000; APPLICATION & CONCRIT POST
PLAYER INFORMATION
Name/Nickname: Mollie
LJ: comixologist
CHARACTER INFORMATION
Canon Character and Series: Mihashi Ren, Ookiku Furikabutte
In-Game Name: Ren Mihashi
Age: 21
Gender: M
Position & Ship: Pilot on the Fiertia.
Appearance: Mihashi is the kind of person who tries so hard to be inconspicuous that he draws attention to himself. He is short for his age with a very lean build made mostly of sinewy muscle. Though he has relatively broad shoulders for his frame, Mihashi affects a timid posture, and tends to "shrink" by hunching his shoulders up and forward slightly. His hair is dirty-blonde and tends towards a wavy mess, and when it's wet it turns curly. Mihashi's eyes are a light shade of brown that looks gold in the right light or when his determination is sparked, but they're also a little red-rimmed and watery - he's a bit of a crybaby. His mother's family has some western blood in them, and that's where he gets his coloring, but in his bone structure he's distinctly an easterner and takes after his father. Mihashi's face is heart-shaped, with a soft jaw, a weak chin, a wide mouth, and is usually a little flushed at the cheekbones. His mannerisms and soft, relatively high-pitched voice make him seem younger than his 21 years - most people guess that he's somewhere between 16 and 18.
Mihashi almost never makes eye contact, even with his friends, and doesn't look like the kind of person who could handle himself in a fight, much less handle a plane or a gun. The positive side of this is that he's often written off as totally non-threatening. He holds a lot of tension in his back and tends to tremble, but when he's in a cockpit, his hands are surprisingly steady. He walks in quick short steps, his run is more of a stumble, and he's prone to tripping and falling, but is very flexible. Mihashi usually sits with his legs tucked under him, and has the uncanny ability to practically flatten himself against the ground when he is afraid, embarassed, or depressed. Because he comes from a monied family his clothes are extremely well-made, but he isn't wasteful or flashy and tends to use things until they're worn thin and fraying at the seams. He prefers a combination of conventional clothing and more traditional eastern garments ((think Taishou era)) - most frequently a pair of fitted trousers, suspenders and a cream button-down layered under a double-lined haori wrap-jacket. He prefers his sleeves a little long and in the cold seasons he wears a thick scarf knotted at the back of his neck. He often wears a frayed brown cadet-cap with a thin brim that he takes off and fidgets with when talking. Having something to do with his hands helps Mihashi get his words out of his mouth.
Personality: Mihashi is a man without confidence. Already naturally inclined towards shy obedience, his experiences as part of flight racing competition teams has ruined his belief in his abilities. In spite of that, Mihashi is intensely focused on the one thing he loves more than anything else: flying. Though he doesn't always believe in his own talent, he refuses to give up his spot in the cockpit once he has it. He works with devastating vigor on the things that matter to him. His greatest fear is being a disappointment, and letting down the people that he works with. He is incredibly shy, sensitive, and gives off an air of vulnerability. He attracts bullies like fruit does flies.
Mihashi both loves and hates authority figures - his first assumption is that everyone around him is in a superior position to him and behaves accordingly, with swift and obliging obedience because he is eager to please. Even when he doesn't understand or doesn't know how to do something, he will try to do it rather than ask for help, because he is usually too afraid of being a bother to protest. The big difficulty with his relationship to his superiors is the sneaking suspicion he has that they all despise him, the trouble he causes, the things he can't do, and the sensation he has that the only reason for him to be held in regard by anyone is because of favoritism. In spite of the fact that he has been training with planes since he was seven and weaponry since he was ten, and that he has incredible control over his handling and agility with both, his confidence is close to zero. He simply can't imagine that he really deserves anything he has. He is constantly apologizing.
In spite of his timid, cry-baby attitude, Mihashi is not weak-willed. His determination in the face of danger, hatred, and abuse is unmatched. Mihashi could endure daily torture for years without having his determination worn down (and has, though perhaps 'torture' is too strong a word for what happened at Mihoshi). He is both honest and trustworthy, and he values bluntness because he is so prone to overthinking his situation and relationship with others. Mihashi will fiercely stand up for his friends or allies, even if he believes they hate him, because he can't ever seem to bring himself to hate anyone back. Some of this is because he thinks that he deserves disdain, but it is also a testament to his resilience.
Mihashi is always surprised when others are kind or even just civil with him, and because he is always waiting to be despised or hurt (be it physically or emotionally) he has become a bit paranoid. He is very slow to open up to others, but once he gives someone his trust it is unfailing and comes with the sort of loyalty one might expect from a puppy. His paranoia makes him desperate to please his allies at all turns, but his fear makes him a poor judge of how to do that. He often overthinks his words and actions, which renders regular conversation with him almost impossible. He is prone to misunderstandings but though his first instinct is to run and hide from his problems, he can muster the resolve to face them head-on for the sake of others. He thinks of himself as being incredibly selfish, because of how desperately he clings to flight, but would give up virtually anything else for the sake of his teammates.
Mihashi is a sweet boy, somewhat sentimental, and naive when it comes to relationships. No matter how much he might want to change himself, he doesn't entirely believe that it's possible. Even so, he is constantly working to improve his skills as a pilot and gunman, to the point of disregarding his health.
Abilities/Weapons: Mihashi's greatest skills are his agility as a pilot, his aim, and his determination. Since he was a young boy and first became fascinated with the sensation of flying, Mihashi has practiced with glider-style flying machines and small planes. In a two-seater or smaller, Mihashi is practically fearless. Because he started learning with gliders, he has always pushed himself to take turns and stunts as close as possible, and can now fly safely as close as one to two meters away from an obsticle. He takes his turns as tightly as he can to give him the edge in stunt-competitions and races, and his willingness to perform such daring moves often shakes up rival pilots. Mihashi would say that it isn't that he flies this way because he's bold, but because he's bumped into things trying to hone his control enough to know where they are. Because his skills as a pilot are all centered around agility and his ability to control the plane, Mihashi doesn't like to act as pilot and gunner simultaneously. When it's unavoidable, Mihashi is capable and doesn't hesitate to use his in-flight maneuverability to increase the effectiveness of his aim. His first experiences in real dogfights have been during his time searching for Abe, but in extreme situations he learns very quickly.
The only reason that Mihashi has been able to refine his agility as a pilot to this point is because of his stubborn determination. Growing up, if Mihashi was awake he was thinking about or practicing flying. If left to his own devices, Mihashi would work himself to death during flying practice, and though he almost never applies that determination to anything outside of flying, if Mihashi truly puts his mind to something, he'll work until he gets it done and gets it right.
He's no good at hand-to-hand combat and is too clumsy to run and hide well, so he carries a small six-round revolver detailed in mahogany and bronze, and a cloth pouch full of ground cayenne for emergencies. He keeps the pouch tucked into his right shirt-sleeve, just at the wrist, for quick access; it's his go-to defense item. The revolver is always loaded with only one round, in the second chamber, to avoid misfires. Mihashi keeps it strapped to his calf, and wears a pouch with spare bullets at his belt.
Mihashi doesn't own his own plane, because he's always used what his navigators own or what was in ship's stock. While he's been ship-hopping trying to find Abe, he's used a glider barely big enough for two people, with pale blue wing-cloth and a Sitka Spruce construction. It's primarily an emergency getaway flier, and though it usually gets its lift only from air currents and updrafts, it has a small lightning-based boost engine at the back to help ensure enough lift for longer jumps and softer landings. He calls the glider Ruri, after his cousin in Abantiare who used to cheer for him at every flight competition he entered.
How well can your character hack?: The only pieces of technology Mihashi has any sense for are guns and planes. He can only hack easy things - really easy things - and even then, it's just barely. It's a pretty good guess that if Mihashi "hacked" it, it was a trap.
Weaknesses: With weaknesses, it's hard to know where to begin. Mihashi's determination, probably his greatest strength, is also a source of trouble and frustration. He really will work himself to death if he's left to his own devices. His lack of formal training with planes and engines make him useless with anything bigger than the two-seaters and completely lost when it comes to engine repair. He knows just enough maintenance to keep a working machine running, but if it isn't a model he's seen before Mihashi won't have a clue. He's got very little power in his body, and though he's not bad at pacing himself, he often gets a fever the day after a big fight. His weak personality and willingness to put himself down also make him difficult to place with a partner.
In spite of his good aim, Mihashi's arms just don't have the strength to deal with an unmounted gun any larger than a .38, because the strength of the kickback will knock him off his feet on the best days. In the worst scenario, a strong kickback could dislocate his arm, tear a tendon, or break his wrist, which would make it impossible to fly with his usual level of accuracy.
Mihashi is frightened of a lot of different things - loud noises, dogs, judgement from others, and voicing his own true opinions. He is often caught up in misunderstandings because of his personality. When Mihashi is in the cockpit, he's capable and trusts in his navigator to help him avoid the things he's most frightened of, but Mihashi's uncertainty is contagious and it tends to roll off of him in waves. His tendency to cry makes his vision blur, and a pilot's eyes are something they can't afford to compromise. Once he is in the air, Mihashi is able to get some control over himself, but that time from take-off to cruising is always tense.
Mihashi's huge appetite and high metabolism make him a hard guy to accomodate when supplies are low, because even when he eats twice his share, he doesn't gain much weight because of his stress level. His anxiety fuels his insomnia, as well, so often Mihashi will go for days unrested. Mihashi's confidence is a delicate thing that needs regular maintenance, and without a partner he gets easily lost and second-guesses each of his decisions. He's difficult and finicky, and his habitual certainty that everything that goes wrong is because of him makes him a bit ego-centric; it takes a certain type of person to manage him in a partnership. He has a hard time making friends, and is a poor judge of character.
History: Mihashi grew up for the most part in Abantiare, living in his grandfather's family home there. His grandfather's family was one of the few with money in the city, and owned and managed one of the local racing leagues. Mihashi's parents were both somewhat eccentric children from families that were well-off, and neither of them had much interest in planes. Mihashi's parents never had him formally trained, though he was allowed to tinker with whatever he could get his hands on. Mihashi was not at all a skilled mechanic, and so he began to spend all of his spare time practicing using the planes that his grandfather's league maintained. Mihashi started learning with a glider, and after a few years of unsupervised practice, he made his way onto the Mihoshi team as a stunt pilot. Because of his grandfather's influence, Mihashi was called the ace and given priority in the competitions they put on. Though he was a talented stunt pilot, he wasn't a very good navigator or strategist, and often his tricks would seem misplaced or fall flat. Eventually, his teammates grew to dislike him, and the navigator the team had paired him with, Hatake, refused to navigate for him and silently occupied the navigator's seat. Effectively alone in the air, Mihashi became a timid and paranoid pilot. He stubbornly stayed in his grandfather's league, hogging the 'ace' title to himself, though the pilot who would replace him was his friend. His love of flying and of being an "ace pilot" clouded Mihashi's judgement for three years in his grandfather's league.
Mihashi gathered all his resolve, and when he was sixteen, he asked to move back to his parents' home, in Melior, and attend school there. It hadn't been his intention to join the new team he stumbled across, Nishiura, but they desperately needed a stunt pilot and though Mihashi was hesitant he formed a partnership with the most incredible strategist and navigator he'd ever met: Abe.
In spite of Mihashi's timidness and lack of confidence, somehow Abe tolerated him well enough for them to win a few competitions. Mihashi had grown to depend on Abe's input in flight, and was thoroughly shaken when Abe got injured. In spite of his anxiety, Mihashi didn't want to stop flying while Abe recovered, so he temporarily formed a partnership with Yuuichiro Tajima, who was probably the team's most versatile member. Tajima and Mihashi had an easy friendship, and though Mihashi had always hoped to fly with Abe when his elbow had healed, when Abe discovered his working-partnership with Tajima, he left. Mihashi stayed through the year with Nishiura, but without Abe as his navigator, he lost what confidence he'd regained. He was a bit lost, in the air, and eventually he realized that he didn't think he could really be an ace pilot without that particular navigator.
Mihashi set out to try to find Abe late, and it's taken him a long time to find his way to this part of the skies. His time without a regular navigator has toughened him up a little (he's got more stomach for trouble than he used to) but at the same time hasn't helped his nervousness. He was hopping from ship to ship, taking on mercenary jobs as a pilot or gunner to cover costs above what his parents gave him, when he heard rumors about an aggressive-but-aloof navigator with a plane called Catcher on the Fiertia.
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