(no subject)

[tranquilities]

✖ PLAYER:
Name & DW Journal: Seiko/seiko
Birthdate & Age: February 15, 25
Characters played in Zodion:

Oz Vessalius {Pandora Hearts}
Akira {Togainu no Chi}
Shui {Lamento: Beyond the Void}

✖ CHARACTER:
Name: Youji Sakiyama
Canon: Sweet Pool
PB/Image: http://static.zerochan.net/Sweet.Pool.full.395475.jpg (right)
Info links:

1
2
3 (Japanese)

Canon Point: After talking with Kamiya, while visiting his sister and Makoto in the hospital.
Gender & Sex: Male/Male
Age: 17
Birthdate/Sign: {canon} June 27th (Cancer)
Tattoo: Cancer, rear of his left hip
Suitability:

Youji's most typical form of passing the suitability test would be his canon. The young man hails from a sex game by Nitro+Chiral as the protagonist, which means he ends up exposed to sexual situations in a heap-full.

But, beyond that, as far as Youji himself goes, he is more than suitable for a situation such as Zodion. Suffering from a lung illness (in addition to his special meat shit powers which could be considered an ailment itself with the way it drains him), Youji desperately seeks the ability to be independent both from his disease and the care of his sister and brother-in-law, often feeling like a burden to them. He already lives on his own and this desire to be independent helps suggest that if he were in Zodion he would have little trouble adjusting to being completely by himself (because the chances he'll ever get canonmates are most likely zero, sob) without a familiar face in the mix.

Also, from the canon point he's being taken from, having just found out from Kamiya all the wonderful things about the meat monsters, he's aware of his so-called destiny to produce a purebreed with an Osu (Youji is a Mesu, a carrier for female parasites, an Osu is a carrier of male parasites). This grim future (produce purebreed, die in the process) sets him up for a necessity to cope with things out of his control. Since Zodion is also out of his control, he'll be able to adjust easier (and in truth there is going to be some mega distraction for a bit concerning his predicament in Zodion. He'll still be in shock over the information of the meat monsters/parasites situation and what's really going on).

Being a Mesu also comes with some interesting quirks, particularly that of releasing ( ) to attract Osu for mating. For mesu, this brings out the more primal urges in those close to them. (Basically, he's gotten a taste of more aggressive behavior, both regular and sexual by the time in his canon to also be able to properly handle himself within Zodion.) Because Youji is a mesu that is currently ready to mate during his canon, he does suffer a lot of sexual urges, which makes him actually used to the repercussions of not worshipping in Zodion. That isn't to say he can withstand it or anything, but that he's experienced similar instincts prior to arriving there so it won't be anything "new" for him and his adjustment in Zodion will be that much easier.

Power: WATER | Summoning: Fish, crabs, lobsters and other small crustaceans. (In the future more grandiose animals will be able to be summoned.)
Personality: (300 word min - paragraph form!)

Distrusting eyes.

It's the first thing one would notice about Youji Sakiyama, if they were able to catch his gaze at all to begin with.

Quiet and shy, we first meet Youji as a sickly individual (he sports a lung sickness of some type) that lives on his own returning to school for the first time after being absent for several months. The missed time has caused him to be required to repeat a year. Not to mention, he's very self-conscious about the entire situation.

For one, Youji has a very strong sense of desire to be independent. Having lost his parents in an accident (that he himself was also involved in) at a young age, he was brought up by his older sister. Due to his condition, she was particularly nurturing and caring, but Youji often felt that she sacrificed so much for him to a point that he was a burden. Even after she marries and moves away, she still takes care of him from a distance via financial means (his schooling, his hospitalizations, etc.) and while he loves his sister very much, the feeling of being overly dependent wears on him often. Despite his disadvantages, Youji works very hard to do whatever he can in order to ease the burden on his sister and her husband. Even with his frailness, he works a part time job to try and help pay for living on his own, showing an eagerness to better himself and his situation even with odds against him. Many people in his position wouldn't have the ability or the will to do what he does, but Youji manages the best he can and never complains once about his situation. He's grateful for what he has, but doesn't lose sight of something he wants that's 'better' (in this case, real independence as to not be a bother to his older sister and 'get in the way of her happy marriage') and working his way to achieve such a thing. He also hopes to be able to attend college to make this dream of becoming independent more of a reality.

His absence from school for so long wears on this dream of being independent, however, and Youji does often find it haunting him (causing him uncertainty and uncomfortableness in certain situations). As a result, he's naturally self conscious and awkward, having no friends save one (a boy by the name of Makoto that he now is classmates with) and finding it difficult to reach out to others in his grade. He's their senior by age, and therefore he tells himself it's extra hard to relate to them with his already awkward and shy disposition. It doesn't help that having to stay back a grade weighs heavily on his mind, in general, and so he too in turn feels it must weigh something in other's views of him (basically, it's that typical feeling of being inadequate and that others see you the same way you see yourself, even when that's not the case).

As someone who could be considered almost socially awkward due to his situation (or rather, he is socially awkward, what am I saying), he's developed a very laid back personality, particularly with those he interacts with. For example, he hates confrontations and avoids them at all costs. Whether it be by taking home boxed lunches his boss insists on that he never eats or taking school papers to a student (Tetsuo) he doesn't want to see at the request of a teacher (because it's too much "trouble" to come up with an excuse to avoid doing the task), Youji puts a great deal of his choices into the "passive" tray of life rather than taking a more assertive approach. He finds it easier to live, less troubling, and certainly less for him to worry about when he has so many other things to concern himself with in his life.

Unfortunately, this way of approaching things in life doesn't really make his life any easier at all. At one point he attempts to make Zenya complacent by agreeing to follow him for a talk when confronted. Even though he doesn't want to, he can tell Zenya is impatient and doesn't want to cause a scene. (This, of course, ends—badly—with him getting the shit beaten out of him and kidnapped and tossed in a room with an unconscious Tetsuo. Funny how things like that work out...)

This laid back disposition tends to translate into a bit of a "whatever" attitude towards gossip and other such social things. He's not good at pretending to be interested in things he's not, in fact he's quite the opposite (for example, he responds very "dully" when Makoto, who happens to be very enthusiastic about his stories while eating his omega meat burgers, is gossiping about Zenya). The best that can be said here is that Youji is very grounded and practical, and his reactions reflect this with dealing with an opposite-personality like Makoto and his over-exuberant tendency for stories. He's not easily amused, although this seems to be more at Makoto's almost childish nature and exaggerations rather than the gossip itself, which we see him time and time against overhear and class and ultimately ignore (although, we do see later in the story that Youji really really hates gossip in general and, of course, doesn't have any idea what to do concerning it when it gets directed to and about him).

Regardless of his feelings (whether they are just towards Makoto personally or towards gossip in general), he is polite enough to listen and not ignore individuals when spoken to. In fact, it's pretty rare that he ignores anyone, again that passiveness coming into play. This politeness almost guarantees that even though he may be generally uninterested in the conversation topic being brought up to him, if someone is speaking to him he listens and even goes as far to indulge the other (even though he isn't really into Makoto's gossip, he does still ask questions here and there, spurring the other to continue).

Basically, Youji is also one to take everything he hears with a grain of salt rather than cease the opportunity of a blown-out-of-proportion story.

While mostly cool and collected to go along with his "laid back" attitude, Youji does harbor feelings of paranoia and hypersensitivity, particularly when he's alone. It mostly has to do with his parasite/meat monster infestation (at first he thinks he's crazy, but he really isn't -- well, I mean, he is, because it's Nitro+CHIRAL, but in general he's not hallucinating, just thinks he is).

The passivity of his is basically the cause behind everything that happens to him. As the protagonist, he holds ambitions but lacks the "drive" to be able to follow through with them. His desire to be independent is constantly interfered with. He isn't proactive because he almost never gets a chance to be. Things happen to him and he accepts them as they come rather than making things happen to him. He can't say no. He has no authority (and this is represented even by his "status" as a student being held back a year—a senior with no privileges, no respect). As a result, he spends a lot of the game listless, confused, disorientated, sick, and at the mercy of everyone around him.

With Makoto being his only friend and having very limited social interaction (school, work, his sister), it's no surprise that when two new individuals start to show up in his life (Tetsuo and Zenya), he becomes very wary of them. He doesn't trust easily and people who show interest in him are even more distrusted. It could be that Youji simply dislikes the attention, but it probably has to do more with his own sense of self-worth. He doesn't find himself very interesting, so he doesn't understand why others would bother with him.

His lack of social network, as well as his desire to be independent, cause Youji to have trouble confiding in others and often sees that he can only rely on himself. He has trouble with the idea of what friendship really is, much to Makoto's dismay, but it seems that it could very well be a fear of being abandoned (like how he "abandoned" by his parents when they died) that leads him to choose to have such a solitary existence.

That isn't to say individuals don't make him happy. He enjoys Makoto's company and eventually Tetsuo, who becomes the world to him, is someone he can't live without in his life. It would be better said that even though Youji tries not to rely on others, when he does he can be very dependent to the point it's destructive to his goals of wanting independence.

That said, above everything else, Youji really wishes for a "normal" life (and who wouldn't when you're sick and shitting meat monsters :( ). He misses his parents, misses his sister, and although he puts on a strong face, he isn't very strong at all. He finds himself suffering from loneliness and jealousy rather easily (he becomes envious of Tetsuo who has a very normal home life, able to sit down at the table and eat home cooked meals with his parents, after experiencing a dinner with him and his mother one day after school) and sometimes these thoughts consume him a little too much for his own good.

{Relationships}

Sweet Pool devotes itself particularly to exploring relationships between characters. In order to understand Youji a little better, a brief description of his relationships with others in the game are.


Tetsuo Shironuma; A classmate that is cold and silent but mysteriously starts watching Youji and showing up at the most inopportune times (and opportune times, like to save his butt from Zenya and Makoto when necessary), Youji's relationship with Tetsuo is very complicated and hard to explain simply because it is so dynamic and changes so dramatically. At first, he's wary of him—even frightened—because it's impossible to tell his motives. Tetsuo is the only person that causes Youji to lose his cool, causes him to outright panic and get easily flustered in situations (eg: storming out a bunch of times from confrontations on the roof). Likewise, Tetsuo isn't very friendly at first which makes his interest in Youji all the more puzzling. However, despite a rough road they've been down, Tetsuo does certain things that shows he has a genuine interest and care for Youji, such as bringing him homemade food and leaving it at his apartment door even after youji flips his shit on the other for showing up at his doorstep). Youji feels an unwilling attraction for the other than eventually becomes more genuine, although where he's being pulled from in canon he is currently in turmoil about his feelings for Tetsuo and what Tetsuo's motives are as he can't decipher them.

Makoto Mita; Youji's "best" (only) friend, he shares mostly a good (although ambiguous-which-turns-destructive) relationship with the other. Makoto is very protective (read: eventually obsessive) of him and Youji works hard to indulge him (such as going out with him after school), but falls short of understanding exactly what the friendship between him and Makoto truly means. The relationship derails upon the entrance of Tetsuo into Youji's life (and the meat monsters showing up, too, since they're responsible for making Makoto go a bit crazy), but as of the point in canon that Youji's been taken from they've just made up (and Youji's just found out why Makoto was being so crazy).

Zenya Okinaga; Once a classmate and now his senior (since he stayed back a year), Zenya shows up into Youji's life unannounced and unexpected. Prior to his illness, he only knew of Zenya and was very unfamiliar with him. Even once returning and running into the other more, Youji finds himself mostly wary of the other. He doesn't understand the other's interest, but he doesn't like it in the least. In this case, Zenya's feelings concerning Youji are a lot more interesting than Youji's for Zenya's, but he still plays a very important role in Youji's life, ultimately, whether the other likes it or not.

Youji's Sister; His elder sibling and probably the person he cares most about in the world (next to Tetsuo, but that comes later on). Also born with a weak and frail body, her relationship with Youji is mostly seen through phone calls and text messages. Currently, she is in the hospital due to being pregnant (and needing the monitoring because of her weak body in order to ensure a healthy baby is born). She is also more or less taking care of all his expenses with her husband as their mother and father passed away in an accident and she's been taking care of Youji since then. He feels he gets in the way of his sister's happy marriage and his loathe of being a burdern to people mostly comes from his feelings towards his sister. She and her happiness are more important than anything to him, including his own happiness. While he is lonely without her around, he holds strongly to the attitude of "if my sister is happy, then so am I".

✖ SAMPLES:
"Zodion" First-Person Network Entry:

[ the device is pretty easy for him to work, turning it on and straight to video, but the individual on the end looks slightly distraught, if not lost.

perhaps it's a typical feeling for those who enter zodion, or any strange place, really after being somewhere familiar, but youji looks particularly disbelieving and uncertain of how to react. ]

Ah, I... this...

[ he swallows, remembering his attempt to talk with tetsuo's mother and how well that went over. addressing strangers over a video feed is even more nerve wracking than that. ]

—Where—? Is anyone out there, listening? I... would appreciate any assistance, if someone's out there. I don't really understand what's happening here and would appreciate a few questions answered. [he has to wonder if anyone else stuck in the same boat as him really does, but it's worth a shot to ask, right? ]

"Zodionlogs" Third-Person Prose Entry: (200 word min)

This was all wrong.

Youji sat at the very bottom of the steps of the luminar, hunched over with his head in his hands. Wrong. Impossible. People didn't get abducted to completely strange and different worlds. It didn't happen. It happened in movies and books and silly stories that people liked to spread around in order to scare one another.

It didn't happen for real.

So why why was he here, all alone, without a single idea as to how he got here?

His thoughts raced, piled up quickly and heavily within his mind, all the while concocting a plan for him that he didn't want to follow. The encouragement—the desire—to follow the path of steps up to the top was overwhelming, but he refused to let himself fall out of reason (this wasn't real, he didn't need to go anywhere) in favor of letting his instincts control his reactions.

...Then again, what if it was real? What if he needed to ascend the steps to go anywhere at all? Where he needed to go—home—he wasn't sure if there was a path that could take him from here to there any longer.

Youji swallowed thickly, unable to suppress the smallest laugh of hysteria from escaping him. He was losing his mind. After several moments, his laughter died into nothingness, pulling his knees up to his chest to prop one hand upon them and bury his mouth against the skin of his arm in serious thought. Things weren't making any sense, he couldn't remember blacking out but before this he had been at the hospital. There was no place in Tokyo that looked like this, not even the most beautiful parts of the countryside, which gave him little in terms of answers. The only thing he had to go on was the gut feeling pulling harder and harder within him to climb.

But he didn't want to. He wanted to go home.

It wasn't clear how long he sat there in that position, staring off listlessly as the circumstances started to sink in (far away from home, probably no way back, all of this real—it had to be, there was no waking from this dream). But finally, he slowly untangled himself from his half-huddled mess of a body and stood up, glancing over his shoulder up towards the top of the luminar. The stairs were just steep enough for him to be unable to see what laid in wait for him and he felt fingers curl and tighten into fists as frustration welled in his gut.

Nothing made sense, anymore, did it?

He reasoned with himself that if he did climb the stairs, that whatever lay at the top would not phase him. He would take it for what it was whether it be hope or despair in his desire to get back. Perhaps it was a hard bargain to agree to, but he did it when it was clear there truly was nothing else to do other than slowly be driven made by the ever increasing urge (the need and the curiosity) to go. When he reached the top, he stopped short of the water encircling the inner area containing the pillar, furrowing his brow in suspicion.

It's not what he expected (but then what did he expect and why was he expecting anything when clearly there was no rhyme or reason to what he was experiencing?). It was too... peaceful, but the ominous atmosphere still tickled those peaceful thresholds, waiting for its chance to spring. Against his better judgment, Youji closed his eyes and took the step inside the inner area of the altar.

A sting of pain hit his left hip and he cringed, but didn't dare open his eyes. It was the sound of water splashing up startled him, causing him to open his eyes suddenly and stare in shock at the naked reflection before him. Quickly, he turned, spinning himself to find the water risen all the way about him. His steps fumbled slightly and he felt that feeling of ominous presence grow the longer he stood there.

He braced himself for anything.

But nothing happened. All there was was his sad reflection staring back at him, distrust and humiliation etched across his young features. Unconsciously, a hand came to press against his left hip where the pain had momentarily surged, watching his reflection perform the same action. A small sound of surprise escaped him, however, when he noticed that there was a mark that hadn't been present before. Without a second thought, his hand grasped at his shirt and lifted, the other hand coming to the waist of his pants to pry out of array in order to get a look at his physical skin. Sure enough, there was a mark now present and Youji's eyes narrowed slightly.

He knew that mark.

But before he could contemplate how and why it was there, the rushing sound of water died in his ears, bringing his attention back to the waterwall. He looked just in time to see it disappear, the water sizzle down back into its crevice on the floor, becoming peaceful once more as if nothing happened. Youji stood there, hands still grasping at his shirt and pants, taking a few deep breathes before his hold finally loosened in favor of his attention being drawn to the pedestal.

He had to open that box, he told himself. Something wretched in his gut, telling him not to, but the overwhelming desire for answers won out. If he opened that box, something in there would make sense of this for him.

He hoped he was right.

✖ NOTES:

♯ Very laid back disposition.
♯ Has a lung illness. His body temperature is also lower than normal (35 C versus the average 36.8 C).
♯ Because of this illness, he has been absent from school for a while and it's caused him to have to repeat a grade. (He's classmates with Tetsuo and Makoto now, but previously was classmates with Zenya before being held back. Although they were classmates, Youji is not very familiar with Zenya at the beginning of Sweet Pool.)
♯ He is self conscious about the fact he is older than most of the students in his class.
♯ Despite his illness, he holds a very strong sense of want to be independent. He hates to be a burden on anyone, especially his older sister, who is more or less taking care of all his expenses with her husband as their mother and father passed away in an accident at an early age. He feels he gets in the way of his sister's happy marriage.
♯ Wants to go to college in order to help this independence become a more possible reality.
♯ That said, he lives on his own and has been admittedly quite lonely since his sister moved out after getting married. He is very fond of her, holding an attitude of "if my sister is happy, then so am I".
♯ He's very passive (again referencing the laid back disposition. he doesn't fight with people, even to the point he takes home lunch boxes insisted on by the store manager (where he works a part time job). in the game, he has such a situation, only the lunch box is outdated because he hasn't gotten around to eating it. he doesn't want to throw it away though and does plan to try and eat it and takes it to school the next day, passing for it being that night's dinner. (note: this is the box lunch he ends up throwing away in the wrong trash that Tetsuo finds, woops.) <<< did I translate this right???)
♯ Doesn't sleep very well (probably due to his physical condition)
♯ YOUJI THINKS ZENYA IS A WHACKJOB (yaY)
♯ Feels guilty easily (forgets about cleaning duty and when approached about it by Tetsuo finds himself feeling bad. he also throws his lunch out in the wrong trash bin, oops.)
♯ He likes fish (as in pets. The atmosphere of a fish tank is very soothing to him and he has a fondness of his tropical fish).
♯ Youji's laid back attitude also translates into a bit of a "whatever" attitude towards gossip and other such things. He seems very uninterested and answers, while not rudely, according to this (for example, he responds very "dully" when Makoto is gossiping about Zenya).
♯ ^ Not easily amused, I guess. Not into gossip.
♯ That's not to say he won't follow through on the conversation, though, even though he's generally uninterested. When Makoto mentions a rumor concerning Zenya and his family, he does question it, allowing Makoto to continue with his storytelling. He's indulgent, to say the least.
♯ Above all, this just suggests Youji is very practical in his interactions with others.
--- AS OF LUNCH WITH MAKOTO. MOTHERFUCKER I WANT A HAMBURGER NOW.
♯ He has a part time job despite his health issues to help pay his living expenses. The manager is always worried about his health even though he can be strict. This is actually the same manager mentioned above concerning the boxed lunch.
♯ A little paranoid/hyper sensitive to his surroundings.
♯ Injured at a young age. Same accident he lost his parents in.
♯ is so disgustingly crushing on tetsuo at this point i want to die.
♯ WOW??? WOW. masturbating in the bathtub...
-- AS OF BATHTUB INCIDENT + ZENYA TALKING TO CHRISTIE.
♯ Still can't sleep. Still can't eat his lunch from feeling ill.
♯ Tetsuo worries/freaks him out because of his disposition towards him totally obsessed!!!11
♯ Embarrassed by acts such as masturbating. (but oh boy does he ever love it, even in public places /fans self )
♯ KITANI MADE CHRISTIE A YUKATA AWH AWH MIRU AWH.
♯ Youji is prescribed supplements for mental fatigue when he visits the doctor concerning his hallucinations and not feeling well. He visits at the insistence of his sister, not wanting to make her worry more than she already has been.
♯ Doubts his own sanity. (gee I wonder why)
♯ He can't read Tetsuo's real intentions and it frustrates him.
♯ Flustered easily. especially by Tetsuo's (seeming??) indifference.
♯ wow zenya.
♯ W O W TETSUO.
♯ As expected, Youji doesn't like talking about his problems. It troubles Makoto.
♯ Very compliant/doesn't like to cause scenes (as seen with Zenya showing up and saying they need to have a talk. even though he doesn't want to, he can tell zenya is impatient and doesn't want to cause a scene)
♯ http://i.imgur.com/D1vyt.png
♯ Pretty wary of both Tetsuo and Zenya . GOOD IDEA.
♯ Calls Tetsuo by his last name right before getting raped. (Is this a common addressing? Keep eye out :|a)
♯ 「俺を、女の代わりにするな……！」
♯ 「なんなんだよ、なんでこんなことするんだよ……！　普通の相手は飽きたってことか？　俺が、お前に何したって言うんだよ……！」
♯「なんで、お前のいいようにされなきゃならないんだよ……。いい加減にしてくれよ！　もう……、もううんざりだ！　頼むから、もう、やめてくれ……！」
♯ 早く終わって欲しい。解放してほしい。
♯ 哲雄によってもたらされる変化が、怖かった。
♯ AND I SET FIRE TO THE RAAAAINNNNN
♯ http://i.imgur.com/6meXO.png
♯返事が遅れてごめん。


本当におめでとう。早く甥っ子の顔が見たいよ
♯ Losing energy to do things
♯ 人間ではない――
♯ (random learn japanese phrase: 「死にたいのか？」)
♯ (to tetsuo: 「なんで来たんだよ……！？　早く帰れよ！」 Why did you come here? hurry up and leave!)
♯ he kind of flips his shit when tetsuo shows up at his front door.
♯ o, he's lost his mind, my poor baby.
♯ doctor thinks he crazy about the meat shitting
♯ doesn't rely on people (so desperate for his independence)
♯ gets all notalgic at tetsuo's over dinner because he hasn't had a sit down meal like this since his siser moved away
♯ holy shit tetsuo's mother is so fucking cute BAW
♯ having dinner with the mother of the guy who raped you is so awkward, isn't it, youji.lmfao
♯ he feels a bit lonely/awkward/out of place in the home atmosphere. << gets envious of tetsuo
♯ "isn't your stop the next one?" "yeah." "why did you get off here?" "you wouldn't have an umbrella." BAW TETSUO YOU ARE SUCH A SWEETHEART FJSdhKJHa
♯「落ち着けよ。何が……」
♯ oh makoto sweetie :,(
♯ ――できそこない。
♯ THIS GAME PULLS AT MY HEARTSTRINGS 8(
-- AS OF TETSUO SLEEPING ON YOUJI'S SHOULDER :C