Application for raisetheearth

[icy_heavens]

OOC Information:
Name: Misty
Are you over 15? Way over.
Contact: cloudyskies or PM this journal


IC Information:
Name: Toushirou Hitsugaya
Canon: Bleach
Age: 11 in reincarnation, no specified canon age, but he’s several decades old there
Preincarnation Appearance: Here.
Any differences: His hair will be a light blond instead of white, and he’ll be about three inches taller than his canon self.

Preincarnated History: Toushirou was originally a soul in Rukongai, the vast, feudal-looking city in Soul Society that is home to the souls of people who have died. Mostly, everyone just went about their business as if they weren’t dead, because this was still a life, of a sort. Toushirou had been taken in by a kind old woman that he came to call his grandmother. She and the girl who lived next door were the only people in the district who didn’t fear him on some level.

It wasn’t that Toushirou had done anything in particular; but he had a distant demeanour, and the people found his colouring strange. It was enough for others to try and ignore him, and even flat-out run when he looked in their direction. But he was content enough in his little family, and refused to leave his grandmother alone even when the girl next door encouraged him to come to death god school with her. And this refusal went on for five years.

Until one day, he ran into a death god in the marketplace, Matsumoto Rangiku, who seemed to notice something about him that was different than the typical resident. But he ran off before she could properly speak to him. They didn’t meet again until later that night, when she woke him from a recurring dream about an ice dragon and told him to hold in his power while he slept – his grandmother was freezing. Matsumoto told him that if he didn’t learn to control his power properly, it would be directly responsible for his grandmother’s death. In no uncertain terms? She told him that he must become a death god himself.

Terrified of the alternative, Toushirou promptly enrolled himself in the academy. He proved to have quite a strong spiritual force and a natural aptitude for all death god abilities, leading people to call him a genius. In fact, he took to everything so quickly that he graduated the six-year program in just a single year. He entered the 10th Division, rising to third seat. And while at that rank, he trained for captain-level ability.

Some time after his captain went into exile, Toushirou passed the proficiency requirements for captaincy and took the reins of the 10th Division. Perhaps ironically, he wound up being the immediate superior of the woman who’d recruited him in the first place. For a couple of decades, things proceeded normally. He ran the division with a firm, but not stifling hand, and kept in touch with the girl who’d once lived next door to him: Hinamori Momo, who had risen to become the lieutenant of the 5th Division under captain Aizen Sousuke.

When a series of events lead up to the possibility of Kuckiki Rukia being executed for crimes that normally would not warrant such punishment, he began to grow suspicious, particularly of the 3rd Division. He even went so far as to warn Hinamori about the division’s senior officers, and how her own captain may possibly be in danger. And when Aizen turned up murdered the next morning, his suspicions appeared to be confirmed. He intercepted a battle between Hinamori and Kira, the 3rd Division’s lieutenant, when Hinamori had tried to go after the captain, believing him responsible for the murder. Toushirou had both lieutenants arrested for this altercation. Nevertheless, he was just as convinced of Ichimaru Gin’s guilt, even with no concrete proof.

He was part of the investigation into Aizen’s death, and he found a letter the man had written to Hinamori. Even though it should have been turned in to evidence, he ensured that Hinamori was handed the letter; he didn’t want to deny his closest friend the final words of someone she cared for so deeply.

Eventually, Toushirou confronted Ichimaru, only to have Hinamori get between them and accuse him of the murder. The letter had named him as a dangerous traitor that Aizen was trying to stop, and much as it was clearly breaking her heart, Hinamori had decided that she needed to believe in her captain. Horrified, Toushirou was forced to knock her aside and had a brief battle with Ichimaru. After analyzing the situation, he decided that he needed to take this matter to the Central 46, Soul Society’s main governing body.

But when he and Matsumoto reached the grounds, they found the entire governing body had been murdered – and some time ago, as the blood was all dry. They gave chase after Kira when he appeared across the room, and Toushirou and Matsumoto separated after a time when Kira revealed that Hinamori had been following them, and was very likely in danger back at the Central 46.

He returned to the building to find, to his shock, Aizen alive and well, chatting casually with Ichimaru. In a near panic over Hinamori’s safety, he wound up finding her bleeding out on the floor behind the two other captains. Not dead, but close to it. Aizen revealed himself as the true mastermind of the recent happenings, and that he’d been the one to inflict that wound on Hinamori. Toushirou attacked him over it in a senseless rage, but even with his final release active, he was taken down in a single blow.

Eventually, he recovered, and was sent to lead an advance guard into the Living World against Aizen’s arrancar – Hollows who had partially removed their bone masks, and gained some abilities similar to those of death gods. He kept in contact with Soul Society for the duration of the mission, which included more than one battle against the arrancar. When investigators in Soul Society had determined Aizen’s true goal, the advance guard was recalled to shore up Soul Society’s defenses. Hinamori had recovered physically by this time, but Toushirou was saddened – and angered – to find that she wanted so badly to believe that Ichimaru was the mastermind and Aizen was just his pawn, or was being forced to help him. This only hardened his desire to kill the man personally, for how thoroughly he’d deceived and harmed his friend.

The captains of Soul Society split themselves into two separate groups. One to Hueco Mundo, to assist Kurosaki Ichigo and strike at Aizen’s stronghold, and one in the Living World, to face Aizen and his top arrancar. Toushirou was in the latter group, and faced off with who turned out to be the third-ranked arrancar in Aizen’s army while Matsumoto handled her subordinates. Her powers involved water, and she had a strategic mind; this battle was full of tactics, and countering each other’s abilities with their own. Hinamori even came on scene to assist Matsumoto, though the two lieutenants were overcome and seriously injured by the arrancar’s subordinates.

Due to outside factors, Toushirou’s battle ended in something of a draw. With Aizen deciding to take matters into his own hands, the captains combined their efforts in order to defeat him. It seemed for a moment that Toushirou was able to strike a fatal blow – but then Aizen revealed his illusion. He had switched locations with Hinamori, and Toushirou had run her through instead.

He screamed in horror and fury, though still managed to set her down safely before turning on Aizen again. This attempt proved no more successful than the one some months earlier, and he was downed in a single blow alongside the other captains.

The next time we saw him was after Aizen was defeated, training in a secluded area. He swore that he would get better and stronger so that he could protect Hinamori in the future.

Reincarnated History: Some people lead exciting, action-packed lives. This wasn’t so much the case with Toushirou. He was born to an American mother, and a Japanese immigrant father. From early on, it was fairly clear that he took more after his mother in appearance, with those bright green eyes and wisps of pale hair. However, this resemblance might have been a painful thing for his father and grandmother at first – his mother died from complications in the birth.

In his earliest years, his grandmother assumed most of his care; his parents had been living with her while they were getting their finances together, and his father wasn’t in any emotional condition to move out on his own after becoming a widower. Nor was the man in much emotional condition to actually be a father. Hence why most memories of Toushirou’s toddlerhood were of times with his grandmother. And by the time his father finally seemed to be getting his life together, a car accident ended it when Toushirou was only four.

Naturally, Toushirou felt bad about it, but it didn’t exactly crush him. He’d hardly gotten the chance to really know the man and get attached to him. So he recovered from that loss rather well, and continued to live with his grandmother. He did well in school, but didn’t really have many friends because of his more distant and serious attitude. It wasn’t really the greatest feeling, but he learned to appreciate the few friends he did have.

In many ways, he was a reasonably typical middle-school kid. He always wound up doing more than his share in group projects, but really everyone else was just too lazy and he wanted things done properly. Surely that was normal for a kid his age. And that strange “memory” he had a few weeks ago? He’d put it out of his head. Or tried to. Those numbers kept nagging at him and he wouldn’t be able to ignore them forever.

First Echo: Toushirou was working on a partner project with a girl from his class one day, and the girl kept getting distracted and dozing off. He eventually got fed up with this –surely that hollow haze and thumping heartbeat was just anger or something, right?—and started yelling at her. Wake up! Pay attention! He’s not doing all the work for her this time! What, was she hungover again or something?

He’d never worked with this girl before. And she gave him the strangest look after this outburst. Where did he even get that hangover accusation from? They were eleven. Maybe he was the one who’d sampled some booze.

Toushirou reacted defensively to the whole thing and just told her to forget it and get back to the project. But there was this nagging sense in his head that he was in some kind of position of authority and had to constantly work with a slacker. And some odd terminology that he hadn't bothered saying. He’s still not sure where that came from.

Preincarnation Personality: Toushirou has been described as being “as cold as the blade he wields.” This, however, is not precisely true. Yes, he’s pragmatic and practical, serious to a fault – but this does not mean that he’s lacking in feeling. When things matter to him, he can feel very deeply indeed. He just doesn’t express emotions very well.

It takes some time and work to get past the stern exterior, but there is more to him than the surface indicates. Even when someone does get past that, the serious, logical personality is still there, as that’s truly just how he is. Despite this, there are indicators that he isn’t as cold as the world at large perceives him to be. He will relax somewhat around those he’s comfortable with, so long as there isn’t a pressing matter that demands his attention. A rare few can even cause him to smile. Those same people can get away with more than what he allows others.

Toushirou is a staunchly loyal person. If he considers someone a friend, he will go to hell and back to ensure that they’re safe. He will give up things that are important to him, things he’s worked hard for, if he believes that’s the cost of protecting someone he loves. All those things are secondary if such an important person is in danger. In fact, his coldly logical nature gets shoved aside entirely if he’s facing what he thinks is an imminent threat to them. That threat needs to be destroyed immediately, and violently. He can go into blind rages, and often pays for his recklessness with serious injury.

Despite the relaxation around people he cares for, and despite the unthinking fury he can be goaded into on behalf of these people, he still couches his positive feelings in unfriendly mannerisms. He will call his own best friend an idiot or a dumbass when he sees fit. Most of the time, he doesn’t actually mean it, and those times when he does, it’s generally because he’s worried they’re going to do something crazy and get hurt. He insults their intelligence because he cares.

He is intelligent and hard-working, often feeling like he has to pick up on the slack of others. (And honestly? A lot of the time, he really does. There are deadlines!) Laziness in others frustrates him; he doesn’t understand the mentality of not being concerned about getting useful things done. As a result of this, he’s been told he’s no fun and he’s been accused of having no sense of humour. It’s not strictly accurate, but like his smiles, he reserves that for just a few people.

He’s very aware of his appearance, but not in a way that leads to primping or excessive grooming rituals – looking presentable and professional is as far as that much goes. No, his awareness is that he looks like a child even though he isn’t one. He will profess a hatred of things he deems childish, even if he doesn’t truly hate them. In order to present himself as a rational adult, he can’t go proving people’s initial perception of him right by actually liking that stuff. His height is the most sensitive issue, and it’s not good for his blood pressure when people point out how small he is. He knows. Now shut up about it before he has to yell. And don’t you dare pat him on the head.

Any differences: Toushirou is more openly emotional than his canon self. He hasn’t had the extended lifespan to develop the same distance and maturity level. So while he still comes off as too serious for his age, he’s not as good at keeping his emotions in check. He might try to hide his feelings, but they still show.

Without the extended life experience and the realities of leading a military division, Toushirou is less self-possessed. He’s not used to having what he says taken into much account, even though he demands his words get taken seriously. After all, what kid wants to be dismissed like that? Especially a kid approaching his teen years. This comes across with petulance if he thinks he’s being brushed off. While he can’t exactly deny he’s a child in the reincarnation, he insists that people shouldn't treat him like one. It’s annoying.

All this tends toward him being a mouthy brat, rather than his quieter, more analytical canon self. If something bothers him, it’s more likely to show, and he gets defensive if it’s pointed out. Quite possibly to the point of yelling. He’s likely to be full of casual insults when he’s irritated or just talking about things in the abstract.

Abilities: His pre-incarnation, a death god captain, has quite a few abilities. He has a forceful spiritual presence, which can press down on weaker individuals when he flexes it; this spiritual force has also been described as “cold”, and it is literally that as well. When his power first started coming out in his pre-incarnation, it actually chilled the air and caused things to frost over.

Next would be shunpo (flash step). This is a high-speed movement ability that is too fast for the normal human eye to see. Every high-level death god is capable of this at some level of proficiency or another. Toushirou is fairly quick, but is not its most talented practitioner.

Death gods also practice kidou, or Demon Arts, a type of magic separated into two different categories: Ways of Destruction and Ways of Binding. Every spell has an incantation, but skilled users can forgo this and cast the spell with no delay. This does, however, have the effect of weakening the spell. Toushirou is skilled enough in canon to be able to use fairly high-level spells without incantation, though it’s not his preferred combat method.

That covers the basic abilities. However, death gods also carry zanpakutou (Soul Cutters) that are unique to each wielder. While all them have the same basic ability to purify Hollows and send lost souls on properly (obviously, this will be irrelevant to the game), everything else is individual. They have two states of release: shikai and bankai (initial and final). As a captain, Toushirou has access to both levels of this. His sword changes form slightly with each, and he gains a broader spectrum of abilities, all related to ice. In his final release, he gains ice wings, tail, and claws like that of a dragon. And all of these parts are functional, meaning he can scratch and claw, whip the tail about, and even fly.

On the more mundane side, his pre-incarnation is an expert swordsman and an excellent tactical thinker. A more detailed breakdown of his abilities can be found here.

Roleplay Sample – Third Person:

There was something fascinating about watching a blizzard. Toushirou didn't know what it was, really. Thunderstorms were interesting, but they just lacked a certain appeal. Then again, he'd always been more of a winter kid. Maybe he just liked snow.

He sat at the kitchen table, still in his pajamas, while Granny worked on making hot chocolate for the both of them. The radio chattered on in the background, repeating the list of school closings, warning everyone to stay inside unless otherwise necessary, to not get caught in the midst of the storm.

Something about those words . . . he didn't know why, didn't know how to explain, but they hit him somehow. A hollow feeling, a pounding in his ears. He'd been out in the midst of a terrible blizzard once. It hadn't hurt him. No, it felt like he'd . . . owned it. A cascade of snow, pouring down on a dark-skinned blonde woman with a strange appendage in place of one arm, the promise of death --

He jumped when a hand touched his shoulder, then relaxed when he saw it was just Granny. Right. Of course it was. It wasn't like that creepy mental image had been any more than some weird hallucination, right?

"Are you okay, Toushirou? Seem a little distracted, there." With her other hand, Granny set down a piping mug of hot chocolate in front of him.

Oh. Had he daydreamed that obviously? Damn. "No, it's fine. It's just . . . some storm, isn't it?" It felt like a lie, and he hated lying to her. But what else was he supposed to say?

Granny just chuckled and patted his shoulder before sitting down herself. "Certainly is. Hardly seen anything like it before."

Right. Never saw anything like it before. Toushirou suddenly wished so very badly that he could say the same.

Roleplay Sample - Network:
Written on a sheet of paper

[He’s scribbled these numbers down before, but had pulled back from the connection they’d lead him to. Today, though, he’s ahead in his history class, thus bored with the lecture, and the numbers wind up on his paper with little conscious thought. This time, he’ll make contact, strange as it seems to him. The writing is neat and tidy.]

I know you’re out there. I’ve seen you talking and trying to figure this out. This network, and just general strange feelings. Have any of you people managed to work anything out yet?

[He wouldn't share this normally with people he hasn't really met, but after reading and listening about on this odd network, he knows he's not the only one dealing with something like this. It takes a little of the edge off.] About a month ago, I accused the girl I was working on a school project with of being drunk on the job again, like it’s something that happens all the time. We’re not even teenagers. I’ve never worked with her before, either. I’d barely even talked to her before this project. I have no idea where that even came from.

Seriously. Just what the hell is going on, here? I want to know. And don’t try to tell me I’m too young. I really hate that.

Any Questions? None I can think of.