[Application] Ishimoto, Suzume

[Suzume Ishimoto]

Well, here goes nothing! Here's the concept for my character

A resident of the Rukongai, Suzume was just like so many other Rukon brats. With no memories of who she used to be, living destitute and off the streets. She was never the quickest, or the smartest, but when she got over her shyness and talked to people, she was good at one thing: making bonds. Unfortunately, Rukon residents were distrustful of everyone else, and just like many others, she had to steal to survive. It was during one of these incidents where her life would change. She stole, like so many times before, but this time was caught.

Suzume thought she might even die again, were that possible, if it weren't for two Soul Reapers intervening to save her mid-beating. A man and a woman, she didn't even get their names during her talk with them, and before she knew it, they were gone.

Those gallant figures saving her led Suzume to want to be a Soul Reaper herself, if only to meet them again one day. So she worked tirelessly, traveling through the districts and building up her strength over years. And when she eventually got to the Seireitei gates, she was turned away. Yet she kept coming back, day after day, persisting until by chance, she ran into one of the Soul Reapers that had initially saved her.

Years in the Academy followed, with her initial rescuers talking to her now and then. She even began to see them as pseudo parent figures. She might have been on track to become a normal Soul Reaper...were it not for the crisis suddenly hitting the world, and rocking the Soul Society, too. Suddenly, many of the recruits she had been studying with began to be instantly recruited and sent out to help, and she saw less and less of the two Soul Reapers that had initially saved her, until she stopped seeing them altogether. Now, she finds herself quickly recruited out of the Academy, too. Scared. Confused. And feeling all alone. Yet, wanting to survive the crisis, desperately hoping the worst has not happened to the two that had changed her life.

 

[Noboru Takayama]

Okay, so I have to ask: Do you want her to still be in the Academy, or what's the deal here?

 

[Suzume Ishimoto]

Plucked out of the Academy like many others, probably way before she's ready, to help with the whole 'Black Death' situation and chucked into a Division. Not really sure which at this point, but that's the basic idea. Sorry if that wasn't real clear!

 

[Noboru Takayama]

Feel free to throw some specifics around, when and if they come to you. Division is a great place to start, because, you know, coworkers.

Might not know them long, either.

As you've probably read, knowing what can help get your character

A. Involved with others
B. Involved in events that are likely above their head

will be a great help, too.

I can already see investigating what happened to those two Shinigami in her past. Simply to know what happened, yeah? Like finding an obituary, if anyone bothered to write one. If not, figuring out if they simply died on Earth or not. Just for the closure.

But there's probably more, feel free to share.

 

[Suzume Ishimoto]

Oh, definitely! There's plenty of ways for her to get involved, easiest is her easy attachment to others, once she gets over her shyness. I'd imagine during her time in the Academy she made plenty of friends, so them getting dragged into the conflict would be a good opportunity for her to get involved. Plus, she wants to be a powerful Shinigami, helping others like she was helped. So! Her thoughts and feelings about that could definitely change upon seeing the Seireitei being so willing to throw fresh recruits into a meat grinder.

Definitely want to have her investigate what happened to them. They could be simple NPCs, or if anyone else ever wants to create them, PCs. Either way would be fun for her, and provide plenty of ways for her to grow.

 

[Hildr Kawasaki]

I'm digging what you got here. Maybe her and Hildr could have been thrust from the Academy around the same time? My gal is probably the opposite of yours: outgoing and looking to help those around her (almost to a fault).

 

[Suzume Ishimoto]

Oh that’d definitely be fun! I dunno if Suzume would exactly fit the mold of the 11th but then again, Hildr doesn’t exactly fit the 11th either. It’d be interesting to have a timid girl like Suzume in a division like that!

As for the personality, I wouldn’t say they’re too different. Suzume is timid and shy, but definitely the type to help the few friends she manages to make.

 

[Junya Ryoji]

so your character goes through a bunch of traumatic experiences fighting these terrifying hollows on Earth but makes it out alive; or, somehow, the black death just ends and everything goes back to normal. what would your character be doing?

 

[Suzume Ishimoto]

Honestly? Difficult to say at this point when that is very far in the future, and there are many different paths she could take. Suzume hasn’t exactly had a lot of authority figures in her life, so it’d be pretty easy for any officer in the Gotei to string her along into following them. So depending on how that goes, her goals and outlook could change considerably.

Getting back to the original question though. If she doesn’t change too much from how she is now, after it’s over and assuming she survives, I imagine her dedicating herself to making sure an incident like this doesn’t happen again.

So...making sure those graduating are more prepared, getting more people into the Academy, and making sure the Gotei is more prepared for incidents like this.

One thing I forgot to mention is that she manifested her zanpakuto shortly before graduation, after having meditated countless nights with her spirit. Trying to find peace with what was happening to her fellow students. Don’t have too much in mind for the spirit just yet but thought it was worth mentioning. Suzume can speak and commune with her spirit, but can’t do much else (such as draw out its power).