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| Name: Lena Age: 23 Contact info: whorticultured @ gmail ; derkins @ plurk ; motorboated @ AIM Characters currently played at Sanctum, if any: N/A Name: Inoue Orihime Canon: BLEACH (manga) Canon point: ch. 449 Age: 17, aged up to 18 Appearance: here Background: Orihime was born to a drunkard father and a prostitute mother. She and her older brother Sora (her senior by fifteen years) were regularly abused by their parents, until Sora finally turned eighteen and ran away with Orihime to escape that life. For six years Sora had raised her. Their life was considerably better, though Orihime was constantly teased in school for her hair color. She was proud of her hair color, but the kids in school harassed her for it. They cut it out of contempt, and she was forced to cut the rest of it to even it out. She'd lied to her brother about it, not wanting to worry him. It was Sora to gift Orihime with the hairpins that would one day become the physical manifestation of her powers. However, Orihime initially refused to wear the pins, thinking them childish and fearing they'd draw more attention to the hair she's always being bullied about. However that same day, Sora passed away after being involved in a car accident. Since then, Orihime has never taken off those hairpins. A year later, Orihime was defended from some bullies by a girl her age named Arisawa Tatsuki. They've been best friends since then, and it is because of Tatsuki that Orihime has found the strength to take pride in her hair (and herself) again. She grows her hair out as a sign of her faith in her friend. Several years later, Orihime lives by herself in an apartment in Karakura Town. She attends high school with her friends (notably her crush Kurosaki Ichigo), and had been a relatively normal girl (as normal as an oddball like Orihime can get, anyway) up until that fateful night that a Hollow (which is actually the spirit of her brother) attacks her and Tatsuki. Ultimately Orihime is able to find closure with her brother, which enables him to regain enough control over himself to share a bittersweet farewell with her before he is then sent to Soul Society, finally at peace. It is because of this event and the overwhelming reiatsu that Ichigo consistently leaks that her spiritual awareness was awakened. It is ultimately her desire to protect her friends that awakens her powers, which manifests from her hairpins in the form of six spirits called the Shun Shun Rikka. Over time, her power and the control she has over them strengthen, and she is able to use her new powers to aid her friends in their bid to rescue the Shinigami Rukia from execution at Soul Society. Not too long after that, her powers become noticed by a new force that threatens the town. When two Arrancar arrive, one in particular (Ulquiorra Cifer) takes note of her abilities which will ultimately set up a major turning point for Orihime in the near future. Before that, though, Orihime is forced once more to realize her weakness and general uselessness in battle when she attempts to help Ichigo attack the other Arrancar, Yammy Llargo and he easily defeats her and her only offensive ability, Tsubaki. Her feelings of inadequacy are further encouraged when the reappearance of Rukia seems to have more of a positive effect on Ichigo than her own attempts to cheer him up have. Among the other Shinigami sent to the human world to help protect them against the Arrancar is the lieutenant Matsumoto Rangiku, who stays with Orihime during their time there. It's to Rangiku that Orihime confesses her jealousy to, but the older woman is quick to reassure and cheer up the girl. During this time Orihime struggles with her place in this fight, torn between her desire to help but her crippling low self-esteem that prevents her from doing as much as she's capable of. Ironically it is Rukia that reaffirms Orihime's resolve to train and become stronger. After Tsubaki is revived, she and Rukia train in Soul Society, greatly improving her powers. It's her powers that prompt Aizen to demand her capture. She chooses to say good-bye to Ichigo, whose unconscious form she heals and finally confesses her love to. She is ultimately forced to accompany Ulquiorra back to Hueco Mundo in order to protect her friends, and it's there that Aizen forces her to realize the true potential of her powers. He manipulates her and plays many games with her, but in the end she proves to be far stronger than even he had predicted. Though many tried their best to break her, Orihime's resolve and love for her friends keep her strong in the face of an otherwise hopeless situation. The strength and range of her compassion is easily displayed during this time, as she is seen to willingly heal and resurrect her captors and even those who blatantly antagonize her. Though she has advanced greatly in skill, she is still adverse to fighting and violence. She sympathizes easily, especially to Ulquiorra. It's with him that she is able to strengthen her faith in her friends and in herself, despite (or perhaps because of) his attempts to weaken her resolve. In his final moments before his “death,” she witnesses him finally realizing what it means to have a heart, and tearfully tries to reach out for him when he holds his hand out to her. Seventeen months later, the nakama have settled into a quasi-normal routine. While Ichigo struggles with coming to terms with his powerlessness, Ishida continues to battle Hollows in his stead, and Sado and Orihime, believing it will only be a matter of time before Ichigo regained his powers, train in secret in hopes of becoming strong enough to no longer have to hold Ichigo back. Post-Canon History: N/A Previous Game History: N/A Personality: On the surface, Orihime is your typical bubbly teenager. Hardly without a smile on her face, enthusiasm and positivity practically exude through her pores – which can admittedly be as annoying as it is infectious. Her sunny disposition stems from a genuine positive outlook on life and a tendency towards the more naïve side of the spectrum when it comes to viewing the world around her. She may appear clueless at times, and indeed there are some things that just fly right over Orihime's head – but it isn't ignorance so much as naiveté. It is her innocence and purity that are most notable in her characteristics, giving her a childlike quality that makes her seem both sincere and incredibly breakable. Other childlike qualities are her unfortunate lack of coordination and impressive imagination. She has the sense of balance of a toddler, often tripping over things (herself included) and walking into things when her attention happens to be directed towards something much more pressing. Oftentimes, her clumsiness piques when she is particularly nervous, most notably when she happens to be around a certain crush of hers. She can at least excel in the imagination and creativity department, evident in her hobbies like Handicrafts Club and inventing different sports that she and her friends can play. She'd even once predicted her “future self” as a vicious robot (complete with missile-launching breasts) for a simple school assignment. Though there are times that her over-active imagination can hinder or distract her from actually accomplishing anything productive, it is also that very imagination and ingenuity that has saved her life and the lives of her friends on more than one occasion. Despite being a bit flaky at times, her loyalty and love for her friends are unwavering. For Orihime, there is nothing more important than the safety and happiness of her friends. She has shown on more than one occasion that she is more than willing to sacrifice her own personal safety and happiness for the sake of her friends. Indeed, this self-sacrificial behavior seems to be her reflexive reaction in such situations. Rather than try to approach the problem and solve it in a way that might benefit (or at the very least, reprieve) all parties involved, Orihime tends to default to the only solution that puts herself at risk in one way or another. It's instinctive for her. She thinks less about the consequences when she is the only one to suffer with them, because her goal is to protect a loved one and so it is only that loved one's well being that becomes a priority. This behavior may stem from her insecurities and how she generally views herself. While not necessarily self-deprecating, Orihime doesn't exactly possess that much confidence in herself. From her physical features to her self-worth to her ability as a fighter, Orihime's opinions of herself are either less than favorable or average at best. While many would argue she's got the body of a Greek Goddess, Orihime is actually a little embarrassed by her “assets.” She's definitely got it, but she makes it a point not to flaunt it. She's never particularly considered herself very attractive or desirable, and the idea actually makes her more embarrassed than anything else. (Certainly, she's more than a little blind to all the attention thrown her way. For Orihime, it just doesn't make sense why anyone would notice her, so she just doesn't see it.) In the case of her skills, her time at Las Noches has definitely improved her perception of them. Though she still considers herself rather weak in terms of aggressive fighting (because, indeed, her empathy and compassion ultimately prevent her from becoming a true fighter at heart), Orihime is at least now more aware of her worth as a defensive position in battle. At the same time, though she has been literally told to possess the abilities that violates even the realms of Gods, it has hardly gone to her head. Indeed, she could very well be more powerful than even Aizen could have ever predicted, but it is her heart and her compassion that prevents her from being as ruthless as she needs to be to achieve this power. She is a lover, not a fighter, and prefers to avoid confrontations of any sort as much as she can. She forgives easily (unless a loved one's safety is on the line) and would prefer to spare as many lives as possible, even if they so happened to be the lives of her so-called enemies. Orihime is not without her contradictions. Despite her ditsy, naïve personality, Orihime constantly maintains one of the top marks in her class at school. She is clumsy and uncoordinated, but is shown to be quite skilled with her hands as an avid member of the Handicrafts Club. Since the timeskip, we see Orihime has matured as a combatant. While still the pacifist, her past experiences and training have definitely strengthened her mentally as well as physically/spiritually. She still readily throws herself into danger to protect another but she shows signs of critical and strategic planning rather than rushing into action. Granted, she is still a little rusty with this (evidenced by her hasty use of Santen Kesshun with Tsukishima), but she now seems to possess more confidence in herself and her abilities. This confidence comes from her desire to keep up with and protect Ichigo, to whom she confesses that she and Sado had believed all along that he would one day regain his powers. She tells him it's their wish to no longer be a burden to him, and so they'd been training all this time to be stronger, for him. Sexuality: Fairly romantic in nature, Orihime’s views on lust and love are rather linear. Both exist, sometimes simultaneously, but she knows that isn’t necessarily the case. To her, the perfect situation would be a healthy balance of both. Love is something magical that can move mountains and bring down the moon; lust is that never-ending desire to please and be pleased. Orihime has always been prone to daydreams of the romantic nature; her view of Ichigo is very nearly hero-worship in nature, with the added layer of depth of intuition. Lately she has taken to fantasies that are more mature, imagining the boy greeting her with sultry smiles, sexy suits, and suggestive comments in what would be an otherwise innocent situation. Love and lust, then, go hand-in-hand. Despite this understanding, however, she is still very much a fluttery little schoolgirl when it comes to such topics. She has a penchant to overreact in situations, and matters dealing with love and lust are no exceptions. She gets nervous, embarrassed, and react in ways that would more than likely kill the mood and diffuse the tension than actually helping it progress. She is still young, still naïve, still inexperienced to the point of most romantic passes made towards her completely going over her head. This hardly means she is unwilling, though. If anything, she craves it. While it might not be her priority in life (being stronger, being worth the protection and love of her friends are), she still dreams of experiencing that love, that romance, and as soon as she’s given just a slice of it… she’ll likely grow addicted to the taste. Skills and Powers: Like her friends, Orihime possesses a spiritual ability that she is able to tap into, usually during battle. Her abilities manifest themselves into six spirits that reside in her hairpins called the Shun Shun Rikka. Their names are Ayame, Baigon, Hinagiku, Lily, Shun'o, and Tsubaki. Each have their own particular personality and power, though the strength of their powers is directly proportionate to Orihime's abilities and values. With them, she is enabled with four techniques, all with the core ability to “repel” shields. ✽ Santen Kesshun is her defensive technique. Hinagiku, Lily, and Baigon form a triangle that raises a shield that repels the “outer shield,” which is generally in the form of offensive attacks sent her way. She can raise this shield to protect anyone she chooses, and has been able to advance this ability enough to encompass more than one person. This technique essentially repels negative, outside events from causing any harm to whomever the shield is covering. Essentially, this technique rejects the “future.” ✽ Soten Kisshun is her healing ability. Ayame and Shun'o form an oval barrier over whomever or whatever Orihime wishes. Their ability repels the “inner shield,” which basically means they are able to reject any damage done within the person or object. She can even resurrect the dead, or restore things to their past form. This ability allows Orihime to reject any particular event or damage that has been done to the person or object to restore them to a former state, no matter what has happened. In a way, this ability rejects the “past.” ✽ Koten Zanshun is a direct offensive attack, in which Tsubaki cuts through the enemy, eradicates a shield inside that repels both the outer and inner shield, and essentially splits the enemy in two. He rejects the “present.” Because Orihime is adverse to fighting and violence, Tsubaki isn't nearly as strong as he could be. ✽ Shiten Kesshun is her new counter-attack. By integrating Tsubaki into the center of her Santen Kesshun, she is then equipped with a shield that will counter at the very instant it receives an attack. Spiritual power is concentrated into a formidable explosion that follows along the same trajectory as any attack directed at the shield. Orihime also possesses a strong spiritual awareness. This means she can sense things possessing spiritual energy, such as Reiatsu, even through barriers. Similarly, she can withstand being in the presence of strong spiritual power without feeling overwhelmed and can even withstand minor physical attacks from strong spiritual opponents. She has the fighting skill of a black belt though she tries to avoid fighting when she can. Orihime is also quite adept and can pick up some skills fairly quickly, such as spiritual energy control. Orihime can also resist some memory altering techniques, possibly a latent or mutant ability from her Soten Kisshun. She's also quite talented with handicrafts and sewing. And, despite her flighty and almost ditsy behavior, Orihime is actually quite competent and intelligent. She is constantly at the top of her class as far as academics go, and she's managed to live by herself and be self-sufficient for more than a decade now. Items: Orihime will come in possessing her hairclips or Shun Shun Rikka, a small purse containing a few random items such as her wallet, hair comb, a flashlight, a half-eaten candybar, a little notebook for all those Just In Case moments, and a handkerchief. Action: [ The screen is black, but there is the sound of muffled rustling and the unmistakable noise of a camera being tampered with… too enthusiastically. ] --hello? Hello? Is this the off or on button? Isn't this supposed to-- [ A pause, and then the screen flickers on. The picture is fuzzy at first, a close up of a large, amber-colored eye until it blinks, and the owner draws the PCD back enough that the image sharpens. Orihime beams as it clears, clearly quite proud of herself. She waves with her free hand. ] Ah, hello! My name is Orihime and I've just arrived. It's nice to meet you all! —Except, well, I haven't really met you all yet, ahah, it's just an expression… —Not to say it isn't nice to meet you, or that it won't be nice to meet you, I'm sure it will be, I'm sure you're all very nice and welcoming and— ah… [ Cheeks red now, Orihime attempts to get a hold of herself enough to start over. She takes in a deep breath, directing another smile towards the camera. She shifts her hold on it— ] Hi. My name is Orihi— [ Transmission cuts off suddenly. So that's where the off button is… ] Third Person Prose: As far as being kidnapped went, this time was definitely better than her last. Though it wasn’t entirely fair to call this a kidnapping, was it? (Nor was it all that fair to compare it to a previous one that she’d gone into willingly… albeit with her arm twisted behind her back. But—) No, this wasn’t much of a kidnapping at all. It wasn’t anyone else’s fault any more than it was hers, and she can confidently say that this time this was definitely not her fault. It was… unfortunate. Yes – that’s it. An unfortunate happening, because it was also a little unfair to call it an accident. She liked to believe that things happened for a reason, even things like this, that didn’t seem to make much sense at the moment, but she’s certain in retrospect it will. Call it naïve, call it optimistic, but she’d rather turn to a belief that would help her get through the day rather than spend it in misery. Besides, it really wasn’t that bad. She wasn’t alone here, at least. There were people just like her, and people not at all like her, all jumbled together in this fantastic stew of uncertainty and hope and fear and understanding that could maybe use a few more pinches of ginger, but still left you feeling warm and satisfied at the end of the day. She’ll be okay. They all will. Somehow, someway, things always work out for the better, even if it didn’t seem like it sometimes… especially if it didn’t seem like it sometimes. She’ll keep trying, and she’ll make sure to make sure the rest of them keep trying too, even if none of them are really very sure just what it was they’re trying for, that was okay, because it was still something, wasn’t it? She was sure, one day, this would all make sense. In the Rift sample: Her first kiss happened not like she expected it to. When he leaned in to kiss her, she had to stop a moment and wonder what his name was. He didn’t look familiar, but she cared for him somehow, and when he leaned in she could smell that familiar mix of musk and soap and fresh rain. They were in a hotel, hidden in the hallway corner just between the ballroom and the bathroom, with the songs from the prom muffled but drifting lazily towards them. Her back was to a wall, and he shielded her from any prying eyes, though her dress didn’t exactly make them any less conspicuous. He said something, thanking her for the great night, how happy he was that she’d said yes to him in the first place. This was his first prom in this new school, and she knew that, somehow, having set her sights on him the moment he transferred in from another state. She could count the freckles along the bridge of his nose as he drew closer and closer, and she could smell him still, with just a hint of spearmint and the gravy from the roast beef they’d eaten earlier that evening, and still she had to wonder what his name was. When he kissed her, it was soft and tentative and clumsy. He was nervous too. But it wasn’t really her he was kissing, was it? It was someone else, a girl he really liked, who really liked him back, but there she was anyway, watching it, experiencing it like she had every right to. If she could have, she would have turned away, but no, she – whoever she was – wanted this just as bad, and soon enough that clumsy, tentative kiss turned into something straight out of the movies. When she blinked, and found herself back in the Rift, she was still a little breathless. Plans: For every game that I bring Orihime into, I look forward to how her interactions and relationships with people might change her. Her experiences tend to depend on the friendships and connections she makes, so I am really interested to see how this new panfandom will work for her. However, I am most excited to explore her love and her sexuality. As idealistic and romantic as she is, I am excited to see how she will handle the game’s open attitude about such matters, and am looking forward to exploring her developing emotions. Whether or not the presence of her current love is there, I believe Orihime will have a lot to learn in terms of herself and her capability of love. I would like her to gain a little more confidence in herself and grow comfortable enough to explore different things with different people, while still remaining true to her values and ideals. |
