The Vessels of my Written Mediocrity

[Tasuke]

Name - Atsukawa "The Remaining" Hisame

Name Meaning - Frozen Rain

Species - Human

Gender - Female

Birthdate - March 4th, 1822

Age - 195 years

Nationality - Japanese

Height - 5'6''

Weight - 116 lbs

Dexterity - Ambidextrous

Occupation - Drifter

Accouterment - Katana

Weapon Name - Juudai-na-Shi; Fateful Death

Training - None

History

Death's Chosen

Hisame enjoyed a rather pleasant upbringing with her brother and parents; her father a respected samurai and her mother a simple woman who practiced the arts of cooking, sewing, floral decoration and music. While close to her brother, most of his time was spent learning swordsmanship behest their father. Although she had a fascination with the sword, insomuch to privately mimic the motions she saw while her brother practiced, the interest was always fleeting. After being scolded by her father, she gave it up completely. Instead she practiced the skills gleaned from her mother.

She became renown in her village and the surrounding towns for her beautiful floral arrangements and skill with the koto and flute, even asked to join a traveling company as a musician; her heart remained at home, and she remained there as a respected and helpful member of the village. Her attention remained fixed to her family and their honor, as well as refinement of creative skills.

This changed when her brother died of illness; in his angered agony over loss of his only heir, Hisame's father turned to drinking as an outlet, shutting out his family from his thoughts and feelings. One night, amid heavy drinking, an altercation with a stranger resulted in a duel; the duel resulted in his death. Hisame's uncle was left to fill the void in her life, but their father's shame remained a stain upon their names in the behind-the-back talk of locals.

The next turn happened when she met a man while selling flowers. A kind, affectionate and gentle soul, the two become close; the next spring, he asked her to marry and she instantly accepted. But the newlyweds met ill fortune when their village is ransacked by marauders. Hisame's uncle and husband are killed before her eyes, along with most of the other men and all the woman that resisted.

As for Hisame and her mother, they are passed along the bandits for several days, raped as deemed fit. In time, she learns of her mother's murder, and with it, whatever hope to see the nightmare's end perished as well.

At nightfall, she woos the guard off of one of the bandits, stealing his wakizashi and slitting his throat before making an escape. Hisame ventures to the surrounding woods and enters the village graveyard; famished, exhausted and dehydrated, her strength gives out before her father's tombstone. She weeps to heaven in lamentation and curses to her father for being a fool that could not protect his family. Desire to live gone, she places the blade to her throat and resolves to slash it open.

It's then that a whisper enters her ears, seemingly from nowhere. It asks her questions of her feelings and desires; her only answers involved vengeance. So they offered power to take revenge at the cost of her life; having already chosen death, she acquiesces. Her gift is a repugnant katana branded the Fateful Death. She's informed that she need but focus her soul into the sword and it will do the rest.

So she ventures back to the village, far from fearful while she does as suggested and creates a midnight nightmare made real. The fools that throw throw themselves at her find her seemingly unaffected, even aroused by the gashes and blood their edges spill from her generous flesh. Them that chase candelight in search of sanctuary find it breathed out and the darkness of a blackened moon their ally; those that run are stalked through the streets, corridors and bedrooms until everyone in the village, even the victims of the raid, are massacred.

Her pain recompensed, she stands in the square of the village to behold what she had both wittingly and unwillingly wrought: an ocean of blood, brutalized bodies and child death. Hisame returns steel to her throat and slices it open; laying silent as she bled to death, she is left astonished at how long it took. Then the laughter of the whisperer enters her mind to remind her of her vow: her life was theirs and the death she sought would not come as simply as she desired. Instead, they told her of the many evil people who were doing the same thing as what happened to her family and loved ones, and that she was fully capable of destroying them.

Therefore she ventured in search of wicked people worthy of her steel by day; unbeknownst to her, by night her body wanders in control of her devilish counterpart, murdering whoever unfortunate enough to cross paths.

Eventually aware of the devil that puppets her at its whim, she now she seeks death most of all, that she may be free of her vexation and reunite with her family at last.

Abilities

Death's Chosen (Passive) - Hisame is bound to the death spirit of her sword. This spirit prevents her from dying by means which do not annihilate her body and heals incurred infliction; the time taken to heal depends upon severity of the injury. It bestows eternal youth and keeps her alive in the event of critical blood loss or incapacitating; reaching these states will result in the spirit possessing her body but it may also assume control at whim.

Bloodthirsting Blade (Passive) - Hisame's sword thirsts for human blood; if it cuts the flesh of another, the wound will become infected. This infection releases endorphins and adrenaline to numb pain and increase blood flow; it causes platelet death at the wound resulting in an inability to close via scabbing and thus creates perpetual bleeding.

The Sacrifice of Blood (Passive) - The Fateful Death may produce spirit-based miracles when it drinks human blood, including Hisame's; use of this blood will drain and parch the blade. The sword may also call blood from nearby open sources such as wounds for a distance of up to 15 feet. Blood created from the miracles is spirit energy made manifest and hence unable to be drank by the Fateful Death.

The Kingdom to Come - Hisame may pull other beings into the realm of spirits. This is by a fashioned event which acts as a trigger to bring the would-be victim over to the other side by fueling their belief in it. This can be done in many ways; for example, if one finds an artifact she has left behind, it may result in some paranormal activity. If the person accepts it as real, the pull the spirit world has over the individual will strengthen; so as more triggers are accepted and their mind is further enticed, the deeper they delve into the spirit realm. Comparable to Silent Hill, it can become very difficult to escape once a level of belief has been passed and the line between realms crossed. What character and environment the world will have is subject to variation given specific triggers.

In this realm spirit energy is abundant and very little of her spirit energy is needed to satisfy the cost of spirit-based attacks which do not require blood (such as a force slash or barrier of will). Therefore if the one(s) she brings with her are adept in use of spirit energy their abilities will also have significantly reduced cost. All blood cost for the Fateful Death are reduced by two-thirds.

The Revelation - Hisame becomes possessed by the spirit of the Fateful Death whether by its want or necessity. She is able to modify her voice tone and volume, control sources of open flame or light, utilize telekinesis, levitation, flight, make herself invisible to the natural eye and manifest copies of herself or other spectral forms.

Her spirit energy becomes dangerous to the living with effects developing quickly. Inhalation results in severe inflammation of the throat to the point of suffocation and the lungs quickly fail due to tissue death. Contact with the skin results in aggressive necrosis and contact with eyes causes rot unto blindness. Contact with Hisame's own flesh, such as with a hand to an arm, results in immediate tissue and muscle death.

This is the expected form to be fighting from the start should the battle take place at night.

[Tasuke]

~|~ The One and Only Buxom Barkeep Brawler of the 7th Heaven~|~



The Bare Essentials

Name: Tifa Lockhart

Species: Human

Gender: Female

Age: 23

Height: 5'5''

Weight: 115 lbs

Occupation: Barkeep

Abilities

Although human Tifa has impressive strength, speed and endurance; she is able to use spirit energy to increase the power of her attacks. These may be chained together within any reasonable order.

Below is a list of her known spirit-amplified techniques (Limit Breaks) and following those are things unique to this imagining of the Final Fantasy VII heroine.

Beat Rush

A three-hit punch combo with each strike containing a measure of spirit energy; this results in the blows being much stronger than normal punches and capable of shattering stone or cratering metal.

Somersault

Concentrating spirit energy into her legs allows Tifa to jump well above average distances and heights.

Waterkick

A kick containing aquatic properties; being struck by its boiling splash results in severe burns to flesh.

Meteodrive

This brainbuster suplex gains increased power by focusing strength into the upper body; the result is a landing with increased force.

Dolphin Blow

An uppercut which releases spirit in the form of a dolphin; it creates a physical shockwave when the dolphin interacts with objects.

Final Heaven

Tifa focuses energy into her fist to charge a superpunch; how the strong the punch is depends upon energy gathered.

Premium Heart

Tifa shapes her spirit energy into gloves to don her most powerful weapons.

The Premium Heart passively sip Tifa's spirit energy to increase the power of her next punches over time; the longer it's been since her fists have hit something, the greater the energy released when they do. The gloves retain one fifth of the energy and give Tifa's punches a paralyzing property.

Tifa's Final Heaven gains double the destructive power for its respective cost.

If the Premium Heart connects with the target's heart they will become Heartbroken; this status lasts for seven of the opponent's turns. From the time of impact they will suffer pain in their heart which will increase in severity with each of their passing turns. At turn seven they it will trigger a heart attack.

Childhood Bond

When Tifa faces insurmountable circumstances and feels like giving up, inspiration comes to her via her childhood friend. This is not so much intervention as it is motivation because interaction takes place only in her mind. After pepping herself up, Tifa swells with spirit, gaining otherwise impossible endurance and will to continue.

For a brief time she will feel no pain and carry on through most injuries save for a dismemberment or something she cannot break through.

Afterwards Tifa will succumb to exhaustion and require time to recover if she hasn't passed out.

Materia

Barrier

The Barrier materia allows Tifa to create makeshift protections from physical or magical attacks. Each cast of the spell may absorb one attack; use of the Reflect Spell will cause a magical threat to be absorbed and bounced back in the direction of the caster.

TIme

Tifa gains ability to move her body faster than normal via Haste; her motions become blurs and she may move many yards in moments.

Slow decreases the flow of movement in a target area and Stop will grind it to a halt.

Added Effect - Lightning

Tifa summons the fury of electricity to enact her will; Added Effect bestows Tifa with a passive defense against electrical attacks and charges her physical strikes with a measure of Lightning's power. The result are kicks and punches that electrify and stun.

Phoenix

The summoning of the legendary firebird releases a wave of incinerating flame from Tifa upon cast; her life force and stamina are replenished and any injuries or maladies she's suffered prior will be cured. The Phoenix assists Tifa and resurrects itself upon vanquishing.

This materia will self-activate when Tifa is put in a fatal situation. In this instance Tifa receives the mentioned healing but also gains the power of flight and her techniques achieve a fire element. Phoenix similarly assists Tifa and resurrects upon death.

This materia can only activate once in any respective match. Therefore if Phoenix is summoned normally and is somehow removed from the battle then it will not arise to save Tifa from death.

History

Already well-known...

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[Tasuke]

Physical Characteristics

Name: Yamazaki Shiori

Species: Human

Gender: Female

Nationality: Japanese

Birth Date: May 5th, 1819

Age: 28

Height: 5’7’’

Weight: 120 lbs

Eye Color: Dark Brown

Hair Color: Auburn

History

Early life was unkind to Shiori and her younger sister, Miaka. A violence-ridden Japan was no stranger to creating orphans and these two were no exceptions to the tragedy; having lost their parents to bandits at age five and four, respectively, they made due thru thievery, cons and taking up residence in farmhouses or otherwise abandoned property.

This changed when they met their last mark for dishonest deeds, a woman named Kiyomi; wiser than the rest, she saw thru their ploy but did not turn them in. Instead she offered more worthwhile results and a future among her family of fellow orphans. Unbeknownst to them Kiyomi had fostered many children and fashioned them into arguably better individuals.

So the pair was taken in and taught the ways of honor, appropriate speech, writing, the arts and all other things befitting self-reliant people; that is, save for the clandestine operations beneath the roof.

In truth the orphanage is means to satisfy her obsession for sons and daughters as well as cover for Kiyomi to facilitate her family's organization of professional killers; however their duty was not to take trivial bounties but locate and eradicate the truly despicable from the earth, those worthy of death no other would touch. The two girls quickly embraced this new life and mission but of all members none took the pledge more seriously than Shiori.

Forsaking the simpler fancies, Shiori buried herself in martial arts, meditation and spiritual training; from eight years old she spent the next two decades practicing the sword as her religion, fully dedicated to her duty and ability to protect her family from any threat.

So obsessed was she that no amount of unfavorable weather would disturb her daily rituals and while sword training in a rainstorm she was struck by lightning; ridden by guilt at this near fatal oversight, Kiyomi spared no expense in fashioning various electricity-proof accouterments for all her children.

Nevertheless Shiori didn't miss a beat and the brush with death only steeled her determination. The result is a mind, spirit and sword so strong to award the cherished moniker bestowed by her beloved mother: Chikara -- To demonstrate strength.

To this day she continues to pursue increasing altitudes of self-created strength and acts as Kiyomi's personal bodyguard.

Accouterments

Bokken

A simple instrument made of hard wood for the purpose of training in Japanese swordsmanship; it bears no special traits.

Katana

The iconic weapon of the Japanese warrior; although forged and fashioned thru masterful craftsmanship it also harbors nothing noteworthy.

Shigi-no-Hikari

A gorgeous katana crafted from Shiori's very spirit, The Light of Justice is capable of creating, controlling and manipulating properties of photons within a wide area. Its blade may transform her spirit energy into light and absorb existing photons to empower itself; the light’s properties are identical to the sun. Thus she may create luminous works such as solar flares, flashes and waves of UV heat from the blade or ambient spirit energy.

Shiori may manifest the weapon at will and is impervious to its effects; as a superconductor of spirit energy it amplifies what is put into it to yield exponential results.

Electite Necklace

A keepsake bestowed by her foster mother; it possesses a magical mineral which produces a field around the wearer for 10 feet that attracts and absorbs incoming electrical energy.

Shiori’s clothing is ordinary save for flame-retardant fabric.

Abilities

Body and Mind

A religion of sword training has bestowed Shiori with a physique leagues above an average female; she possesses a high threshold to pain and only the most exerting of tasks may exhaust her.

Due to her shatterproof focus and grounding on logical probability Shiori is difficult to deceive by means of illusion or other trickery; always questioning motives and how to remain at the upper hand within or without combat. She is able to delete thought from the equation and allow her body to move by instinct and muscle memory.

Shiori is able to feel and see the spirit energy of others if released or broadcast; an extreme sensitivity allows inference of the spirit’s power output, character and mood and she may extend her vision and grasp of the surrounding area via meditation.

Sword and Soul

Shiori holds a mastery of spirit energy, the energy of the soul.

The energy flourishes from her body outwardly and its properties are under her complete control; invisible to the natural senses it is otherwise perceptible by its wind, pressure and heat. She may project it through her voice in sonic blastwaves, as a physical barrier to brunt impact and to pour it into the ground will cause it to tremor, become superheated and crack; intensity of effects increase proportionally to amount generated and its intensity.

In exchange for a proportional amount of stamina she may draw from a large pool of spirit energy. Shiori’s training and experience permits much to be gathered and used within a short period; only in extreme exertion of spirit will she be winded or exhausted. She may use it to heal injury, dismemberment if the limb is still available and cure diseases as well as destroy other bodily invaders.

Shiori may use her sword as a conduit to store spirit energy for later use, increase its durability and amplify its cutting edge; how it is released will be proportional the amount unleashed and the reaction she has in mind. For example a straightened blade may release in a concentrated beam or ray of superheated energy or it may peel off in an arc from a sword stroke. Any ambient energy will eventually evaporate but meanwhile may be used at whim using focused thought.

Limit Breaker

Shiori’s drive for improvement disallows contentment with her current strength and motivates her cleavage of all obstacles to transcendence; the sheer will to refuse defeat against a stronger adversary or crush someone threatening those important is prone to result in a shatter of her current spiritual energy and physical limits. Hence she unlocks a gargantuan reservoir of new physical and spiritual prowess.

Once the energy is exhausted Shiori’s body must recover for an appropriate amount of time; she is unable to use spirit energy or take any strenuous physical actions until she gains a second wind of stamina. Although able to break her limits again the strain allows only a brief window of energy use and the resulting exhaustion will be doubled.

While Shiori may develop new techniques or swords as a result of a broken limit it is only thru training that may she truly understand and harness the strength at will.

Non-Player Characters

Shiori is often in the company of one or more combat-ready allies intended to be treated as entirely separate characters carrying their own kits.

These will be added at a later date.