Frequent Moments of Badassitude / Normal Theme || The Power to Strive | Shiro Sagisu
Moments of Turmoil || Will of the Heart | Shiro Sagisu
Emotional Flashbacks || Ichiban no Takaramono (My most Precious Treasure) | Jun Maeda ft. LiSA
"True" Anger / Out of Control ||Cometh the Hour | Shiro Sagisu
✖ Nicknames ✖: "The Shark," and, "Red Death," (the latter being a reference to his hair color and great white sharks, commonly called, "white death." more on that later). That being said, Makoto never made enough friends to get any from them. These titles were given to him by his enemies. "Tch...Damn cowardly fish... Come say that to my face!"
✖ Age ✖: Makoto is, currently, 17 years old.
✖ Gender ✖: A red-blooded male.
✖ Sign ✖: Makoto is a Leo. Confident, domineering, and rude as hell.
✖ Role ✖: Death
✖ Romantic Interest ✖: None as of yet.
✖ Sexuality ✖: Heterosexual. Makoto is a hot-blooded man, and just the littlest bit of a pervert. He isn't hateful towards homosexuals, or their lifestyle, it's just not for him. Though he'll never tell you himself, Makoto really just wants a normal, heart-pounding romance with someone who will accept him for who he really is.
✖ Nationality ✖: Makoto is 1/4 Greek and 1/4 American on his father's side, and 1/4 Japanese and 1/4 American on his mother's. This ethnic background is responsible for his oppressive height and build as well as his fairer skin. Despite his appearance, Makoto was born in Japan, and has lived there most of his life.
✖ Alignment ✖: Chaotic Neutral. Makoto is, currently, only out for himself. He does what he wants to do, when he wants to do it, and not a minute sooner. This isn't to say that he's a total jerkass. He still plays by most of the rules, though he isn't above breaking them from time to time to get what he wants.
✖ Face Claim ✖: Mikoto Suoh from K (Project)
Body type || Ectomorphic, but sturdy. Makoto weighs 183 lbs, stands at six feet two inches tall, and is made out of muscle, adrenaline, and the shattered dreams of his adversaries. Joking aside, Makoto's tall stature, domineering body language and bulk of muscle make his presence oppressive at best.
Skin Tone || Makoto is pale. He's not so pale as to set your eyes on fire after looking at him, but his skin ins't exactly swarthy.
Hair || An artificial scarlet (dyed) that sits both unkempt and yet carefully disheveled. It's only about neck length at its longest but only serves to accentuate his wild appearance.
Eye Color || A light brown with streaks of yellow. Makoto's eyes appear amber, or even gold, with the right lighting.
Typical Clothing / Attire || Makoto doesn't have much in the way of clothes, but he's taken more than his fair share of prizes from his fallen foes. This mostly goes in the way of wallet chains, (though he'll usually leave the wallet itself) rings, bracelets, and belt buckles. He's got enough pairs of plain white shirts and blue jeans to get by with, and he doesn't see the need to change his wardrobe anytime soon. He does, however, accessorize with a necklace, given to him by his grandmother, some leather braces on his wrists, and a leather jacket he's sewn back together more times than he'd like to count.
✖ Birthmark/Piercing/Tattoo/Scar/Noticeable Features ✖:
Makoto sports hoop earrings on both ears in the upper cartilage. Underneath his clothes, however, Makoto's body is riddled with scars. There are a few here and there all over his body, though his face is miraculously clear of them. The most prominent ones, however, can be found under his braces on his wrists from when he was sad, all over his back and shoulders from when his father got mad, and on his arms and chest from when he could take neither any longer. In terms of ink, Makoto's only got a few tattoos, but he has plans for more. In between the scars, Makoto's back sports a pair of wings. A quote given to him by his grandfather can be seen across his both his wrists. On the left wrist, it says, "You are strong, my boy." The right says, "Stand up and prove it." The only reason he even looks human is due to the long clothes he wears all the time. The better to dodge questions with.
✖ Gift ✖: Makoto's gift is exceedingly fitting for someone with a past as brutal as his. In more specific terms, one might call it, "Adoptive Muscle Memory." Put simply, if Makoto ever does something physically, if he moves his body in a particular way, or interacts with an object with a certain set of movements or positions, he will remember it forever and be able to replicate it whenever he so chooses. This replication is perfect in that he does it exactly as he remembers it. This gift is always "on," so to speak. Makoto can never turn it off. Because of its constancy, Makoto benefits from a perfect sense of proprioception, balance, and the extent of his physical capabilities. His body is constantly replicating and layering sets of movement on top of each other such that he is inescapably aware of his own body and its position in the space around him. This gift does have its limits though. Makoto can't just watch someone do something, or read a description of the action being taken and replicate it as if it were no big deal. While he could guess or try his best to do what he sees or thinks, Makoto really shines when he can have someone walk him through any particular physical action. It becomes much easier to remember if someone walks him through it as he watches it happen. This gift lends itself to usefulness in a couple of different ways. In Makoto's case, any motor skill can go from complete garbage to pure excellence in just a few short minutes.
Let's be serious here. For a hoodlum like Makoto, this gift is a godsend. It swiftly turned him from a punk with a baseball bat to a highly trained human weapon. He easily mastered as many types of martial arts as he could find teachers for, which is nearly thirty. If he didn't have such a bad track record, Makoto would make an excellent cop. However, as it stands, he more likely to be hired by certain seedy individuals looking for problems to disappear, if you catch my drift.
✖ Personality ✖: Frankly put, upon first glance, Makoto's an asshole. He's rash, crude, quick to anger, and more than eager to play off of just how terrifying his appearance is. This is, mostly, a sham. Truth be told, Makoto's kind of a sweetheart. He looks out for his younger siblings like you'd expect a father would, and he's exceedingly respectful of both his mother and grandmother. He used to work three jobs just to support them all. Sometimes, when he knows no one is looking, he'll even leave his umbrella for those unfortunate enough to get caught in the rain. Makoto uses his brutal exterior to hide from people. The one thing he's more afraid of than anything is that people won't like who he really is. By putting on a facade of indifference, brutality, and aloofness, Makoto can cope with the fact that he's afraid to allow people to become close to him.
Though he hasn't had much practice, Makoto would make an excellent friend. His persistence and compassion would easily turn him into a loyal and steadfast ally. His kind heart and practical intelligence would also make him a wonderful friend to get advice from, on just about anything. As a lover, on the other hand, Makoto may tend towards awkwardness, shyness, and uncharacteristically clingy behaviors. For his whole life, he's never exactly been popular, and the only girls that might like him are the kind that he doesn't want to associate himself with, namely, drama queens who are also attention whores. Makoto doesn't want someone who's only, "dating," him because of the scandal it would cause. Despite his appearance, Makoto really values the ideas of reciprocal love and respect within a lovers' relationship.
Though he appears to be a meathead, Makoto's actually got a decent brain in his skull. He had to learn how to study and get good grades so that his teachers, and parents, would leave him alone. His above average intelligence is, unfortunately for his enemies, coupled with an excellent intuition, observational prowess, and all the muscle and skill needed to grind them into the dirt. His ability to pick up subtle cues and gestures is quite keen, due to his many years of practicing picking up body positions, and he has enough smarts to put two and two together eight times out of ten. As such, he can usually tell when people are lying to him or hiding something from him. His years as a delinquent, however, have turned a quick wit and a sharp eye into even more dangerous tools than his skilled fists. This coupled with the fact that he doesn't exactly mince words can make him irritating, hurtful, and downright impressive all at once. In short, Makoto is aggravating to be around, but if someone can get close enough to learn the truth, Makoto will, likely, be putty in their hands.
- Makoto is an expert prep chef. His skillful hands can expertly wield any cooking knife or utensil with all the poise and precision of a dedicated master. Since he's had so much practice feeding his younger siblings, Makoto's beautiful dishes taste even better than they look, which is saying something.
- Makoto loves to swim. He loves it so much he gets up and does it every morning after he practices his martial arts. Makoto is a skilled swimmer in every style, and is wicked fast in the water.
- Makoto, frankly, is a terrifying fighter. Though his movements seem wild and ferocious, there is actually very little wasted movement. He fights as if he were the natural predator of men, with nothing but their death on his mind, regardless of whether he has a weapon in hand or not.
- Surprisingly, Makoto is rather skilled at most household chores and can clean a filthy house in a few short hours.
- Makoto's gift lends itself quite nicely to most sports and contests. As such, he is a skilled runner, swimmer, and soccer player.
- Makoto loves to paint. It helps with the pain. In his free time, Makoto tends to vanish into his canvases and blur the lines between reality and fiction until he is finally satisfied with the final product.
☢ Likes ☢:
- Freshly brewed tea. Makoto likes both warm things and the aromatics provided by good, quality tea. Win-win.
- His necklace. It's a memento from his grandfather, given to him by his grandmother. He cherishes nothing more.
- His siblings, and little kids in general. His red hair and wild eyes attract mostly rambunctious kids, but, if no one's watching, he likes to play with them when he has time. His younger brother in particular is at an age where he's watching a lot of super hero shows. Makoto can usually be asked to play the villain without a fuss.
- Cooking and painting. These two forms of art are the only way that Makoto can actively soothe his own temper. They are passions of his that he likes to do more than anything else.
- Deep inside himself, Makoto is afraid to admit it, but there is a part of him that likes fighting. There's something about the fierce struggle of it all that makes him feel alive.
☢ Dislikes ☢:
- People who are talk down to others. Though Makoto's definitely can't talk about confidence, as his own can be a bit stifling sometimes, he hates people who constantly push their confidence and on others. When it devolves into ignorance, arrogance, and sheer demagoguery, then Makoto gets angry.
- People who would forsake their friends. Trash, the lot of them.
- People who aren't passionate about anything.
- People who continually abuse those who are already beaten. Once Makoto's done with someone, he leaves them alone. He doesn't need to pester someone who's been utterly crushed.
- Continuing with the theme, Makoto hates people who act entitled, like the world is their's for the taking. If this person doesn't finish everything on their plate while eating out, Makoto will, depending on their relationship, either force feed it to them, or get up and leave without paying.
- More than anything though, Makoto dislikes himself. He hates people who lie to others and show a fake personality, but it's the only way he knows how to be around people.
☢ Flaws ☢:
- Makoto is much too quick to take rash action. Even though he's got the smarts to strategize, sometimes, he'd prefer to just smash shit.
- Makoto is excessively loyal to the few people who are in his life. He would trade the world for the safety of his sister, limitless wealth for his brother, endless happiness for his mother, or the chance at true love for his grandmother.
- Makoto has a quick temper, that much of his facade is at least real. He flares up much too easily about even the littlest things.
☢ Fears ☢:
- Flaming clown spiders. I don't care who you are, that's terrifying.
- Being alone. That no one will love him and he'll always be single. That people won't like him if he acts true to his self. That no one will ever be his friend.
- That, soon, his facade will completely rule his life and that he will have to be a ruthless machine until the end of his days.
- That somewhere, deep inside, Makoto likes fighting too much for his own good. Makoto is terrified of the rush he feels that comes with beating someone's face in.
- That he will become a monster like his father.
- Failing his mother, grandmother, or siblings.
☢Secrets ☢:
- His past.
- His personality beneath his facade.
- His current life at home with his family.
- His ability to treasure the nice things that people have done for him.
By this time, Makoto's grandfather, who used to own a dojo, took it upon himself to beat some manners into the now thoroughly rebellious Makoto. The cliched situation arises in which Makoto mocks the old man, and is consequently beaten to the ground by him. Using Makoto's insane talent for physical activity, Makoto's grandfather turned Makoto from a punk into a decent enough kid. He made sure that Makoto studied hard, and worked his ass off around the house and dojo. Though he couldn't get him to dye his hair black, Makoto's grandfather did succeed in pulling Makoto's grades up, as well as his discipline around the house. Shortly thereafter, Makoto's younger brother was born, and his father found a part time job. The family, though beaten down, was happy. However, this small happiness was short lived. Not too soon after graduating from middle school, Makoto's grandfather passed away, leaving his prized necklace to his grandson. Makoto took the death very hard, and his attitudes regressed back into their old brutality. Now, however, Makoto was trained in four different martial arts. His fighting style had become even more terrifying to behold, and he decimated gangs with a horrifying, brutal efficiency. It was at this time that he picked up the nickname of "Red Death." Over that summer, Makoto was arrested twice for delinquency, but the police expected that he was responsible for more than half of the gang related assault incidents, having sent almost fifty kids to the Emergency Room. The charges were dropped after his mother posted bail, however, they were still more than enough reason to deny Makoto entrance to the school he had been planning on attending, marking Makoto's third expulsion.
When Makoto's father came home early from work one day, having been fired for being late too many times, he learned that his son had been kicked out of his third school. He was, understandably angry, but to much too extreme of an extent. He lost it and went on a rampage, wailing on his son until Makoto passed out from the shock. Even as he lay bleeding on the floor, Makoto never fought back, and kept smiling at his younger siblings. This was the last straw. After years of sticking around with the deadbeat, abusive, horrible man, Makoto's mother had finally had enough. Makoto's mother formally divorced her husband, and moved back in with her bereaved mother. Enraged, Makoto's father marched over to his ex-wife's home and demanded that she get back together with him. When she wouldn't talk with him, he'd terrorize the neighbors and smash things. After three weeks, Makoto's mother was at her wit's end with him. She couldn't even work up the courage to call the police. Makoto, on the other hand, had finally had enough. The next time Makoto's father came to visit, Makoto was waiting for him, just around the corner. Makoto attempted to reason with him. He tried to get him to leave them all alone. He tried to tell his father that his presence would only do more harm than good at this point, and if he wanted to be in their lives, he needed to get his act together. However, like a wounded beast, Makoto's father refused any attempt at peaceful negotiations. He even had the gall to call Makoto a spineless bitch for trying to talk to him after taking his beatings for all these years. When these superficial attempts at diplomacy failed, Makoto cracked his knuckles and went to work. After all, he hadn't met his father out of the house to talk with him. Makoto hated that monster who dared to believe he was still a father. Makoto just didn't want his younger siblings to see what he was about to do. It began elegantly. Makoto blocked his father's blind swings effortlessly, and sent him sprawling to the ground. Makoto turned his back on his father and warned him to stay down. When his father idiotically tried to get back up, Makoto crushed the fingers of his left hand underneath his heel. When his father screamed in agony, Makoto kicked him in the gut to silence him. When his father was finally too battered and broken to stand, Makoto left, saying only, "You stopped being our father long ago. I don't want to see a pretender like you ever again." Having done what he'd came to do, Makoto called the cops and ran back home. He watched from his bedroom window as they collected his father, and the family hasn't heard from him since.
By now, Makoto was only a freshman in high school, but his attitude was terrible, and every student in his grade steered clear of him. Even the upperclassmen and some of the teachers were scared of him. However, the fear of what his mother and grandmother might do to him if he failed his classes was more powerful than any boredom he might have possessed, and his grades, at least, were decent. They even got him to work some part time jobs at local dojos to help contribute to the house's finances. It was at this time that Makoto learned to cook, clean, and properly do all the household chores, as well as any other martial art he could get someone to teach him. He was even so good at cooking that his sister and brother, who were now nine and six years old respectively, requested that he make their lunches instead of their grandmother. Embarrassed and flattered, Makoto offered to let his grandmother help him, but she just laughed. She was only too happy to use the morning for gardening.
In the eyes of his teachers and classmates, however, Makoto's only redeeming quality was the wonders he performed on the school's swimming team. In the classroom, Makoto was a devil who you left alone. He might not look it, but he had all the right answers and a biting wit to snap at nosy teachers with. Students who came too close could expect similar treatment. In the pool, however, he was "the Shark," cutting through the water like a razor sharp blade. Even though the teachers wanted to expel the punk from their institution, they had no reason to do so. Finally, during the summer of his senior year, he received a mysterious letter in the mail. His mother begged him to go. It was one of the few places he could get a college education. No one else in the Tokyo region of Japan would accept him, and she refused to have him working three part time jobs all his life. Doing as his mother asked, Makoto accepted, and he has taken the first steps of a journey that is bound to change him, right down to the core of his being.
☢Hospital Mental Evaluation ☢: Despite not actually having anything wrong with him, in terms of mental illnesses or genetic defects, Makoto is, clearly an extraordinarily rare individual. I'm sure any psychologist worth their salt could find a hint of megalomania, a battery of psychoses due to the trauma of his past, and even depression. That is, of course, assuming they could tranquilize Makoto long enough to get him strapped into the couch that's associated with those meetings. Makoto refuses to see a doctor about anything he might be struggling to move past, despite his mother's pleading.
☢ Other ☢: Makoto speaks both English and Japanese fluently. Otherwise, I've got nothing as of yet. If asked nicely, I could be persuaded to add character relationships with the other members of the RP. That may happen on an as it happens sort of basis.