Shio Mora [APPROVED: 3-1]

Coding In Template By: [THEFROST]

» Name: Shio Mora
» Alias: None
» Age: 75
» Gender: Male

» Association: Gotei

» Appearance Written: Shio's hair is dark red, roughly shoulder length. He takes great care to make sure that it is presented adequately, but without seeming too showy about it. It's often left uncut, but he's been known to spend hours simply combing his hair. He has dark brown eyes, which are often baggy with sleep circles.

Beneath his Shihakusho, Shio dresses in combat-oriented outfits, like the traditional samurai garb, or sometimes army camouflage. The outfits change with his mood, but always identify him as a fighter by nature; he rarely dresses in what he considers 'civilian' clothing, doing his best to make sure everyone knows what he's good for. He'll take great care to keep it clean of course, but it's not uncommon to see large globs of wax over his otherwise clean and pressed outfits, or to see him sauntering through a room with what is undeniably the same outfit as the day before. He seems to have little interest in appearing as refined as most shinigami do, both from his dress and his way of approaching problems. He has an eyepatch over one eye, though there's no actual damage to it; he simply wants to save time for when he enters a dark place.



His movements are positively mundane, from his sword swings to his attempts to rush to wherever he's going. He moves without fanfare, yet without a sense of fatige or concern as well; he simply walks along, hardly seeming to pay attention to much of anything while still managing to be faintly aware of going-ons around him. He seems to lack some of the hard-fought discipline most shinigami have, and it shows in his voice. He speaks in a lilting, careful tone that rarely if ever goes above a whisper; even when frustrated, he greets others with an almost singsong welcome, and he is positively incapable of being blunt or rude. He's prone to having pensive expressions far more often than he smiles, as if he's already wondering about some new problem to be tackled even when he's enjoying a cup of tea or just soaking in hot water. He in fact seems to have a chronic issue just appearing happy. He's polite, reasonable, and always gives off a clear air of anxiety or concern.



Shio's skin is soft, surprisingly so for a person who spends as much time as him training. He has smooth, relatively tanned skin, and his fingernails are often filed to a very acceptable length...except his thumbs, which have nails almost an inch longer than what would be safe. Shio also keeps his zanpakuto sheathed across his hip, to be pulled out quickly. Besides this, his face and body are clear of blemishes or disfiguring marks. He doesn't even have so much as a birthmark, or a sign of zits. He does, however, have patchy facial hair that grows in when he's been on the job for particularly long.



He often has a vaguely sweet, calming scent to him; jasmine or lilac are common, but sometimes it's much harder to place. It almost always comes with some hint of smokiness at the edges, as if he simply bathed in incense or candle smoke. It often makes it easy to identify him, and Shio seems to have little problem being known for smelling nice. He's personally not sure where it comes from, since he doesn't particularly try to make it happen; he just knows every day when he wakes up his hair and skin have some new, pleasant smell attached.

» Appearance Image:



» Personality: Optimistic: Shio is a man confident that the world will, at the very least, end up zero sum. Every bad moment guarantees another good one in the future, and if a person experiences a rash of good days, there's no guarantee they'll have to pay for it all at once. He's usually quite content with how life treats him, and he seems simply to be happy to be given a chance.

Supportive: He will almost always go out of his way to help people he comes across, whether it's tutoring them in proper swordplay or just listening to their problems. Blessed by so much potential and luck, Shio's taken highly to giving back, and helping those around him to reach their fullest potential.

Sharp-minded: He is very quick to notice when things are odd, whether it's a friend who's acting differently or something that's been moved when he wasn't looking. One of Shio's greatest strengths is his attention to detail; when he focuses on something, there's no way it can escape his attention.

Accepting: Shio is more than content with his lot in life, prepared to take whatever punishments come his way. He seems particularly skilled at putting up both with physical violence and outbursts of rage or jealousy. Harsh words and bone-cracking blows roll off of him with equal ease.

Resourceful: Shio is damn good at finding novel answers to questions, and is able to turn what appears to be a relatively useless advantage into a serious asset. Whether it's simply by keeping a little distance between himself and an enemy, or by making the fullest use of terrain, Shio seems to have no trouble turning things to his advantage in short order.

Humble: Shio is never one to seek praise, or even allow it to be given. He'll often reach a state of near panic if he starts to suspect he's about to be the center of attention, doing everything possible to deflect attention or convince people that someone or something else is better-suited as an explanation, rather than his ingrained skills.

Obsessive: Most people who know him well at all realize that with his enormous attention to detail comes a flaw as well; He can spend hours doing the same thing, simply pouring over a piece of paper or a person's past. He goes much further than anyone else, often to the point of actually wasting time. Shio never rushes to do anything, and seems much happier about doing one task absolutely right than doing everything to the best of his ability.

Demanding: One of the worst things in the world is a person who doesn't know what to expect from everyone around him. While Shio is quite happy to tutor others and to give them advice, it's often coupled with an implicit understanding that said person perseveres, no matter how hard. Many a recruit has found themselves asking Shio for relatively simple advice and instead gotten a lecture about how much more they should be capable of. He seems to do it without any ill will, or without even realizing it much of the time.

Introverted: Shio has become withdrawn, frequently concerned that seeming too attached to someone else will, again, cause grief in other people's lives. He tends to keep his relationships as professional as possible, and will rarely engage in small talk. He's quite happy to discuss work, school, or anything similar...but there just doesn't seem to be much room in Shio's head for gossip or current events.

Distant: He's not afraid to make friends, but there's just something about keeping them that Shio has trouble with. He'll often find himself trying to keep people at arms' length, or to keep relationships to the most professional possible. He'll take on apprentices, he'll even share meals with people, but there's always some unspeakable gap between him and others.

Forgetful: So obsessed with pleasing and helping others, Shio frequently neglects his own needs. He's been known to skip meals, too busy cooking for others to cook for himself. He's almost always seen either exhausted, half-starved, or so buried in work he's about to unravel. He has become convinced the only way he can be accepted is to take the stress and hardship out of others' lives, but this means that his life is doubly hard.

Unmotivated: Shio seems to lack most if not all of the traditional motivators for his behavior. He'll endure sharp-tongued remarks and physical punishment with equal ease, and go right about his business. Many times it's an off-handed remark, spoken with no malice at all that'll truly make him care about what's going on.





» History: Shio was born to a family of relatively underprivileged, unexceptional pluses. Uneducated and poor, they spent much of their time simply scraping along. Even from a young age, Shio was expected to contribute, and bring home whatever money he could pick up, to provide for his parents and his family; in reality, most of the money went towards alcohol for his mother and father. However, among his family only Shio put much thought into why they needed to eat. Being dead, things like breathing were considered more of an entertainment than a necessity. Shio himself theorized that even as spirits, they needed some sort of energy to keep themselves alive, much like humans needed energy to survive. However, the energy was used not to support their body, but their souls. Even as a child, Shio was deathly afraid of his parents, and their wrath. He would work and struggle and do everything he could to keep them happy, and as a result was labelled by his brothers as a "suck-up." This led to both physical and emotional abuse, which his parents did little to stop. He was beaten, yelled at, blamed for his brothers' mistakes, and treated horribly for making the rest of his siblings look bad.



When Shio turned 50, he finally decided what he wanted to do with his life; he confronted his parents, telling them he was going to become a shinigami. Things quickly turned violent as they accused him of abandoning the family, of getting a swelled head. He lost his parents' favor as quickly as he gained it, and spent much of his time sneaking out to find out more about the shinigami. Each day when he returned, he'd meet worse and worse punishments. His parents would claim any reason at all, but Shio knew the truth; they were afraid, almost offended that he was trying to outdo them. They tried their best to break his will, to keep him close, but when he turned 60 he finally moved out, and into the academy. He had high hopes, and was prepared to work his fingers to the bone to succeed. Unfortunately, life wasn't that simple.



In his first year, Shio was by far the brightest student. He would always arrive first to the class, making sure to be as polite and sociable as possible. Many of the other students would make token attempts at conversation, before quickly drifting off. It showed before long, as most of the students would barely scrape by on the exams, while Shio was always first. Quickly, the resentment set in again. The students would begin to poke and prod Shio, always demanding that he make up for making them all look so bad. Still hoping that he could leave his old life behind, Shio would always agree; this typically ended with some crime being committed, and Shio being blamed.

This still wasn't sufficient, unfortunately; he continued to progress and keep persevering, always at the top of the class, and always an insufferable teacher's pet. He was on the fast track, already accepted into a division before he had even graduated. This, perhaps, was the last straw for his classmates, as he was one day called to meet with them after classes had ended, well into the night. Under the guise of a 'going away party', Shio was all-but dragged onto school grounds.

The following hours were torment, of mind and body to a level he hadn't imagined possible. His comrades lay into him with bakudo and blade, with fist and lash, with every weapon and tool they could lay their hands on. It seemed to go on forever for Shio, leaving him confused and frightened, dragging him back to a life he had thought long surpassed. He was helpless against the onslaught; though he doubtlessly could've defended himself from their blows, all he could do was question himself as to how all of this had happened.

Where were the instructors? How was it that the entire class had been able to sneak in here, and get him into this place? His head swam through every event of the last year; every interrupted lecture, every unwarranted extracurricular excursion, every time he'd tracked down an instructor outside of classes to speak to. He'd always been more comfortable around the instructors than around his fellow students, but looking back on it, he couldn't truly be certain if he'd been putting even a single grain of thought on their feelings.

Why was it -now- they chose to step up? He'd seen these people, day in and day out, for months. And they were almost unilaterally petty, lazy, and uninspired. And now he could see some of them using healing kido with disturbing efficacy, just to keep him conscious, and hide the evidence. He could see some of them with wickedly sharp glints in their eyes as they swung weapons with a degree of skill he'd never expected. How was it that they were only willing to truly apply themselves to these heinous ends? What had happened to make them so hard to reach?

The newly-appointed shinigami left that place battered and broken, moreso left in a haze of confusion than actual pain or agony. He carried with him a heavy air of doubt, a sense that at every moment he was sizing up those around him, as if he were waiting for them to throw a kick at him at the most opportune moment. When he first joined the division he was closed off, reclusive, and uninterested in some of the most genuine examples of human kindness he'd received in some time. After all of this, it almost felt like kindness was wasted on him.

It was almost a relief when the hazing began. Good-natured at first; they would simply call him out, demanding he drink glass after glass of sake, or whiskey, or whatever other foul concoctions they'd procured from the human world, or even the Rukongai. The rotgut pained him to drink, left his mouth feeling fuzzy, and the cries of delight almost felt hollow and forced to his jaded ears. So he was almost relieved when they began to spit into the glasses, when they began adding wasabi, mustard, soy sauce, increasingly odd and disgusting combinations that left him in the medical division barracks for a few days.

Time passed, and little changed. Shio learned to open up, but to alter the contents of the pages ever so slightly. Always on his guard, always prepared for things to go completely awry, always waiting, perhaps even hoping for that moment that a friend and comrade-in-arms proves themselves to be another of the faceless crowd, another of those hoping to pound his determination to powder for their own simple satisfaction. It's been five years since he graduated, and by most accounts he has nothing to show for it; still, the shinigami is slow to react, and quick to ask for assistance. The model example of wasted potential.



» Equipment: Shio can be found carrying a satchel of tea leaves and a teapot almost everywhere he goes, unless in the field on business.



» Racial Abilities:

Ember Sight - As his zanpakuto spirit is a being of smoke and wax, Shio has long since grown accustomed to the presence of haze and particulate matter. He's able to see through most forms of smoke and mist with little to no trouble; indeed, he often opens many fights by creating obscuring mists to protect himself from assault.

Bakudo Specialization - Shio excels at defeating and subduing enemies without lethal force, either using his zanpakuto or his kido skills. Though he rarely makes use of it, Shio is quite skilled at ending encounters with a minimum of risk and bloodshed.

Hardened Durability - Perhaps due to his intense history of abuse up to now, or perhaps owing to his own trainings in his spare time, Shio's body is incredibly hardened, covered in scar tissue and burn marks. It can be very difficult to down the shinigami once he's decided to fight seriously.



» Zanpakutô Name: Tallow Swallow

» Zanpakutô Appearance: When sealed, Shio's zanpakuto looks like a standard tanto, roughly the length of his wrist to his middle finger. Both sides of the blade are sharp, able to slice into things easily; the zanpakuto itself has no ornamentation, presenting as a very mundane weapon. It is, nevertheless, meticulously maintained. The sheath it's in has gold filigree along the side, giving an appearance of a candle with smoke rising from the tip on either side. The blade itself is kept on his waist, and typically only unsheathed to cut inanimate objects, or to help him in a hand-to-hand fight. He rarely fights with it in this form, since its small size means it's only useful for a few scant things.

» Sealed Zanpakutô Power:
Marking - Shio's zanpakuto is able to release pleasant smells, often serving as simple distractions and useful markers for his allies, in the event that they're separated. These scents change based on his mood, and can be transmitted to that which his zanpakuto touches as he wills it.

The only way to remove the scents from those things struck is to disarm Shio's zanpakuto, or to have him strike them a second time, negating the scent he's previously put on them. This however, must be a deliberate act; the scent will only disappear if Shio wills it, meaning even accidental friendly fire isn't sufficient to end the marking effect.

Mucilization - Shio's blade is constantly covered in a thin layer of wax, which flakes off and covers objects cut by it. The rate of propogation is proportional to the damage of the wound, meaning a slit throat will typically lead to complete petrification within moments, while a nick will simply coat the wounded limb over a minute. Enemies can remove the wax with brute force or applications of heat, making it primarily useful for slowing down enemies that are fast, but relatively weak.

Smoke Contrails - By striking his tanto against the sheath, Shio is able to break off the thin layer of wax there, nullifying the Mucilization power until he sheathes it once more. While the wax is gone, the blade gives off a faint bit of heat, roughly equivalent to a candle's flame; just enough to cause mild second degree burns, and burn paper or wood. It also leaves behind small puffs of smoke as it moves, allowing Shio to create a small degree of cover with a series of reckless slashes.



» Shikai Release Phrase: Break and Mend, Tallow Swallow!

» Shikai Appearance: While released, Shio's zanpakuto first takes the form of a rather large candle, with a hilt at the bottom like most swords. It's roughly two feet thick, and about three feet long, reminding someone less of an actual blade and more of a hammer or some other blunt object. It has a long wick, trailing down towards the ground and even looping over itself. The end of the wick is constantly ignited, unless Shio pinches it between his fingers or otherwise attempts to put it out. The wick slowly burns down, until it hits the end, when it seals itself forcibly. While lit, the candle seems to flow over with a thin layer of wax, that's sucked into the hilt, and then begins to flow from the top once more.

» Shikai Abilities: Shio's zanpakuto is solid only so long as the wick remains lit, and he is able to snuff it with anything from a gentle brush with a sleeve to a swinging motion; it seems to respond more to his intent than his actions, though he does still need to be free to move to change its shape. Once the wick has been snuffed, the wax making it up will begin to meld and shift rapidly, as malleable as soft clay, or play-doh. He can use this wax to alter the form of his own zanpakuto into something better suited to his needs, to create solid obstructions between himself and his opponents, and even to trap enemies in solid globs of wax if he's able to strike them in the process of reforming his zanpakuto.

Wax Shackles - If Shio's blade strikes an enemy at any point while in its molten state, the targeted area is covered in a thick layer of wax, restricting movement, and defending them from attacks.
This can be used on allies or himself as well, to shield the afflicted area from a blow, but he has no inherent way to remove the wax on his own body, or his allies.

Improved Ember Sight - While attuned with his zanpakuto, Shio is not only able to see through smoke without effort, he's even able to use the smoke itself to see, treating each individual mote of smoke as an eye. To use this he must close his eyes and determine a particular area which he's choosing to see through.

Wax Clone - If he so wishes, Shio is able to create a clone of his wax instead of altering his weapon; in order to do so, he must spend one post preparing the clone, and one post creating it. After this, a pale white, immobile clone of his own body forms wherever his zanpakuto is touching. These clones are rarely capable of fooling intelligent opponents, but can serve as useful shields to hide behind, and in circumstances where the enemy has their sight impeded, can easily absorb a stray blow.

Smoke Cloud - Available only if Shio has maintained the same form on his zanpakuto for two or more posts, Shio is able to swing his blade around in an enormous circle, creating heavy, choking smoke that smells however he wishes. It's very dense and very hot, making it difficult to move through as if those inside were underwater. Even Shio isn't immune to this effect, meaning he rarely uses it unless he needs to buy himself time to create a suitable defense.

If possible, I'd also like to have it essentially be treated as if these had been present for the initial grading, as I've only really used him in a single thread since creation, and it didn't go anywhere really; even if I only get to start at 5-1 instead of 5-4, it's plenty good enough for me.



» Bankai Appearance: N/A

» Bankai Abilities: N/A



[strike]» Shikokai Appearance: N/A

» Shikokai Abilities: N/A



Skill Sheet

General Skills

• Durability: Advanced
  
• General Speed: Adept
  
• Strength: Adept
  
• Weapon Skill: Adept
  

Racial Skills

• Hoho: Adept
  
• Kidō: Advanced
  
• Zanjutsu: Adept
  
• Hakuda: Adept
  

Will Skills

• Willpower: Adept
  
• Mental Deduction: Advanced
  
• Pain Endurance: Beginner
  
• Focus: Adept
  

» Roleplay Sample: The training ground was a familiar place for most shinigami, filled with familiar sounds and smells. The faint scent of oiled steel, of thinly-restrained violence and aggression. The stench of sweat and blood, of pain and dissapointment.The faint, ever-so-faint sounds of countless people, all trying their best to make their aching bodies respond and transcend. But today, all of this was masked and mingled by less familiar sounds, less familiar smells, less familiar sights. Today, many of the sounds were replaced with good-natured ribbing and jeers, of people who seemed to have almost no ill intent whatsoever as they sparred. It was filled with the unmistakable smells of combat, yes...but underneath it was a pleasant, nose-tickling melange of old worn leather and tobacco, something strangely soothing.

And Shio Mora, of the first division, was sitting off in a corner, clapping his hands politely and exuberantly every few minutes, doing his best to urge on his fellow shinigami. One or two were doing quite poorly, but Shio rooted and cheered all the same. There wasn't anything to be gained by remarking on their disgraceful displays, and besides. That was the role of their commanding officer, not Shio. He had little desire or interest to start interfering with these people's carefully constructed worlds. There would be no benefit from making enemies of these people, these ones he'd one day have to rely on to be by his side.

Join them, child! It will be fun! I know how badly your fingers itch to pick up your sword and get swept into the revelry.

Ah, but if I did that it wouldn't be revelry. Not anymore. These people need a tempering influence. One to keep their spirits high and their tempers low.

There was only silence in response to his comment, but Shio was used to this sort of silence. It was the silence that came from someone trying very hard not to speak, of LEthia doing her damnedest not to leave his day spoiled by some sharp-tongued, lashing comment. The very thought that she would be so concerned about -his- feelings discomfited Shio no small amount.

"Ooh, I felt that one all the way from over here! I honestly think you're worse than a charging bull when you use that technique, Ludo! Do you have a name for it, yet? How about...'Ushi Oni'?"

Shio rose his hands in a gesture of capitulation, taking the jeers and light-hearted tossing of objects with a winning smile. Of course the joke would've made most of them groan, or want to shut him up. But at the very least, it wouldn't linger in any of their heads, turning into a festering seed of...something. Whatever it had been that had driven good men to bad deeds. Whatever communal madness had snatched the hopes of a fair and proper world from Shio's hands.

Ludo stepped forward, sword resting over his waist in what Shio recognized as one of the sloppiest attempts at an 'at-rest' stance that he'd seen in years. The shinigami remained tight-lipped, tilting his head ever so slightly as he watched his comrade's face for any sign of disappointment or anger. But there was only a wide, good-natured grin there.

"Get up here, Shio! Grab your sword, and join us! There's room for a whole division to train in here, but you're always on the sidelines!"

"That's because I've got you on the front lines, Ludo. There's no shame in being a bench-warmer. I'll take my place when you've finished with yours. For now, worry about yourself. I'm learning plenty, just from watching all of you."

Once more, Shio managed a good-natured, careful smile. This one, he felt would likely get seen through in a moment. But before Ludo or anyone else could comment, another shinigami had flung themselves from a nearby mat, wrapping their arms around Ludo's neck, their legs around his waist, and screaming something about 'human-style' combat. Shio turned away, retreating once more into his thoughts before he was forced to find out more about what this sort of thing would entail.

END OF THE POST