Kuzuebiko | Itsuki Shu (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
syncintohell) wrote2018-06-08 09:00 pm
syncintohell) wrote2018-06-08 09:00 pm
APPLICATION
Character name: Itsuki Shu
Character canon: Ensemble Stars
Character summary:
Shu attends a private high school dedicated to producing idols for the entertainment industry, training, and traumatizing them. Welcome to Yumenosaki Academy; the idol industry is set on the stage of capitalist hell and the unworthy will be purged. Or in Shu's case, the unlucky.
Itsuki Shu was Yumenosaki's former Sovereign, who held title before the student council president, Eichi, ascended as emperor. He's a meticulous fussy auteur, who must have everything perfect and precise. His family might have lost its status, but Shu still holds an aristocrat's artistic ideals. He holds himself and his unit to incredibly high standards, getting them even professional attention before Eichi ruined his life. Unfortunately! Eichi ruined his life. This caused a mental break where he locked himself in his room for nearly six months, and disassociated a second personality, that of his childhood friend's dead mom, to act as his doll to be a reliable crutch for him to communicate with. Eventually, his codependent partner Mika helps Shu piece himself back together enough that he can return to the stage. Again he stands before the audience, now fueled by spite, regret, and the desire to do better for Mika, who just wouldn't leave him alone and refused to let their unit rot in the wake of their defeat.
While initially he performs at un-official off-campus lives to avoid the limelight and the reach of the student council president that felled him, when Eichi challenges him directly Shu returns to confront him and wins the challenge of skill. The challenge of audience approval, well, he didn't quite manage that. Still, the success was enough to start healing his fractured psyche. As the year progresses Shu talks to himself/Mademoiselle less, and starts moving forward again-- climbing back up, healing the rift between him and another former unit member, and pushing Mika to exist as his own person rather than as Shu's doll.
From the wreck Eichi made him, Shu is in the end able to return to the person he was before and improve upon it-- he's still fussy with high standards but far less controlling. He's always had a tendency to glorify and put those he loves on a pedestal, but now he's more capable of looking outside himself and recognizing other people as people. He trusts Mika with his unit, and leaves to go abroad: from someone who reigned as sovereign, to a person content to sink to hell, to person who realized he was still breathing and got up again to seek his fortune, Shu's arc is about falling from the highest of heights and still having it in him to recover-- even if he needed more than a little help from friends.
Character personality:
You know that kid that gets bullied and mutters angrily ONE DAY I'LL SHOW YOU ALL? Shu is that kid, except he grew up to be an idol perfectionist and not like, a supervillain school shooter. As a child he loved dolls and lace, and as an idol he took the things he was once bullied for and used them to his advantage as an idol, going all with them for his unit aesthetic. He was once scorned by the world, but now he will scorn them! ...it's something of a supervillain mentality, honestly, he is undoubtedly motivated by spite but he pours it into achievements: sewing the best outfits he can, beautiful choreography, and top-notch vocals. Shu is determined to succeed, and while resentment may be the foundation, the body of his work is built up to be more than that: he wants to create something beautiful and works harder than anyone to achieve that.
Which… can be a weakness as well. That drive gets exacerbated by pressure, and perfectionism can make him controlling. It applies to the stage, in which Shu once had his unit lipsync rather than sing live because that way they left nothing to chance and could focus only on dance and performance aspects, and when Shu is at his worst it can apply to people. When Eichi was pouring on the pressure, Shu was showing his first signs of instability by becoming hysterically mad and screaming at Mika that dolls should just move as he wished them to, when Mika touched one of the outfits without permission. This is something that he gradually overcomes through the school year, as he tries to get Mika to act independently (and leave him behind) and apologizes to another former unit member but it is very much something that is naturally part of Shu's character.
For him, the best way to express affection to his unitmates had been to refuse to allow them to fail-- so they all could grasp glory. During his downfall, he notes in his internal monologue that he thought if he showed affection, he'd be taken advantage of. Which explains a lot of how Shu's usual interactions go: he's thorny, fussy, and often scornful in conversations. Some of it is just his ridiculous perfectionism coming to the forefront-- lunch must be croissants, nothing else passes muster!
But some of this is Shu's ingrained difficulty expressing himself. After his downfall he undoubtedly cares about Mika, but it's not until autumn he's able to vocally be kind to him. Before then he takes actions like secretly finishing stuffed animals Mika had been working on, and agreeing to return to the stage that show clearly that Shu cares, but aloud he continues to have a tendency to berate Mika. His relationship with his childhood friend, Kuro, is fraught and complicated, and even when Kuro acts like they're on good terms, Shu's first instinct is to pick fights. This is influenced too by his temper, which, he has a mean one— after reading something mean someone said about his unit online, Shu once destroyed his computer with an axe.
Though Shu isn't completely abrasive with everyone. With the other eccentrics who were also destroyed by Eichi, he's more at ease though he does have a tendency to scold them for some of their more wild behaviors-- though he is also prone to outrageous behavior on occasion. When it was love at first sight when he met Nazuna, the other former member of his unit, he jumped out a second story window to go to him as quickly as possible and shower him with praise. Shu is undeniably a ridiculous extremist, and while his default is wary, sometimes things like his crush on Nazuna bypass all his other filters. He might be an ass in a lot of situations, but all he's also a romantic, who wants to produce the best works to show the world paradise out of spite, not someone who decided to kick others down with it.
As for Shu's behavior while "broken" . . . As mentioned, he spent six months mostly catatonic locked in his room. Recovery was slow, he had a tendency to just stop talking and walking, refusing to respond completely except through his doll, Mademoiselle. Word of God has confirmed Mademoiselle took on a personality as a result of his mental break, but her personality is not his but that of a person he idealized through childhood, and was comforting to him. If no one else was on his side, he could imagine at least Mademoiselle was there for him. As he recovers, she ceases speaking which causes him some distress at first but he does overcome. He also, when threatened by Eichi, locked himself in a room and had basically PTSD flashbacks or at the very least extreme anxiety under a blanket until he suddenly came to his senses, and came up with a plan to take him on. He also had some anxiety being watched in this condition, but that is not his usual state-- he is a performer at heart. The things in this paragraph are very conditional to canon circumstances, but since his time broken was mentioned it would be odd to not, at the very least, explain Mademoiselle.
Character in Imeeji:
To start with as a blank slate, Shu will still have his fussy perfectionist qualities, but he'll be more towards his of year personality and first year personality than his paranoid control-freak early/mid second year self or the broken wreck self he had to slowly pull himself out of. His natural willingness to work hard and bring his unit success will be there, but the desperate need to stand at the top won't be. His temper is still there, so he might still be argumentative but he won't tend towards paranoia that keeps him from expressing affection in any other way other than driving his unit towards success. His aesthetics are definitely natural, since they've been defining for him since childhood. The way love bypasses all his other filters? Also staying, because it took trauma for him to be wary around Nazuna. So largely his personality will be his more "ideal" self.
At least, as first. A lot of things will depend on how the dynamics develop not just within the unit but also with other units, and the order he gets his memories back in. If he gets early childhood, the war in Yumenosaki, or his going up against Eichi he'll definitely be more driven into the we must be the best, above all others mindset. Though that will also conflict with Shu's disposition some: for violent and killing games, Shu is going to be very torn because his natural reaction is going to be recoil. As noted before, Shu might be motivated by spite, but he's someone who took his spite and decided to become an idol and produce the best work he possibly could, not someone who decided well, okay, murder then. Which might sound like, yeah, duh, he's from an idol series? But this idol series is enstars, there are other murderers, Shu is just not down for that. If he feels the best way to protect his unit is through success again, it might sway him towards harder actions, but it does really depend on how things shake out and how far backed into the corner he ends up feeling or not feeling.
That said, I doubt he would forgo games completely, because it's Shu, and he's not going to just wash his hands of this and let someone else deal with it. Spite and bringing success to his loved ones are his motivations, even if this goes against the third motivator of his aesthetics.
Depending on how badly things go, it is possible he might reach a breaking point again, though I won't be aiming for it. If it does happen, Mademoiselle may or may not reappear-- if he hasn't many memories of Kuro's mom, it's just as likely he'll manifest his need for comfort and someone unequivocally on his side by disassociating a personality of whoever he thinks is the most comforting presence in his life in Imeeji or from what he recalls of his life in Ensemble Stars canon.
Azrael is intensely his aesthetic, but if people who are very hardball on games are on the team Shu will have trouble bonding with them. In general though, eccentricity doesn't bother him though he will probably sigh and fuss. At base this is unlikely to change his personality in any particular way, as he's someone who does go all in on expressing himself and the way Azrael is expected to express themselves lines up very well with how he is already.
BAD END = DEAD END I would have to write his profile specifically to make him okay with the team because otherwise ugh, these aesthetics are odious. It would encourage a good outlet for his temper though, and he might end up more likely to express it in the form of lives so he'd actually have a good outlet for his stress other than tying himself up in perfectionism.
sensitIV would suit him, but would definitely veer him towards his second year personality. Which? Both, maybe.
avante en garde would be difficult for the above listed difficulty with games now being applied to lives. Shu is not really here for straight up stabbing anyone, though the aesthetics do suit him.
All other units either wouldn't affect him very much, or I am putting a do not place request on.
Unit Preferences:
Acceptable: Azrael, BAD END=DEAD END, Taisho Roman Revolution, sensitIV, avante en garde
Do not place: alcheME!, pep!pep!, future is now, WILD CITY, Heart Soldier Senshi
SURVEY:
Character canon: Ensemble Stars
Character summary:
Shu attends a private high school dedicated to producing idols for the entertainment industry, training, and traumatizing them. Welcome to Yumenosaki Academy; the idol industry is set on the stage of capitalist hell and the unworthy will be purged. Or in Shu's case, the unlucky.
Itsuki Shu was Yumenosaki's former Sovereign, who held title before the student council president, Eichi, ascended as emperor. He's a meticulous fussy auteur, who must have everything perfect and precise. His family might have lost its status, but Shu still holds an aristocrat's artistic ideals. He holds himself and his unit to incredibly high standards, getting them even professional attention before Eichi ruined his life. Unfortunately! Eichi ruined his life. This caused a mental break where he locked himself in his room for nearly six months, and disassociated a second personality, that of his childhood friend's dead mom, to act as his doll to be a reliable crutch for him to communicate with. Eventually, his codependent partner Mika helps Shu piece himself back together enough that he can return to the stage. Again he stands before the audience, now fueled by spite, regret, and the desire to do better for Mika, who just wouldn't leave him alone and refused to let their unit rot in the wake of their defeat.
While initially he performs at un-official off-campus lives to avoid the limelight and the reach of the student council president that felled him, when Eichi challenges him directly Shu returns to confront him and wins the challenge of skill. The challenge of audience approval, well, he didn't quite manage that. Still, the success was enough to start healing his fractured psyche. As the year progresses Shu talks to himself/Mademoiselle less, and starts moving forward again-- climbing back up, healing the rift between him and another former unit member, and pushing Mika to exist as his own person rather than as Shu's doll.
From the wreck Eichi made him, Shu is in the end able to return to the person he was before and improve upon it-- he's still fussy with high standards but far less controlling. He's always had a tendency to glorify and put those he loves on a pedestal, but now he's more capable of looking outside himself and recognizing other people as people. He trusts Mika with his unit, and leaves to go abroad: from someone who reigned as sovereign, to a person content to sink to hell, to person who realized he was still breathing and got up again to seek his fortune, Shu's arc is about falling from the highest of heights and still having it in him to recover-- even if he needed more than a little help from friends.
Character personality:
You know that kid that gets bullied and mutters angrily ONE DAY I'LL SHOW YOU ALL? Shu is that kid, except he grew up to be an idol perfectionist and not like, a supervillain school shooter. As a child he loved dolls and lace, and as an idol he took the things he was once bullied for and used them to his advantage as an idol, going all with them for his unit aesthetic. He was once scorned by the world, but now he will scorn them! ...it's something of a supervillain mentality, honestly, he is undoubtedly motivated by spite but he pours it into achievements: sewing the best outfits he can, beautiful choreography, and top-notch vocals. Shu is determined to succeed, and while resentment may be the foundation, the body of his work is built up to be more than that: he wants to create something beautiful and works harder than anyone to achieve that.
Which… can be a weakness as well. That drive gets exacerbated by pressure, and perfectionism can make him controlling. It applies to the stage, in which Shu once had his unit lipsync rather than sing live because that way they left nothing to chance and could focus only on dance and performance aspects, and when Shu is at his worst it can apply to people. When Eichi was pouring on the pressure, Shu was showing his first signs of instability by becoming hysterically mad and screaming at Mika that dolls should just move as he wished them to, when Mika touched one of the outfits without permission. This is something that he gradually overcomes through the school year, as he tries to get Mika to act independently (and leave him behind) and apologizes to another former unit member but it is very much something that is naturally part of Shu's character.
For him, the best way to express affection to his unitmates had been to refuse to allow them to fail-- so they all could grasp glory. During his downfall, he notes in his internal monologue that he thought if he showed affection, he'd be taken advantage of. Which explains a lot of how Shu's usual interactions go: he's thorny, fussy, and often scornful in conversations. Some of it is just his ridiculous perfectionism coming to the forefront-- lunch must be croissants, nothing else passes muster!
But some of this is Shu's ingrained difficulty expressing himself. After his downfall he undoubtedly cares about Mika, but it's not until autumn he's able to vocally be kind to him. Before then he takes actions like secretly finishing stuffed animals Mika had been working on, and agreeing to return to the stage that show clearly that Shu cares, but aloud he continues to have a tendency to berate Mika. His relationship with his childhood friend, Kuro, is fraught and complicated, and even when Kuro acts like they're on good terms, Shu's first instinct is to pick fights. This is influenced too by his temper, which, he has a mean one— after reading something mean someone said about his unit online, Shu once destroyed his computer with an axe.
Though Shu isn't completely abrasive with everyone. With the other eccentrics who were also destroyed by Eichi, he's more at ease though he does have a tendency to scold them for some of their more wild behaviors-- though he is also prone to outrageous behavior on occasion. When it was love at first sight when he met Nazuna, the other former member of his unit, he jumped out a second story window to go to him as quickly as possible and shower him with praise. Shu is undeniably a ridiculous extremist, and while his default is wary, sometimes things like his crush on Nazuna bypass all his other filters. He might be an ass in a lot of situations, but all he's also a romantic, who wants to produce the best works to show the world paradise out of spite, not someone who decided to kick others down with it.
As for Shu's behavior while "broken" . . . As mentioned, he spent six months mostly catatonic locked in his room. Recovery was slow, he had a tendency to just stop talking and walking, refusing to respond completely except through his doll, Mademoiselle. Word of God has confirmed Mademoiselle took on a personality as a result of his mental break, but her personality is not his but that of a person he idealized through childhood, and was comforting to him. If no one else was on his side, he could imagine at least Mademoiselle was there for him. As he recovers, she ceases speaking which causes him some distress at first but he does overcome. He also, when threatened by Eichi, locked himself in a room and had basically PTSD flashbacks or at the very least extreme anxiety under a blanket until he suddenly came to his senses, and came up with a plan to take him on. He also had some anxiety being watched in this condition, but that is not his usual state-- he is a performer at heart. The things in this paragraph are very conditional to canon circumstances, but since his time broken was mentioned it would be odd to not, at the very least, explain Mademoiselle.
Character in Imeeji:
To start with as a blank slate, Shu will still have his fussy perfectionist qualities, but he'll be more towards his of year personality and first year personality than his paranoid control-freak early/mid second year self or the broken wreck self he had to slowly pull himself out of. His natural willingness to work hard and bring his unit success will be there, but the desperate need to stand at the top won't be. His temper is still there, so he might still be argumentative but he won't tend towards paranoia that keeps him from expressing affection in any other way other than driving his unit towards success. His aesthetics are definitely natural, since they've been defining for him since childhood. The way love bypasses all his other filters? Also staying, because it took trauma for him to be wary around Nazuna. So largely his personality will be his more "ideal" self.
At least, as first. A lot of things will depend on how the dynamics develop not just within the unit but also with other units, and the order he gets his memories back in. If he gets early childhood, the war in Yumenosaki, or his going up against Eichi he'll definitely be more driven into the we must be the best, above all others mindset. Though that will also conflict with Shu's disposition some: for violent and killing games, Shu is going to be very torn because his natural reaction is going to be recoil. As noted before, Shu might be motivated by spite, but he's someone who took his spite and decided to become an idol and produce the best work he possibly could, not someone who decided well, okay, murder then. Which might sound like, yeah, duh, he's from an idol series? But this idol series is enstars, there are other murderers, Shu is just not down for that. If he feels the best way to protect his unit is through success again, it might sway him towards harder actions, but it does really depend on how things shake out and how far backed into the corner he ends up feeling or not feeling.
That said, I doubt he would forgo games completely, because it's Shu, and he's not going to just wash his hands of this and let someone else deal with it. Spite and bringing success to his loved ones are his motivations, even if this goes against the third motivator of his aesthetics.
Depending on how badly things go, it is possible he might reach a breaking point again, though I won't be aiming for it. If it does happen, Mademoiselle may or may not reappear-- if he hasn't many memories of Kuro's mom, it's just as likely he'll manifest his need for comfort and someone unequivocally on his side by disassociating a personality of whoever he thinks is the most comforting presence in his life in Imeeji or from what he recalls of his life in Ensemble Stars canon.
Azrael is intensely his aesthetic, but if people who are very hardball on games are on the team Shu will have trouble bonding with them. In general though, eccentricity doesn't bother him though he will probably sigh and fuss. At base this is unlikely to change his personality in any particular way, as he's someone who does go all in on expressing himself and the way Azrael is expected to express themselves lines up very well with how he is already.
BAD END = DEAD END I would have to write his profile specifically to make him okay with the team because otherwise ugh, these aesthetics are odious. It would encourage a good outlet for his temper though, and he might end up more likely to express it in the form of lives so he'd actually have a good outlet for his stress other than tying himself up in perfectionism.
sensitIV would suit him, but would definitely veer him towards his second year personality. Which? Both, maybe.
avante en garde would be difficult for the above listed difficulty with games now being applied to lives. Shu is not really here for straight up stabbing anyone, though the aesthetics do suit him.
All other units either wouldn't affect him very much, or I am putting a do not place request on.
Unit Preferences:
Acceptable: Azrael, BAD END=DEAD END, Taisho Roman Revolution, sensitIV, avante en garde
Do not place: alcheME!, pep!pep!, future is now, WILD CITY, Heart Soldier Senshi
SURVEY:
Evaluate yourself honestly: what do you think your soul is worth?
Mine in particular? I feel no compulsion to ramble on about the value of my soul if you are so blind you cannot discern it merely by looking upon Valkyrie's works. I have poured all that I have into them, so if you still cannot evaluate my soul's merit then it is pointless to try to educate such a boor. If you truly wish to have an answer to this, attend our next live and there you will find it on stage before you.
Is there anything you would do anything to achieve?
Non! I am not Tenshouin. Do not be so ill-mannered as to assume I would do anything! I will carefully stage my actions and work towards the throne and success without compromising my values! To turn my back on Valkyrie and to succeed on another's terms would be nothing more than worthless.
What does hell mean to you?
Hell is a place where the dead go to rot, unable to reach their long dreamed of paradise. I expect it will be my final resting place, but for now I have yet to sink to those depths.
Which of these nine words is the most meaningful to you, and why? Idolatry, lies, transgressions, vengeance, sorcery, plague, devastation, inquisition, or temptation?
Kakaka! Vengeance! I will curse Tenshouin Eichi for eternity, and should I get my way inflict upon him a fear that will never leave him no matter how many reincarnations he cycles through! Tenshouin, should you be listening to this interview, I have not forgotten the debt you still have to pay for your actions!
Do you want a puppy?
Kagehira is more than enough of a handful to be looking after.
Have you previously owned a puppy?
Non. Though I have had in my possession a doll that is particularly prone to misbehavior and doing as he wishes despite orders otherwise.
Are you worried we've been recording this conversation?
What sort of interviewer would not be recording? I expect you to broadcast! Valkyrie does not give out our time lightly, you ought to be aware.
Do you have any last words for us?
I have spent enough time on this prattle. If you cannot provide me with a question, I will not provide you with an answer. Hmph. If that will be all, I will be taking my leave.