[Amat] Application

[serpentine_deceit]

Name: Ichimaru Gin
Canon: Bleach
Canon Point: Chapter 417/Episode 308 – Post-death
Gender: Male
Age: At least several centuries, though an exact number is unknown. Appears to be in his early to mid-twenties though.

Standing at 6’1 and 152 lbs, Gin is as lean as the snakes he so claims to be like. He’s a man stripped down to muscle and sinew, tall and somewhat lanky yet lacking any of the awkwardness of someone uncertain in their own skin. Despite his lighter build, he comes off as one of the more imposing characters in the series. It’s all about presence with Gin.

. . And that unwavering grin that seems to haunt his face. In most situations, Gin can be seen wearing it, no matter the seriousness of the situation facing those around him, impending deaths and chaos barely seem to disturb him. And adding to that illusion, that ever-present sense of ‘waiting to strike’ is the fact that he rarely, if ever seems to open his eyes. Always they are held to mere slits, though on those occasions when he does open them, they are a rather stunning light blue, offsetting the silver of his hair to create an almost otherworldly appearance. Iced to the core and seemingly just as light in being, as though nothing at all can anchor him, nothing at all holds him aground.

As far as clothing, Gin tends to wear items seeming several sizes too big in some respects, while fitted in others. Again, this gives the illusion of flow about him, all snake over sand. It allows him to hide things, or give the idea of such as so often comes with his personality. And yet there is an openness to his wardrobe - ‘Something out of nothing’ so it might imply, much like his words.

At the time of Gin’s canon point, he had suffered numerous injuries, ultimately leading to his demise, among them several large gashes, a wound through his chest, and the loss of his right arm. As these are all life-threatening injuries and he is coming in post-death, I would like him to come in completely restored – body intact, including his arm if possible, and will write my samples based upon this.



Emotions? Nope. I’ve got nothin’ like that. I told you when we first met, didn’t I?

If there is one thing Gin can be relied upon to do, it’s in showing you everything that isn’t rightly there. He’s a man driven by emotion, but has so solid a grip on it he makes any and all believe there isn’t a shred of it left in his being. Like a snake that has shed its skin, he left them all behind the moment he decided he would become a Shinigami. And it’s a role Gin accepts without complaint. Only a silent but steadily burning resolution.

To understand the man that Gin becomes, one has to look at his past. Shaped by his relationship with Rangiku, we see a child who had the capacity to care, to offer up what little he had for his own self for someone he just happened to come across, collapsed and unwanted. A child who is fiercely protective, but in all those ways that would never lead you to suspect. He slunk around, noticing the dirty going-on’s about his world without batting an eye until they encroached upon those very things he held dear. And once he had taken to the trail of those who had done those wrongs against them, he followed it, formulated plans, and did it all without a blink. He instead would let the anger fester, those ‘tasty’ little bits to swallow whole until he had incorporated them into his resolution. So, it was that Gin stumbled upon Aizen as he stole the bits of spiritual energy to feed his own ambitions in the form of the Hougyoku. And Gin really might have let it be. . .but Aizen had taken something from Rangiku, and that wasn’t something Gin allowed himself to forgive.

And here we run into that hard-shelled core of Gin – a man who slithers about, seemingly unconcerned for anyone or anything, because he doesn’t allow his thoughts to be known. He is someone who kills without a second thought, will watch death run itself red without concern, and yet in the same breath will maneuver others to force them stronger, to evade their own deaths. And he’ll do it all with flippant remark and that face-wide grin set to consume whatever weakness you dare show him. The villain playing villain with ulterior motives you just can’t see. Because all you notice is that grin and the imposing pressure of a presence that will take you whole on a whim. . .but on a whim just happens to let you go. Being around Gin is like being caught by a rattlesnake – you hold stock still and just pray it passes you by without a bite, but all you remember is how you escaped, the overwhelming relief, not why you were let go at all.

One might even say that’s the greatest ability of all with Gin –the way you never stop to question a damn thing about him because all you see is the danger he represents. He’s never quite trusted, even amongst the Captains, though no one refutes his abilities or right to be there. Yet, there’s always the underlying suspicions, and if someone is to be suspected, he’s the first one on the list. And Gin reinforces that all the more with his attitude – like being everyone’s prime suspect doesn’t bother him in the least.

Hell, he might even find it just a damn bit amusing really. Regardless of the circumstances Gin finds himself in, he never seems short on comments meant to incite, that probe at someone’s hurt, their weaknesses. He’ll spill his words with an almost carefree edge to them, leading one to question whether he means them or not. And yet, all too often, when uttered in the situations he chooses to speak, they plant a seed – suspicions, hope, anger. Words that seem uttered for the sheer amusement they provide him in watching you react, leading one to think him a rather cruel persona. Words that spark the soul in all the ways he needs it to be. Callous as they may seem in their light-heartedness, the words Gin puts forth showcase how he chooses to play his own hand in things. He’s always prodding, always giving that nudge to those who need it in the series, but he does it all in a way that makes him come off as a heartless bastard. Even in those moments, realizing that something needs to be done or they – Rukia and Ichigo especially – might be lost, Gin never forgets the role he has crawled into. He never gives anyone reason to question him in ways that he hasn’t seen fit to put forth.

Which showcases just how intelligent Gin actually is. He’s multi-layered – the snake that shed it’s skin without hinting that it’s got a handful of others tucked firm beneath that slick outer presentation. He manages to keep the details aligned, playing his role for Aizen, his role in Soul Society, while never once forgetting for a moment why he’s dug himself so deep into the muck of it all. Winding his way through the world without considering for the dirt he’s slithering along, only ever with his gaze set on one thing – getting back what had been taken from Rangiku. A process decades, if not centuries, in the making. Like the poison that’s sunk into his blade, Gin holds onto his resolution, letting it slowly burn its way through time. It’s a patience very few possess, and speaks to the lengths through which Gin holds onto his plans, his desire to make something for someone who was cared for that deeply he could sacrifice even that relationship with her.

Yet, it’s not until the end of his life that any of this is truly realized about Gin. When he acknowledges his own failure, the truth of what had driven him to do so many unspeakable acts, to show himself a snake to the world, heartless, becomes known. And with it, the absolute depth that Gin can care for something. Single-minded in that, and perhaps selfish, but there’s an odd purity to it all. Proof that he had never been emotionless at all, but so precisely controlled that he could, and would, fit into any role that was needed to see a world in which those cared for wouldn’t have to cry. That maybe he could change things for the better, even if it left his hands covered in blood, his soul stained dark with sin. He never once thinks of his own self in that, never bats an eye at the things he would have to do or how he would do them.

And yet, he comes to term with his own end, grateful that he had apologized to Rangiku, and that he could leave the task of Aizen to Ichigo, whose eyes had changed from their last meeting. A demise accepted because there is someone else he could place faith in, and that along with the simple happiness of Sorry, allows him to greet death not as a person he had painted himself for the world, but perhaps the closest thing to who he truly was.