Made for War, not Beauty

Applicant Info

Name: Kaze
Contact: wagashi
Current Character(s): N/A

Character Info

Character's Name: Doudanuki Masakuni
Character's Canon: Touken Ranbu (web browser game & Hanamaru anime content)
Character's Age: 630+, appears in his late 20s to early 30s
Canon Point: After the Special Investigations: Jurakutei event when the saniwa obtained Yamanbagiri Chougi and learned that the Time Government is watching their actions
Background/History: Wikia Link for Doudanuki | World Information Link | Fanmade History based on historical research

Strengths:

1. Physical Prowess: Doudanuki's biggest strength is being a sword - he's stronger than a human, needs less sleep and sustenance, can heal faster, and as long as his real vessel is intact, he can survive nearly anything. He's also one of the stronger and hardier uchigatana in the game, a fact that comes from his being a war sword which is thicker than most swords. He was created for a practical purpose and it shows both in his physical appearance and in his dedication to growing ever stronger. One of his only famous feats involves a contest of strength - a famous swordsman was able to cut a steel helmet using his sword where all others failed. He takes great pride in this and an allusion to it is one of his main battle cries.
   
2. Straightforwardness: One of his strengths is also a weakness. While Doudanuki's simplicity can get him in trouble, it also allows him to have extreme focus on his goals. He speaks his mind and asks questions when needed. He prefers orders rather than being a leader himself and, in fact, complains when he's given a leadership role. Doudanuki doesn't crave attention - when he's made MVP he even apologizes for stealing the spotlight. He also doesn't care about his looks as long as he's strong and useful. Even when he levels up in the game, he touches on the fact that he has no desire to change how he looks despite his new level, and later when he achieves Kiwame, his form alters fairly little except that he discards carrying his helmet for integrating it into a shoulder guard. While other swords were made to be beautiful, Doudanuki was made to be practical and that is exactly what he is down to the letter.
   
3. Reliability: While some swords have tumultuous pasts and heavy connections with their former masters, Doudanuki is relatively free. He's had so many masters in the past that he feels no special connection to any of them, nor does he really remember any of them. He is instead loyal to his saniwa and his fellow swords and to the mission they're on to save history. This clearness in goal makes him among the most difficult to corrupt when it comes to deviating from the goal set out by the Time Government. He's already living his best life, coming back from obscurity and destruction to once again fight on the battlefield. As long as he has someone to fight for and someone to fight again, he's generally stable and can become a fiercely loyal companion, willing even to take a blow meant for his allies.

Weaknesses:

1. Boorish: His rough manner often causes him to say or do things that others might find offensive. He isn't a refined person and prefers to speak plainly, which doesn't go over well when combined with his lack of experience with social situations. He's more suited to the battlefield than the court and as such isn't great at most social interactions. In the comics, we see this when he wants to get along with others, but simply doesn't know how. He tries various things because he believes that being liked is one path toward being considered a useful part of the Citadel and thus being put to use in battle.
   
2. Identity: Unlike the other swords, Doudanuki is a amalgamation - he isn't just one sword, but the collective consciousness of all the swords in his line. While this might seem like a strength, it also leads to a quiet complex he has - he's disposable. If he were to die, another could easily take his place, and so he has very little in the way of self-preservation. His lack of self-worth is also shaped by the fact that so many of his swords were destroyed after the war and during the various sword purges. His ugly form and low collector's value meant many people chose to melt his swords for scrap metal or simply discard him. In subtle ways, he's desperate to be of use to those around him and to be seen as a valuable part of the team, even if the only way he understands how to do that is to fight and be the strongest.
   
3. Bloodlust: As a sword, Doudanuki doesn't always understand the moral systems of mortals. Because of this, he can come off as bloodthirsty or callous when he seeks war or finds nothing really wrong with casual murder for the greater good. He's the quintessential sword - forgoing much of his new humanity in favor of focusing on strength training and fighting. Born into a world of war, he's single-minded about his approach to swords and their uses. He believes that as long as someone is strong, sturdy, and can be used for their true purpose, then nothing else really matters. He balks at being given jobs that he considers "unsuitable" for weapons of war like fieldwork, but goes into sparring practice with gusto. He likes to pick fights, but often misjudges his opponents - going after those who are too strong or sparring too hard against those who are weaker than him.

Powers/Abilities:

• Swordsmanship - no particular style
  
• Heartier than the average human in that he can take more damage than a human of superior athletic ability
  
• His sword is his real body, so unless that breaks he won't necessarily die, but his physical one still takes damage and too much of it can reflect upon the sword
  
• He still requires the usual basics like food, drink, and sleep like normal, but he can go longer without than the average human
  
• He can demanifest or retreat into his sword when severely damaged or when traveling through time and such
  
• Minimal spiritual recognition; he can get a feeling if someone is a fellow spirit, but not necessarily tell what kind of whether he's right. It's more like an itch at the back of his brain that tells him something is up
  
• Spontaneous flower summoning - an in-game mechanic, when the character is in particularly good shape or happy, cherry blossoms will sometimes randomly appear around them like a personal shower of flower petals. It's a pain to clean up.

Other Noteworthy Traits: He's not a human and not a true mortal. As long as his real body - his sword - exists, so will he. Doudanuki is also the amalgamation of all of the Doudanuki Masakuni swords, so while some swords have only one consciousness and one body, Doudanuki can access the memories of all swords of his line. Most of them have been destroyed through the ages, but the "network" of his memories still exist. He also has a light chance of corruption. If he ever deviates from his mission or tries to go against and change the flow of time, corruption takes hold in his soul and turns him into one of the monsters that he fights against. The likelihood of Doudanuki, someone who is steadfastly with his saniwa and his comrades, corrupting, however, is very slim.

Weapons & Other Special Inventory:

1. His clothes and armor (on his person)
   
2. His sword/vessel (on his person, attached to his soul basically)
   
3. A red helmet with a crack in the middle (on his person, he's always carrying it)
   
4. His citadel clothing (extra! a set of clothes that aren't his armor, a jersey top and bottom like athletic wear)

Color: Yellow - mostly aesthetic since he has golden eye and a lot of his color accents are yellow. Also, he needs to learn that there are other good colors out there besides "black" and "blood."

Sample: TDM Link!

[ OPTIONAL ] World Aspect: It's not a power he has, but the saniwa has the power to bring inanimate objects to life and that could be fun as hell to have random things around town suddenly wake up and start moving around. Like Beauty and the Beast! But less curse-like. Information necessary about tsukumogami and how they work in Japanese folklore is here.