#oversteeped

I feel that he grew up to be the way he is because fate was simply just that unfair to him. It’s no surprise that one will develop some sort of coping mechanism if they failed to receive proper care and support when they were younger. In Reiji’s case, I feel like he’s had a competitive personality since the very beginning, and that he isn’t that type to simply sulk because life isn’t treating him well, but he’d strive to become the best he can so that Beatrix might at least cast a glance at him. Because of that, he’s set out the same sort of expectation for everyone else around him.

And then there’s Shu who received so much attention but is also put under tremendous pressure. I won’t go into detail about him, but he has his reasons for wanting to escape from what is thrown at him, too. I don’t blame either of them for turning out the way they did, but Reiji did have to live his life in resentment for Shu, an uncomfortable reminder of how little his mother seemed to care for him. A lot of this is just surface level, though. When it comes to family, especially vampires whose true ages remain a mystery, there is no singular emotion that can sum up the nature of their bonds. My guess is that Reiji doesn’t exactly ‘hate’ Shu so much that he wishes genuine death upon him, or else he’d probably attempted a long time ago. Shu might be a bit of a lost cause to him, wasted potential, one who threw away and did not cherish anything that was given to him.

Now imagine harbouring all of these negative emotions for your entire life while unconsciously having an inferiority complex, becoming obsessed with your own worth and abilities just to prove a point that you are someone that matters. This is probably also the reason why he appears so strict with Yui. There’s definitely some sense of projection. He’s ridiculously disciplined and expects the same level of dedication from everyone else, expecting them to prove their worth as he tried or still tries to do. I feel that he didn’t allow himself to display any weakness, and so despised it when he sees signs of that in others. His way of caring for others I expect would also be twisted in a some way. He genuinely believed that discipline, control, and constant self-improvement is important to survival. It’s all he’s ever known, probably.

Lastly, someone did a wonderful character study a while ago. It’s much more elaborate than what I have here. I really like their take on him.

https://narihira.tumblr.com/post/63820496449/a-sakamaki-reiji-manifesto-character-study