel the need to constantly try to lead, and is much more willing to work in groups as a subordinate. He will offer his opinion and knowledge, but does not consider them necessary to force on others as if holy writ. He still functions best in situations with responsibility, however. Even without his memories of being the older sibling or leader of a pack of cannibals, he is naturally the sort that prefers to shoulder burdens rather than rely on others.

Likewise, his curiosity has not vanished in the slightest. If anything, a new world will spark it further, especially when he finds the abundant fantastic elements and that everyone else is from other realities. As before, this is the key to getting to know, and getting whatever you want out of Yasuhiro.

When he realizes that normal food does not provide his sustenance (and in fact he will invariably vomit it up, eventually), as well as what avenues of sating his hunger are available to him and how monstrous he can become, Yasuhiro will be shaken. He will respond with both anger and panic that he may be endangering the rest of his own team. Only when the idea that this might be curable has been brought up will he be able to return to working with others, and even then he'll have a new goal to obsess over. As his memories return from the transformation and afterwards, he'll likely grow more and more difficult to work with as he slides into the more dramatically villainous personality he developed to cope with the situation.

Voice Sample: Survey

1. Introduce yourself:
   My name is Yasuhiro Itto. I am the seventeenth son of the Itto household, of Naha, Okinawa, if you're the sort who cares about lineages. These days, I find more pressing matters to worry about, don't you?
   
   
2. Favorite color?
   My favorite color is bright, silvery white. A lot of my home city was done in blue and white, and the beaches outside of my family's summer house where pure white The color leaves me at ease.
   
   
3. What do you pride yourself on?
   I pride myself on the fact that I have always, for better or worse, maintained responsibility for my own actions. Even if they were not particularly ethical or even humane, I have consciously made my decisions and I abide by them, in a world where most men shy away from even the slightest of consequences.
   
   
4. What parts of yourself do you consider most essential?
   By far and away, the most essential part of myself is my own intellect. Physical might and the niceties are capable of smoothing the way, but without a sharp mind and keen reasoning, they are at best tools for others to turn to their means.
   
   
5. What parts of yourself would you get rid of if you could?
   Barring the obvious answer of my more monstrous half, I believe I would be happier if I could find it in me to stop doubting my actions. While a reexamination of one's convictions is healthy, perhaps even necessary from time to time, I believe I have lost quite a bit to second-guessing and hesitation.
   
   
6. What's most important to you in the world?
   The most important thing to me is by far and away knowledge. The world is fascinating, and if one truly wants to understand themselves, they must know about the society they live in and the world that houses it all. Without the proper knowledge, all endeavors are ultimately exercises in aimless frustration.
   
   
7. How far would you go to get what you want?
   I couldn't rightly say. By and large, things have come to me as I have wanted them. I have learned, however, that there's two things one needs to accomplish their tasks. The first is the willingness to persevere, even when the act seems not simply futile, but self-destructive. The second is the understanding that not everyone can achieve everything, and you must be willing to not only beat out the competition, but actively route and undermine them, without regrets. I suppose that answers the question?
   
   
8. Do you believe in survival of the fittest as applied in a social context?
   Yes, within reason. While survival of the fittest is certainly the law of nature, when dealing with other people, you have to realize that even those who contribute nothing, and are in fact a detriment to themselves and those who would associate with them for whatever reason, are often the ones most secure. To rephrase: yes, I believe in survival of the fittest as an ideal, the reality is far more complicated and less elegant, so to speak.
   
   
9. What role do you feel most comfortable fulfilling in a team situation?
   Aptitude tests would tell me I should feel most comfortable in a position of leadership. However, I find I have very little skill for leading as opposed to mitigating the damage that the more impulsive of us cause. I prefer at any length to advise, and if possible, act on my own for the betterment of any colleagues I may have within a group.
   
   
10. Do you believe you made good choices?
    After everything that has happened, I can most emphatically say that I am completely incapable of making anything approaching a good decision. I believe we can consider it a victory if, during the course of the day, I avoid complete ruination.