BleachITP Reborn: Discussion & Setup

[Draken]

Not all hollows are human souls. Some are animal souls.

In fact, I bet most hollows are animal souls.

And another option is allowing him to breath in reishi from hueco mundo to sustain his hunger like small hollows do. Not a particularly strong option, however.

[XtheYeti]

Just so long as you understand that, to any shinigami (except maybe the substitutes), there won't be any "moral grey" about Nick eating souls and Hollows. They'd just kill him and purify him as a Hollow, because that's what he's become.

Maybe if it only comes into play later on, and isn't an absolute requirement? As it is right now, it sounds like it will happen fairly soon after he gains his powers, and he pretty much has to eat souls and Hollows (even if he can go longer than full Hollow). I think it would be more compelling if he had an actual choice; as it stands, his only "choice" is "regular plus or Hollow", with the Hollow seemingly giving a bigger boost. If, instead, he had to choose between a.)keep the hunger and ability to eat Pluses and Hollows, gaining strength rapidly, at the cost of eating human souls (whatever form they take), or b.)denying, perhaps suppressing the hunger (whether only for a time, or permanently, is up to you) and relying instead on sheer time and training (less power, but you're not eating human souls).

Yes I understand and accept that if he is found out by the Soul Society that he will be simply killed. And I don't intend for him to actually eat any spiritual being for a long time. And I like both your suggestions. I think that he will have a choice, but probably fall to temptation every now and then. And yes, Hollows give more power than human souls. The way I was thinking of having it work is that the closer he becomes to his Hollow side, AKA the more abilities he unlocks, the stronger the hunger gets. Also when it first manifests, which will be right after he gets attacked/awakened. he will only eat more human food than he used to. He will manage to keep his unnatural hunger in check until at least after he gains at least one more power.

Oh, and while he is in the Seretai, and Hueco Mundo, yes, he will be able to breath in the ambient reishi.

[KnightDisciple]

Draken raises excellent points.

Mind, I wasn't trying to dissuade you. I was merely trying to bring up potentially relevant points, as well as help give more complexity to the choices of the situation.

I also likely made the Shinigami sound kill-happy, which was also not my intention. But the fact remains that they will likely go the "if it Looks like a Hollow, feels like a Hollow, and eats souls like a Hollow, it must be a Hollow" route (which doesn't sound terribly far off of the mark). It's a simple matter of preserving and purifying souls, rather than letting them get eaten and integrated into an ever-more-powerful Hollow being. Far as they'd be concerned, if Nicks' eating souls, he's "fallen off the wagon".

[KnightDisciple]

Reposting, and adding a new one.

Josiah has his whip and 1 pistol dropped.
Josiah Kane

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Name: Josiah Kane
Profession: Fifth Knight of the New Enclave (Formerly a Hunter)
Age: 23
Speech Color: Indigo

Appearance:

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Josiah has long dark red hair that he keeps in a ponytail to about mid-shoulder blades. His face is clean shaven. His eyes are a deep blue. His overall build is the very fit and muscular side of "average". He is about 5'11" tall, and weighs in at 165 lbs.

When dressed "casually", he'll be wearing black or dark colored pants, with a white, light gray, or blue shade shirt. He's not a fan of the fancier styles, so he can often blend into a crowd with some success so far as his clothing goes.

When "working", he will wear a suit of well-crafted half plate armor. This armor was custom made by smiths in the Enclave; it is lighter than most traditional alloys (approaching titanium in its weight/strength ratio), as well as being able to at least marginally resist spiritual attacks on its own. At minimum, the armor can provide the same protection from spirit entities as it can mortal enemies, even without the rune active.

Josiah also has, inevitably, several belts and pouches on his person when in full "combat readiness", to hold his various weapons, as well as supplies he thinks he may need in the field. Including a crude "ghillie suit" that he made himself.

Personality:

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Josiah is, first and foremost, a hard worker. He constantly strives to do what is required and asked of him, and often to take it an extra mile or two. He does this out of a combination of wishing to help his fellow man, and a desire to live up to his legacy. Josiah is one of the few (now the only) Americans in the Enclave at all. He and his countrymen entered service with the group in hopes of starting a branch in the United States itself. Josiah's family has something of a legacy to maintain in his efforts, stretching back to an ancestor from old Colonial times who fought back the darkness with strength of will and his own meager talents. Josiah heard many tales of this ancestor, and hopes to one day surpass him. If he gets to slay a few monsters in the process, all the better.

Beyond this, Josiah is a very reserved, but generally personable fellow. He is quick to lend a friendly hand wherever he can, and treats everyone with respect by default. If someone does something enough to earn his disfavor, respect does not exist for that individual. He's a bit of a charmer with the ladies, but it's mostly due to his polite mannerisms.

Equipment:

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Josiah is his group's version of the modern battle tank. Thus, one of his primary pieces of equipment is his high-quality armor, which allows him to still match his fellows as they move across terrain on foot (aided by the fact that he is in incredible physical conditioning).

His primary weapon is a modified Baker Rifle (pictured with sword). This rifle has been modified to have slightly smoother lines, as well as darker metal and wood (both varying shades of dark grey).

Next up is his sword. Thought technically capable of being attached as a bayonet, Josiah never does so. When not being used, he carries it on his left hip, to be drawn across by his right hand.

Strapped to his left thigh is a blunderbuss pistol, sharing the same smoother lines and darker tones as his rifle.

As well, Josiah's packs and pockets contain a couple dozen feet of rope, some basic medical supplies, simple climbing equipment, several sets of lockpicks, and a few other miscellaneous pieces of gear that he thinks he might need. He prefers "over-prepared" to "dead" any day.

Glyphs:

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Reconcilio - The standard-issue Enclave Glyph is inscribed upon his rifle, sword, and pistol.

Munimentum: This rune engraved on Josiah's armor allows him to greatly enhance the protective value of the metal, multiplying it several times. However, he needs to actively concentrate for the full power to stay for any length of time. After an activation, a slight charge will stay in the armor due to secondary rune engravings, but it essentially only gives about twice the protectiveness of the plain metal.

Multi Propero Arcus: This is one of three runes engraved on the rifle besides Reconcilio (only one of which will ever be active at one time). As this rifle was passed down to Josiah, he does not know the full potential of this rune, or the others. He does know that it allows him to fire small, magical bullets as if they were regular ammunition, but without the need for gunpowder or additional bullets. As well, he can fire more rapidly than normal, with no true loss of accuracy. (Eventually, it will allow true rapid fire, or a "magic missile barrage" effect from a single trigger pull.)

Candidus Spiculum: The second of 3 runes on the rifle. Currently, as well as giving the "magic bullet" ability, this rune allows Josiah half again the range and accuracy from his shots. (Eventually, it will allow the firing of small-scale beams; ranging from Hado 3 power and size, to a beam not quite as large in area as a Hado 88, but only the power of a 40-level Hado.)

Tantus Ignus: The final rune of the set of 3 on the rifle. Again, this rune duplicates the "magic bullet" ability. Currently, Josiah's shots do about twice the normal damage when he uses this rune. (Eventually able to fire a "grenade" type shot, which explodes with the force of around a 40-level Hado in a decent-sized radius.)

Multi Arcus: This less powerful version of one of his rifle runes is inscribed on Josiah's pistol. It gives it a "magic bullet" supply, although Josiah is able to fire either single shots, or small spread shots (similar to a small caliber shotgun). (Eventually, it will allow a weaker version of the similar rune on the rifle; about half the rate of fire, or half the number of missiles).

Glacialis: This coats Josiah's sword in a hazy mist. Right now, it simply grants an added freezing effect to his sword strikes (read: "cold damage"). Eventually, it might allow a few simple tricks, such as freezing bodies of water, or "cold blasts", but Josiah has not reached that level of skill and power yet.

Hirako Yoshi, Kido Corps Unseated

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Name: Hirako Yoshi (last, first)
Gender: Male
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 140 lbs.
Hair: Dark Brown
Eyes: Light Brown
Age Actual/Apparent: 95/25
Reiatsu/Speech: Dark Red
Division: Kido Corps
Seat: Unseated

Appearance:

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Yoshi's hair is kept fairly short, so as to be less of a hassle. Typically, he wears the simple white robes of an unseated member of the Kido Corps. He typically leaves the hood of his robe down, but will occasionally pull it up if he wishes to enhance the "mysterious wizard" image. His robes, despite being loose, are cut such that he can move freely and easily in them.

Personality:

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Yoshi is, in a word, complex. To people he doesn't really know, he seems very polite, and relatively formal. To those he perhaps knows better, but isn't good friends with, he is less formal, but still polite and distant. He will talk about work-related subjects, and offer advice on how to perform a kido, perfect a kido, or any other such field. He politely bug firmly steers conversation away from anything personal.

With his friends, however, Yoshi feels free to discuss any topic. He also relaxes his speech patterns, and even risks being less than perfectly polite. Playful insults aren't out of the question, though those are the sort of thing he only does in private (so as not to ruin his overall polite image).

Few things truly rile Yoshi. However, he does have a strong sense of personal ethics, and does genuinely believe in doing the right thing. His Kido training taught him that shortcuts in Kido do not work. Thus, he doesn't believe ethical shortcuts work either.

History:

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Yoshi realized early on his talents lay in the art of Kido primarily. Thus, he made sure to get put onto the Kido Corps' specific training track in the Academy. He graduated after approximately 20 years, at an age of 35.

When he received his zanpakutou at graduation, he and his instructors were a bit surprised by the more unique form it took, but they all accepted it. Certainly odder things had been seen than a simple staff.

The next 60 years, Yoshi slowly worked and learned in the Kido Corps. Unlike many of his fellows, he does not look down on those who choose other paths as Shinigami. In his mind, each person must play to their own strengths, tendencies, and preferences. He is just as likely to be friends with someone from 11th (so long as they aren't overly rude concerning his chosen methods) as someone from 2nd Division, or the Kido Corps.

He has yet to achieve his shikai, though he has seen his sword's spirit. He cannot quite discern its name yet, though some of its other speech is discernible. He is able to enter his Inner World fairly easily and regularly at this point.

Yoshi made sure to train himself in some level of hand-to-hand combat. While not an expert, he is reasonably competent. It helps that he trained in a "soft" style from Soul Society; this style specializes in redirecting the force of an opponent's attack, rather than blocking or countering. He is proficient at doing this unarmed, or with his staff.

Zanpakutou: Unraveling Hand (not sure on translation)

Zanpakutou Release Command: Tear Down Their Walls (not sure on translation)

Zanpakutou Spirit:

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Unraveling Hand Appears as an old man, with a long gray beard. Most of the rest of his face is indistinct, as it is shadowed under the hood of his robe. His eyes glow white from within the shadows. His robe is a deep blue, with a pattern resembling a clear night sky, constantly shifting around. The border of the robe is a bright white. His hands are often hidden, as he keeps his arms crossed, hands tucked inside the sleeves. When seen, he appears to have two metal gauntlets, with gems on the inside of the palms.

Inner World:

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A field of bare ground, dirt and rock. It is flat, and empty except for a single structure; a "wizard's tower" of stone. Said tower stands several stories tall, and is rather wide. Inside, it has living quarters, a library, a kido lab, and other such things. A fully equipped home. Yoshi has yet to encounter his sword inside this tower; *Name* is always outside in the empty field. The sky above is empty of stars.

Zanpakutou Unreleased Form:

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A simple wooden staff, 5'6" long. While made of wood, Unraveling Hand can still stand up to metal weaponry, at least to a degree. Yoshi typically uses it to redirect strikes, rather than block them directly.

Shikai: (Not Yet Achieved)

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Unraveling Hand becomes a single metal gauntlet on Yoshi's right arm. It goes from just below his elbow, covering everything below that. Most of the gauntlet is smooth metal, with fine joints that almost give the illusion that the metal is seamless. The center of the palm hods a 1-inch wide clear gem. Each fingertip has a small gem attached to the underside, just a fraction of an inch wide.

Unraveling Hand's main power is that to take apart kido. This is most often used on Bakudo of various types, using finesse to get Yoshi or another out of something that normally requires time or a great deal of brute force to take down. Kido such as Hainawa dissolve all at once, while barriers often dissolve from a center point outwards. If he cannot totally disassemble a kido, Yoshi can often weaken it.

He can also use it to "block" incoming blasts; however, this only works (so far) on longer-lasting blasts (such as a cero). Yoshi "catches" the blast in the palm of Unraveling Hand, and his fingers seem to simply rip it apart, while the center gem holds it back. This defense can tire Yoshi easily if the blast continues for any length of time, or if it is too strong. If nothing else, it can often reduce the power of such a blast.

Unraveling Hand also increases the potency of his own Kido, as well as making them quicker and easier to perform. He experiences an increase that amounts to 1.5 times his normal levels of power and speed. It also makes it easier to perform kido without a chant.

Favorite Kido:

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Yoshi's kido are mostly of the rank 20 or below level. This is mainly due to his preference for casting without incantation, as well as stringing a series of kido one after another, to keep an opponent off-balance. As such, he can often get off 2-3 Kido with no chant, while many of his fellows can only fire off 1 with chant, or perhaps 2 without.

The below lists are not comprehensive; they are merely the dozen kido he most often performs.

Bakudo:

• Bakudo 1: Sai (Restrain):Locks a target's arms in place behind their back
• Bakudo 4: Hainawa (Crawling Rope): An energy rope entangles the target's arms.
• Bakudo 8: Seiki (Repulse):Creates a round shield that seems to temporarily paralyze and repel whatever strikes it.
• Bakudo 9: Horin (Disintegrating Circle): Causes an orange hued tendril with spiraling yellow patterns to erupt from the users hand and attempt to trap a target. The end of it remains in the hands of the user allowing them to control the path of the tendril before and after capture. The Kidō is able to connect with another one of itself if both have captured a target and bind them together. Incantation: "Disintegrate, you black dog of Rondanini!! Look upon yourself with horror and tear out your own throat!"
• Bakudo 15: (Spider's Web): Creates a web of strands (similar to Horin), spanning approximately 15 feet in diameter.
• Bakudō 30: Shi(t)otsu Sansen (Beak-Piercing Triple Beam): Forming a golden triangle with one's finger, it shoots three beams of light that pin the target to one place on a surface, slamming into his or her body in three places in a shape of a perfect triangle.

Hado:

• Hado 1: Sho (Thrust): Pushes the target away from the caster.
• Hado 4: Byakurai (Pale Lightning): The user fires a concentrated, powerful lightning bolt from their finger.
• Hado 5: (Force Missile): Fires a single small blast of force; this blast will follow the designated target, giving a near guarantee of hitting.
• Hado 10: (Force Blast): Fires a blast of force in a line, often pushing the target back while causing damage.
• Hado 12: Soren Byakurai (Twin Lotus, Pale Lightning: User points both hands, fires a bolt identical to Hado 4 from each hand. Each hand can point in a different direction.
• Hado 20: (Force Missile Storm): Fires a series of missiles similar to Hado 5. It fires 20 missiles. Yoshi can use this kido without incantation (it is the upper limit of his chantless kido). Can target up to 5 enemies.
• Hadō 31: Shakkahō (Shot of Red Fire): The user fires a sphere of powerful, crimson energy at the foe. Incantation: Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Inferno and pandemonium, the sea barrier surges, march on to the south!
• Hadō 33: Sōkatsui (Blue Fire, Crash Down): Fires a burst of blue spiritual energy at a target in a similar manner to #31, but over a wider area and with more power. Incantation: Ye lord! Mask of flesh and bone, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Truth and temperance, upon this sinless wall of dreams unleash but slightly the wrath of your claws.

Battle Stats:

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Physical Strength: 10 (Yoshi has the strength of a physically fit person of roughly his size. He does not rely on physical power at all)
Offense: 15 (Yoshi has some basic skill in offensive martial arts, both with his hands and his staff.)
Defense: 20 (Yoshi has decent skill in defensive martial arts, typically allowing him to gain distance and use kido.)
Mobility: 20 (Yoshi is physically fit, and capable of moving around fairly well on his own. He has very limited skill in shunpo, typically saving it for emergency situations.)
Intelligence: 50 (Yoshi is an intelligent man, capable of adapting his kido strategy to match a given opponent. As well, he has found he has a modest talent for creating or adapting Kido.)
Kidō/Reiatsu: 50 (Yoshi is very proficient with Kido, using several lower level Hado and Bakudo without incantation, albeit to sometimes reduced effect. He can use up to level 20 Kido without a chant; currently, any higher require a chant.)

Watanabe Kaito, Spiritually Empowered Mortal

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Name: Watanabe Kaito (last, first)
Gender: Male
Height: 5'6"
Weight: 115 lbs.
Hair: Black
Eyes: Dark Brown
Age : 17
Reiatsu/Speech: Dark Slate Blue

Appearance:

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Kaito is short and skinny. Some might say he's in danger of being underweight, but he's actually rather healthy, albeit definitely not an athlete. His hair is kept short, but with no definable style beyond that.

While at school, he wears his uniform (obviously). Outside of school, he tends to dress a bit more professionally than many of his peers. He almost never wears shorts, instead wearing jeans or casual slacks, with some sort of polo or buttoned shirt.

Personality:

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Kaito loves knowledge. He's an extremely intelligent young man, and thus he tends to read and learn voraciously. However, he hasn't let that intelligence make him arrogant. Instead, he tries to help his friends and classmates out in their studies, being something of an amateur tutor. Often, he'll only work a couple of "sessions" with any one person, as he can often explain things so they can continue on their own.

However, this intelligence (and the "tutoring") have made it difficult for Kaito to make friends. Not because he has a negative personality; rather, he's very cautious about someone genuinely wanting to be his friend. In his younger days, he experienced his share of teasing; while that's essentially gone away in high school, he hasn't quite forgotten it. He often can't fully shake the suspicion that others want to get close to him merely to use his intelligence. Thus, while friendly with most all students, he's not necessarily friends with any of them.

Generally speaking, Kaito is polite, quiet, neat, and observant. He has some interests in modern entertainment, but derives as much or more entertainment from classic literature of all kinds (both local and international). His music tastes tend towards the classical. He has a habit of sometimes correcting the grammar of someone he feels has notably violated traditional grammar.

History:

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Kaito has always been an extraordinarily intelligent boy. Some wonder why he wasn't put on a faster track for his education. His parents respond that they wanted him to live life with peers of the same age group. Kaito typically appreciates this, though the teasing he got in his younger days made him question his parents on this. He has always worked hard to not only excel inside of school, but in his own personal learning, supplementing his education with outside material (mostly in the sciences and literature).

While he has the makings of a driven academic, he hasn't chosen a true direction for his life yet. He finds himself able to excel in many fields, and he enjoys studying all of them. While he could likely manage a couple of majors at college, he knows he can't do everything. Thus, he is left worrying about his future from time to time. It doesn't help that his parents often push for him to follow in their footsteps in some manner. His father is an inspector for the Phoenix Town Police Department. His mother is in the Criminal Investigation Bureau, in the financial crimes department. Kaito isn't sure what he does want to do, but he knows he doesn't want to go into law enforcement. This has caused some minor friction at home.

Powers: Kaito can currently see vague outlines for most spiritual entities. He excuses these as optical illusions of varying kinds, ignoring them as much as possible.

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Kaito will eventually develop telekinesis. At first, it will be only be rough control, allowing him to lift moderate size objects (between the size of larger books and small cars) with varying degrees of difficulty. He cannot exert fine control with his powers; he is able to pick things up, and move them in general directions, but he cannot (for example) turn the pages of a book that he has picked up.
Further down the road:

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Kaito will develop both the power and refinement of his powers. He will be able to simulate "super-strength", create a "force-field" around his body (although it can only stop physical attacks; energy blasts such as kido or cero would not be stopped), fly at sub-sonic speeds, exhibit very fine control of physical objects (turning pages on a book, pick up an egg, manipulate controls of a vehicle he's sitting inside of), and project telekinetic force against opponents, simulating nearly the same force he exhibits with his "super-strength". "Physical" here applies to mortal and spiritual objects, so he can stop anything from mortal bullets to zanpakutou to Hollow's claws.

Other Abilities:

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Kaito is extremely intelligent. He is knowledgeable in a multitude of fields, including computers (aka hacking). He has an incredible memory.

He speaks Japanese, English, German, Russian, and Arabic. He is fluent in Japanese and English, and of moderate skill in the other three.

Possible Connections:

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• Other Empowered Mortals at school
• Limited Contacts at Police Department
• Others?

And now, for the new guy.

First, this is just a proposal for Captain. The main reason being we only have maybe half the Captain slots filled. If we get a flood of newer players and people wanting Captains, and they get a strong vote, I'm certainly willing to set this guy aside. If there's not such a flood, I think having as many Captain seats filled, if just for exposition reasons, is a good thing to do.

Also, I would propose a slight shift regarding how our Divisions meter out "duties". In the current RP, 8th Division is the Police/Inquisitor squad; this is done quite well by Anyr, in my opinion.

However, in canon, 8th seemed less defined, and the Captain (Shunsui) seemed less "police" and more "laid back warrior with a keen mind".

My proposal is that, for the Reborn game, the 8th Division is more of the "tactics/planning" Division, with the Shinigami typically focusing on skillful sword fighting (rather than the more power-oriented 11th). As well, they are often used as strategists and planners at all levels (depending on the need); perhaps they're one of the "default" divisions to provide "squad leaders" if we implement some level of mixed/integrated squads. Not the only possible leaders, mind. Just perhaps more closely the "default" choice above, say, 11th or 4th Division, for instance. (Nothing wrong with those Divisions, though).

That's ultimately a vague thing, though. This character may nominally be 8th, but his Division can be changed to any of the Divisions less well defined in canon.

Anyways, on to the character.

Nakamura Masaru, possible 8th Division Captain

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Name: Nakamura Masaru (last, first)
Gender: Male
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 175 lbs.
Hair: Black
Eyes: Green
Age Actual/Apparent: 430/30
Reiatsu/Speech: Indigo
Division: 8th
Seat: Captain (Potentially)

Appearance:

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Masaru is one of the taller people in Soul Society, though certainly not a giant. His overall build is athletic, with just a touch of "wiry", leaving him on the leaner end of the scale. He tends to wear his hear in a loose ponytail that reaches to mid-shoulder. Despite the fairly informal styling, his hair nonetheless is impeccably well-kept. His face is unshaven. While he has no serious vision problems, his eyes have a small amount of weakness, enough that he needs reading glasses for most writings, though he can usually read short notes in the like with a bit of squinting. His uniform is the traditional Captain's haori over normal Shinigami robes. He wears his katana on his left side, and his wakizashi on his right. Masaru can often be seen carrying around a book in one hand, his reading glasses tucked into a pocket in his robes.

Personality:

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Masaru is quiet, polite, and neat. Those are the three things people who first meet him will note. His friends would add that he stays quiet almost all of the time, but his "officially polite" demeanor becomes more relaxed.
His neatness also lends to a couple of unique quirks. For one, he will often correct what he sees as improper grammar and pronunciation, sometimes even interjecting the "correct" term when someone is speaking (though he rarely does so with people he doesn't know well, unless it's truly bad). (OOC:While they speak Japanese, since I don't, he'll correct the "translation" if the grammar is off in his eyes.) Also, he tends to "tidy up" people's desks and shelves if he's in a place for very long. Again, unless he knows the person, he reserves this behavior only for the "worst cases".
His sense of humor tends to run to the dry, though he will smile and laugh (just a quiet laugh).
He has a love of literature matched by few, having learned a few languages just to read a broader scope of literature in the original language.

History:

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The Nakamuras are a very minor noble house, barely above "middle class" status, really. In fact, Masaru is only in the third generation of the family as a noble house. He has one brother and one sister; Masaru himself is the youngest of the group, part of the reason he ended up going to the Shingami Academy at the young age of 25 (that and his relatively high spiritual power, that is).

In the academy, Masaru's bookish nature allowed him to do well across the board. He quickly developed a reputation as a strategist and tactician, finding the whole exercise very fascinating. Thus, in team exercises, he was often the de facto leader of his team. He also struck up an odd friendship with Tsukada Ryouichi, the future Commander-General of the Gotei 13. They formed an unusual pair, with Ryouichi's laziness offset by Masaru's studious nature. Their strange age gap didn't seem to matter at all. Each seemed to reign in the extremes of the other, though both exhibited a great love of reading. When both graduated in the same year, Masaru went along with Ryouichi on a wild night of partying, with even Masaru letting loose a bit (which means he got as close to yelling as he ever has outside of combat).

As well, while he did well at all shinigami arts, the use of the sword is where he truly excelled. While he could apply a decent amount of strength to any blow, he preferred working his technique to a degree that it needed hardly any force at all to still score a telling blow. He reveled in the art of the sword.

After only five and a half years, Masaru graduated from the Academy. He was placed within the 8th Division, which specialized somewhat in both high-skill swordsmen and strategy. Masaru did well in the division, eventually finding himself as a seated officer 300 years ago.

Eventually, he worked his way to the Vice-Captain position about 200 years ago.. Then, 100 years ago, the former Captain of the 8th was killed in a battle with an extremely powerful rogue Arrancar. Masaru had recently achieved bankai, and, with the approval of several other Captains, as well as the Commander-General, he assumed the post of 8th Division Captain.

He didn't radically change things in the Division, though general consensus is that he helped it run a bit smoother than his predecessor. As well, he started emphasizing the tactical focus of the Division more, working to make them one of the premier groups to go to for such things. Indeed, in joint Division operations, 8th Division members can often be found to either lead such groups, or take the position of "team planner". This is by no means universal fact about every member. Masaru emphasizes that, first and foremost, his Division is to provide a balanced force of warriors, who have skill in all areas of Shinigami combat. Thus, they can be useful no matter what the situation is. As well, he tends to emphasize skill over power, though not to the exclusion of power. He encourages his men to first perfect their skill, then make their skill deadlier with increased power.

Zanpakutou: Kabu Raito (English: Curving Light)

Zanpakutou Release Command: (Rough idea: "May your heavenly light strike down my enemies"; unsure, and translation will be needed eventually)

Zanpakutou Spirit:

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Kabu Raito appears as an elderly man dressed in full Ō-Yoroi (minus any faceplate). This old man has a long white beard and eyes of solid white, with a muted glow coming from the eyes. His armor seems to be composed of light, though it is not so bright as to blind someone looking at him. At his side are two swords made entirely of light. He speaks in a strong voice, though one obviously displaying his age. He tends to be strict with Masaru, encouraging him to always push himself further, as well as sometimes pointing out his mistakes, especially in games of strategy.

Inner World:

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Masaru's inner world appears as a clearing in the middle of a forest in the middle of a summer day. There is a simple house in the center of this clearing, where Kabu Raito is often found sitting, drinking tea, reading, or playing a game of some sort against himself.

Zanpakutou Unreleased Form:

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Kabu Raito's sealed form is a daisho pair of a katana and wakizashi (each of fairly standard length). The blades are a bright steel, and the handles are wrapped in light grey. The guard is a simple solid golden square, and the pommel is smooth and rounded, sharing the coloration of the guard. Masaru wears the katana on his left and the wakizashi on his right.

Shikai:

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When he releases shikai, Masaru's swords turn into blades of condensed light. This gives them a minor increase in "cutting power", as well as making their touch like very hot fire (so likely bad for anything icy). The main power, however, is in fact a ranged attack. Masaru can fling the blade of either sword as an energy attack; said blade of energy flies through the air, smashing into a target. However, the sword that flings its blade away has to wait a certain amount of time for the blade to "regrow". His wakizashi can fire off a blast about once every three seconds, with the power of about a Shakkaho. The katana fires off with about twice the power, but requires six seconds to reform. There is no immediate limit to how often he can do this, long-term.

Bankai: Aito Kabu no Arashi (English: Storm of Curving Light)

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There is no visible physical change to Masaru's swords. However, he is now capable of firing off blades from his swords much faster, as the blades replicate themselves for the blasts, rather than sending off the original blade. This allows him to achieve a fire rate of about a blast per second on each sword. Masaru is fond of barraging enemies with this ability.
Secondly, by holding the swords with blades crossed in front of himself, he can create a sudden flare of light, blinding and disorienting his enemies fora few critical seconds.
Finally, Masaru can hold his swords side-by-side and fire a blast equal to a Hado 88 with full chant. Both blades then take 3 seconds to fully regrow (though he can at least block with what does exist after about a second).

Favorite Kido:

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Masaru knows a fairly wide variety of kido, and does try to use tactics even with them...but has found that he tends to fall back on a few preferred kido that he finds easiest to perform. He can perform all kido on this list chantless, thought their power is still decreased from their power at full chant.

Bakudo:

• Bakudo 4: Hainawa (Crawling Rope): An energy rope entangles the target's arms.
• Bakudo 9: Horin (Disintegrating Circle): Causes an orange hued tendril with spiraling yellow patterns to erupt from the users hand and attempt to trap a target. The end of it remains in the hands of the user allowing them to control the path of the tendril before and after capture. The Kidō is able to connect with another one of itself if both have captured a target and bind them together. Incantation: "Disintegrate, you black dog of Rondanini!! Look upon yourself with horror and tear out your own throat!"
• Bakudō 30: Shi(t)otsu Sansen (Beak-Piercing Triple Beam): Forming a golden triangle with one's finger, it shoots three beams of light that pin the target to one place on a surface, slamming into his or her body in three places in a shape of a perfect triangle.
• Bakudo 61: Rikujōkōrō (Six Rods Prison of Light): Summons six thin, wide beams of light that slam into a target's midsection, holding them in place. The target is then unable to move any part of their body including the parts that were not struck by the beams.[1] This technique can also be used after using Hainawa, as the six beams of light form from the light already used in Hainawa. Incantation: Carriage of Thunder. Bridge of a spinning wheel. With light, divide this into six!
• Bakudo 62: Hyapporankan (Hundred Steps Fence): A rod formed of energy is thrown towards the target before it disintegrates into numerous short rods which are used to pin the target to the surroundings and render them immobile.
• Bakudo 63: Sajo Sabaku (Locking Bondage Stripes): Similar to Bakudō No. 4, but stronger, this spell binds the arms of a target.

Hado:

• Hado 4: Byakurai (Pale Lightning): The user fires a concentrated, powerful lightning bolt from their finger.
• Hado 12: Soren Byakurai (Twin Lotus, Pale Lightning: User points both hands, fires a bolt identical to Hado 4 from each hand. Each hand can point in a different direction.
• Hadō 31: Shakkahō (Shot of Red Fire): The user fires a sphere of powerful, crimson energy at the foe. Incantation: Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Inferno and pandemonium, the sea barrier surges, march on to the south!
• Hadō 33: Sōkatsui (Blue Fire, Crash Down): Fires a burst of blue spiritual energy at a target in a similar manner to #31, but over a wider area and with more power. Incantation: Ye lord! Mask of flesh and bone, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Truth and temperance, upon this sinless wall of dreams unleash but slightly the wrath of your claws.
• Hadō 63: Soren Sōkatsui (Twin Lotus, Blue Fire, Crash Down):Essentially a doubled version of #33, this spell fires two shots of blue fire with greater potency than the single-shot variety. Incantation: Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! On the wall of blue flame, inscribe a twin lotus. In the abyss of conflagration, wait at the far heavens.
• Hado 70: Gaki Rekkō (Raging Light Fang): A spell that makes a circle of energy, before firing blasts of green light from its center in a cage-like formation.

Battle Stats:

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Physical Strength: 50 (Masaru is definitely stronger than a normal human, but his strength ultimately runs "middle of the pack". He insted relies on technique for his killing power.)
Offense: 100 (Masaru is a superb swordsman, having trained in his swords since the moment they manifested as a pair in the Academy. He always seeks new techniques to integrate into his methods.)
Defense: 80 (His defense primarily lies in a combination of agility and excellent defensive sword technique. Masaru has an eye for spotting the exact way to defend against a particular attack or kind of attack, whether it's a dodging defense or a blocking defense.)
Mobility: 70 (While Masaru's flash steps have average speed and distance for someone of his rank and caliber, he has a large amount of endurance. He is able to chain several steps in sequence. As well, he often uses them to dodge opponent's attacks. Furthermore, his sword training has left him extremely agile and flexible, adding to the appearance that he "dances" across the battlefield.)
Intelligence: 100 (Masaru is an extraordinarily intelligent man. Not only is he a master strategist, he is an unabashed linguist, knowing over a dozen languages from all over the world. He's often considered "the man to beat" at nearly any strategy game. Oddly, he can't play card games for the life of him.)
Kidō/Reiatsu: 70 (Masaru has a strong grasp of kido, though it's not his primary focus. He's able to perform a wide range, and can perform up to about level 70 without a chant, albeit only kido he has practiced for a greater length of time.)
Total: 470

Addendum to the above bit regarding Division duties: I would put forth that perhaps 10th Division could be Reborn's police/Inquisitor Division. After all, Hitsugaya seemed way more police-y than Shunsui.

Again, it's the kind of thing that's not fully set in stone anyways.

Bumping, since they may have gotten lost in the page changeover.

[XtheYeti]

Draken raises excellent points.

Mind, I wasn't trying to dissuade you. I was merely trying to bring up potentially relevant points, as well as help give more complexity to the choices of the situation.

I also likely made the Shinigami sound kill-happy, which was also not my intention. But the fact remains that they will likely go the "if it Looks like a Hollow, feels like a Hollow, and eats souls like a Hollow, it must be a Hollow" route (which doesn't sound terribly far off of the mark). It's a simple matter of preserving and purifying souls, rather than letting them get eaten and integrated into an ever-more-powerful Hollow being. Far as they'd be concerned, if Nicks' eating souls, he's "fallen off the wagon".

No, no I Agree completly. I expect the Shinigami to get pissed and try to kill Nick if they find out about him eating Souls, and Hollows. Which I think would be a great way to create some plots, and character development. Think of a character who tries to work with the Seretai, but lives in constant fear that they will be discovered by them. It could be awesome, and a whole bunch of fun things could come from it.

[Sucrose]

I'd argue that the 11th would have quite a few fighters that make use of skill, and personally, the idea of '11th, but smarter' kinda irks me. Still, the tactical specialists idea is decent, so I'd personally recommend a slight shift in the idea to shinigami who are trained to be squad leaders, with a minor emphasis on swordsmanship.

Thus, while decent combatants, they would easily get squashed in any straight-up fight against an equivalent member of the 11th, thus maintaining the utility of the pure warrior division.

[horngeek]

I'd argue that the 11th would have quite a few fighters that make use of skill

See: my Captain.

Apart from anything else, he's meant to subvert the idea of the Kenpachi being a brawler.

[KnightDisciple]

These guys use kido as well as just skill. Notice how their captain, while an excellent swordsman, also has a fair number of powerful kido he can use.

I think that someone using a combination of strategy, sword skill, and kido (which any 8th Divisioner should strive for) would at least break even.

Yes, if you strip away kido, tactics, and such, the 11th will win. But that's frankly unfair. It's taking away a key component of their basic fighting method. If there's someone in 8th who isn't skilled at kido, they'll focus on swordplay and tactics. Which gives them, again, an even shot.

I'd really rather not get into an argument of "X Division can totally beat up Y Division" over what's essentially a throwaway fluff line.

[Sucrose]

These guys use kido as well as just skill. Notice how their captain, while an excellent swordsman, also has a fair number of powerful kido he can use.

I think that someone using a combination of strategy, sword skill, and kido (which any 8th Divisioner should strive for) would at least break even.

Yes, if you strip away kido, tactics, and such, the 11th will win. But that's frankly unfair. It's taking away a key component of their basic fighting method. If there's someone in 8th who isn't skilled at kido, they'll focus on swordplay and tactics. Which gives them, again, an even shot.

I'd really rather not get into an argument of "X Division can totally beat up Y Division" over what's essentially a throwaway fluff line.

But see, that's all 11th Division has. The only thing they're good for is beating people up. Consequently, they need to be very good at it.

If the 8th is better leaders than them, then the 8th needs to give something up in order to have that advantage, else the Divisions are not balanced. In your example wherein the 8th focuses on swordplay and tactics, if he's to be an effective leader, then that would presumably include spending time learning group tactics and effective communication strategies. That's time that the 11th Divisioner spends on personal tactics and swordplay. Consequently, he'll still wreck the guy.

If they're instead the 'weaker, smarter 11th Division,' rather than explicitly trained as leaders, I'd just like to know what the point is in having them be a separate Division at all, rather than some smart guys in 11th.

[MageSparrowhawk]

Something I'm curious about: will Tokumei make comeback, or will his jerkass personality be shifted on to Kyouba? If you have personality thought out for the swordspirits, mind jumping on the bandwagon and putting them in the bio?

Ah, right. I'll add it, but a quick description for now would be Koujin: NG, Suishouba: CG, Kyouba: CN

[KnightDisciple]

But see, that's all 11th Division has. The only thing they're good for is beating people up. Consequently, they need to be very good at it.

If the 8th is better leaders than them, then the 8th needs to give something up in order to have that advantage, else the Divisions are not balanced. In your example wherein the 8th focuses on swordplay and tactics, if he's to be an effective leader, then that would presumably include spending time learning group tactics and effective communication strategies. That's time that the 11th Divisioner spends on personal tactics and swordplay. Consequently, he'll still wreck the guy.

If they're instead the 'weaker, smarter 11th Division,' rather than explicitly trained as leaders, I'd just like to know what the point is in having them be a separate Division at all, rather than some smart guys in 11th.

My whole point is that while 11th may be great at physical fighting, they're only great at physical fighting.

Whereas 8th is pretty good at physical fighting, pretty good at kido, and good-great at tactics. Which, in my mind, means they have a decently even shot of winning against an 11th Division person. What next, do we say that the Kido Corps can't beat them with kido?

I mean, couldn't we really just say the 2nd is a "weaker, sneakier 11th"? Couldn't most divisions be rolled up into 11th and KC, or some such?

I'm not trying to infringe. I'm just saying these guys can't just be the people standing at planning tables. If they're going out into the field int teams of 4-6 people, it's required that, at some point, they'll fight. It's the nature of things. So them being at least "pretty good" at a fight, while also having tactics, should, in my mind, be a given.

[Moon Wolf]

So...about the 2nd Division Captain candidate I posted a little while ago...some of you guys didn't really agree with his powers...I'd still like to post him...any way that I can downscale/edit his powers to make them seem more reasonable? I'm not really sure what you're looking for...

[Sucrose]

That's why I suggested that they still be competent. They should just be a couple of steps down from 11th in overall fighting ability, not have an even shot at beating an equally-ranked 11th member in combat. If they have a chance to prepare the battlefield beforehand, or if each is leading a unit, it's another story.

And frankly, yes, I do expect the Kido Corps to generally have unfavorable odds against an equally-ranked member of 11th as well, because, again, they have functionality outside of combat, with their ceremonial capacity (e.g. the ability to seal enemies away, or, out of combat, develop powerful solutions to various problems). Kido is slower than a sword to the throat.

And the other Divisions couldn't be rolled into 11th because they have different functionality. 2nd is for sneaking, 4th is for healing, 3rd is for interring, 1st is for paperworking, 5th is for butterflying, 6th is for reinforcing, 8th is for planning, 10th is for policing, 12th is for researching, 13th is for patrolling. But 11th? 11th is for fighting. Divisions need to be the best at their specialties. Hence, 11th needs to be better than any other division at fighting. Otherwise, there's little reason to have the 11th at all.

This should not be taken as a rule for in-game play, necessarily. There might be standouts at any given point (PCs are the unusual ones, after all). Nonetheless, if you take a random member of another division and an equally-ranked 11th Divisioner and plunk them down in an arena, the vast majority of the time, the 11th Division member should have rather favorable odds.

[KnightDisciple]

Fine.
I generally concede the point, though I think we're ultimately quibbling over a matter of a few degrees on a scale.

[Moon Wolf]

.

..

...

....

.....Did anyone hear me?

[horngeek]

*cleans out earwax*

What?

On a more serious note, not sure. I generally don't critique as much as some of the other RPers here.

[Sucrose]

Fine.
I generally concede the point, though I think we're ultimately quibbling over a matter of a few degrees on a scale.

I disagree with your claim, and feel instead that this was an argument for whether to preserve the actual utility of the 11th or not. Nevertheless, thank you for your concession.

[Moon Wolf]

Okay...I'm just looking for some ways that I can improve on his powers to make them more realistic/appropriate. That's all. It's also a chance to bring out the EvilThing lying dormant inside of your squishy BrainThing!

[KnightDisciple]

Could you perhaps post said character again, with any revisions that may have occurred?

[Sucrose]

Could you perhaps post said character again, with any revisions that may have occurred?

What he said.

[XtheYeti]

Nickolai Bolas

Age: 16
Height: 6'2"

Weight: 224 lbs.

Reiatsu/Speaking Color: Red

Appearance:

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Nick is a tall, decently muscled, and pale. He has flat, longish black hair, green eyes. He wears baggy pants and a black Dire En Grey tee shirt. His style of dress can be described as some what Gothic/JPunk.

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When his Hollow mask is on he has a Hallow hole right below his sternum that is 2 inches in diameter. Also if his soul is pulled out of his body it does not have arms. It does have Hollow arms when he uses them however. When he has his Hollow arms they look like a more organic version of black full plate armor. They are more curved and rounded, but they definitely seem to be Armor.

Personality:

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Nick is a decently friendly guy. But he has something of a temper. And a bit of a mean streak when it comes to people who pick on those weaker then themselves. He is also a avid boxer. He also has a great deal of respect for women, he always is courteous and polite to them and acts in a chivalrous manner. He is very easily angered by anyone threatening a woman, or actually being violent towards one.

History

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Nick's father is a Geman naval officer, who was stationed at a near by UN naval base. Nick's mother was a cafe waitress. Nick has never met his father, who probably doesn't know he exists. Nick's grandfather was a wealthy business man who owned a Japanese version of Barns and Nobel. His grandfather died when Nick was 4 years old and his Grandmother was very instrumental in his upbringing.

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Nick is half Hollow. This happened when he was partially eaten by a Hallow while still alive, but before he could be completely devoured the Hollow was destroyed by a Quincy, or a Soul Reaper. (This will happen IC so whichever)

Other Abilities: (he is an awakened human, not a Shinigami, therefore he has no Zampakto)

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Nick has a pair of identical Hollow arms. They are described in the spoiler in the appearance section He will be able to perform Cerro eventualy, and his arms will be able to grow spiky bits. The spiky bits: Nick's arms are somewhat morphic. As in he can use Reiatsu to alter them, creating spikes, blades and extending the arms. The amount that he can change them depends on how much Reiatsu he uses. He has a 4 word incantation to "summon" his Hollow arms, and he has a Hallow mask that he can take off and put on like a Vizard. However at first he will only be able to summon the arms. Then he will learn to do the spikes. After that Cerro and finally learn to create his mask.

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Nick also has the ability to eat spiritual beings like a Hollow. He also has the hunger of a Hollow. When he eats either a human soul, or a Hollow he gains there Reiatsu. However his hunger is proportional to how much of his Hollow powers he has gained. When he first gains his powers he simply starts eating more food. But he starts to feel more and more hunger the stronger he gets and the more powers he gains. He can deny his hunger and grow in strength through training instead but it is slower. However, since Shinigami will probably kill him instantly if they find out that he eats Hollows and souls, it's safer...and less ethically unstable...

Added in the hunger and rearranged some of the order of stuff. comments and stuff appreciated.

[Draken]

You can't defeat twelveth division. Because Kazuo will make a pocket nuclear reactor. In a cave. With a box of scraps. And use it to power the greatest weapon of all. And it shall defeat you.

[Sucrose]

Sorry, but that's second-best weapon. The first just might remove his eyepatch if Kazuo bothers him too much.

Edit: Seems like a good character, XtheYeti. Don't really have much more to add.

[nothingclever]

Also, what sort of banter and cheese where you thinking?

Well I was thinking I could easily see Genoveva toying with him by putting on a hot and cold routine, sometimes insulting him and acting nice at others. There could be a silly moment where she kisses him just to see his reaction which might cause him to become emotionally conflicted and extremely flustered. If Ruwa becomes one of her fraccion he might make recruiting her to his group a personal mission. Maybe he'd develop a bit of a masochistic tendency and start to like her abuse. Perhaps he'd vie for her praise and attention because the harder it is to get the more he desires it. He could always find a flower and start picking off petals one by one while muttering to himself.

You can't defeat twelveth division. Because Kazuo will make a pocket nuclear reactor. In a cave. With a box of scraps. And use it to power the greatest weapon of all. And it shall defeat you.

Kazuo is Iron Man?

[Zarah]

You can't defeat twelveth division. Because Kazuo will make a pocket nuclear reactor. In a cave. With a box of scraps. And use it to power the greatest weapon of all. And it shall defeat you.

Wait, your 12th division captain is named Kazuo too?

Sweet crap, that's the second time I've picked a taken name for my Quincy. Why do I keep doing this?

[KnightDisciple]

Wait, your 12th division captain is named Kazuo too?

Sweet crap, that's the second time I've picked a taken name for my Quincy. Why do I keep doing this?

Great minds think alike?

[Innis Cabal]

Great minds think alike?

Its those K names. Their insidious.

[MageSparrowhawk]

"Hm?"

they really are quite common...

[Draken]

Well, nothing, he looks more like Doctor Octopus, shikai wise, but KD, berry and I have been using the Iron man joke for a while.

Also Zarah, yes. His name is Kazuo. Ryou Kazuo, 12th division officer (possibly captain).

[Callos_DeTerran]

Well I was thinking I could easily see Genoveva toying with him by putting on a hot and cold routine, sometimes insulting him and acting nice at others. There could be a silly moment where she kisses him just to see his reaction which might cause him to become emotionally conflicted and extremely flustered. If Ruwa becomes one of her fraccion he might make recruiting her to his group a personal mission. Maybe he'd develop a bit of a masochistic tendency and start to like her abuse. Perhaps he'd vie for her praise and attention because the harder it is to get the more he desires it. He could always find a flower and start picking off petals one by one while muttering to himself.

"The capacity to make someone emo is finally mine! Muwahahahaha!"

...In other words, might be interesting to explore that. Might not be. Will think on it.