application for languishment
CHARACTER INFO
Name | Inoue Orihime
Series | BLEACH
Canon Point | ch.440, immediately after Tsukishima's sword went through her chest. She knows it hasn't killed her, but it will take her some time to be convinced her arrival isn't because of Tsukishima's doing.
Reference | BLEACH wiki
Age | 17
Gender | Female, all the way.
Appearance | 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 evolved as 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).
Possessions | a framed picture of her deceased older brother, Sora, and her Shun Shun Rikka (further explanation below)
Character Abilities/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 three 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 her only 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.
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 had been trained by her best friend to possess the fighting skills 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.
Weaknesses/Fears | A recurring theme in Orihime's character is her inability to protect herself. Despite the rather impressive powers she possesses, they often come up short since they are dependent on her will, and her will itself tends to grow weak at critical times. During the Hueco Mundo arc, she'd given up her freedom in order to protect her friends, yet when the time came for it, Orihime was unable to muster up the strength to defend herself and protect the ones who'd come for her. She recognizes this fault in herself and struggles with it often - most notably during times of battle, when it's made quite obvious how much of a fighter's instinct she lacks. Orihime resolves multiple times to become strong enough not to need the protection and help of others, but she has yet to truly achieve this quite yet. Nevertheless, the fear of losing her friends and letting them down motivates her to continue to try and be stronger for them.
Requested Village | Muir.
NPC mini-plot | suuuure, why not.
SAMPLES
First-person | [ Video Post ]
[ 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 | It was her first time there in the potion hut. She wasn't even sure how she'd gotten there, just that she suddenly was, with a heavy wallet and an even heavier heart. She passed by them all, displayed there with their little labels and warnings, eyeing each colorful vial until her eyes fell on one... pink. Innocent. She lingered, despite herself. Her eyes roamed over the vial, taking in the pink liquid, then moving towards the card kept carefully beside it.
A love potion.
She couldn't help the part of herself that was curious, wondering if such a thing could truly exist. She'd been scammed before, by fortune tellers and charm sellers alike, all preying on her naivete and childish wish to simply believe... But that had been back home, not here. Not in this world where unicorns roamed the forests of Muir and dragons flew overhead as they visited the floating city of Aura. Orihime hadn't been here for very long, but it really only took a day for one to realize that in this world... really, anything could be possible.
Her eyes fell back on the potion. She thought of love, and how it'd been treating her lately. She thought of a certain orange-haired boy, how often she would find her gaze shifting his way... how often she wished he'd look back, just once. How would it feel, she wondered, to be the only one he ever saw?
Temptation seized her, and her hand lifted to hover over the vial. As soon as her fingertips touched glass, however, there came a twinkle of bells from the opening door, and immediately she snatched her hand back as if burned. Her cheeks colored as the full realization of what she'd just been about to do sank in. Hastily, she turned away from the shelves, brushing past the person who'd just walked in.
She didn't stop running until she reached her apartment, where she buried herself under blankets and waited for the ache to pass.