application;
[character history / background]: http://bleach.wikia.com/wiki/Ulquiorra_Cifer#Synopsis [excluding any fillers, which do not seem to be included there, so no worries. 8)]
His past, as it were, is unknown.
Completely.
Because he had to go and die before there were any meaningful flashbacks thanks kubo and all we have now is speculation. There isn't a lot to go on, really, besides his materialistic views of the world around him, his connection to nihilism, that only begin to change at the time of his death (or right before).
So all that there is to go on currently is the synopsis given. If there is any need for me to give any real... information besides what's been provided, i'll do so. <3 (or if there are ever any canon details provided in the future.)
[character abilities]: http://bleach.wikia.com/wiki/Ulquiorra_Cifer#Powers_.26_Abilities
Ulquiorra is an Arrancar. An evolved Hollow that has gained Shinigami-like qualities through the use of the Hōgyoku. But more importantly, he is an Espada- the elite, chosen by Aizen himself, and ranked Fourth among them. As an Espada he is extremely powerful compared to any human. Stronger, faster, arguably more intelligent. He does not truly age, but can be killed, if you even manage to cut him. Also as a Hollow he feeds off souls, their energy, but so far it's unknown how that would effect him if he was at all cut off from a supply of energy. In the City, I doubt it would kill him, but perhaps weaken him some.
The effects of the City will dampen his powers some, simply because they're so extreme, that he can't even reach his strongest state within Los Noches. But the same could be said for the Espada above him. At any rate, while he may still be extreme powerful, he will be more susceptible to harm. But considering it's Ulquiorra, who can say whether or not he'll be able to contend with this without even showing any sign of weakness.
[character personality]: Trash, trash, trash.
From the start, Ulquiorra is the stereotype of the evil emo/angsty/batman/dark prince of the bad guys. He's cold, emotionless; driven by an entirely materialistic view of the world around him. And he, as it were, seems to loathe trash; the weak.
He is not human. That is the basis point for his being, I believe. The being that he is not human, and incapable of understanding them and their motives (until his death, at least). But, at the very least, he seems curious about them. Or else grows to be, thanks to the determination of one Inoue Orihime. In the simplest of terms, he seems to be an entirely callous being. Unlike many of the Espada who seem to be almost bestial in their ruthlessness, carrying traits that are much more 'Hollow-like'. At least, visibly. Because it would be wrong to say he doesn't carry these traits. The difference is control. Ulquiorra has it in spades. Control of his actions, his emotions. Even to go so far as to say what he can not see, does not exist. Such as the 'heart'- the figurative ideal, rather than anything physical.
But like any character with actual depth, Ulquiorra is not a complete machine incapable of questioning. He may act like it- but in the end, he asks the ultimate question, what is a heart. Even if it's only his demise that brings forth the answer, he is still at the point where he is wavering. He does change, however slightly.
Despite that, Ulquiorra is an Espada. A Hollow. A corrupt soul that kills, devourers, likely created by the very feeling of despair. And he serves, only Aizen; for all his seeming loyalty to that single man, he doesn't seem to display any particular compassion towards the other Espada. He does as he's ordered, and is not someone incapable of using force as an incentive. However, perhaps his coming to question certain things may be seen as some small show of loyalty towards himself and his own interests, rather than Aizen's. It may not be so drastic as some, though, such as Grimmjow's actions in kidnapping Orihime or his hiding of the second level of his Resurrección.
He is analytical, but not devious. Ulquiorra may be someone capable of being manipulative if it serves a purpose, but he's not someone who gets thrills out of trickery. He's intelligent, capable of understanding Orihime's powers are not merely healing powers, simply through one encounter. He is not awkward, not easily deceived, not frightened even by the prospect of death. While another may whimper and cower and beg for something like mercy, Ulquiorra would face it with a view that is hardly human. Such as observing the ruthlessness of an enemy, that at one point seemed incapable of going so far as murdering someone. How Hollow-like it is. What he is, is emotionally stunted. If it wasn't already obvious. Emotions seem to either baffle him or disgust him- or not truly emotions but concepts like love, which he simply refers to as a 'heart'. Which he seems to believe he does not have, stating at one point it's what makes Kurosaki Ichigo weak; having a heart. And at this point in time, he still believes that.
It's impossible to really say if he is capable of something like mercy. He can't really understand things like fighting for what you believe, but at some point he does state that he finds it a bit interesting. Anymore more than that is unlikely. Because he is not good, or kind, but ruthless and estranged and not driven by anything easily understood. Whether he sees someone as his prey or believes that they may be interesting, his ultimate goal is not something simple, but perhaps as base as any of the other Espada- even if he would refuse that.
Maybe simply to destroy that which is intangible, and should not exist. Ideas, emotions, convictions. That seems to be the one thing he challenges, that he seems to loathe, in his materialistic views.
And yet still he seems to try to understand.
[point in timeline you're picking your character from]: Manga-verse- Chapter 315. As he emerges from the Negación, he enters the city rather than Hueco Mundo.
[journal post]: ... Information-
I can only assume garganta have been applied without my knowledge. The Negación-
The tercera, the- Shinigami- Those loyal to Aizen-sama, you will report.
Orders-
[third person / log sample]: "Ulquiorra, is this girl trash, too?"
How dull, how- disappointing. He watched the scene, a bloodbath of proportions only echoing the strength of their enemies (you are weak, you are-). Seen, as those humans were crushed, and that shinigami would arrive; his powers-
(fluctuating
rising and-)
"Yeah. Trash."
He closed his eyes, as Yammy went in for the kill. Fully expecting to hear the distant splatter of blood, a crunch of bone; such crude sounds, and yet in his truest nature he surely craved it (your soul). But he did not scream and rage and howl. He was no mad beast.
He had no need to be.
But there it was, a quiet word- murmured, but he could hear, and he would always see. The shield, that healing- spatial negation. Yammy's charge blocked, and he found himself... curious.
Knowing, immediately understanding, and he would bring it before Aizen-sama. And later become the instigation of a war. A war within their domain, their home. Hueco Mundo. Silent, and yet not. Cold, and yet it was as if he could not truly feel that wind. But this was not Hueco Mundo, no, he was in a place where there was a sun and grass and all those little souls- ants, worms- crawling along in complete ignorance. And here before him...
It was new and interesting (how strange). Unique. Neither healing, nor regeneration, but reversal. A return to the state before, without any seeming effort. In fact, even in her weakness, she seemed quite skilled- but in his mind he would always think, for a human.
That they were only trash, and yet.
(he could not see the future, and he did not try to, but-)
Nothing escaped his eyes. Nothing that could not be seen mattered. Goals, aspirations, dreams. To fight, and know one was weaker, and still fight.
To be driven by a fool's need. A fool's idea that somehow, just somehow, he would win. That he would be the victor. Was that it? Or was it something else- an instinct, a need. Was it a hunger? Like a man, starved of water in a great desert, strangled by the rays of the sun.
Like her, standing there. To protect. To protect what?
(you're trash, act like trash, be destroyed like trash-)
A heart. Beating, frantically; all but exploding from her chest, and yet she stood. He would watch as she fell.
She did not matter. Her heart, whatever it may be, would be crushed.
(and yet)
___________________________________
[additional log sample]: It was without trepidation that he went, to that intruder. That Kurosaki Ichigo.
Shinigami.
Enemy.
("Nonsense. I am not here to comfort you.")
He was not. Not when her friends died; they were his enemies, after all. Their enemies. Enemies of Aizen-sama; of Hueco Mundo. Even if it meant they would meet their death at the hands of a beast, a craving thing. That lived off battle as if it were a drink, that could not quench that thirst (that Nnoitra, who swore loyalty, and did not understand the word).
He understood.
So he went. And he would ignore the lingering thought, that woman's conviction ringing in his mind.
Like a fool. It dared to swallow him, the question.
("-don't understand-"
"Why are you-)
And her answer would not even bruise. Not on his skin, his hierro; though he could believe he felt it. That slap, that step from mediocrity and fear. More than just an action, considering her state. To stand up against her captors, for someone already dead.
He did not-
-did not dare consider it. And yet he couldn't let it fade from his mind, that belief. As he emerged, on those stairs, as he confronted that Shinigami. And found him to be the same. As he told him that his ally was dead ("-slashed all over, and impaled with a spear-"), to see that sheer denial.
Clinging, foolishly, to a self-serving idea ("I don't believe you!"). As if it were the truth, the only reality, in their eyes. That somehow they would survive, that somehow they would destroy the mighty. That they would bring back the dead and the dying, from a certain defeat.
Ridiculous.
He would kill him, and end their hope. He had every right. After all; he was a Shinigami. An enemy.
(Hollow.)
(He did not fear that mask, but he did not understand, ignored the connection between his being and that mockery of a Hollow.)
Even as it overwhelmed him (he imagined he felt the bruise, on his cheek-)
It was a simple matter, of the strong versus the weak.
Hope versus despair (of failing, of loss, of-)
(He could feel the sting.)