Dead Characters

Name: Ishimura Jurobei

Age (appears, actual): early 70's, thousands of years old
Height: 5’8
Weight: 195lb

Appearance: Jurobei carries himself moderately well for an old man, but his eyes usually look a bit out of focus, slightly wider than normal; they are the eyes of a dreamer who thinks deeply about reality. He wears his Shinigami uniform mainly for ceremony, opting out when interacting on informal terms.

general physical appearance:

Personality (surface): Jurobei is a modest, patient individual, but also very troubled. He doom proselytizes that an looming danger will befall Soul Society, and that Soul Society must make itself become more vigilant if it will remain strong as an empire. However, he also offers his unconditional support during these 'troubled times' and imparts on people his humble blessings. People often dismiss him as senile and don't take his words very seriously. He enjoys a debate more than anyone else, however, and will allow others to talk at length about their ideas for the future.

(Surface) Likes: Debates, quiet walks through gardens, tea times with friends, calligraphy
(Surface) Dislikes: Troublemakers, vain youth, torture

Personality (secret): Jurobei is a megalomaniac whose unpredictable and irrational temper makes him a very real threat to everyone who trespass on his true domain. He hides this persona to win the favor of those in his personal court and maintain their loyalty. He considers his whims of what justice should be as natural law to be followed, and executes political enemies / wrongdoers without trial whenever he can in the shadows. He believes that there is a deep seated corruption within Soul Society itself under the rule of Setsuna, if only to conjure a reason to take power for selfish reasons.

He also finds the surreal nature of death fascinating, whether on the mortal or immortal plane. He wishes to share in the melancholy and excitement of his domain of death but cannot find anyone to share in it with him safely. Jurobei feels bound by his secret goal to do what must be done to first gain control first. He also finds that he needs to keep his aggressiveness in check, in fear that he might do commit to an action which ruins his plans and exposes him as a traitor. Jurobei puts a lot of trust and work to his loyal subordinates who trust in his vision, more trust than Jurobei wishes to believe. Deep, deep down, Jurobei is terribly alone.

(Secret) Likes: scarfing down meat and bread, guzzling down ale, violence, thrills.
(Secret) Dislikes: those who nag, people that think are smarter or think they can fool him

What makes Jurobei complex is that the Surface and Secret Personalities are neither completely true or false, but manifestations of Jurobei's lingering insanity and degree in which they are shown to the outside world.

Biography

Jurobei had always been a deeply troubled, slightly mentally impaired savant, specializing in calligraphy. At a young age, Jurobei would scribe symbols for hours with his brush across parchment, so engrossed with detail and engaged with the flow that all other matters ceased to be relevant, including eating and sleeping.

People became concerned about his well being over this obsession and pleaded to the Science Division to help him, even change him using experimental methods against his will if necessary. These methods produced interesting consequences, as it wasn't in the Science Division's interests to dissuade Jurobei from pursuing his passion of calligraphy, but instead heighten his focus exponentially.

The Science Division Project which had him as a test subject was eventually scrapped by a new regulation set by Setsuna, the new successor to take the position of Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13, not by charity nor fear, but of calculated caution. When Setsuna 'rescued' Jurobei his physical appearance had been accelerated rapidly due to the stress of the tests and trials performed by the Science Division and appeared to be about 70 years old

Setsuna, believing there could still be potential within Jurobei that she could control, gave him the chance to study and train at the Academy, but emphasized that it was still his choice to make and that he was under no obligation. Jurobei chose to answer her call, but without the knowledge of the dual intent of Setsuna's offer. Setsuna also wished to keep a close eye on him, and what better way than to keep him at the Academy until she could prove if at any time he was hopelessly defective due to insanity or insubordinate by influence of enemies in the Science Division.

Jurobei defied her expectations of becoming a failure, ignoring the mockery of much younger looking classmates and applying his fascination with calligraphy as best he could into learning kidou spells. He would sometimes draw the kidou motions several times onto parchment after training, and note their similarities, their differences, eventually realizing patterns within the strokes to find intrinsic mechanisms.

Jurobei attempted to invent his own kidou using this understanding, and it was through this understanding that he re-developed an old branch of kidou: rune-inscription. Physical runes proved to be much more stable than body motion incantations, and had the potential for longer, more permanent effects.

When Jurobei had graduated from the Academy, he tried to develop a friendship with Setsuna, his liberator, in hopes that it would become more of an equal relationship. While she seemed nice, Jurobei always felt that there was a wall set up between them, which he understood as necessary and logical, but also infuriating. His eventual rise to power in terms of rank to get recognition from those around him came through his proficiency in kidou, but also from his heavy dependence on his minions/followers.

Special abilities (if any):

In addition to knowing more kidou than most graduates, Jurobei has developed a new branch from tapping into the power of rune symbols.

Rune Inscription / Blessing:

He can inscribe common rune symbols with his finger easily on solid flat surfaces, while more complex symbols on not so uniform surfaces take some time.

These runes can influence physical attributes, kidou aptitude, grant very simple powers, etc. if applied on a living person's skin, but the runes stay on for only as long Jurobei wishes it. Normally attached to the 'blessing' is a condition that Jurobei sets for his own purposes. Whenever rune recipients are closer to Jurobei, they start to experience supernatural feelings that try to lead/coax the individual into being more loyal to Jurobei. The more 'blessings' that a subject has, the more powerful this effect can become.

With a strong willpower, a recipient can counter the effect of runes applied to them and eventually fade them. Jurobei has the option to remove the rune fade away without pain like an eraser (if to put on a show that he means no harm and is an ally) or have the rune violently explode, taking out a chuck of body along with it.

On regular objects, the effects are often made permanent. The runes are often simple. For example, applying a rune on a rock to turn it into a landmine. On personal objects, like zanpaktou, the effect is similar to when a rune is applied to humanoid skin, except the spirit of the zan is more influenced than the user.

The terrible cost of this deep, careful and obsessed study of runes and calligraphy is that Jurobei hasn't dedicated a lot of time in understanding his zanpaktou, meaning he won't attain the level of shikai and definitely not bankai anytime in his near future. It was mainly his proficiency in kidou that got him to pass the Academy. His swordplay is passable as his wrists are used to brushstroke movements, but his style is certainly lacking when compared to regular Captain or VC level power and finesse.