[OLD] IC Information | Application

[slaythemoon]

character name: Ichigo Kurosaki
Fandom: BLEACH
Timeline: Chapter 382, page 8
character's age: about 16 (You'd never know by looking at him :/ Kid is WAY too ripped for a 16 year old.)

powers, skills, pets and equipment:

• ***Equipment (Standard):
  
  
  
  • Substitute Shinigami Badge: a pendant worn on his belt and given to him by Captain Ukitake that signifies his status as a substitute Shinigami. It allows him to leave his body and acts as a Soul Pager in that it alerts him to the presence of Hollows.
• Equipment (Shinigami):
  
  
  
  • Red strappy thing: It's exactly what it sounds like -the red strappy thing that somehow holds the giant cleaver that is Zangetsu on his back without breaking. Bears a resemblance to the Shinto Shimenawa which is believed to act as a ward against evil spirits. This is kind of ironic as Ichigo has a Hollow sealed away inside from when he recovered his Shinigami abilities.
    
    
  • Zanpakuto: his sword, Zangetsu. Unlike other Shinigami, whose swords resemble a normal katana when not in use, his is in a constant state of release; while others have two different forms, shikai and bankai, Ichigo's is always in its shikai state (the only other Shinigami to have this type is Kenpachi). When not in use, the cloth that wraps the tang of the blade lengthens and conceals the entire blade. The cloth can be used for just about everything, from makeshift bandages in a hurry to a "chain" which turns the sword into a giant flail, but it's rarely used for such.
• Abilities, whether he likes them or not:
  
  
  
  • ***His own physical skills: If he's in his real flesh-and-blood body, this is what he's got.
    
    
    
    • Hand-to-hand/Martial Arts: Ichigo's been trained in the martial arts since he was a child, and when he wasn't doing that, he was (unbeknownst to him) being 'trained' by his father who is the world's most loving and caring daddy... and has the strangest way of showing it. Physically speaking, he's in peak condition and is not afraid to use his skills to stand up for those who can't defend themselves for whatever reason.
      
      
    • Physical strength: Without his Shinigami augmentation, Ichigo is still quite strong, owed to the fact that he's been training for how long in martial arts and Daddy Attacks.
      
      
    • A brain: Yes, you heard right. He has a brain! And he uses it, though sometimes it really doesn't seem like it. He's usually near the top of his class in terms of grades (and he keeps them up even while running around town as a Shinigami), and he's able to come up with his own tactical and defensive concepts as well as plan and adjust for attacks on the fly during combat.
  • Shinigami: These were granted to him first through Rukia and then by his own power (thanks to Urahara), but it's thanks to Daddy-dearest that he's had any talent for any of it in the first place.
    
    
    
    • Swordsmanship: Ichigo doesn't really "know" swordplay, he kind of picks it up as he goes. He was taught a little by Urahara, but the majority of it comes from the idea of "if they hit me, they'll kill me, so get them first". He learns it by doing, not by instruction.
      
      
    • Shunpo/Flash Steps: A technique that allows the user to move faster than the eye can follow. The fewer steps taken to cover the same amount of ground, the faster one is and the harder it is to follow their movement. This was quite possibly taught to him by Yoruichi while he was undergoing Bankai training, or failing her, he might have gotten it from Zangetsu or his own random experimentation. He's rather good with them, able to keep up with stronger Shinigami, but he's no Byakuya or Yoruichi.
      
      
    • Crazy Reiatsu/Crazy Spiritual Power: In terms of actual raw power, Ichigo is on par with those of Captain class if not stronger. The problem is, he has no control. He's constantly leaking reiatsu like a dripping faucet and it fluctuates out of control when he's fully Hollowfied. The amount of reiatsu one has dictates how easily they grow exhausted, so because he has so much, Ichigo is like the proverbial Energizer battery: he keeps going and going and going and going...
      
      
    • Physical Enhancement: His speed, strength, and endurance are all enhanced when using his Shinigami abilities.
  • Zanpakuto:
    
    
    
    • Shikai: Because Zangetsu is a constant release type, there is no command to enter its shikai state. All zanpakuto have some sort of ability in this state and Zangetsu is no exception. Its signature shikai ability is the Getsuga Tensho which releases a highly concentrated slash of reiatsu in either a crescent moon shape or a wave. It's also the only ability Ichigo knows, but he's grown rather adept at utilizing it, using it for everything from blocking incoming blasts of reiatsu to offensive attack.
      
      
    • Bankai: This is where Zangetsu defies what was considered normal up until Ichigo used his bankai against Byakuya Kuchiki. Unlike other zanpakuto who get bigger and flashier when their bankai form is released, Tensa Zangetsu shrinks. This compression of reiatsu allows him to remain in his bankai state for longer because it uses less energy to maintain. It also enhances both his strength and speed as well as his reiatsu itself which is reflected in the strengthened Getsuga Tensho.
      
      Something else to note about his bankai is that it is not just the sword that changes, but his clothing is altered as well. His black and white kimono changes form, becoming a fitted black coat with a white trim and red lining that flares at the bottom in a ragged edge, reminiscent of Zangetsu's manifested appearance in Ichigo's mind. This coat is a visual representation of his reiatsu in the bankai state; as he told Unohana, when his reiatsu is replenished, his coat is repaired, so his coat most likely reflects how much reiatsu he has left. At less than half strength (he had a sleeve and a scrap dangling from it), he was presumed by Captain Unohana to be nearly on par with a Captain.
      
  • Hollowfication/Visored: This is something he really isn't terribly happy about, but it proves quite useful to him. As a result of undergoing Urahara's training to recover his Shinigami abilities, Ichigo was left with a Hollow that dwells within him. Like all Hollows, it has a mask that hides its face (though Ichigo sees it as a slightly crazy black and white inverted version of himself) which changes its appearance as his proficiency with tapping into its powers grows. The abilities granted to him by the Hollowfication are:
    
    
    
    • Power Enhancement: All of Ichigo's basic abilities and attributes are augmented. These include: speed, strength, stamina, durability, and reiatsu. It also enhances the power of Zangetsu's Getsuga Tensho. This is because a Shinigami's power comes from within while a Hollow draws on outside sources, so while Hollowfied, Ichigo is able to draw on power from two sources at once.
      
      
    • Hollowesque fighting style: While the mask is on, his style is more instinct than skill, and as the battle draws out, he has less regard for himself and will brush off injury to keep fighting. His duration for Hollowfied combat increases with each subsequent usage, having originally only been 11 seconds, and he will push himself to finish the fight before his limit is up.
      
      
    • A squeaky distorted voice: This is exactly what it sounds like.
  • Complete Hollowfication: When fully Hollowfied, Ichigo is privy to all of the perks from regular Hollowfication, but at the cost of his ability to tell friend from foe - he pretty much goes berserk. There are also two forms to his Hollowfication, but one hasn't been seen since the new one showed up (I'm putting both here anyway as a precaution. Please note, these are my names for them!).
    
    
    
    • Lizigo
      
      1. High Speed Regeneration: He is able to quickly regenerate from wounds and missing limbs. It is unknown if he can regenerate missing organs if there is nothing left to start regenerating from. Ulquiorra mentions that he can't replace organs that have been blown away completely, so it stands to reason that Ichigo might also be unable to do it.
         
         
      2. Cero: An energy blast used by Hollows that varies in strength depending on who fires it. Ichigo's is a tri-blast fired from his fingertips that is strong enough to counter Zangetsu's Getsuga Tensho and toss him about like a rag doll.
         
         
      3. Funky whiptail-thing: An extra "appendage" that could almost be called a tentacle but looks more like a tail that grows out of the middle of his back. This only appears if he's in full Lizigo form. If he's not looking like some sort of Godzilla reject on steroids, he doesn't have it.
      
      
    • Wannabe Minotaur
      
      1. High Speed Regeneration: Same as above.
         
         
      2. Enhanced Cero: Same as above only it's fired from the tips of his horns and is stronger in its destructive power. If one horn is broken, then the energy will explode instead of firing properly.
         
         
      3. Telekinesis: the only time this is seen is when he calls Zangetsu back to his hands from across the battlefield, so it stands to reason that it only extends to the zanpakuto because they're essentially two parts of the same whole.
         
         
      4. Sonido: The Hollow version of Shunpo (flash steps). The Hollows say it's faster, but eh... Byakuya's flash steps had them beat.

***NOTE: I listed his substitute badge and his human skills because they are a part of him. However... he'll be showing up sans one rather important item: his body. Unless it somehow drops through the Door, Ichigo will remain in spirit form just like the other Shinigami.

canon history: Canon History as it pertains to Ichigo. Basically the history/plot up through the 12th paragraph under "Fake Karakura Town arc" and nothing that contains "(anime only)".

Before Rukia, Ichigo's life was similar to that of any other Japanese teenager with one teeny tiny difference: he could see and converse with ghosts. Not in the spiritual medium way, but in the "Sixth Sense" way that he saw them as clearly as he saw anybody else. That ability culminated in the death of his mother, and turned Ichigo from a sweet momma's boy into a secretly sweet momma's boy hidden beneath a tough guy image.

And then he met Rukia... and shoved her sword through his chest in a move that technically should have killed him but instead had him sapping her Shinigami powers dry and taking them for himself.

For a while, he was essentially her stand-in, taking out the enemy in her place and helping to make his hometown a better place for mankind and spiritkind alike. This didn't escape notice from the mothership, though, and it wasn't long before two Shinigami were dispatched to bring Rukia in. He tried to intervene, was run through twice, and left for dead on the premise that even if he survived, he would no longer have any sort of spiritual power.

Yeah, they were wrong.

After an insanely intensive "training" regime with Urahara in a massive how-does-this-fit-down-here chamber beneath his rinky-dink shop, Ichigo had his powers back and was on his way with a small army of four others to Soul Society: Home of the Shinigami in order to save Rukia from the clutches of Certain Death.

While there, he stormed the Seireitei, beat up some of the Shinigami Captains, was beat up by the same Captains, achieved Bankai, broke every bone in his body using said Bankai, started to Hollowfy for the first time, saved the girl, made new friends, and still lost the war because the Big Bad escaped by using a Hollow tractor beam. He hung around Soul Society with his new pals for a while until everyone was patched up, then went home . . . and left behind the girl he rushed into Soul Society to save.

But it was okay, because they were done trying to execute her.

Soon after he got home, he encountered Shinji who tried to recruit him for the Visored Army, but he didn't trust them because their 401K and pension plans left a lot to be desired and thus turned them down. Around that same time, Ulquiorra and Yammy showed up to check out Ichigo and because Yammy got hungry, Ichigo's friends got involved, and then he showed up and was beaten like an orangeheaded stepchild. More of their buddies show up later, and Ichigo was eventually pounded into the pavement by Grimmjow.

Ichigo decided that he needed help. Getting tossed around in battle like a ragdoll was all well and good, but it hurt and was a little counterproductive, so he sought out Shinji and the Visoreds to demand training. Needless to say, they take him and forcibly train him, first on the NordicTrack and then in actually using his little gift from Urahara: his inner Hollow who showed up once before in Soul Society. The result left him looking like an albino Godzilla on steroids, but he could control it.

When Grimmjow and crew came back, Ichigo STILL got pounded.

Apparently Orihime couldn't take it anymore and went with the enemy thinking she'd be more useful to her friends if she were with them for some reason, and when Ichigo found out, he was very much not happy. He tried to get the Shinigami to help, but they essentially disowned him... so he got a crew of two others together and they stormed Hueco Mundo: Home of Aizen and Friends.

There they met a snot-nosed brat, a giant tapeworm, a tiki mask with arms and legs, and Pesche (there is no other way to describe him). They also met up with Rukia and Renji who had snuck out with Byakuya's help and they all attempted to get into Las Noches.

Many fights later, Ichigo encountered Ulquiorra who told him the princess was in another castle that Rukia was dead, then showed him that he was Number 4, poked him in the chest, and ran off going Neener neener neener~!

Grimmjow, who wasn't content with his earlier victory, showed up to fight Ichigo and the two of them went at it... until Nnoitra appeared and tagged Grimmy out with his big double-bladed stick. Nnoitra and Ichigo fought for a while, then Ichigo was knocked down, and the snot-nosed brat turned into a hot, busty centaur and was going to finish it, but turned back into the snot-nosed brat before she could be useful. And then Kenpachi walked in and took over so Ichigo could go find Orihime, who started the whole mess by running away with Ulquiorra.

Ichigo eventually found Ulquiorra, who was probably torturing Orihime with his bad mime skills, and they fought. It ended -sort of- when Ulquiorra had to go into his SuperSecretSecondReleaseThatNobodyKnowsAboutCheatMode and blew a hole through Ichigo right in front of Ishida and Orihime who showed up to check out what was happening.

Ishida lost an arm.

Orihime did the only thing she was capable of doing by this point because of the botch job done to her character and bawled, begging the slightly dead Ichigo to save her because she had phenomenal cosmic powers but didn't want that itty bitty living space and thus refused to use them.

And lo and behold, Ichigo turned into a Wannabe Minotaur and mauled Ulquiorra. Then he fed Zangetsu to Ishida. And mauled Ulquiorra some more. He managed to come back to his senses though, and had no clue what he'd just done. In fact, he even commented on the fact that "Wasn't there a hole in my chest?" because he understood what was going on about as much as the reader did. After he bawled about not wanting to win by using his SuperSpecialAwesomeShonenHeroCheatModeThatOnlyGetsStrongerAsTheSeriesGoesOnUntilHe'sSoOver9000He'sPushing900000000 and Ulquiorra turned to ash grateful to not have to deal with the insanity anymore, Ichigo went to go fight Yammy because the other characters needed to get their obligatory panels in before the pay week was up. He didn't get to do much before Byakuya and Kenpachi arrived and threw him out by telling him to shut up, put on his man panties, and go home because Aizen wanted to trash his world so he'd better go protect it.

He jumped into the Garganta to leave Hueco Mundo with Unohana... and this is where he's taken from.

personality: Ichigo's entire being revolves around protecting others. He wanted to protect his family, so he ran himself through and became a Shinigami. He wanted to protect his friends so he jumped headfirst into danger and charged into two separate worlds with an army of five at most. He wanted to protect his town so he blindly jumped through an experimental Garganta that very possibly might not have entirely stable to get back in time. He wanted to protect that little girl along the river and rushed down to the water's edge... but he couldn't protect his mother when she went after him. Because of that, Ichigo also has a guilt complex.

Yes, Grand Fisher is no more, and yes, Ichigo knows that he wasn't the one who ultimately killed her, but he still sees her death as a failure and strives to protect others like he was unable to do for her.

Stubborn, hot-headed, short-tempered, and impulsive, though also caring and compassionate, he's a lively kid but can be serious and even downright depressed at others. It isn't the norm, though. Usually when his mood changes, there's something big causing it, and the moment he's over that hurdle, he's back on track as his usual self. He's generally seen with a scowl in place, but it's part of the tough guy image he's worked hard to acquire and perfect, and doesn't reflect what he's really like.

He doesn't buy into the popular crowd. In fact, he doesn't care what someone is, he cares who someone is. His closest friends are pulled from the ranks of the "odd" kids, from the freakishly tall gentle giant Chad and the standoffish sewing machine Ishida to the quirky and bubbly Orihime and the dead-and-loving-it Rukia, even Keigo and Mizuiro. And when he considers someone a friend, they immediately fall into the category of "people I want to protect". He doesn't really discriminate at all, and even if the person happens to be an enemy, he tries to see the reason behind why they would do whatever it is they're doing. This does NOT apply to actual battle times, though.

In battle, nicety goes out the window. If his friends are injured, he will go for blood and exact revenge on their behalf. The closest thing his personality can be likened to in these times is "an eye for an eye". He will trash-talk an opponent if that opponent displays any behavior that Ichigo sees as deplorable, and will fight for all that he's worth, however, he draws the line at cheating. If a fight can't be fought in a fair and legitimate manner, he wants no part of it. He's even refused aid from his inner Hollow because it would tip the scales unfairly in his favor. If he's going to lose, then he wants to lose by his own power and if he's going to win, he won't accept aid that will be seen as an unfair advantage.

There are times when he falters, though. If he loses a major battle, he has a tendency to fall into a depression and self-loathing (usually stemming from his guilt complex because he failed in protecting whoever it was he was trying to help) and his performance suffers. In those times, it takes a strong push to get him back on track, but it can be done.

He fails hard when it comes to remembering names and faces, is incredibly shy and a little uncomfortable when it comes to sexual situations and scantily clad or naked women, and really doesn't have much love for authority figures -he refers to them just like he refers to everyone else: by name/nickname. There are no titles with him. He's also incredibly bad with names and faces when it comes to people he isn't familiar with.

And yes, his hair is orange. He insists it's natural.

why do you feel this character would be appropriate to the setting? Ichigo is the insanely overpowered main character of his series, which has strong supernatural ties and is decidedly shonen in a DragonBall-esque manner: everything is solved by beating up the other guy. He's almost fearless in that he has no qualms about taking on the world and will go out of his way to help others in any way possible. He's seen more 'horror'ish things in his young life than most other characters and still has yet to back down, throwing himself into the fray whenever he can. He's no shrieking violet, this boy.

Writing Samples

Network Post Sample: [voice]

[There's a loud crash followed by dead silence as things settle. After a few long moments, a low groan can be heard as the culprit manages to right themselves.]

Okay, that's it. I'm never again trusting anybody who wears more makeup than a geisha. [A hiss of pain] Owww... I thought he said it was supposed to send me back to Karakura, not... wherever this is.

Hello? Unohana? [A slight pause] I know my path sucked, but I didn't think it was that bad! Unohana? Unohana!

[A sigh as he realizes that he's alone.] How am I supposed to get home to help them if I don't even know where I am?

Third Person Sample: The last thing Ichigo remembered before crash landing into a wall was jumping through Captain Kurotsuchi's makeshift Garganta in Hueco Mundo to get back to Karakura. He knew he'd been with Unohana because they'd had a... discussion... about his reiatsu and just how much he had left. He knew she scared him enough that he was willing to go along with whatever she said. He also knew that she had let him take the lead while she replenished his reiatsu.

What he didn't know was why there was suddenly been a wall where there hadn't been one before. And why the room was unfamiliar. And the landscape.

"Okay, that's it. I'm never again trusting anybody who wears more makeup than a geisha." He hissed in pain and rubbed at his shoulder which had taken the brunt of the impact. "Owww... I thought he said it was supposed to send me back to Karakura, not... wherever this is."

Taking a moment to look around, he opened the nearest door and peered inside. Something was definitely not right. "Hello? Unohana?"

No response, just the same deep silence.

"I know my path sucked, but I didn't think it was that bad! Unohana? Unohana!" Where had she gone? The last he knew, she had been right behind him, and now... "How am I supposed to get home to help them if I don't even know where I am?"

He was supposed to be en route to Karakura. He was supposed to be helping the others by joining in the fight against Aizen. He was supposed to be protecting his home town as a Shinigami representative and defending his family and friends. Instead, he was stuck in a town that crawled out of some really bad horror movie with no way home because he didn't know how to reopen the Garganta and no Unohana, which made him wonder if she'd managed to get to Karakura safely.

There were so many counting on him: the Shinigami, his family, his friends, people he didn't even know, and yet there was nothing he could do for the moment except cross his fingers and hope for the best. The possibility of letting them all down and having no home to return to was too painful to think about.

He closed his eyes and offered up a silent plea to whoever was listening that everyone remained safe until he was able to find his way back. Hopefully it wouldn't be long...

Anything else? There are a few little random stupid things about him to note that really don't fit anywhere else in the app, but are kind of important with him:
1. he has a heavy scar over both shoulders from Renji, one in the middle of his chest over his heart from Rukia's zanpakuto, and two in the middle of his chest from Byakuya. These are only really evident on his human body.
2. from the point where he's taken, he is absolutely terrible at sensing others without trying. He can sense Chad, and maybe Orihime to some small extent, but nobody else unless he takes the time to concentrate.
3. for all intents and purposes, he's still human despite being a Shinigami and despite his lack of body in Anatole, and he considers himself as such.
4. he hates fortune-telling, feng shui, psychics, and any other occupation that involves having people pay for things they can't see... most likely because he can see ghosts and spirits.