application for ryslig

[officing]

OOC INFORMATION
Name: Astrid
Contact: 1898 / advances
Other Characters: Illumi Zoldyck (steered)

CHARACTER INFORMATION
Character Name: Abe no Sousei
Age: 24
Canon: Donten ni Warau
Canon Point: Chapter 17, Volume 4
Character Information: character page / story summary / orochi page

Personality:

***HEAVY SPOILERS FOR DONTEN NI WARAU. SLIGHT SPOILERS FOR DONTEN NI WARAU GAIDEN.

Abe no Sousei is a man born in the Meiji Era who is determined to complete his life goal as inherited by both blood and spirit. As a child, Sousei was selected to be a member of the Yamainu, a special military squad tasked with both the extermination and candidacy of the vessel of the Orochi– a giant, snake-like beast said to bring calamity to the world once every three hundred years. The role of the vessel is forced upon individuals of note-worthy bloodlines, and particularly ones with a history with the monster, to resurrect the once locked away devastator. The task, as a soldier and victim, is a heavy one, with an even heavier upbringing– Sousei was removed from his parents at birth, and raised alone once his fate was determined. As it was with the other candidates, he was recruited into the Yamainu and taught how to fight; from then on they would be in charge of dealing with any chaos concerning the monster, and when the time finally came, to cut down the vessel. This mission would remain, despite how each child grew closer and closer to one another in their continued service together.

And despite the ruthlessness of it, it’s the very same mission that Sousei engraved into his heart from the beginning.

It’s perhaps for this reason that Sousei comes off as a very serious individual, and one might know him to take this to an extreme– because in addition to his stoic, no-nonsense approach to things… he is really, really stubborn. He holds no value to things or people who are useless to him– an object or person without a purpose is simply annoying to him. When Soramaru, the struggling protagonist, approaches Sousei with a request to teach him swordsmanship, Sousei promptly and forcefully rejects him because he had nothing of considerable merit to offer in return. It isn’t until later, when Soramaru completes a dangerous mission in the country’s highest security prison, and returns with valuable information that Sousei decides to hear him out. From there, Sousei is no less rigid in the way he deals with the boy, despite being the little brother of his (ex-)best friend, because the boy still has trouble finding his worth– Sousei carries this philosophy with just about everyone he knows, comrades or not.

Being drafted into the Yamainu allowed their mission to very quickly became a personal lifegoal, and much more than just a curse of fate, to Sousei, and he wastes no time with things that don’t further it. Having grown up basically alone as a child, Sousei was susceptible to the few who showed him affection when he joined the Yamainu, and who, eventually, absolutely inspired him. The squad’s head, Kumou Taiko, was the one who first picked him up and recruited him, noting that he couldn’t leave Sousei where he was when he looked so lonely. The man treated each member as his own family, and Sousei developed feelings of great personal duty to both the Yamainu and him.

At the same time, he was inspired by Taiko’s son, and Sousei’s best friend-to-be, Kumou Tenka. Before meeting the rest of the squad, Sousei was introduced to Tenka, and Sousei very quickly learns why Tenka is described as a bright, burning sun. Sousei’s disposition on the Yamainu before the Kumou’s was basically neutral– dark but accepting, and Tenka sought to change that.

“What nonsense are you spouting? We are merely pawns. No more than tools brought up to die in order to destroy the Orochi.”

“We can become heroes, Sousei! There are some things that only we can protect.”

It was through Tenka that Sousei grew a swelling sense of pride of being a part of the Yamainu. He quickly inherited the idea that, despite the cruel end one of them is eventually going to meet, they held and served a role no one else could. Sousei’s life was brightened by this honor, and was almost enthralled with the idea of carrying out the task. For everyone– the country, Tenka, the Yamainu, Taiko. It perhaps grew to mean more to him than he knew what to deal with. Taiko had a dream of finally being able to free the country from the curse of the Orochi, but Sousei felt this happiness shaken when Taiko passed away before he could see it realized.

Despite the hard loss of his mentor, Sousei was prepared to take on the duties of the Yamainu as a leading member, despite still being a child, feeling as though it was his responsibility as a member of the squad to carry out Taiko’s will. Sousei also felt it was the duty of everyone there– as they have all dedicated their lives to the Yamainu and their task, Sousei would find it unthinkable that anyone would waver just because they lost their leader. Kumou Tenka, however, lost his father and mother in the incident, and declared his resignation shortly afterward. This turn of events would hit Sousei harder than perhaps even the first.

With the combined impact of both losing his master and seeing his best friend falter and fail, Sousei blamed Tenka for his weakness, and saw his resignation as the ultimate form of betrayal. To Sousei, it was a betrayal of not only his father and the Yamainu, but of him, and their camaraderie. He recalls when Tenka declared that the two would become heroes together, and it was like a knife driven straight through Sousei’s back that Tenka would abandon all of that. Sousei felt hurt and very suddenly left alone, and while he allowed Tenka to leave– he would never want to see him again. This stubborn, burning grudge would carry on for years, until the both of them were both fully into their adulthood, with their own lives and their own missions.

He would continue to blame Tenka even as his former best friend would be sentenced to death for being the vessel of the Orochi. He would, but not before attempting to remedy the rift between them. Sousei was sure to visit the site where Tenka was to be publicly executed– he had been the first one there, because his stubborn grudge had to falter somewhere. After all, he can't entirely forget about what Tenka meant to him. Ultimately, however, they disagreed until the end, and Sousei was left feeling as frustrated with Tenka as he had been all the years before.

Sousei would be haunted by the stunning Tenka he remembered even after he was gone, through Soramaru (Tenka's brother) whom Sousei takes on as an apprentice. The other members of the Yamainu comment on how unfair it is for Sousei to compare the two. It isn’t until later, over the time Sousei has to reflect on Tenka’s character through Soramaru that he starts to see Tenka’s side of things. And finally, when he meets Tenka, from being locked up instead of executed, they sort their differences out. After seeing what lengths Tenka would go through for his little brothers, and fully coming to understand the impact the incident with the Kumou family left on him, Sousei accepts Tenka’s apology.

At some point before Sousei sees Tenka again, Sousei is also left to deal with Soramaru, who grieves over his brother’s (alleged) death, and Sousei proves that despite his ruthless standards and icy stubbornness, that the ones who are and who grow to be close to him gain an important and invaluable friend. When Soramaru finds out that he himself is the true vessel of the Orochi, he immediately finds Sousei, and asks to be killed. Sousei, offended by Soramaru’s disregard for his own life, lectures him, calms him down, and gives him a safe place to let out all of the pent up emotions he’d been plagued with until then. From there, Sousei calmly tells Soramaru of a solution he knows of, and promises to protect him. This is the first time he compromises the Yamainu’s original mission, which is to destroy, not protect, and he does it because he really comes to care for the boy.

In the same breath Sousei proves how well he serves as a leader, how firmly and yet calmly he can execute actions based on his beliefs. He’s had his trauma and his troubles but Sousei has always been sound of body and sound of mind, an apt captain for the Yamainu, and there when he’s needed.

Don’t bow your head. Regardless of the circumstances, stand tall.
No matter what happens, one person must remain standing. That is how I have made it this far.

Though much of his inspiration came from the Kumous early in his life, Sousei’s desire to protect the people of his town and his country is strong. And although Sousei’s drive to carry out the Yamainu’s mission made up most of his identity and life, he was able to find another purpose for himself even after the Orochi was killed, and the group disbanded. The task of destroying the beast held considerable personal value to Sousei, but he gained an unshakable desire to protect and defend the people even further during his decade-long service. Sousei grew to love the country, to the point where it had been equating his desire to complete his mission, and eventually, the two became one and the same. Once the Orochi had been properly vanquished, Sousei, much like most of the Yamainu, enlisted in the military, and intends to keep in his service from there, doing what he thinks is best in such a rattling time.

The strength of his mind and soul is entirely refined, perhaps matured beyond his years, as he has been the same way since he was a child. Calmly moving toward his next goal while protecting the people around him is the state Sousei is perpetually in, and a state he would like to remain in.

5-10 Key Character Traits: SERIOUS, UNSHAKEABLE, EMPATHETIC, HARSH, RIGID, CALM, A GOOD LEADER, PHILANTHROPIC, QUICK, AMBITIOUS
Would you prefer a monster that FITS your character’s personality, CONFLICTS with it, or EITHER? FITS
Opt-Outs: Arachne, naga, kelpie, gargoyle, vampire
***Character already in game (Illumi) is a Demon!

Roleplay Sample: something for a bit of interaction

[ sousei has a headache, he thinks– but he simply can’t tell with the way he’s weighed down with soaked clothing and being talked to from all directions. he’s grounded enough that he at least thanks the townsfolk as they approach him with pamphlets. sousei isn’t a distrustful person, and civilians will always receive a certain amicable side of him, despite how far home he knows he is.

somewhere in his quick nod at another pamphlet, he wonders if perhaps he fell off a boat someplace in the middle of the ocean, and ended up washed on shore of some western town across the world. if he had, perhaps some of his officers would also be here. ] Excuse me. [ polite through his fatigue, he brings up his hat and finds his english better than he remembers it. ] Have you seen anyone pass through here with a uniform like mine? [ he asks this of the woman selling fruit by one of the busier streets, and gets a quiet shake of her head. ] I see. Thank you.

[ he’ll have to find the nearest authority figure, then, he decides, almost certain there must be a way back home from here. after all, he has a post he can’t just abandon.

in the meantime, he finally glances at one of the folded papers he has in his hand. ] "So You're Becoming a Fur Bearing Trout"...

[ … ] What nonsense is this? [ oh, they’re- all like this. …

suddenly, he feels his heart drop. could this place be plagued with things like the orochi too…? ]