User Profile

[[RP journal for Ryuuken Ishida at theskytides]]

Age: 45
Gender: Male
Position & Ship: Silvana, doctor.
Appearance: Ryuuken is a very severe person. His cold blue eyes are usually narrowed behind oval spectacles. His hair is a silvery-blonde and very soft-looking, cut fairly short but with long bangs parted in the middle. It's the only soft thing about him - his already-sharp features look even sharper with the disdainful expression he usually wears. He has no beard, or stubble of any kind; clean-cut doesn't even begin to describe it. "Pristine" or even "sterilized" might be closer to the mark. His clothes are fine enough; a long, well-made white tailcoat covers an ice-blue vest, with a pocketwatch in the right pocket. A white shirt is under the vest, and around his neck is a pale blue cravat. His pants are white as well, tucked into sensible brown leather boots. Hidden in his vest pocket is a silver pendant on a chain. It is a star of sorts - five equidistant points cut in half by a ring.
Personality: Being around Ryuuken is like grinding salt and lemon juice into a papercut. He is very abrasive almost to the point of rudeness, and cares little for the feelings of others, especially those he does not respect. He's a skilled doctor, and will treat his patients quickly and efficiently, but has little regard for their emotional health. He has no respect for the weak, although he will not go out of his way to hurt them. Ryuuken is extremely practical, and often discards or discounts things he deems useless. This is why he refuses to use his Quincy powers unless it is a life-or-death situation - he cannot make a living from monster-killing except as a mercenary, and he has reasons not to become one, as will be detailed in his history. Ryuuken is also very proud. He does not forget a slight or an insult, and is highly competitive with a select few people (read: Isshin Kurosaki). It is very difficult to earn his respect, although he will follow orders if given by someone in authority and he has good reason to follow them. He is a skilled fighter, but much less skilled with people. At best, he is cold; at worst, insulting. If he must deal with you, he will get it over with as quickly as possible. It's surprising that he was even married, much less fathered a child. Even to them, he was distant. If he cares about anyone at all, he will not let them know, partly out of pride and reluctance to show softer, "weak" emotions, but also because he is simply not practiced in those emotions. They would make him feel uncomfortable. So, prepare for abuse whether he likes you or not.
Abilities/Weapons: Ryuuken has great medical skill, having practiced it for well over twenty years. His hand-to-hand combat is passable, but his most unique skill is one he hesitates to use: Ryuuken is a Quincy - the so-called "last Quincy", having inherited all the powers, skills, and a powerful artifact upon his own father's death. ((Up to the mods if you want there to have been a Quincy genocide, or if they simply died out.)) The Quincies were a family of people that developed spiritual, almost mystical powers. They focused the energy around them through artifacts, and were able to create powerful weapons by doing so. Invariably, these weapons are energy bows. They damage both living creatures/"solid" objects and spirits/incorporeal creatures. Ryuuken can fire his bow one-handed if he needs to, and control its size. There are also other techniques that Ryuuken knows; he could perform several spells with capsules of spiritual energy if he kept them with him, but he does not. There is an ability called hirenkyaku, which allows Ryuuken to move very quickly over short distances. To perform it, spiritual energy is gathered beneath their feet and then ridden to wherever they need to go. This can be used to hover or fly, in theory. Finally, he has mastered ransotengai, which lets its user create invisible threads made out of spirit energy to move various parts of their body with their mind. It essentially turns them into a giant puppet and lets them move if they can't do it the normal way for whatever reason.
Weaknesses: As mentioned in his personality, Ryuuken has serious trouble relating to other people and showing friendly emotions. He is cold and distant, with no friends (besides perhaps Isshin). Few people would have his back in a fight because they actually cared about him. In a situation requiring empathy, he would be useless. His style of fighting leaves him weak to close combat, especially with swords and other frontal-attack weapons. He smokes cigars, and has for quite some time, so although Ryuuken is less easily winded than people without his training, he can't reach his full potential when it comes to physical exertion.
How well can he hack?: Ryuuken is not too interested in difference engines. It is none of his business what others put up. He cannot hack at all, and would not want to if he could.
History: Ryuuken was born in Colvus. Its monster problems motivated him to learn the Quincies' skills at a young age. He helped defend his father's land, but never held much enthusiasm for monster-fighting. When he was around eighteen, there was a vast influx of monsters, and the local governor sent a call for mercenaries. Isshin Kurosaki responded. Ryuuken resented this - he could take care of himself very well, thank you, and didn't need the help of an Ivonan dog. However, time passed. Ryuuken was unable to handle the monsters by himself, and Isshin saved his life. Ryuuken returned the favor within the week, telling him scornfully that his debt had been repaid, and he could not stand back and allow anyone to die like a pitiful fool. Oh-so-slowly, Isshin managed to prove that he was Not So Bad After All, and grudging comradeship and even friendship developed. The high monster levels lasted for several years. During that time, Isshin grew on Ryuuken in a strange way, and by the end of it, Ryuuken had developed romantic feelings - although he would rather be tortured than admit it. He has kept them to himself for well over twenty years. Isshin settled down in Colvus, practicing medicine. Everything was going fine, until Masaki entered the picture. A traveler from Ivona, Isshin fell for her and fell hard. He decided to return with her to Melior, leaving Ryuuken behind. Ryuuken was ashamed to admit that he felt loneliness, and did in fact miss Isshin. It seemed he had grown used to the vulgarity, unpredictability, and chaotic excitement Isshin had brought into Ryuuken's life. Resolving to start a family of his own, Ryuuken found himself a wife, who bore him a son, Uryuu Ishida. However, Ryuuken's wife died shortly after childbirth, leaving him with an infant to raise. There were several factors that led to Ryuuken turning his back on the life of a Quincy and taking up medicine. One was the fact that he had not been able to save his wife. Although he had not been in love with her, hers was still a life lost, and perhaps if he learned to save lives, he could prevent it from happening again. Two, a life by the bow would not provide enough money to support himself and his son. And three, monster hunting was dangerous, and if Ryuuken was killed, then his son would be orphaned, and left to his grandfather's care. Ryuuken did not know how much longer his father would live, and it was a risk he was unwilling to take. Ryuuken worked his way up to the director of a local Colvus hospital. Although often busy with his work, he raised his son as best he could, but had difficulty with him. Ryuuken had never been good with children, and found himself unable to relate. He was often terse and impatient, so young Uryuu turned to his grandfather for the love he needed. Uryuu found out about the Quincy's powers, and took to them eagerly. Ryuuken disapproved - the only way to make a living from them would be to fight monsters for pay, and THAT he would NOT allow his son to do, for reasons involving a certain bearded lunatic - but did not get in the way. Then, monsters killed Ryuuken's father, who left him all the artifacts in his possession (besides the one Uryuu used) and all the skills he had developed, whether Ryuuken liked it or not. He kept this quiet, allowing Uryuu to believe that his father had given up the powers in favor of a normal life. Ryuuken was sad enough about his father's death, but felt rather detached from the whole thing. Young Uryuu, however, was devastated, throwing himself into practice. At a fairly young age, Uryuu asserted his independence, declaring that he would live away from home and support himself. Ryuuken quietly helped with the rent, unwilling to abandon his son completely, but soon enough, Uryuu needed no more help, being of age and working on his own. Ryuuken decided that it was time to move on. Air travel had appealed to him for a while, and he had heard from a mutual friend that Isshin had decided to take a job on the Silvana. Perhaps it is time to broaden his horizons.

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