Sabin Duvert
Apparent Age: mid 20's
Birthday: August 29, 1854
Race: Half Human / Half Anju (see below). NOT a vampire or a werewolf.
Place of Birth: The tiny village in the French Alps of St. Laurent du Pont
Likes: Mythical creatures and magic, the supernatural and paranormal, stories, exploring, Meat (esp. raw), to talk, Fear, to be in control, books, drawing and writing in his journal, eccentric fashion, arguments, shadows, getting reactions from people
Dislikes:
Vegetables, people messing with
those he cares about, being trapped/penned up against his will, Pain, Iron,
being made to feel guilty, admitting when he has a problem
Personality in a Nutshell:
Sabin is the result of a merging of two distinct and opposing
creatures/personalities. While he is one person/consciousness NOW, he is
still prone to drastic mood-swings and extremes in personality. By
default, Sabin leans more towards his original human personality: eccentric, curious, quirky,
friendly, and obsessed with the supernatural. However, the anju side of his personality
is manipulative, crass, sarcastic, irreverent, and enjoys pushing and
challenging people. Circumstances can even lead him
to darker, violent bouts.
Sabin feels pleasure (and derives energy) from the fear in others, and enjoys
getting reactions from people. While he has a taste for raw meat,
particularly human, he really tries to abstain from the latter (in most
circumstances).
General
Appearance (human form): Sabin is about 6’ tall,
215-ish lbs, with gray-blue eyes. His
long (mid-back), prematurely white hair is generally unkempt and pulled back in a ponytail
for convenience. He has a long face
with a nose a little too long/big for his face, but otherwise refined, attractive features despite his indifference to style.
He has a generally thick-average build (broad-shouldered and muscled, but
not sculpted.) His skin tone is fair (not ghostly pale, just fair). Aside
from his long, shock-white hair, Sabin has picked up a few identifying features.
Hs canines and premolars are a little longer and sharper than they should be.
Also, his ears come to slight points as do his his fingernails/toenails -
however, in human-form, all of these are very
sublte.
There are also old, nasty
burn scars around both of his wrists.
True
Form:
When his features are relaxed, he manifests characteristics that betray
his part-anju
nature: long, sharp claws on his fingers and toes (they slide out from a
retracted state), longer,
sharper canines and premolars, elongated
pointed ears that stick out to the side/back,
six
glowing red eyes (he has a set above and below his normal pair
((they pull back
into his face and the lids seal over when in “human” form, though if his face is
prodded they can be felt)).
Regardless of form, Sabin's blood is BLACK, now devoid of iron and partially comprised of shadow-stuffs (as he is now truly part shadow creature).
It doesn’t take much
for him to maintain the facade of being ‘human’ (with a few odd features he
can’t completely pull in under “distinguishing features”, but if he loses
a hold mentally (i.e. gets drunk, is knocked out, very emotionally distraught, or something
similar, or if he just wants to relax and let his features out) then he will
physically revert to his true form. He
is also capable of only manifesting select features from his true form (i.e.
pointed ears and claws; or red irises but not the other eyes, etc.).
Even
when in "human form", of the features of his true form are still
there, just pulled in.
Clothing:
Victorian: Sabin is normally depicted wearing a Victorian suit, vest (any color, really)
black Victorian cloak with capelet lapels, with or without his top hat. He has a silver pocket watch (that has
his name engraved on the cover). HOWEVER, this is by no means the only
type of clothing that Sabin wears. After all, originally he was from rural
France. He has more casual outfits that he would travel in.
Modern: Additionally, I also play Sabin in modern setting(s) - and can be depicted in
casual, modern wear, a traditional professor's clothing, or more fashionable
pieces that have a Victorian Influence.
EXAMPLES ARE HERE.
Also, Sabin has a rather eccentric fashion sense when allowed to express
himself, and tends to go overboard on the "When in Rome" adage, dressing over
the top even by regional standards. ((Ie, it would not be uncharacteristic
of Sabin, were he to go on safari, to fully deck himself out in a khaki
explorer's outfit complete with pith hat and binoculars)).
In sum - he's a
person, he changes clothing - so I'm not overly picky about what he's drawn
wearing.
CharaHub Pages: Modern
Version & Historical Version
BEST REFERENCES FOR ART
~ Character Reference Sheets ~
~ ^HISTORICAL / MODERN ^ ~
HUMAN FORM:
thick, but not heavily defined build, scars around wrists, large/long nose,
shock-white hair, red or blue-grey eyes, slight points to ears and fingernails
and prominent canines.
ANJU FORM:
large looming/hulking semi-solid shadow monster with six glowing red eyes and
grinning mouth full of sharp teeth; digitigrade and ebbing shadows
TRUE FORM:
six red eyes, long pointed ears that go back/to the sides, sharp teeth and
claws
MULTIPLE FORMS DEPICTED:
Featured Artwork
Not as on the nose for characterizations but some of my favorite pieces
nonetheless
More Art of Sabin:
Arania's Victorian Legends Art
~ Tavis's Sketches and OLD Sabin Campain Art
Miscellaneous Unfinished Sketches - that I don't think will be finished any time soon ^^;
Sabin "Cosplay" Pets - "pets" from GaiaOnline that have been edited to look
like Sabin/the Anju
Art Contest Entries that include Sabin
My First ever Gaia Art Contest - as well as a few selections from Kamiki's first
Sabin's Art Contest - Sabin and Ambrose pictures entry page
Sabin and Poisey's Joint Art Contest
Sabin and Kamiki's BIG Joint Art Contest!!
My 6th Art
Contest - Ambrose & Sabin Contest
Island of Dr.
Moreau art contest entries - see "Staff" section
Joint Contest with Sam Skip Sam
Background
in Brief:
In 1872, Sabin was possessed by a creature called an
Anju
(see more pictures below).
An
anju is a vaguely humanoid-shaped creature that is in essence a living
nightmare, comprised of shadows with six glowing red eyes and a mouthful of
sharp teeth.
Each anju is the living manifestation of a particular mortal fear –
his, ironically, is the Fear of Being Controlled. It attempted to possess his body when he was 18 in order to get access to the mortal realm - but it
didn't quite work out.
It whispered to Sabin in his dreams a
spell to summon it into Sabin's body (Sabin, unhealthily fascinated with
monsters, believed that it would summon a monster for him to see.)
The anju believed that the powerful spell would kill Sabin when he cast it, but
it miscalculated. It did nearly kill him, and shocked his hair white in
the process, leaving him dying as the creature was pulled in. Therefore,
instead of providing a healthy, uninhabited body for the anju, it bonded the
creature to Sabin's dying soul, saving Sabin's life and irrevocably meshing the
two together. For a long time he had a split personality as
they both shared one body,
the creature violent and feeling trapped and bitter. A human body was
completely alien to it, and its goal was still to spread fear and eat people,
and dealing with the constraints of only seizing control occasionally. For a while, Sabin
was unable to stay in one city for very long: irrevocably either killing or
hurting someone and having to run. He couldn't find anyone to help him
that would stay for long.
The only thing that really kept Sabin going was
his maintained (and somewhat macabre) fascination with monsters and magic
(having actually become what he always idolized - but never having anticipated
the actualities of what it would be like to truly BE a monster)
- struggling to understand what was happening to him and what it was that
possessed him. As time passed, each began to manifest characteristics of
the other - physically, emotionally and mentally. Their souls were bonded
and characteristics bled through. Eventually, through much time and effort
(and the assistance of people who actually stayed with him to help him - see the
other characters), and the agreed notion that they both despised periods of not
being in control, they resentfully at first agreed to attempt to work together
towards merging into one whole being. It was a long, grueling process,
fraught with much difficulty and hardship, but in the end (after a painful
physical and mental merging process) they fused into one whole being (though is
still susceptible to major mood/personality swings.)
*Before his possession, Sabin was a gangly (hadn't grown into his long arms
and legs), excitable youth, with mussy brown hair in a rat-tail, and curious
blue-gray eyes.
(BTW- that is VERY brief - I have many... many pages on Sabin's extended background ;)
Are you REALLY curious? I mean have
WAY too much time on your hands and want to hear more?
Check these Links:
Sabin's
Profile (written for the game, and longer than this one).
Sabin's EXTENDED
background - up until the point of the possession
More about Anju, and Sabin's anju in particular, and their merging.
Abilities: Before his possession (and one reason why Sabin was chosen) Sabin had the rare natural ability for will-magic with the focus on shadow magic. After the possession, in additions to form-changing into anju-form, his abilities with shadow magic increased, as well as abilities along the lines of Fear (inciting fear in others), Control (to a minor degree), and Dream (Giving others dreams, as well as later some abilities concerning actually visiting the dream realm). Sabin is also now also stronger than he appears, can see in pitch-blackness, his senses of smell and hearing are finely honed, and with sharp teeth/claws.
On the down side, animals can sense something wrong about him, and become very agitated in his presence. Additionally, iron now burns him on contact - a weakness of the anju.
Personality
((post-merging))
Sabin is generally curious,
quirky, and fairly easy-going, but is
subject to strange mood swings reminiscent more of the anju’s personality, making
biting or sarcastic comments, being very argumentative, or downright feral.
He hates the mundane, but will latch onto someone if they show promise of being
interesting. He is absolutely fascinated by the supernatural, and loves
books (or other media, depending on the setting) on the subject.
At the far end of the "darker" extremes - Sabin can be prone to a predatory
violence. Even though he now understand that it's wrong and the potential
consequences, he does have a taste for human flesh. And the
sensation of fear in others is physically pleasuring to him (and magically
replenishing), potentially goading him to go further than he intended. If
Sabin is in a situation or around people who encourage his darker nature, he can
easily be influenced and backslide into old, bad habits.
He likes interacting with people, ejoying goading responses from them or
learning new stories. However, he still has difficulty at reading subtle
emotions, and so can be too trusting too quickly of people,
and very excitable. Sabin is
not very good at lying, and will avoid
doing so through avoidance if at all possible.
After merging, Sabin
has a strange, almost contradictory outlook on humanity in general.
While he considers himself for the most part a member of society, he
simultaneously sees it as a weakness and a necessary evil (the anju part of him)
as well as has the strong need to belong and interact.
That coupled with his curiosity and way too much time spent alone kept
him from becoming more reclusive than he is.
When he gets drunk he reverts to True Form, no longer able to focus on keeping enough control to keep his features retracted.) He doesn’t drink quite as much since the merging, but he does enjoy loosening up with it, or socially drinking, but his bad habits of drinking to excess sometimes catch up with him unconsciously, and he drinks more than he intends (which lets his true form slip). He tends to be a very silly drunk unless he is drinking because he is in a bitter/sullen mood.
He is generally far too curious for his own good, his foolishness one of his more obvious shortcomings. He is reckless, and has a tendency to act before really thinking things through- going on a basis of what sounds like it could be interesting. Combined with his overconfidence in his own abilities makes for some bad mistakes.
Sabin is a blending now of both the anju and Sabin. He still has the fascination with the mystical and magical creatures that he always did. Sabin’s fascination has bled through and he is very excited by (and proud of) what he is. Because of this, he is still prone to recklessly experiment with abilities- he’s absolutely fascinated (and to a minor degree, morbidly so) with what he has become– stemming off from his childhood obsession with monsters. Now he is what he always hoped to just one day see. He enjoys seeing other people’s reactions to the strange, partially from his own fascination with creatures mixed with others’ skepticism and, now he’s realized, teasing and disbelief when he was a child, also mixed with his fascination with fear and the energy he draws from it. He knows it’s a bad idea for other people to see him for what he is, but at the same time he loves seeing reactions.
He is generally playful and likes to relax enough to be open with his friends and traveling companions. He gets very excitable and almost childish at the word of a possible sighting of a mythical creature or a good story. If an argument is started, then the anju side of him comes out a bit more, and the other person usually gets themselves a bit more than they bargained for. He has also developed a very understandable aversion to iron (as it causes him burning pain on contact), and pain in general. He has an affectation, sometimes bordering on a Hunger for raw meat.
He keeps a detailed journal of everything he learns or strange things that have happened, souvenirs, sketches, and stories he hears.
***
MODERN SETTING (Fast Forward from Victorian Legends setting)
Bio:
Years later, after Sabin's merging with the Anju in his nature, and his marriage
to Samantha, he survives up to the modern era. Samantha finally becomes pregnant
in 1979 (after a very special ... session) and gives birth to twins -
Eric and Alexandria (Alex for short). In order to give them a chance at a
normal life, Sabin and Samantha integrate themselves into a very normal
identity. Samantha as a veternarian, Sabin as a University professor of
Anthropology/Folklore. They don't tell the children about their magical natures.
Eric and Alex are born looking mostly human - their eyes are dark brown/almost
burgandy color, Eric with curly brown hair, Alex with straighter hair. Their
teeth are slightly pointed, and their nails grow fast. Iron would be hot to the
touch for them. Eric was very much like his father - finding his job very
interesting, and always wanting to be something special, interested in gaming
and roleplaying, and the like. Alex, on the other hand, always had the feeling
that the family wasn't quite normal, and it scared her. With a desire to be
popular and fit in she dyes her hair blonde, and tries to integrate herself into
the popular crowd.
They find out about the time they're 14 (this is a general age - you can tweak
if you want), after a difficult discussion. Eric takes it very well, Alex
doesn't.
Basic
Timeline of Sabin from Victorian to Modern Era
Other things of interest/amusement - Sabin is still a very quirky individual,
obsessed with mythology and monsters. He is a strict carnivore, he games with
his son, and is a very quirky professor. Woe be to those who fall asleep in his
classroom - as they tend to wake up screaming from a nightmare.
In some future storylines, such as the one where Sabin meets Den Maurlias again, Samantha passes away in a car crash around the year 2000.
Other Personality Notes: Years after the merging, Sabin's personality leaves him as a man of extremes. Eccentric is a keyword for his personality. He still has dramatic mood swings - sometimes very "anju-like" in personality, sometimes more open and personable - quirky with a sense of humor. He thirsts for reactions. Sabin never had the best grasp of understanding/empathy - even his human side. The anju's predicament with developing emotions left a fascination, along with the anju's fixation with control. He likes affecting people - doing different things to yield a reaction, and knowing that he caused it. Fear, of course, is a primary love - and it brings him pleasure, but he finds other responses fascinating as well. And of course, Sabin's true love of mythical creatures and things outside the normal realm of possibility or probability still thrives. It really ties hand in hand with his innate burning curiosity, which also ties in with seeing how people react to things that he does.
Sabin has gotten better at lying (he
has had to), and is not above spinning a false story to see the reactions.
He has acquired a
collection of mementos and keepsakes from his travels that are very valuable to
him. Many of his more esoteric possessions are stored safely away from
others, including his children before they knew the truth.
Samantha (and the children) act very much as a stabilization device for Sabin.
He cares very deeply for her - and in a very real sense he needs her. She keeps
him human, as it were - keeps his tie to 'reality' and his own conscience. He
would never hurt her at this point.
ALTERNATE MODERN SETTING / Vampire: The
Masquerade-setting Game
I've recently been
playing Sabin in a modern, World of Darkness online game. Much of his
backstory remains the same, but there is a big timeskip from shortly after his
merging to the modern era when he was put into a magical sleep. This
version does not include him having met Samantha or many of the other cast of
the Victorian Legends game.
This also has cut some of the chains that keep Sabin in check as far as his
dangerous impulses - being around bad influences has led Sabin to indulge in
some of his darker desires and taste for blood, making him an individual of even
more contrasting extremes - between an everyday friendly and quirky and
eccentric to outright murderous.
Kamiki put together profile pages for the cast from that game.
SABIN'S IS HERE.
There is also a tumblr account for the game, with many of the logs here:
Of Gods and Monsters
Creepy Resemblances
NOTE: I created Sabin and the anju in 2000. This was BEFORE Fullmetal Alchemist's sins character with shadowies/ eyes, and before the anime Hellsing. While I have heard that the Hellsing manga predates Sabin, I did not read it, and I don't know if the shadowy form with multiple eyes was included in the manga before I developed Sabin or not.
***
Sabin Duvert and Anju are © 2000 - present by Jenny, aka Arania