Sabin

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, stories, exploring, Samantha, his friends, experimenting with his abilities, 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, The Society, Simon, people messing with those he cares about, being trapped/penned up against his will, Pain, Iron, Ishmael, when he doesn't have anywhere that he can really "be himself"

General Appearance (human form): Sabin is about 6’ tall, 215 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 somewhat long face with a long nose and refined, attractive features despite his indifference to style. He has a generally thick-average build, and fair skin (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 longer and sharper than they should be. Also, his ears come to slight points and his fingernails/toenails are or a stronger material, and come to points (though not overly long (in human form at least.) There are also old, nasty burn scars around both of his wrists.

Please See Further Below for More Reference Images

True Form: 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. 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), 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), his canines and premolars extend to full length, and the ends of his hair fade into semi-solid shadow and move about as if teased by a wind, rolling backwards down his shoulders/back. Additionally, shadowy tracers usually follow his movements. Also, his blood is no longer red, but now devoid of iron and partially comprised of shadow-stuffs (as he is now truly part shadow creature) - and appears black and wispy- when spilled it gives the illusion of being partially a heavy gas (think dry ice effects wafting off a liquid pool) though is in actuality mostly liquid and is not evaporating.

Clothing: Sabin is normally depicted wearing a Victorian suit, vest (any color, really) black cape, 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.

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)).

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. For a while, Sabin was unable to stay in one city for very long and could not find who would stay with him to help. The only thing that really kept Sabin going was his maintained (and somewhat macabre) fascination with monsters and magic - 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:

BEST REFERENCES FOR ART

~ ^ Character Reference Sheet^ ~

Featured Artwork

Creepy Resemblances

This section is for image and concept references from other sources that might give you some more ideas of how to depict Sabin

"Dolly Night" - from a company called "Puppet" - which is apparently a Yaoi computer game made in Japan, has a character that is so startlingly similar to Sabin that has me suspicious (seriously - I have enough Sabin commissions floating around the net from dates way before this was put out... >.> ).... especially being the copyright date is 2003. He's got long white hair, red eyes, a long narrow face, and a frikking Victorian suite... I can't find -any- disparity between this character and Sabin in near-human form (with just the red eyes slipping.) The character's name transliterated from Katakana is "Arusutatto" - which I'm guessing is supposed to be "Aristotle". Thanks to Daisuke-kun for finding these! Puppet's page is here.

More Art of Sabin:

Arania's Victorian Legends Art

Tavis's Victorian Legends Art

~ Tavis's Sketches and OLD Sabin Campain Art

Anya's Victorian Legends Art

Commissioned Artwork

Art from Gaiaonline.com

Gift Art and Art Trades

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

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 and air magics (shaping shadow - his forte, as well as a minor quiet spell and a slicing winds spell.) After the possession, in additions to form-changing, his shadow magics increased, giving him more diversity and strength with them (three dimensional shadows with a good strength to them, etc), as well as magics 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 much stronger than he appears, can see in pitch-blackness, his senses of smell and hearing are finely honed, and when extended, his claws incredibly sharp.

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 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 feral-acting. He likes people, can be a bit hesitant when initially making contact, having been burned in the past. But, once the ice is initially broken, he is too trusting too quickly of people, and very excitable. 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.

In Samantha, Tavis, and a few other close friends, he finally met some people who actually stayed with him through his troubles, helped him and truly cared about him. He warmed up a bit, regaining some of the humanity that was scared that he was losing before the merging. The thing that had scared him the most was being alone, and when he found people who actually accepted him for what he was, and genuinely wanted to help him, he pulled out of that slump – this probably is a major contributor to him haven gotten a more positive outlook on the merging process- on him not losing some of the more basic aspects of what it is to be human, instead, awakening those traits in the anju.

He also is awkward when dealing with people – he is too trusting, partially because he is not very good at reading others. And yet, he is fascinated by peoples' reactions and causing them. So while empathy and discerning problems is not natural to him, he likes to have an effect. Sabin is not very good at lying, and will avoid doing so through avoidance if at all possible. If someone seems to “not care about his ‘issues’”, then he warms up quickly to them.

He still is subject to bouts of guilt complexes, but not nearly as bad as he used to be. He’s trying to start fresh after the merging, but can’t get past the things that he’s done- now that there is no separation between the “me” and “it.” He really was the one who did the horrible things... but he didn’t know then what he does now. The things he’s done plague his conscience, and yet there’s still a spark of naive optimism in him and fascination. When things get really bad (or just sometimes socially), he’ll also turn to liquor. (Which is bad- he also can no longer do this in public. 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- the anju-side of him never really had a taste for liquor ("poisoning the body"), 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 is 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. He is not very good with money- not thinking very far ahead with it, and when he gets a large sum, is more likely to spend it on trivial or fleeting things. He is not very materialistic, except when it comes to books. His fashion sense is somewhat... lacking.

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, even though the anju’s experience makes him a bit more ‘natural’ to him. Even still, Sabin’s fascination has bled through and he is very excited with 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

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. The first time a semester Sabin would warn them passively 'not to sleep in his class' - after that he would look over to them as they sleep, not say anything, and keep on narrating as they wake up...

Other Personality Notes: Years after the merging, Sabin's personality leaves him as a man of extremes. He still has dramatic mood swings - sometimes very "anju-like" in personality, sometimes more open and personable. 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 curiousity, 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 gotten better with money (also out of necessity) and 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.

***

Back to Victorian Legends