Ritsuka Aoyagi

ABOUT

ABILITIES

THREADING

MISC

WARNINGS

CODE BY

Please note that anything marked with a ** is headcanon. I will use this sparingly and only when canon lacks details. Weaknesses are combined with Abilities for those looking to get a leg up.

Ritsuka's life has been difficult and full of triggers. I'll have more specific details under 'Warings' and in the history section which can be found here. Also, the Loveless world has some key differences from our own which can be found here.

Ritsuka has no long-term illnesses or conditions. However, due to the abuse suffered at the hands of his mother, he's usually sporting a bandage of some kind depending on his latest injuries. He also mentions he's usually sick which is probably also a result of his injuries.

Additionally, he also seems to occasionally need glasses.

TDLR; mature, withdrawn, lonely, kind, a pacifist

His actions rarely mesh with his age, as Ritsuka is mature, intelligent, well-spoken, and has a darker view of the world for someone so young. Due to the abuse he suffers and the loss of his brother, Ritsuka has been forced to grow up, to act like someone older than he actually is, and this also creates distrust toward adults. At the beginning of the series, he pretends to be happier than he is to fool his teacher because it's easier than trusting in her. He's even seen wondering if life will end soon. While this can be used to his advantage and is later an asset to him, he starts off the series as a very miserable person.

There's little positivity in his life, causing Ritsuka to shut off from the world. The once-popular boy prefers to avoid his classmates and often thinks their antics are immature, claiming people who used and allow themselves to be used are idiots. Because of this solitude, he hates to hear words of endearment, especially "I love you", as he can't really trust they're sincere. His refusal to play the games of fake friendship also further servers to isolate him as he hates bullies and confronts several of his classmates for their behavior. This is made more complicated by an ongoing fear of losing his memories a second time. Though he's constantly trying to record memories with his pictures, the worry lingers.

But he isn't as cold as his personality may initially seem. As a very strong pacifist, Ritsuka is very strongly against violence, and he hates that he must act as a Sacrifice, that the world of Fighters exists at all. He won't allow Soubi to kill their opponents, which later leads to him befriending many of them. Beyond that, he feels responsible for his mother, wanting to care for and protect her, and he accepts her blame for changing, wishing he could give her the Ritsuka she wants. This protective behavior extends to his friends as he'll step in to play defense. When Soubi is down, he takes a cue from Yuiko and makes food for him, and he's even quick to point out that Yayoi should be sure to wear a coat. In a side story, the class fish note that when Yukio forgets to feed them, Ritsuka comes back and feeds them instead.

As his group of friends begins to grow, Ritsuka becomes warmer, starting friendships with the same people he'd been rude with earlier. With more people to trust, his world becomes slightly less dark, but he also begins to see the darker sides of the world. His trust in his older brother is shaken to the very core, knocking him off balance, and forcing him to depend on the kindness of the friends he'd gained. Most notably, his maturity shines through during these moments. Even in the beginning, when he doesn't believe Seimei could hurt someone, he listens but needs proof. As the story progresses, each story feels more and more likely so he begins to accept that his brother is a bad person. By the end, he's ready to confront him.

Surprisingly, despite his age and the name given as a Sacrifice, Ritsuka isn't unloved. Originally, we see his solitude, but it's largely self-inflicted. People fall for Ritsuka easily, even when it's not appropriate. Once he begins accepting their affection, he's quickly shown to no longer be alone. He's shown to be a loving friend who will stand up for those he cares for and feels a loyalty that has him willing to hurt for them. It's easy to see his loyalty for a family that hurts him, but it does extend to those with better intentions.

This isn't to say Ritsuka has no child-like traits. He's very bad at expressing his feelings, and often says the opposite of what he means when the feelings are strong enough. He's often seen sending Soubi away while wishing he was nearby. He tells Soubi to leave alone and then gets lonely when Soubi disappears. Part of this is likely the fear of getting close to someone again, especially while worrying he'll disappear, but it's partially a lack of experience in this new world with new people. However, he's also seen trying to grow. If he misses Soubi long enough, he'll reach out. Even if he doesn't want to think of Seiemi as bad, he'll listen to stories. Even if he hates healthy food and loves McDonald's, Soubi's cooking has had him introducing more and more healthy dishes into his diet. Still, there are some limits to how quickly Ritsuka can handle the changes in his life. He cares for Soubi; he cares for Seimei. How does he reconcile that with the idea that Seimei hates Soubi and wishes him harm? How does he handle the person he loves most, who claims to love him in return, being so horrible to everyone else. Ritsuka begins to accept that Seimei's done horrible things but still struggles with the image of the brother he once knew. That isn't to say he doesn't stand up to Seimei, but there's a part of him that clings to the Seimei of the past.

Ritsuka is 155cm or 5'1. He's a slender boy with large violet eyes and dark hair with bangs that frame his face.

He has no school uniform and he chooses simple clothing with no strong fashion statements. Occasionally, his shirt will have a 'cute' design of a flower or butterfly.

The most notable features that may stand out on Ritsuka are black ears and a long black tail.

I'll include some canon reference images. Clicking on a picture will take you to a larger version.

ABILITY

School/Academics

Ritsuka does really well in school, often receiving perfect scores. He also reads a lot, and his books of choice are beyond his age which sends him to a public library instead of having him stick solely to the school library. He also has nice calligraphy.

WEAKNESSES : he's bad at art and other things with his hands;

ooc backtagging ✓ fourth-walling ✓ threading jacking ? kidnapping ✓ injury ✓ killing ? physical contact ✓

What: Angst, hurt/comfort, dark, and recovery stories are among my favorite. I'm also open to fluff, slice of life, gen, light-hearted, and most other genres. I like action enough to write fight scenes and for the occasional meme. I'd prefer crack to be limited, but I'm fine with comedic/fun threads.

Who: Canon, cross canon, LAs, OCs, etc are all welcome. Evil characters are just as welcome as nice, and there's no canon exclusion. Basically, if you're worried about tagging me, don't be. I'll work with you. The only exceptions are canon doubles.

As a rough example of what to expect if you interact with Ritsuka: distant, not someone who's especially sociable, and he's not exactly optimistic. He doesn't like bullies, gets annoyed with them, and has a maturity that seems beyond his age. Ritsuka is terrified of losing his memories, wants to record important ones, and is terrified of being alone.

Where: Loveless, the manga

A note about AUs: I can AU him into another world within reason. I'm perfectly happy to work with you to figure out how this works, but some worlds will be more difficult than others depending on canon familiarity. However, I'd prefer his backstory stay roughly the same which might mean darker elements even in canonically light shows.

Want to AU him into Loveless but don't know how? Talk to me. I'll help with that, too.

When: I'm very flexible with this. Canonmates, we can work this out. For crosscanon, it depends on the meme.

Shipping: Sure, I'm up for it

MISCELLANEOUS

Family: Misaki Aoyagi (mother, alive), Unnamed father (absent), Aoyagi Seimei (Brother, Alive)

Ritsuka's in Class 3, Grade 6.

His favorite member of Morning Musume is 'Goma-chan'.

His name comes from Rikka, which is the first day of Summer. However, he was actually born on the winter solstice.

He's hardly a master or even especially knowledgable, but Ritsuka can follow a recipe and make a dish, which he does to support Soubi.

A picture of his house can be found here and a picture of his room here.

In terms of food, Ritsuka's favorite is McDonald's and chestnut rice. He also likes 7-11 burritos, cheesecake, pudding, onigiri lunches, soybean toasted bread, cola, mushrooms, toast with a kaya, and honey spread. Thanks to Soubi, he's started to eat beans tofu, and carrots. Ritsuka also likes milk and will drink it straight from the carton. He dislikes strawberries, burdock, sour foods, and coffee.

WARNINGS

Dark content. Click to expand

CHILD ABUSE - Ritsuka's mother is very physically and emotionally abusive. Ritsuka lost his memory and since, his mother claims 'this' Ritsuka took the 'real' Ritsuka away and often tells him to just bring him back. She also physically attacks him, often leaving small wounds. There are times this seems to verge on becoming more serious injuries.

CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE - This didn't happen to Ritsuka, but it does happen in the Loveless canon.

GROOMING/INTENDED INCEST - As we see more of Ritsuka's memories, there are some that seem to hint at incestuous intent and definitely cross the line of appropriate behavior. Seimei also sees Ritsuka as being created just for him, and his current objective seems to be a mixture of forcing Ritsuka to submit to him and punishing him for not submitting when Seimei asked. Even before his big gambit, he was trying to separate his brother from his friends and shows a clear disdain for anyone who isn't Ritsuka. Seimei also refuses to touch anyone who isn't him.

As a note, Ritsuka is a virgin. I'm not implying Seimei has raped him, but he has been inappropriate and seems to be grooming him for that purpose. If you're a Seimei player and have an alternative view, I'll certainly listen but otherwise and with this warning, I consider this to be canon.

INAPPROPRIATE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN ADULTS AND MINORS - Soubi kisses Ritsuka on the lips and often says he loves him. He also states he has no interest in Ritsuka in that way. Some fans believe he does, some see his complicated past and believe he's unable to fully understand why it would be inappropriate to kiss a minor on the lips. While I'll leave that interpretation up to Soubi players, there is physically inappropriate contact in the form of kisses.

On a smaller note, since it's anime-only, his therapist is sincerely trying to date him. Sincerely. It's a very odd thing to add so casually. However, his therapist in the manga does flirt with him, but it seems less serious.

If you wish to opt-out of interactions with Ritsuka, please comment here. If you want to leave a note, please feel free, but an explanation isn't required. For those interested in tagging with him but would prefer to avoid the topics discussed above, I can certainly work around them.

Normally, it's pretty easy to avoid warnings, and I'll always put player comfort first, but Ritsuka's are a bit harder to avoid as some signs are going to be visible. Examples include frequent bandages or minor injuries. He has no problem lying and claiming he was injured in another way, but if there are frequent interactions, frequent injuries will probably be noticed. He's literally almost always wearing a bandage of some kind. Adults fail him so hard.