Takuma Sakamoto

[TAKUMA SAKAMOTO]

N A M E '

takuma sakamoto (坂本琢磨, sakamoto takuma)

A G E '

sixteen

G E N D E R '

male

S H I F T I N G '

reptile. Japanese pond turtle, or nihon ishi game. His parents and siblings all shift into the same animal. Turtle Family for the win.

P E R S O N A '

Takuma, to put it simply, is a dork. Sure, he’s a good family boy; takes care of his younger siblings, does his fair share of chores, barely complains about his parents… but let’s face it, there’s something about him that reeks utter failism. His clumsiness, for example; no, don’t worry, he doesn’t have a tendency to break things… other than his own bones; he could as well fall off a cliff if nobody’s there to look out for him, which, after a period of time… oh, let’s say… around a few years in his childhood, resulted in a phobia of being completely alone, not to mention a bit of a dependent streak: he needs people, especially family, and if family’s not available, he’ll be sure to have a friend by his side.

Still, being the big brother figure he’s supposed to have in front of his siblings, it’s rather hard for him to directly ask for help. He’d love to be fully independent and, quoting none other than Takuma himself, “totally invincible”. Not a chance. He can be such a dreamer at times; he’s not ignorant to the dark side of the world, but the inner toddler in him, in that faintly weak heart pounding against his chest, thinks otherwise… but first he’s got to MAN IT UP. He’s not completely proud in himself – too much of a sissy, that’s what he thinks of himself, especially when it comes to his nose; it’s all buttony and flat and just – ugh, NOT manly. And ‘tis why Takuma dearest hides it behind a noseband whenever someone who isn’t family is around.

All in all, despite having dreams of being the manliest, buffest guy on the planet, Takuma is really just a shy, socially needy piece of fluff. He’s clumsy and gets frightened easily, but his diligence and determination makes up for what he lacks.

S K I N . D E E P '

Standing at a height of 171 centimeters, Takuma’s quite underweight at 115 lbs. Thankfully, he doesn’t really look it – at least, his arms don’t. They are muscular… but not like a boxer’s. Just muscular, a sure sign of working out regularly. His legs, however, are a different issue – they’re thin, like chopsticks, although this is usually hidden under loose trousers supported by nothing but belts. His eyes are pale brown, but most don’t see this – the noseband covering his flat button nose is enough to cause an immense distraction, not to mention his daily self-styled hair, once jet black but now dyed blond, as well as the stud in each earlobe.

Takuma’s animal form is much less intimidating. To be more specific, he’s a turtle. A tiny turtle. A tiny turtle originally found in the waters of the ponds of Kyushu, Japan. Not only is he obnoxiously slow in this form, but he’s ink black and shelled with yellow stripes on his wrinkly skin. His tongue is puny while his eyes are titanic and bulge out; not a pretty contrast.

A . S M A L L . T A S T E '

He was to take peach blossoms in his hands and conquer the cloud-veiled moon in the span of ten minutes. But first, he must face the almighty Dragon Warrior and the fearsome Tiger Princess – in other words, his younger brother Ryutaro and their even younger sister Komatsu. They were playing again, playing one of their favourite self-roleplaying games: Dragon Warrior and Tiger Princess Vs. Big Bad Takuma.

Outside, rain was dropping; slowly at first, as scattered, isolated individuals, then eventually in herds, herds of water, going splish splash, splish splash onto the light emerald grass. Takuma tried to ignore it all as he continued to play, occasionally letting out a barbaric roar that did nothing but send his siblings into fits of uncontrollable giggles. The rain fell harder, harsher; to Ryutaro and Komatsu, it was nothing, but for Takuma… well, let’s just say that his breathing hitched a few times, but no worries: with his beloved brother and sister around, nothing could beat the ultimate MAN that he was, yeah?

As if on cue, lightning flashed, lighting the midnight sky in a blaze of platinum streaks, followed by a drumroll of suspenseful thunder. At first, it seemed nobody but Takuma himself noticed it, but by the third clap, the supposedly fearless Dragon Warrior and Tiger Princess were screaming at the top of their lungs, scrambling like petrified antelopes pursued by mad-hungry lions as they ran for their rooms… well, room. To be more exact, Takuma’s room; mum and dad were out, which basically meant Takuma had the honourable job of babysitting for the night.

Yet, it seemed all the manliness in him dissipated with the rain, falling to the ground, condensing on the windows, evaporating into thin air. He ran as well, throwing the covers over him and his siblings as he shivered with a self-humiliating phobia attacking his mind, circling his comfort zone and snapping at all the support that held it up high to the sky of dreams and desired manlihood.

Dear god, He found himself mouthing. Stop, please!