Gotou, Kunitane

» Name: Gotou, Kunitane _____________ » Alias: Headcutter - Red » Age: 527 » Birthday: October 1st, 1596 » Gender: Male » Race: Wolfman Shinigami - Vizard » Died: February 5th, 1638 - Seppuku » Association: Gotei United - Earth Affiliation - Unseated » Alignment: Bushido » Marital Status: Single » Nationality: Japanese » Sexuality: Bisexual » Height: 7'1" » Weight: 482 lb. » Hair Colour: Black-Brown » Eye Colour: Light Grey » Teeth: Canine

A man who has refused to move forward in time, lost in death to the tradition that bound and built him in life. Concern and guilt having turned him into someone that others would consider moody, despondent; death having buried much of the man that once was, however much he has struggled to hold onto himself. Kunitane has struggled for centuries, conflicted, but capable of finding some small peace within nature, drowning himself in the wilderness. By no means actively antisocial, he has taken the shift to a Wolfman incredibly poorly, making it difficult for him to process whatever changes in life he has had since being reborn, positive or otherwise.

In life, Kunitane was proud, and with pride came its many failings. The ego of his life, a self importance that led to the death of many, arguably the lives of many more. Life and death, far from how he gauged his own successes and failures. Nonetheless, they defined him. Capable, efficient, swift of mind and a steady hand, he served his pride to a lord, detracting from other worldly desires that he might've explored. In death, this leaves him stunted in many ways his despondent nature would appear to define; he is constantly adjusting to actively thinking for himself, often declining input in favor of other's actions.


Born shortly before the Edo period, Gotou Kunitane was given his name in hopes that he would embody everything that stood right and pure within their country, that the blood of the land run through his veins.

Swearing fealty to his lord, Kunitane offered his blade as an extension of the lord's will. Should a man be ordered to commit seppuku, that he would act as their second, no matter their station, no matter the place within their lords fiefs.

Over his career, Kunitane would behead over two-hundred offenders as their second, being christened 'Headcutter' by his lord. Many of those who committed seppuku were ordered through the law of kiri-sute gomen, so that they could grant their families some semblance of respect.

As his head rolled onto the floor, a last glimpse of life flickered into view. The face of his lord, etched with disgust.

When his eyes opened again, shame blossomed in his heart, that he could not even die at the hands of his lord. Reaching, feeling for his neck, Kunitane gripped fur, claws pushing against the skin underneath. The blooming shame curdling into fear, a blaze of bewilderment, what, where, and how. Pushing to his feet - no, his paws - the snout that obstructed his vision swimming into view. An abomination. With panic, hands chased across the rest of his body, pulling on fur and - metal? The chain that extended from his chest another mystery, although more easily answered as a shinigami came into view. Kunitane would come to learn that he had died, after all; but the afterlife was not anything he had imagined.

With the Seiretei in lockdown, Kunitane was forced into inaction, his ranking within the division leaving him no leeway in assignment. A recluse, once again secluded in the way he became accustomed to in Soul Society. Resentment that had been long building, mounting ever further with isolation. That his death of dishonor would grow into hundreds of years, the form of a beast shackling him to an undeserved station. The overwhelming disgust at his appearance, looks in his direction a mirror to these thoughts. Hundreds of years of self hatred mounting into a fever, and his heart could take no more. A long draught of poison, and he closed his eyes.

Amidst weeks of nightmares, months of nights and days tossing and turning, sickly in a long sleep, the bitterness of his mind finally tearing away his figure of the beast. A heart that turned dark, hollowing out - the beast no longer born on his skin, with a mantle of fur, but settling deep inside. The birth of a Vizard, through means of self aggrandized hatred.

For the second time, Kunitane woke awash in shame, that his attempted suicide would fail even now. Stumbling forward with a weakened body, hands reached for a basin of water as shame twisted in his gut, fighting against a spark of elation. Hands - not deformed, grotesque paws in their mimicry - flesh, and nails, knuckles and fingers. A flutter of panic when they rose to his face, touching, and a yell, louder than anything he had spoken for centuries. The Samurai was reborn, and he would not waste a moment. Grabbing his swords, pulling on his shihakusho, Kunitane moved with excitement for the first time in the afterlife.





» Name:

» Inner World: A vast sand garden spirals into eternity, shimenawa lacing between boulders in the façade of perimeter. Cobblestone paths meander vaguely in the four cardinal directions, leading towards the center where a singular building stands. Erected from four wooden pillars, a modest home constructed from the same, circular windows looking out on either side of an open doorway in the shape of a torii gate. Inside is a low step towards a futon, the wall behind it bearing the banner of Kunitane's liege-lord in life, and a mount for his blades. Seated on the futon, still and stoic, is ---.

» Appearance:

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» Name:

» Appearance: Released, the sword sees little change; only in the reflection of its blade is there a visual flair, showing in it the period of Kunitane's life that his death poem coincides. A wide, empty field blemished only with the harshness of sunlight; a burning castle, wrecked boats marred against broken walls; a dimly lit hall, the banner of his lord amidst swirling motes of dust - a mix of locale, varying wildly.

» Abilities: "The life of a Samurai."

A mirror to his life, ---- is a zanpakuto concerned with ritual and form above all else, demanding of its user the recital of their death poem in lieu of a usual release phrase. As a samurai, Kunitane inked a poem before any major battle or duel, and reciting any of these poems allows the partial release of his shikai, its true form hidden behind the final death poem he wrote before committing seppuku. The associated conflict with each poem imbues with its own particularities, though they share much in the practicality of their abilities. By and large, one can assume the release will clad the user in an appropriate armor, and grant them additional weaponry as he had in life. Otherwise, it grants physical boons in accordance to his perception of the period being called upon, which can be as detrimental as it can positive.

-----

A blade of desperation, at a time in life where he was assured of his own defeat. To duel against a samurai of far grander stature, knowledge, ability, to survive required him to act with his life and utmost conviction. Releasing this form, Kunitane is clothed with a dark green kimono, edged with white and the pattern of fish scales. A town square in reflected in his blade, featureless witnesses en-masse across the image's edge. Everything of the shikai is focused into the blade's edge, capable of dealing a singular, terrifying blow before forcibly ending the release. In this state, Kunitane is exceptionally vulnerable, and the blade is beyond fragile. All or nothing.

-----





» Name: Akikuni

» Appearance: Kunitane's appearance until recently; that of a Wolfman, bristled with deep auburn fur. Where once a snout - and arguably, a face - pressed from the edge of an enormous mane, now lies the mockery of bone, a hollow mask in the shape of a wolf's skull. Pinpricks of light needle from within, burning yellow hatred in the idea of eyes. Smaller in stature than other Wolfmen, Akikuni has long black claws, unkempt and surrounded by overgrown fur. Naked by all measure, its legs reverse with double joints, feet permanently stained dark, with an unknown substance. A tail extends from the hollow's backside, surprisingly lengthy and questionably prehensile; the tip an incredibly deep, onyx black. Shimmering, even in the absence of light.

» Abilities:

• Anomalía: Birthed from centuries of depression, repressed hatred, and attempted suicide, Akikuni is abnormally powerful in relation to Kunitane's strength as a shinigami. From physical ability to spiritual, Kunitane is severely dwarfed by his negative half, not to mention ferocity and bloodlust. While this in itself is strange, the hollow possesses a placidity uncommon for caged animals. It would seem that it has no innate drive to overtake and possess Kunitane; instead confident in belief that the shinigami will eventually give reigns to it through his own failings.
  
  
• Clamoroso Cero: Fired from Akikuni's mouth as it howls, the sound increasing with the firepower. A cero technique with an exceptionally short charge time, it starts out rather weak, mounting in power as it is continued to be fired, roughly tripling in output before it ends. Consequently, it can be forced to backfire by pre-emptively shutting the hollow's jaw.
  
  
• Garras: Akikuni can swing its claws, releasing blades of spiritual pressure that cut. The range on these swings is rather short, making it most effective as a secondary property added on top of physically clawing and tearing at a target. Furthermore, they possess an above average hollowfying ability, causing the wounds generated to fester and have difficulty in healing in non-hollows.

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