THE OOC CHARACTER MEME OF DOOM STRIKES AGAIN!
My internet inexplicably died this morning and sent me into all sorts of tired worry at about three am when I woke up to work on this... I ended up going back to bed and saving it, but it seems it was just a comcast internet fart.
Ahh...one star customer satisfaction ratings...
Yet more rambling about characters is a go...
Body and Appearance
1. Describe the character's height and build. Is he heavyset, thin, short, rangy? er...good adjective might be "Willowy"--though that doesn't get applied to men much with a straight face. Mocchan tells me he's fairly tall, too. (I'm still kind of depressed at finding out he's supposed to be 5'11'. I was thinking about 5'9" or 5'10")
I really need to stop playing all these skinny androgynous men... (Well, Okay, Katan's not a twig, but the rest of them...?)
2. How old is he?
Seventeen. Just like all the blade children. It makes things very simple--if anyone ever sees another "blade child" on this site? They're always seventeen unless someone decides to snag from the epilogue or something.
3. Describe his posture. Does he carry himself well or does he slouch? He carries himself a little ostentatiously well...er...let's just say he carries himself like a person who knows he's being watched, and is putting on a perfectly poker-faced performance of what a "celebrity" should be.
It's like if a guy walks down the street with the air of Moses parting the red sea. People tend to look for the movie cameras and wonder if they're on a set. He's perfectly expressionless, but the body language is "I am being watched, and will pretend I'm not, but I'll still make this look damn good."
Typical body poses: jacket over one shoulder, arms straight down, or arms crossed. Most of Eyes' postures look cultivated rather than natural, but to the point where the cultivation is questionably just a part of him, and "natural"? It's hard to tell with him.
4. How is his health? Is he fit or out of shape? Any illnesses or conditions? Any physical disabilities?
Hmm...well, he's set to possibly go insane by the time he hits twenty, but aside from that... (Seriously, actually. Welcome to Spiral.)
Uhm...the mark of the blade children is a missing rib, and it causes constant, chronic pain. Maddening pain, in fact.
Also, he's asthmatic, though he's technically two years without any trouble... (And trying to find his inhaler if he doesn't want you to? Not going to happen. He hides it because someone could easily poison him with it if they knew.)
Aside from that, he's the sort of guy who'd do enough of a workout to be pretty, and not get picked off by hunters, but not much else. Being too beefy'd detract away from part of the image he's trying for. XD
5. How does he move? Is he clumsy, graceful, tense, fluid?
Like I said, ostentatiously graceful. It's a very deliberate affectation of performed casualness? Still very fluid, and poised... He plays on his image a great deal even if his personality doesn't show it, and his image is "the graceful romantic".
Eyes has a huge divider between his public and private face.
In public, he's a performer in the extreme, in private, he's extremely hard to read, either way, he speaks more with body language than expression. But that turns on and off as he likes for the most part.
6. How attractive is this character physically? How does he perceive himself in the mirror?
Flawless. He's...scarily good-looking, actually. In the manga, girls in the background are always reacting to him with a look of absolute shock and serious blushing, while he goes on, totally ignoring everything. XD Later, he puts on a "disguise" and that just gets more attention, too. Eyes is a head-turning knock-out. (Most characters in Spiral are "cute", but Eyes is supposed to be a head above the rest.)
Eyes doesn't care about his appearance for its own sake. he puts in the effort because it's there to be seen, and people fall for it. The fact people react to him is something he uses--not seductively, mind you, because he's dimly disgusted by the very thought of the mindlessness and inconsideration of getting close to someone the way he is--but...he uses it nonetheless. The fact people react to him makes them predictable, and that's useful to him.
7. Describe his complexion. Dark, light, clear, scarred?
Super-pale. If he weren't blue eyed, he'd get albino jokes. It's not too surprising considering Eyes seems to be an absolute insomniac. XD
8. Describe his hair: color, texture, style.
White, about shoulder-length, pin-straight with long bangs and that ridiculous shampoo-commercial type shine. (Whitehaired asian boy.)
9. What color are his eyes?
Pff. Blue. Serious, hyper-saturated blue. (He gets a lot of puns about his first name and how appropriate it is in fanon. Either nobody dares or nobody notices in his canon.)
10. Does the character have any other noteworthy features?
He has a pretty nasty-looking scar in his right side where his rib was removed after birth--the mark all blade children have in common, which as I said before, causes pain.
He also has a scar on his left side just beneath the heart where he was stabbed by Kanon. (Yes, yes, his best friend tried to murder him. I seem to play characters who do that a whole lot, hm?)
If he has any other scars, he's made good effort to make them disappear.
11. What are his chief tension centers?
Eyes is careful not to give away any shred of tension when he's around people. Extremely careful. If he had any telltale tension centers, he's good enough at deliberately un-tensing them that it's hard to tell.
(I can't think of a single spot I've observed in him that visibly tenses. He's scarily cool-headed in both anime and manga. He controls his face and his body. Even if he's upset, you won't know it from anything he says or does--you'll have to really look for it in his words. >_>)
12. What is the character's wardrobe like? Casual, dressy, utilitarian? Bright colors, pastels, neutrals? Is it varied, or does he have six of the same suit?
XD Monochrome black almost all the way, and...well...he dresses like a more tasteful J-rock star, even though he's a strictly classical pianist. It's all bondagy-straps and leather, and midriff shirts and trench coats... It's varied, but it's mostly that sort of thing. (He has a pretty snazzy suit for performances, too.)
Oh, and he likes to hide a knife in his boot, and garotte wire around his wrists, under the cuffs. Of course...with his wardrobe, it'd be really hard to truly disarm him, anyway. >_>
13. Do his clothes fit well? Does he seem comfortable in them?
Probably too well. XD And Eyes carries himself like he's born to wear J-rock cast-offs. Scratch that, you're around him? He could probably be naked, and you'd still feel under-dressed. It's...attitude, again. Personal dignity. It's like...what he's wearing? he's the only person who ever could wear it. It's that kind of feel...
(I don't know how articulate I'm being. It's hard to explain Eyes' personality layers without sounding like i'm contradicting myself. He gives me more trouble and demands more expended effort for analysis than any other character I play.)
14. Does he dress the same on the job as he does in his free time? If not, what are the differences?
Mm. For perfomances he has that tieless tux of his. In his free time, though, he does look like a bondage slave. *sigh* And then he acts disdainfully towards anyone sexually forward at all. The tease...
15. You knew it was coming: Boxers, briefs or commando?
*snort* For a guy with no sexual appetite and what seems like a perfect inability to actually keep the top button of his pants done up in every shot he's in...he'd probably never answer, and you'd never find out. (My suspicions? It's a thong, and if you get far enough to find out, he'll act like you're lucky to get that far in the first place with his typical cold-fish deadpan dismissive-ness. Do you SEE the little sparkles I put around the words *closet homosexual*? *mostly-joking, but who knows with Eyes*)
Speech
1. What does this character's voice sound like? High-pitched, deep, hoarse?
Hmm...in the dub, they picked a nice melodiac medium male voice. In the sub...it's Akira Ishida, who's plenty famous and you can look up on your own. (And Gosh, it's a treat to hear the Spiral subs in a way--the dialect of Japanese is noticeably different for the Osakan cast voices, and GOSH Rio's voice is talented...but I digress. The storyline's butchered, but the VAs are good in the japanese.)
2. How does he normally speak? Loud, soft, fast, evenly? Does he talk easily, or does he hesitate?
Evenly, and quietly, without hesitation. (Let me tell you, he's a pain to get in-voice for. I spent over a year before I thought I had Eyes down to my satisfaction. He has an odd way of speaking, but I can't explain why I think that particularly because eyes' overall demeanor is so hard for me to pin down as is.)
3. Does the character have a distinct accent or dialect? Any individual quirks of pronunciation? Any, like, you know, verbal tics?
Ugh...
Well...he's more formal than he should be. (Makes him seem even colder.)
In the anime, he's got a british accent, which...though the voice itself is great, and nice to listen to, drives me a bit crazy, because Eyes' accent is a funny meld of about three different places. (Which for Americans is usually a really cheap way of saying you just don't know what a british accent sounds like.) He moves around a whole lot supposedly, so he has a very strange meld.
Nobody makes any comment on if he has an accent in Japanese. If he does, it's probably british. He was raised in the U.K. after all...
4. What language/s does he speak, and with how much fluency?
That's on his bio, already. ^^
He's perfectly fluent in Japanese and English, and makes a mess of, but can speak German and French anyway. He's a little better at German than French, but he's still quite bad at both.
He speaks German because of Kanon. (They grew up together, and Kanon's part german... Also, my fanon Eyes, after his mother dies, is taken in by Evangeline Hilbert, and she becomes his guardian--that's Kanon's mother for anyone who's confused. Evangeline's pretty awesome...special forces lady who taught her son everything she knew...)
He speaks French because it was his foreign language during his schooling, but his French is atrocious, so to get him to actually show it, you'd probably have to talk to him directly IN French, and then try not to laugh or look aghast. (The pronunciation's fine, but everything else is so simple and BAD it's hysterical.)
5. Does he switch languages or dialects in certain situations?
If a person talks to him in English or Japanese he responds accordingly... (And with ridiculously roundabout formality.)
With Kanon, he tries to speak more German, it's sort of a private, close language for them.
I already mentioned the horrible french.
6. Is he a good impromptu speaker, or does he have to think about his words?
Quite good. Thought comes quickly to Eyes in any event.
7. Is he eloquent or inarticulate? Under what circumstances might this change?
Uhm...he's probably fairly eloquent, but he's so curt with his words that he can pack a whole lot in a short space. (Or in a long space if he needs to, but he prefers to be concise--I make him a little more verbose than he should be, just because I'm me and I can't get a proper hold on that QUITE the way I'd like...*sigh* I'm working on it. At the moment, he's passable, but he's not "perfect" even now.)
Mental and Emotional
1. How intelligent is this character? Is he book-smart or street-smart?
Mm...all the blade children are supposed to be intelligent. Eyes isn't so much book-smart as dangerously practical, and unhesitatingly ruthless. (Even though he's soft-spoken and looks like a pansy, in all honesty...)
He's bright all around, even though he's more a performer than a researcher. I wouldn't say he knows all the back-alley urban sleazy stuff, but if you tried to think of him as an easy mark, he'd probably dislocate your shoulder in a mild-mannered fashion, then quietly ask for directions with perfect politeness and a tinge of irony. (And then if you pressed him again, he'd garotte you on the spot with no more dismay than if he were brushing lint off his clothes. He has a surprising taste for brutal violence and he's excellent in all forms of small arms combat and his own mixed art hand-to-hand.)
2. Does he think on his feet, or does he need time to deliberate?
He plans well AND thinks on his feet well. Like I said, all the blade children are smart. Eyes moves especially quickly. He's a person who likes to strike once, and strike precisely rather than wear someone down, and he has a keen eye for going for the throat so to speak. If you show a weakness? He's on it, and with enough force to keep you from coming back again.
He's also Kanone's escape-planner, though.
So a strong mix of both. (All blade children end up having very few pointed character weaknesses except for their inherent flawed construction and eventual madness/villainy. They're VERY strong characters. To countermand this to some extent, i added in the asthma to Eyes' character, giving him "no stamina" in addition to trying to explain his sniper-eye battle-personality.)
3. Describe the character's thought process. Is he more logical, or more intuitive? Idealistic or practical?
Logical-Practical.
He doesn't have much care for ideals by normal standards, even if he's the most faith-stretched of the blade children. As long as he and his fellows are saved, he'll do anything. He'll kill people, sacrifice himself, devote his personal fortune to the problem, or direct those under his "command" to murder and brutality. Eyes is exceedingly practical, and very, very direct despite the veneers and overtones of politeness. (His way of speaking and carrying himself makes his philosophies less obvious. This is deliberate to some extent. It gives him an edge.)
Despite this, he doesn't sacrifice his fellows, EVER, and will even intervene personally if one gets cornered, risking himself rapidly. This makes him quite a popular leader for all his coldness among his fellow blade children, and gives him a funny "honor" among them for all his ruthlessness.
4. What kind of education has the character had?
Well...ordinary formal education up to a point, then insane special focus in music, and training for piano under Kiyotaka Narumi. (Who can't actually play anymore what with smashing his own fingers...)
Oh, and Kanone Hilbert's taught him everything one could really possibly know about small-arms and hand-to-hand combat.
Eyes can handle anything from submachine guns, to pistols, to grenades...(he still prefers strangulation to anything with blood, though. He likes the intimacy of killing someone with your bare hands, though he tries to keep that bloodlust under control.)
5. What are his areas of expertise? What, if anything, is he interested in learning more about?
Music, obviously. Particularly, he specializes in piano, and more specifically, in "impressionist" works. (French ones at that. XD)
But he also knows how to play the violin.
And he's a strategist and tactician when it comes to organizing the other blade children or withdrawing them easily out of battle situations. (He uses his public resources as a celebrity to better hide and work through these sorts of things, too--that's mostly what I meant when I said he uses his public face. He keeps his reputation spotless, but uses the more bloodied people under him to do what he needs to.)
I suppose he's also good with "publicity"...a bit like Hizumi with people, but a different personality. He uses his press efficiently enough.
6. Is he an introvert or an extrovert?
...probably an introvert. It's not that he dislikes people, he just doesn't see much reason to involve normal people in what could be messy later. He withdraws himself to some extent deliberately.
What he's like under that is anyone's guess. Eyes' personality is layers on layers on layers of self-checks and self-imposed restrictions after all. Remove the restrictions and...I'm not really sure what he'd be like. Even before, he was probably fairly reserved, though, despite his open violence and bloodthirst. Quiet and cruel. He's softened to some extent with his self-imposed restrictions.
7. Describe the character's temperament. Is he even-tempered or does he have mood swings? Cheerful or melancholy? Laid-back or driven?
He's...nearly impossible to get a rise out of.
(By which I mean he never laughs in the series once, smiles very very rarely About twice or maybe three times, total, sheds a total of one tear in all his existence, and only really raises his voice and starts shouting once in the whole series despite being put into all kinds of dreadful life-threatening situations all through it. He doesn't even cry when Kanon gets shot, or he gets stabbed in the chest.)
...Nonetheless, he's got a nerve you could bend steel around. Physically, he's got little stamina, but he strikes fast, and strikes hard, quietly.
His personality is, like I keep saying, at once direct, and subtle, and he's insanely strong-willed and stubborn beneath that all. *shrug* It's pretty much his temperament just as long as you add "cold", too.
8. How does he respond to new people or situations? Is he suspicious, relaxed, timid, enthusiastic?
Er...he's reserved. He'll play politeness, but it's just that, politeness. Until he knows for sure that he's saved, he's not going to be truly open with anyone not involved in his little world of trouble. Even if he tells a character all the details, he'll still be reserved, and somewhat aloof. It's nothing personal.
He doesn't really see the need for more friends than he has.
And with new situations...? He thinks them out for advantages, then leaves them or walks into them with a cool head, and a direct intent. It's not suspicion so much because of the fast reactions. It's just...distance.
9. Is he more likely to act, or to react?
Act, but...he's got sharp reactions, too. It's pretty hard to catch him off-guard.
10. Which is his default: fight or flight?
Surprisingly? Fight. Or ignore. If he really thinks you're trouble, he deals with you. Otherwise, he ignores and takes it.
He never runs. Even retreat is just a move setting up a counterstrike. In his canon words, "we die the moment we turn our backs on our fate." Eyes Rutherford never runs from a challenge if he thinks it must be dealt with. He's very conscious of his leadership role, and the morale of those under him, and for this reason imposes that limitation on himself.
(I know, he doesn't look or really "act" like the type. His idea of things to fight is a pretty small, exclusive list, fortunately enough. He usually ignores "ordinary" people or problems. Malik became an exception when he showed the possibility of being part of the group he fights with.)
11. Describe the character's sense of humor. Does he appreciate jokes? Puns? Gallows humor? Bathroom humor? Pranks?
Dry. Very dry. So dry most people think he doesn't have a sense of humor. Nobody deadpans like Eyes...
Eyes has a curious blend of Asian/British humor. He understates, and he also enjoys situational irony or absurdity.
Kanon's cat "Mr. Liebe Whiskers" is actually a girl? Eyes is laughing like Hell on the inside, though you'd never know it.
Kanon's in jail? "This makes it significantly harder for me to urinate in your bed."
Rio's in the hospital? He brings her melons three times, then the third time when he's pulling something out of his pocket and she's excited, he asks deadpan if she'd like some dried fish and doesn't bring anything except that.
...Eyes has a VERY strange sense of humor. And he's sometimes a little mean with the people he knows well. (Personality-wise, he's pretty similar to Ayumu, there, except Ayumu's not usually mean unless he's imitating Kiyotaka.)
12. Does the character have any diagnosable mental disorders? If yes, how does he deal with them?
He has the possibility of losing his identity and restraint by the age of twenty...all things considered, with that hanging over him, he's incredibly well-balanced.
He deals with what he is by resolving himself to be "a bloodless, tearless demon" when he meets his fate. He more or less swears off most emotion. He still feels, but he works at deadening himself. It's why he's so damned reserved and calm and such... The situation he's in is pretty crazy itself, though.
13. What moments in this character's life have defined him as a person?
The death of Mizushiro Yaiba, more or less being hunted for all his life even up through childhood, his mother's death, Kanon leaving the blade children, meeting Hizumi, meeting Kiyotaka, meeting and attempting death-testing on Ayumu through various means and people...
A lot of things define Eyes.
14. What does he fear?
Losing himself to violence.
Moreover, he fears losing his "comrades" and fellow blade children.
He fears not being saved...
He fears having Ayumu join Hizumi and truly having no hope left for being saved...
Oh, and he fears Kanon being killed in a big way. A very big way. He's extremely close to Kanon even if they're both rather strange about showing it.
15. What are his hopes or aspirations?
"Salvation".
To live as a normal person with a normal lifespan.
This is the hope that drives him to do everything he does. He eats, sleeps, DREAMS that goal, and he'd do anything for it.
16. What is something he doesn't want anyone to find out about him?
Aah.
That he's in love with his half-brother? that's kind of a big one...
Or that he's a homosexual in general, but generally, being a homosexual is something you can live down more easily than being an incestuous homosexual. (It's more or less rotten luck on his part. He and Kanon technically share a father, even though they never knew him.)
Oh, and he also doesn't want his weaknesses found--particularly, he doesn't want people to find out who he cares about, because he can be attacked that way. He's extremely protective of his fellow blade children, and that's a bit of a weakness if you know him well enough to know that if one of them slips up, Eyes is there stepping in to deal with it.
If Eyes is on your side, he won't stop until he can deal with any threat against you. This makes him a touch predictable there if anyone notices. But...since Eyes is so direct, you normally don't get the chance to take notes and plan a second attack.
Relationships
1. Describe this character's relationship with his parents.
He only knew his mother, and she died when he was young. She was a bit...hesitant around him considering at five, he was killing things around the house, including the family dog with his violin strings.
So his mother started him on Piano to keep him from killing things.
He cared for his mother, but still...it was probably a bit strained at times. Young!Eyes was a very disturbed acting child...
2. Does the character have any siblings? What is/was their relationship like?
Technically, he has about eighty half-siblings or whatever...but in the manga, he says he only ever felt comfortable thinking of Kanon in terms of "brother". And even then, neither Kanon nor Eyes calls the other brother until later when they're getting ready to fight and perhaps kill eachother.
He and Kanon are ridiculously close, considering Kanon betrayed the blade children and said he'd hunt them all down and kill them, and Eyes lied about the existence of Hizumi. Eyes certainly doesn't let on that he has feelings for Kanon, even if he does.
Otherwise, his other siblings? He's one of about five.
Kousuke and he get along fine.
Rio has a crush on him (which he doesn't notice/pretends not to notice. She's really cute and flustered about it).
Ryouko hates his guts, but he doesn't return the hatred.
That's his "sibling" tree right there, even if Kanon was the one he was raised with. The other three are friends, and only technical siblings.
3. Are there other blood relatives to whom he is close? Are there ones he can't stand?
Uhm...technically Hizumi's his uncle, but they're not "close". Hizumi's very existence is a source of unease to Eyes, but...he treats him like a human being. He tries not to let on, and Hizumi can be charming when he wants to be...
4. Are there other, unrelated people whom he considers part of his family? What are his relationships with them?
Kiyotaka.
Kiyotaka's...very complicated.
Kiyotaka Narumi is like a father figure to Eyes, but also could very well let Kanon die. Eyes has a convoluted love/hate for Kiyotaka. (And it doesn't help he's a bit attracted to him, too. Just like with Ayumu, though significantly more frustrating and fascinating because Kiyotaka plays everyone like an instrument and hes really the only one who can do that to Eyes.)
Out of all the blade children, Eyes seems most devoted to Kiyotaka, save for Rio, and follows his orders to the letter.
5. Who is/was the character's best friend? How did they meet?
Kanon's his best friend. How'd they meet?
In a crib as their mothers put them to sleep.
Evangeline Hilbert and Lydia Rutherford were friends, too. Kanon and Eyes practically lived together, and...after Eyes' mum's death, they DID live together like siblings. XD
6. Does he have other close friends?
Mm...he's not as close to the others, but Kousuke and Rio, yeah.
And...probably Ayumu, even though they have a very stiff, awkward, wary sort of friendship where each is sort of watching to see if the other's going to see them die, etc...Ayumu makes him wear dopey rabbit-slippers when he visits the house.
(Oh, and he's enjoying Zexion so far, and is all right with Tielle, too, but he doesn't know them well yet. And maybe he's on good terms with Cole, and Grace seems pretty persistant, and he's opened up to her a bit... He might even be sort of friendly with Frauke in a stiff way.
SCRATCH that bit about Zexion after he found reason to suspect Zexion sent things after his guests. Bluebell is going down. XD)
7. Does he make friends easily, or does he have trouble getting along with people?
He's so formal, reserved, and aloof when it comes to people that even being good-looking doesn't really cut it.
All in all, he's not a people-person like Hizumi, but I wouldn't say he's unliked by the site members. he puts in little kindnesses, so they'll interpret him as just bad with emotions.
Deliberately.
(Eyes is maybe a LITTLE manipulative, too, though he refuses to use it like Hizumi does...XD)
8. Which does he consider more important: family or friends?
"family" technically. The salvation of the blade children comes first and foremost over anything else.
9. Is the character single, married, divorced, widowed? Has he been married more than once?
Single. (And still underage, yet. Though magazines like to say he's eligable for tabloid-inducing stuff. XD)
10. Is he currently in a romantic relationship with someone other than a spouse?
Uhm...no...not exactly, though he's probably holding a serious candle for Kanon.
It's debatable if he'd try to steal Ayumu if he could. The fact he thinks Hizumi's a corrupting influence wouldn't help his incentives, there, but he's enough of a gentleman not to, I suppose.
And he's flirting with Frauke to kind of use her as a "beard". XD
11. Who was his first crush? Who is his latest?
He's been in love with Kanon since he was nine, but he'll never admit it. Latest crush is probably Ayumu, though. (And Kiyotaka before that, though he knew that wouldn't go anywhere because Kiyotaka's married. XD)
12. What does he look for in a romantic partner?
Discretion certainly. Er...but his "type" is highly intelligent brunettes. (And men, for that matter.) I can't see him having an interest in anyone he couldn't respect as a person as well, and it's a bit hard to get Eyes' respect.
His...standards are a bit high for most people.
13. Does the character have children? Grandchildren? If yes, how does he relate to them? If no, does he want any?
No. Technically, he's probably not going to have children, between impending crazy, and the fact he's gay. It's...uncertain whether he'd want them or not. I think he'd have to know he was safe to be around before he'd ever even open up to the possibility.
14. Does he have any rivals or enemies?
Malik's trying really hard, of course... (he's not fond of Malik, it's safe to say, but he's not going to start anything. He prefers to finish it.)
And yes, all the hunters trying to kill the blade children, and...possibly Hizumi in the future, he thinks. If Hizumi does something "Devilish" and turns the corner, he'll have no choice but to be enemies with him. Hizumi could ruin everything.
And lately? Zexion. Though he's keeping everything formal and cordial on the surface and making an effort to seem interested in friendship with him.
15. What is the character's sexual orientation? Where does he fall on the Kinsey scale?
6. Pure homosexual. Poor man doesn't feel anything for women, and very, very rarely finds a man who suits his interests even then.
He's closeted, though, and acts like he just doesn't have time for that and is otherwise married to his work. *snort* Often this gets much interpretation. (Most people assume he's probably bi, if not gay.)
16. How does he feel about sex? How important is it to him?
Not very important. He can't afford to get involved, as he sees it. But he has very very private hopes that maybe Kanon wouldn't mind. (Unfortunately, Kanon's straight as far as I know Mocchan's playing him. Poor unrequited Eyes. I love being able to play that aspect of him, though. I never get to indulge there... *loves one-sideds*)
17. What are his turn-ons? Turn-offs? Weird bedroom habits?
Uhm...brains? He likes smart people. At least his level. Someone who can best him, and best him cleverly. (That's hard to do.)
Turnoffs definitely include vulgarity, though. Or nasty bawdiness. He wants someone with some class. Someone who doesn't rub it in. He's looking at you, Ayumu. He couldn't stand you and your depressing lack of faith at first but now you've really grown on him.
Beliefs
1. Do you know your character's astrological (zodiac of choice) sign? How well does he fit type?
Scorpio, as I remember. He...fits it pretty well. (And he should, because I pretty much chose his birthdate for that reason, bearing in mind that he's the youngest of the five blade children adn therefore has to be younger than Kanon, but the same age...)
The chinese zodiac bit is a bit complicated, though.... I'd have to re-calculate whether he's 1992 or 1993. Already had a talk with MOG about that... hmm.... (I bet I put him, and Hizumi at 1991 at least for blocked content purposes, in hindsight.)
2. Is this character religious, spiritual, both, or neither? How important are these elements in his life?
Uhm. He has faith in his salvation, but he's technically an agnostic when it comes to religion. He believes what makes sense when it's presented to him.
Before Tielle, for example, he wouldn't have believed in other universes being contacted. But he didn't bat an eye, and accepted it anyway. (He's not like Hizumi, there.)
3. Does this character have a personal code of morals or ethics? If so, how did that begin? What would it take to compromise it?
Mm. He only kills hunters. I can't see him compromising that easily...it's the code Kanon has, too. Otherwise, he'd do anything if it led to his salvation, and he follows Kiyotaka's instructions for such.
And he doesn't have many qualms with attacking someone personally, or physically if he can cover it. (He's essentially pragmatic, but not necessarily entirely selfish like Hizumi.)
4. How does he regard beliefs that differ from his? Is he tolerant, intolerant, curious, indifferent?
Tolerant and indifferent? XD
He doesn't mind. He's more focused on what'll actually help HIM though. Otherwise, he doesn't care much what you believe. He'll have time for altruism when hope's firmly in his grasp. On some level...he wants to be "good" more than anything.
5. What prejudices does he hold? Are they irrational or does he have a good reason for them?
The predjudice that fate is absolute, as is Kiyotaka's will, and Hizumi's ability. He also had a prejudice he's grudgingly overcoming concerning Ayumu's inability to save anyone because he was a faithless little bitch with no self esteem. (Which really angered Eyes.)
Now...he's overcoming it.
He still has trouble separating Ayumu from his brother, though, and he'll often talk of Kiyotaka in lofty adjectives and such, and of Hizumi's dangerousness, and the absolute power of fate and curses and such...
(Also, he thinks Malik has no class, but there's good reason for that--Malik came up and asked him some overly personal things, and tried to insult him.)
...He rather dislikes people not acting according to the utmost of their abilities, in general, and he likes logical, rational company more than other kinds of company.
Daily Life
1. What is the character's financial situation? Is he rich, poor, comfortable, in debt?
Filthy rich, but he lives sparingly...for someone in a glass-domed penthouse, anyway. He has very few personal possessions. Money won't save the blade children, but it certainly opens up the options, and anyway, what's he supposed to do? Be less excellent at his work?
He's famous for not really caring about his money. He throws charity things all the time, even if he privately calls them "petty" in disgusted tones of voice. (He can't be happy with them until he knows he can really do them without feeling like they're lip-service for the "goodness" of the blade children?)
2. What is his social status? Has this changed over time, and if so, how has the change affected him?
Crazy celebrity. He acts the part in a blunt, sort of going-through-the-motions way. He expected his excellence, after all, and planned for it so he'd have more resources for his colleagues and comrades.
It probably just made his inner and outer face more separate and more obvious, that's all.
3. Where does he live? House, apartment, trailer? Is his home his castle or just a place to crash? What condition is it in? Does he share it with others?
Rented penthouse. Glass-domed as I mentioned, with a really serious grand piano in it that he practices on almost constantly.
Any room is more or less just a room to him, though. He sleeps, eats, and goes through the motions, more or less, but he's not really that affected by his surrounding-home or material things even if he's developing a taste for quality.
4. Besides the basic necessities, what does he spend his money on?
Presents for his fellow blade children. (Particularly rather expensive muskmelons for Rio) and whatever else they need to pull off the raid they're doing. Eyes saves just about everything for rainy-day type stuff, and invests shrewdly between moments of disgust where he gives large chunks of his fortune away to charities. It's why he's a filthy-rich platinum musician with crazy-good press rather than a partying, drug-addicted wasted platinum musician.
Still, Eyes is kind of annoyed, privately, that he seems so effortlessly good with money. The strategy of it is no different from the strategy of other things and it comes easily, then. (It's "boldness" and predictions to some extent, so he makes a killing on his stocks aside from making a killing in his music, too.)
5. What does he do for a living? Is he good at it? Does he enjoy it, or would he rather be doing something else?
Concert pianist.
Oh yes, he enjoys it. He loves his music, it can be said, but until he knows he's safe, he can't enjoy it as much as he might. He can't enjoy much of anything knowing he's got a walking time bomb in him.
6. What are his interests or hobbies? How does he spend his free time?
Music. His free time is spent practicing, mostly. And keeping tabs on his fellow blade children. (He's a work oriented kind of guy.)
7. What are his eating habits? Does he skip meals, eat out, drink alcohol, avoid certain foods?
He barely eats. More or less, he lives off roomservice, dried fish, tea, and cookies. XD (He barely sleeps, too.) He doesn't touch drugs or alchohol because of his image.
Associations
Which of the following do you associate with the character, or which is his favorite:
1. Color? Blue. (Though nobody'd believe him considering all the black)
2. Smell? Leather. (He IS new-car smell.)
3. Time of day? Three am. (Insomniac.)
4. Season? Anything with rain. It reminds him of home.
5. Book? Rilke's Duino Elegies. (Poetry, in other words.)
6. Music? Franz Liszt's Religious and Poetic harmonies, particularly "the blessings of God in solitude", and Maurice Ravel's "Fountains."
7. Place? He misses Ireland in particular sometimes.
8. Substance? Piano Wire
9. Plant? White African Iris
10. Animal? Swan. (Canon, actually. Many swan comparisons.)
END
{{ Get the HTML here so you can do it yourself. }}
Ahh...one star customer satisfaction ratings...
Yet more rambling about characters is a go...
Body and Appearance
1. Describe the character's height and build. Is he heavyset, thin, short, rangy? er...good adjective might be "Willowy"--though that doesn't get applied to men much with a straight face. Mocchan tells me he's fairly tall, too. (I'm still kind of depressed at finding out he's supposed to be 5'11'. I was thinking about 5'9" or 5'10")
I really need to stop playing all these skinny androgynous men... (Well, Okay, Katan's not a twig, but the rest of them...?)
2. How old is he?
Seventeen. Just like all the blade children. It makes things very simple--if anyone ever sees another "blade child" on this site? They're always seventeen unless someone decides to snag from the epilogue or something.
3. Describe his posture. Does he carry himself well or does he slouch? He carries himself a little ostentatiously well...er...let's just say he carries himself like a person who knows he's being watched, and is putting on a perfectly poker-faced performance of what a "celebrity" should be.
It's like if a guy walks down the street with the air of Moses parting the red sea. People tend to look for the movie cameras and wonder if they're on a set. He's perfectly expressionless, but the body language is "I am being watched, and will pretend I'm not, but I'll still make this look damn good."
Typical body poses: jacket over one shoulder, arms straight down, or arms crossed. Most of Eyes' postures look cultivated rather than natural, but to the point where the cultivation is questionably just a part of him, and "natural"? It's hard to tell with him.
4. How is his health? Is he fit or out of shape? Any illnesses or conditions? Any physical disabilities?
Hmm...well, he's set to possibly go insane by the time he hits twenty, but aside from that... (Seriously, actually. Welcome to Spiral.)
Uhm...the mark of the blade children is a missing rib, and it causes constant, chronic pain. Maddening pain, in fact.
Also, he's asthmatic, though he's technically two years without any trouble... (And trying to find his inhaler if he doesn't want you to? Not going to happen. He hides it because someone could easily poison him with it if they knew.)
Aside from that, he's the sort of guy who'd do enough of a workout to be pretty, and not get picked off by hunters, but not much else. Being too beefy'd detract away from part of the image he's trying for. XD
5. How does he move? Is he clumsy, graceful, tense, fluid?
Like I said, ostentatiously graceful. It's a very deliberate affectation of performed casualness? Still very fluid, and poised... He plays on his image a great deal even if his personality doesn't show it, and his image is "the graceful romantic".
Eyes has a huge divider between his public and private face.
In public, he's a performer in the extreme, in private, he's extremely hard to read, either way, he speaks more with body language than expression. But that turns on and off as he likes for the most part.
6. How attractive is this character physically? How does he perceive himself in the mirror?
Flawless. He's...scarily good-looking, actually. In the manga, girls in the background are always reacting to him with a look of absolute shock and serious blushing, while he goes on, totally ignoring everything. XD Later, he puts on a "disguise" and that just gets more attention, too. Eyes is a head-turning knock-out. (Most characters in Spiral are "cute", but Eyes is supposed to be a head above the rest.)
Eyes doesn't care about his appearance for its own sake. he puts in the effort because it's there to be seen, and people fall for it. The fact people react to him is something he uses--not seductively, mind you, because he's dimly disgusted by the very thought of the mindlessness and inconsideration of getting close to someone the way he is--but...he uses it nonetheless. The fact people react to him makes them predictable, and that's useful to him.
7. Describe his complexion. Dark, light, clear, scarred?
Super-pale. If he weren't blue eyed, he'd get albino jokes. It's not too surprising considering Eyes seems to be an absolute insomniac. XD
8. Describe his hair: color, texture, style.
White, about shoulder-length, pin-straight with long bangs and that ridiculous shampoo-commercial type shine. (Whitehaired asian boy.)
9. What color are his eyes?
Pff. Blue. Serious, hyper-saturated blue. (He gets a lot of puns about his first name and how appropriate it is in fanon. Either nobody dares or nobody notices in his canon.)
10. Does the character have any other noteworthy features?
He has a pretty nasty-looking scar in his right side where his rib was removed after birth--the mark all blade children have in common, which as I said before, causes pain.
He also has a scar on his left side just beneath the heart where he was stabbed by Kanon. (Yes, yes, his best friend tried to murder him. I seem to play characters who do that a whole lot, hm?)
If he has any other scars, he's made good effort to make them disappear.
11. What are his chief tension centers?
Eyes is careful not to give away any shred of tension when he's around people. Extremely careful. If he had any telltale tension centers, he's good enough at deliberately un-tensing them that it's hard to tell.
(I can't think of a single spot I've observed in him that visibly tenses. He's scarily cool-headed in both anime and manga. He controls his face and his body. Even if he's upset, you won't know it from anything he says or does--you'll have to really look for it in his words. >_>)
12. What is the character's wardrobe like? Casual, dressy, utilitarian? Bright colors, pastels, neutrals? Is it varied, or does he have six of the same suit?
XD Monochrome black almost all the way, and...well...he dresses like a more tasteful J-rock star, even though he's a strictly classical pianist. It's all bondagy-straps and leather, and midriff shirts and trench coats... It's varied, but it's mostly that sort of thing. (He has a pretty snazzy suit for performances, too.)
Oh, and he likes to hide a knife in his boot, and garotte wire around his wrists, under the cuffs. Of course...with his wardrobe, it'd be really hard to truly disarm him, anyway. >_>
13. Do his clothes fit well? Does he seem comfortable in them?
Probably too well. XD And Eyes carries himself like he's born to wear J-rock cast-offs. Scratch that, you're around him? He could probably be naked, and you'd still feel under-dressed. It's...attitude, again. Personal dignity. It's like...what he's wearing? he's the only person who ever could wear it. It's that kind of feel...
(I don't know how articulate I'm being. It's hard to explain Eyes' personality layers without sounding like i'm contradicting myself. He gives me more trouble and demands more expended effort for analysis than any other character I play.)
14. Does he dress the same on the job as he does in his free time? If not, what are the differences?
Mm. For perfomances he has that tieless tux of his. In his free time, though, he does look like a bondage slave. *sigh* And then he acts disdainfully towards anyone sexually forward at all. The tease...
15. You knew it was coming: Boxers, briefs or commando?
*snort* For a guy with no sexual appetite and what seems like a perfect inability to actually keep the top button of his pants done up in every shot he's in...he'd probably never answer, and you'd never find out. (My suspicions? It's a thong, and if you get far enough to find out, he'll act like you're lucky to get that far in the first place with his typical cold-fish deadpan dismissive-ness. Do you SEE the little sparkles I put around the words *closet homosexual*? *mostly-joking, but who knows with Eyes*)
Speech
1. What does this character's voice sound like? High-pitched, deep, hoarse?
Hmm...in the dub, they picked a nice melodiac medium male voice. In the sub...it's Akira Ishida, who's plenty famous and you can look up on your own. (And Gosh, it's a treat to hear the Spiral subs in a way--the dialect of Japanese is noticeably different for the Osakan cast voices, and GOSH Rio's voice is talented...but I digress. The storyline's butchered, but the VAs are good in the japanese.)
2. How does he normally speak? Loud, soft, fast, evenly? Does he talk easily, or does he hesitate?
Evenly, and quietly, without hesitation. (Let me tell you, he's a pain to get in-voice for. I spent over a year before I thought I had Eyes down to my satisfaction. He has an odd way of speaking, but I can't explain why I think that particularly because eyes' overall demeanor is so hard for me to pin down as is.)
3. Does the character have a distinct accent or dialect? Any individual quirks of pronunciation? Any, like, you know, verbal tics?
Ugh...
Well...he's more formal than he should be. (Makes him seem even colder.)
In the anime, he's got a british accent, which...though the voice itself is great, and nice to listen to, drives me a bit crazy, because Eyes' accent is a funny meld of about three different places. (Which for Americans is usually a really cheap way of saying you just don't know what a british accent sounds like.) He moves around a whole lot supposedly, so he has a very strange meld.
Nobody makes any comment on if he has an accent in Japanese. If he does, it's probably british. He was raised in the U.K. after all...
4. What language/s does he speak, and with how much fluency?
That's on his bio, already. ^^
He's perfectly fluent in Japanese and English, and makes a mess of, but can speak German and French anyway. He's a little better at German than French, but he's still quite bad at both.
He speaks German because of Kanon. (They grew up together, and Kanon's part german... Also, my fanon Eyes, after his mother dies, is taken in by Evangeline Hilbert, and she becomes his guardian--that's Kanon's mother for anyone who's confused. Evangeline's pretty awesome...special forces lady who taught her son everything she knew...)
He speaks French because it was his foreign language during his schooling, but his French is atrocious, so to get him to actually show it, you'd probably have to talk to him directly IN French, and then try not to laugh or look aghast. (The pronunciation's fine, but everything else is so simple and BAD it's hysterical.)
5. Does he switch languages or dialects in certain situations?
If a person talks to him in English or Japanese he responds accordingly... (And with ridiculously roundabout formality.)
With Kanon, he tries to speak more German, it's sort of a private, close language for them.
I already mentioned the horrible french.
6. Is he a good impromptu speaker, or does he have to think about his words?
Quite good. Thought comes quickly to Eyes in any event.
7. Is he eloquent or inarticulate? Under what circumstances might this change?
Uhm...he's probably fairly eloquent, but he's so curt with his words that he can pack a whole lot in a short space. (Or in a long space if he needs to, but he prefers to be concise--I make him a little more verbose than he should be, just because I'm me and I can't get a proper hold on that QUITE the way I'd like...*sigh* I'm working on it. At the moment, he's passable, but he's not "perfect" even now.)
Mental and Emotional
1. How intelligent is this character? Is he book-smart or street-smart?
Mm...all the blade children are supposed to be intelligent. Eyes isn't so much book-smart as dangerously practical, and unhesitatingly ruthless. (Even though he's soft-spoken and looks like a pansy, in all honesty...)
He's bright all around, even though he's more a performer than a researcher. I wouldn't say he knows all the back-alley urban sleazy stuff, but if you tried to think of him as an easy mark, he'd probably dislocate your shoulder in a mild-mannered fashion, then quietly ask for directions with perfect politeness and a tinge of irony. (And then if you pressed him again, he'd garotte you on the spot with no more dismay than if he were brushing lint off his clothes. He has a surprising taste for brutal violence and he's excellent in all forms of small arms combat and his own mixed art hand-to-hand.)
2. Does he think on his feet, or does he need time to deliberate?
He plans well AND thinks on his feet well. Like I said, all the blade children are smart. Eyes moves especially quickly. He's a person who likes to strike once, and strike precisely rather than wear someone down, and he has a keen eye for going for the throat so to speak. If you show a weakness? He's on it, and with enough force to keep you from coming back again.
He's also Kanone's escape-planner, though.
So a strong mix of both. (All blade children end up having very few pointed character weaknesses except for their inherent flawed construction and eventual madness/villainy. They're VERY strong characters. To countermand this to some extent, i added in the asthma to Eyes' character, giving him "no stamina" in addition to trying to explain his sniper-eye battle-personality.)
3. Describe the character's thought process. Is he more logical, or more intuitive? Idealistic or practical?
Logical-Practical.
He doesn't have much care for ideals by normal standards, even if he's the most faith-stretched of the blade children. As long as he and his fellows are saved, he'll do anything. He'll kill people, sacrifice himself, devote his personal fortune to the problem, or direct those under his "command" to murder and brutality. Eyes is exceedingly practical, and very, very direct despite the veneers and overtones of politeness. (His way of speaking and carrying himself makes his philosophies less obvious. This is deliberate to some extent. It gives him an edge.)
Despite this, he doesn't sacrifice his fellows, EVER, and will even intervene personally if one gets cornered, risking himself rapidly. This makes him quite a popular leader for all his coldness among his fellow blade children, and gives him a funny "honor" among them for all his ruthlessness.
4. What kind of education has the character had?
Well...ordinary formal education up to a point, then insane special focus in music, and training for piano under Kiyotaka Narumi. (Who can't actually play anymore what with smashing his own fingers...)
Oh, and Kanone Hilbert's taught him everything one could really possibly know about small-arms and hand-to-hand combat.
Eyes can handle anything from submachine guns, to pistols, to grenades...(he still prefers strangulation to anything with blood, though. He likes the intimacy of killing someone with your bare hands, though he tries to keep that bloodlust under control.)
5. What are his areas of expertise? What, if anything, is he interested in learning more about?
Music, obviously. Particularly, he specializes in piano, and more specifically, in "impressionist" works. (French ones at that. XD)
But he also knows how to play the violin.
And he's a strategist and tactician when it comes to organizing the other blade children or withdrawing them easily out of battle situations. (He uses his public resources as a celebrity to better hide and work through these sorts of things, too--that's mostly what I meant when I said he uses his public face. He keeps his reputation spotless, but uses the more bloodied people under him to do what he needs to.)
I suppose he's also good with "publicity"...a bit like Hizumi with people, but a different personality. He uses his press efficiently enough.
6. Is he an introvert or an extrovert?
...probably an introvert. It's not that he dislikes people, he just doesn't see much reason to involve normal people in what could be messy later. He withdraws himself to some extent deliberately.
What he's like under that is anyone's guess. Eyes' personality is layers on layers on layers of self-checks and self-imposed restrictions after all. Remove the restrictions and...I'm not really sure what he'd be like. Even before, he was probably fairly reserved, though, despite his open violence and bloodthirst. Quiet and cruel. He's softened to some extent with his self-imposed restrictions.
7. Describe the character's temperament. Is he even-tempered or does he have mood swings? Cheerful or melancholy? Laid-back or driven?
He's...nearly impossible to get a rise out of.
(By which I mean he never laughs in the series once, smiles very very rarely About twice or maybe three times, total, sheds a total of one tear in all his existence, and only really raises his voice and starts shouting once in the whole series despite being put into all kinds of dreadful life-threatening situations all through it. He doesn't even cry when Kanon gets shot, or he gets stabbed in the chest.)
...Nonetheless, he's got a nerve you could bend steel around. Physically, he's got little stamina, but he strikes fast, and strikes hard, quietly.
His personality is, like I keep saying, at once direct, and subtle, and he's insanely strong-willed and stubborn beneath that all. *shrug* It's pretty much his temperament just as long as you add "cold", too.
8. How does he respond to new people or situations? Is he suspicious, relaxed, timid, enthusiastic?
Er...he's reserved. He'll play politeness, but it's just that, politeness. Until he knows for sure that he's saved, he's not going to be truly open with anyone not involved in his little world of trouble. Even if he tells a character all the details, he'll still be reserved, and somewhat aloof. It's nothing personal.
He doesn't really see the need for more friends than he has.
And with new situations...? He thinks them out for advantages, then leaves them or walks into them with a cool head, and a direct intent. It's not suspicion so much because of the fast reactions. It's just...distance.
9. Is he more likely to act, or to react?
Act, but...he's got sharp reactions, too. It's pretty hard to catch him off-guard.
10. Which is his default: fight or flight?
Surprisingly? Fight. Or ignore. If he really thinks you're trouble, he deals with you. Otherwise, he ignores and takes it.
He never runs. Even retreat is just a move setting up a counterstrike. In his canon words, "we die the moment we turn our backs on our fate." Eyes Rutherford never runs from a challenge if he thinks it must be dealt with. He's very conscious of his leadership role, and the morale of those under him, and for this reason imposes that limitation on himself.
(I know, he doesn't look or really "act" like the type. His idea of things to fight is a pretty small, exclusive list, fortunately enough. He usually ignores "ordinary" people or problems. Malik became an exception when he showed the possibility of being part of the group he fights with.)
11. Describe the character's sense of humor. Does he appreciate jokes? Puns? Gallows humor? Bathroom humor? Pranks?
Dry. Very dry. So dry most people think he doesn't have a sense of humor. Nobody deadpans like Eyes...
Eyes has a curious blend of Asian/British humor. He understates, and he also enjoys situational irony or absurdity.
Kanon's cat "Mr. Liebe Whiskers" is actually a girl? Eyes is laughing like Hell on the inside, though you'd never know it.
Kanon's in jail? "This makes it significantly harder for me to urinate in your bed."
Rio's in the hospital? He brings her melons three times, then the third time when he's pulling something out of his pocket and she's excited, he asks deadpan if she'd like some dried fish and doesn't bring anything except that.
...Eyes has a VERY strange sense of humor. And he's sometimes a little mean with the people he knows well. (Personality-wise, he's pretty similar to Ayumu, there, except Ayumu's not usually mean unless he's imitating Kiyotaka.)
12. Does the character have any diagnosable mental disorders? If yes, how does he deal with them?
He has the possibility of losing his identity and restraint by the age of twenty...all things considered, with that hanging over him, he's incredibly well-balanced.
He deals with what he is by resolving himself to be "a bloodless, tearless demon" when he meets his fate. He more or less swears off most emotion. He still feels, but he works at deadening himself. It's why he's so damned reserved and calm and such... The situation he's in is pretty crazy itself, though.
13. What moments in this character's life have defined him as a person?
The death of Mizushiro Yaiba, more or less being hunted for all his life even up through childhood, his mother's death, Kanon leaving the blade children, meeting Hizumi, meeting Kiyotaka, meeting and attempting death-testing on Ayumu through various means and people...
A lot of things define Eyes.
14. What does he fear?
Losing himself to violence.
Moreover, he fears losing his "comrades" and fellow blade children.
He fears not being saved...
He fears having Ayumu join Hizumi and truly having no hope left for being saved...
Oh, and he fears Kanon being killed in a big way. A very big way. He's extremely close to Kanon even if they're both rather strange about showing it.
15. What are his hopes or aspirations?
"Salvation".
To live as a normal person with a normal lifespan.
This is the hope that drives him to do everything he does. He eats, sleeps, DREAMS that goal, and he'd do anything for it.
16. What is something he doesn't want anyone to find out about him?
Aah.
That he's in love with his half-brother? that's kind of a big one...
Or that he's a homosexual in general, but generally, being a homosexual is something you can live down more easily than being an incestuous homosexual. (It's more or less rotten luck on his part. He and Kanon technically share a father, even though they never knew him.)
Oh, and he also doesn't want his weaknesses found--particularly, he doesn't want people to find out who he cares about, because he can be attacked that way. He's extremely protective of his fellow blade children, and that's a bit of a weakness if you know him well enough to know that if one of them slips up, Eyes is there stepping in to deal with it.
If Eyes is on your side, he won't stop until he can deal with any threat against you. This makes him a touch predictable there if anyone notices. But...since Eyes is so direct, you normally don't get the chance to take notes and plan a second attack.
Relationships
1. Describe this character's relationship with his parents.
He only knew his mother, and she died when he was young. She was a bit...hesitant around him considering at five, he was killing things around the house, including the family dog with his violin strings.
So his mother started him on Piano to keep him from killing things.
He cared for his mother, but still...it was probably a bit strained at times. Young!Eyes was a very disturbed acting child...
2. Does the character have any siblings? What is/was their relationship like?
Technically, he has about eighty half-siblings or whatever...but in the manga, he says he only ever felt comfortable thinking of Kanon in terms of "brother". And even then, neither Kanon nor Eyes calls the other brother until later when they're getting ready to fight and perhaps kill eachother.
He and Kanon are ridiculously close, considering Kanon betrayed the blade children and said he'd hunt them all down and kill them, and Eyes lied about the existence of Hizumi. Eyes certainly doesn't let on that he has feelings for Kanon, even if he does.
Otherwise, his other siblings? He's one of about five.
Kousuke and he get along fine.
Rio has a crush on him (which he doesn't notice/pretends not to notice. She's really cute and flustered about it).
Ryouko hates his guts, but he doesn't return the hatred.
That's his "sibling" tree right there, even if Kanon was the one he was raised with. The other three are friends, and only technical siblings.
3. Are there other blood relatives to whom he is close? Are there ones he can't stand?
Uhm...technically Hizumi's his uncle, but they're not "close". Hizumi's very existence is a source of unease to Eyes, but...he treats him like a human being. He tries not to let on, and Hizumi can be charming when he wants to be...
4. Are there other, unrelated people whom he considers part of his family? What are his relationships with them?
Kiyotaka.
Kiyotaka's...very complicated.
Kiyotaka Narumi is like a father figure to Eyes, but also could very well let Kanon die. Eyes has a convoluted love/hate for Kiyotaka. (And it doesn't help he's a bit attracted to him, too. Just like with Ayumu, though significantly more frustrating and fascinating because Kiyotaka plays everyone like an instrument and hes really the only one who can do that to Eyes.)
Out of all the blade children, Eyes seems most devoted to Kiyotaka, save for Rio, and follows his orders to the letter.
5. Who is/was the character's best friend? How did they meet?
Kanon's his best friend. How'd they meet?
In a crib as their mothers put them to sleep.
Evangeline Hilbert and Lydia Rutherford were friends, too. Kanon and Eyes practically lived together, and...after Eyes' mum's death, they DID live together like siblings. XD
6. Does he have other close friends?
Mm...he's not as close to the others, but Kousuke and Rio, yeah.
And...probably Ayumu, even though they have a very stiff, awkward, wary sort of friendship where each is sort of watching to see if the other's going to see them die, etc...Ayumu makes him wear dopey rabbit-slippers when he visits the house.
(Oh, and he's enjoying Zexion so far, and is all right with Tielle, too, but he doesn't know them well yet. And maybe he's on good terms with Cole, and Grace seems pretty persistant, and he's opened up to her a bit... He might even be sort of friendly with Frauke in a stiff way.
SCRATCH that bit about Zexion after he found reason to suspect Zexion sent things after his guests. Bluebell is going down. XD)
7. Does he make friends easily, or does he have trouble getting along with people?
He's so formal, reserved, and aloof when it comes to people that even being good-looking doesn't really cut it.
All in all, he's not a people-person like Hizumi, but I wouldn't say he's unliked by the site members. he puts in little kindnesses, so they'll interpret him as just bad with emotions.
Deliberately.
(Eyes is maybe a LITTLE manipulative, too, though he refuses to use it like Hizumi does...XD)
8. Which does he consider more important: family or friends?
"family" technically. The salvation of the blade children comes first and foremost over anything else.
9. Is the character single, married, divorced, widowed? Has he been married more than once?
Single. (And still underage, yet. Though magazines like to say he's eligable for tabloid-inducing stuff. XD)
10. Is he currently in a romantic relationship with someone other than a spouse?
Uhm...no...not exactly, though he's probably holding a serious candle for Kanon.
It's debatable if he'd try to steal Ayumu if he could. The fact he thinks Hizumi's a corrupting influence wouldn't help his incentives, there, but he's enough of a gentleman not to, I suppose.
And he's flirting with Frauke to kind of use her as a "beard". XD
11. Who was his first crush? Who is his latest?
He's been in love with Kanon since he was nine, but he'll never admit it. Latest crush is probably Ayumu, though. (And Kiyotaka before that, though he knew that wouldn't go anywhere because Kiyotaka's married. XD)
12. What does he look for in a romantic partner?
Discretion certainly. Er...but his "type" is highly intelligent brunettes. (And men, for that matter.) I can't see him having an interest in anyone he couldn't respect as a person as well, and it's a bit hard to get Eyes' respect.
His...standards are a bit high for most people.
13. Does the character have children? Grandchildren? If yes, how does he relate to them? If no, does he want any?
No. Technically, he's probably not going to have children, between impending crazy, and the fact he's gay. It's...uncertain whether he'd want them or not. I think he'd have to know he was safe to be around before he'd ever even open up to the possibility.
14. Does he have any rivals or enemies?
Malik's trying really hard, of course... (he's not fond of Malik, it's safe to say, but he's not going to start anything. He prefers to finish it.)
And yes, all the hunters trying to kill the blade children, and...possibly Hizumi in the future, he thinks. If Hizumi does something "Devilish" and turns the corner, he'll have no choice but to be enemies with him. Hizumi could ruin everything.
And lately? Zexion. Though he's keeping everything formal and cordial on the surface and making an effort to seem interested in friendship with him.
15. What is the character's sexual orientation? Where does he fall on the Kinsey scale?
6. Pure homosexual. Poor man doesn't feel anything for women, and very, very rarely finds a man who suits his interests even then.
He's closeted, though, and acts like he just doesn't have time for that and is otherwise married to his work. *snort* Often this gets much interpretation. (Most people assume he's probably bi, if not gay.)
16. How does he feel about sex? How important is it to him?
Not very important. He can't afford to get involved, as he sees it. But he has very very private hopes that maybe Kanon wouldn't mind. (Unfortunately, Kanon's straight as far as I know Mocchan's playing him. Poor unrequited Eyes. I love being able to play that aspect of him, though. I never get to indulge there... *loves one-sideds*)
17. What are his turn-ons? Turn-offs? Weird bedroom habits?
Uhm...brains? He likes smart people. At least his level. Someone who can best him, and best him cleverly. (That's hard to do.)
Turnoffs definitely include vulgarity, though. Or nasty bawdiness. He wants someone with some class. Someone who doesn't rub it in. He's looking at you, Ayumu. He couldn't stand you and your depressing lack of faith at first but now you've really grown on him.
Beliefs
1. Do you know your character's astrological (zodiac of choice) sign? How well does he fit type?
Scorpio, as I remember. He...fits it pretty well. (And he should, because I pretty much chose his birthdate for that reason, bearing in mind that he's the youngest of the five blade children adn therefore has to be younger than Kanon, but the same age...)
The chinese zodiac bit is a bit complicated, though.... I'd have to re-calculate whether he's 1992 or 1993. Already had a talk with MOG about that... hmm.... (I bet I put him, and Hizumi at 1991 at least for blocked content purposes, in hindsight.)
2. Is this character religious, spiritual, both, or neither? How important are these elements in his life?
Uhm. He has faith in his salvation, but he's technically an agnostic when it comes to religion. He believes what makes sense when it's presented to him.
Before Tielle, for example, he wouldn't have believed in other universes being contacted. But he didn't bat an eye, and accepted it anyway. (He's not like Hizumi, there.)
3. Does this character have a personal code of morals or ethics? If so, how did that begin? What would it take to compromise it?
Mm. He only kills hunters. I can't see him compromising that easily...it's the code Kanon has, too. Otherwise, he'd do anything if it led to his salvation, and he follows Kiyotaka's instructions for such.
And he doesn't have many qualms with attacking someone personally, or physically if he can cover it. (He's essentially pragmatic, but not necessarily entirely selfish like Hizumi.)
4. How does he regard beliefs that differ from his? Is he tolerant, intolerant, curious, indifferent?
Tolerant and indifferent? XD
He doesn't mind. He's more focused on what'll actually help HIM though. Otherwise, he doesn't care much what you believe. He'll have time for altruism when hope's firmly in his grasp. On some level...he wants to be "good" more than anything.
5. What prejudices does he hold? Are they irrational or does he have a good reason for them?
The predjudice that fate is absolute, as is Kiyotaka's will, and Hizumi's ability. He also had a prejudice he's grudgingly overcoming concerning Ayumu's inability to save anyone because he was a faithless little bitch with no self esteem. (Which really angered Eyes.)
Now...he's overcoming it.
He still has trouble separating Ayumu from his brother, though, and he'll often talk of Kiyotaka in lofty adjectives and such, and of Hizumi's dangerousness, and the absolute power of fate and curses and such...
(Also, he thinks Malik has no class, but there's good reason for that--Malik came up and asked him some overly personal things, and tried to insult him.)
...He rather dislikes people not acting according to the utmost of their abilities, in general, and he likes logical, rational company more than other kinds of company.
Daily Life
1. What is the character's financial situation? Is he rich, poor, comfortable, in debt?
Filthy rich, but he lives sparingly...for someone in a glass-domed penthouse, anyway. He has very few personal possessions. Money won't save the blade children, but it certainly opens up the options, and anyway, what's he supposed to do? Be less excellent at his work?
He's famous for not really caring about his money. He throws charity things all the time, even if he privately calls them "petty" in disgusted tones of voice. (He can't be happy with them until he knows he can really do them without feeling like they're lip-service for the "goodness" of the blade children?)
2. What is his social status? Has this changed over time, and if so, how has the change affected him?
Crazy celebrity. He acts the part in a blunt, sort of going-through-the-motions way. He expected his excellence, after all, and planned for it so he'd have more resources for his colleagues and comrades.
It probably just made his inner and outer face more separate and more obvious, that's all.
3. Where does he live? House, apartment, trailer? Is his home his castle or just a place to crash? What condition is it in? Does he share it with others?
Rented penthouse. Glass-domed as I mentioned, with a really serious grand piano in it that he practices on almost constantly.
Any room is more or less just a room to him, though. He sleeps, eats, and goes through the motions, more or less, but he's not really that affected by his surrounding-home or material things even if he's developing a taste for quality.
4. Besides the basic necessities, what does he spend his money on?
Presents for his fellow blade children. (Particularly rather expensive muskmelons for Rio) and whatever else they need to pull off the raid they're doing. Eyes saves just about everything for rainy-day type stuff, and invests shrewdly between moments of disgust where he gives large chunks of his fortune away to charities. It's why he's a filthy-rich platinum musician with crazy-good press rather than a partying, drug-addicted wasted platinum musician.
Still, Eyes is kind of annoyed, privately, that he seems so effortlessly good with money. The strategy of it is no different from the strategy of other things and it comes easily, then. (It's "boldness" and predictions to some extent, so he makes a killing on his stocks aside from making a killing in his music, too.)
5. What does he do for a living? Is he good at it? Does he enjoy it, or would he rather be doing something else?
Concert pianist.
Oh yes, he enjoys it. He loves his music, it can be said, but until he knows he's safe, he can't enjoy it as much as he might. He can't enjoy much of anything knowing he's got a walking time bomb in him.
6. What are his interests or hobbies? How does he spend his free time?
Music. His free time is spent practicing, mostly. And keeping tabs on his fellow blade children. (He's a work oriented kind of guy.)
7. What are his eating habits? Does he skip meals, eat out, drink alcohol, avoid certain foods?
He barely eats. More or less, he lives off roomservice, dried fish, tea, and cookies. XD (He barely sleeps, too.) He doesn't touch drugs or alchohol because of his image.
Associations
Which of the following do you associate with the character, or which is his favorite:
1. Color? Blue. (Though nobody'd believe him considering all the black)
2. Smell? Leather. (He IS new-car smell.)
3. Time of day? Three am. (Insomniac.)
4. Season? Anything with rain. It reminds him of home.
5. Book? Rilke's Duino Elegies. (Poetry, in other words.)
6. Music? Franz Liszt's Religious and Poetic harmonies, particularly "the blessings of God in solitude", and Maurice Ravel's "Fountains."
7. Place? He misses Ireland in particular sometimes.
8. Substance? Piano Wire
9. Plant? White African Iris
10. Animal? Swan. (Canon, actually. Many swan comparisons.)
END
{{ Get the HTML here so you can do it yourself. }}