application ➳ ice age coming
CHARACTER: 石田 雨竜 ➳ Ishida Uryū
SERIES: BLEACH
TIMELINE: Ch. 459, injured by Tsukishima, witnessing Ichigo's breakdown.
HISTORY: @ wiki (excluding anime arcs). Weirdly, the wikia doesn't mention that after the time skip of 1 year and 7 months, Uryuu became Student Council President.
ABILITIES: QUINCY/SPIRIUTAL:Where Shinigami utilize their own spirit power, the Quincy draw on the spirit energy in the world around them. In places like Soul Society, Uryuu can take from broken up buildings. At first, Uryuu is only capable of using that energy through the cross on his bracelet, allowing him to concentrate energy into a bow, then fire off energy arrows. Later, we see that Uryuu can do a lot more than rely on the cross. When paralyzed, he is able to use a puppeting technique, where he uses the energy around him to move his body. This technique isn't given a thorough explanation in canon, but as he was paralyzed, it indicates a mental connection with the exterior energy, to be able to manipulate it into threads that would then move his body. (Using this technique, which the scientist Shinigami Kurotsuchi Mayuri had not seen in any of the 2,661 Quincy he'd previously experimented on, causes Mayuri to dub him a "genius"). Tying into this, by gathering spirit energy under his feet, he can quicken his movements immensely, the technique called Hirenkyaku. This enables him to, in Hueco Mundo, make an elevating platform.
After he regains his powers through Ryuuken, he utilizes a bow in a weblike shape, summoned by a charm shaped like a five-point cross. He also uses silver tubes (gintou) filled with his own reiatsu to do the equivalent of Quincy spells - these are also not described in depth. We've only seen a small variety of those, and they tend to be explosive or binding spells. The Seele Schneider he whips out in Hueco Mundo, "bearing a sword's edge" (which he uses in a limited way as a sword to slice and defect) is more like a very fine chainsaw, with a blade made of spirit particles revolving 3,000,000 times a second, enabling the cut and taking of spirit energy from the opponent. It can also be fired as an arrow. Because it /is/ an arrow, because Uryuu is a Quincy.
As a Quincy, his ability to sense spirit power is incredibly fine-tuned. By looking, he discerns that the spirit particles in the "feathers" of Cirucci's wings vibrate at a rate of roughly 1,110,000-1,130,000 times a second. (Which is ridiculous, how can he even, WTF BLEACH). He can sense x person's distinctive spirit pressure from x distance, etc.
Being the only active dude power wise, he was taken out of action early in the timeskip, so we haven't (but may soon) see if he's gotten anything new.
Of note: 1) In the real world, Hollows cause actual damage to the physical surroundings. Explosions, ripped up trees, smashed limbs, houses, etc. Humans without spirit power can't see them, and have no idea what actually caused it (news'll report stuff like gas explosions). Thus, theoretically, given the spirit concentration in an arrow (enough to one-shot kill a Hollow through it's bone mask), it could damage physical things.
2) On the damage-level note, really, it'd be completely dependent on the concentration of spirit particles in the air.
3) Only people with enough spirit power / sensing abilities would be able to see his bow, arrows, et cetera. I figure this could apply to all manner of supernaturally sensitive folk!
PHYSICAL/OTHER: When using Seele Schneider as a sword, he seems pretty good with a blade. As of the time skip, he has a fairly proficient use of hand-to-hand combat skills. Palm strikes and kicks mostly. High kicks! Sharp reflexes/dodging, too. Other non strictly spiritual skills: He tosses around German and Spanish without difficulty, (probable) genius intellect, tactician, excellent memory. Described as "making a good housewife" (in the Kon interview), as he lives on his own, he doubtless has cooking and cleaning skills. Given that his favorite food is a homemade stew, he's either being cheap or he's legitimately really good at cooking.
As "the 4-eyed sewer", Uryuu has skill with a sewing needle. Even two years prior he's shown stitching a badly torn doll well and within seconds. He's quick and accurate. He also has a penchant for making clothes, especially adjustments to his Quincy uniform and lacey, frilly, rather Lolita clothing. He seems better with feminine clothing, better able at matching the preferred style of the woman whose clothing he is designing -- men are bound to wind up with a giant cross or smaller ones in patterns (just like a noble Quincy!!1). It could be speculated from this (and the Kon-sketch) that he's a decent hand at art, too.
PERSONALITY: The Uryuu we first meet has changed, in ways subtle and easily overlooked, to become the Uryuu these 40 chapters into the timeskip. That's an absurdly obvious statement to make, as one would hope that after 400 chapters a character would have development to show, but one I make because at the start of the timeskip, there is a nostalgic feel, a template that deliberately harkens back to early Bleach, from repeated chapter titles to similar behaviors. Further, after an initial strong showing, Uryuu was tucked into off-panel recovery, and by and large not seen until circumstances became so dire as to force action, and with that action, honesty that may or may not be par for the course. Overall, the person he was is very much still the person he is, or (to make another “duh” statement), defines the person he is, where the slightest, easy to miss differences are actually pretty striking.
Uryuu was and is absolutely hypocritical, and absolutely convoluted. He is a dork, a jerk, a well-meaning ass, socially awkward, shy and confident, alternately chivalrous and amoral, devoted to his word, to his pride, to the Quincy code, unless he can twist a handy loophole out of the current issue. Ishida Uryuu teems with and shudders beneath the weight of his pride.
At first a neglected child with dreams of glory (just see his knight-like redesign of the Quincy uniform in the Radio Kon interview), with everything he could dream of in his grasp when he was with his grandfather, Ishida Uryuu changed terribly after the death of Souken. After Souken, Uryuu no longer perceives himself in any fashion as a normal kid - Hollows killed Souken, Shinigami killed Souken, the world is a war and as of that moment, he was the only soldier left on the right side. At something like ten years old, then, Uryuu labels himself a soldier. This is never explicitly stated, but is very obvious nonetheless. His years spent fixated on revenge, the dramatic approach in battle which he takes too far. See: his first encounter with Ichigo where he shoots a Hollow is paralleled when, in the classroom, he stitches a torn doll for his classmate. As the arrow arced in a diagonal streak, so does the stitching thread. His attitude and cool phrases which are striking and almost appropriate when confronting Ichigo are dramatically out of place in the school. Ichigo himself rejects it, rejects all of it, being a normal kid thrust into all of this. But Uryuu has been preparing, and has really only thought of this, despite his scholastic prowess and placement as the Head of the Sewing Club.
No doubt Uryuu isolated himself even further after Souken. As if it wasn’t enough that he was smarter than most of the class, as if it wasn’t enough that he could see what they could not, now he knew how serious it really was. People died, this is a war which no regular human is aware of, and he really, probably, shouldn’t have known about at such a young age. How could he possibly connect with his classmates, talk to them, share with them anything? “My dad and I, like, so don’t get along, he won’t let me stay out past ten!” is vastly different from “My dad and I don’t speak; I want to fight in the war and he forbids it”. Uryuu isolated himself from the rest of the world, from kids who couldn’t understand that which was most important to him. (Then when he finally gets friends, they’re all associated with the Shinigami, and he has to promise not to hang out with them ): Really, he can’t win).
Yet, even his isolation and social separation at that time were not total. He served as Head of the Sewing Club, either because his skills were so great to warrant it as a First Year, or because he actually started it himself. Either way, a surprising position of leadership for such a loner. Who, though he acts cold after, fixes a girl's doll at her request. That, under two years later, he has become the Student Council President, at first glance seems absurd, but the roots existed. Roots bolstered by the influence of (cheesy shounen time, however implicit and not explicit this is) his friends and the discreet but no less dramatic effect they have on him.
Wrapping himself into this Soldier Quincy persona, Uryuu probably practiced cool speeches in front of the mirror and planned to the very detail how he might catch himself a shinigami. But without anything but movies and books to teach him how to be a soldier, retaining his childish desire to be a hero, a knight, Uryuu acts in favor of drama. Though reclusive and isolated, he acts cool, cold, stand-offish. He loves himself some drama, exaggerated movements, awesome speeches and phrases and entrances. He’s still a dork, dedicated to sewing and Quincy patterns and lacy, feminine designs. His favorite TV Show is Don Kanonji's Bura-Rei (he's poor, TV??), which Ichigo scorned as ridiculous especially due to his knowledge of spirits... knowledge Uryuu has. So he's somehow impressed by all the 'BOHAHA' and 'A hero is always with you!' and 'SMELLS LIKE BAD SPIRITS!' dramatics. Don't forget the costumes! And he's cheap -- poor, living alone, he refuses to eat lunch with Ichigo & Ichigo's friends out of pride... until Ichigo tells him Keigo's paying for it. An omake tells that in his First Year, he was too poor to own a cellphone. In his Third, he proudly shows off the cellphone given to him by Urahara Kisuke (for work purposes, as he assists the shop with hollow extermination), even asking Ichigo to text him later.
After the timeskip, while Ichigo rolls his eyes at the performance put on by the thugs blockading the school gate, wondering, “what era is this? I don't know anyone that old-fashioned”, though Uryuu also shows up calling it “outdated”, he proceeds to start in on a dramatic telling-off and even shows off his fancy new hand-to-hand skills. For Ichigo's sake? Yes. The Student Council President standing up for his school, as if in a movie showdown? MAYBE.
When confronted with something that no movie or mirror could prepare him for, his act falls apart. When Mayuri speaks of torture and experimentation, Uryuu cannot do anything but echo his one-liner and try to fight his horror. He’s treated himself as a soldier without being quite as prepared for how awful people can really be, because he’s only fifteen, because he’s a teenager, and a child desperate for his father’s acceptance, and a forced, strained adult. He recovers soon enough against Mayuri, but that panel of white-eyed, unrestrained, uncool shouting speaks for itself.
His pride dictates him, the infamous Pride of the Quincy. It is for that, and for his revenge, that he tells Ichigo not to force his morality on him - that he forsakes Souken’s ideals and knowingly endangers many innocents. This extends to chivalry. While not underestimating women because they are women (as he has no issue with Rukia or Nemu fighting, as they are trained, prepared), he is easily enraged by mistreatment of women. He determines that Inoue Orihime is unfit for battle, and seeks especially to protect her, which is precisely the last thing she needs. But this decision does not come from sexism on his part as much as it does from the realization that Orihime is not a soldier. (Which isn't to say there isn't a sexist element to his chivalry, because, uh, duh). When they enter Soul Society, everyone else spares their enemies. Ichigo heals Ikkaku. Because Ichigo and Orihime are normal students who’ve been thrust into this (later, in Hueco Mundo, Orihime heals the girls who beat the crap out of her). But Uryuu, having long ago accepted the harsh reality of war, of the need to have killing intent, treats the invasion of Soul Society as what it is, what it should be: they are invading, and if they don’t kill or cripple, they will be killed. And without hesitation, he cripples. (But doesn't kill). Because Orihime doesn't have that killing intent, he determines that she really, really shouldn’t be there.
Speaking of Orihime - it has become increasingly obvious in canon that Uryuu has developed particular feelings for her. He is especially protective of her, willing to walk into a suicide mission alone to rescue her against all logic, has blushed at her on a few occasions, makes the derpiest faces... That said, Uryuu does not think on or prioritize romance. His "crush" is and always will be unacknowledged by him, because when Uryuu looks at Orihime, he recognizes her love for Ichigo, and as such, feels only an intense desire to defend her feelings, to ensure Ichigo survives. Both because, you know, Uryuu might secretly not hate him at all--and because Orihime loves him, and what Uryuu wants is for her to be happy. The fact that he might like her has probably never occurred to him.
Always the number one student in his class (and after the time skip Student Council President, the probable continued President of the Handicrafts Club ['cos it's his club], Hollow-exterminator at all hours, and who knows what else -- he hates procrastination and I hate him for getting shit done), Uryuu tends to be the brains of the group. He's dubbed a genius in ability, possibly it extends scholastically. With being the brains, he's the acknowledged tactician (at lol 15 lol), where Renji, a Shinigami with at least 100 years on him (and a helluva lot more battle experience) expects him to come up with the plan against the Octava Espada. (While Renji isn't a brainiac, he's also not as stupid as fandom likes to joke! As if Byakuya would stand a moron vice-captain). He can usually remain calm and think before acting; can notice the smallest details and flaws in high-stress, high-danger situations.
Uryuu is also polite. Except with Ichigo, whom he simply calls Kurosaki, and with Ryuuken, whom he rudely calls by his first name, he is very attentive to suffixes. His way of speaking has been said to be formal, his self-address not emphasizing the masculine, and every person receives the appropriate -kun, -san, etc. Obviously the result of good breeding or very appropriate raising, as he also eats slow, and otherwise exhibits good manners short of being, well, cold and rude as due to his Super Cool Persona. See? Polite and rude, how this guy hasn’t exploded from everything he’s trying to be at the same time, I don’t know. As it happens, he’s actually rather nice, but with a terrible need to cover it up in layers of obnoxious Cool.
Relishing in taunting and mocking Ichigo, Uryuu doesn’t seem to pass up an opportunity to make some smart-ass comment to his self-proclaimed rival. Even as in Soul Society he lets himself slip, lets himself act normal, dorky, uncool, even as he begins to let himself have friends - he sacrifices his friendships to become a soldier once again. (For like, 2.5 seconds; then he finds a loophole). Even though he is able to adjust himself to the reality of being normal, powerless, without complaint and an entire chapter dedicated to self-pity (we, in fact, get zero of that), he takes the offered carrot. He might, after all, still be able to make his father proud, though he currently treats him as rudely as Ryuuken did Souken.
Stubborn and, redundantly, proud, even after having been “taught” by Ichigo that his vehemence against Shinigami was somewhat misplaced, he keeps up a rival exterior rather than go back on it. Perhaps because it sounds cooler. Because he still needs to prove that Quincy are superior, if that might, at least, guarantee deserved respect. Stubbornly, he keeps with his opinions, stubbornly, he won’t readily admit that he’s wrong - and even if he is, an apology isn’t what you’ll be getting so much as an avoidance of the topic and a gradual shift to a different attitude. He never apologizes aloud for the biggest mistake of the Hollow bait, and his confession to Orihime that had he recognized the potential of a certain ability earlier, he might have been useful, is nothing if not an indirect apology for not having been strong enough for her, for them, in Hueco Mundo. Yet.
Just what the past year and seven months were like, we don't know. Since Ichigo was painfully not a Shinigami, he'd probably dropped the "my enemy!!!" thing. Would kind of be like constantly picking at a scab, if by scab we mean a giant gaping barely healed over hole. (Even though he kept it up when he'd> lost his powers). And their relationship, while still bickering, while Uryuu will still act severely offended to be mistaken for Ichigo, has become more overtly chummy. While arguing, they fight easily back to back. “Text me later!” When Ichigo falls against Ginjou, the pain on Uryuu's face is incredible; and most striking, when he steps into their battle to fight alongside Ichigo (and Ichigo lets him, incredible for Mr. “NO I CAN HANDLE IT I'LL DO IT ALONE!!!1), Uryuu apologizes. For withholding information, a suspicion about the Substitute Shinigami badge. For what developed as a possible result. Earlier, he apologizes also to Orihime for now knowing more about his attacker. As if, if he can't provide information, if he can't be useful, then he has failed them (and himself). To Orihime, too, re: having refused to have his wounds treated when first injured. “I was a little out of sorts”, he actually admits, and had once again given into the instinct to do it alone, to self-isolate, to keep it to himself should he have been the target, and protect his friends in that way.
Ever the contradiction: a boy who would without hesitation lose a hand for, risk everything for his friends, yet who still withholds, withdraws, isolates. Who lies to Orihime, possibly to protect her until he has more information (yet isn't bothered when he finds she's gone ahead to Ichigo's house to pry directly-while he himself also heads over to check up, indirectly, on a weird reiatsu like feeling from him). Confronting thugs physically, but knowing to creep around Ichigo's issue, to go it roundabout. Who can acknowledge, if in a defensive retort, that he and Kurosaki Ichigo aren't much different. In worrying about what's long done, but to acknowledge a similarity under any context - please, check on Hell! Bring a jacket.
JOURNAL:[ The video feed clicks on, revealing a young man who, though his hair looks damp, does not otherwise seem to be wet. His shirt is dry, and not a hair sits out of place. Anyone familiar with the welcome center might recognize the backdrop. ]
Good afternoon. My name is Ishida Uryuu, from Karakura Town, Japan. I've read through the guide, and much as I might like to, I've little inclination to doubt it. Too much already nods in it favor.
However, it is a little outdated, and for the sake of general precaution, I would like to confirm certain information. Those willing to humor my questions, my thanks in advance.
[ Reaching, now, to turn it off. Yet, a beat of hesitation, his thus far neutral expression twitching with a thread of irritation. Couldn't quite keep it down. ]
All those towels... honestly, if it's so common to come by way of fountain, why haven't you demolished the thing?
[ And on that chipper note - click! ]
LOG SAMPLE:[note: the crappiness of this sample offends me, I apologize for it. ]
Time did not allow for distractions.
The skirmish at the school had cut into his schedule, that and his subsequent talk with Inoue-san, But then, by necessity, his schedule was flexible. In order to allot space for sporadic and random Hollow attacks, for disruptions that required his attention as Student Council President, for-the most unpredictable of the lot-interruptions sponsored by friends. By his classmates, his former allies by virtue only of having the same enemy, his, all right, his friends.
Time did not allow for distractions, unless he approved them as necessary. In his life plenty qualified. Once finished with the council, once having advised Ogawa-san on the mending of her button (with some admonishment, unable to understand how she could need assistance after years in the Handicrafts Club; oblivious to the color on her cheeks), Uryuu did not leave for his small apartment, taking another path. One more familiar than he had ever expected it would be. Sidewalks and crossed roads lead him to the Kurosaki Clinic, to Kurosaki's home. A distraction, as prompted by Inoue-san's concern, the concern he'd dismissed.
Not that she'd listened. Standing outside, his head lifted to the window he knew to be Kurosaki's, Uryuu recognized Inoue-san's reiatsu. Hers, and the strange pressure so like spirit pressure, so like it but not quite, that had recently attached to Kurosaki. She hadn't listened to his pretense and he was unsurprised; her instincts when it came to Kurosaki were impressive, if not uncanny, if not unreal. Something about this, something in Inoue-san taking the direct approach and Uryuu holding back, wishing her luck but suspecting that with Kurosaki, to be roundabout would be more successful; something in it felt natural.
As if, a speculation he could neither realize nor own, everything else, every item scheduled and randomized, was merely a distraction from Kurosaki and his world. Sado-kun would doubtless have no problem in saying so, though for Uryuu the thought tasted too sour to be formed, never mind swallowed.
He could also call Sado-kun. First, he would investigate the town, a thorough if tedious search for anything unnatural, as the strange gravitated to Kurosaki. First-
A flash of reiatsu, the sudden certainty of a presence, his body twisted with instinct, his gaze darting to the roof, and the man upon it. As if reading on a roof in the dimming daylight was a perfectly natural activity. The moment his eyes meet the figure, the man was running, dashing along rooftops; Uryuu tensed, vision narrowing, reishi taking him above. He wouldn't get away. Though so close to Kurosaki's home, this was an invitation for Uryuu, the deliberate ploy for his attention, the immediate escape. Coupled with the strange pressure sticking anew to Kurosaki, to call coincidence would be to embrace idiocy.
Beneath the man's human feet, an unfamiliar light, and in a flash, his distance was that of a breath; no, more importantly, behind-
The immense blade near halved him. By the time his body crumpled to the ground two stories below, his consciousness was gone, deaf to the dialogue spinning, the plot beginning above.