Shinaru, Ken

[Guest]

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CASE FILE: Alchemist {Sergent}

'He who is prudent and lies in wait for an enemy who is not, will be victorious.'
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FULL NAME:
→ (Dia)Shinaru, Ken(ryu)

AGE:
→ 24 years of age.

SEX:
→ Male

BIRTH PLACE:
→ Unknown. He's a vagrant of Aerugo. And he has caused much trouble because of it.

RACE:
→ Auregese

DATE OF BIRTH:
→ The fourth day of the fourth month: April 4

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HEIGHT:
→ Approximately 178 cm(Five feet, ten inches) tall.

WEIGHT:
→ Approx 77 kg(170 lbs) heavy.

PICTURE:
→ Using pictures in an application goes against my code of honor. Sorry.

DESCRIPTION:
→ An Aerugese man standing in at a rather respectable height given the European Analogues all about the world, and his nation not being famous for procuring … well … extremely daunting and imposing people. Beneath the omnipresent uniform of Aerugo, he is a simple man with plenty of reminders of conflict and war, his whole body is battered with many a scar, while his face has one cutting horizontally across his face. Interesting to note is that his left hand is constantly gloved, while his right is always bare ... and that he always wears a black cloak(where he gets it, no ones knows between battle) atop his standard uniform.

Oh, moving along now. His hair is of a REALLY dark blue, needless to say he’s been dying it recently, and unfortunately applied too much of an unfortunately dark shade of the toner… which really changed his originally blond hair color a lot. The hair itself is kept at very, very moderate lengths. Did I forget to mention his eyes are green? Like jade? Yeah. Blond and green eyes meets dark-blue to the point that it looks black hair. Interesting to note that his teeth are REALLY crooked. I mean, he was born with them all slanted one way. How that even works without giving him grief, I don't even know, hence why he doesn't like talking to people he doesn't know ... or smiling often.

A tendency to fold arms, a habit to tilt his head the right, a yearning to have his left eye shut ... often, and a propensity to just give out random expressions of non-sensible words when unsure of what to make of his situation. Did I forget to mention he's left-handed, though he forces himself to use his right? And he is NOT ambidextrous, so when it LOOKS sloppy, that's because it IS.

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PERSONALITY:
→ A free spirit. That's how he'd describe himself. One who really goes and does as he pleases, but is frequently bored. In fact, boredom is the cause of his wanderings all about Aerugo, and earned him the moniker of 'Vagabound.' But in all honesty, his view on life is so simplistic, it's almost terrifying. His point in life is to avoid boredom at all costs. And thus he exercises his casual and calm nature to just go and do as he wills (within reasonable limits, of course), which is how he ended up associating with members of the military and then later becoming a feared combat veteran who walks about Aerugo as a feared swordsman ... all because he was BORED. To avoid boredom, he often applies his mind to all available tasks before him, his work, his job, his friends, and his mind games(Sudoku being a particular favorite).

However, in his quest to remain perfectly satisfied, even if it means his death, he comes off as a cold person. Frigid, unwelcoming, silent. He does not communicate and actively goes out of his way to avoid contact with others, instead going about and minding his own little business in the world. It's not so much he looks down on anyone, or can't connect with them and act personable, but rather he's too pre-occupied with quashing his boredom and usually when he SEES other people, it's on those day long walks across cities and he's just lost in thought. How he survives traffic, I don't know, but he just ... does. Many take offense by such behavior, and ... well ... can you blame them? So, all in all, he rarely speaks to anyone, and that's REALLY off-putting to many people.

Until you get to KNOW Ken. And trust me, it's very ... peculiar. He's a gentle soul to his friends and close associates. Kind, amiable, thoughtful, and with a very charming sense of humor. Hell, he cares so much for these individuals that he selflessly trusts, that he would fall on landmines for them ... assuming they were trusted as comrades and confidantes ... and trusted to ensure his boredom never bothers him. These people who mean that much to Ken are rare and few, but they are there, and they do mean just that much to him. Though, he'll never make it blatantly clear to them that he cares that much ... but still. He's a very warm individual, despite the frosty exterior he exudes to most bystanders and onlookers.

The only exception to everything about his personality, are State Alchemists. Human Weapons to Amestris. Unless he meets on personally and gets to know them somehow or someway, he hates them all with unvarying, unbridled fury. Given what's occurred in his past and the very first of his well-loved and well-trusted 'friends' was brutally slain by one of them, he's incapable of accepting them logical and rationally on a general basis.

LOVE:
→ Tea of all kinds and snacks that compliment tea.
Blades of all origins, anyone who can masterfully wield them
Aerugese/Aerugans
Oh and the Communist Party by default.

HATE:
→ Coffee.
Those who mock the sword.
Amestrian State Alchemists(ESPECIALLY).
Constant blaring sounds(Sirens, for example?).
Anyone who makes a mockery of Aerugo.

IDOL:
→ King Bradley. Impeccable and master swordsman, even if he was a Homunculus.

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HISTORY:
→ A free spirit. That is this young man, one whose identity is not his own. You could say he had something of a rough life, no direct central figures of authority to dictate, meld, and form his life. But, oddly, despite that hardship that has plagued him to this day and the plethora of problems that have also arisen, Ken's significantly more cheery than you'd expect. Well, once you get to know him that, is. But still, despite the bleak and dull background of his, you'd expect him to more psychotic or just downright homicidal or even a simple malcontent with the way the universe dealt him his cards. But, nope. He's had loads of fun (his perspective, not in the views of others, that is) in his two and half decades of existence.

Let’s begin by calling him the ‘Drifter of Aerugo.’ He has traversed across his homeland in all direction, left to right, top to bottom, covering nearly every square inch of his country (that includes the battlefields also, at some point), replacing emptiness with reverence to his country and a desire to explore and understand. Of course, his first contact with violence just so happened on his first excursion from the heap that was his original ‘home’ … and began his path down the blade as well, further cementing his all-around respect to Aerugo’s culture and customs. Let’s just say he was handed his own silly behind and nearly killed by a particular large band of brutes before a significantly more skilled fighter and his future mentor, beat the living crap out of them for attempted murder on a (at the time) small child.

Need we go into detail? Well, for convenience’s sake, we shall, though ‘Ken’ himself is not prone to giving out much about this episode of his life (namely the he-getting-his-ass-kicked-around-by-jerks-and-then-getting-beaten-silly-by-his-master-shortly-after-being-saved). He learnt quite a fair amount of swordplay from this person, who christened the youth (at the time) ‘Ken’ … since he, that is our good man the ‘Drifter,’ didn’t really care for a name, or really have one for that matter. Oh, and said man was hauled off into the Aerugo military and subsequently killed by Amestrian Alchemists. Yes, Ken KNOWS it was Alchemists since that was what Amestris was truly feared for … militarizing Alchemy to such an extent that ordinary troops really didn’t stand too much of a chance. That, and the fact that his master’s corpse was trapped in what appeared to be a torture device akin to the ‘iron maiden’ that had, according to fellow squad mates, appeared out of nowhere was a dead give-away.

So, as you can imagine, he’s not overly found of Amestris. But he won’t admit that, no, it’s considered a major issue under-neath him to express such sentiments in a statement. God help the poor bastard when Ken finds him. Especially if Ken’s armed. In fact, after his master’s death, he then earned his title as ‘Drifter,’ as he was known to be either the most benign of (sword-bearing) gentlemen or the most atrocious of (murderous) swordmen that went everywhere. His basic understanding of sword combat was then heightened as he spent the years of his wandering to master multiple disciples related to his weapons of choice, and needless to say, the results are rather admirable. In the year 2008, he joined the Aerugan military. Age 21. Rank is something that is none of his concern. Getting revenge was.

But, as luck would have it, his shallow cause would soon be sated. The ‘Steel Cage’ Alchemist, known for a streak of cruelty, and unusual methods of executing enemy soldiers. … Ken at the time had mixed and matched multiple styles of the disciples and arts of drawing, cleanly and swiftly cutting, and re-sheathing the blade. So, the exchange between the Aerugese and Amestrian went along the lines of diabolic laughter on the latter’s part and the former merely holding his stance … and severing its head with a well aimed and furious stroke. Ken’s sword was already sheathed before the monster’s head touched the ground, and his comrades mowed down the other close-by Amestrians.

So. He did it. He avenged his master, really. And now, he was without purpose. In the next two years that follow, before present time, he took up researching earth-based alchemy, mostly out of curiosity, though a bit out of intent of utilizing it (he never had anything wrong with using Alchemy this way, just he deplored Amestris for dealing such heavy damage to Aerugo). But, whilst he was a loyal soldier, spent plenty of time out in the midst of carnage when his country called for it, he was empty once more. And his title as ‘Drifter’ was really quite fitting, as when not informed of joining the front lines to kill, he’d wander about his nation, major city to major city without purpose. Until he met Saika, a most amusing individual. To put simply, these two individuals were part of the same unit, and after spending their respective amount of time in said unit, they were some of the surviving members as of seven months ago. When their poor little team was pretty much ambushed and perforated by bullets like there was no tomorrow. Needless to say, they barricaded themselves into a structure and whilst these two interesting souls were taking a breather, Ken, for heaven knows why, attempted to make small talk. And Saika, being a mute, didn’t respond, which of course irritated Ken until the other began speaking in Sign Language: A fair amount of which he had picked up on during his odysseys across his homeland. At first Ken was a bit unsure what to make of this whole situation, and then he promptly burst out laughing at this chance meeting, whilst Aerugese reinforcements came to save their group from being blood stains and bullet holes.

Let’s just say they got to be rather good friends, and Ken found a purpose. Keeping his friend and his friend’s dream alive. Oh and the Communist Agenda really piqued his interest, since it seemed like a good way to help Aerugo become a better country, though he’s not a real fanatic like Saika, and doesn’t buy into the whole ‘Revolution’ nonsense.

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ALCHEMIC ABILITY:
→ The Ability to displace the composition of the Earth and reconfigure it into high-density blade-like implements that then attack the enemy. The usage of seal is necessary, and must come into direct contact with the Earth or most stone-constructions, such as buildings. Technically speaking, this Alchemic Ability can affect anything born of minerals, which includes most solid objects in the ground or placed above ground, or the ground itself. It cannot alter the materials in question much for a transmutation so much as rearrange the structure and some of the chemical bonds to a certain extent, but visually speaking, it is VERY noticeable when a large hole forms in the ground and in its place a sword has emerged. Blades tend to be over-sized anti-cavalry blades with immense blade width and length, and relatively small handles. They are sometimes used as weapons by hand, but are commonly seen to rise up from the ground to impale. If Ken opts to summon blades from the ground, the place where the seal comes into contact with it is the origin. The Center. Anything within a 25 meter diameter of that point can be impaled with extreme prejudice, but only in concentrated and reduced areas. With the exception, of a small area about himself, of course, that cannot be affected period. This place is exempt from skewering.

If called from a wall, said blades function in a similar manner. Except with a momentary delay, for the user to get out of there. Interesting note, though the maximum range is 12.5 meters, Ken has acquired enough control to selectively decide on the location of his attack. In addition, the standard speed at which these blades emerge are absurd levels, resulting in, if not them slicing the enemy to impale them, ramming and puncturing them instead. All matter displaced out of the ground or the walls will be quite noticeable, in terms of large ditches or massive holes where there was substance originally.

EDIT: Additional note - The range of 25 meters (diameter) is NOT all converted into blades. No. no. no. As with most basic practitioneers of Alchemy, the maximum area he can truly affect is limited (area affected is a circular form with a radial length of half a meter). This range severely restricts the quantity of blades emerging, but due to the Alchemical Ability being a mere form of artifical superposition (though in a much more violent and turbulent manner), it can affect the earth within prior mentioned radius of 12.5 meters. Instead of being an omnipresent attack, it is a condensed targetting move. There is a VERY noticeable delay if the target is not within a reasonable distance of the user, and tell-tale signs, usually seen in shifting earth, multiple fissures form, depression and peaks occurring as the energy within the max range is called to strike. While it may appear as Alkahestry, it is just a prolonged alchemical transmutation. Then again, it MIGHT be Alkahestry since Ken was very interested about Xing, and he's just a foolish man who can't distinguish them. In the situation where not enough material can facilitate the attack, to preserve the Law of Equivalent Exchange, all surrounding material in the total range is sucked up (causing structural damage to buildings and sinkholes/craters in the land) and forced into the smaller target area.

That being said, it can be a lethal style of Alchemy, but the cost for its killing ability is any form of subtlety and grace it could have possibly had. Oh, and the fact that if too much is put above ground, his alchemy starts becoming less effective (it doesn't factor in widely uneven surfaces). Can be easily countered by basic Alchemy and Alkahestry (General transmutation or Earth-specific), by negation or interference, though not always.

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TRIVIA:
→ Is a lover of blades, but is not above using guns. In fact, he's surprisingly proficient with fire-arms, given his preferences and battle style.
→ Can speak the languages of Aerugo(Japan), Xing(China), and understand basic Amestrian(German). Is also proficient in the Aerugan Sign Language(denoted by asterisks inside of quotations mark for dialogue "*Like so*") ... or whatever brand he and Saika tend to communicate in.
→ A practitioner of Kenjutsu. Achieved mastery of the 'Drawing' phase of a mixed style of 'Battojutsu.' Achieved proficiency in the disciplines of 'Iaido' and 'Iaijutsu'
→ Consequently, his reaction time pushes the limits of human capability, did I forget to mention that outside of reaction time, he's extremely swift with his blades? The common person wouldn't fully comprehend that he has drawn his blade and already cut them cleanly. They would NOTICE that he's cleaning his blade before sheathing it, and then register the wound.
→ Although the means by which he learned these disciplines is unorthodox, and what he learned is not even one single school or branch of the art, he adheres strictly to a rigid form and style (of some kind) and is unyielding in those ingrained teachings.
→ Did I forget to mention that through a Charles Atlas Superpower training method and specialized weaponry, he's QUITE capable of drawing his blade within fractions of seconds and slicing people up? Yeah, he's got the upper body strength and training to do that, which of course means that he can REALLY dice up NPCs rather quickly. Or even others, if they aren't careful. While not quite at the 'dodge/reflect' bullet stage yet (and never will be, really), he can anticipate moderate range-gunfire and do his best to minimize damage.

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ALIAS:
→ Ken Shinaru

OTHER CHARACTERS:
→ Hei Bai, the madman! HUA HO HO HO HOO!!

CREATOR'S COMMENTS:
→ Decided to go beyond the usual madness theme most of my characer's have.

CUSTOM RANK:
→ The Vagabound of Aerugo.

OFFICIAL TITLE:
→ Granite Blade

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[Aurelius Schwartz]

REVISE

I'd give you a hard time for the picture, but I honestly don't feel like it. =/ I totally understand your feelings on it. In the past, I required it, but it doesn't matter anymore. I, most of the time, envision my characters differently from their pictures anyway.

1. Alchemic Ability. I can't think in meters, but 35 meters = 82 feet and that's too much. Can you change it to like 4.2 meters? That's the basic range limit we place on dodge-able lvl 1 alchemy.

XD what is with the Aerugese communists?!

[Guest]

So, um first. The number is 25, which indeed is about 82 feet. Not 35 which is over a hundred o.o;; And I realized I had incorrectly worded some phrases, or more accurately, had decided on one description with a much smaller set of numbers. The 'range' of 4.2 meters, or a smaller number is taken into consideration ... somewhat >.<; Sorry, I didn't want to go into Alkahestry, but still wanted to make a form of 'long-range' alchemy. And given how Alchemy is fueled by plate-tectonics, I figured mimicking that (in a sense) to force the true area (only a meter wide, radius of half a meter) in which the blades appear to wherever the target is. The number 25 is now the diameter, and well. It's not like I have eyes in the back of my head, so I can only strike whatever lies before me. So, potential distance of 12.5 meters. Yes, still 40 feet, but the longer the distance, the more of a delay and lessening of power upon emergence. >.<; And impractical in a combat situation with anyone who really has a gun. Oh, and by lessening of power, I mean that the blades appear, but can't stab or really hurt someone upon going past the 20 feet mark. Just fancy shmancy blades ... that Ken can pick up and use.

If not acceptable, I'll resort to what I mentioned in the PM earlier and essentially keep the ability the same, but rewrite all the conditions/potentials. Downplaying them, of course.

[Aurelius Schwartz]

APPROVED

^_^

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'Lieutenant Roll' : 8

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