Post by signe on Aug 15, 2011 18:35:10 GMT -6
Identification
Character Name: Signe Sigurdsdotter
Classification: Human
Alias/Titles: None
Gender: Female
True Age: 24
Birthday: August 10th
Residence: Karakura Town
Occupation: Musician
Appearance Information
Apparent Age:
Height: 5'9"
Weight: 160lbs
Eye Color: Blue
Hair Color: Blonde
Physical Description:
Signe is a striking character in a crowd, though just how obvious she is depends on those around her. Her build and features are heavily influenced by her Nordic ancestry with a slight hint of something else to soften the otherwise sharp features. Her height is the most noticeable thing about the woman's body and is only accentuated by her straight-backed posture and regal bearing. As a musician, Signe learned that presentation was as important as skill and the care she takes in her body is evident. Her skin is pale and as smooth as porcelain and a thin surgical scar above her right hip is the only imperfection it bears. Her muscles are firm and only barely define themselves against the surface of her skin to give her entire body a sleek figure, albeit one that is only vaguely shaped like an hour-glass. An average sized chest and slightly narrower hips than most females of similar build make it impossible to describe the woman as curvaceous but still leave her sex unquestionable.
Signe's face has also been heavily shaped by her northern heritage. Her head itself is slightly longer than the considered average and her facial features are more pronounced as a result. Her sharp chin and high cheekbones combine with thin lips and a nose shaped like a hawk's beak to give the woman's face a predatory, almost feral look that is only heightened when she smiles and reveals white teeth and a pair of canines that seem slightly sharper than normal. If her eyes are a window into her soul, Signe's seem to be covered in ice and the pale blue iris' are accentuated by her slightly angled eyes and narrow eyebrows. Her hair is a voluminous mass of gold that, when unbound, falls straight down her back to her waist and her bangs are cut to eyebrow length and have a sharp leftward curve that causes them to obscure part of her left eye. Her hairstyle is usually a thick, complex braid that leaves the last three inches to dovetail at the small of her back.
Signe's wardrobe varies and is largely situational. The woman is remarkable casual most of the time, opting for a pair of worn jeans with fraying hems with a scrolling Celtic knot rising up from the bottom of the left leg to her left hip. Her upper body is usually clad in a plain t-shirt of varying color and design, though she has a penchant for off-the-rack articles with "witty" slogans. Her shoes are a battered pair of blue and white two-stone sneakers that obviously needed to be replaced some time in the last year. For her performances and events that have a strict dress code, the violinist discards her faded jeans and wears a knee length, sleeveless black dress and, weather dependent, a black vest to cover her bare arms. A plain silver bracelet and a set of stud earrings are her only accessories other than her instrument and the woman even dons a much hated pair of high heels, though even their two inch heels threaten her balance.
Personal Information
Personality Overview:
Signe is an austere woman, a product of both location and careful grooming. She is set in her ways despite her relatively young age and clings to her world view despite her new found spiritual awareness. Raised by a reserved family that valued strength of will and action over empty words has molded the woman into someone who lets her actions speak for her, who sticks by what few promises she does make, and one who struggles with even the simplest of conversations as if it were a pitched battle. Socially awkward by any measure, Signe's focus on action, on the physical world, and on her drive to succeed has made her neglect all but the most basic social skills as she grew older. Her tongue betrays her when she tries to convey her emotions into spoken words, tying itself into complicated knots while her brain futilely searched for the correct words or meanings. The woman often chooses silence over the frustration she knows will come if she tries translating her thoughts through a verbal medium and this reluctance has turned her towards another way of expressing her emotions: music. The violin is a noble instrument already and Signe feels an attachment to the taut strings as if it were a part of her body. Her music is her outlet, a release valve on the emotions, fears, and worries that build up in her mind, and it was this talent that led her down the path of a musician.
Her music is indicative of the woman's outlook on the world. What few songs she has written start out as slow, melancholy pieces that quickly grow in speed in complexity until they brim with vitality. Likewise, Signe herself makes a valiant effort to push through sadness, grief, and whatever negative emotions cloud her thoughts. The tales of Nordic legends told to her in her youth inspire her, the mythical kings and heroes that took the place of fairy tales in her childhood providing a template she uses to face every challenge without backing down and with everything she has, mentally or physically, until she emerges victorious. This mental tenacity, a clear mark of her Nordic heritage, is most commonly displayed as a stubborn drive towards perfection. Every note in a composition must be exactly correct, each sound crystal clear, and the timing just right before she considers it finished. Her physical pursuits are similarly clear in their intent and her speech is brusque and to the point. There is no dancing around the heart of an issue for her, just a straight charge to the core of the matter to quickly clarify and resolve an issue.
Signe lived a life where she never stayed in one place long until she found herself in Japan. She took comfort that, if she ran into a situation that was difficult or complex, she would be gone soon and wouldn't have to deal with it. For all of her talk of not backing down, Signe does not do well in the face of anything other than a physical confrontation. A side effect of her difficulty conveying her own thoughts, the woman is almost defenseless in an argument. In the face of her recent awareness of the spiritual side of her world, from the existence of Hollows, the various souls of the dead, and her single encounter with a Shinigami, her beliefs have come under just that sort of attack. The souls of the dead make her uncomfortable and snap her mask of collected calm quicker than anything else, turning her into a nervous mess eager to escape the area. Hollows have the same effect on her, though her reaction to the beasts is to go on the offensive and take action against what are obviously monsters.
Life as a musician, specifically one who travels in an effort to earn a living, has given Signe a minimalistic view on the physical world. She has very few belongings and her lack of physical ties to any place save her original home in Scandinavia lets her go where the wind (or a chance to impress certain conductors or composers) takes her. Self-reliance is an important trait for her and she thrives on providing for herself on a day to day basis, her continued success breeding an optimistic mind set. The phrase "for every door closed, a window opens" could best be used to describe her outlook on life, but with the addition of "even if you have to open that window yourself." Those bold heroes of Norse legends did not sit idly by in the face of adversity or challenge and Signe allows no less of herself. Her lack of many physical possessions has allowed the woman to focus on the moment, to collect memories of good times like some people line their shelves with pictures. She does not enjoy a rowdy night skipping from bar to bar, however. A good memory for Signe is sitting in a coffee shop, a book store, or a park on a sunny day with a small group of friends or family.
Family is a very important part of Signe's life and she maintains close ties not only with her mother and father, but also with the few aunts, uncles, and cousins she has as well. Her respect for her ancestors was heightened by her mother's care in maintaining a family tree and the young girl grew to know each of the men and women who came before her as if they were still alive. This respect manifests itself as a strong protective attitude towards her kin and a willingness to help and defend at the drop of a hat. Similar to the strength of her family ties, Signe puts a strong emphasis on friendship, though maintaining a relationship is a challenge for her. Her own rigid beliefs make a clear distinction between an acquaintance and a friend, laying down a barrier that is not easily crossed. It takes time for her to see someone as a friend and that threshold is usually crossed after they display some trait that Signe finds admirable, though even then it takes her some time to actually admit a bond even exists
Character Time-line:
Study of Signe’s ancestry makes the woman seem like the culmination of a long line of bards and warriors that stretches back to when her ancestors took their long ships to raid and plunder. This legacy defines her, but only because of her parents’ actions during her childhood. Her father was a gruff, monosyllabic man that raised his daughter with high expectations and an inability to find the words to convey his affection to her and provided for his family by working a shipping vessel that left him absent from his daughter’s life for most of any given year. Signe’s mother took up the parental slack and it was her quiet and unmoving determination to help her daughter that ultimately set Signe on her path as a musician.
With her father setting the standard and her mother enforcing it, Signe grew up constantly striving to meet those expectations. As an only child, Signe received all of her parent’s focus both and flourished under the attention during her early years. She was an exceptional student during her first several years of schooling, though she began to resent the amount of time she was forced to spend indoors with her mother while the other kids were outside playing and the first sparks of childish rebellion blossomed in the girl’s stomach much earlier than usual. It didn’t help that her father seemed like little more than a voice on the phone more often than an actual physical presence and she began to stray from the path he wanted her to take.
By the time middle school rolled around Signe was in a rapid educational decline. Both her grades and enthusiasm dropped significantly and she began to seek out the “dangerous” youths. Her activities changed as her new “friends” took her in and introduced her to their lifestyle. Instead of going straight home after school, Signe would stay out until long after the sun set roaming her home town and trying to score a cigarette, the ultimate symbol of teenage rebellion. Her relationship with her parents suffered as she saw their attempts to care for her as oppressive and her father’s visits turned into a month long guerilla war as he attempted to rein his daughter in and Signe resisted in whatever way she could. By the time Signe entered high school her academic performance was abysmal and her mother was suffering from the stress of trying to deal with a rebellious teenager on her own.
High school marked an important change in Signe’s life. Her first year was spent much as the last one had: she and her friends would skip school, though now a few in the group were experimenting with marijuana and other recreational drugs. Signe herself stuck with tobacco and she gleefully ignored her teacher’s attempts to discipline her. That all changed when she met Cornelo Sandoval during one of her few appearances in a classroom. Cornelo was her school’s music teacher and he was something of a legend. Rumor among the students painted him as a former Spanish concert violinist who was a significant presence in his nation’s musical community until some unspecified falling out that forced him to leave his homeland. These stories included everything from how he had slept with the wife of an influential politician all the way to exposing a shady criminal organization and while Signe didn't put any stock in the rumors, there was something strange about the man. He was always calm and his quiet voice carried so much authority that she couldn't help but listen to him. This was when Signe was introduced to the violin and it dramatically changed her life.
Signe didn't just pick up the instrument and immediately renounce her evil ways. Cornelo saw in her a raw and unshaped talent for the string instrument and he incessantly pursued the teenager to get her to hone it. This battle lasted for the better part of the year and was marked by three events, the first of which was Cornelo's sheer persistence. The teacher expected as much, if not more than, what Signe's parents wanted out of her and he was unrelenting in his insistence that the girl "could be magnificent." He sought her out in all her hiding places around the school when she was supposed to be in class, he met her parents and more than once was waiting at her house to instruct the girl if she skipped class, and even managed to steal her away from detention to force her to spend more and more time around a violin.
His persistence paid off midway through the year after Signe had a particularly fierce argument with her father. The girl ran away, upset and enraged, and was spotted by Cornelo as he was on his way home and offered her a place to vent. When Cornello took her back to his classroom, Signe took up a violin and began to play. She let all of her emotions go as she played and her untrained fingers fumbled through song after song as she lost herself in the noise. She began practicing in earnest after that and her time away from home was spent with Cornello more than her friends. To the group of teenagers it seemed like Signe just forgot about then, constantly bailing on events or blowing them off entirely in favor of her new hobby. Signe was oblivious of their resentment however and her skill with the violin grew in leaps in bounds until she finally felt confident enough to, at Cornello's urging, attempt a recital at the end of the year. Her grades improved as she spent more time ensuring she could have access to the music lab, though her relationship with her parents remained strained, and her life began to improve ever so slightly. This was also when her former friends declared her a traitor and took action. By then all of Signe's band had either dropped out of school entirely or were only there because of nothing else to do and they all had some sort of tendency towards violence. They cornered Signe on the night of her recital and confronted her about her newfound interest in music and school. When Signe wouldn't back down, they decided to show her just how much they disapproved of her new lifestyle.
The resulting confrontation left Signe in the hospital with a concussion, two broken ribs, and a fractured leg. She also missed her recital, a much more damaging event for the young woman. She spent her recovery period housebound and morose despite her mother and Cornelo's attempts to cheer her up. She was healed enough to move under her own power again by the time summer rolled around and Cornelo gave her a gift. Attempting to make up for his absence during her attack, the teacher gave Signe her very own violin and that started her down the road to a full recovery. Her parents remained worried for most of the summer months as Signe spent most of her time outdoors, playing her violin alone in a field, empty parking lot, or occasionally the roof of her school. With music to let her release her worries, fears, and frustrations, the girl and her mother began to gradually close the emotional wounds that they had done to each other. By the start of Signe's final year in school, she was closer to her mother than she had ever been though there was still a considerable distance between her and her father.
Her senior year went by without any major events. Signe found a new group of friends in an advanced music class and steered clear of those among her former friends who still held a grudge. Signe participated in several recitals and performances and the girl's talent netted her some tentative attention from several art institutes. She learned more than ever from Cornelo and as the year came to a close, she had a scholarship for a spanish school gained in no small part from her music teacher's influence in his native land. With her life on track and her bags packed for Spain, her father returned for an unprecedented six months. His daughter was wary of him at first, keeping her distance from the man whose authority she had defied for so long. As with her mother, however, the two began to close the gap between them. Her relationship with her father was still awkward but when Signe left for Spain, she was on speaking terms with the man again.
Signe's college life went by quickly and in a blur. She struggled at first as she adjusted to the pace of her new life and learned a new language. She fell in love for the first time and was promptly heartbroken as the relationship ended towards the end of her sophomore year. Her studies into music theory and composition added more depth and variety to the music she played and she was eventually set back a year after she failed a majority of her classes at the end of her junior year. Her senior year sped by as she began searching for an orchestra to audition for and she was still floundering by the time she graduated, so it could be considered a lucky break that she saw her first Hollow the night of her graduation.
Signe was making her way to her dorm alone when the monster dropped off a nearby rooftop. The Hollow was vaguely insect-like with multiple limbs and a mask shaped like a mosquito's face, but with much larger proportions. Signe was stunned as she saw the Hollow devour a man with a chain hanging from the center of his chest and she only managed a scream with the beast looked up and saw her watching. It spoke then, but Signe didn't hear it's words as she tried to run. The beast toyed with her, herding her like a predator and making sure she ran further and further away from populated areas. It had cornered the exhausted woman and was moving in for the kill when Signe first manifested Fenrir.
Signe only remembered a mind numbing despair that she would never see her family or Cornelo again when she felt a strange tugging sensation followed by a deafening roar. A cascade of energy washed over her body and in seconds the woman stood inside the shape of a large, bipedal wolf. The Hollow, surprised by the sudden spike in the girl's reiatsu, fled... straight onto the sword of a Shinigami as the man arrived on the scene. This mystery Shinigami watched the frightened Signe, who was near hysterical by that time, and then smiled at her.
He was a man of gentle features and a calm but firm voice and he didn't bother to give his name when he spoke. He told the young musician to go to a place called Karakura Town to get an explanation about her abilities and what she had seen that night. After all, it wasn't his job to be a teacher. Signe spent a week trying to put some logical explanation to the events of that night, but nothing seemed right. So, citing a vacation, Signe made plans to go to the Japanese city the strange black-robed man had mentioned. There was only one problem: she didn't have the money. The ensuing journey saw Signe playing as an independent musician for various small orchestras, providing her music for weddings, and even playing at restaurants several times as she worked her way halfway around the world and arrived in Japan almost a year after her departure.
It is here the story of Signe and her wolf, Fenrir, begins. Newly arrived at the center of spiritual activity, the woman steps off the plane with a rudimentary knowledge of the local language, a complete ignorance to the spiritual world she now has a part in, and hoping that she can finally figure out just what she is capable of.
Supernatural Abilities
Fenrir
Fenrir
Manifestation:
Signe's ability, Fenrir, is a spectacular manifestation. When she calls on her power, silver reiatsu pours from her body and whips about her like a miniature whirlwind. This storm calms from the ground up and it leaves a menacing figure in it's wake. Signe herself is unchanged but she is encased in a silhouette of a bipedal wolf made entirely of reiatsu that seems to strain at the edges, as if the energy is seeking to escape. Powerful arms end in a five fingered hand tipped in claws the size of dinner knives and connect to broad shoulders that fluctuate and blur with every move the predator makes. It's chest is wide and the energy composing it flickers into vaguely muscle-like shapes when it moves.
It's feet are three toed canine feet adapted for it's upright stance and are tipped in almost identical claws as it's hands. Fenrir's head sits on a broad neck and it's blunt muzzle is lined with an impressive array of teeth that, while not razor sharp, are just as suited to crushing bone as the animal it takes it's shape after. Two yellow orbs of spiritual energy burn like flashlights where Fenrir's eyes would be and they are the only part of Signe's manifestation that does not change color when she activates a rune.
Three runes, each a different color, burn down the outline's spine. The first rune, Kenaz, burns a smoldering red and is shaped greater than symbol. The second rune, Ise, pulses a deep blue and is a plain vertical line. The third and final rune, Hail, is shaped like the letter "H" with a crooked crossbar, and it pulses with yellow energy that leaps off the rune in tiny arcs. These runes, when activated (see below), change Fenrir's appearance in different ways. Once a rune is activated the other two dim considerably.
Kenaz:
This rune bursts into flame upon activation and two identical copies appear on Fenrir's hands. The reiatsu making up the wolf's body darkens to an angry red and visible channels of power between the rune on it's back and the two new runes on it's palms. Finally, Fenrir's claws seem to burst into flames as the restraining energy around them vanishe.
Ise:
Upon activation this rune sinks into the mass of reiatsu that makes up Fenrir's body and the ordinary silver energy that it consists of darkens to blue. The manifestation solidifies significantly and while it is still mostly transparent, it's borders cease flickering and the entire projection becomes much more stable.
Hail:
When the yellow rune is activated, Hail physically expands to cover all of Fenrir's back. The entire mass of reiatsu that composes the wolf changes to the same yellow as the rune and erupts in dozens of tiny flashes that continue indefinitely like a thunderstorm centered around the woman inside.
Functionality:
Fenrir is not a sentient being, functioning more like a suit of armor Signe wears made entirely from the woman's spirit energy and it wraps her in a protective cocoon of reiatsu. With no runes active, the wolf's primary set of abilities are unaugmented but still formidable. Each claw, tooth, and limb is dense enough to physically affect objects it comes into contact with and lets it's claws slash, it's teeth pierce, and it's limbs pummel an opponent.
Physical attacks against her person are slowed when they strike Fenrir and their force is distributed through it's entire form with a sensation akin to trying to push through thick tar. Attacks based primarily around the use of spirit energy are diluted even more when used against Signe's wolf shape as the woman's reiatsu pushes back against them with greater force, dispersing the energy that makes up said attack and diverting it away from Signe's physical body.
The physical effects of this repulsion manifest as large sparks that fall away from Fenrir around the location of the attack and fade away before hitting the ground. Fenrir dims slightly after absorbing an attack, almost too little to be noticed, with the effect growing more prominent dependent on the severity of the attack or if it absorbs multiple blows in quick succession. It's recovery rate also depends on the attack as more reiatsu is provided by Signe to repair Fenrir's body. This restoration speeds up if Signe accelerates the flow of reiatsu from her body, though this boost is less efficient than letting it regenerate naturally and is effectively a emergency ability.
The wolf's abilities can be enhanced by the three runes on it's back. Each rune represents a different set of abilities Signe can activate and, once activated, modify Fenrir into a very different beast depending on which sigil burns on Fenrir's body. Only one rune can be active at a time and Signe is unable to rapidly cycle through them, with each activation taking anywhere from half a minute to several based on Signe's remaining strength and how many times she has switched previously while Fenrir returns to it's default state during each switch as the new rune takes effect.
Kenaz is used to represent fire and it's activation gives Fenrir a more offense-centric set of abilities. It's claws and teeth scorch Fenrir's targets and inflict reiatsu burns as if they were truely made of fire and leave scorch marks on surfaces in their wake. The wolf's body also loses some of it's resistance to attacks, but the angry red energy that it is composed of emits heat and can inflict burns on an attacker over time if they remain in close proximity to the mass of energy.
Ise is, as the name suggests despite it's spelling, a representation of frost and serves as a defensive tool. The energy silhouette of Fenrir hardens as Fenrir comes closer to being a solid manifestation instead of a tangible mass of reiatsu. It's resistance to physical and energy attacks is greatly enhanced due to the increase of reiatsu around Signe, protecting the woman from harm even more effectively. While Fenrir's offensive abilities gain no noticable boost or drain, Signe and her wolf cannot move as quickly as normal while under Ise's protection; The amplified energy that strengthens Fenrir requires more energy to move as well.
Hail's set of enhancements deviates the most from Fenrir's ordinary abilities. The erratic rune used to represent a storm charges the wolf's body with energy similar to Ise, but does not increase it's defensive or offensive abilities. Instead, Hail allows Fenrir to unleash a howl that blasts a devastating cone of energy from it's maw. This energy is invisible, like sonic energy save for a rippling line of distortion that races along the ability's path, tossing loose objects before it like a great gust of wind. Fenrir also gains the ability to launch smaller, more directed blasts of energy from it's hands via slashing motions in the air. These crescent-shaped waves of force and Fenrir's newly enhanced howl strike like physical blows,
Abilities:
None; Signe does not know any abilities outside of those used through Fenrir
Combat Information
Reiryoku Level: 9
Character Dynamic:
Signe's manifestation and the protection it provides give her an inherent ability to take the fight to her enemy, using Fenrir's claws and teeth to the best advantage, but it is her runes and the utility they provide that give her an edge in battle. The ability to switch between her three rune states gives the woman flexibility and allows her to adapt to an opponent's fighting style, either by activating Kenaz to overwhelm them in fire, Ise to withstand an assault she cannot match, or Hail to reach those who remain outside the reach of her claws. Signe's strength is also amplified by her reiatsu shell and cause Fenrir's claws strike with bone jarring force while it's bite is strong enough to bend steel between it's jaws.
The human's greatest weakness is, without a doubt, her reliance on her own reserves of spiritual energy. Fenrir only lasts as long as she has the energy to sustain it and because she has to use that energy to repair damage to the silhouette during a battle, her effectiveness in combat is directly related to how much damage Fenrir has absorbed for her. This limit has no set time due to it's nature and it is entirely possible for a strong opponent to launch an attack so powerful that Signe has to use all of her energy to keep it from penetrating Fenrir far enough to kill her, thus forcibly dispelling the wolf.
Alternatively, a fast opponent could, if they struck hard enough each time, deliver a flurry of blows the woman would be unable to keep up with and the resulting drain as Fenrir tried to repair itself would be enough to empty Signe's reserves. Speed itself is often Signe's enemy. While her speed is boosted upon her power's manifestation, it only brings her to what can be considered a "normal" level. She cannot match techniques such as Shunpo or Sonido for obvious reasons and a combatant who has focused on speed can easily leave her in the dust.
Because of these disadvantages and her general ignorance of the more intricate methods of spiritual combat, Signe fights much like the old Norse Berserkers of legend. Quick to try and close the distance and overwhelm her foes in a barrage of claws and teeth, Fenrir allows her to contend with Shinigami and Hollows at extremely close ranges.
Reiryoku/Reiatsu Abilities:
N/A
Significant Inventory:
N/A
