Akechi
"You'll never see it coming
You'll see that my mind is too fast for eyes
You're done in
By the time it's hit you, your last surprise"
-Last Surprise, Lyn Inaizumi
BASICS
NAME: Akechi
GENDER: Male
PRONOUNS: He/Him/His
ORIENTATION: Who has time for relationships? (Gay)
BIRTHDATE: Early Summer 2748
AGE: 28 as of Early Summer 2776
LOCATION: Fort Weyr
OCCUPATION: Brownrider
WING: Eclipse Wing
APPEARANCE
EYES: Brown
HAIR: Brown
HEIGHT AND BUILD: 6'0", lithe and somewhat thin.
PLAY-BY: Goro Akechi (Persona 5)
FULL APPEARANCE:
Akechi is a fairly average man. He has soft. shaggy, chestnut colored hair. It's long enough to hang past his shoulders, or be pulled up into a small ponytail if he so choses. His bangs, however, aren't long enough, and hang in his eyes more often than not. He doesn't seem to mind this much, though he can be seen trying to tuck them behind his ears when he reads. He has russet-brown eyes and long, dark eyelashes. More often than not, Akechi is fairly covered up, giving him the appearance of being a little scrawny. In reality, he has quite a bit of muscle, just not the bulk to make him look imposing. He favors clothing that's relaxed an loose, verging more on the formal side. Its uncommon to see him in more casual clothing, but he does own some.
PERSONALITY
PERSONALITY:
To strangers, Akechi can be rather pleasant. He's well-mannered and polite. He has strong ideals, and isn't afraid of being candid about them should he disagree with someone, but he manages to deliver his words in a even, almost cheerful tone. What most people don't have time to learn is that this demeanor is largely a carefully crafted mask. Beneath it, Akechi is blunt, sarcastic, and sometimes caustic. He holds a strong resentment for those who take advantage of power, though he has a particular distaste for bronzeriders. This ties back to his father, whom he hates wholeheartedly and openly. He's easier to irritate than he lets on, and can devolve into thinly veiled insults if his patience is tested.
But when he's angry, his self control goes out the window. He's a force of nature; vulgar, aggressive, and on rare occasions violent. He can usually get ahold of himself after a while, but doesn't seem to have a healthy outlet for his anger. He would instead prefer to bury it and pretend everything is fine until it blows up in his face. Underneath it all is a bone deep loneliness that Akechi refuses to admit is real. He subconsciously longs for deeper relationships, yet holds everyone at arm's length under the pretense that he doesn't need others. In truth, he's fearful. He's hidden under his pleasant, plastic smiles so long that he wonders if anyone would want him around if they knew how he could really be. Time has made him realize his self sabotage, but he still struggles to let people in. He's fiercely independent, but has only recently realized that independence can coexist with healthy interpersonal relationships. He's slowly, shakily convincing himself that there's a possibility people will like him for just being himself.
HISTORY
FAMILY:
Shido (father, bronzerider, estranged)
Akeya (mother, deceased)
Various half siblings
SIGNIFICANT OTHER: N/A
BIRTHPLACE: Ista Weyr
HISTORY: TW: Death, mental Illness
Akechi couldn't really have asked for a better early childhood. He had a wonderful mother who loved him, who had given him part of her name. If anything, he wished she had been happier. Akeya wasn't troubled necessarily, she just seemed distant and sad at times. Akechi would learn later that she simply missed his father, who had left Ista around the time she discovered she was pregnant. She had told him, of course, but he hadn't kept in contact. Akechi had put two and two together after that. She must have missed him greatly. He learned through her and other weyrfolk the name of his father. Even young, he didn't think highly of him. On top of that, he found himself worrying for his mother's health more often than not. She often caught harmless, mild illnesses.
When he was eight, however, one of those 'harmless' illnesses took her life. It was traumatic enough to lose his sole parent, but he was the one to discover she had passed. As he grew older, the fact bothered him more and more. He came to blame and distain his father, attributing his absence and lack of contact to be the reason his mother was sickly, blaming him for her death. It didn't stop him from blaming himself on his worse days, but the most of his contempt was aimed at his bronzerider father. It didn't help that the care he received from the Creche felt... distant. To Akechi, who had received such warm, unconditional love from his mother, it seemed like some of the caretakers treated it as a job to do rather than something they enjoyed. This wasn't really the case, but his teen turns were filled with doubts. He was almost relieved to age into candidacy. The independence it brought was comforting and just the slightest bit lonely. He rationalized it would be solved with time. And, hopefully, a dragon as his partner.
Five turns in and Akechi found himself more than a little jaded, frustrated, and distraught. Yes, he was only 20, he had some turns yet to go before he aged out. And, even if he did, he could always go to Semaca or High Reaches. Less than a season after he turned 20, Cordaeth came into the picture. A bright, happy brown, completely unlike the dragon Akechi though himself worthy of. Not in a bad way, far from it! Initially, he considered Cordaeth to be far too good for someone like him, someone so hateful and vindictive. Those negative thoughts were somewhat literally squashed out of him. Cordaeth was determined to do so, whether by laying on top of his rider until he agreed or being as physically affectionate as possible. It was an unconditional love he hadn't experienced since his mother died. He'd be lying if he said he didn't hesitate to accept it.
Still, Cordaeth was just as stubborn as he was. He was worn down by the time they graduated, begrudgingly accepting the brown's fondness of him. He still questioned it jokingly, though he never did enjoy the 'grooming', as Cordaeth called it. It never stopped the brown, though. He'd find himself pinned in his dragon's paws should he have troubled thoughts where Cordaeth could reach him. As much as he liked Ista, the memories he had were painful. He decided to transfer them to Fort in the spring of 2770, right around the time Neozeoth's eggs were stolen. Though he was practically a stranger to the situation, he was... somewhat relieved to be on the 'right' side of it. And then, of course, Z'osh had to go and impose his will on Fort's wings. He grounded garnetriders, replaced all non bronze and brownriders in leadership positions. It struck fear into Akechi. The distrust of bronzeriders that had abated slightly over the last few turns flared up with a vengeance. It was something out of his nightmares. He only stayed for the friendships he had there. They were hard fought, and he wasn't about to lose them to some stuck up bronzerider with a massive ego.