Bleach: Turn Back the Pendulum [OOC]

[Razade]

As the "Leader" of the Hollows, I think 2,000 years in the past is pretty early for us to start seeing "good" hollows considering we only really see Nel and she's less "good" and more...beaten to stupidity and when she goes Adult she's just as viscous and cruel as any of the other Arrancar except for Ichigo and his friends for various reasons.

[Lord Raziere]

Ah I see. then probably not good time for me. guess I could keep the Shihoin thing in mind? will have to think on it.

[Razade]

Is Yan Wao Shen's thingy an opportunity to talk or just story advancement?

Both

Should have been more clear, feel free for the Shibas to find Yan Wao Shen doing weird magical things to their walls in the middle of the night. Would be good for some exposition and interaction if nothing else.

[Frozen_Feet]

I'll echo Razade that a "noble" Hollow would be out-of-place, as the transformations which give Hollows ability for higher reason do not exist yet. A Shihoin heir/heiress would complement the current cast nicely, though.

I have my own idea for the Soul king, but I don't want to voice it, I'm not sure if I can do the role in complete seriousness especially given that if you really think about it, the Soul King would have to be really incompetent to get sealed away despite his ability to see the future. and I'm not sure if FF would want me to screw things up with my nonsense with that kind of role, especially since someone is already the Soul King's son.

You can voice your idea without playing it. It's also worth pondering that neither Ezekiel nor the Soul King might have the exact same ability as Yhwach. Or they might be fooled, in the same way Yhwach was fooled.

Anyways, even if you can't think of a playable character now, you might want to check back later when we've gotten closer to modern times and the familiar structure of the Bleach setting.

[Toxic Mind]

Should have been more clear, feel free for the Shibas to find Yan Wao Shen doing weird magical things to their walls in the middle of the night. Would be good for some exposition and interaction if nothing else.

One fodder, coming right up!

[Lord Raziere]

I'll echo Razade that a "noble" Hollow would be out-of-place, as the transformations which give Hollows ability for higher reason do not exist yet. A Shihoin heir/heiress would complement the current cast nicely, though.



You can voice your idea without playing it. It's also worth pondering that neither Ezekiel nor the Soul King might have the exact same ability as Yhwach. Or they might be fooled, in the same way Yhwach was fooled.

Anyways, even if you can't think of a playable character now, you might want to check back later when we've gotten closer to modern times and the familiar structure of the Bleach setting.

Ok here is my idea:
-The Soul King has precognition, right?
-The Soul King is the enemy of the Shinigami, right?
-Quincies hate the Soul King right? AND the Shinigami?
-so I'm thinking, that the Soul King looked into the future and concluded.... that the main timeline of Bleach was NOT the best possible future he could guide it down, and was working on some completely different timeline that involved allowing all this chaos for a certain amount of time, but thought that no one would comprehend what he was talking about so he would give decrees about preventing this timeline from coming about without giving the reasons why, but end up making this timeline come into existence anyways in classic Greek fate style "your preventative measures end up making happen the thing you didn't want to happen.".
-Thus the Shinigami come into existence because of the Soul king's own efforts to stamp them out before they ever be a thing, and the Quincies come into existence because the Soul King tries to persuade his son to kill "people with curved swords and black robes" but since he doesn't give the reasons why, since he is keeping his precognition secret, that obviously leads to daddy issues that lead to the son rebelling against the father, and the Quincies being enemies of Shinigami.
-Meanwhile he would be working on a sorcerous project to make something come into existence that would make his future come true....only he would re-purpose it as he realizes where the timeline is going, it would get lost as he is sealed away, only to return 2000 years later as his long elaborate revenge. I don't know what though.

I understand if you don't want go with this idea though. even I'm kind of leaning more towards the Shihoin heiress myself, really.

[Toxic Mind]

I'm fine with either of those options! Always down for more nobles, but/and I think having a player play the Soul King would be awesome even if it was only for a short while during the current timeline. (Until sealing/whatever)

[Frozen_Feet]

The core idea - that the King has foreseen a bad future but his attempts to avoid it are causing it to happen - is quite usable. I'll just note you can simplify it a lot - you don't need to invoke the entire canon timeline, just the thought that Shinigami will seal the King in his crystal is enough to give him a motive and role in the story.

Just be aware that after his sealing, the King wouldn't do much for the rest of the game.

[Razade]

See, I think it'd be better if...no one person played the king. Especially since we're all sort of writing bits for him, having someone play it runs the risk of just straight up shooting down people's contributions. I think the King should be a community character, the bulk of which is handled without him/her/it actually being present. The only real time it needs to appear is when it's being sealed right? Having a literal omnipotent, omniscient character just spells trouble for all sorts of reason. Case and point, Raziere's whole thing pretty much invalidates everything Yan Wao Shen has established and what the Kuchiki have built on. To the point that there's really no reason to have a plot in sealing him if the King is just gracious enough to do it himself.

[Lord Raziere]

Eh, cool, but I'm not really interested in Soul King anymore. and Razade is probably right anyways. See? my idea was bad. The Shihoin idea however grew in my mind:

Shihoin Yuuka Saki, 2nd Head Of the Shihoin Clan

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Age: 21
Gender: Female
Height: ~5'01"
Weight: ~130 lbs.
Species: Plus ("Balancer")
Station: Head of the Shihoin clan

Description:

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Saki is a short, busty woman with tan skin. Her hair is black and shoulder-length, but done up in a ponytail with a golden jeweled headress. Her eyes are a warm yellow. She usually wears various silken finery that shows off her figure and skin, as well as gaudy jewelry that she covets. When she goes into battle, she has a veritable utility kit of weapons and tools at her disposal from chakrams, tonfas, meteor hammers and the bow for long range sniping. The only indication of her clan is a golden medallion with the clan symbol etched into it, worn around her neck

Personality:

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"Carpe diem!"
Saki like all Shihoin seems to exist in complete contrast to any and all Kuchikis. She is completely relaxed and laid back, preferring her women, wine and song while she leads her forces from the shadows. She loves to look gaudy and beautiful in the most spectacular of ways, the only limit being that her clothing doesn't restrict her body movements for maximum evasiveness given that she doesn't wear armor. Despite her tastes running towards the feminine, she knows full well that she will have to provide an heir to succeed her someday and has made plans for it, even if she does not much care for it.

Underneath her gaudy decadence which is not a facade at all, she runs the biggest personal spy organization in all of Soul Society, has a wealth of information from brothels owned by her family, and is actually well trained in the arts of stealth, ambush, unequal warfare and so on from her mother. She is completely unphased by anyone's attempts at shaming her into behaving, especially Kuchiki, seeing it only as an opportunity to tease him.

History:

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The Shihoin were ennobled by the Soul King only twenty years ago. How that happened is quite the story: Saki's father using nothing but his fists and liquid courage somehow slaughtered an entire pack of demons, or at least that is what he claims- he was drunk, he woke up next to all the dead foes, he kind of blacked out, no one else really saw what happened, but someone had to have killed them right? To everyone's surprise, the Soul King ennobled his family right then and there without a second thought to the shock of everyone.

Her father then died two years later of alcohol poisoning. Her mother having to juggle both raising a kid and building a new noble family with only her wits, kind of just allowed Saki to do whatever she wanted when she wasn't training because her mother was busy building spy networks, marrying a second father into the Shihoin family and keeping everything stable on her own and needing to teach her lessons quickly to her daughter and keeping her lands safe and so on. Thus Saki grew up to be quite the lover of pleasure, and wouldn't listen to her second father who was more traditional.

Then of course, her mother and second father died due to someone assassinating them. Saki suspects it somebody from another clan who doesn't like that the Shihoin family are a bunch of decadent upstarts only recently ennobled by their standards, and she now she has to protect her clan including her step-sibling Miyako Shihoin, so she has been fighting battles her own way, through surprise attacks, using the terrain to her advantage and generally fighting unfairly, and has recently married the weak-willed Akio Fong of the lesser house of Fong now Akio Shihoin, she pretty much is in control in this relationship and only keeps him around for eventual heir-making, her true goal for marrying him was her demand for the deal: to get Nanami Fong as her bodyguard, a beautiful noble whom she wants to add to her harem, but Nanami has proven hard to get so far.

Story So Far:

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Nothing yet.

Abilities:

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Expert Weird Weapons User: She uses the bow for taking out foes at long range as possible, chakrams if they get closer, meteor hammers and tonfas if they get even closer than that. Her fighting style is one of flexibility and using any means to kill her opponent while keeping ahead of them by being completely unpredictable.
Stealth Expert: No one knows just how good she is at creeping around quietly, ambushing others and making quiet escapes, as well breaking out of bonds and other underhanded tactics, being prepared to get out any situation with dirty means.
Transformation: The Shihoin Clan has a secret technique of transforming into animals. People speak in hushed whispers of a panther stalking their domain, killing those who dare break their laws, Saki lets such rumors propagate. Less work for her if they fear her other form and she is just as capable of combat within it as without.
Enhanced speed & agility: Saki has an incredibly acrobatic and fast style of fighting, constantly flipping, jumping about and evading her foes and its hard to land a hit on her.
Drunken Fist Stylist: Oddly her dexterity and movements only get better and more unpredictable the more she is drunk, and she is known to take a shot of wine before every combat encounter, and her drunkenness only enhances her skill at improvisational flexible fighting
Enhanced spiritual power: Saki has an alluring presence that entrances and bedazzles all who look at her.
Spy Network: While she is not all that well educated academically, she knows a lot about the political landscape and how the war is going for each side due to her extensive spy network and thus is how she manages to keep ahead of people like Takehiko

Yup......my idea for Shihoin Saki, Head of the Shihoin Clan......is a drunk harem-possessing proto-ninja doing all this to protect her little step-sister and bed her own bodyguard. I am not sorry.

Nanami Fong, Saki's Bodyguard

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She is similar in many ways to Saki in fighting style with a few exceptions:

Description:
She is fair skinned, grey eyes and short black hair, slight agile build, wearing two short swords on her at all times and wears practical clothing for easy movement and dodging with the Fong clan symbol etched into it.

Personality:
She is more straight-laced and traditional, staying with Saki as her bodyguard out of loyalty and obligation. She does not know yet what to think of Saki's advances aside from the fact that they are improper, and urges her to keep on task when Saki is getting distracted

Abilities:
Expert Martial Artist and short Sword user: She is more traditional and uses her fists and blades to protect Saki
In the Nick of Time: Can show up out of nowhere to save Saki in a dangerous situation, such is her loyalty and dedication that she watches from the shadows.

Because you cannot have one without the other, and I work better in duos. or is there something else needing to be trimmed down?

[Frozen_Feet]

Both characters look fine to me. I think you'll have an opening to interact with either Shiba or Yan Wao Shen while Takehiko and Qiu Tao are on Earth.

I'll update the first post when I get to a proper keyboard.

[Razade]

Hey Lord Raziere? Not even the Hollows know Yan Wao Shen is the Carrion King/Lord of all Hollows. There's a reason there are two character sheets As far as the Afterlife is concerned, it's just a powerful entity that dwells in the Southern Swamps.

[Lord Raziere]

Sorry, I'll edit, its hard to keep track.

[Razade]

It's cool, no harm done. Wanted to nip it in the bud before they interacted. No problem with her hating him though....sure would like one of the Noble Houses to not think he's just a soul sucking monster :P

[Toxic Mind]

I updated for Necromancer, waiting on Shihoin to get to the gates.

[igordragonian]

I wonder if other ghosts will learn to forge Zankaputos themselves, or Qiu will actually be Sensei of everyone, and stab everyone's hearts...

[Razade]

I wonder if other ghosts will learn to forge Zankaputos themselves, or Qiu will actually be Sensei of everyone, and stab everyone's hearts...

Well Yan Wao Shen is trying but you're trying to kill his method to figure it out!

[Frozen_Feet]

While waiting for King, I thought to discuss my future plans for Takehiko's Zanpakuto.

It will function similarly to Byakuya Kuchiki's. Just, instead of a cloud of blades, it will split into a number of needles. And then a huge number of needles. Pretty straightforward.

[igordragonian]

Sound good to me!
I still think of something for Qiu, maybe just ridicusly huge sword which can slice titans in half?

[Lord Raziere]

I have no idea what Saki's Zanpakutou will be. Yoruichi's was never shown, and the idea of getting stabbed in the heart to obtain strange sword powers isn't very appealing to Saki right now, and I'm actually planning on her being the first to accept Yan's deal to learn Kido then get Zanpakutou later when I have an actual idea for it.

[Frozen_Feet]

@igor: you could do Gin-style zanpakuto which grows and shrinks blindingly fast. With maybe some added quirk; Gin's was that his sword could leave extremely poisonous fragments inside opponents.

[igordragonian]

Well I guess the trend of Zankuptos should grow slowly.

hmm. good direction FF.
I'll need to think of a fitting quirk. Maybe draining health/energy?

[Toxic Mind]

For Kane Shiba's I am unsure - he uses zwiehanders now, which is basically a massive 2H sword. His zanpakuto could reflect that similarity, maybe something that shatters ground or manipulates earth. Either way it would be massive, and wide enough to block a strike with the flat of the blade. Also open to ideas.

Ana would almost certainly be toxin-based. Perhaps a pair of cestus or other close ranged gauntlet-weapon, that shoots envenomed spines?

[Razade]

I have no idea what Saki's Zanpakutou will be. Yoruichi's was never shown, and the idea of getting stabbed in the heart to obtain strange sword powers isn't very appealing to Saki right now, and I'm actually planning on her being the first to accept Yan's deal to learn Kido then get Zanpakutou later when I have an actual idea for it.

I'm not sure what deal you're talking about other than the Nobles promise Yan Wao Shen payment in helping seal the Soul King away. He's not made a deal to anyone to teach magic.

[Lord Raziere]

I'm not sure what deal you're talking about other than the Nobles promise Yan Wao Shen payment in helping seal the Soul King away. He's not made a deal to anyone to teach magic.

.....oh hm. nevermind then. thought you said something about teaching Kido to someone? oh well.

[Razade]

Yan Wao Shen is, nominally so far, teaching magic to Kuang. It's not a wider ranging deal and I never brought it up.

[Lord Raziere]

Ah sorry, I' think I'll re-read Yan' sheet then to make sure there is nothing else I'm mistaken about, then think about what plans to come up with as I go. I'm confident I'll come up with something cool.

[Toxic Mind]

Ah sorry, I' think I'll re-read Yan' sheet then to make sure there is nothing else I'm mistaken about, then think about what plans to come up with as I go. I'm confident I'll come up with something cool.

plenty to do at home. got an entire society to build an an ancient celestial to seal away.

[Razade]

And I didn't shoot out Yan teaching Kido. Though I think its role is probably going to be less pro and more ant when we're discussing the agonist spectrum earlier than I predicted. So who knows. I'm not one to plan far.

[Lord Raziere]

plenty to do at home. got an entire society to build and an ancient celestial to seal away.

Well the Shihoin are supposed to be the head of the Omnitsukido- the special forces of Soul Society as well as protectors of certain artifacts. so.....maybe something to do with that? as well as/or something involving Hakuda.....