Lanying Boazhai, Captain Commander of the Gotei 13

Name: Lanying Baozhai (Original Roman name: Camilla)
English Translation: Stockade of Blue Quartz (Roman name translation: Servant)
Species: Oni
Race: Shinigami
Gender: Female
Date of Birth: July 18th, 402 BC
Appearance Age: Early to mid 40s
Actual Age: 2420
Organization and Rank: Captain Commander of the Gotei 13, Head of the Baozhai Noble Family

Height: 13'1 barefoot, 13'3 in her boots
Weight: OMITTED
Hair color: Blonde
Eye color: Crimson with slit pupils
General Appearance: Lanying Baozhai is an extremely tall individual, for a female at least. Standing at a staggering 13’1 and weighing in at *omitted*, Lanying is the best descriptor for tall and lanky. Her skin is fair, and perfectly smooth, aside from a small scar on her left side, just above her waist. Her golden hair is usually allowed to cascade down her body, ending in the middle of her back, with a single strand falling over each of her ears to rest over her below-average breasts. Her bangs are swept to the sides and kept out of her crimson-colored eyes. Atop her head, sprouting from just behind her ears, are two curved horns. The horns start with Lanying’s skin color, and then turn a deep, rich red in color, with the tips of her horns being the color of blood.

Being the Captain Commander, she is allowed to customize her attire as she sees fit. Because of this, she has forgone the Shihakusho entirely, and has instead opted to wear a sleeveless, black, form-fitting dress with white accents, with the dress ending just below her knees. The dress has thin white lines that start from her shoulders, slanting downwards over her breasts, and coming to a point at her waist, where they meet another white line that goes around the circumference of her waist. The skirt of the dress has two sets of white frills, the first of these being the very edge of the skirt, with the second set being an inch above. Covering her arms are long, almost shoulder length black gloves, with the very end having the same white frills as her dress. These gloves are fingerless, and held in place with small rings that are on Lanying's middle finger. Atop her head is a flowery, silver tiara with a crimson jewel in the center. Refusing to wear the tabi, Lanying instead opts to wear thigh-length, glossy black boots, with two inch heels making her just that much taller and imposing. She prefers to keep her Zanpakuto sheathed upon her upper left arm, with the handle facing down for easy access. Unless it's official business, Lanying outright refuses to wear her haori, but when she does, her haori is a small, sleeveless white vest that ends at her waist. The inside of the vest is a deep blue color, while the outside is the plain white that haoris are supposed to be. The back of the haori has the kanji for the number 1 inside of the diamond representing the Gotei.


Redeeming Qualities:

• Commanding. Lanying, due both to her height and her personality, has a very commanding presence. This is partly what played in her getting to where she is now.
  
  
• Caring. Despite coming off as a complete bitch, Lanying cares deeply for everyone around her and only acts the way she does to push people to their full potential.
  
  
• Persuasive. Lanying has a way with words, often being able to turn a heated argument into a calm discussion.
  
  
• Carefree. On times when she can relax and not have to worry about work, or being proper, or anything else that revolves around her being a Noble Head and the Captain Commander, Lanying takes a very carefree attitude, often coming across as a bit childish.
  
  
• Motherly. On top of being very caring, Lanying is also VERY motherly to those she views as children or childish.
  
  
• Honorable. Honor was instilled into Lany from before she died and became a Shinigami, as such, it is a trait that carried on into the afterlife with her, and part of what made her such a good fit for the Baozhai.
  

Negative Qualities:

• Cold-hearted. Lanying gives off a cold exterior to people. She often comes across as frigid and, well, a bitch.
  
  
• Sadistic. Lanying is extremely sadistic. She finds pleasure in causing her enemies pain, and her allies embarrassment.
  
  
• Dogmatic. Because she has lived and breathed the Baozhai code for as long as she can remember, Lanying lives her life as closely to it as possible, even going so far as to publicly condemning those she feels don't fit into her standards.
  
  
• Combative. On the rare occasions where words don't work, Lanying will often challenge people to a duel...she has rarely lost.
  

Likes:

Booze: Lanying has been known to have a very big love of alcohol, specifically the Baozhai Booze . When not on duty, Lanying has a flask, or in the case of being in her office on her days off, a barrel, of it on her person.

Children: Partly because Lanying is a mother, and also because she has a motherly personality when it comes to them, she absolutely adores children of all kinds. If she feels the need to, she will “adopt” them, and bring them under the protection of the Baozhai, hence why, under her leadership, the Baozhai have opened up several orphanages/children’s homes in the low-end districts. If she especially likes a child, she will actually adopt them, which she has only done once.

European Style Clothing: Despite having a Chinese name, “living” in a Japanese-style afterlife, and having an overall Japanese-style life, Lanying prefers European Style Clothing over the Chinese and the Japanese of her adoptive kin. The reason for this could simply be attributed to the Roman blood flowing through Lany’s veins. Or it could simply be that she finds the European style clothes much more fitting for her life and her look.

Dislikes:

Traitors: There is one thing that Lany hates above everything else. Those who would betray their comrades, for whatever reason they have, Lany feels that these traitors are the worst of the worst...which is ironic since in a certain light, Lany herself is branded a traitor for starting the Civil War.

Chaos: Lany despises chaos. She hates the idea of things not having a set order to them. Whether this is from her upbringing in the Baozhai, or her ideals that were formed from watching the previous Commander attempt to chaotically run the Gotei into the ground, is unclear.

War: Lanying absolutely hates war. She hates everything that comes with it. The death, the chaos, the destruction. Conflict is natural, but full blown wars that last for years with no end in sight are one of Lany’s most hated things.

Personal Habits: Lany almost never takes her gloves off, both literally and figuratively. The only times she will take them off is if she intends to truly get serious and stop messing around.
Goals:
Short-term Goals: N/A.
Long-term Goals: Lany has only one long-term goal, to maintain the unstable peace between the forces of the Gotei, Quincy, and Fullbringers.
General Personality: Lany was originally a playful and happy-go-lucky woman. She had it all. A family, a husband, a best friend. She had been on top of the world. However, after her husband’s death, her personality did a complete 180. She went from the happy-go-lucky prankster, to the serious, cold, and calculating Commander of the Gotei.
Something Special: Lanying, for whatever reason, seems have decent night vision compared to others. She needs no time to adjust to the darkness and can see just as if she were in a dimly-lit room. Her eyes also give of a light glow in the darkness.


Zanpakutō Name: Inei Ojou
Zanpakutō Name Translation: Shadow Princess

Sealed Zanpakutō: Inei Ojou, in its sealed state, takes the form of a rather unusual Wakizashi. The handle, guard, and sheath are all a glossy black, with dark purple accents that run along the entire front and rear. There is a tear shaped purple gemstone embedded into the pommel. The guard has the design of two, outstretched hands, with the fingers curving upwards, towards the blade. The blade itself is the strangest of all.

The blade is 22 inches in total length, and solid black in color, save for a thin, purple line that reaches from the guard, to halfway up the blade. The blade is slightly thicker than true Wakizashi, not really having a curve to the blade. The reverse edge has a sawtooth design that makes up the bottom half of the blade, and just above that is a thin, inch long gap with a large hook at the top-most portion. This hook and gap are designed to catch and trap blades.
Release Phrase: Hide, Inei Ojou

Shikai Appearance: Upon speaking the release phrase, Lanying places Inei Ojou against her wrist, lets the sealed blade go and spin against Lanying's wrist, upon which Inei Ojou vanishes from sight. At first glance, the only change would be Lanying's fingers, which are now encased with thin pieces of armor that end at the knuckles. These pieces of armor are intricate in design, each one having weaves and curves etched into the sides, with thin, black lines embossed along the spines of each one. The very tips, rather than conforming to her natural fingers, would end in short, sharp spikes. These pieces of finger armor are held together by small strips of black leather along the palm and tie around the wrist.
Shikai Ability: Inei Ojou's ability lies in its simplicity. Many people assume that Inei Ojou's ability is complex. Too complex for the naked eye to see. But in reality, it's only that people aren't paying enough attention. The ability of Inei Ojou is the conjuration, and control, of 10, semi invisible, insanely long arms made entirely of reishi. All of these arms wield nearly unbreakable katanas, and each one is controlled by one of Lanying's fingers.

Bankai Name: Yami no Kokoro
Bankai Appearance: Yami no Kokoro can be considered a terrifying Bankai based on its appearance alone. Like her Shikai, Yami no Kokoro is a clad-type Bankai. Lanying’s arms from the elbow down have become clad in pitch-black energy, her hands being replaced with two scorpion claws. From her back sprout 8, extremely long, black armor-clad arms. The six arms on either side of Lanying holds a copy of Yami no Kokoro’s sealed state, each blade emanating the pitch-black energy that clad her arms. The two arms on the top are actually hooked, scorpion-like stingers. Lanying has also grown another pair of eyes upon her forehead, however, they appear to be closed.
Bankai Ability: Yami no Kokoro is a rather simple Bankai upon first glance. However, in reality, Yami no Kokoro, as long as the second pair of eyes remain closed, is only at half-power.

While at half-power, Yami no Kokoro has the following effects: Each of the 6 blades are just as strong and durable as real blades, however, Lanying can also will them into states of “darkness” where they can phase through matter, spiritual or otherwise. She is only able to do this to one blade at a time while at half-power. The claws that have replaced her hands are as strong as the blades, but cannot be phased through matter.

While at full power, when the second set of eyes are open Lanying is now able to will all 6 blades at once into the state of “darkness”.


Spirit Appearance: Inei Ojou is a very...disturbing spirit to observe. She stands roughly the same height as Lanying herself, only...she is floating a good foot off the ground, so in reality she is a foot shy of Lanying's height.

Like all the Princesses, Inei Ojou partially takes the appearance of a young maiden, at least from the waist up. Her human half is that of a young woman, appearing to be in her early 20s. Like her sisters, her head is topped with a pair of horns, hers being designed in the shape of a black bow that tops her black, flowing hair. Her skin is chalk white, eyes blood red with an eerie glow, finalized with a small frame complete with small breasts and thin arms. Her human half is clothed in a strapless, black, lace dress that splits down the middle exposing her stomach. The top portion of her arms are armored, with the same black cloth spilling out the bottom of said armor going down and ending at her wrists. On her hands, she is wearing onyx gauntlets with clawed fingers.

Her lower half is where things get crazy. From her waist down, Inei Ojou seems to be connected to a hollow-like being. This being has no face, no eyes. Just a huge mouth with bared teeth and a long red tongue. From the sides of this being are two muscular arms that will occasionally drag across the ground or be used as feet should Inei Ojou wish to. From the back of this being sprout two black scorpion-like stingers, complete with wicked-looking hooks. These are made from the same onyx material that covers the top half’s arms and hands.
Spirit Personality: Inei Ojou, despite her reputation, is a very caring spirit. In her own way, she truly cares for Lanying...however...she is a very jealous spirit. Inei used to prevent Lanying from accessing her powers, especially after nights which Lany spent with her then husband. However, when Junichiro passed, and Lanying was devoured by her grief, Inei Ojou went out of her way to help Lanying through it all.

However, like her reputation, when it comes to combat, Inei Ojou dislikes the thought of mercy. She has the idea that when she is drawn, it should only be to cause pain and destruction. However, she also enjoys toying with her opponents. She constantly prompts Lanying to end the battle, while simultaneously making it last as long as possible, as Inei Ojou relishes combat, especially if it makes Lanying stronger in the end.
Inner World: Lanying's inner world was, at one point, a beautiful, mostly circular throne room. The walls were bronze, with fancy twirls and other such designs embedded in the columns. The windows were all stained glass, with reds, blues, greens, every color of the rainbow filtered through the glass to paint the rooms with the sun's golden warmth. In the center of the throne room was a massive, golden monument. The two thrones that stood at the rear of the chamber were ornate, and highly decorative, seated with lush, purple and red cushions. However, after the death of her husband, when Lanying was devoured by her grief, the room aged. The walls oxidized and are now a shell of their former beauty. The stained glass windows no longer shine as brightly, giving off a muted light, and the floors and ceiling became overrun with vegetation. The monument that once stood proudly in the center of the throne room has shattered and broken in half, the ruins of the top half scattered across the floor. The left throne has been shattered entirely, its remains broken and scattered. The right throne has taken on the appearance of being burned, its once golden color turned into a blackened shadow of its former self.

History:
Birth and Life as a Slave
The woman who would eventually be known as Lanying Baozhai was born nearly 2,500 years ago in a small village in the Roman Empire. Born to an unnamed slave, Lanying herself remained unnamed, her master being a cruel and unforgiving man, normally unheard of in the Roman Empire. This man was hated by every citizen in their village, but because he held power, everyone was afraid of him. It wasn't until Lanying's 4th birthday that she was sent to a new master.

Lanying was transported via carriage to the capitol, to live and serve a local shopkeep. The young Lanying enjoyed this master, as he was kind to her, even giving her the name of Camilla. He treated her like he would one his daughters, constantly talking about wanting to free her, but not having the power or influence to do so. But Lanying didn't mind, or care, that she was still a slave. She lived happily and was well-liked by all who came to the shop.

Death
However, happiness was not meant to last. On Lanying's 15th birthday, the capital was sacked. Lanying herself had been away from the capitol, in the forests collecting ingredients for that night's supper, when she saw the smoke and heard the screams. She rushed back to the capitol. Death was everywhere. The bodies of men, women, and children littered the streets. Without thinking, Lanying picked up one of the swords that littered the ground and ran to the shop. What she found, was not her master, but a large man wielding a wicked-looking club. Lanying held the sword out in front of her. She was afraid. The man could tell. With a smirk on his face, the man walked forward, raised his club, and brought it down upon Lanying. Darkness enveloped her.

Life after Death, and Hollowfication
When sight returned to Lanying’s eyes, she was greeted with raging fires. Not the raging fires of hell, but the raging fires of Rome as it burnt to the ground. Thinking that she was still alive, she rushed to get water, to try to save at least her home, only to find that she was unable to get far. Looking down, she saw a chain extending from her chest and wrapping itself around her home. Confused, she tried to pull the chain off, only to be met with excruciating pain, so she quickly dropped that plan. Trying to come up with a new plan, she looked up in time to see a few men walking by, talking in a strange language that Lanying couldn’t understand. She called out to these men, only to be ignored as they continued walking on. This angered Lanying so, looking around, she picked up a small pebble and threw it in their direction. This caused the men to turn around, their weapons drawn, as they looked for the source of the attack.

Lanying stood there, her arms crossed, waiting for them to talk to her.  However, they didn’t and looked confused more than anything as they walked over. In fact, they walked by Lanying entirely, not even looking her way as they did. This angered Lanying and she let out an inhuman howl that surprised even her. This scared the men away and they never returned to investigate.

The years passed by, relatively uneventful. Rome rebuilt itself, with Lanying silently watching, but not being able to interact with the people. Aside from very small children, nobody seemed to be able to see her. Eventually, Lanying noticed that her chain was starting to change. It started to gnaw and eat at itself. Whenever Lanying tried to remove those chains, they bit her and quickly burst forward a few more links. By the year of 316 BC, her chain was nearly fully devoured. Then, finally, in the later months of the same year, her Chain of Fate completely devoured itself, causing Lanying excruciating pain. The pain intensified as the chain ripped itself from her chest, causing a hole to form in its place. It was then that her body glowed a bright white and exploded in a flash, only to reform minutes later a few miles outside of the city. Except, it wasn’t her body...was it? What was once the body of a young woman, was now the body of a large, black, bat-like thing. Except unlike bats, her body was scaled like a snake, complete with a long tail, ending in a hard spike. As her head reformed, she screamed out in agony as a viscous white liquid poured from her ears, eyes, nostrils, and her open mouth to form a beak-like mask with two, large, ear-like extrusions on the sides. As Lanying’s new body and new mask formed, a single thought crossed through her mind, over and over. She was hungry, and there was a small village directly to her south that smelled delicious. Thus, in the year of 316 AD, Lanying was reborn as a Hollow.

Bat out of Hell
The years moved on, and Lanying marched on along with them, devouring any and every human that came across her path. Soon, legends spread throughout the Roman Empire of a mysterious black creature that devoured all it came across. Soon a veritable army of mercenaries, soldiers, and other crazy fools started to actively hunt Lanying. However, they had a severe disadvantage. They couldn’t see Lanying, but Lanying could see them.

This small army moved on to where Lanying was making her “home”, a burnt out village that had been ransacked by bandits. However, Lanying was not expecting that among these humans, there were in fact some who could see her. These few happened to be Shinigami in disguise, sent out to investigate the rumors of a large and monstrous Hollow that had gone undiscovered for so long. When night approached, these few came out of hiding, making sure to keep the humans incapacitated with their...magic. They approached the “home” of Lanying, their weapons drawn as they casually looked around the place, hunting for Lanying.

Lanying was curious. Could these people actually see her? She wanted to find out. She let out a massive roar and, with a flick of her tail, knocked down one of the buildings near one of the humans. They quickly lept out of the way...or did they? Lanying clearly saw a body on the ground and the same person...standing on the air? Interesting! Lanying came out of hiding, her long, black-scaled body as fresh and pristine as the day it was formed. These people stared at her, some of them looked scared, a few of them looked shocked, one of them even looked like they’d made a mess in their pants. Poor thing. Lanying opened her mouth to speak, asking a simple question. “You can see me?”

Over the years, eating humans had caused Lanying’s mind to slowly return. She still couldn’t shake her extreme hunger, but she was no longer just a mindless killing machine. None of them answered her. Instead, they all came at her with their strange looking swords. Lanying frowned as she swung her tail upwards to defend herself, reaching forward with one of her wings to swat away the ones on her right. The ones on her left slashed at her tail, causing Lanying to shriek in pain. She didn’t think their swords would actually hurt as nothing else had in these many years.

She turned her head to look at the few on her left and opened her mouth, releasing a loud and devastating sonic scream, knocking the people backwards into the building behind them. That was when Lanying smelt it. A heavenly smell, like none she’d ever smelt before. She turned her head back to the right and saw that one of these...people, had become impaled on a damaged column. He smelled so delicious. The person and his companions didn’t even have time to react as Lanying lunged forward, her mouth open wide, and clamped down on his upper body, devouring his screaming form in one gulp. What was this divine taste? Whatever it was, she could feel power coursing through her body from it.

Renewed with energy, Lanying returned her attention to the group and slowly picked them off one by one until only one remained. The once calm village, while destroyed before, now looked even more of a mess as blood was strewn all over the place. Stray body parts lay over the fields. Lanying herself even had a few patches of blood on her body. She casually approached the final person and, showing a small mercy, asked him what he was. He answered in a shaky voice that he, along with his compatriots, are...were...Shinigami. With that out of his mouth, Lanying lunged forward and devoured him whole. Hmm, Shinigami huh? She’d have to look for more of them. Thus, in the year of 262 BC, Lanying, and thus the Shinigami, discovered one another.

Travelling to a New World
As the years rolled on, Lanying fought many more shinigami, devouring each and every one that came across her path as none of them seemed to be able to defeat her. However, Lanying noticed a major change. She could no longer feel herself growing in power from either humans or shinigami. In her travels, she’d come across others of her kind, Hollows they called themselves. They all talked about a new, better world where they could hunt. Without having to worry about pesky shinigami. Hueco Mundo they called it. Lanying searched inside of herself, and, unleashing a strange power, released a roar that ripped through the very fabric of reality, causing an eye-shaped portal to appear before her.

Lanying casually stepped through the portal and found herself in a space of nothing. In the distance, she saw a light. Unfurling her wings, Lanying lifted off the small platform that had appeared at her feet, and flew towards that light. As she neared the light, the landscape changed. What was once a world of nothing, became a pure white desert, a strange moon hung overhead, and strange trees were periodically strewn about. Thus, in the year of 216 BC, Lanying had made her way to Hueco Mundo.

Evolution
As Lanying travelled the landscape of Hueco Mundo, she came across dozens of hollows, none of them friendly and all of them attacked Lanying. This proved fruitless however, as Lanying always came out of top in the battle and, her hunger still unsatiated even here, devoured them. With each hollow that Lanying fed upon, she could feel her own power growing. However, there came a time when even hollows proved uneventful.

Eventually, in the year of 158 BC, as if some call of nature, Lanying, as well as hundreds of other like-minded hollows, converged into one spot. That was when the feeding frenzy began. It was every man for themselves as hollow ate hollow and Lanying felt herself being consumed. However, as the hundreds of hollows devoured each other, they also started to change and mutate. They started to combine into one being, each one clawing their way to the top. Lanying, sensing danger, used her immense willpower to claw her way to the top, finally making it there as the hollows converged into their new form. A massive Gillian-class hollow, with Lanying as the dominant mind.

A New Challenge
After 74 years of living as a Gillian, Lanying started regaining her mentality and her mindset, and she needed a challenge more than these hollows and fellow Gillian could provide. In the summer of the year 84 BC, Lanying ripped a Garganta to the World of the Living, appearing in what would become modern Hong Kong. Upon her arrival, Lanying started a rampage, with the intention of attracting the attention of the Shinigami.

While Lanying’s rampage went on, the Gotei mobilized. They sent in a lieutenant and several seated officers due to the large amount of reiatsu that they had detected. They quickly went to the World of the Living and found Lanying destroying what would become modern day Hong Kong. The Shinigami all seemed puny to Lanying, as she herself stood several stories, but she knew they could put up a fight regardless of their size.

She readied herself by charging up a Cero and firing it into the group of Shinigami. However, the Shinigami were prepared and quickly lept out of the way of the slow beam of energy. This intrigued Lanying as most of the Hollows she’d fought up until now hadn’t been able to dodge her initial attack. As Lanying observed the Shinigami, she noticed that all but one of them shared the same general uniform. The odd-man out wore some kind of badge or emblem on his left shoulder.

However, her observations would have to wait, as just when she was doing that, a few of the Shinigami chanted some kind of mantra, each one being different, and Lanying watched as their weapons changed forms. Some of them became fantastic things. Others became ordinary weapons encased in some form of element. After their weapons changed, the Shinigami switched from the defensive to the offensive.

The ones whose weapons had changed lunged at Lanying, taking her by surprise. Raising a hand from beneath her large cloak, she was able to block most of their attacks, however, one of them, the one with the badge, managed to get through her thick skin, however, before too much damage could be done, Lanying was able to pull her arm back and swipe at the Shinigami, swatting them away from her enormous body. This killed a small portion of the Shinigami, which caused Lanying to reach forward, grab their corpses, and devour them in one bite.

While Lanying was feeding on the fallen Shinigami, the survivors gathered together and tried to work out a plan. When Lanying turned back around, she saw that the badge-wearing Shinigami was charging at her, his weapon pointed right at her. Lanying had no time to dodge or evade, and was forced to pick her arm up, releasing a massive howl as her arm was pierced by the Shinigami’s weapon. The howl held some power behind it, as it was able to open up a Garganta, which Lanying quickly retreated back into, leaving the Shinigami behind.

Gaining Power
With Lanying’s defeat at the hands of the Shinigami, the hundreds of Hollow minds that comprised of her Gillain form grew restless, once again seeking to gain control. A prolonged internal struggle continued as Lanying was forced to continue to hunt more Gillian until finally, after almost a hundred years after her defeat at the hands of the Shinigami, Lanying evolved into an Adjuchas-class hollow.

Her new form was reminiscent of her original Hollow form. Where her front arms would be, large, bat-like wings sprouted from her lithe, serpentine form. Her tail had several spikes along the end, giving her tail a wicked, mace-like appearance. Her mask remained generally the same, but her eyes were now crimson slits. Thus, in the year 4 AD, Lanying moved from being a Gillian, to an Adjuchas, and she still had much more to accomplish.














New Lease on Life?
When Lanying woke up, she was in an empty field, surrounded by flowers. She had no memory of who she was, or where she was. As she stood up, she felt that something was...off. She didn’t remember being this...tall. She casually reached her hand up to scratch her head, and felt a long protrusion of bone sprouting from the side of her head. Reaching over, she felt another one on the other side. She started to freak out a little, but was quickly distracted by the need for food.

And thus began the “criminal” life of the unnamed Oni, who on a daily basis, was forced to steal food from the vendors who dared to set up shop in what Lany came to know as home, the 72nd District of South Rukongai.

Life as a Thief
Lany had learned from the other inhabitants that most people who lived in the Rukongai never had a need for food, that it was usually only those with spiritual power that still had the requirement to eat. She suspected that she had to have been one of those people, but paid no attention to it, as she only wanted to live a peaceful life. However, because she had no money, and couldn’t exactly find work in these low-tier districts, she was forced to steal and scrounge for food.

This brought the attention of the local enforcers, goons from one of the Noble Houses, the Baozhai. Lany had been able to avoid them at every step, but eventually she tripped up. The heir had been visiting one day, and had been carrying around a deliciously smelling box of food. Lany, struck with hunger, decided to attempt to steal from this man, not knowing that he was a Shinigami. She was quickly caught and restrained with Kido, and the heir’s guards had been ready to kill Lany, but the heir stopped them.

He introduced himself as Junichiro Baozhai, and asked Lany her own name. When she told him she had none, he said that wouldn’t do, and gave her the name of Lanying, meaning Blue Glitter. Why he gave her this name, he never told her. However, this name marked the start of a long friendship between Lanying and Junichiro. It also marked the start of Lanying’s life in the Baozhai.

Becoming a Student
Lanying had spent a good 30 years as an enforcer in the Baozhai family, and she’d done well. She’d been trained by some of the best instructors, even being trained by Junichiro on the rare days he could spend away from the Seireitei. She’d never been able to beat Junichiro, but she’d gotten close a few times. However, Lanying felt that life as an enforcer was...unfulfilling. She wanted more.

She’d heard of the Shinigami Academy, and had heard of some enforcers being sent there after several years, but nobody had brought this up with Lanying. So she decided to take things into her own hands. She’d cornered Junichiro on one of his off days and, rather than challenge him to a spar, she pleaded with him to allow her to join the ranks of the Gotei, to allow her to train at the Academy.

Junichiro who at this point was a Captain, had some pull at the Academy, and was able to get Lany into the incoming class, but on the condition that Lany take the Baozhai name as her own, and join the Academy as an official representative of the Baozhai family.


Academy Life
The Shinōreijutsuin. The Spiritual Arts Academy. The Shinigami Academy. A place of learning, as well as a place of training. This was where Lanying would spend the next 6 years of her life. It was here, in these sacred walls, that the young Lanying found her true calling. It was not as a gang leader, it was not as some mere thug. No, her true calling was that of a protector, a warrior. It was also here that Lanying learned that she had great things in store for her.

Classes went well for Lanying. She seemed to excel at certain things much more than she did on others. There was one thing that people seemed to notice that Lanying herself seemed not to. She was better at thinking on her feet than obeying a strict strategy. She would often run off from the group to do her own thing. This tended to ostracize her from groups, something that upset the young girl. However, she was never truly alone. She had her Zanpakuto to talk with.

The day Lanying and the rest of her class had been chosen to pick out their Asuachi, Junichiro had accompanied them, having some time off from his duties as captain. He wanted to see how Lanying was coping with the sudden change. While Lanying sat and waited for her name to be called, her and Junichiro talked. They laughed and mingled with some of her classmates, them being called out to choose their blades. Lanying watched with just a twinge of jealousy as she saw classmate after classmate leave the room with their own blades. Most of them looked confused, Lanying was confused at their confusion. Was there something she wasn't seeing? However, she was called out of her thoughts when the instructor called for Lanying. It was finally her turn to choose her blade. She turned to Junichiro and smiled, nodding a little to psych herself up. Before she left the room to go where they had the blades on display, Junichiro gave Lanying some words of advice when it comes to owning a Zanpakuto. His words were bored into Lanying's brain and she uses them to this very day to her own classes. "Talk with your weapon. Even if it seems silly, and even if they don't talk back, tell them about your day. Tell them about your crushes, your dreams, your aspirations, what you want to do with your life."

First Assignment
By the end of her 6th year at the Academy, Lanying had pretty much gotten to know her Shikai, which she soon found out was quite uncommon really, as most of her classmates were just learning their Zanpakuto's names and abilities. This, combined with the constant praise that Lanying had been getting for her entire time at the Academy, only furthered the glares and dislike she earned from the other students. However, this all washed away when, at the word of Junichiro, now a seasoned captain despite his age, gave the idea that Lanying be tasked with leading her fellow students on a mission to the World of the Living, to hunt down a group of low-ranked Hollow.

Upon entering the World of the Living, the area seemed quiet. Too quiet. Lanying listened around, listening for anything out of the ordinary. For starters, the area they were in was an empty field that should have normally been alive with the sounds of nature; crickets and other insects should have been making a racket. Instead, it was a dead quiet. As if everything in the area had suddenly died. That's when Lanying realized that's exactly the situation. Drawing her weapon, she quickly issued orders, having half of the group stay there as bait, while the other half would go into hiding to wait for Lanying's signal to strike. Lanying was with the group deemed as 'bait', along with other stronger members of her classmates.

Nearly twenty minutes went by, nothing happened. Finally, Lanying heard it. A twig snap. A simple sound, but in this silence it was as loud as a gunshot. Turning only her eyes towards the direction it came from, she finally saw their target, or rather one of them. That's when she gave the signal. From the trees, nearly thirty would-be Shinigami leapt towards the hollow. Two of the students missed entirely, while the other twenty-eight managed to surprise the hollow easily, taking them out.

However, this victory was short lived as, without warning, two much larger hollows seemed to come out of nowhere to attack the strike team. This surprised Lanying as she had not suspected these hollows to be capable of tactics. Issuing a fall back order, Lanying stood her ground against the two larger hollows, allowing the weaker students a chance to escape. When the other students were out of range, Lanying finally went full on against the two hollows.

The fight was intense. While she was a master of her own techniques, the hollows seemed to be masters of theirs as well. Their attacks were met with defensive maneuvers of her own. Their defenses quickly waned as the battle raged on for hours. However, the battle was starting to become fairly one-sided. Lanying was letting her anger get the better of her. She was rushing in blindly. In her head, she could hear Inei Ojo yelling at her to take things a little slower. To let the hollows tire out. But Lanying was getting impatient. She wanted the battle over. That was when she made the first mistake of her career. She zigged when she should have zagged, and it cost her. As she swung her arm to the right to attack the hollow directly in front of her, she didn’t see the one beside her until it was too late. She felt intense pain as the hollow managed to land an attack upon Lanying, the attack managing to claw into her side. The wound was not deep, but she still should get an expert Kaido user to look at it soon. She jumped back to prevent the damage from getting any worse than it already was. Here she was joined by some of her fellow students and, together, they managed to take down the hollow.

Graduation
While Lanying didn't graduate at the top of her class, or as the best in any subject, she was, partly due to Junichiro pulling some strings and some favors, and partly due to people seeing her latent talent, granted a high ranking position in any division she wanted. Naturally, many of the divisions she wanted were the popular ones. First Division seemed to be the most popular. Third and Fifth seemed to have their crowd, and the others were just too boring for Lanying to consider. That is, except the Eleventh division. She knew that this was the division meant for full on combat and figured she'd do well in it. However, she also knew how they discriminated against zanpakuto like her own that didn't focus on melee combat. However, after a minor pep-talk from Inei Ōjo, she finally decided on the division she was set to join. She ran to the registration booth and put in her papers to join the Eleventh Division, knowing she would be able to serve under Junichiro, who she had grown close to. Her papers were accepted and, in the year 220 AD, Lanying was accepted into the Gotei 13, as the 10th seat of the Eleventh Division.

Being a Shinigami and a Marriage?!
Life in the 11th division was good. Lanying Baozhai, now a full-fledged Shinigami, was happy. Thankfully, as a high-seated officer, Lanying rarely saw combat, but when she did, she was the lead. Her strategic mind, as well as her nimble body gave the Baozhai family pride in accepting her as a member when they did. The one most proud was the head of the family, Junichiro Baozhai, the current captain of the 11th Division. In fact, these two became nearly inseparable.

The reason for this became apparent by the year 316 AD when Junichiro announced their marriage. Naturally, most of the Baozhai family was against it at first, saying that Lanying was not a true noble despite her status within the Family, and that their wedding could never be sanctioned. Neither Lanying nor Junichiro cared about this and would go through with the wedding regardless. In the winter of 317 AD, Junichiro and Lanying Baozhai were wed, surprisingly with the blessings of the other Noble families, as well as the original naysayers in the Baozhai family who had been swayed with some rather...unconventional means.

After the wedding, Lanying, as well as the captain, returned to their normal duties. Lanying was promoted to the 4th seat, a position she held with honor for many years. For almost two hundred years, Lanying fought by the side of her husband, her captain, and his Lieutenants, which all seemed to come and go as time progressed. Eventually, by the year of 504 AD, Lanying was finally promoted to the 3rd seat of the 11th Division. She probably would have been Lieutenant, had someone not already been in that position.

Bankai Training
In the later years of the 800s, Lanying and her spirit had grown closer and closer. Finally, in the year of 872 AD, Inei Ojou pulled Lanying into their shared inner world. She told her that there was more power for her to attain. A second form, upgraded and more powerful than her Shikai in every way imaginable. Yes, Inei Ojou told Lanying that she was ready for her Bankai. But that it would be a long and arduous road, wrought with many challenges. Lanying hastily agreed, and with that, the first step on the Road to Bankai was taken.

Inei Ojou had been correct. The Road to Bankai was challenging. After saying that she was close to her Bankai, Inei Ojou suggested that she take some time away from the Gotei, as well as some time away from her husband. When asked why, Inei Ojou only replied that it was a necessity that Lanying, for the duration of her Bankai training, become a recluse, to find a nice quiet spot, possibly in the world of the living, where she could hone her abilities in a way that would be kept secret from the rest of the Gotei. Uncertainly agreeing to this, Lanying put in a request for an extended leave of absence, and, with Junichiro's go ahead, Lanying was granted permission to temporarily leave the Seireitei and the Soul Society in order to train.

Attainment of Bankai
The most challenging aspect of the training, was not the training at all. It was the seclusion. All her life, Lanying had been in the hustle and bustle of activity, rarely having much time alone. However, this alone time seemed to work in the favor of Lanying. She was able to freely brandish her Shikai whenever she came across a wandering hollow, rather than have to rely on permission from that old coot of a Captain Commander.

What wasn't good about the alone time, is that, after almost 20 years of the training, and only being able to see her husband once every couple of years, she became extremely lonely. The only company she had was that of her Spirit, the occasional wandering hollow, and, every once in a while, the spiritually strong humans. On several occasions, Lanying had to fight against these spiritually strong humans, which only strengthened herself. She never killed them, instead she only ever wounded them or knocked them unconscious. Her time in the World of the Living taught her much, that no inherent soul is truly evil. That it's the world around them that shapes their mind, their reasons. This proved to be what Inei Ojou had wanted to teach Lanying, and so, in the year of 892 AD, Inei Ojou pulled Lanying into their shared world, and bestowed upon Lanying, her true, full name. Yami no Kokoro. The name of her bankai. However, her training was not yet finished. She knew the release of her bankai, she knew its form. But she did not know its power. Inei Ojou recommended that Lanying remain here, in the World of the Living, to learn how to fully control her Bankai. How to use it properly. Lanying agreed, and for the next 80 years, Lanying remained in the World of the Living, training with her bankai, mastering it. Learning its power, its weight upon the world.

Returning to the Gotei
In the year 972 AD, Lanying Baozhai returned to the Soul Society. Now a veteran Shinigami, a master of both her Shikai and Bankai, Lanying, with Junichiro's praise, was prompted to battle the current lieutenant for their position. With Junichiro and the rest of the 11th division watching, Lanying and the then lieutenant met in battle.

The battle was fierce, Lanying staying on the defensive for the first half of the battle so she could gauge the power of her opponent. However, once she found their weakness, she wasted no time in releasing her shikai while her opponent did the same. While her opponent’s shikai was a much more prominent change, Lanying’s was not. This caused her opponent to become cocky as they started to mock Lanying’s shikai, causing Lanying to smirk.

As Lanying’s opponent readied their attack, Lany used her Shikai’s ability to quickly deliver several unseen strikes to the lieutenant, bringing them to their knees and pinning them down. Lanying calmly approached the lieutenant and uttered one word: “Yield.” The lieutenant stared up at Lanying and spat on the ground. Lany looked to the stands and saw that the 11th division was waiting with baited breath. Junichiro gave a gentle nod, and Lanying smiled at him.

She sealed her Zanpakuto, approached her opponent who was still kneeling, and gave them a swift kick to the head, knocking them unconcious. This secured Lanying the win, along with the promotion to lieutenant.

Shunko Training
From the early 1500s, to the mid 1600s, Lany, along with her husband and their friend Ma’kine, worked on her custom Shunko abilities. It proved to be harder than anticipated, and took over 100 years for Lany to perfect the abilities, but when she finally perfected them, it was with the help of Ma’kine, rather than Junichiro. And she perfected the abilities just in time, as in a few years, tragedy would strike the world.

First Quincy War
Nobody knew who struck first. The Commander had said it was the Quincy who struck first, others said it was the Gotei who struck first. But it didn’t matter who struck first, because in the summer of 1687, the First Quincy War was in full swing. Lanying, as a Lieutenant, was always close by her husband and Captain as they were on the front lines in the World of the Living.

Casualties were piling up on both sides, with no signs of the war abating. Communication with the first division was lost on multiple occasions, which meant that the 11th Division was almost always on their own, with only small contingents of the 4th, 5th, and 10th to aid them in the ongoing war.

Birth of a Daughter
However, not all was bad. In the few times of ceasefires agreed upon by the 11th Division and the contingent of Quincy they were fighting, Lany had managed to get pregnant. And so, in the year of 1692, almost ten years since the Quincy War started, Lany and Junichiro retreated from the war, so that Lany could carry out her pregnancy away from the battlefield.

They were still giving orders, and taking a more backseat approach to the war, but finally, in the summer of 1693, Lanying went into labor. After a strenuous process, nearly 13 hours, and one very nervous husband, Lanying gave birth to her and Junichiro’s daughter, Meili Yan Baozhai, the new Heir to the Baozhai.

Back to the War
Not even a year later, Lanying and Junichiro were forced back into the war. Having left the newborn Meili with the Baozhai family, they returned to the front lines. The war had been stagnant for years, hence why Lany and Junichiro were able to get out of the war, however, in their absence, the Quincy had managed to push the front lines back. The war had also attracted the attention of the Hollows, and the two sided war had turned into a three sided war, with all three sides fighting each other.

Historians say that this was the catalyst for the war turning the way it did, as the Hollows joining the war seemed to be the exact thing that the Quincy were waiting for. The Quincy had surrounded Lanying and Junichiro’s camp, causing Junichiro give the final order to retreat. However, before they could retreat, the Hollows rushed the camp, attacking both Shinigami and Quincy with reckless abandon. A stray arrow. That was all it took. Lany looked on in horror as her husband, her captain, her best friend, fell in battle, a stray Quincy arrow lodged in his head.

Something snapped in Lanying that day. She doesn’t remember what happened, but she does remember waking up in the 4th division’s medical ward back in the Seireitei. She’d been told that the war was over, that while the 11th division had been doing all the heavy lifting, the Commander had been having the Omnitsukido do the dirty work. Thus in 1705, the Quincy War came to a close. However, the damage was already done. The Commander had used the 11th as dogs to the slaughter. As the acting captain of the 11th Division, Lany was left to pick up the pieces. But first, she had something else to do.

Stirrings of a Rebellion
The Quincy War had truly been disastrous. Junichiro hadn’t been the only high tier casualty. The 4th and 7th divisions had also lost their captains, and several other divisions had lost countless officers, and 3rd and 5th had lost their lieutenants. And the Commander was rumored to be wanting to strike again while the Quincy were weak. The Gotei were also weak, and he didn’t care. Lanying had to do something. And something was exactly what she did.

Lanying got together with these other divisions, along with the Baozhai and Shimazu noble houses, the two houses who’d suffered the most, Ma’kine, who was a good friend of the Baozhai family, along with a close, personal friend of Lany, a woman named Sabre. Together, they founded the Anti-War Coalition and declared the Commander an enemy of the state, claiming that he sought the destruction of the Gotei. This sparked the Gotei Civil War.

Civil War
The Civil War was almost entirely fought in the Seireitei, both sides having agreed that the Rukongai and the Academy were neutral ground and that no attacks would be tolerated in those areas, however, that didn’t mean that all of the Gotei was willing to agree to these orders.

The Commander had been painting Lanying and her faction as terrorists, power hungry fools who only sought to destroy the Gotei from the inside so that the Quincy could destroy everything that the Gotei had worked for. His propaganda was more effective than it seemed, as for the first years, the Anti-War Coalition was on the defensive, having to rely on hit and run tactics. Lanying, as the commander of the AWC tried to have her side fight with honor, refusing to attack the medical stations that her circle of officers suggested, however, the Gotei Loyalists refused to be this honorable. They attacked any and all members of the AWC with no regard for how they appeared.

The war wasn’t looking good. However, things suddenly took a turn for the better when the Academy, who up until then had been neutral grounds, taking in members from both sides for either healing or peace talks, came under attack. The Commander was pinning the attack on the AWC, however, Lanying knew that her forces had never attacked the Academy. The truth eventually came out that it was the Commander who ordered the attack on the Academy, his infiltrators posing as members of the AWC. It was finally time to put the final plans of the war into motion.

Pushing for Victory
Over the course of the Civil War, the First Division had been near impenetrable, as all of the captains who sided with the Commander were stationed there as defense. However, as the Loyalists were losing more and more of their numbers, either to defection or death, those captains had to be brought out. This was what the AWC needed to push for the war’s end.

A large contingent of the AWC, veterans from the Quincy War and the Civil War, attacked the barracks of the Second Division as a distraction, while Lanying and a small contingent, consisting of Ma’kine, Sabiruchi, and several others of Lany’s most powerful officers, stormed the First Division. They rushed up to the Commander’s office, and, with Lany’s forces, namely Ma’kine, keeping the Loyalists preoccupied, Lany was able to fight the Commander. For the first time since she’d rejoined the Gotei, Lanying released her Bankai.

The fight with the Commander lasted for several hours, had moved locations several times, either due to the area being destroyed, or Lany being on the defensive and running to get a better standing. Finally, on Sokyoku Hill, surrounded by dozens of spectators, Lany had the Commander on his knees before her.

Lanying stared down at the Commander. The old man was breathing heavily, sweat drenched his body. Lany wasn’t in any better condition, but she was still in Bankai, a terrifying sight to behold she was sure. She spoke to those that were gathered, mostly her own forces, but also those of the loyalists who had surrendered and/or been defeated.

“This man drove us to this. He spoke of the Quincy as if they were nothing less than dogs. He sent our own to their deaths. And for what? So we could reign supreme? That’s not our role. Our role as the Gotei is to maintain balance. Nothing more, nothing less. And if that means cutting the head off of this monster, then so be it.”

She had one of her blades at the old man’s throat, but he still stared up at her with defiance, a smirk on his face.

“But, that would be just what he wants. I’m not going to turn into him.”

Lany would then grab the Commander’s own sealed Zanpakuto and use her Bankai’s unique ability to destroy the Commander’s, ensuring that the old man would never again be able to use it against anyone ever again. His fate after that was lost to time.

Repairing and Becoming Commander
Two years had passed since the end of the Civil War. The Seireitei and the Rukon still held the scars of that terrible war, but for the most part, reconstruction efforts had been almost complete. Partly thanks to the Four Families pitching in at every opportunity. Lanying had been commanding strike teams to help clean up the last of the Commander’s forces that tried to hamper the reconstruction efforts, but these remnant units never did much damage, and were more of a nuisance than anything serious.

The surviving captains from both the Civil War and the Quincy War had been convening for several days now, and they had requested Lanying’s appearance at this time, for what, she had no idea. When she arrived at the Captain’s Meeting Hall, she was met with praise and cheer by the other Lieutenants. Telling her things like “congratulations” and “way to go”. For what, Lany didn’t know until the First Division Lieutenant approached Lanying and placed a fresh haori in Lanying's hands. Lany was dumbstruck. Confused even. She unfolded the haori to see that it didn’t say “11th” like she’d expected, but “1st”. She asked what this was all about, and the doors opened up, the remaining Captains beaming at her. They’d all come to this decision on their own accord. The only one able to lead was her. At first Lany tried to decline, saying that she would be fine being the 11th Captain. But the captains insisted. Finally, after nearly 2 hours of back and forth, with the captains refusing to budge on their decision, Lany relented and donned the haori, officially becoming the new Captain Commander.

Second Quincy War
Lanying had been sitting in her office overseeing paperwork and other such boring work, when she’d been interrupted by her Lieutenant Sabiruchi. The young woman informed Lany that the Quincy had declared war on the Gotei, a revenge against their actions almost two hundred years ago. Thus, the Second Quincy War had begun.

These Quincy were much stronger than the Quincy fought in the first war, even Lanying had to respect that. However, casualties were piling up. So, five years after the start of the war, Lanying gave the order for the Omnitsukido to silently eradicate the Quincy hierarchy, and to start up peace talks. With a good handful of the Quincy hierarchy dead, the surviving leaders agreed to the surrender, thus, in 1824, the Second Quincy War was put to a close.

WW1
The World of the Living was in chaos. While what would come to be called World War 1 was in full swing, causing death and destruction on a whole new level, the Gotei and the Shinigami were outnumbered and understaffed, forcing Lanying to draft the Baozhai Enforcers, along with the other house’s security units, into a reserve force, sending them out into the World of the Living. This reserve force survived, and is still held to this day, only to be utilized in extreme emergencies.

WWII
Just as the World of the Living and the Gotei were recovering from the tragedy that was World War 1, a Mad Quincy once again brought the world to war. This mad Quincy used a human puppet, one Adolf Hitler, to bring the world into chaos. The Quincy had allied themselves with the Axis Powers of Germany, Italy, and Japan, while the Fullbringers, who were forced to come out of hiding, allied themselves with the United States.

For several years, the War raged on, neither side seeming to make a major play against the other. Then it happened. The Quincy who were stationed in Japan made a raid on a prominent US base in Hawaii. This attack brought the United States into the war, and the Gotei, seeing that this war needed to be over with soon, sided with the Fullbringers. The Gotei, with their new allies in the Fullbringers, raided the Quincy bases along the Pacific Theater, the Western Front, and the Eastern Front. The war that once seemed to be in total deadlock quickly turned to the favor the Allied powers and in a few short years, the Mad Quincy was killed, the surviving Quincy surrendered and an unsteady non-aggression treaty was signed.

Present Day
Lanying Baozhai had never imagined how her life would have turned out. Originally an unnamed street urchin, forced to scrounge for food in the underbelly of the Rukon. Then an enforcer for the Baozhai family turned Shinigami. She became a wife, a mother, and a widower all in such a short time. Then she’d made her mark by becoming the Captain Commander, a position she’s held ever since with dignity and honor. The world has been in relative peace in recent years, aside from minor conflicts in the World of the Living. And Lanying hopes that it stays that way.

Major Events Timeline:
July 18th, 402 BC: Born to an unnamed slave of a local lord
June 7th, 398 BC: On 4th birthday, sold away to the Roman capital to serve a local shopkeep
July 18th, 387 BC: Sacking of Rome by the Gallic Celts, Lany's first death
July 19th, 387 BC: Lany arises as a bound spirit, and she stays in the same location for almost 40 years before her Chain of Fates starts its first stages of Encroachment
Unknown date, 316 BC: Lanying's Chain of Fate reaches its final stage of Encroachment and the Plus that was once Lanying is reborn as a new hollow
Unknown date, 287 BC: Stories spread across the Roman Empire of a mysterious creature that devours all who see it, these stories refer to the hollow that was once Lanying
Unknown date, 262 BC: The unnamed Hollow has their first interaction with the Shinigami and ends up killing and eating them thus ending up on the Gotei's radar
Unknown date, 216 BC: After a hundred years, the hollow that was Lanying no longer feels herself growing from eating humans, so they travel to Heuco Mundo to start devouring other hollows
Unknown date, 158 BC: After years of devouring small fry hollows, Lanying and hundreds of other like-minded hollows converge into a feeding frenzy and become a Gillian with Lanying becoming the dominant mind
Unknown date, 158 BC: Lanying, still feeling the need to feed even as a Gillain, continues on cannibalizing hollows to gain power
July 18th, 84 BC: Lanying, as a Gillian, makes her way to the World of the Living through a Garganta and wreaks havoc in what would be modern-day Hong Kong, drawing the attention of the Gotei
July 18th, 84 BC: Lanying and the Gotei clash, Lanying again coming out on top, wiping out all but one before retreating through a Garganta back to Heuco Mudno
Unknown Date, 4 AD: Lanying, having gained enough power to evolve to the next stage of Hollow Evolution, and thus becomes an Adjuchas
Unknown Date, 80 AD: Lanying, continuing her path of destruction in Hueco Mundo, started to regain some of her former self, no longer being just a Hollow or a killing machine. This sparked a change in Lanying
July 18th, 150 AD: Lanying retreats to a small hovel in Hueco Mundo. While in immense pain, Lanying undergoes the final evolution and becomes a Vasto Lorde
Unknown Date, 180 AD: Lanying, now a Vasto Lorde, makes her way to the World of the Living, to observe the humans that she once preyed upon. This HEAVILY drew the attention of the Gotei, and they sent a team of captains and lieutenants to check the situation out
August 7th, 182 AD: While Lanying is observing the humans, she is attacked by the Gotei. In a long, drawn out battle, Lanying eventually falls
August 7th, 182 AD: Lanying, having led a pure life, is reincarnated in the Soul Society in Southern Rukon's 70th district
November 9th, 182 AD: Lanying, having high spiritual power, is forced to steal and scrounge for food while avoiding the local militia
January 10th, 183 AD: Lanying is caught by Baozhai enforcers and forced to join them
January 10th, 183 AD: Lanying meets Junichiro Baozhai for the first time and they hit things off, with Junichiro himself giving Lanying her name
August 7th, 214 AD: Lanying convinced the Baozhai family to allow her to go to the Shinigami Academy on the condition she go as a representative of the Baozhai. She agrees
November, 214 AD: Lanying joins the Academy
January, 215 AD: Lanying chooses the asauchi that will become her zanpakuto
March, 220 AD: Lanying, still a student, leads her first mission with a group of her fellow students
June, 220 AD: Lanying graduates from the Academy and joins the 11th division as the 10th seat
November, 316 AD: Lanying is proposed to by Junichiro Baozhai, she accepts
July 18th, 317 AD: Lanying becomes a full Baozhai and the wife of Junichiro Baozhai. She is also promoted to the 4th seat
June 5th, 504 AD: Lanying is promoted to Third seat of the 11th division
January 9th, 872 AD: Lanying leaves for the World of the Living to attain her Bankai
March 15th, 892 AD: Lanying learns the true name of her Zanpakuto, thus attaining Bankai
October 8th, 992 AD: Lanying returns to the Soul Society, having fully mastered her Bankai. In that same week, she challenges the current Lieutenant and bests them in combat, signifying her promotion to Lieutenant of the 11th division
December 3rd, 1250 AD: Rumors begin to fly of a Shinigami/Hollow hybrid causing Lanying and a small detachment to be sent to the World of the Living to investigate
March 15th, 1251 AD: After 3 months, Lanying and the detachment return to the Soul Society empty-handed
August 9th, 1405 AD: The then Captain Commander starts to become more deranged, rumors start to fly in the upper echelons of him starting to go senile
September, 1514 AD: Lany, with the help of Ma'kine and Junichiro, starts developing custom Shunko abilities tailored more to her own fighting style.
August, 1675 AD: Lany, still with the help of Ma'kine and Junichiro, finalizes her custom Shunko techniques.
July 8th, 1687 AD: The then Captain Commander finally seems to snap, and starts a campaign against the Quincy
September 15th, 1692 AD: Lanying returns to the Soul Society, along with Junichiro, for a brief period of time. In that time, Lanying gets pregnant.
June 25th, 1693 AD: Lanying gives birth to her daughter and names her Meili Yan Baozhai.
June 7th, 1705 AD: The disastrous campaign against the Quincy ends, resulting in the death of three captains, including Junichiro. This prompts Lanying to rally forces against the totalitarian Captain Commander, signaling the start of the Gotei Civil War
August 8th, 1712 AD: The forces of Lanying storm the First Division's barracks, with Lanying herself challenging the Captain Commander to a duel that would determine the victor of the war. Lanying won
September 7th, 1714 AD: With repairs of the Gotei nearly complete, and 2 years having passed since the end of the Gotei Civil War, Lanying is unanimously voted into becoming the new Captain Commander
November, 1824 AD: After years of peace, the Quincy, seeking revenge for the previous war, declare war against the Gotei. This war lasts for 5 years before Lanying, with a heavy heart, orders the complete extermination of the Quincy leadership. This order is carried out in secret by members of the Omnitsukido and is only known to captains.
January, 1916 AD: With the world of the living in chaos, and the Gotei nearly defenseless due to the large amount of Shinigami having to be stationed in the World of the Living for longer periods of time, Lanying reforms the Baozhai family into a reservist faction of the Gotei. This is met with both praise and anger.
1939-1945 AD: The world of the living is once again in chaos, with a secret war between the Quincy and the Fullbringers being masked behind the human war of World War 2. The Gotei align themselves with the Fullbringers, and help them to win the war.
2019 AD: With peace having reigned for the last 37 years, Lanying and the rest of the Gotei have spent that time training, bettering themselves.

Roleplaying Sample:

Lany sighed as she leaned back in her chair. Today had been just another peaceful day. Unfortunately, that peace meant Lany had no excuse to not fill out the paperwork that piled on top of her desk. She released another heavy sigh as she stepped away from her desk, walking into the separate bedroom that was attached to her office. Inside the bedroom was a small closet, a rather large futon, and dozens of pictures plastered the walls.

The pictures were various pictures of Lany with Meili, with Ma'kine, even some with Oshi. However, the best pictures, the center of the entire thing, were pictures of Lany with her deceased husband, Junichiro Baozhai. He was the man who had given Lany her life, her meaning, her everything. She placed a hand on her favorite picture, a picture of Junichiro smiling as he held a newborn Meili, with Lany off to the side, and gave a smile. She closed her eyes and attempted to relive that day.

The Baozhai manor was in chaos. The Lady of the house, Lany herself, was going into labor. Handmaidens were running all over the place getting everything they could for the indisposed Lany, making sure she was comfortable, or as comfortable as she could be while in labor. In another room, Junichiro, the Lord of the house, was pacing. Beside him was their friend Ma'kine, who had been pulled from the front lines of the ongoing Quincy War for some reason or another, along with dozens of other male Giants and friends of the Baozhai.

Lany's labor lasted several hours, but in the end, a single handmaiden walked into the room, and beckoned Junichiro to follow her, which he did. When he followed, he was nervous as hell. He could still feel Lany's reiatsu, it was faint, but it was there, so he knew she was OK. When Junichiro stepped into the room that held Lany, he was met with not just her, but also their newborn daughter, Meili Yan Baozhai. Lany gave Junichiro a weak smile and beckoned him over.

"Do you wanna hold her?"

She held Meili out towards Junichiro, who happily took the newborn from her arms, lightly cradling her.

"Isn't she beautiful?"

"Yes, she is. Just like her mother. She's probably going to grow up to be just as strong too."

Lany smiled at that, and looked up just in time to see the flash as one of the handmaidens had decided this was the proper time to take a picture of the new family.

As Lany opened her eyes, she felt a tear escape from them. She would never again be able to show Junichiro her accomplishments. He would never see Meili grow up into a woman. She hated her predecessor for taking that away from her, but at the same time, she thanked him for giving Lany the resolve to do what she needed to do.

A vote for Veteran.

I tentatively award a half-vote for veteran, pending resolution of the issues below. Am using a harsher standard because as Main Admin, this app ought to serve as a 'Gatekeeper' example, to demonstrate the quality and standard of what Veteran apps should be. Veteran is a high tier, and not something the average player should expect to obtain without considerable effort. Therefore I feel even for the Commander herself, we can't afford to cut corners in this regard.

Sorry if the ruling appears too harsh? I was thinking in long term for the forum in general. But I'm of the opinion that apps intending to shoot for Vet tier or higher should come with an extra feature that normal apps lack, something that shows they've gone the extra mile in their character creation. The detailed history is certainly a good start, but having something like...attached pictures of the zanpakuto weapon or other visual refs might complement this further.


Some points to note for improved readability
-limit use of commas, if possible. A number of sentences have awkward comma placing which makes the passage a little difficult to read

-redundant omissions (Standing at a staggering 13’1 and weighing in at *omitted*, Lanying is the best descriptor for tall and lanky.) : this sentence would read better as "Standing at at height of 13'1, Lanying appears both tall and lanky". If there's no intent on mentioning a weight, best not even to refer to weight in the first place.

-Copy-paste of base template: theres nothing wrong with using the provided blank app template as a base, but completed apps will read better if players prune the unrelated portions of the template. E.g: (Goals: These are both optional.) is lifted directly from the template itself, Goals may be optional, but if the character lacks them or this section doesn't apply it is preferred that players just delete this line from their completed apps.

-Shikai appearance: (At first glance, the only change would be Lanying's fingers, which are now encased with thin pieces of armor that end at the knuckles. ) The word that is causing me some misconception here is "only". It potentially makes a reader picture that Lanying's shikai is her sealed form unchanged, PLUS the armored gauntlets. If possible, would much prefer if this line can be altered slightly to specify that the Sealed Form turns INTO the gauntlets.
-Pictorial references like linked images are also helpful in this section for a visual example

-Spirit Personality: (She constantly prompts Lanying to end the battle, while simultaneously making it last as long as possible) There may be some contradictions here, how does one prompt another to both 'end' a battle while at the same time making it 'last as long as possible?' The two concepts seem mutually exclusive. Either the battle ends quickly, or its made to last. How is both achieved?

-Miscellanious: Inei Ojou is a legendary relic. Should there be a descriptor under the zanpakuto section of it's ability to destroy opponent zanpakuto?

I cast 3rd vote for vet

Character Tier: Veteran 8 Skills, Expert base, with one skill starting at Master.

Armed Combat : Master
Unarmed Combat : Advanced
Spiritual Combat : Grandmaster
Hoho : Advanced
Reiatsu Perception : Advanced
Hado : Master
Bakudo : Advanced
Shunko : Grandmaster

Veteran Tier Master start: Spiritual Combat

Oni Bonus Stats: +1 to SC, +1 to Hado, -1 to AC

Core Abilities:

Soul Expiration: Permanent Ability. The inherent ability of her Zanpakuto, Inei Ojou, is the complete and utter destruction of a Shinigami's Zanpakuto Spirit. Using this ability, Lanying breaks a Shinigami's Zanpakuto with Inei Ojou, whether it be in Shikai, Bankai, or sealed doesn't matter. The person's Zanpakuto is then rendered destroyed beyond repair and the spirit within the Zanpakuto is considered killed.

Kage Shunko (Shadow Flash War Cry): Lany is a master practitioner of Shunko. Her form of Shunko takes the natural element of Shadow, rather than lightning or wind. When activated, Lany’s back and arms become swathed in pure, raw, pressurized Kido. The Kido erupting from her back takes on the form of large, black bat wings.

Racial Abilities:

Empty Cicada: This ability allows Lany to create an after image when using Shunpo. This after image stays for a brief period of time and can appear to take damage in place of Lany.

Kendo: A master swords woman, Lany is well versed in Kendo. This allows her to add one rank to her Armed Combat at the cost of not being able to use Kido or Shunpo for the duration.

Shōgekiha Katto (Shockwave Cut): This ability allows Lany to release a shockwave with a swing of her Zanpakuto that is pure reiatsu. In Lany's case, it takes the form of a pure black crescent.

Shunko Abilities:

Kage Shunko Eitou (Shadow Flash War Cry Sword): This ability can only be used while in Shunko. Using this ability, Lany is able to shape the pressurized Kido that surrounds her arms into one, or two if she chooses to dual wield, sword-like extrusions from her clenched hands.

Kage Shunko: Jigoku Kōmori (Shadow Flash War Cry: Hell Bat): This ability can only be used while in Shunko. This ability pushes Lany's Shunko beyond its natural limits, and is thus dangerous to use, and therefore can only ever be used once per month. Using this ability, Lany covers her entire body in the pressurized Kido. The Kido that covers her body gives Lany a much more bat-like shape, her arms have been covered by Kido shaped like bat-wings, and her head and face have been covered in a bat-like Kido helmet. While using this ability, Lany is able to release Kido blasts from her mouth, in the same vein as a bat's echolocation scream. Her 'wings' are also as sharp as a sword.

Shikai Abilities:

Shikai Stats: The arms from Inei Ojou can stretch, ranging from 20 feet to 60 feet. The arms, and the katanas they wield, are made entirely out of pure Reishi. These arms, and the katanas, can only be destroyed by someone with Armed/Unarmed/Spiritual Combat above Lany’s own Spiritual Combat.

Menimienai Buki: Permanent Shikai Ability. The 10 arms granted through Inei Ojou are semi-invisible and made entirely out of Reishi. In order for someone to see them clearly, they must have Reiatsu Perception equal to or greater than Lanying’s Spiritual Combat. One rank below can see the arms as blurry. Two ranks below see them as a heat-haze like effect. Three ranks and below are unable to see them without concentrating for one post, this then has them act as if they were at two ranks below. Someone with Untrained Reiatsu Perception has no chance of seeing them at all.

Sai Seichō: In the event that one of the 10 arms are destroyed, Lany can regrow the arm. To do this, she must be able to concentrate for 1 post per arm. This ability can also be used to reform one of the katanas should they be broken, and is used in the same manner.

Bankai Abilities:

Shadoufēzu: The main ability of Yami no Kokoro is the phasing of the now entirely visible arms through any form of matter, and while at half power, Lany is able to phase one at a time. She is able to maintain this shadowy state for as many rounds as she has ranks in Spiritual Combat before having to phase it back to reality. She can choose to end the phasing whenever she pleases. While at full power, Lany can phase all 8 arms at once, with the same restrictions.