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 Posted: Thu Aug 27, 2009 3:25 pm
Character's name: 子鳥遊 燕 Takanashi Tsubame (Tah-kah-nah-shee Tsoo-bah-meh)
Aliases/Nicknames: “That Swallow-Girl”
Height: 4'10"
Weight: 93lbs.
Age: Seventy three years of age but physically resembles someone around the age of fifteen.
Occupation: Student and Kimono maker
Reiatsu color: Transparent Oily Pearlescent
Appearance: 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. Because of her fit physic she has almost no chest and a firm posterior reminiscent of an Olympic gymnast, yet she still holds her feminine curves. Easily seen as cute, 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 students, 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. 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.
Accesories: 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 desperately needs something to guard herself with, then she’ll expend that kit and whatever else is in it, including needles or pin cushions.
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.
Bio/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 aristocratic families of the Seireitei. 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 took it upon myself to defend our lively hood. Although in both robberies I was beaten badly, I noticed I had a knack for hand to hand combat. So, in the years before I applied for the Academy I begged for one of the aristocratic families to allow me to be train under there guards. At first they were admit that I remain uneducated in the fighting arts but were quickly swayed when a near robbery took place while one of their couriers was present. So, taking a few hours away from my daily textile work, I would train diligently in Hakuda under the guard’s main instructor.”
During those years I can remember being black and blue from his harsh training methods, but I can’t credit him anymore for the skills he gave me. I may have been a bumpkin from the Rukongai, but anything I asked about he would tell me with as much detail as he could. He was even the one who first recognized my budding reiatsu. After he told me about it, I couldn’t help but tell my mother as soon as I returned to the shop. It didn’t take long for her to prod me into applying to the Academy, and because it was her who wanted me to undertake the training to become a Shinigami, is submitted myself for examination that very day.” Standing after reciting her story, Tsubame bowed lightly. “And that is why I am here now.”
Zanpakutou Name: (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.)
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.
Spiritual 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 Element: At best, it could be partially light based, but is mostly dealing with threads and fate threads.
Sealed Zanpakutou Appearance: 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.
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. (An invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place, or circumstance. String of Fate)
Shikai: 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...
Bankai: 運命の鮮麗な一連 Unmei no Senrei na Ichiren (Resplendent Strings of Fate)
Kidou: None as of yet
Abilities: None as of yet
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. Talented in Hakuda, Tsubame applies that relaxation she so loves with each and every technique, which when seen in action looks as fluid and smooth 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. Zanjutsu on the other hand is much more subdued, Tsubame can still apply her style to the sword techniques but she is very average. Lastly, she’s subpar at Kidou, mostly because she’s had little chance to study the art and far prefers Hakuda to the various spells.
Hakuda: Talented
Zanjutsu: Average
Kidou: Below Average
Subject Taught: Zanjutsu
Expectations as an Assistant: That the other students will take her seriously and listen well when she corrects them on form.
Accomplished classes:Theory No. 1: Shinigami
Pending classes: Kidou No. 1: Reiryoku Control
Favorite Subject: Hakuda
Disliked Subject: Nothing in particular
Favorite teacher: None as of yet
Disliked teacher: None as of yet
Expectations for Teachers: A thorough and complete knowledge of they’re craft or the subject being taught.
Likes: Quiet spring mornings, Sakurami, go, relaxation in general.
Dislikes: Fighting without good reason and people who intentionally harass others for they’re own gain.
Hobbies: Sewing, embroidering, painting clothe and creating masterful designed clothing.
Quirks: A complete and utter weakness for small, cute and furry creatures, especially kittens.
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Posted: Thu Aug 27, 2009 4:06 pm
Awesome. Accepted, I'd just like you to edit a few things - in bio, you said that you trained hakuda, but when applying for the shinigami academy you can't exactly know things you still have to learn. And secondly, you have written out your skills really nicely, but it's much more helpful if you'd write just: hand-to-hand - talented, swordsmanship - average, kidou - below average. Othewise, I love how you made it^^
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Posted: Thu Aug 27, 2009 10:23 pm
I'm sorry to contest this, but Hakuda is simply the name of hand to hand combat used by Shinigami. The aristocratic families often employ low level Shinigami as guards, as has been seen in the anime, so I used Hakuda as the name of what she's begun training in. Really, it's a boon for the Academy when she's applying and I'm sure that other profiles have similar back stories that say they've gained one of the skills offered in the Academy. Also, my understanding of Hakuda is that it functions just as any other martial form, but includes reiatsu to enhance strikes. So, my character could easily be learning the forms of Hakuda but be unable to apply her reiatsu to it yet. Just like someone saying there character has spent time working with a sword, me saying she's started training in Hakuda is saying she's learning hand to hand combat. I'm sorry, but I'm well versed in the genera.
Besides that, I can list her talent levels for the skills, but I won't be taking out my description.
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Posted: Thu Aug 27, 2009 10:49 pm
I never wanted you to take out the description in the first place.
As far as hakuda is concerned - it should be okay if you don't claim to know most of the things you will be taught in hth lessons.
Accepted.
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