guysandolls application
PLAYER
[journal] phrotus
[age] January 28, 1985 (26)
[previous characters none
[character journal] n/a
CHARACTER
[series] BLEACH
[full name] Hanatarou Yamada
[age] unspecified in canon; likely between 40 and 100. He appears to be of roughly high-school age.
[gender] male
[canon point] Chapter 314
[reference] wiki
[personality] Meek and nervous to the extreme, Hanatarou is easy to intimidate, never stands up for himself, and almost always does as he's told. These traits, along with his small stature, flimsy constitution, and jumpiness, have made him a prime target for bullies of all kinds all his life. (He's part of the Gotei 13's 4th division, where receiving threats and various kinds of abuse from 11th division is normal for everyone--but Hanatarou is the only one who is also regularly picked on by other members of 4th division.) He's gullible, clumsy, sometimes painfully clueless, and has a tendency to completely space out; he regularly overworks and uses energy supplements to take the place of sleep, so he's tired most of the time too.
He's also gentle, sweet, and far more passionate than most people would suspect. Typical airhead mode aside, he's extremely serious and competent when in his element, and is occasionally impressively subtle and sneaky (he leads Ichigo and Ganju through a network of underground passageways that he knows their pursuers can't navigate, steals a spare key to Rukia's cell, and uses a tranquilizing medicine to incapacitate a guard so he can get to Rukia without needing to fight). Of course, he's also submissive and selfless to a fault. Much of his self-effacement and deflection of anything like thanks or praise is a product of the fact that these are the appropriate and polite things for a person of his status (and culture) to do, but he does take it to an extreme, and the feelings behind it are pretty genuine.
Ichigo Kurosaki is a very important person to him, not so much because they're close but because Ichigo's presence and actions meant a lot to Hanatarou and functioned as a catalyst for his own realizations. The truth is that, until Ichigo and his comrades shook things up and defied the Proper Way of Things so spectacularly by busting into Soul Society and stopping Rukia's execution, it had never really occurred to Hanatarou that it was possible for him to matter, or that things could be better than they were--and that doing all he could to make them that way was not only okay, but was the right thing to do. Watching Ichigo fight against opponents that he should reasonably have been no match for--not because he was certain of victory, or because he needed to preserve his own life, but because he had to in order to save Rukia-- taught Hanatarou more about real courage than he had learned in countless years of service. And watching Ichigo win those impossible fights and keep all his promises taught Hanatarou more about hope than he had ever learned over a lifetime in a rigidly stratified, stagnant, and seemingly immutable society. Even though it was a subtle change outwardly, it meant everything to him. Without it, he couldn't have faced down his very real, very legitimate fear and gone past it to find the incredible courage he'd never known he possessed. Since then, he hasn't stopped being scared of stuff, and almost nothing about his behaviour has actually changed, but everything is better.
Ichigo may have been the one to show Hanatarou how to face his fears, but the one he faced them for is Rukia Kuchiki. They met when she was already slated for execution and he was assigned to clean her cell; he was intimidated by her high status, but she treated him as a friend and made him feel at ease. Her kindness and friendship were important enough to him that he was willing to aid and abet criminal intruders if it meant she'd be saved; this indirect betrayal of Soul Society eventually became full-on treason, and in the end he was even ready to face Byakuya (whom he had no chance of defeating) in battle to keep her safe.
By default, Hanatarou expects to be treated badly, scolded, and/or disregarded entirely. As a result, he's not only very pleasantly surprised when someone is actually kind to or considerate of him, he's also entirely unprepared for it and doesn't quite know how to react. (It can end up pretty awkward, but it's a good awkward! ... for him, at least!) This same basic principle means that all someone has to do is be genuinely (or convincingly!) nice to him a couple of times, and he'll pretty much walk into hell for them without ever expecting anything in return. (Seriously, he won't expect anything. They don't even have to keep being nice to him.) Luckily for him, sort of, it also means he doesn't get depressed over things like unrequited love, since... well, why would he bother considering the possibility of it being requited in the first place? Thinking of himself as someone who is potentially important in any way--whose feelings and actions actually have relevance, even significance, and maybe even to people other than himself--is something pretty new for him. He's working on it, though.
[orientation] Unknown; possible heterosexual leanings. His devotion to Rukia may have a romantic element (he blushes when describing their relationship to Ichigo and Ganju), but it's not definitively stated in canon.
[appearance] n/a
[wish] Greater spiritual power/potential. He wants to become strong enough to fight alongside and protect his friends without being a burden.
[requested house] Tsumi
[misc notes] As a shinigami and seated officer in the Gotei 13, he has a variety of spiritual abilities, offensive and defensive; however, he's not cut out for battle and his most noteworthy skill is healing.
SAMPLES
[network post]
[A pair of eyes appears! They're heavy-lidded and blue, with pronounced dark circles; after half a second, the image zooms out a bit to reveal the eyes in their proper place as part of a very concerned face framed by messy black hair.]
A-ah! Ummm...
[The face's owner spends a few seconds fiddling around with communicator placement, trying to guess at an appropriate distance and angle. Once he's decided either that the position is satisfactory or that he's already wasted too much time, he continues with his message.]
Please excuse me. Hello.
[He bows deeply, almost touching his forehead to the tatami mats he's kneeling on, fingertips lightly resting in front.]
My name is Yamada Hanatarou. I hope we'll treat each other well.
[He sits up, although he's still slouching a little.]
I don't want to trouble anyone, but I was wondering... That is, I understand that it won't be possible for me to leave for quite a while, but is there a way to send a message back? I should--or rather, I need to contact my temporary commanding officer... to explain the situation and apologize for my extreme and unforgivable dereliction of duty...
...Also, I don't suppose it's possible this is all an illusion.
...
Anyway, thank you very much!!
[He bows again, then reaches out and--after a false attempt--switches off the video.]
[prose log]
Opening his eyes had felt mostly fine, but when he tried to move, he found that his head was full of some heavy, painful liquid. There was an uncomfortable tightness in his lungs, too, so for the moment he resigned himself to lying motionless, taking shallow breaths, and looking up at the ceiling. This wasn't a bad room; it reminded him of home, a little bit.
Wait. Ceiling? ...Room? "Oh, no!" he yelped, bolting upright in a panic. "--ahhhh," he sighed unhappily immediately after, slumping forward in pain.
Yes, he remembered now. Someone had been tending to him... before that, someone had talked to him, told him about his situation. And he was in this situation because of a certain other person... He could still hear her voice, asking, Don't you want the power to protect what's important, instead of just hoping you'll be able to salvage it?
He could still see her face, her expression blank as she slashed through clothing, skin, muscle.
But no. He shook his head--carefully, because whatever was in there hadn't stopped sloshing around--and shut his eyes. Neither of those had really been her; he understood that much, at least. It all seemed like a dream, but how much of it had been real? When he glanced down at himself, the wound was there, running from hip to shoulder; it was already only a scar, though. Isane had done her work well, even though he was ashamed she'd needed to.
He pulled the cover up, wrapping it around himself as he gnawed his lower lip and forced himself to recall the explanation he'd been given in more detail. Maybe it was true, but... was it possible he was being deceived? Aizen had said they would all be trapped; had this been what he meant?
Hanatarou looked out the window, pulling the cover closer as his heart sank.
He was definitely going to be in trouble over this, wasn't he?