[hider=Ebihara Torashi]
[center][h1][color=ff9966]T[/color] [i]o r a s h i[/i][/h1]

[img]https://i.imgur.com/WYSnS5k.jpg?1[/img][/CENTER]
[h3]Personal Dossier[/h3][hr][sub][color=ff9966][b]Name[/b][/color][/sub]
[indent]Ebihara Torashi
[sub][color=gray]海老原虎志[/color][/sub][/indent]
[sub][color=ff9966][b]Age[/b][/color][/sub]
[indent]15[/indent]
[sub][color=ff9966][b]Origin[/b][/color][/sub]
[indent]Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan[/indent]
[sub][color=ff9966][b]Physical Description[/b][/color][/sub]
[indent]Torashi stands at 165 cm (5’5), has a compact and muscled physique, and a very lightly tanned complexion. Tora has multiple thin white scars on his body, the most obvious of which are the two on his face. His irises are the colour of amber, while his hair is a dull mouse brown and cut short. His bangs are slightly overgrown, and indicate a disinterest in keeping his appearance impeccable. His most common expression is a mild frown, though he may resort to blank faced apathy when he’s aiming to divert attention. His genuine smiles are rare, small, and fleeting. Torashi often slouches when thinking, though when he snaps to attention, he straightens into an unnaturally rigid position. His nervous gestures are typically minute (e.g. scratching at a jeans pocket, clenching a fist), and he takes care not to raise his voice too much. However, any dips in mood reveal his temperamental nature, as he will become louder, and more dynamic in his gestures. As for his attire, Torashi keeps to the school dress code when necessary, and wears unassuming, casual clothing otherwise.[/indent]
[sub][color=ff9966][b]Characterization[/b][/color][/sub]
[indent][list][*]Zealous, Driven, Dedicated
[*]Grudging, Harsh, Sullen
[*]Hard-working, Loyal, Sociable
[*]Cautious, Cunning, Observant
[*]Arrogant, Aggressive, Rebellious
[*]Secretive, Pent-up, Irritable[/list]
[/indent]
[sub][color=ff9966][b]Personal History[/b][/color][/sub]
[indent]A typical, civilian middle-class family. Two loving parents, proud of their only child, encouraging him to do his best, guiding him in fulfilling his potentials. A kind and strict mother, a spirited and mild-tempered father. On the surface level, it sounds like a boringly common scenario, in which major problems shouldn’t have popped up. However, minor tensions were present from early on. Mitsunari, Torashi’s father, was someone who’d once yearned to become a hero, but did not manage to get accepted into the course for it. As such, he raised Tora with the agenda of having him achieve his dream. Thankfully for his vicarious desire, his son had shown an interest in heroes from an early age, so pushing him towards that goal was a simple affair. Tora’s mother, Tsukiko, was aware of the situation, and rather concerned about it. She was aware of the dangers of the hero lifestyle, and knew how very deeply disheartening the disappointment of not making it was. Neither did she think that dictating her son’s life ambition was appropriate. Thus, Tsukiko always encouraged Torashi’s various interests equally, attempting to serve as a balance to his father, which worked to an extent.

Tsukiko also endeavored to show Tora that there were plenty of worthwhile occupations. Her husband reinforced the teachings with unexpected fervor, though he gave the lessons his own spin, oftentimes saying how anyone could act heroically. Yet, he continued to influence his son in very specific directions. Torashi’s father coached him in Quirk use, through fun games when he was young, and with a gradually more serious regimen as he grew up. Mitsunari was the one who got Tora into kickboxing, a sport his dad had seriously been undertaking for several years. His father also supported Tsukiko in the things she wished to relay to Tora, which were mainly academic skills. His parents both had high expectations of him, but if Torashi ever failed, they simply cheered him up and inspired him to try again and work harder at it.

The noticeable incidents began in his early teens. Once, Tora mentioned to his father in passing about a bully problem in his new school, and Mitsunari advised him to speak out about each such occurrence – and if he had to, to use his Quirk to defend himself and others. After several incidents wherein Tora sent some kids to the infirmary, the school contacted his mother. Only due to that did Tsukiko find out that her own husband had incited her boy to such reckless foolishness. She was shocked, scandalized, and almost outraged. Relationships began fragmenting, and the simple, fun environment of the past was gone. While his mother strongly admonished her son and her husband, Tora’s father took care to thoroughly discuss the incident with his son. Unlike his mother, he didn’t blame Torashi for going overboard, and simply took to mentoring him in gaining better control over his shockwave production.

A year-and-a-half later, there was another crucial, distressing event. Torashi and his father were deeply involved in heavy sparring. Tora was going all out with his Quirk, and Mitsunari was supposed to adjust his power to what his son could handle, of course. Unfortunately, Tora had surprised him, and his father reacted, countered – as if on reflex – and cut his son all over with his Wind Slice ability. They were only surface wounds, but Tora did bleed a lot and made for quite the frightening sight. His mother had been in the vicinity, and came running when she heard the commotion, so she saw this horror-esque scene. Tsukiko threatened to leave and take her son with her, but was eventually convinced not to – on the condition that something like this never [i]ever[/i] happen again. It may have been an accident, but the result was one she couldn’t forgive. She’d rightfully questioned just how often her son had been harmed by his own father in the name of practice thus far; and it was true that Torashi had been wounded before, though never to such an extent.

Tora was more frightened of his mother’s rage and her vehement opposition to his training than he had been of his injuries. He remained affectionate to his father, and felt like they gained an even deeper understanding of each other. Tora deemed those shallow cuts he’d suffered as barely a bump on the road towards his goal. As his dad had told him more than once, hardships were to be expected in life, especially if he strove to be a hero. Torashi still experimented with his Quirk on his own, and dedicated himself to physical conditioning. His parents still loved him, he still loved them, but the rift between them deepened. Tora had less and less opportunity to spend alone time with his father, and his mother became oppressively controlling. The youth chafed against these new restrictions, and chose to stay away from home as much as he could.

The last nail in the coffin of their so-called normal life happened less than a year prior to Torashi applying for high school. His father…His father was apprehended for assault, and then, the police investigation revealed that he’d been a vigilante for years, that he’d engaged in illegal Quirk use many times, that his alternate identity was in fact minorly known in the area. Mitsunari had gone against criminals – mainly vandals and some small-scale terrorists – and severely injured most of them. Tora couldn’t believe that this was happening. His father, a proponent of heroic acts, criminalized? As a result, the adolescent spent three months to research vigilantism and related topics. He’d seen that some licensed heroes had dealt with offenders just as harshly as his father had, but they’d always been praised for it. Tora couldn’t comprehend how an education and a license could change so much. So, he spent more time researching about heroes in general. He saw that they were widely well-regarded, though there was plenty of dissatisfaction – at least, that was the case on the internet. Torashi discovered that some people used that discontent to support villainy, and some were fascinated with the idea of a violent, bloody revolution. Tora was disgusted to the core, because while he desired change, he decidedly did not want to go down a path that would see him branded a criminal, like his dad had been.

Torashi’s determination to become a hero only strengthened. Partly because he was interested in gaining insider information on heroes. Partly because he’d wanted to do so for a while. And largely because he craved to prove somehow that his father hadn’t been wrong. He was sure that if he became a hero, people would listen to him. People would see that his father, a vigilante and a criminal, had been able to influence and raise him into someone who became a licensed hero. Tora yearned to become someone strong and influential. He craved to change the world for the better, and saw the position of the hero as the best option to do so. He wished for his mother to recognize that his dad had never been a bad man, that he wasn’t a criminal. Tora was also keen to prove that his mother needn’t worry or try to limit him. When seeking to apply for a hero course, Ishin Academy was actually one of Tora’s top choices, and not only because it’s so highly ranked. He fully supported the school’s insistence to do anything and everything to produce a hero. He was certain he was prepared to go to any lengths to fulfill his goals. Besides, if Ishin was as good as its reputation, he’d graduate as one of the best newly-minted heroes, which was something he desperately needed to do.
[/indent]
[sub][color=ff9966][b]Character Development & Conceptualization[/b][/color][/sub]
[indent]“Anything goes, as long as the end result is heroism,” is a statement Torashi swears by. “Anything goes, as long as you are a hero,” is what he views as modern society’s defining tenet. However, this sort of blind faith for heroes and dismissal of non-heroes is what he aspires to oppose...as a hero. I’d like to write about Torashi’s struggles as he aims to achieve a prestigious position while questioning the validity of its reputation. I’d enjoy seeing him grow through the conflict he will inevitably experience when being bombarded with outside sources of information which (convincingly) demonstrate why being a hero [i]is[/i] special. There is also the moral dilemma of trying to become a hero, which is a status he doesn’t believe should ever elevate anyone to god-like prominence, with the intention to use the very benefits it offers himself. I don’t think Torashi is yet cognizant of the hypocrisy of what he is attempting to do (or perhaps, he thinks of it in vague, distant term, or considers it a non-issue), and this self-righteousness is something he will eventually have to face and resolve. 

Besides, when he is viscerally faced with the reality of the complexities heroes themselves face (something he trivializes), when he grasps what loss of hope in legitimate sources of protection would lead to, and witnesses how gruesome the repercussions of normal folk – regardless how well prepared – facing dangerous situations truly can be…that, I think, should make an interesting impact on him. Of course, he will first have to realize that, regardless of hard-work, not all power or potential is equal, but I’m sure that will be a swiftly learned lesson indeed. Even when he does learn it with regards to himself, he will have to work to develop some empathy, especially for those weaker than him.

Torashi starts out with a very ‘ends before means’ ideology, and acts on the basis of a grudge of having been wronged, driven to root out the perceived source of that wrongness. His agenda is to get licensed heroes to be scrutinized more closely and to give properly heroic vigilantes the opportunity to be recognized. He concurs that power should be used responsibly, but disagrees with the idea that licensed heroes being responsible is a given and would argue that vigilantes or ordinary people will not as a rule act irresponsibly. 

We’ve seen what advocating free use of Quirks by villains looks like, but what does someone determined to have the present laws revised from the position of a hero envision and how would they achieve it? Could they manage to keep their ideology and enact changes or would they just get bogged down by what constitutes as common sense? Can widespread use of Quirks be legalized in a way that loosens the existent restrictions, yet doesn’t end up in the sort of chaos the emergence of the so-called meta-abilities had caused in the first place? Can a mindset that wouldn’t be odd for a villain to possess work for a hero and how will it affect someone of a heroic persuasion? These are some of the themes I wish to explore through Torashi. Even if it’s not realistic to expect all this to get addressed while RPing a teen – especially not an angry teen – I am curious to see how far I can take such a concept, and how well I could portray it with an adolescent character. Moreover, dissatisfaction is a very good tool for change, and having a hero rather than a villain use it to their advantage should be an interesting challenge.

While Torashi’s own ideas are immature, undeveloped, and will likely prove unfeasible, I do wish to keep his belief that the system can be better. However, I’d like to guide his desire to change society into a more constructive, efficient, benign direction. Instead of exposing various failures of heroism and harshly criticizing the rhetoric associated with it – as he originally expects to do upon reaching the hero position – he will perhaps shift towards a solution that wouldn’t be so damaging to the whole institution. Besides that, he will be forced to stop idolizing his father at some point or another; he will have to admit that a person he’d long since admired and fashioned himself after isn’t faultless. Perhaps his father, ironically, even ends up serving as proof of why heroes need licenses in the first place.

I’d want some of Torashi’s characteristics – vindictiveness, harshness, a tendency to go over-board in training and against villains (whom he views as monsters or trash), and his retributive sense of justice – to be confronted and tempered as well. Then again, Ishin academy may just end up reinforcing his personality and conviction…after all, there is a reason he chose a school so (in)famous for its cruel training regimen.
[/indent]
[h3]Abilities & Talents[/h3][hr][sub][color=ff9966][b]Quirk Type[/b][/color][/sub]
[indent]Emitter[/indent]
[sub][color=ff9966][b]Quirk Description[/b][/color][/sub]
[indent][b]Shockwave production.[/b] Torashi can generate controlled supersonic disturbances in any medium. Most notably, he uses his Quirk to create devastating blasts of air, the shape and size of which he can control to an extent. From bullet-shaped expulsions which can pierce or cut most solids, to fist-sized blasts to pummel an enemy in mid-range, to long shockwaves manifesting as linear wind slices, to a charged conical ultimate which can heavily numb a target.

Tora’s shockwaves lose energy and speed with distance. As such, his shockwaves are at full power up to ¾ of a meter (2.5ft) from the point of their origin, decently effective up to three meters (9.8ft), and become harmless somewhere around the five-meter mark (16.4ft). His ability is characteristically loud, as even the most minor (air) shockwave is similar to the crack of a whip. Due to that, Torashi  must wear hearing protection headphones, which muffle sounds. This makes his Quirk unsuited for stealth, and moreover, a clever enemy might exploit its noisiness. Alternatively, Tora can use this trait to distract or harm a target, signalize his allies, or disrupt enemy communications. However, this Quirk may be regarded as a nuisance in populated areas, as it being used sounds like a gunfight breaking out.

While Torashi can produce shockwaves from any part of his body, he typically uses his arms or legs to do so. The larger of a body area he uses to make a shockwave, the more it takes out of him. So, a spherical expulsion from all around his body, while possible, is currently not worth making, as it would end up paralyzing him. Similarly, continuous and larger shockwaves cause a feedback to his body, tremoring (and potentially fracturing) his bones, which will first numb, then paralyze him if he overuses his ability. Tora’s natural resistance to his Quirk will gradually increase as he trains, though will never be completely eliminated, of course.

Torashi can form multiple small-scale shockwaves, though only one per body part (e.g. an air-bullet per finger or an air blast per palm), and each attack’s direction is linear. Since he typically uses body movements to help visualize how and where to direct his attacks (e.g. pointing, punching, kicking at a target), enemies can predict and avoid his blasts. He can produce a shockwave while standing completely still, but that takes a moment of intense concentration. And though each of his attacks is powerful, there are still plenty of defensive Quirks that will counter him, and using environmental obstacles is also a good strategy. Notably, Tora himself is lacking in defense.

As mentioned, Tora mainly uses shockwave production to create blasts of air. He can touch a liquid to do similarly (e.g. blast through water), though he isn’t as practiced in doing that. He can send a shockwave through any solid he touches, causing minor tremors along its surface. He can deform small items (e.g. a soda can) or cause dizziness and numbness to an enemy he takes a hold of (as he might in a grapple), but doing this has more potent adverse effects on him as well. While this is a potential area of his growth, I foresee he will first master what comes naturally to him; creating stronger, longer-ranged, longer-lasting pressure waves through air.

Stronger, continuous blasts also cause a recoil, pushing Torashi back in the opposite direction. He has been attempting to use this to enhance his maneuverability, but while he can boost his speed and jump power, making turns and braking is still a violent, poorly controlled affair. He is also not yet capable of sustained flight. Augmenting his speed in this way also comes with the usual drawback of shaking his body internally. Expanding and more finely controlling the mobility application of his Quirk is another aspect of improvement he will prioritize.
[/indent]
[sub][color=ff9966][b]Other Talents & Attributes[/b][/color][/sub]
[indent][b]Combat sense.[/b] Tora has trained kickboxing since childhood, has been instructed by his father, got into plenty of fights throughout his life, and has experimented with his Quirk extensively. He might not be as skilled as a student hailing from a hero family, but he’s definitely good at fighting, and is eager to improve. He also possesses a remarkable situational awareness, and isn’t afraid to get banged up.

[b]Physical fitness.[/b] Tora has been exercising daily since early childhood, and was one of the best members in track club. His dash-time is remarkable on a national level. While not as noteworthy, he’s good at long distance running as well. He loves jogging, as it helps him keep a clear head. Torashi is fit in a well-rounded manner, and though he may focus on explosive power, his endurance, agility, flexibility, and balance are all very solid.

[b]Research and reading.[/b] Torashi reads for leisure on occasion, typically mystery novels or action mangas. If some topic even mildly interests him, he’ll research it to his satisfaction, whether that means investing a day or several months of time. However, he isn’t a fan of memorization, and isn’t naturally strong at it either. Nonetheless, he’s never had problems academically, and though he personally wasn’t concerned about getting top grades, he was still an above-average student.

[b]Basic hairdressing.[/b] Tora’s been cutting his own hair the past two years, and has learned to make an even haircut. He’s tried giving himself an undercut a few times, but hasn’t been satisfied with the outcome yet. Though he’s an amateur, he’s skilled enough that the DIY nature of his haircut isn't glaringly obvious.

[b]Video-gaming.[/b] This is definitely more of a hobby than a skill, though if he were criticized for wasting his time, Tora would insist he can develop analytical skills and polish his reflexes through gaming. Action RPGs are a definite favourite of his, but otherwise, his taste is quite eclectic. 
[/indent]
[/hider]