Post by Kyojin on Aug 6, 2018 3:42:34 GMT -5
Herleifsen, "Kyojin" Brandt
unseated, 5th Division
Personnel File
Age / Apparent Age: 1010 / 35
Gender: male
Height & Weight: 6'3" (ca. 1,92m) & 253,5 lbs (ca. 115 kg)
Hair & Eye Color: dark blonde hair, little over shoulder length, rather 'wild'. Blueish-gray eyes
Positive Traits:
+ patient (with other people)
+ thoughtful
+ trustworthy
+ focused
+ honorable
Negative Traits:
- honorbound
- not overly submissive to authority
- indifferent at times (less than before but still a factor)
- values strength more than given authority
- if asked for: brutally honest (even to superiors and when honesty isn't really called for)
Physical Specifications
Physical Description: Kyojin is a tall and muscular built man. There's hardly any bodyfat visible, just enough that he looks healthy and not like a worn down bodybuilding addict. He is fair-skinned and prefers to shave any body hair. His hair is just combed enough that it wont felt into something like dreadlocks. His face is adorned by a short full beard.
His shihakusho is quite standard except that he removed the sleeves. Aside from that he he wears no accessoires, modifications or anything like that.
He dislikes wearing his zanpakuto at his side in his obi and wears it instead on his back with the hilt over his right shoulder.
If he's in a gigai in the world of the living he dresses in a slim-fitting leisure suit (sonny crocket style but modern).
All his movements and his posture speak of strength, energy and confidence, but since the plague something hounded shows through at times. The look of his eyes have something hard and distant sometimes, mixed with a hint of indifference, that can be unsettling to some. Note that this can change, should he get to know and like someone. His voice is full, strong and deep.
Also, he never uses any perfumes but always takes good care of his personal hygiene. There are some scars from scratches and cuts visible on his arms and chest.
Spiritual Description: His Reiatsu is cold blue in color, like st elmo's fire, and normally feels like a fresh and cold, but calm breeze. In battle however, it becomes like a wild, cold fire. One can feel a wild energy, like a raging icy stream, barely contained. The cold breeze now feels like a brutal storm, that claws at the skin with countless little icefingers, sharp like razors.
Psychological Profile
Personality: Kyojin is a calm, almost cold person. He rarely looses his cool and shows a surprising patience, even towards some annoying persons. Was it a patience that he had to train himself hard for in the past, there is now a good deal of indifference in there, too. Due to the stress of the plague-crisis he often simply doesn't care enough to get agitated.
Even though he is not really talkative he will speak his mind if he thinks he should. If asked for it, he will mostly say his opinion, even if the asking person doesn't really wants to know. Imagine a woman asks if a dress makes her look fat? You don't say yes, even if it does. Kyojin probably will. It had gotten him into trouble in the past and will do so in the future. His opinion is: If you don't want an answer, don't ask.
Well, all in all, this calm personality is who he is now. In the past, Kyojin had some major anger issues. Even as a child, young Brandt was known to have a violent temper, long before he got called Kyojin. As he grew up it became apparent that it wasn't only just a violent temper. There was a rage burning inside the young man, like a wild fire, threatening to destroy everything around. Sometimes it burst free, manifesting seemingly in a senseless hatred towards all living things.
Although it is contained through long training and Kyojin is a superficial different person now, this rage is still inside him, lingering beneath the surface.
Some major change he has undergone in the past few years is that he indeed has opened uo a little bit. It may not be visible on the outside, meaning to people who don't know him. But with the few he calls brothers and sisters in arms, friends or even more he is much more willing to share thoughts and feelings than he would have been just a few years back. In fact that he is willing to share anything at all is a major change in itself.
Due to his time as a human and also his long time in Rukongai, he values strength greatly. This leads, on the other side, to a certain disrespect towards weakness. By extension this, and the remainder of his former temper, leads to him having a certain disrespect for authority, if it comes from individuals or groups that appear rather weak. Getting told what to do is something he doesn't like too much. Still, hee won't be disobeying orders outright, but a lack of respect showing through has gotten him into trouble more than once. To really get his respect a superior has to be strong and/or honorable, since these are very important elements for him.
Although he normally doesn't speak about this kind of thing, Kyojin doesn't specifically dislike or hate any species because of what it is in general. He developes hate towards individuals, but not towards species. If he goes to hunt Hollows, for example, it's just because it is his job, not because he hates them. Would he meet a strong Arrancar he gets along with, for example, he could become even friends with him/her. But that doesn't make him a Hollow or Quincy sympathiser either. He simply doesn't care what species someone belongs to. This extends of course to other Divisions inside the Gotei.
Racial File
Inner Spirit and Inner World: When Kyojin visits his inner world it appears as clearing in a deep wood, that goes on forever. The sky is a beautiful nightsky, dotted with countles bright stars. A gentle breeze is rustling in the trees and the air smells like the woods smell right after a warm summer rain. It's like a definition for serenity.
Zanpakuto: The sealed Gekido takes the shape of an o Katana with a slightly less curved but longer blade (80cm / ca 31,5in). The sheath is lacquered black without any ornaments and has leather straps, so that it can be worn on the back. The hilt is also wrapped in simple black cloth and the oval tsuba is plain metal without any ornaments and looking a bit worn. The blade, however, is shining metal and in perfect shape.
Documented History
Origin: Born over a thousand years ago, Brandt was the son of a viking warrior called Herleif. Even as a child he was bigger and stronger than all the other kids his age. And he was wild. Sometimes it was well-nigh impossible to tame young Brandt and it was soon clear, that it wasn't just a violent temper, as his mother always claimed. But his father saw a fortune in the fire that burned in Brandt and wanted to use it to forge the boy to a weapon. So, at only 13 years, the boy started training to be a Berserkir, an elite warrior, that was said to be invincible. Of course this wasn't true but still, the Berkerskir were feared warriors and only the strongest and wildest men could become one.
Five years later Herleif took Brandt with him on a raid that took them as far as the eastern caspian sea. At this point Brandt was already a formidable warrior and his training enabled him to control a good deal of his temper. The journey lasted a whole year and was ultimately ill fated. When the Vikings went to a village that had been raided more than once over the last years they fell into a trap. Several hundret of the local populace had gathered. Although they suffered heavy casualties they defeated the Vikings, killed the older warriors were they stood and captured the young ones to sell them as slaves. So Brandt was captured and, a few years later, sold to a japanese merchant that took him back to Japan with him. At this point Brandt was weakened by malnutrition and barely able to walk on his own. The merchant himself had bought him out of curiosity for this bright haired giant, this "Kyojin" (the name that would become Brandt's new name in the following years). But the merchants daughter had pity with the giant and nursed him back to health. Her grandfather, the merchants father, recognized the fire of anger inside Brandt/Kyojin as Herleif before had and offered him help and spiritual guidance to further calm the raging current in his soul. For the first time someone just tried to help him. Until that the young man never had known something as a normal life. In the almost fifteen years Brandt, now only called Kyojin, spend with the merchants family, he almost became part of the family, although he was still a slave. There was even something like love that began to blossom between him and the merchants daughter. But this also went for a sudden and brutal end. As the merchant was rich he had a lot of enemies and people that were envious of his wealth. So Kyojin also worked as body guard when the merchant was travelling. Normally his looks alone were sufficient to drive anyone away but not this time.
It wasnt a great fight or even an one-on-one were Kyojin could fight and die with honor. Suddenly, out of some thickets, a hail of arrows came flying...and marked the end of Kyojins life. The last thing he saw were about fifteen men storming the carriage of the merchant. Then everything went dark.
When Kyojin awoke in the afterlife it was quite a shock for him. He didn't, as he expected, wake up in Valhalla or even Hel. There was no tree that encompassed the nine worlds, as he had learned when he was young. Instead the afterlife was a huge slum-like city, crawling with souls, and a great central district: The Rukongai and the Seireitei. It came as a shock. He felt terribly lost. The only girl he had ever fallen in love with was probably dead and somewhere here. So he went on a long journey. For years and years he went on and searched. But the sheer size of the Rukongai and the countless souls made it an impossible task and even centuries wouldn't be enough. Or maybe she wasn't dead? So then he would have wasted an eternity and shurely now he would be dead. But still...what was he doing here? Why was he here? He doesn't belong here... such and much darker were his thoughts. Almost all his achievements in controlling himself were lost and at some times he reverted into an almost animal-like state. Time had become a blur.
Then, unbeknown to Kyojin centuries had passed, he found a small farm in a region far out of the main districts. There a girl lived with her family and she almost looked like the merchant's daughter. The resemblance was so striking, that it actually got through to Kyojin. For some time he lived in a small wood near the farm but eventually he was spotted. Regret of so many missed chances flooded Kyojin and actually suppressed the fire inside a little and he begged the family to let him stay with them in exchange for work. They agreed and he put his muscles to use. For a short time there was something like happiness. But then one of the many gangs that roam the Rukongai, especially the outer districts, decided to attack. The thugs came in like they owned all of Rukongai. And at this time Kyojin first could hear a faint whisper. Incredibly faint, barely recognizable, but it provided something...some stanility and comfort. Kyojin fought and this time, as he wasn't ambushed, he won. He fought the thugs off with more power than even he would have imagined.
It was this fight when he realised that there was something more to him. From the family he had protected he learned of the Shinigami that lived in the Seireitei and that his powers probably would allow him to enter into their academy. So Kyojin once more travelled through the Rukongai, this time on his long journey back to the center.
After entering the Academy it showed that Kyojin, despite his enormous natural strength, was somewhat of a 'slow learner'. Not because he lacked the cognitive capassity, but more because he started from a lower base level than most. While being trained as warrior before his death, he was trained in the use of broadsword, axe and shield, for example. As a broadsword had only the name 'sword' in common with a Katana (more or less), he not only had to start from zero, but also had to unlearn some of his former training. But it also turned out that he remembered only parts of his life, due to the long time that had passed, so there were gaps to fill in his education, that was thin in any case. As said, he was trained as a warrior, normal schooling was of very little importance. And on top of all that came the issues with his temper that broke through all the time and gave him an incredibly hard time controlling his spiritual energy.
On his own request his time at the Academy was greatly increased, allowing him to take enough time to train. His fundamentals like his strength and durability as well als his will to never give up qualified him as valuable material, so his request was granted. And with hard work and focus he managed to become a very fine swordsman with the Katana und also became proficient without any weapons. His energy control, though, proved to be such a great issue, that he barely passed the exams in kido. But finally he graduated. Due to the fact that he still hadn't mastered his shikai or even properly communicating with his sword (it still looked like a standard Asauchi) he couldn't be asigned to any specialised squad. So he was assigned to the First Squad, being the only one that wasn't particularly specialised in anything. In his time there it took Kyojin an immense effort and lots of time to quiet the anger in him enough, so that, after well over one hundred years of service, he finally was able to really hear the voice. All this time there had been just a whisper, constantly growing louder and becoming really disturbing. But now, there was a voice. And a name.
Call to Action: Gekido was all the warmth he ever longed for, calming him from the very first touch. Had he formally only known his soul as a torn and burned piece of canvas, where someone else has painted his beliefs on, he now had to admit that he was wrong. The fire had raged so badly inside his soul that the rush of air was louder than Gekidos voice. And it just took so long for her to get through and show him, that she was there as a part of him and wanted for him to be well and happy. She was something like a mother, a friend and a partner and something totally different or nothing of the above. And she was a warrior, a valkyrie and a sage. It changed much and especially his perception of himself. She showed him what has slumbered within him, underneath all these issues: the heritage of a warrior. His anger wasn't a force that needed to be destroyed, but something that he could learn to conwuer, in time. And Gekido would be there to help him. Since then he really likes to visit Gekido in his inner world and talk to her.
Having his Shikai and being on a par with the other Shinigami, Kyojin finally could start to evolve. As his Zanpakuto provided him indirectly with stability, he had the chance to find out what would be the best course for him, what would suit him best. And soon it'd become clear that it wouldn't be the First Division. So over some time he tried out the Public Safety Office and even the Third Division (to try and address his issues with kido). But finally he had to admit to himself what he was, had ever been and would ever be: a warrior. So the logical choice was the Fifth Division. Having gained nothing even close to a reputation he begann with the lowest of the low duties (as in all the other Divisions he served in). Only that this time it was different, because he was different. He knew that he now wanted to grow, being able to use his powers directed and focused. After some years he got a chance to prove himself on a trip to the human world. And he did prove himself. He slayed a bunch of Hollows. Low level, allowedly, but he eliminated them fast, efficient and with demonstrative force. And also he proved to be now very patient with others and even Pluses that were confused and tricky to handle. At this moment, his window opened up. Now he had the attention, now he could prove his worth.