Name: 子鳥遊 燕 Takanashi Tsubame (Tah-kah-nah-shee Tsoo-bah-meh)
Aliases/ Nicknames: “That Swallow-Girl.”
Race:Shinigami
Gender: Female
Age: Seventy three years of age but physically resembles someone around the age of eighteen.
Height: 4’ 10”
Weight: 93 lbs.
Birthday: October 13th
Blood Type: B+
Sexuality: Heterosexual
Rank:Sixth Division Vice Captain
Reiatsu Color:Transparent Oily Pearlescent
Physical Description: Small of stature, Tsubame’s slim build is well proportioned between torso and legs but possesses long toned muscles hidden just below her perpetually tan skin. Tsubame’s face is soft with a small nose and marginally full lips. Her large eyes hold irises splashed with white, chocolate brown and spring green, surrounded by a lacing of dark lashes. Framing her triangular face is a fringe of straight cut black bangs along her forehead and surrounding those are white-silver forelocks that hang down to her chest. The forelocks naturally curl inward while the rest of her ebony locks are pulled to the back of her head and secured in place with a heavily starched amethyst bow. Continuing to fall from the bow, her hair ends at the back of her ankles and is tied off twice at her lower back and thighs with white bandaging.
Constantly keeping herself well groomed and grim free, Tsubame is fond of the backless Shihakushou, though she’s always woven the fabric used for her own attire to be assured of the quality. As such the fabric is far stronger than the norm and holds a violet and blue sheen under natural and artificial lighting. Accompanying her ensemble is a hand painted lavender, cut off furisode with periwinkle and pastel yellow floral inlay she wears open over her shoulders. Tsubame’s attached to the particular garment because it was one of the first she was successful in creating on her own.
Zanpakutou:
Unreleased: Elegance and simplicity is the basis for Tsubame’s zanpakutou. The Tsukamaki instead of forming the diamond shaped Same is a white pearlescent threading, much like wire, that circles the Tsuka in a simplistic wrapping that fits her hands perfectly. Following that the Tsuba is circular, with delicate cut outs that allows seven thin curves to pull from the slim edging before reconnecting with the blade. Between these seven curves are bright silver circles that can barely be called filament helping to indicate what the blade will be able to accomplish once released. The blade itself is a highly polished silver, the edge almost glaringly white in comparison. Finally the matching Saya is white, inlayed with intricate lace etchings made of mother of pearl and strapped as most katana are to Tsubame's left hip.
Shikai: (Not yet achieved) 運命の一連 , Unmei no Ichiren (String of Fate: Also a play on words as Ichiren means a series, chain or sequence of events rather than truly meaning string or thread.)
Release Phrase: 見えなく赤い糸は、時間にもかかわらず、場所に会うために予定されるまたは状況を接続する人。運命の一連。 Mienaku akai ito wa, jikan ni mokakawarazu, basho ni au tameni yotei chireru mataha jyoukyou wo setsuzokusuru hito. Unmei no Ichiren (An invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place, or circumstance. String of Fate)
Blade Description: Upon release Tsubame’s blade no longer retains the shape of a katana but keeps the same length. The blade of the sword no longer curves and straitens, while the center portion disappears leaving half a centimeter of space missing from the tsuba to nearly the tip of metal. The metal itself remains partially silver but picks up the transparent pearlescent sheen of Tsubame’s reiatsu, in essence the metal becomes glass like in appearance. The tsuba of the sword melts away leaving a trail of liquid silver threads as they intertwine down the tsuka and fall from its end in a tinsel like display, just like before simplicity is what the blade becomes.
Release Description: After the call to Unmei no Ichiren, Tsubame simply drags her finger from the tip of the blade to the tsuba, the metal melting away as it follows her finger tip and drips down her right hand tightly holding the tsuka. As the metal falls it reforms into the liquid silver strands that intertwine down the tsuba. Although Tsubame does enter Shikai, her reiatsu remains subdued to almost the same level she began at before the release. The held back strength is a ruse though, as Tsubame lets her strength show in sharp staccato burst through the shimmering threading she summons while in battle.
Offensive Techniques:
- 紡糸, Boushi (Spin) – The passive technique that occurs just after the release of Unmei no Ichiren, the silver threading that falls from the end of the tsuka, all one-hundred-fifty threads, begin to elongate with the ends about two feet down becoming invisible to the eye. These threads are constructed purely from reiatsu and controlled between the combination of mental direction and the tiniest of muscle movements in Tsubame’s fingers. Although invisible to the eye, the threads at this time are simply threads; they’re inherently tough, just like spiders silk should it be the thickness of a human hair. To balance out their invisibility, each thread can be seen as a white filament in a reflection, should the reflection be in metal, water, a mirror or whatever.
削, Chiku (Sharpen) - Tsubame's threads become blade sharp and can be used in varying levels of sharpness. At this time, Tsubame must call out the command, Chiku, to change the composition of the threads, and as a side effect, although the threads are invisible to the naked eye normally, they do give off a faint glimmer in strong light once the composition has changed. In most cases, Tsubame won't actively use this skill unless she's already gotten some of her threads bound around her opponent. Along with that, she tries to reserve this technique for as long as possible, her pacifist ideals keep her from wanting to seriously harm another, but if she absolutely has to, Tsubame will rend someone into nothing but hunks of flesh.
(One to two more techniques to come later, after a great deal of training.)
Bankai: (Not yet achieved) 運命の鮮麗な一連 , Unmei no Senrei na Ichiren (Resplendent Strings of Fate)
((Will add when and if she gains the use))
Inner World: Tsubame’s inner world is brightly colored just like her zanpakutou spirit, and is suspended in nothingness. There is no ground, there is no sky, only a forest of memory threads that have made up Tsubame’s life up until now, and a core of fated threads jealously guarded by Unmei no Ichiren. Because of the strange arrangement of Tsubame’s world, movement is difficult without practice in the suspended space, one must know how to pull themselves along with the treading to get from one place to another without destroying them. Each thread is unique and faded memories are pastels instead of bright and sometimes unravel or degenerate to the point that they snap with the lightest of touches. With such a personal inner world fighting within it’s confines and strictly forbidden by Unmei no Ichiren, the threads can be cut by simple means and if they are Tsubame would be mentally damaged or even die from the trauma caused by the severing.
Zanpakutou Spirit: An angel of vivid colors, Unmei no Ichiren appears as a tall maiden dressed in twelve layer finery with her crystalline hair coifed to perfection. Yet there’s a discrepancy in her perfect appearance, she’s stitched together from head to toe and her doll like looks are ruined as the treads that keep her together trail, hang, float and mesh with those of Tsubame’s inner world. Maternally minded, Unmei no Ichiren does her utmost to guide and mold her wielder into a proper lady and does not condone violence. As such she’s been a great influence on Tsubame’s fighting style through her quiet whisperings. Although motherly, Unmei no Ichiren has a sharp temper compared to Tsubame and is quick to anger, especially when Tsubame is treated badly or injured. If able to on her own, Unmei no Ichiren would materialize to watch over her wielder and dissuade those she thinks to be annoyances from associating with her.
Kidou:
Hadou:
- Shou (衝, Thrust)
Byakurai (白雷, Pale Lightning)
Bakudou:
- Sai (塞, Restrain)
Hainawa (這縄, Crawling Rope)
Seki (斥, Repulse)
Geki (撃, Strike)
Non-Spells:
- None as of yet
Special Accessories: Other than her near endless array of kimono, Tsubame keeps a tiny sewing kit in her shihakushou at all times. Really, it’s nothing more than thread of various colors and sizes, but it’s used often pulled out to fix a rip here or a tear there. Unless she really needs something to guard herself with, then she’ll expend that kit and whatever else is in it, including needles or pin cushions.
Skills: Besides the wonderful skill of weaving and sewing, Tsubame is naturally fast and bases her fighting style off a combination of that speed and her peaceful countenance. Trained in Hakuda and Zanjutsu early in life, Tsubame applied the relaxation she so loves with each and every technique, which when seen in action looks as fluid as Tai Chi. Underneath that relaxation is pure strength that shouldn’t reside in such a small body, but Tsubame maximizes her strikes by enhancing the point of the limb about to make contact with reiatsu for the briefest of moments before impact.
Abilities: Because of Tsubame’s past with the textile trade, she inevitably learned how to manipulate threads and filaments with her reiatsu. Mostly, she used the skill in her daily work of weaving, sewing and so on, but there are other practical applications. One would be using a large number of threads to bind an opponent, or create nettings and webs. Besides this obvious skill one ability she’s possessed for years is the uncanny ability to see the treads of fate that bind one person to another. She cannot always tell what a thread means, what color corresponds with who, but the one thread she can see is the red string of fate. Following that, Tsubame cannot see her own fate threads, but instead can only follow one attached to another person back to herself.
Personality: Serene would be a good way to put Tsubame’s general personality. She greatly enjoys the simpler things in life, like watching the clouds drift across the sky, settling down to read a good book, practicing Ikebana or playing a rousing game of Go. A pacifist by nature it’s incredibly difficult to anger or annoy Tsubame, she’ll simply use words and innocent actions to avoid a conflict if possible at all. If not, she will defend herself with the same relaxed peacefulness she always has, a style that tends to fool opponents into thinking there is little strength behind her attacks when it’s quite the opposite. Although brilliant in her own worldly experiences, she lacks a real education besides what little was provided in the Academy, yet Tsubame is an extremely articulate and cultured speaker. Tsubame is also very modest and becomes flustered when she sees a man shirtless. The trait stems from her extensive background in the clothing industry, she feels the body should be swathed in rich cloth that flatters the form and brings out the person’s coloration perfectly. Following that, the reason why she’s so fond of purple is because it enhances her own unique coloration.
Biography/History: “Interesting,” Tsubame replied softly, her mottled eyes darting about the small room she was seated in. “I suppose I could tell you my story,” shifting in mild discomfort her hands clasped atop her lap. “Unlike the rare few, I recall nothing of my life before Soul Society, but as far back as my memory serves I awoke in the Southern First District of the Rukongai. As with most, I was disoriented, could barely understand what or who I was and wandered from one place to the next until taken in. To say the least, I was blessed to find the family I did; they were the ones who instilled my love of fabric making even though their business was underdeveloped and beginning to fall apart when we first met.”
I still remember that first interaction; I had no name to give and was left speechless when lead inside their tiny living space. My mother, Takanashi Reiko, noticed the sores on my bare feet from walking for hours on end and cleared away a sleeping space. I was no more than the equivalent of a seven year old in appearance and mindset and was lulled to sleep at the gentle coaxing and her hands running softly through my hair. That night was heavenly, and when I woke the next day my mother was nearby and called out to me, Tsubame. I didn’t understand at first, but she’d just named me. She thought it fit some how, and I believe that may be a small lie. Just like myself, she wasn’t well educated in the traditional sense, and the blanket I was wrapped in that night just happened to have ornate swallows painted in vivid colors.”
After that day, my training in the family business began. My father, Takanashi Hiroyuki, was the one who wove the fabrics and he was the one to discover my talent for the craft. I was playing with the silk threads while he was busy with a customer, each strand was entrancing and I started to twist them together in increasingly complex patterns. By the time he came back I had and hand sized piece of loosely formed hundred count cloth. After that it was a whirlwind, I was taught to hand paint fabrics, how to use a loom and so forth. The family business blossomed, and it wasn’t more than three years before we were approached by the Shihouin family. Apparently, one of the more elegant of the kimono we’d made had found its way into the Seireitei, and they were quite impressed with the overall quality.”
From there, my days came and when in a similar fashion, I would spend ten hours a day either weaving silks or hand painting the fabric and on special occasions took the time to create kimono, or other clothing. But, the shops prosperity and growing reputation garnered unwanted attention. Twice we were robbed, and on the second happening, my father was caught in the fray and killed. For me that was the last straw, I couldn’t stand the disrespect and pleaded with the Shihouin for the chance to be trained in the fighting arts. Unexpectedly, they obliged almost immediately and I was entered into both Hakuda and Zanjutsu training. I still spent just as much time at the shop, but I regularly made the commute into the Seireitei once a day, which for the first few weeks was as awkward as could be. A kimono maker wasn’t exactly welcomed through the gates, and I often had to be received by a house member before I could even step one foot inside.”
Anyways, those years of training enabled my own reiatsu to grow. I had always had a slightly higher presence, and my teachers soon took notice, nurturing the growth with harsh but unequivocally important lessons in control. In one such case I was instructed to bring a spool of loose yarn and was forced to use my reiatsu to move a single strand. I had already practiced such a technique, but I was put through my paces that day, and proven to be far more advanced than I ever could have thought. Not more than a week later I was summoned to the house hold earlier than the allotted training time and was formally asked to enter the Academy. I was honored to say the least and accepted under the conditions that I could still practice my craft while in attendance.” Smiling reverently, Tsubame stood from her confining seat and bowed low. “Beyond that is the typical schooling we Shinigami receive.”
((Gah, such a crap bio...))
Powers:
- Hadou, one through four
Bakudou, one through nine
The ability to manipulate threads and filaments, and the ability to see the strings of fate that bind people to one another.
