OOC - Scorched Application Redux

[sucksatkidou]

Out of Character Information

player name: Rose
player journal: fidelitas
playing here: Kenshin Himura (crosstobear)
where did you find us? Far over the Misty Mountains cold~
are you 16 years of age or older?: Ayup

In Character Information

character name: Renji Abarai
Fandom: Bleach
Timeline: Chapter 521, right before he and Ichigo pig out on way too much food
character's age: Unknown, possibly anywhere between 100 and 150. I tend to stick him around 115, but that’s just my guess.

powers, skills, pets and equipment: Renji is a Shinigami lieutenant and thus pretty powerful in his own right. He is particularly strong in swordsmanship and Shunpo (flash step), and also possesses a relatively large amount of reiatsu (spiritual pressure), which can render some people useless if they get to close. He can also sense others’ reiatsu and identify some if he knows the owner well enough.

However, his weakness is in Kidou (demon arts), though he has found ways of using this to his advantage, but at physical cost to himself. In short, if he casts a certain spell within close proximity of an enemy, it will more than likely explode, catching both his enemy and himself in the blast.

His zanpakutou is Zabimaru. Every Shinigami has a zanpakutou, or katana, which is born with its corresponding Shinigami and dies with them. Each one is sentient and unique and is a part of their Shinigami’s soul, thus making their bond unlike any other. They also have various abilities which the Shinigami must learn through continued communication with their zanpakutou.

Zabimaru’s Shikai (initial release) is Hoero and involves the blade turning into one with six parts, which can, when used as a whip, extend to reach farther distances (as well as magically increase the number of segments), making Renji a dangerous long-range fighter. Each segment also has a pick-like point attached. This can tear through an enemy much more easily than a simple slash of a normal sword can. Because this form is more whip than blade (though Renji can fight with Zabimaru’s Shikai in close combat without a problem), it has a weakness unique to itself. He can only attack three times in whip-mode before the segments have to come back and “rest,” or else it would go all over the place and cause more trouble than needed. Renji is the most vulnerable at this moment since he is no longer on the offensive.

His Shikai has a special ability that is rarely used as it hurts Zabimaru and leaves Renji completely vulnerable. Higa Zekkou disconnects all the segments of Zabimaru and launches them at an enemy all at once and from every angle. It is more of a last-chance attack, when nothing else will work, but because it hurts Zabimaru so much, Shikai cannot be used for quite a while after this attack. Luckily, having attained Bankai seems to have made this ability unneeded.

Zabimaru’s Bankai (final release) is Hihiou Zabimaru and resembles a giant skeletal snake, though it’s really a fancier version of his Shikai. Instead of cutting, the Bankai form tends to force an enemy into the ground with the snake’s head by brute force. It can also bite and deal powerful damage that way. In this mode, each segment is held together by Renji’s own reiatsu, making them harder to destroy or separate, and if that does happen, he can take out any damaged piece and reconstitute Zabimaru easily.

There are three other abilities in this form. One is Hikoutsu Taiho, which is when the snake head fires off a powerful attack of Renji’s reiatsu, though this weakens him and often his Bankai will fall apart because of his waning strength. The second is a more powerful version of Higa Zekkou, and after it is performed, the pieces reconstitute and reform Hihiou Zabimaru. The last ability is when Renji separates the pieces and wraps them around an enemy, with his reiatsu connecting them acting like ropes, though it isn’t his strongest attack.

Upon coming into Anatole (again) Renji will just have his Shinigami uniform and Zabimaru.

canon history: WARNING! Choking Hazard; Small parts; Not for children under 3 years.

personality: Just like so many other people, Renji is not who he appears to be on the outside. Often, he presents himself as a confident tough guy, and at times this is exactly who he is. He’s powerful and he knows it, but at the same time, it can be a cover for his insecurities. He is powerful, but he isn’t anywhere near the top so he constantly strives to get better and stronger. He has the occasional setback that makes him pretty miserable to be around, such as when Ichigo beats him in their second confrontation and he mopes away in jail. But when he no longer considers Ichigo an enemy, since they’re both out to save Rukia, he finally breaks out of jail to go train and feel worthy of something. So once Renji bounces back, it takes a hell of a lot to stop him from progressing again. This is what makes him particularly dangerous. On the other hand, he is also extremely impulsive and this gets him into trouble a lot, both in combat and everyday life.

Another aspect that feeds into this determination is his loyalty. Once Renji makes a friend, they’re practically bonded for life, unless the other betrays him or does something horrible to ruin that trust that has been built up. But if his friend is in danger, he will risk life and limb to fight for them and save them. Even when it’s obvious he has lost, Renji will still find that last spurt of energy to make a final effort. He isn’t afraid of battle and he certainly doesn’t fear death. Anyone who faces off against him will have an opponent who doesn’t give in.

Despite his hard exterior when it comes to offense and fighting, Renji is actually a softy at heart. When the world isn’t ending and he’s not trying to kick ass, he’s one of the more popular and approachable people in Soul Society. In his spare time, he tries to get a futsal team together with some success. One of his biggest fanboys subordinates, Rikichi, is on the team. Even Aizen says everyone likes him at one point (and even though Aizen is a lying liar that lies, this statement is still true). Like he is loyal to his friends, his friends are in turn loyal to him. He cares about them and that kind of bond is paid back. For example, he fights to save Rukia even while Rukia would do anything in her power to keep him from getting hurt. Of course, this is a flawed desire as someone who is fighting will probably get hurt (hello shounen heroes), but the thought is still nice.

Rukia herself is a big part of why Renji is the way he is, and why he has underlying guilt regarding their friendship. They grew up together, depending on each other just to survive, but when Renji let her go after Byakuya adopted her, that all changed. He convinced himself to stay out of her way so she could be happy, but by doing so, he killed their friendship and it has yet to fully recover, even though it seems to be getting better. They are both lieutenants now and able to verbally (and probably physically) headbutt about most things without being too self-conscious about what the other will think. There is still a distance, of course, and with the way Renji puts Rukia on a pedestal (in his mind, he is forever a dog barking at the moon and she’s a star he can’t quite reach), that distance acts as an invisible wedge between them, no matter how small it may be from day to day.

Renji also has matured a little bit over the course of canon. While he is still very much a hot-headed man who jumps into action without always thinking, he appears to have calmed down in some situations. If he enters a fight where he has no real emotional attachment, he can go about it pretty logically, focusing on winning and not playing the hero, such as in the fight against Fullbringer Jackie Tristan. But when someone he cares about is in danger, such as when Byakuya was being ruthlessly attacked by his own Bankai in the recent Quincy Invasion, Renji acts with his heart and not with his brain at all.

All things considered, Renji is still very young and has a lot of growing up to do, even if he has improved a bit, but this makes him one of the most human characters in Bleach, even though he’s a Shinigami. And when you reflect on his background, his imperfections aren’t all that surprising and can, at times, make him more endearing, but he is also an acquired taste. Renji has one heck of a potty mouth and he doesn’t make much of an effort to censor himself, unless he’s talking to authority and even then he can’t always be trusted to keep the cursing to a minimum, especially if he’s in a bad mood. He also has questionable taste in fashion, especially sunglasses, preferring flashy shades that cost him half a year’s salary.

why do you feel this character would be appropriate to the setting? Renji is a fighter and, along with his history of growing up on the streets, he certainly knows how to fend for himself, so I still think he can handle a good deal of what the game may throw at him.

Previously Played Information

previous game: scorched
length of time there: About a year and four months

important development and/or events in your previous game: Nothing really changed Renji’s core being while in Anatole the first time, though he did experience some big happenings. First of all, while he certainly never got over his almost worship of Rukia and how good she is compared to him, they were able to come to an understanding and formed a romantic relationship while she was there. And when she left, it took him some time to try and get over that, as well as his own doubts of whether or not it was all worth it. He loved her, but he never had the guts to tell her and it ate him up inside.

Regarding Byakuya, their relationship remained mostly the same, although when Byakuya was affected by the Mist and killed Renji, things were a little questionable. Renji forgave him, knowing Byakuya wasn’t in his right mind, but while he didn’t admit it out loud, the incident left him pretty shaky for a short time. However, things pretty much went back to normal with Renji being a loud and annoying lieutenant and ducksitter for Byakuya.

Other than that, he worked for Byakuya in the Police Force and was loud and obnoxious and drank a little too much and took care of his and Rukia’s pet rabbits and struggled with self-doubt and all that fun stuff. So he was still very much Renji who just had to roll with the punches and hope he could come out on top. Rukia did help him with kidou, though, so while he still sucks at it, he’s at least marginally more adept. Marginally.

Writing Samples

Network Post Sample:

[Video]

Oh, you are fucking shitting me!

[There are always a few ways to determine if one Abarai Renji is back in town, but perhaps the most common is the presence of crude language.

Which is obviously very much present at this point as the red-haired man picks up the Forge, speaking to it directly this time.]

So we meet again, Anatole. This ain’t a habit I like repeatin’ so we should prob’ly stop. Like five minutes ago.

[And, as if this will work, Renji screws his eyes shut for a few moments, as if willing himself back to wherever he came from. But when he hesitantly opens one eye, and then the other, he lets out a groan of disappointment.]

Motherfucker. Guess I really am stuck again, huh? Jus’ what I wanted.

[A pause, in which it seems Renji has accepted his fate relatively peacefully. Which is a shock to anyone who knows him-]

Except it ain’t! Shit, I had all that food right in front o’me. I was gonna feast like a fuckin’ king and get fat and be the happiest bastard in the world, but nooo, I gotta get dragged back here before I can even touch anything and…

[Okay, false alarm. All is as it should be.]

Right. I’m starvin’. So if you need me for somethin’, you can find me after I spend way too much money on food. An’ if you try an’ steal some of mine, I’ll kick you in the nuts.

[With that out of the way, however, Renji seems to calm down considerably.]

Seriously, though, I dunno how long I’ve been gone, but uh…Kuchiki-taichou? I think you’re still here, I can sense you… If you still need me, I’m ready to work whenever you are.

[Renji falls quiet and opens his mouth like he wants to continue, but then closes it again and turns off the Forge.]

Third Person Sample:

Renji was beginning to think he was cursed. He had never really been particularly superstitious, but upon setting his gaze on the painfully familiar sight that was Anatole, he couldn’t just keep calling it a coincidence. Not that he had any real leads on the culprit besides the Door, but for the most part it was an inanimate object so how could it keep doing this to him?

But there were bigger things to worry about, like what lay in store for Renji this time around. This time, the third time. It hasn’t been that long for Renji since the last time he arrived in Anatole – maybe a few days, at the most, but his guess was as good as anyone else’s, considering he wasn’t conscious for most of his time back home in between visits – but how much time had passed in Anatole? It was a little warmer as he walked the all-too familiar streets, but the air still held a crisp string in it as he breathed in. His guess was that winter had turned to spring, so at the least he had been gone just for that one passing. And at the most he had been gone for…well, a year or more.

Dark eyebrows knit together at the thought and hands stuffed themselves into hakama slits. Hopefully it hadn’t been too long. If he were to come back and not recognize any of the other Scorched, he would be pretty upset. At least having familiar faces may make this third stay a little bearable, unless those faces belonged to assholes. Of course, he wouldn’t know who remained (or had arrived before him) if he didn’t focus. Slipping into an alleyway, Renji closed his eyes, reaching out in all directions with tentative tendrils of his reiatsu, hoping to meet with any familiar signatures.

A few moments later…there. Slowly some gaps were filled. Byakuya was still around and felt the same – and very much alive - and then he could sense Ishida, who also felt much the same and then –

Renji’s eyes shot open. Rukia. Rukia. Surely he hadn’t been imagining that, right? He knew Rukia’s reiatsu almost better than his own and to mistake it would be ridiculous. But if she were in Anatole, then…

Well. She either remembered her previous stay or she didn’t. Either way, Renji would have to deal with the answer sooner or later, whether he liked it or not. And it would be better to do it sooner, rather than let anything sit and fester for too long. Then there was the fact that Byakuya would probably load him down with paperwork or other chores – assuming the other Shinigami even wanted to keep him around again – and just…

Renji's stomach let out a very loud growl at that moment. All thoughts stopped as he looked down at his stomach and sighed.

“Son of a bitch,” Renji muttered to himself as he left the alley and aimlessly kicked at a pebble on the road before heading toward the nearest restaurant. He had too much on his metaphorical plate already and he was hungry enough to eat a horse, but without a horse in front of him, so that made him even more cranky.

Fantastic. Just fantastic.

"This stay is already off to a pain in the ass start."

Anything else? Since I am bringing him back from having played him before, the reason for Renji’s disappearance is, simply, that he went home for a bit and then came back.