Application for guysandolls
PLAYER
[journal] ilikefishpie
[age] 25 (1986/05/15)
[previous characters] N/A
[character journal] wrathoflove
Character
[series] Bleach
[full name] Ichigo Kurosaki
[age] 17
[gender] Male
[canon point] Manga Chp. 466
[reference] Bleach Wiki,Global Wiki
[personality]
Ichigo is the kind of person who attempts to make his life a constant for others to measure their experiences by. Although he feels frightened at times, even asks for ways around fighting when he feels overwhelmed, he will still dig his heels in and block the path of anything that threatens to hurt innocents. One of his defining lines states that while he won’t just fight for anybody, contrarily neither can he bring himself to stand by and watch a stranger get beaten up. He’s not an asshole, but if it gets people off his case to believe it, then they’re welcome to their opinion. The first word that comes to mind when Ichigo is mentioned is confidence, of which he has an infinite supply - determination, too, is what keeps him fighting even when bloodied and battered, all but broken. He is a willing shield because he knows he can take more than others, is harder to break down, and he makes himself the first and last wall of opposition for anyone who feels like needlessly causing suffering.
The source of this rampant loyalty is the traumatic death of his mother, which he was wholly unable to prevent. As a child, Ichigo cried a lot and was coddled by Kurosaki Masaki, a mummy’s boy in every sense of the word who couldn’t even bear to be pushed over by a girl at a beginner’s karate class. While dawdling at the edge of a river on his way home one day, under the impression a girl wanted to speak with him, Masaki was able to see the true form of the hollow Grand Fisher that Ichigo couldn’t and threw herself in harm’s way to save her son’s life. She was murdered in front of him, his most precious person forever stolen away, and Ichigo thereafter forced himself to be the absolute strongest he would ever need to be (in any given situation) to prevent anyone else being lost. When he fails in this personal quest, notably letting Orihime suffer a broken arm and numerous injuries at the hands of Yammy and Ulquiorra, he guilt-trips himself to the point of being unable to look at her. It’s only when Rukia insists that he gets back up that Ichigo apologises for what he views as weakness in himself (trying to help is never enough when everyone depends on him, he knows) and vows never to let her come to harm again. He even assists his fallen enemies when it seems they are about to be unfairly treated by a second contender after losing a fight, intolerant of dishonourable actions. Ichigo’s moral code is never buried, only veiled, even when fighting for his life, although he’s so used to being driven to the edge of reason that he sometimes neglects the strength his friends wield and takes on too much responsibility, needing the reminder that he doesn’t need to be scared of relying on others.
For all his strength and shounen-esque power, however, he’s not a mindless thug. It’s stated that he looks up to Shakespeare and is capable of getting top-region grades in school (whenever he is there to apply himself, that is). Despite wanting to cultivate an image of being cool, Ichigo is a complete geek and not above making an idiot of himself if it cheers up Orihime or his sisters, a big brother type that doesn’t mind having his good intentions steered into ridicule.
Stubborn and proud, this helps him achieve techniques in battle that others would spend years upon, yet it’s also self-doubt that blights his expression with a semi-permanent scowl, a default not entirely intended to keep other people at bay. He can be rude and outspoken to the point of offending his elders and it’s arguable that he keeps his nakama close whether they like advertising their feelings or not, making a point of keeping a first-name basis with them. Orihime is the exception, but this is indicative of the fact he’s not above making concessions just to make someone else genuinely feel more comfortable. His use of honorifics around Urahara and Yoruichi, not to mention other adults, presents a far more polite boy underneath the rough exterior than any punkish image might first allude.
There’s a gentility and pensiveness to the way he views the world that comes as a direct relation of his fighting. He needs a damned good reason to try and legitimately kill someone, usually opting for knocking them unconscious. It’s very difficult for Ichigo to hate someone, even the main antagonist Aizen Sousuke. He resigns himself to such macabre acts and finds no joy in knowing someone considers themselves a lost soul, going so far as to make minor excuses for even the very worst of criminals. He pays no heed to rules and acts as he sees fit, whether sympathising with an intensely lonely yet insane soul or befriending a child-like arrancar, both taboo subjects to most shinigami. Ichigo will speak his mind if he believes there to be overlooked facts.
[orientation]
Ichigo is something of a blank canvas when it comes to romance. He's never explicitly paired in canon, either manga or anime, leading to Orihime's unrequited feelings, yet balks at the mention of sex or anything crude. He's a gentleman at heart (mostly) despite peeking through his fingers a couple of times at naked/half-naked women (but then again, he's only a teenage boy), and seems to be well aware of the female body as something that triggers his embarassment and attention simultaneously. Even so, he never leans one way or the other, unbothered by people to the degree where he takes them into his estimation as they prove themselves individually.
[appearance]
Being aged up in canon by 6 months before, it's clear his hair grows very fast and he's got a few inches to grow. Two or three taller, since he's already a year up on where he was. At 18, he'll be a little over 5'10 (not counting his hair, fff), broader in the body, slightly less gangly than he was 12 months ago at 17. Nothing dramatic, but at the stage he was at post-the Final Getsuga. REF #1.
[wish]
To always have the ability to protect those he loves. Ichigo's very much attached to his powers as a shinigami, his bankai and hollow especially. Being without them is awful for him, a traumatic experience he refuses to let anyone else know about (but they often take an educated guess, knowing him so well). All he wants is to make sure everyone is safe.
[requested house]
Satouzuke. No one who looks at Ichigo would realise he's one of the most powerful shinigami to have lived, much less at the monstrous hollow that riots in his subconcious. He doesn't mention it unless it seems someone else has similar attributes or he can learn something from them. Quite apart from that, on a normal day to day basis he's considered one of the 'cool' kids because he doesn't open up easily to new people. Cultivating the image for himself after having been bullied for his hair, he stands up for himself and anyone else who needs help yet asks for nothing in return, even friendship. He could fit into Mokuhi (being a broody git) but Satouzuke hints at far more than just a penchant for being miserable, which he isn't. Komainu (for fighters) is also a good placement option, but his strength isn't what overall defines him. He's rough around the edges to those who don't know him, yet lets his nakama see his softer and sillier side without pause for thought. Working as an entertainer is fine.
[misc notes]
His muscle memory (one of the things commented on in Bleach when he loses his more mystical powers) is top-notch and arguably one of his greatest strengths. Ichigo relies heavily on physical brute force to win most of his fights, power aside, and like a charging rhino won't stop until he's ploughed through whatever stands in his way, exhibiting seemingly inexhaustible stamina backed up by dogged determination. To this effect, he'll be swifter and stronger than the average human, but rarely use it to his advantage unless threatened. It's likely any psychosis brought on by the jade bracelet will stir up hints of his hollow and Zangetsu, but they will be unable to manifest in Ukiyo beyond screwing him up mentally. The possession of his hollow, in particular, is something that could be flirted with but never fully allowed to come to fruition, given how intrinsically it's a part of his soul. It exists to save his life when he can't and will try to push through and influence his reactions against others.
SAMPLES
[network post]
[ The feed clicks on to show a familiar shock of bright tangerine hair, Ichigo coming into focus as he rubs his forehead as though sporting a huge migraine. His clothes are a lot finer than many might have seen before, but that appears the only discernable difference. ]
... Hey. Does anyone know what day it is? Or the time, I must've slept for ages. I'm disorientated, but they're telling me I'm back to entertain in Ukiyo, even though this isn't my room and, uh, I can't ... figure some stuff out. Not as I left it, last I remember ... which isn't much.
[ Shaking his head, he frowns into the video feed. ]
Oi. Renji, Byakuya, did you guys get pulled in here too? Toushirou? Everything's kind of fuzzy. I think it's coming back to me, though. Damn, it's like trying to see through two pairs of glasses, one view's cancelling out the other. Ishida, you around?
[ Annoyed with himself and a persistent headache from the onset of his Ukiyo-related memories swimming back through mired mental fog, he rises and heads over to the window, shunting it open to lean outside. Sighing, the cool air ruffles his collar, much appreciated. Only then, as his mind begins to clear a fraction, do brown eyes flicker to the screen and stare for a long weighted moment. ]
Where's Naruto?
[prose log]
It was, ironically, like living in a ghost town, or walking through a re-make of somewhere in the modern world that simply didn't exist anymore. His feet knew how to take him around the various districts, even the names of neighbours eventually came back to him the longer he stared at their faces, but he couldn't shake the feeling that he was living the life of an actor on some grand stage whose edges remained out of sight. Like a dream, everything slotted back into place with a strong sense of deja vu.
Ichigo didn't fight them when they drew a bath and presented more regal attire than he recalled, too estranged from his own sense of reality to give much of a damn. With his head tipped back on the lip of the bath, soaking in hot water, he gazed unseeingly at the shadows rushing past the fusuma and redirected his attention to the ceiling to try and make sense of his emotions. Loss and grief warred with the oddest sense of relief, the faces of friends from different times and places melting into a backdrop of his real comrades. Striving to regroup those evasive memories, he found that he grew more unsettled, by and by, until there was nothing productive about sitting in a cooling tub and he abandoned it to hide in his quarters.
Names and faces were beginning to match up, along with a general feeling toward each person he drew up in his mind's eye. Was this like amnesia? He had to wonder.