Yasutora Sado (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
lendmestrength) wrote2013-01-22 11:11 pm
lendmestrength) wrote2013-01-22 11:11 pm
Entry tags:
character information
☞ Character Information;
Character Name: Yasutora Sado
Canon: Bleach
Setting:
Bleach is set overall in about three realms, all of which have played a significant part in the series and battles fought thereof. In some part, it's set on a modern-day Earth more or less as we know it: more specifically, in the town of Karakura, Japan. Cars and subways, mobile phones, internet access, education systems-- nothing is especially advanced or far behind the technology and societal norms that we experience in the world around us. It also happens to include a world around normal humans that isn't quite so apparent. Spirits of the dearly departed are running rampant and it's pretty much only people with spiritual pressure (reiatsu) who are able to interact with or see them. How much of this you have pretty much directly correlates to the level of interaction and abilities that you have in regards to the spirit world. Being exposed to high spiritual energy can even unlock spiritual abilities in a person.
Thing is, human spirits aren't meant to be wandering the earth willy-nilly. Spirits have a chain connecting them to the body, which severs when a person dies- and if they don't move on for whatever reason, that chain will slowly (painfully) eat away at itself until it leaves a hole in the spirit's chest, which will consume them and transform them into a Hollow.
Hollows are big, nasty, merciless and violent monstrosities, and they come in all the varieties under the sun. Some spit out leeches that also explode, some are just enormous and mindless beasts, some are ringleaders, some are weak minions. They seek out people with high spiritual pressure with intent to eat them- always hungry. Always looking to fill the void in themselves. It's extremely rare that they'll have a sense of their old self.
Their primary home base type world (another of the big settings) is Hueco Mundo. This is a separate world comprised of spirit energy, inhabited by Hollows both mindless and highly evolved. It's essentially... an endless desert. There isn't much else to be said, honestly. Things that don't look to be too far away turn out to be miles upon miles in the distance. People with spiritual abilities more tied into the sort of power that a Hollow possesses will feel stronger in this realm. Most things having to do with it or with Hollows will have a strong Spanish theme.
Naturally, Hollows who develop on Earth or manage to cross over from Hueco Mundo cannot be allowed to rampage all over the place, destroying everything they come across. That is where Shinigami come into the picture. They play a much bigger and more personalized role in canon, but it was easier to go with the flow and explain Hollows/Hueco Mundo first.
Shinigami are gods of death. Wearing black uniforms and wielding zanpakuto (we will call them soul reapers, and they are basically swords with powers that are different between every person who is able to wield one to the point of using special abilities), they are assigned to locate and neutralize Hollow threats. By cleansing the spirit of the Hollow, they allow it to cross over into Soul Society and maintain a very delicate balance of spirits between the worlds.
Soul Society is, predictably, the home base of all shinigami. More than that, it's the go-to afterlife for all spirits in Bleach who cross over. It is very easily described as a feudal Japan wannabe. Kimonos, districts, the housing, the tiers in society, the countryside, the sleeping mats and cooking kettles-- pretty much everything, yeah. When a human dies their spirit finds its way there (one way or another, hopefully), and they're sent to a district based on any number of variables. Not for their preexisting family or loved ones who already made the journey, but more along the lines of what year they died in or how they died. Spirits who show signs of strong spiritual pressure (notable in feeling hunger or exhaustion) usually wind up recruited to the shinigami academy, where they learn swordwork, the various levels and names of Hollows that are known, and the art of kido (which is... best described as the manipulation of spiritual energy towards numerous and varying effects on the intended target: often requiring an incantation, at least for beginners. those with enough practice are able to go without).
Shinigami are divided up into 13 divisons: the Gotei 13. They are charged by the head honcho spirit king and his group of awesome bros who created essential aspects of the entirety of Soul Society's current society with guarding the districts.
So. Yes. Modern-day earth, heaven in the form of feudal Japan with ageless samurai warriors possessing supernatural abilities guarding it from the destructive and sometimes rather sad monstrosities based in a spanish-themed Hell. A lot of these epic battles are focused in Karakura Town, which is a bit of a hotspot for dangerous spiritual activity. I am also providing some relevant links, just in case.
Soul Society | Hueco Mundo | Human World + Karakura Town
History: An early life history is detailed here and his overall involvement in the arcs of Bleach are detailed here. Anything described as "anime only" will not apply to him.
Personality:
As far as appearances and brief meetings go, Yasutora Sado is... quiet and stoic. Nary an exclamation point passes from his lips to his speech bubble, or much of anything else for that matter. To the point where he might start to explain something that happened to him, only to give up halfway through because it's too many words for his liking. He's very tall, very muscular, and can be really tough to figure out. Something may lead to him making use of nigh inhuman strength, or injuring him severely, and he will shrug it off. Often enough, he comes across as your typical muscleheaded, intimidating, untrustworthy thug, and people have been known to avoid him in the streets because of it, or to attack him looking to prove how tough they are.
But as the old saying goes, still waters run deep. Chad can come across as an intimidating or unintelligent figure, but the truth of it is that he's a big ol' softie. He prefers to observe from the sidelines and draw his own conclusions about things rather than stir the waters and charge recklessly the majority of the time. That stoicism is a piece of an innate laid-back, calm approach to things: he's very difficult to rile up or to send into a fit of rage. He listens well and doesn't judge others harshly if they're not hurting anybody, and has a very real weakness for adorable things. Chad's a good listener, more accepting of others than not, and he is very, very kind.
And when I say he is kind, I mean that it is a determinedly present aspect of his character, part of a principle that his entire self is built upon. Where he was once a violent bully of a child, Chad today won't raise a hand for his own sake: a promise he made to his grandfather years ago and has yet to break. Even if it means taking a serious beating and needing medical attention, he'll turn the other cheek if he's the only one at stake. If somebody else is in danger, however, all bets seem to be off. Whether it's interfering in a fight or playing human shield during a disaster or running through heavy traffic to keep a car from hitting somebody, he steps in for the sake of others without so much as a second thought-- regardless of whether he even knows them or is on good terms with them. Like many characters in Bleach, Chad has defined himself as a protector of others. His grandfather taught him that he should use his strength and size, things that often led people to avoid him or treat him badly, for the sake of looking out for those who couldn't look out for themselves. Rather than trying to push the world into submission and give it a reason to be afraid, he should become a guardian of it.
He is also more intelligent than he appears, scoring in the top twenty in his class in examinations. He can strategize and make deep observations about situations or other people: seemingly out of the blue and surprising to many, but the longer and better one knows Chad, the more they get used to that sort of thing. Oftentimes he considers a dangerous situation and makes honest assessments of what he thinks people can handle based on what he's seen of their abilities/tendencies- even if sometimes it isn't correct (thinking Ishida wouldn't come to soul society because his complexity made him weak, and saying that Inoue isn't as skilled in fighting as the rest of them). It doesn't come from a place of mean spirit, just a manner of being as forthright and simple about things as he can. He's an old soul, wise for his age and comfortable in his skin despite some other people not being comfortable with him, patient, and not a bad choice to go to when one needs advice (or quiet companionship, which is kind of his forte).
Chad is in possession of a particularly deep and endless well of loyalty and protectiveness when it comes to his friends and family. While he would do just about anything to protect a stranger out of kindness, for them he would essentially do anything: even charge off to another world where he has every chance of dying, to rescue a girl he barely knows. It isn't a protectiveness born of thinking they're weaker than him and needing the protection automatically. If Ichigo says he can handle something, for example, Chad will back off and let him handle it- or he'll even occasionally not approach something in the first place, because he already knows it can be handled. He is fiercely protective of his loved ones, but at the same time, he understands that he can trust them. Both to have his back and to let him have theirs when it's needed.
He doesn't like to be terribly complex about things. He regularly keeps to the point and gives short, honest opinions right off the bat. He'll ask questions if he's confused, but won't press for unnecessary details at the same time. And yes, he can speak regularly and at length if he feels the need to- often enough, he just prefers not to. Chad also has a very strong sense of honor, especially in battle. When defeating an opponent allowed him to uncover some of the true depth of his abilities, he let them live in repayment, even going so far as to say he'd pray for their good fortune. He's well-mannered in just about every situation, battle or no (saying please and thank you, not killing where it isn't absolutely necessary, legitimately planning to return a phone to a group of guys who beat him up). One of Chad's best qualities seems to be understanding that there are two sides to every situation. He can respect that this is so, even if he thinks/knows can't allow the side he and his friends are fighting against to win.
So long story short, Yasutora Sado is the Gentle Giant trope entirely by choice. His name can translate to 'peaceful tiger,' and it's a very accurate description. Maybe there's still part of him that wants to make things easy and just force his way through life, but it's a part of him that he doesn't let into the light of day. He has an innate ferocity and power, and he ensures that he uses those traits for the sake of looking out for others.
He knows what it is to stand out and be treated differently, even harshly, for it- and it can show a lot in his dealings with others, whether because of his polite behavior towards them or because of some of the difficulties he has in holding an extended conversation. He's almost always calm and unruffled, not prone to a lot of chatter but not deliberately unfriendly.
Chad is comfortable with himself against all odds- even proud of his differences and of being who he is today. His grandfather told him that even though those who are different will always be persecuted, his strengths weren't granted to him to cause harm to those who persecute the odd and unique. They were granted to him to protect others. More than anything, someone who could do as much harm as Sado ought to be kind.
It's a lesson he'll never let himself forget, and it makes him everything that he is today.
Abilities:
Physical: Brazo Derecha de Gigante - Right Arm of the Giant: Chad is able to manifest a form of black and red armour over his right arm, lending increased strength and durability to him in hand-to-hand combat. This ability (defined as a Fullbring in the Fullbring arc, predictably) has taken three forms over the course of canon. The third and final (stated to be the full extent of his right arm's evolution) form is that of a red and black shield. It evolved into an arm primarily for protecting, connected with his grandfather's teaching him to use his strength to protect. It's used for deflecting attacks, primarily, but he's also capable of firing a series of pretty powerful energy blasts (El Directo) with it as well.
Brazo Izquierda del Diablo - Left Arm of the Devil: Chad's left arm comes to manifest a red and white covering, also provided with more strength and durability as a result. Where his right arm manifests his grandfather's spirit (that of defense), however, his left arm's form is a manifestation of offensive ability, and his own desire to attack. Outside of your token super-strong punches, the big attack capability of this arm is La Muerte: a single hit with a hell of a lot of wallop, primarily due to the spiritual energy focused in the fist. This is a fairly devastating attack, meant to make an enormous impact upon the opponent, which also leaves behind a pretty cool giant skull-shaped crater.
He also possesses pretty ridiculously high levels of strength/durability, even before his more spirit-energy-related powers came into being in canon. Some of his earliest canon happenings show him able to: walk away from colliding with a motorcycle (even taking the cyclist to the hospital, as the other man was really injured), catch a steel beam falling from above with enough sturdy force to bend it along his back (and then to shrug it off rather literally and figuratively), punch somebody halfway across the block... and even tear a telephone pole out of the ground to use as an impromptu weapon. Some of your basic shonen over the top ridiculousness, essentially.
He can move fairly quickly for a human and has good instincts (his first battle against a Hollow and most of his second occurred while he couldn't actually see the enemy, and he managed to land a good hit or two on his own before getting any volunteers to be his eyes). His reflexes are also fast, more particularly when somebody else is in danger nearby- hence beam-catching and often seen shielding people/pushing them away from explosions and the like. He also has the ability to sense reiatsu (which is essentially spiritual energy). This energy sensing seems to be limited to people he cares for/is working closely with in battle, and token Dragon Ball-esque "but what is this enormous power I am sensing suddenly--!" moments.
Mental: Chad is actually pretty intelligent, scoring as about the 11th highest in his freshmen class exams (if I recall correctly). He studies well and can think on his feet when he has a mind to. He understands the importance of strategy fairly well for being from a canon that relies a lot on sheer power to win battles, and often makes very logical, reasonable observations based on the things happening around him (how correct his assumptions are tends to vary depending on what he's making the observation of: because of Ishida's complex relationship to Shinigami and his personal issues, Chad didn't expect that he would turn up to rescue Rukia from Soul Society-- only for Ishida to show up, ready and raring to go).
Weaknesses
Physical: For all his physical ability, Chad is still only human. He can be wounded or killed by pretty much any traditional means, as well as the more non-traditional ones that canon offers. His powers are impressive, but compared to a lot of the characters he's fought against and alongside, he's on a lower level entirely. It's a pretty regular occurrence in an arc that he'll easily take down lower-level enemies and maybe one or two higher-tiers, but then will run into someone that puts him out of commission in one or two hits (Kyouraku in the Soul Society arc, Nnoitra in the Hueco Mundo arc). And these higher-tier enemies are ones that his allies can give a long run for their money, if not defeat entirely. On the scale of power, humans always remain relatively low.
He has good reflexes and some speed, but speed isn't a strong suit of his at all. His combat abilities typically focus on what he can accomplish through power and force. Outgunning over outrunning.
And using his abilities, especially over an extended period, will ultimately exhaust him no matter how dire the situation. Stamina and determination can only take anybody so far in the long run.
Mental: While he isn't stupid, he's far from genius level. There are plenty of things that he doesn't understand fully and just goes along with because his friends are asking him to, and things that go right over his head (like being asked not to run off and do something because it's dangerous, only for him to think that the other party meant it would be dangerous for them). He can be as oblivious and unfortunately stubborn as anybody. And while it's useful that he can make observations from a strictly soldier-like point of standing in the middle of a big chaotic arc of battles/upcoming battles, those sorts of assertions can be insulting to others, whether he intends it or not. They can also be dead wrong. It's perfectly possible to trick him or to slip past his radar.
Character Name: Yasutora Sado
Canon: Bleach
Setting:
Thing is, human spirits aren't meant to be wandering the earth willy-nilly. Spirits have a chain connecting them to the body, which severs when a person dies- and if they don't move on for whatever reason, that chain will slowly (painfully) eat away at itself until it leaves a hole in the spirit's chest, which will consume them and transform them into a Hollow.
Hollows are big, nasty, merciless and violent monstrosities, and they come in all the varieties under the sun. Some spit out leeches that also explode, some are just enormous and mindless beasts, some are ringleaders, some are weak minions. They seek out people with high spiritual pressure with intent to eat them- always hungry. Always looking to fill the void in themselves. It's extremely rare that they'll have a sense of their old self.
Their primary home base type world (another of the big settings) is Hueco Mundo. This is a separate world comprised of spirit energy, inhabited by Hollows both mindless and highly evolved. It's essentially... an endless desert. There isn't much else to be said, honestly. Things that don't look to be too far away turn out to be miles upon miles in the distance. People with spiritual abilities more tied into the sort of power that a Hollow possesses will feel stronger in this realm. Most things having to do with it or with Hollows will have a strong Spanish theme.
Naturally, Hollows who develop on Earth or manage to cross over from Hueco Mundo cannot be allowed to rampage all over the place, destroying everything they come across. That is where Shinigami come into the picture. They play a much bigger and more personalized role in canon, but it was easier to go with the flow and explain Hollows/Hueco Mundo first.
Shinigami are gods of death. Wearing black uniforms and wielding zanpakuto (we will call them soul reapers, and they are basically swords with powers that are different between every person who is able to wield one to the point of using special abilities), they are assigned to locate and neutralize Hollow threats. By cleansing the spirit of the Hollow, they allow it to cross over into Soul Society and maintain a very delicate balance of spirits between the worlds.
Soul Society is, predictably, the home base of all shinigami. More than that, it's the go-to afterlife for all spirits in Bleach who cross over. It is very easily described as a feudal Japan wannabe. Kimonos, districts, the housing, the tiers in society, the countryside, the sleeping mats and cooking kettles-- pretty much everything, yeah. When a human dies their spirit finds its way there (one way or another, hopefully), and they're sent to a district based on any number of variables. Not for their preexisting family or loved ones who already made the journey, but more along the lines of what year they died in or how they died. Spirits who show signs of strong spiritual pressure (notable in feeling hunger or exhaustion) usually wind up recruited to the shinigami academy, where they learn swordwork, the various levels and names of Hollows that are known, and the art of kido (which is... best described as the manipulation of spiritual energy towards numerous and varying effects on the intended target: often requiring an incantation, at least for beginners. those with enough practice are able to go without).
Shinigami are divided up into 13 divisons: the Gotei 13. They are charged by the head honcho spirit king and his group of awesome bros who created essential aspects of the entirety of Soul Society's current society with guarding the districts.
So. Yes. Modern-day earth, heaven in the form of feudal Japan with ageless samurai warriors possessing supernatural abilities guarding it from the destructive and sometimes rather sad monstrosities based in a spanish-themed Hell. A lot of these epic battles are focused in Karakura Town, which is a bit of a hotspot for dangerous spiritual activity. I am also providing some relevant links, just in case.
History: An early life history is detailed here and his overall involvement in the arcs of Bleach are detailed here. Anything described as "anime only" will not apply to him.
Personality:
But as the old saying goes, still waters run deep. Chad can come across as an intimidating or unintelligent figure, but the truth of it is that he's a big ol' softie. He prefers to observe from the sidelines and draw his own conclusions about things rather than stir the waters and charge recklessly the majority of the time. That stoicism is a piece of an innate laid-back, calm approach to things: he's very difficult to rile up or to send into a fit of rage. He listens well and doesn't judge others harshly if they're not hurting anybody, and has a very real weakness for adorable things. Chad's a good listener, more accepting of others than not, and he is very, very kind.
And when I say he is kind, I mean that it is a determinedly present aspect of his character, part of a principle that his entire self is built upon. Where he was once a violent bully of a child, Chad today won't raise a hand for his own sake: a promise he made to his grandfather years ago and has yet to break. Even if it means taking a serious beating and needing medical attention, he'll turn the other cheek if he's the only one at stake. If somebody else is in danger, however, all bets seem to be off. Whether it's interfering in a fight or playing human shield during a disaster or running through heavy traffic to keep a car from hitting somebody, he steps in for the sake of others without so much as a second thought-- regardless of whether he even knows them or is on good terms with them. Like many characters in Bleach, Chad has defined himself as a protector of others. His grandfather taught him that he should use his strength and size, things that often led people to avoid him or treat him badly, for the sake of looking out for those who couldn't look out for themselves. Rather than trying to push the world into submission and give it a reason to be afraid, he should become a guardian of it.
He is also more intelligent than he appears, scoring in the top twenty in his class in examinations. He can strategize and make deep observations about situations or other people: seemingly out of the blue and surprising to many, but the longer and better one knows Chad, the more they get used to that sort of thing. Oftentimes he considers a dangerous situation and makes honest assessments of what he thinks people can handle based on what he's seen of their abilities/tendencies- even if sometimes it isn't correct (thinking Ishida wouldn't come to soul society because his complexity made him weak, and saying that Inoue isn't as skilled in fighting as the rest of them). It doesn't come from a place of mean spirit, just a manner of being as forthright and simple about things as he can. He's an old soul, wise for his age and comfortable in his skin despite some other people not being comfortable with him, patient, and not a bad choice to go to when one needs advice (or quiet companionship, which is kind of his forte).
Chad is in possession of a particularly deep and endless well of loyalty and protectiveness when it comes to his friends and family. While he would do just about anything to protect a stranger out of kindness, for them he would essentially do anything: even charge off to another world where he has every chance of dying, to rescue a girl he barely knows. It isn't a protectiveness born of thinking they're weaker than him and needing the protection automatically. If Ichigo says he can handle something, for example, Chad will back off and let him handle it- or he'll even occasionally not approach something in the first place, because he already knows it can be handled. He is fiercely protective of his loved ones, but at the same time, he understands that he can trust them. Both to have his back and to let him have theirs when it's needed.
He doesn't like to be terribly complex about things. He regularly keeps to the point and gives short, honest opinions right off the bat. He'll ask questions if he's confused, but won't press for unnecessary details at the same time. And yes, he can speak regularly and at length if he feels the need to- often enough, he just prefers not to. Chad also has a very strong sense of honor, especially in battle. When defeating an opponent allowed him to uncover some of the true depth of his abilities, he let them live in repayment, even going so far as to say he'd pray for their good fortune. He's well-mannered in just about every situation, battle or no (saying please and thank you, not killing where it isn't absolutely necessary, legitimately planning to return a phone to a group of guys who beat him up). One of Chad's best qualities seems to be understanding that there are two sides to every situation. He can respect that this is so, even if he thinks/knows can't allow the side he and his friends are fighting against to win.
So long story short, Yasutora Sado is the Gentle Giant trope entirely by choice. His name can translate to 'peaceful tiger,' and it's a very accurate description. Maybe there's still part of him that wants to make things easy and just force his way through life, but it's a part of him that he doesn't let into the light of day. He has an innate ferocity and power, and he ensures that he uses those traits for the sake of looking out for others.
He knows what it is to stand out and be treated differently, even harshly, for it- and it can show a lot in his dealings with others, whether because of his polite behavior towards them or because of some of the difficulties he has in holding an extended conversation. He's almost always calm and unruffled, not prone to a lot of chatter but not deliberately unfriendly.
Chad is comfortable with himself against all odds- even proud of his differences and of being who he is today. His grandfather told him that even though those who are different will always be persecuted, his strengths weren't granted to him to cause harm to those who persecute the odd and unique. They were granted to him to protect others. More than anything, someone who could do as much harm as Sado ought to be kind.
It's a lesson he'll never let himself forget, and it makes him everything that he is today.
Abilities:
Brazo Izquierda del Diablo - Left Arm of the Devil: Chad's left arm comes to manifest a red and white covering, also provided with more strength and durability as a result. Where his right arm manifests his grandfather's spirit (that of defense), however, his left arm's form is a manifestation of offensive ability, and his own desire to attack. Outside of your token super-strong punches, the big attack capability of this arm is La Muerte: a single hit with a hell of a lot of wallop, primarily due to the spiritual energy focused in the fist. This is a fairly devastating attack, meant to make an enormous impact upon the opponent, which also leaves behind a pretty cool giant skull-shaped crater.
He also possesses pretty ridiculously high levels of strength/durability, even before his more spirit-energy-related powers came into being in canon. Some of his earliest canon happenings show him able to: walk away from colliding with a motorcycle (even taking the cyclist to the hospital, as the other man was really injured), catch a steel beam falling from above with enough sturdy force to bend it along his back (and then to shrug it off rather literally and figuratively), punch somebody halfway across the block... and even tear a telephone pole out of the ground to use as an impromptu weapon. Some of your basic shonen over the top ridiculousness, essentially.
He can move fairly quickly for a human and has good instincts (his first battle against a Hollow and most of his second occurred while he couldn't actually see the enemy, and he managed to land a good hit or two on his own before getting any volunteers to be his eyes). His reflexes are also fast, more particularly when somebody else is in danger nearby- hence beam-catching and often seen shielding people/pushing them away from explosions and the like. He also has the ability to sense reiatsu (which is essentially spiritual energy). This energy sensing seems to be limited to people he cares for/is working closely with in battle, and token Dragon Ball-esque "but what is this enormous power I am sensing suddenly--!" moments.
Mental: Chad is actually pretty intelligent, scoring as about the 11th highest in his freshmen class exams (if I recall correctly). He studies well and can think on his feet when he has a mind to. He understands the importance of strategy fairly well for being from a canon that relies a lot on sheer power to win battles, and often makes very logical, reasonable observations based on the things happening around him (how correct his assumptions are tends to vary depending on what he's making the observation of: because of Ishida's complex relationship to Shinigami and his personal issues, Chad didn't expect that he would turn up to rescue Rukia from Soul Society-- only for Ishida to show up, ready and raring to go).
Weaknesses
He has good reflexes and some speed, but speed isn't a strong suit of his at all. His combat abilities typically focus on what he can accomplish through power and force. Outgunning over outrunning.
And using his abilities, especially over an extended period, will ultimately exhaust him no matter how dire the situation. Stamina and determination can only take anybody so far in the long run.
Mental: While he isn't stupid, he's far from genius level. There are plenty of things that he doesn't understand fully and just goes along with because his friends are asking him to, and things that go right over his head (like being asked not to run off and do something because it's dangerous, only for him to think that the other party meant it would be dangerous for them). He can be as oblivious and unfortunately stubborn as anybody. And while it's useful that he can make observations from a strictly soldier-like point of standing in the middle of a big chaotic arc of battles/upcoming battles, those sorts of assertions can be insulting to others, whether he intends it or not. They can also be dead wrong. It's perfectly possible to trick him or to slip past his radar.