Louis
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Description
At what appears to a full height of 160cm (5'3") and with a weight of around 53kg (116 lbs) is a red deer. This stag sees to be on the scrawny side, yet his body is toned from regular exercise and physical activity. His form is covered in a pelt of a tawny beige coloration presenting a slightly lighter variation of appearance than other harts of his kind. His rack tends to grow in a symmetrical eight points, four per antler, providing some added sense of height to his otherwise diminutive body (for his species).
Large expressive eyes, light brown in hue, lead the way in body language. Youthful and without apparent physical marring about the face, this stag often wears business formal or business casual for most occasions. A crisp button-down shirt, a form fitting waistcoat, a defining suit coat, a tasteful tie, and well-pressed pants paint the image of an epic businessman, yet the deer wears a varied array of loose-fitting clothing when not working. While a nice pair of shoes are necessary for any outfit for plantigrade feet and legs, his right ankle shines with metal where his left is covered in the fabric of a sock.
From just below the knee down, his right leg is entirely prosthetic. Top of the line, it offers functionality and mobility over pretense of normality.
Abilities, Talents, and Skills
The Perfect Lead Actor: Charisma, leadership, willpower, and adaptability all in one.
Louis has the kind of presence that is immediately felt when he enters a room. When he speaks, people listen. There's something about his voice that is soothing, enchanting, and even commanding. His body language snaps to whichever role is currently being played without the slightest hint of wavering, be it club leader, grim reaper, company boss, or even husband. He can commit to an image even in the face of great pain or stress. Precious few know the deer underneath the masks. There is an exact psychology to how this works and works so well and Louis has mastered it naturally. It's the same mental trickery that stage and street magicians use. People tend to have very little reason to believe otherwise or even want to believe otherwise.
Self-Defender: Hand-to-hand and firearms training.
Louis has been trained in hand-to-hand self-defense by the late Ibuki of the Shishigumi. The style used complements such a small frame and works especially well against larger foes and is designed to quickly use an opponent's mass and center of gravity to keep them grounded and vulnerable. Louis has an extensive pistol collection and is licensed to Hidden Carry in many places (as are his bodyguards). Refined by the Shishigumi, his ability with a gun is solidly above average. More importantly, Herbivores have amazing dodge skills. Where Louis lacks offensive capability, he makes up for it in his instinctual avoidance of harm.
His bodyguards have much greater physical aptitude, better hand-to-hand ability, and far deadlier firearms use. It's what they do.
Worldly Inspiration: A greater influence by association and presence.
Louis has a conviction and confidence that is absolutely infectious. Those that stand with him against opposition or obstacles will perform at increased levels over normal and demoralization efforts are nearly completely negated. Fighting harder, perceiving better, moving faster, lasting stronger. This does not grant people the ability or knowledge to do things they would not already know, but it gives a notable boost to what is known.
This does not boost Louis' bodyguards' ability as they already function at this level of performance by default. In dire situations, they can even go above and beyond in their duty and loyalty to Louis to reach even higher and completely fanatical levels than what Louis' peers would receive.
This inspirational power can be seen as a buff that can be used on a single target, so long as Louis entrusts a specific task upon that individual, even when he is not present. It lasts until the end of the scene where the objective is achieved or until such a time that Louis grows tired of waiting. Those that lose the buff due to time taken may additionally feel a sense of imagined long-range disappointment. Only one such inspired task can exist at a time.
Artistry and Etiquette: Good manners and great style.
Louis is skilled in most forms of social etiquette and is quick to learn customs of new people or places in order to present himself very formally. From how to dress to standing posture to knowing how to properly set a table, high class etiquette has been drilled into him from a young age. In addition to this, Louis is skilled in many forms of art aside from Drama. He excels in Dancing and Singing, but is also proficient at Fencing. While this might be considered more a sport than a performing art, this does mean he knows how to handle a foil and can, in turn, present the appearance of a knowledgeable swordsman.
CEO of Horns Conglomerate: Leader of his nation's largest and wealthiest company.
Successor to the role of CEO previously held by his late adoptive father, Oguma, Louis, with the help of his business-marriage wife, Azuki, sees to the day to day affairs of the company, delegates duties to various subsidiary presidents, all while helping to make financial decisions regarding new investments. While a heavy responsibility, this grants him immense personal wealth, national influence, and allows some weight when it comes to investing resources into businesses and services outside of his nation. With a name and face spread across national media, many animals treat him with celebrity status.
The Art of Imaginary Chimera: Psychological Manifestation of Fear and Intimidation
This is a mental process of pulling from the thoughts and memories that grant the user the most inner strength and using details from those thoughts to change the user's sense of self-image. Usually, only a specific target sees this projection, but there are exceptions. Varying in size and shape depending on the individual, the large image projected (now substituting the user as perceived) seems to move and speak exactly as the user does, though usually with a voice reflecting the monstrous creation. It is not a physical construct. This is a psychological attempt to demoralize, threaten, intimidate, and instill primal fear into the target.
Important Relationships
Employees: Horns Conglomerate base employees, managers, and business specialists representative of the Conglomerate and subsidiaries.
These are the people that help the Conglomerate create trans-national economic growth. They are almost completely non-combative, but they provide access to specialists for nearly any non-combat skill set or talent. They work for salaried wages and, in general, will never willingly place themselves in deadly danger. They can provide services and expertise for assignments and missions but will almost always require protection.
Azuki: Louis' wife, a red deer with keen business sense and nearly-unrivaled management skills.
Partner of an arranged marriage by Oguma and daughter of the CEO of a partner large company, Azuki helps to govern the company by Louis' side and often takes up tasks while Louis is away on business or at university. She possesses great business skills and has a mind set purely on what is best for the company. While she helps with basic tasks, she also serves as a public face and is considered to be a very attractive doe. Her presence alone at business deals or public events is enough to spell success, but coupled with the overpowering charisma of her husband, Louis, there has been naught but positive growth for the company and those they help financially. Non-combative, she knows effective self-defense and is usually protected by Louis' private lion bodyguards.
Bodyguards: Former Shishigumi members, at least one of these eight lions is nearly always at Louis' side.
These lions are former members of the Shishigumi. Reformed and very combat-capable, these lions almost always have a presence near Louis, but also serve to protect Azuki and other company assets. Specialists each in their own right, they often have other duties and are rarely always on shift at the same time, yet they make a formidable force against any that would threaten the safety of their beloved boss through hand-to-hand combat and firearms use combined with above-human natural strength, toughness, and mobility.
Flaws, Complications, and Hooks
Strict Herbivore: Only eats plants and plant-based foods.
Unable to digest meat. Consuming animal proteins can cause him to become ill. This can present issues where only omnivorous menus are available.
Physical Limitation: Small, weak, and crippled.
Louis grew up malnourished and with heavily stunted growth. Herbivores of his origin are naturally much weaker than most Carnivores and notoriously become completely blind in pitch dark. Additionally, Louis lost part of his right leg to help his best friend, Legosi. Though free of the branding on his right foot, he now walks using a prosthetic leg from just below the knee down. While he can move around just as well as he could before, losing that prosthesis would severely hinder his movements and mobility. Furthermore, he has immense phantom leg pains whenever Legosi is hurt that can disrupt whatever he's currently doing.
Prime Target: High profile, good and bad attention.
Former Beastar candidate, former gang leader, now CEO of Horns Conglomerate and an active social leader in the fight for integration and peace, Louis is a possible target for many types. Ill-doers might find him a better-alive-than-dead victim for ransom while others would have him eliminated altogether if possible. On the flip side, his presence may give do-gooders a desire to keep him safe in the face of danger, too.
Background
Shi (Number Four) was born of unknown parents as part of the Black Market's livestock breeding and sales where he spent the first five years of his life. Not knowing how to read or write or even speak, his only companions and friends were a lop-eared rabbit, Kyuu (Number 9), and an alpaca, San (Number Three). They spoke their own language and became aware from a very young age that they were meant to die as food. Shi was rescued from this fate by Oguma, the CEO and Owner of Horns Conglomerate, by purchasing the young deer and then formally adopting him. This was in secret, though; Oguma's infertility was hidden from public knowledge and the young deer was introduced as his biological heir. Very very few knew otherwise.
Named Louis by his eccentric and enigmatic father, he spent most of his upbringing learning only the best and given every opportunity to grow, but there was always his father's shadow and great expectation heaped upon him. His father and the CEO of a partner company arranged for their children to be married when they become old enough to better secure the future of both businesses. Louis had little difficulty getting accepted into Cherryton Academy where his natural charisma and celebrity status quickly made him the most popular guy in school. Head Student of the Drama Department, focused only on his own gain and image, he and the other students were forced to deal with the murder of fellow drama student Tem, an alpaca, at the hands of a mysterious carnivore that ate him. Hurt by the memories of what happened to San, his grief was private but his showing of respect to the fallen was loyal.
The later kidnapping of his then current love interest, Haru, by a mysterious group only known as the Shishigumi left him desperate, but the Mayor of Denko, also a lion, refused to let the story hit the press by responding to the crime with force. Threatening Louis with the blackmail of exposing his history, the deer had no choice but to let it go and told fellow underclassman Legosi to leave it be. Legosi, however, managed to track down the Shishigumi and assault their base to rescue Haru. Louis secretly followed along. Legosi decided to leave Chief Lion, the Shishigumi boss, alive in his escape which nearly cost him his life. Louis stepped in, though, and murdered the boss with his pistol only to be cornered by the remaining Shishigumi. He knew it would happen, though, and was ready for this act of suicide on his terms. He hated everything about himself anyway.
Louis lived. Leading member Ibuki decided to make Louis the active boss for the gang. It worked far too well. The Shishigumi flourished, but on Louis' terms. Ibuki became a close father figure and Louis discovered that Ibuki himself was originally meant to be sold as parts on the Black Market. This lasted until he was approached by Legosi twice, once to let him know he knew who killed Tem and again, in disguise, to rally Louis' aid in the upcoming duel. Realizing the importance of his growing friendship with Legosi, Louis decided that he had to join Legosi for his duel and leave the Shishigumi. This resulted in Ibuki driving him there, followed quietly by a gang motorcycle, before giving Louis a gun with the chance to shoot and kill him; otherwise, Ibuki threatened to eat Louis alive for leaving the gang. Unable to kill his best friend, Ibuki feigned an attack and was immediately shot dead by fellow loyal gang member Free. In so doing, Ibuki sacrificed himself so that Louis could leave the gang and live on.
Louis met with Legosi mid-duel only to discover that the wolf was faring poorly against the superior-in-strength bear, Riz, and offered Legosi the chance to eat him, to use that power to change and become something better. Louis lost half of his right leg but no more to Legosi and the duel continued until such a point that Riz surrendered and the cops took him into custody. Louis was given a prosthetic leg by his father and some time was spent in therapy learning to walk fully again while also graduating from Cherryton Academy and enrolling in Galdona University. During this time, the Shishigumi gained a new leader: a leopard and gazelle hybrid, Melon. Wanting to help the Shishigumi but not knowing how, Louis was at a loss until bad news struck: his father had been in a car accident and was now on his deathbed.
Fully realizing how much he loved his father and how much Oguma loved him, they were able to make peace before Oguma's passing. With his acceptance as the new CEO only days away, he meets up with Legosi to help him prepare for a massive four-gang turf war in the Black Market that Legosi is using to capture Melon. Now understanding just how much Legosi truly means to him, too, Louis inspires Legosi's efforts with a pact to fight the good fight together and gives much of his blood to mix with the wolf's in what is needed for his mixed-blood torch: a beacon of Carnivores and Herbivores joined together.
Late for the live broadcast of his inaugural ceremony and speech due to being hospitalized for anemia after giving blood for 'philanthropy', Louis hijacks the subject of the gathering to address the Black Market and the unspoken nature of Carnivores needing meat, using knowledge gained from the Shishigumi to call out specific cases to prove a point, which throws the people of Denko into a riot and Louis is carried away to be locked up in a room while he screams that the press needs to focus on the Black Market -now- because his friend is going to die. His behavior is blamed on the grief from his father's death. The Shishigumi witness the broadcast and leave their boss, Melon, behind to fight Legosi and break into the building, overpower security, and free Louis to take him back to the Black Market so that he can join Legosi in the conflict. However, all but Free give up to the police in their chase in order to allow Louis to make it. Free turns himself in afterward. Louis shows up to support his best friend, the rioting public unite to storm the Black Market, and Melon is eventually caught and carried off to jail.
Louis helps to push for the demolishing of the Black Market to make new homes and funded places to support the education, care, and social integration of hybrid animals. He and Azuki, now bound in a political loveless marriage, oversee the future of Horns Conglomerate. He also makes an expensive effort to release the former Shishigumi members and they, under legal probation, are hired on as personal bodyguards so that they can serve their remaining sentencing time through their service to Louis while he takes the forefront in pushing for peace and equality and total integration wherever it is needed.
Mood Music
"I will not be a statistic though they numbered me at birth.
I believe in coexistence. I believe in what I'm worth!
I will fight it, tooth and nail, claws and fangs and horn and tail,
I will fight to push the balance; we ain't even on the scale.
I'm tired of being scared and I don't know just how this ends
But I know that there's some good out there...
...what I need right now's a friend."
Louis and Legosi's Feelings + Reprise -- Once Two, Now Whole; Best Friends and Beastars
Beastars Season 2 OST - 'Between the Soil & Skyline' -- Shadows of the Shishigumi
'Protect My Name' ft. McGwire, Shwabadi, Shirobeats (Beastars) - Connor Quest! -- Pure Emotion, Heartfelt Frustration and Hope
BEAST★RS - “Animals” 1-Week PMV Multi-Animator Project -- Must be seen to be believed.
Beastars Original Soundtrack - Fighting Animals - Extended -- Time for Bloody Knuckles and Gunpowder Burns
Thoughts and Daydreams
So many dreams. Dreams big and small. Horror and hope. So much longing. Always reaching for something that isn't exactly there, be it a gun or an outstretched hand or... Or love.
My dreams...
Unpredictable, yes, but at the very least, no matter how things get twisted or blurred or lost to the background -- at the very least -- the dreams are my own. The only thing I can claim to be mine, solely and completely, with no contest or argument. I'm thankful for that. I'm thankful for my dreams.
In one dream, I was a bird -- I wasn't a bird, but I was flying like one, but I felt like I wanted to be a bird. Just for that moment. Free, no worries, arms spread wide and soaring the skies to wherever I wanted to go.
In another dream, I was trapped. Back again, back there. There. Barred, unable to leave, and I could scream and cry for help, but no words came out. Only noises. Noises that weren't words. Those great fanged faces walking by, laughing, dragging children behind them off to be slaughtered. To... To be eaten. Helpless.
Yet in another dream I was a pop star, made for the stage, built upon my experience as an actor, singing for the masses. It felt good, but bittersweet. The people listening didn't care about me, about my merit, about my ability. They wanted repeat perfection; they thought they wanted me, but they wanted the same thing as before. A few hits and...that was it. No more room for new works. No more room for appreciation or growth.
I'm glad for these dreams and I'm glad that they are dreams. Sure, nobody wants to be powerless in watching people about to die and maybe, well, maybe being a stage performer is great. Sometimes. But to not be able to go anywhere, to get away? What good would it do me if I have to soar forever alone? So I'll dream these dreams and I'll be thankful to dream these dreams, because I'm dreaming while I'm next to you. No matter how terrible things get, no matter which horrific dreams come true, no matter what happens... You'll always be here with me.
I... I hope you dream of me, too.
Ibuki...
Logs
- 2021-11-14 - Stunning Tricks and Quiet Whispers
- 2021-11-22 - What Darkness Lurks
- 2021-11-30 - An Honest Chat
- 2021-12-12 - Some Memories Need Healing
- 2022-01-04 Of Malls and Meetings
- 2022-02-24 - A Visit to the Louis Estate
- 2022-03-02 - It's Tutor Tamamoru!
- 2022-03-08 Business is War
- 2022-03-29 - Birthday Surprises
- 2022-03-29 - Birthday Surprises (Epilogue)
- 2022-08-21 - Oh Deer, A Surprise Announcement