[Spirit Class 5--] Bambietta Basterbine

○ Name: Bambietta Basterbine ○ Alias: N/A ○ Age: 40 ○ Birthday: August 6 ○ Gender: Female ○ Race: Human (Substitute Shinigami) ○ Affiliation: -Gotei United, Temporary Medical Leave ○ Alignment: Chaotic Good ○ Marital Status: Single ○ Nationality: Seireitei ○ Sexual Orientation: Bisexual ○ Special Skill: Dividing things in half. ○ Ideal Mate: Responsible and compassionate. ○ Height: 5’6” ○ Weight: Healthy ○ Hair Colour: Black ○ Eye Colour: Purple

Bambietta is, above all else, a headstrong and resilient woman. She isn't the sort to give up on her goals, and will do nearly anything if she believes it will move her in the right direction. However, perhaps as a result of trying to correct for a lifetime of poor choices and the reputation that's come with that, she tends to put a great deal of thought into every decision she makes, and won't speak unless she is absolutely certain in whatever she says.

There is something fundamentally counterintuitive in the way Bambietta treats her work and her life, as she could be called a chaotic, almost rebellious sort of spirit, who enjoys the feeling of doing the opposite of what she is told and genuinely enjoys the attention from causing mass destruction. That, however, is something she does her utmost to express only in appropriate means, and channels that fondness for attention and destruction into her work for the Gotei, whether as a researcher or a kido specialist.

On a personal level, Bambietta does her best to be friendly, but it isn’t hard to see why she still has fairly few friends. Despite all of her resilience and determination, Bambietta is also a woman who has fundamentally low self-esteem. She doesn’t simply believe that there’s a great deal for her to achieve; she believes that she currently just isn’t good enough. That low self-esteem can often come through in her interactions with others, and many would probably call it off-putting. However, for all her self-loathing, Bambietta doesn’t seek relationships with others simply for the sake of her own gratification. She genuinely wants to bond with others, and unfortunately, has spent nearly 40 years without really knowing how.


○ Alastor de Maris: The man that Bambietta refers to as her "best bud," and someone she certainly considers very important in her life. She is, despite what one might think, fully aware that Alastor generally considers her annoying. But knowing that doesn't especially change that he's one of the few people that always seems genuinely willing to talk to her, and while she isn't particularly good at expressing it, that means the world to her.

○ Rangiku Matsumoto: The first professor to earnestly believe in Bambietta during her time as a probationary Substitute Shinigami, Bambietta deeply respects this woman and considers her someone that she can always go to for advice. She is keenly aware that, on paper, Rangiku should be the kind of woman that would appeal to her, but the nature of their bond prevents any sort of interest from actually developing.

○ Makoto Arima: If Rangiku is the person Bambietta always wants to go to for personal advice, Makoto is the woman that Bambietta would always go to for professional advice. She considers Makoto to be, in many ways, exactly what she aspires to be as a person, and it would be no exaggeration to call Makoto her role model.

○ Kisuke Urahara: His personality, and her prior knowledge of him as a person, lead Bambietta to feel something of an innate distrust for this man. However, she considers that to be something wrong with her, and she goes out of her way to push beyond that intrinsic feeling. She is deeply grateful to him for the effort that he took with her medical procedures, and that takes precedence over any preconceived notions she would otherwise have.

○ Igendai Gyakusuma: Despite their having met in perhaps the most unfortunate possible situation, Bambietta considers this man’s good natured personality and earnestness to be something respectable. She wouldn’t call him a close friend, but she’s perfectly happy to have lunch with him.

○ Katori Nobuko: Bitch.


Bambietta was born into a rather unremarkable family in France, her parents hardly even leaving a single memory in her mind. Well, perhaps that isn't so much their fault. Bambietta has never actually met her parents, having been left at an orphanage known by its inhabitants as the Court of Miracles. From her earliest years, those who staffed this house for young children knew that she would be trouble. The modest name they gave the young girl was quickly forgotten, for she always referred to herself loudly, purposefully, as "the Bambietta Basterbine!" Those who argued with her were simply spoken over, their words falling on wholly deaf ears.

As she grew older, the self-proclaimed Bambietta only became more bold, more self-confident. She might have been perfectly happy, or at least as happy as could be expected, were it not for a girl a few years younger than her, pale of skin and with hair white as snow, who seemed to steal her thunder without even trying. Bambietta could have just gotten louder, even beaten that little Claudia punk up, but that didn't seem to work. So instead, she started to break things. A flowerpot here, a window there, just a childish way of getting attention, lashing out. But Bambietta could not have expected how much she loved the feeling of it. Just watching things go...bam.

The rest of them could do whatever they wanted. Bambietta was already 17 by now anyway, old enough to go out and see whatever she wanted to. Sure, she could have just kept on doing little bits of damage, but it was more interesting if she aimed bigger. Tried to get more efficient. Information was cheap, easy to come by in this age, and it turned out people were awfully willing to lend a little extra help if you were hot. Lucky break, huh? By the time she was 25, Bambietta had destroyed multiple city blocks worth of structures. The explosions themselves were one thing, but her greatest satisfaction was in seeing the horror in people's eyes, hearing them posit the same question every time, with fear in their voice:

"Who could have done this?"

Perhaps, if things had gone differently, Bambietta would have just continued to aim bigger, better, until the day she died. But she bit off more than she could chew, it seemed, when she tried to show the newly christened nation of Vastime what she could do. The idea of leveling something so shiny and new had appealed to her on a primal level, really, the thought of crushing so many hopes for the future alongside the pristine buildings themselves. Unfortunately for her, that plan didn't work out, and she found herself locked deep in prison, slated for execution. Anyone would hate it there, of course, but for Bambietta it was far worse. For her, it was nothing short of a living hell.

No one cared about a single thing she said, after all. Nobody cared what she'd done. And every single day that passed, she had to wonder if tomorrow would be the last, if she would die without anyone even knowing. Bambietta would have done anything to escape that, and as luck would have it, the day finally came that she could escape. Not through some prison break, but accompanied by the clicking of boot heels on the cold floor. When the Queen of Vastime offered her a position in her penal legion, to atone for her crimes and potentially earn the right to her life once more, Bambietta did not hesitate to accept the offer. She did not relish the thought of being beholden to anyone, but she relished the thought of dying in this place infinitely less.

She served in World War 4, and quite dutifully, at that. Not out of respect for her superior, or out of any sense that she ought to. It was nothing more than out of an almost desperate need to reclaim her life. Yet, with each deployment, Bambietta found that she had more opportunity to destroy both things and lives than ever before. More resources to work with, more targets to see up in smoke. Suddenly, she didn't even need to hide that she had been responsible. If anything, she had every reason to let everyone know that it had been her. People praised her work, nodded in approval at the destruction she wrought. Such purpose, such a consistent need for her, for Bambietta Basterbine, was more satisfying than anything else had ever been.

So when the Queen suddenly went quiet, when her focus seemed to shift toward her position in the Gotei and the penal legions found themselves remarkably free of any truly captivating assignments, Bambietta chose to follow. She was no shinigami, but something that trivial didn't matter to her. She submitted a formal request to Queen Kyoraku-Hayden, and while it was considered wholly abnormal, her service had been sufficient to approve it, though not without restriction. Bambietta's every waking moment in Soul Society after that day saw her accompanied by a handler, and her lessons at Shin'o Academy were always alone, at the latest hours of the night to keep her away from any other students. For a time, she saw no problem with that. People were watching her. Eyes were on her.

But that life felt hollow. It felt empty. And before long, she realized that she had found in the Gotei a place that genuinely appreciated her abilities, did not treat her as a mere object or tool. She might have felt lost, if not for the sudden stepping down of Captain Commander Kyoraku. The very woman that had been in charge of her penal service was suddenly gone, and the last person that held her on a leash had seemingly released it. For a time, she continued serving in a probationary manner, operating only as an unseated member and unable to take advanced courses. But the kindness of her superiors was certainly not lost on her, and between the support of her former professor Rangiku Matsumoto, and the glowing reassessment by Vice Captain Makoto Arima, Bambietta found herself a completely free woman. By all accounts, she surely could have run away now, taken the freedom she’d always chased after. But being in the Gotei was infinitely more fulfilling, and she didn’t hesitate to request promotion, to throw herself into her work diligently. Still, there was one more thing that she knew was linking her to her past.

Service in Vastime had not come free, and even after having left, it left its scars deep. The modifications that had been given to her, myriad cybernetics that were integrated into her body at a level most would consider permanent, were something she simply couldn’t abide. So she sought the assistance of the Captain of Research and Development, Kisuke Urahara, even in spite of her own fear toward the man. She was told in no uncertain terms that he could remove those modifications, return her body to a state where it was hers alone, but that it would not be easy.

That was fine. Her life hadn’t been easy, and now she’d found a life that she’d do anything to keep.

Such a procedure was, indeed, drastic in nature. Bambietta made it through successfully, and indeed probably pushed a bit more emphatically for it to continue than might have been considered reasonable. But survival did not mean that she came out of it completely unscathed, and the recovery from such a procedure is something that would leave anyone in need of medical leave from an organization such as the Gotei. To say that seemed less than ideal would certainly have been an understatement, but Bambietta was at least sensible enough to know that she wouldn’t be able to serve in any meaningful capacity in a state like that. So she reluctantly took medical leave, and began to spend her time resting and recovering.

Well, recovering, at any rate. Each and every day that she spent simply resting was a day that she felt like she was wasting. Restless, antsy, Bambietta couldn’t stand filling her days with simple calm when there was so much in mind that she felt like she could do. So she opened up her research notes and got reading. Then, after a day or two, she got to writing. A few days after that, she requested a wheelchair so she could get around her quarters more easily. And once she was capable of moving around on her own, Bambietta couldn’t be stopped. With nothing but free time, the woman began to put all of the ideas she’d been formulating into practice. Principles of cutting incantations into more practical, straightforward mnemonics, the idea of putting those incantations into a more concrete form than mere vocalization. Even as she was working on her own ideas, however, Bambietta continued to request texts from the archives, though he made an effort not to consider anything that would be restricted.

While she might have been a free woman now, she still wanted to be on her best behavior. That was what any upstanding member of the Gotei would do.


○ In Recovery: At present, Bambietta is recovering from an extensive medical procedure, which removed the wide array of cybernetics implanted in her during her time as a penal soldier with Vastime. While she is not in danger of death any time soon, her body is certainly in no position to strain itself at present. However, with no time to push herself physically, she’s simply filled the time with learning.

○ Demolition Expert: Bambietta knows destruction like the back of her hand. What to use, where to apply it, how to identify weak spots and potentially catastrophic failures of construction. She knows how to use this knowledge in the most efficient way possible, and she is perhaps one of the most skilled demolition experts in Soul Society.

○ Hardline Combatant: While she was for all intents and purposes a normal woman for much of her life, Bambietta's time with the Vastime 1st and Final marked a quite drastic change for her. Her life was no longer hers to command, and the only alternative to peak performance was the swift death that she sought desperately to avoid. This extreme training has paid off, and her knowledge of both the battlefield and single combat is, while far from perfectly honed, certainly engraved in her mind.

○ Kidō Researcher: At one time, Bambietta’s specialty in the field of kido extended solely to Hadō, and even then, her efforts were only toward those Hadō which caused mass destruction. She has come to see that this is only cutting her own talents short, however, and now it could be said quite easily that the woman has a very genuine passion for the development of kido. She is not so sufficiently skilled as to simply apply new kido ideas as they come to her on the fly, but she does spend a great deal of her time thinking of new theoretical spells, and testing them later on in controlled environments.

○ List of Developed Kidō:
-Bakudo 49, Enkoukai (円甲卦, "Round Armor Divination Sign"): A significant modification of the standard Enkousen, the Enkoukai creates a disc of a dark pink shade rather than a faint yellow. This disc operates as a shield in the same way as an Enkousen, and does not have any intrinsically better defensive capabilities. However, when the Enkoukai is struck by an attack, the spell will attempt to analyze whatever struck it, feeding the resulting information to the user. The information conveyed is relatively simple, mostly comprising the following basic information: Composition of the attack (reishi, kishi, or a combination); spiritual source (shinigami, hollow, human, quincy, etc.); general destructive capability of the attack; any secondary effects beyond simple damage that the attack would inflict. This final analytical stage can be overcome if the attack is utilizing a skill which is higher than the caster's Kido skill.

-Bakudo 86, Shinzoushi Danshoku Shinrei Kiryu (心臓止温食深冷気流, "Heart-Stopping Warmth-Devouring Sub-Zero Wind Current"): A bakudo intended to drastically shut down a battlefield, this is a dangerous spell to use, as its effects are indiscriminate upon the battlefield and will not distinguish between friend and foe. By holding both of one’s hands forward, the caster can create a gale-force wind that shoots out from their hands, though it is not powerful enough to directly harm anyone but the absolute weakest possible individuals. The more dangerous part of this spell is that it rapidly drops the temperature as it flows through the area, quickly dropping it into the negatives and freezing anything in moments. Due to this being an environmental effect, rather than a direct attack on foes, defending against it requires that one be more broadly capable of ignoring severe temperatures and harsh cold than necessarily capable of defending against spiritual attacks. While the wind will continue blowing for as long as the caster maintains the spell, in the event that they cease casting it, the freezing temperature will gradually return to normal over the span of two posts.

-Hadō 62, Hyakkenryusei (百間流星, "100 Interval Falling Stars''): Another modification, though unlike most kido alterations, this is one which fundamentally shifts the spell's classification. A conversion of Bakudo 62 Hyapporankan, the Hyakkenryusei converts the immobilizing technique into one used only for offense. After manifesting a single bright red spear of energy in one's hand, the caster throws it toward their target, and the spell quickly generates 99 additional spears of identical size and force. These spears lack the fundamental immobilizing power of the Hyapporankan, but the danger of being impaled and staked onto a solid surface does still allow for immobilization of a different sort.

-Hadō 79, Warakusagumo (穣腐雲, "Prosperity-Decaying Cloud"): A straightforward but highly dangerous Hadō. After condensing a high amount of spiritual energy into a small sphere, the caster then throws it or fires it in a straight line from their hand. This ball itself is not particularly dangerous, and being struck by it directly is only marginally more dangerous than being struck by a Sai. However, the ball is exceptionally inclined to stick to whatever it touches, and as such, being struck directly with it can prove disastrous when the spell's full effects take place. After a set duration (which the caster must establish during the initial casting of the spell), the small sphere will detonate with intense power, creating an explosion which nearly rivals that of the Hiryu Gekizoku Shinten Raiho.


○ Wheelchair: In all reality, Bambietta wouldn’t need this to get around if she were acting like any reasonable person should in her situation. However, given it’s not practical for her to walk around much in her current condition, this has become a necessity for her to see to all of her current kido research projects in a timely manner. The wheelchair itself has seen a few minor additions, chiefly that it can be moved with kido rather than needing physical effort, and is able to levitate enough to avoid potential obstacles. Overall, however, it isn’t especially fantastical.

○ Talismans: A development in kido that Bambietta is exceptionally proud of, the principle of talismans allow the incantation for a kido to be effectively put into stasis through use of a physical medium, allowing the kido itself to be finished simply by the speaking of the kido’s name, as if utilizing Incantation Abandonment. The intensity of the spell generally relates to the necessary size of the medium, in order to carry the spiritual energy to preserve the incantation, with smaller kido barely requiring any space, and the heights of kido, such as the Danku, requiring a scroll approximately a meter in length, though the scroll does not necessarily need to be unfurled to use as a talisman.

Due to the added complexity of putting the kido into a talisman, it ultimately receives the same decrease in efficiency that would be found from utilizing normal Incantation Abandonment. However, the benefit of these talismans is not the simple shortening of incantation, but rather the fact that the kido cast using them will be fired from the talisman itself, rather than from Bambietta herself. This allows Bambietta to set talismans across a battlefield and cast them later, effectively creating traps, or to simply throw a talisman and cast it from a more advantageous angle than her current position.

Bambietta’s most numerous talismans are those for Byakurai, which she painstakingly engraves onto dry roasted soybeans and keeps in a leather pouch to throw by the handful. Simply by speaking the name of the Hadō itself, each of these talismans will unleash a Byakurai in the direction they are currently moving. This is an approach which does not necessarily lead to any particularly advanced tactics, but certainly allows for an aggressive approach to combat.

Other talismans regularly on Bambietta’s person include those for Shakkahou and Soukatsui, both attached to what appear at a glance to be ofuda talismans, or written onto long ribbons tied to small metal weights, and for the spells Dankuu and Hiryu Gekizoku Shinten Raiho, both of which are written onto long scrolls with a metal spike on each end. This allows them to be stabbed into the ground and utilized later, though they lack any special enchantments to pierce through material, and so rely on Bambietta’s own strength to achieve that.

○ Kido Gun Type II: Strictly named the Kizokushahou (鬼速射砲, “Demon Rapid-Fire Cannon”), Bambietta typically refers to it simply as the Kidojuu Ni-shiki (鬼道銃弐式, “Kido Gun Type II''), to ensure that the distinction is made between the original Kido Gun and her own developments on the idea. This weapon takes the form of a somewhat antiquated-looking firearm, most closely resembling a modern shotgun (if apparently made from rather antiquated materials such as dark wood), with a barrel short enough that holding the weapon in one hand is quite easy. The metal appears to have had some attempt at decorative engraving, but from an artistic standpoint, it isn’t especially intricate or impressive.

Rather than simply channeling raw kido mastery into the weapon, as the original weapon did, the Kido Gun Type II utilizes the talismans that Bambietta has developed as a form of ammunition. However, the Kido Gun Type II can only hold up to 9 talismans at any given time, and due to the nature of the device, all talismans must be in the shape of small, cylindrical scrolls, regardless of the kido’s actual number. The current highest numbered kido that Bambietta is capable of utilizing with the Kido Gun Type II is 63.

When utilizing the Kido Gun Type II, Bambietta utilizes Incantation Abandonment, but this decrease in efficiency is laid on top of the decrease already caused by the usage of Talismans. As such, kido used through the Kido Gun Type II see an overall 20% decrease in efficiency compared to if she had properly cast them herself. However, she considers this a worthwhile trade, as the Kido Gun Type II is capable of firing in 3-round bursts. It is not, however, currently capable of fully automatic fire.


○ Zanpakuto Name: Shikinen (式燃, “Ceremonial Burning”)

○ Appearance: Shikinen’s blade is a notably darker grey than would be typical of a zanpakuto, closer to a gunmetal than standard steel. The hamon and the edge, conversely, are a much lighter color than is typical, nearly white. The tsuba takes the form of a plum-colored disc, with a platinum-colored rim, and the hilt is wrapped in a similarly purple cloth.

○ Inner World: Shikinen's inner world is set atop what seems to be an endless pile of rubble. One could never even hope to see the bottom of it, nor what might lie beyond the horizon. However, the sky remains a clear and bright orange, as if bathed in an eternal sunrise.

○ Sealed Abilities: Shikinen has no sealed abilities.


○ Release Phrase: "Bam, Zaa Baku!"

○ Appearance: When this fake shikai is released, Shikinen (now under the incorrect name of “Zaa Baku”) begins to smoke, its blade looking as if it is smoldering and biding its time until something dreadful happens. Anyone, even those with the faintest degree of spiritual awareness, could certainly tell that some immense power is resting within the blade, simply waiting to be released.

○ Shikai Ability: When Bambietta strikes anything with Zaa Baku, whether it be a person or an object, the blade simply explodes, unleashing all the energy one would expect a shikai of Bambietta’s level to carry in a single, catastrophic explosion. Fragments of the sword itself fly everywhere as tremendously dangerous shrapnel, as they still carry all the power of being a zanpakuto in shikai, but the blade is incapable of repairing itself until her shikai ends, at which point the pieces of the blade will simply return to their rightful place as if nothing has happened.

It should be noted that, due to the exceptionally disrespectful nature of both calling the zanpakuto’s name incorrectly, and then using it in such a violent manner, Bambietta cannot use any releases again for the rest of a thread after using this false release.


○ Release Phrase: "Make judgement, Shikinen." (裁く,式燃. “Sabaku, Shikinen.”)

○ Appearance: When released, Shikinen’s form changes to that of a long spear, with a rather plain blade at the head of the weapon. This blade, however, constantly lets out no small degree of smoke

○ Shikai Ability: When Shikinen's blade makes contact with a surface, regardless of what the surface is or how hard the impact itself was, the spear will release a small spark, allowing it to shed a miniscule amount of metal shavings made from the zanpakuto's physical form, and creating a fuse. If the blade strikes a mundane object, or if it inflicts a wound on an opponent, this fuse can be left inside what was actually struck. The fuse does not do anything on its own, and those of a significantly higher spiritual power than Bambietta (at least one full tier higher than herself) can simply destroy them by exerting their spiritual pressure. Bambietta may only maintain 3 fuses at one time currently.

For each post that Shikinen's fuses remain untouched, they will gradually grow in power. While those other than Bambietta can discern this growth only by judging their increasing spiritual power, Bambietta herself sees a ring of rotating magatama-shaped lights around each of these bits of her zanpakuto. For each post that a fuse remains in place, it will gain one magatama, though if Bambietta chooses to focus on one specific fuse, she can increase its magatama by two in a single post, at the cost of no other fuses gaining any magatama. The maximum amount of magatama that can currently build up on a single fuse is 5.

Upon striking a previously set fuse with the tip of Shikinen again, it will immediately detonate. This detonation explodes with force equal to a full force strike from Bambietta’s shikai itself. However, each magatama that has been built up on that particular fuse will increase that explosion’s power by 100%. For example, if Bambietta were to strike a fuse which had built up 5 magatama, it would explode with a force equal to 6 times that of Bambietta’s most intense strikes.



General Skills

• Durability: E
  
• General Speed: E
  
• Strength: E
  
• Soul: SS
  

Shinigami Skills

• Zanjutsu: Advanced
  
• Kido: Elite
  
• Hoho: Adept
  
• Hakuda: Advanced
  

Will Skills

• Willpower/Determination: Adept
  
• Mental Deduction: Elite
  
• Focus: Adept
  

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Spring Burst 2023
-Zanjutsu from Adept to Advanced, 30 Points
-Durability from Untrained to Beginner, 5 Points
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Great Attribute Update
-Attributes brought to modern system