Ganju Shiba

PLAYER INFORMATION
➤ NAME: Faetan
➤ AGE: 35
➤ JOURNAL: Don't have one! 'faetan' at Livejournal.
➤ CURRENTLY PLAYED: Orihime Inoue

CHARACTER INFORMATION
➤ CHARACTER NAME: Ganju Shiba
➤ SERIES: Bleach
➤ CHARACTER AGE: No idea. He's younger than Rukia, but definitely an adult man. Probably a few decades old.
➤ REFERENCE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ganju_Shiba#Ganju_Shiba
➤ CANON POINT: Post Aizen, pre Xcutioner Saga.
➤ SEXUALITY: Straight. He shows no interest in men (except for punching them), but he does refer to Orihime as 'that chestnut-haired cutie' so he probably prefers women.
➤ PERSONALITY: The first impression one usually garners from looking at Ganju Shiba is usually 'dumb beefy punk.' His eyes are beady, his body is huge, and his stance is usually aggressive in the way he stands with his feet apart and fists clenched. But nothing could be further from the truth.

Despite the massive build of his body, Ganju is incredibly shrewd and intelligent. He's had to be. Ganju never underwent shinigami training, and in order to stand toe to toe against them should they ever come to blows, he would need to rely on brains far more than brawn. He has a tactical mind, and he's very patient, going through great pains and care to establish an effective trap against an adversary. On top of that, he was raised by his big sister Kuukaku, and the Shibas are well known for their fireworks and unorthodox gunpowder-based artillery. He's designed several bombs himself, and though his artistic side might be lacking, there can be little doubt as to his ingenuity when it comes to straight up warfare.

He's also ridiculously tenacious. He can take several blows and still get up, demanding more and laughing it off while bleeding all over the place. Ganju doesn't give up easily, though he's smart enough to know when it's best to run instead of holding his ground. He might be brave, but he's no idiot, and he wouldn't throw away his life for the sake of pride.

He would, however, sacrifice himself for a friend or a promise. Despite the intense grudge he'd harbored against Rukia Kuchiki for the death of his brother, in the end he chose to uphold the promise he'd made to Ichigo and tried to protect her, inspired by Yamatarou's own courage when the little shinigami went out to face Byakuya Kuchiki alone. Ganju nearly died trying to divert Byakuya's attention to himself, and he did so without hesitation. He's loyal to his family and friends and refuses to let them down.

This isn't to say that Ganju doesn't have his weaknesses. He has a short fuse, easily ignited by stubborn and rude people. He's loud, and prone to posturing at times when he thinks he can get away with it, and can be more than stubborn himself. He adamantly refuses to be pushed around by anyone (with the exception of his big sister, of course, and possibly Yoruichi who is an old family friend).

Ganju can be surprisingly pleasant and respectful, on the flip side. He shows deference to his sister Kuukaku, and is all sunshine and smiles when she introduces him to Ichigo's group...until he realizes that Ichigo is among them, anyway. He holds a lot of respect toward people who are brave and kind, and he'd stake his life to protect someone he believes is deserving of protection. He can even be downright friendly, and he gets along well with his little gang.

He fully acknowledges that he's not an attractive dude, so calling him ugly won't prompt him into a flustered fit of denial. He's not bothered by his appearance, and doesn't care what other people think about it. Despite his looks, Ganju is charismatic and a natural leader. He's got plenty of confidence in his abilities, and he won't allow anyone to look down on him...unless it gives him a tactical advantage, of course.

But beneath that brusque and loud exterior, Ganju's just a big creampuff. He can be sweet and caring, and if he met the right girl, he would be completely devoted to her happiness. After all, she'd have to be someone pretty special to look past the big dumb mook exterior to realize all the potential he has inside.

➤ POWERS: Ganju seems particularly adept at kidou (the demon arts), and can cast long and intricate incantations under duress...so long as he isn't interrupted, anyway. Though he's not captain level with his skills, he's still very adept at using kidou in combat. He also has a unique ability to channel his energy into earth magic. He can turn stone and hard ground into soft sand, enabling him to create holes in the wall and pretty deep chasms in the ground as a means of tripping up or escaping his enemies. He's also knowledgeable about creating advanced fireworks and explosives.
➤ SUITABILITY: Ganju doesn't have any particular hang-ups over sex. He's probably never had a girlfriend serious enough to sleep with, though, given that he's pretty ugly and the Shiba family tends to be nomadic in nature. But he sure would like to change that!
➤ FIRST PERSON EXAMPLE: So I figger mebbe I'll give this White Day thing a shot, y'know? Ain't never done it before (ain't never had reason to) but euuuuugh...roomie's one'a those chipper optimistic types. You can do it, Shiba-kun! Give it your best, Shiba-kun! Making chocolate's easy, Shiba-kun!

Now don't get me wrong, I 'preciate the support. I do. But there are just some things a man ain't meant to do, an' fer me, cookin's one of 'em. 'Specially cookin' chocolate. I dunno if we'll ever get that smell outta the kitchen, an'...yeah, gotta move the house again. Never thought it'd be MY fault. Neither did Big Sis, apparently. She let me have it.

So if'n ya get all worried 'bout the puffed eye, bandages, bruises, blah blah blah...don't be. Jus' sis's way of showin' me she cares. By not killin' me.
➤ THIRD PERSON EXAMPLE: Ganju stuffed another takoyaki ball in his mouth, chewing as if he'd sworn violent retribution against the thing. Gotta stay focused. Gotta keep it together. Gotta not let his eyes wander at the sight of all these amazingly pretty girls wandering around the party in skimpy silks and laces that hugged and enhanced their curves in all the right places. It was working up an appetite that had nothing to do with food, and he felt like a dirty pervert.

He was pretty sure most of them were uncomfortable at being made to wear lingerie. Hell, he wasn't exactly thrilled to find himself in a loincloth. Maybe if he was one of those golden-skinned svelte kind of guys, he'd be able to pull it off. But he looked more like a gorilla. A really embarrassed, red-faced gorilla, and he hoped to hell that the loincloth wouldn't let anything 'prominent' start to show.

So he tried not to look. Tried. Sometimes he couldn't help himself, especially when that rare woman appeared and strutted as if she were completely at home in her pretty little corset. And seeing Yoruichi that way, man... He wasn't going to be able to rid himself of that image any time soon. He had to remind himself again and again that she was a friend of the family, and usually, a cat. Wouldn't be respectable to fantasize any other way about how it would feel to touch that smooth, dusky skin, or how he'd probably be incinerated on the spot by the intense fire of her gold gaze.

Just gonna cram more appetizers in his mouth and wait for the roof to fall on him, yup.

[Private to Kuukaku]

This Kurotsuchi guy is kind of a scary genius. Not the most charismatic fellow, but...hell, he knows what he's doing. Need to talk to you 'bout which explosive models we can disclose to him. He's got a good point, s'a good way to fight back while the zanpakutou are incapacitated, 'specially for those who ain't so good with kidou. Can ya get into Seireitei? Can't leave while I'm intern'ing. Or we can talk here, s'all the same to me.

Don't think Bonnie-chan much cares for this summer heat. She's been real cranky these days. Maybe 'cause she can't sweat? Or is that just pigs?

Whatever. Where's that waterfall people are always meditatin' under?

FOR THE LAST TIME! BONNIE-CHAN WILL NOT GIVE YOU SWINE FLU!

I dun think that stuff even affects shinigami, but my classmates are still freakin' out. She's a very clean boar, and she gets baths every Saturday so she smells like roses. What more do ya want?

[Filtered to everyone in Soul Society + Friends - Kuukaku = March 14th, 2009 * Backdated]

So I figger mebbe I'll give this White Day thing a shot, y'know? Ain't never done it before (ain't never had reason to) but euuuuugh...roomie's one'a those chipper optimistic types. You can do it, Shiba-kun! Give it your best, Shiba-kun! Making chocolate's easy, Shiba-kun!

Now don't get me wrong, I 'preciate the support. I do. But there are just some things a man ain't meant to do, an' fer me, cookin's one of 'em. 'Specially cookin' chocolate. I dunno if we'll ever get that smell outta the kitchen, an'...yeah, gotta move the house again. Never thought it'd be MY fault. Neither did Big Sis, apparently. She let me have it.

So if'n ya get all worried 'bout the puffed eye, bandages, bruises, blah blah blah...don't be. Jus' sis's way of showin' me she cares. By not killin' me.

Got another scary letter from sis. 'Least I know she cares.

...Better write her back after I finish this assignment 'fore she kicks in my door an' asks why I haven't responded yet. It wouldn't be the first time it happened, either.

So they finally issued me one'a these things, huh? Sis has one too. Hope this means I don't gotta play messenger boy no more, my ass is killin' me. 'Bout damn time, too! What the hell's goin' on out there? Everyone's all riled up and close-mouthed, not the most comforting combination if ya ask me.

Man. I got five more years'a this crap. Ain't there some sort of accelerated learnin' program we can take? I'm already acin' all the kidou classes.