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futurology application
Jun. 27th, 2016 11:12 pmAPPLICANT INFO.
NAME: Chris
CONTACT: grayintogreen (AIM), quasigina (plurk)
CURRENT CHARACTERS: N/A
CHARACTER INFO.
NAME: Kisuke Urahara
CANON: Bleach (manga)
AGE: Likely somewhere between 300-500. He looks to be in his early thirties.
APPEARANCE: BOOM
CANON POINT: Chapter 423 (end of the Deicide arc)
BACKGROUND: A tale of heartbreak, betrayal, and well-intentioned manipulation
PERSONALITY:
The Japanese have two concepts called tatemae and honne, which is described as "the contrast between a person’s true feelings and desires, often kept hidden to oneself, and the behavior and opinions they display in public to satisfy society’s demands," and it's in this concept that we can only hope to understand precisely the sort of person Urahara Kisuke is.
Urahara's public face is good-natured, endearing, and polite, but with just enough insincerity to everything that he does to put people off. His manner of speech is generally mild, sprinkled with occasional sarcasm and humor (usually at the other person's expense, though he's never actively malicious with it). He keeps people at arms length by being deliberately frustrating and theatrical, and only those close to him can usually tell the difference between his "acting" and his sincerity. He doesn't open up to very many people, however, so most people only see him for what he wants them to think he is- just a friendly, slightly perverted, handsome candy store owner. Even when they peel back the curtain and see that he's extremely smart and extremely powerful and has more depth than a coaster, that's still barely the tip of the iceberg, and you'll wreck yourself like the Titanic trying to get much more than that half the time.
Urahara's a mastermind who has been screwed over one too many times, and refuses to be a bitch to Fate, which usually manifests in him having to control literally everything around him. He's practical and while not a bad person, he's not necessarily a nice one, and tends to see everything in "big picture" terms, which means he understands, probably better than anyone, that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. He keeps his cards close to his chest for the sake of keeping his pieces moving, and to keep himself solely with the burden of making the hard choices he doesn't think anyone would be capable of making if they saw what he saw.
And seeing is what Urahara does. Not only does he see all possible ways a scenario might play out, so he can try to work every outcome to his advantage, he also understands people too, and he trusts people to do what's in their nature to do. It's most clear with Ichigo- he lets the kid make his own mistakes, because he knows it's the only way he'll learn that a situation is too much for him and he'll need to ask for help. Conversely, however, this allows him to manipulate people by laying out problems with the minimal amount of information required to get a specific reaction or by giving them the exact incentive they need to comply. He doesn't do it with ill intent, but he still does it, and he's self-aware enough to know that makes him a shitty person.
His loyalty runs deep (especially when it comes to those close to him), but loyalty doesn't override what needs to be done, so he will often send the people he loves into dangerous situations, knowing that all he can do is have faith they can manage it. He rarely lets his own feelings get in the way of a problem, which is probably one reason why he avoids involving himself in situations personally- the less emotionally involved he is, the more objective he can be, and it's a lot harder to maintain control over a situation that you're actively engaging in. It's not that he doesn't care (though he's convincing enough that people suspect he doesn't) or that he doesn't feel any guilt at all, it's just that very little has ever been solved through rash, overly emotional reaction, and guilt doesn't make the problem go away. He doesn't believe in rushing blindly into anything, and tends to be fairly blunt in correcting that behavior in other people. He also doesn't wallow in his guilt and tends to throw himself into his work to either distract himself or find a way to make amends for whatever he might feel guilty for (this is made pretty obvious through his creation of an extremely powerful (and dangerous) magical artifact and his later discovery of a way to restore Ichigo's Shinigami powers after he lost them in a last ditch effort to defeat a powerful enemy).
He deals in absolutes and everything he does, he does with 100% conviction. He never believes anything he sets his mind to do will fail, he never expects to lose a fight, and somehow none of this comes off as arrogance. He knows he's intelligent and powerful (and usually downplays it when people comment on it), and he doesn't have to brag about it, though he will if he feels that someone is stepping on his toes or stealing his thunder. For someone as self-assured and confident as Urahara is, he genuinely feels that his intelligence is his only redeeming quality and that no one would give a damn about him if he weren't capable of solving problems for them. He might not let his self-loathing and guilt interfere with his life, but that doesn't mean those feelings aren't there, and that he doesn't deeply want to be liked and accepted by the people around him.
ABILITIES: Let's get one thing out here, man. Urahara is good at Literally Everything, and the only reason this is tolerable is because he'd rather do Science than get involved in anyone's bullshit or his own bullshit if he's got people who can do it for him.
THAT BEING SAID.
GENERAL SHINIGAMI TRAITS: Urahara inhabits a gigai, which is a fake body that enables souls to exist among ordinary humans. When he's in it, he is effectively... a normal person as far as anyone can tell. It shields his reiatsu and enables everyone to see him. When he's out of it (and if he's engaging in an actual fight, he will be out of it), only people who are capable of sensing spirits (for the sake of not alienating a chunk of the game, I'll say ANYONE with any kind of magical or similar ability (Force-users, etc.) would be included in that) can actually see and interact with him. He isn't incorporeal or anything, it's just that Reishi (spirit particles) are invisible to most people and a soul's body is entirely made of that.
Reishi is everywhere in both the living world and Soul Society and Shinigami can manipulate it at will. This mostly, in shinigami, tends to manifest as "hardening" the spirit particles in the air underneath their feet so that they can stand in the air. This process requires little thought and seems to be a preferable way to fight in the world of the living, as it limits contact with civilians (just because most people can't SEE these things doesn't mean they can't affect the world) and other obstacles on the ground.
In addition, his reiryoku (spiritual power), which allows him to manifest his basic Shinigami abilities, is somewhere between great and immense (as he was a former captain, he would have to have to be great or above to even advance that far, but he's shown to be extremely advanced even beyond the average captain, so it's likely he leans closer to having immense power).
His reiatsu (spiritual pressure) is so dense that when he isn't actively suppressing it, it can actually cause blowback and give everyone in the vicinity some not fun feelings of slowly being crushed to death if they're not an equally powerful Shinigami or an equally powerful being in general. He keeps that shit on lock though, unless he wants to do a threat display. He is usually not looking to do a threat display.
Shinigami are nigh-impossible to kill due to the fact that they are... sort of already dead in a way. They're souls, you know. Decapitation is the only sure way to kill a Shinigami, though utterly destroying all of their internal organs is also a horrible and effective way of killing them to death, but even that might not work. As long as their heart beats, they still emit reiatsu and thus can still be healed. And it's been shown THAT SHINIGAMI CAN WEIRDLY SURVIVE HAVING THEIR HEARTS STABBED AND STILL BE FINE, SO... THAT'S A THING.
While likely not "immortal" in the strictest sense, Shinigami do live a ridiculously long time with no visible sign of aging. Urahara, for example, is likely somewhere between 300-500 years old and looks to be in his late twenties/early thirties.
In other news, Urahara is an elite master of 4/4 Shinigami combat techniques, listed here:
Zanjutsu (swordsmanship): All ranking Shinigami carry a Zanpakuto, which allows them to kill Hollows and lead souls into Soul Society- the primary reasons for the Shinigami's existence. The Zanpakuto is a manifestation of a part of the wielder's soul and each one contains its own spirit. Communication with this spirit is essential if the wielder wants to master every technique available to them. At rest, a Zanpakuto resembles a normal katana (or in Urahara's case, a sword-cane), but when its shikai is activated (by a release command), it takes on its true form and can use its special abilities.
Urahara's sword is Benihime (she looks like this!), and her special ability is (likely as it hasn't been confirmed yet) "reishi manipulation" to a much higher degree than normal Shinigami are capable of. Given she has more named attacks than any other Zanpakuto, it's likely that all of these attacks are named to give them more finesse and control. All of her attacks are crimson-red in color (which is also the color of Urahara's reiatsu) and vary from sending razor-like slashes of energy to powerful shields to spells that can negate attacks after Urahara has figured out the basic physics of the opponent's attack.
All Zapakuto have the potential for a "second release" called Bankai, an extra super special ability that can be used as a last ditch effort against powerful opponents. Urahara's Bankai looks like this shit, and within a certain range of that lady back there, he can restructure anything she can touch, either to rip it apart or change it up by the use of magical stitches, much like someone dissecting something and sewing it back together. (Specifically, we see him RIP OPEN SOMEONE'S ARM with it, only to have the effect fade when the victim came out of range. Also he uses it to REMAKE HIS OWN EYES AFTER HAVING THEM GOUGED OUT.) Urahara has used his Bankai ONCE in canon and only because he really thought he was going to die. He doesn't seem to enjoy using it at all. The likelihood anyone will see it in game is not high.
On top of Benihime's abilities, Urahara is an absolute BEAST when it comes to actually using his sword for... well, sword-fighting. He's extremely fast, extremely good at improvisation, and seems to be borderline bloodthirsty when he gets into a fight. As such, he seems to avoid straight swordfighting because there are too many variables and too much of an opportunity to lose himself in the fight. This may also be why he doesn't like using his bankai.
Hakuda: Essentially a form of martial arts for Shinigami. Urahara is capable of taking on several opponents unarmed and come out of it without a scratch, including some far superior in size and strength to him (he holds back an opponent TWICE HIS SIZE with one hand for almost a full minute without breaking a sweat). As a former member of Second Division and the best friend of Supreme Commander of Soul Society's covert ops division, he has mad ninja skills. He knows a lot of ways to kill you. Good thing he's on our side.
Hohō: High-speed fighting maneuvers. As Urahara's skill in every one of his disciplines makes use of his extreme speed, it's only natural that he's a fucking master of this one too. His speed is so great that he can keep on target with an ultra-fast ultra-OP Aizen with little difficulty. Urahara's so fast that he can switch with a body double in a literal eye-blink. He is also an expert in Shunpo (flash step), which allows him to cover ground in the least amount of steps to get from point A to Point B.
Kido: Essentially, a Shinigami's magic. Kido spells are divided into three categories- Hado and Bakudo for combat and Kaido for healing (Urahara excels in all three). Hado are offensive abilities and Bakudo are defensive and each spell is numbered depending on its power level and can be spoken with or without an incantation. Urahara is capable of casting up to an 80th level Kido without an incantation, and can cast much higher if he has time to do the full incantation. He is also capable of creating his own spells and retooling and combining others, some of which are hella extra and ridiculous.
OTHER SKILLS: Let's be real, when the most powerful and egotistical bad guy of the series admits you're smarter than he is, you are probably the smartest person in the world.
Urahara is shown to be an expert in... nearly all forms of science, including chemistry (he makes his own medicines, poison antidotes, and various other things), particle physics (used in at least one of his sword techniques to negate attacks from opponents and also to analyze spirit energy), biology (hollowfication anyone), technology (he makes a lot of gadgets for Shinigami use and even made special reiatsu-suppressing gigais), and once he ACCIDENTALLY made a sentient magical item that grants everyone around it their heart's desire in weird inexplicable ways.
He's also a brilliant strategist and is known for his adaptability and his ability to come prepared to any situation, always having contingency plans on top of contingency plans to the point that he's an utter control freak. His habit of omitting information isn't him being a total asshole- it's because the less people know, the more he can predict their movements and keep himself aware of all potential outcomes and plan accordingly. It's not often that anyone catches him off-guard.
INVENTORY:
-a black haori with a white diamond pattern along the bottom
-a green men's kimono shirt with matching green hakama
-a green and white striped bucket hat
-a pair of wooden sandals
-A paper fan
-A cane (specifically a sword cane), which is the sealed form of his Zanpakuto Benihime.
WRITING SAMPLES.
NETWORK SAMPLE:
Two geniuses discuss the Mist
LOG SAMPLE:
#1: It's never a good idea to leave Urahara to his own devices. (canon point compliant)
#2: Urahara makes mistakes
NAME: Chris
CONTACT: grayintogreen (AIM), quasigina (plurk)
CURRENT CHARACTERS: N/A
CHARACTER INFO.
NAME: Kisuke Urahara
CANON: Bleach (manga)
AGE: Likely somewhere between 300-500. He looks to be in his early thirties.
APPEARANCE: BOOM
CANON POINT: Chapter 423 (end of the Deicide arc)
BACKGROUND: A tale of heartbreak, betrayal, and well-intentioned manipulation
PERSONALITY:
The Japanese have two concepts called tatemae and honne, which is described as "the contrast between a person’s true feelings and desires, often kept hidden to oneself, and the behavior and opinions they display in public to satisfy society’s demands," and it's in this concept that we can only hope to understand precisely the sort of person Urahara Kisuke is.
Urahara's public face is good-natured, endearing, and polite, but with just enough insincerity to everything that he does to put people off. His manner of speech is generally mild, sprinkled with occasional sarcasm and humor (usually at the other person's expense, though he's never actively malicious with it). He keeps people at arms length by being deliberately frustrating and theatrical, and only those close to him can usually tell the difference between his "acting" and his sincerity. He doesn't open up to very many people, however, so most people only see him for what he wants them to think he is- just a friendly, slightly perverted, handsome candy store owner. Even when they peel back the curtain and see that he's extremely smart and extremely powerful and has more depth than a coaster, that's still barely the tip of the iceberg, and you'll wreck yourself like the Titanic trying to get much more than that half the time.
Urahara's a mastermind who has been screwed over one too many times, and refuses to be a bitch to Fate, which usually manifests in him having to control literally everything around him. He's practical and while not a bad person, he's not necessarily a nice one, and tends to see everything in "big picture" terms, which means he understands, probably better than anyone, that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. He keeps his cards close to his chest for the sake of keeping his pieces moving, and to keep himself solely with the burden of making the hard choices he doesn't think anyone would be capable of making if they saw what he saw.
And seeing is what Urahara does. Not only does he see all possible ways a scenario might play out, so he can try to work every outcome to his advantage, he also understands people too, and he trusts people to do what's in their nature to do. It's most clear with Ichigo- he lets the kid make his own mistakes, because he knows it's the only way he'll learn that a situation is too much for him and he'll need to ask for help. Conversely, however, this allows him to manipulate people by laying out problems with the minimal amount of information required to get a specific reaction or by giving them the exact incentive they need to comply. He doesn't do it with ill intent, but he still does it, and he's self-aware enough to know that makes him a shitty person.
His loyalty runs deep (especially when it comes to those close to him), but loyalty doesn't override what needs to be done, so he will often send the people he loves into dangerous situations, knowing that all he can do is have faith they can manage it. He rarely lets his own feelings get in the way of a problem, which is probably one reason why he avoids involving himself in situations personally- the less emotionally involved he is, the more objective he can be, and it's a lot harder to maintain control over a situation that you're actively engaging in. It's not that he doesn't care (though he's convincing enough that people suspect he doesn't) or that he doesn't feel any guilt at all, it's just that very little has ever been solved through rash, overly emotional reaction, and guilt doesn't make the problem go away. He doesn't believe in rushing blindly into anything, and tends to be fairly blunt in correcting that behavior in other people. He also doesn't wallow in his guilt and tends to throw himself into his work to either distract himself or find a way to make amends for whatever he might feel guilty for (this is made pretty obvious through his creation of an extremely powerful (and dangerous) magical artifact and his later discovery of a way to restore Ichigo's Shinigami powers after he lost them in a last ditch effort to defeat a powerful enemy).
He deals in absolutes and everything he does, he does with 100% conviction. He never believes anything he sets his mind to do will fail, he never expects to lose a fight, and somehow none of this comes off as arrogance. He knows he's intelligent and powerful (and usually downplays it when people comment on it), and he doesn't have to brag about it, though he will if he feels that someone is stepping on his toes or stealing his thunder. For someone as self-assured and confident as Urahara is, he genuinely feels that his intelligence is his only redeeming quality and that no one would give a damn about him if he weren't capable of solving problems for them. He might not let his self-loathing and guilt interfere with his life, but that doesn't mean those feelings aren't there, and that he doesn't deeply want to be liked and accepted by the people around him.
ABILITIES: Let's get one thing out here, man. Urahara is good at Literally Everything, and the only reason this is tolerable is because he'd rather do Science than get involved in anyone's bullshit or his own bullshit if he's got people who can do it for him.
THAT BEING SAID.
GENERAL SHINIGAMI TRAITS: Urahara inhabits a gigai, which is a fake body that enables souls to exist among ordinary humans. When he's in it, he is effectively... a normal person as far as anyone can tell. It shields his reiatsu and enables everyone to see him. When he's out of it (and if he's engaging in an actual fight, he will be out of it), only people who are capable of sensing spirits (for the sake of not alienating a chunk of the game, I'll say ANYONE with any kind of magical or similar ability (Force-users, etc.) would be included in that) can actually see and interact with him. He isn't incorporeal or anything, it's just that Reishi (spirit particles) are invisible to most people and a soul's body is entirely made of that.
Reishi is everywhere in both the living world and Soul Society and Shinigami can manipulate it at will. This mostly, in shinigami, tends to manifest as "hardening" the spirit particles in the air underneath their feet so that they can stand in the air. This process requires little thought and seems to be a preferable way to fight in the world of the living, as it limits contact with civilians (just because most people can't SEE these things doesn't mean they can't affect the world) and other obstacles on the ground.
In addition, his reiryoku (spiritual power), which allows him to manifest his basic Shinigami abilities, is somewhere between great and immense (as he was a former captain, he would have to have to be great or above to even advance that far, but he's shown to be extremely advanced even beyond the average captain, so it's likely he leans closer to having immense power).
His reiatsu (spiritual pressure) is so dense that when he isn't actively suppressing it, it can actually cause blowback and give everyone in the vicinity some not fun feelings of slowly being crushed to death if they're not an equally powerful Shinigami or an equally powerful being in general. He keeps that shit on lock though, unless he wants to do a threat display. He is usually not looking to do a threat display.
Shinigami are nigh-impossible to kill due to the fact that they are... sort of already dead in a way. They're souls, you know. Decapitation is the only sure way to kill a Shinigami, though utterly destroying all of their internal organs is also a horrible and effective way of killing them to death, but even that might not work. As long as their heart beats, they still emit reiatsu and thus can still be healed. And it's been shown THAT SHINIGAMI CAN WEIRDLY SURVIVE HAVING THEIR HEARTS STABBED AND STILL BE FINE, SO... THAT'S A THING.
While likely not "immortal" in the strictest sense, Shinigami do live a ridiculously long time with no visible sign of aging. Urahara, for example, is likely somewhere between 300-500 years old and looks to be in his late twenties/early thirties.
In other news, Urahara is an elite master of 4/4 Shinigami combat techniques, listed here:
Zanjutsu (swordsmanship): All ranking Shinigami carry a Zanpakuto, which allows them to kill Hollows and lead souls into Soul Society- the primary reasons for the Shinigami's existence. The Zanpakuto is a manifestation of a part of the wielder's soul and each one contains its own spirit. Communication with this spirit is essential if the wielder wants to master every technique available to them. At rest, a Zanpakuto resembles a normal katana (or in Urahara's case, a sword-cane), but when its shikai is activated (by a release command), it takes on its true form and can use its special abilities.
Urahara's sword is Benihime (she looks like this!), and her special ability is (likely as it hasn't been confirmed yet) "reishi manipulation" to a much higher degree than normal Shinigami are capable of. Given she has more named attacks than any other Zanpakuto, it's likely that all of these attacks are named to give them more finesse and control. All of her attacks are crimson-red in color (which is also the color of Urahara's reiatsu) and vary from sending razor-like slashes of energy to powerful shields to spells that can negate attacks after Urahara has figured out the basic physics of the opponent's attack.
All Zapakuto have the potential for a "second release" called Bankai, an extra super special ability that can be used as a last ditch effort against powerful opponents. Urahara's Bankai looks like this shit, and within a certain range of that lady back there, he can restructure anything she can touch, either to rip it apart or change it up by the use of magical stitches, much like someone dissecting something and sewing it back together. (Specifically, we see him RIP OPEN SOMEONE'S ARM with it, only to have the effect fade when the victim came out of range. Also he uses it to REMAKE HIS OWN EYES AFTER HAVING THEM GOUGED OUT.) Urahara has used his Bankai ONCE in canon and only because he really thought he was going to die. He doesn't seem to enjoy using it at all. The likelihood anyone will see it in game is not high.
On top of Benihime's abilities, Urahara is an absolute BEAST when it comes to actually using his sword for... well, sword-fighting. He's extremely fast, extremely good at improvisation, and seems to be borderline bloodthirsty when he gets into a fight. As such, he seems to avoid straight swordfighting because there are too many variables and too much of an opportunity to lose himself in the fight. This may also be why he doesn't like using his bankai.
Hakuda: Essentially a form of martial arts for Shinigami. Urahara is capable of taking on several opponents unarmed and come out of it without a scratch, including some far superior in size and strength to him (he holds back an opponent TWICE HIS SIZE with one hand for almost a full minute without breaking a sweat). As a former member of Second Division and the best friend of Supreme Commander of Soul Society's covert ops division, he has mad ninja skills. He knows a lot of ways to kill you. Good thing he's on our side.
Hohō: High-speed fighting maneuvers. As Urahara's skill in every one of his disciplines makes use of his extreme speed, it's only natural that he's a fucking master of this one too. His speed is so great that he can keep on target with an ultra-fast ultra-OP Aizen with little difficulty. Urahara's so fast that he can switch with a body double in a literal eye-blink. He is also an expert in Shunpo (flash step), which allows him to cover ground in the least amount of steps to get from point A to Point B.
Kido: Essentially, a Shinigami's magic. Kido spells are divided into three categories- Hado and Bakudo for combat and Kaido for healing (Urahara excels in all three). Hado are offensive abilities and Bakudo are defensive and each spell is numbered depending on its power level and can be spoken with or without an incantation. Urahara is capable of casting up to an 80th level Kido without an incantation, and can cast much higher if he has time to do the full incantation. He is also capable of creating his own spells and retooling and combining others, some of which are hella extra and ridiculous.
OTHER SKILLS: Let's be real, when the most powerful and egotistical bad guy of the series admits you're smarter than he is, you are probably the smartest person in the world.
Urahara is shown to be an expert in... nearly all forms of science, including chemistry (he makes his own medicines, poison antidotes, and various other things), particle physics (used in at least one of his sword techniques to negate attacks from opponents and also to analyze spirit energy), biology (hollowfication anyone), technology (he makes a lot of gadgets for Shinigami use and even made special reiatsu-suppressing gigais), and once he ACCIDENTALLY made a sentient magical item that grants everyone around it their heart's desire in weird inexplicable ways.
He's also a brilliant strategist and is known for his adaptability and his ability to come prepared to any situation, always having contingency plans on top of contingency plans to the point that he's an utter control freak. His habit of omitting information isn't him being a total asshole- it's because the less people know, the more he can predict their movements and keep himself aware of all potential outcomes and plan accordingly. It's not often that anyone catches him off-guard.
INVENTORY:
-a black haori with a white diamond pattern along the bottom
-a green men's kimono shirt with matching green hakama
-a green and white striped bucket hat
-a pair of wooden sandals
-A paper fan
-A cane (specifically a sword cane), which is the sealed form of his Zanpakuto Benihime.
WRITING SAMPLES.
NETWORK SAMPLE:
Two geniuses discuss the Mist
LOG SAMPLE:
#1: It's never a good idea to leave Urahara to his own devices. (canon point compliant)
#2: Urahara makes mistakes