Higan Chibana

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TW: Gang activity, violence, murder, body horror, gore, death, decay, missing person

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## Identity

### Gender

Nonbinary (accepts any pronouns, though tends to default to he/him out of convenience)

## Physical

### Eye Color

Blue-white (previously brown; subject to change)

### Fashion

Higan is often considered a chameleon when it comes to fashion. The way he dresses himself changes drastically between casual and not-so-casual. When he wants to keep it simple, he will throw on an Adidas tracksuit and call it a day. When he doesn't, though, he goes all-out. He gravitates toward abstract, unisex styling, a monochromatic palette, and clean lines. He uses layers for contrast in volume, hemlines, and forms, such as wearing a strict, slim-fit pant with an asymmetrical jacket and boxy-cut top underneath. He often wears a hat, a statement necklace, and either a pair of comfortable sneakers or heeled tabi boots. His wardrobe is comprised of either high-end name brands or pieces created by independent artists within the area. Either he goes full-force with avant-garde makeup, keeps to a smokey eye, or nothing at all.

### Other

Higan is covered head to toe in tattoos—literally. His face is the only thing untouched by ink, and who knows how long that will last. As for piercings, he has a labret and two lobe piercings on his left ear. He has a few scars scattered across his face from older piercings he removed: a Monroe and snake bites around his lips, several eyebrow piercings, and vertical & horizontal bridge piercings.

## Biographical

### Occupation

Tattoo shop owner & lead artist (Vitium Studio)

## Personality

### Traits

Quiet, cerebral, observant, nonchalant, eccentric, artistic, abstract, unconventional, self-sufficient, direct, charismatic, knowledgeable, empathetic, compassionate, reserved, assertive, intense, intimidating, grim

### Likes

Body modifications, alternative fashion, red spider lilies, Winston classic cigarettes & herbal cigarettes, incense, tigers, black coffee, being in control, luxury items, quiet spaces, creating art, McDonald’s, minimalism & maximalism, hard workers, people who take their job seriously

### Dislikes

Large crowds, vulnerability, being lied to, energy drinks, cheap clothing, authority, tradition, people who talk but have nothing to say, disloyalty, being taken for granted, gender norms/stereotypes, people who expect too much out of him, laziness at the expense of someone else, self-deprecation

### Strengths

Natural leader, passionate, self-confident, organized, strategic, decisive, independent, open-minded, hard-working, jack-of-all-trades, confident, innovative, progressive, truthful

### Weaknesses

Arrogant, distant, unpredictable, dismissive of emotions, overly critical, combative, extremely private, stubborn, aloof, clueless with romance, analytical to a fault, hot-and-cold

### Astrology

Aquarius (Western); Dragon (Eastern)

> *"It's not because you want to bear a grudge, right? Will you laugh for someone again today? Scream 'alive, I am alive.'" -- DIR EN GREY, Ranunculus*
>
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## Supernatural Status

* Witch.
* Turned supernatural rather than born.
* Higan is a resident of Cedargrove, the non-supernatural city. Higan fled to Cedargrove, WA after the tragic murder of his younger brother in Japan. Originally, he had heard of the city of Lost Cove and sought out a way to travel there so that he could get his hands on any scrap of dark magic he could find. However, it was thanks to his befriending of a fellow witch in Cedargrove that he ended up settling on the non-supernatural side of town instead. He still knows that there are boundless resources to be found for a witch like him in Lost Cove, yet he's grown fond of Cedargrove and has no intention of leaving any time soon.
* Like many witches, Higan possesses a grimoire filled with spells and recipes for potions and charms. It is more of a support item than a weapon as it is for his own personal records; his magic will still survive even if it is destroyed. Higan also has a collection of bones (both animal and human) used for his osteomancy, as well as several potions and pendants on hand to help support his magic.
* He is not known to be connected to any Legends or Subplots.

### Abilities

Blood Magic – As a whole, Higan’s specialty is deeply rooted in blood-based magic. He is capable of performing many magical feats with blood, including the manipulation of its physical properties (i.e. density, acidity, temperature) and hemomancy (the act of scrying with blood as a medium). He can do this with his own blood or the blood of other people. While blood magic is considered an application of the Dark Arts, he commonly uses it to fuel his spellcasting and strengthen protection spells. However, the blood has to come from an existing source. He cannot create blood from thin air, nor can he destroy it.

Potion Creation – The ability to create substances with magical properties, such as enhancing physical and mental abilities, healing, granting powers, changing shape, or bewitching someone depending on the kind of potion that is made. Some potions come in different forms of liquid, such as jelly, stew, brew, or even soup. They can also be made into solid form, often pills, powder, candy, and possibly drugs. So far, Higan has only been able to make potions with temporary effects, generally lasting as long as 24 hours.

Tattoo-Charm Infusion – The ability to create magical charms (from as basic as love and protection spells to as advanced as pain suppression and slowed decay) and infuse them into a tattoo. This is done with a mixture of ink and magically-treated blood. In Higan’s case, his charms are only limited to tattoos and blood-based elixirs. At this time, he is currently learning how to make amulets and talismans.

Supernatural Detection – The ability to sense the presence of supernatural beings or forces and identify them as such on sight. While Higan may not know exactly what kind of supernatural being a person may be based on first glance, he can at least tell the difference between who is human and who is not.

Incantation – The ability to use magic and cast spells through words projected by his voice. Higan’s incantations must be spoken, sung or chanted in order to be effective, regardless of language. They are ineffective if they merely exist as thoughts. If he is silenced by force or unable to speak due to illness, he cannot use his incantations.

Multilingualism – The ability to inherently learn, speak, and understand any language fluently. This is not an ability Higan learned on his own, but an ability he gained through a charmed tattoo. He has to make sure that the tattoo is touched up regularly, otherwise this ability will fade over time.

Mediumship – The ability to perceive and communicate with spirits, even those who reside in the afterlife. With this ability, Higan can view spirits of the deceased and communicate and/or interact with them, even if they have possessed inanimate objects or living people. He is capable of repelling and running spirits away from an area in the form of temporary banishment. He may even view a visual conception of a spirit world in a trance-like state, if he so desired. For the most part, though, his mediumship is passive and entirely out of his control. If he is low on energy, he may become overstimulated by the voices of the dead. In addition, extended use of this ability will result in head-splitting migraines and sometimes nosebleeds.

Necrokinesis – The ability to temporarily reanimate corpses and dead beings by use of dark magic. With this ability, he can summon dead bodies to use as puppets by controlling their movements and reactions, either individually or in multiples. This is not to be confused with resurrection, as these corpses do not have any viable sentient life.

Osteomancy – A form of divination, Higan can employ a method of reading the future, the present and the past by using the bones of the deceased as a focus. His primary uses for osteomancy include providing insight for a situation, recalling certain details of a past event, or weighing any possible outcomes before making a decision. He can utilize any type of bone for his readings, whether sourced from an animal or a person. Granted, this ability requires time, concentration, and energy. In addition, his predictions are seldom set in stone, thus not every vision will come to pass or may do so in unexpected ways.

Cemetery Empowerment – The ability to draw power from a cemetery, graveyard, or anywhere else a person may be buried. With Cemetery Empowerment, some of Higan’s existing abilities (such as Death Whisper and Necromancy) are enhanced. He may also receive a temporary boost in his existing physiology the longer he spends in a burial ground. For example, he may become faster, stronger, and more durable. Again, this ability is only temporary and only effective in an established burial ground. It fades away once he leaves.

Decaying Touch – With physical contact and concentrated use of his magic, Higan can cause anything to corrode or rot under his touch, whether organic or inorganic. This can include metal, plastic, plant matter, or—you guessed it—flesh. The severity and effectiveness of this ability depends entirely on his energy, as well as what exactly he is trying to decay. This ability is reversible to a certain extent; those with regenerative abilities will be able to restore themselves—or if they are unable to recover, Higan can reverse the damage himself (should he have enough energy left to do so). Excessive use of this ability is not only taxing, but extremely dangerous. If he does not stop at a certain point, he can lose control of this ability and even cause his own flesh to turn black and rot.

### Weaknesses

Many of Higan's abilities are riddled with downsides. Overall, he is far more apt with blood magic and potion-making than he is with any of his death-related abilities. While these death-related abilities are potent in nature, things such as mediumship and necrokinesis are much newer - therefore, they drain his energy faster and are much harder to control. Pushing himself too hard can lead to self-destructive tendencies and ill side effects, ranging from migraines and nosebleeds to mental breaks and physical deterioration.

## Background

### History

Shinobu Agata was born as the middle child of three in the fall of 1976. Growing up in Shinjuku, he was immediately pigeon-holed as the black sheep of the family. While his brothers both grew up to be athletic and outgoing, Shinobu practically raised himself on reading and drawing. He would spend hours upon hours with his eyes glued to paper, either absorbing bits and pieces of information through words or etching out imaginary creatures and sceneries with pencils and paints. From his early childhood to his formative adolescent years, he was considered extremely talented—gifted, even.

However, Shinobu never enjoyed being in school. He hated the unnecessary pressure, hated the dull, homogenous culture perpetuated by his classmates. He strived to be an individual, an artist in his own right, but his parents never took kindly to that. They wanted him to focus on a more… well, valid career choice for his future. However, Shinobu had already made up his mind. When he turned sixteen years old, he knew exactly what he wanted to do: he wanted to become a tattoo artist. Needless to say, his parents were horrified and outraged. Since tattoos were heavily stigmatized due to associations with organized crime like the Yakuza, they were convinced Shinobu wanted to be a criminal. They tried to put their foot down. They tried to forbid it.

But Shinobu was a teenager, and most teenagers love to rebel. Undeterred, he joined a local bōsōzoku gang, learned how to ride a motorcycle, and raised absolute hell. Despite his natural intelligence, he barely managed to graduate from high school. And when he turned 20, he became an apprentice to a master tattoo artist in the area — a man named Osamu, who also just so happened to be the uncle of the bōsō's leader, Kenichi. But unbeknownst to Shinobu, both Osamu and Kenichi were involved in supernatural criminal activities. It was part of their bōsō ritual to earn a tattoo for every major fight they won—and with every new tattoo, Osamu gradually infused each member with inklings of dark magic… often mixed with the blood of their own victims, without their knowledge or consent. Shinobu, unfortunately, was no exception to this.

Over time, Shinobu earned a fair share of tattoos, and Kenichi believed it was time for him to unleash his true potential and serve as a potential candidate to inherit the bōsō once he stepped down. Manipulated into a warehouse under false pretenses, Shinobu found himself front-and-center in the midst of a macabre ritual orchestrated by Kenichi — and there, on the blood-soaked floor, he discovered the lifeless body of his younger brother, Hikaru, his throat slit by the very people he trusted. In a fit of rage and despair, Shinobu unleashed a surge of magical power, turning the pool of blood into a blast of daggers and obliterating everyone present.

In the aftermath, Shinobu shed his identity and disappeared. He was presumed dead at age 24 — and from the carnage, he was reborn under a new name. Renaming himself Higan Chibana, he resurfaced in Cedargrove, Washington, in 2000. Driven by a desperate quest to resurrect his brother, Higan immersed himself in the dark arts. In his first year of citizenship, he heard whispers of a supernatural city beyond the falls, and he sought to find a way past the barrier in order to get his hands on every cursed tome he could find. Yet after months of research, he stumbled upon Reaper Ink, an underground supernatural tattoo parlor established in 1999, where he honed his skills under the tutelage of an older witch named Rusty Hebard.

Before long, Higan had quickly ascended the ranks to one of the top artists under Rusty’s wing. Under his guidance, his control over his abilities improved. At one point, they even became close friends. Yet tragedy struck again when Rusty went missing in 2010, leaving Higan in charge. The parlor underwent a transformation, reemerging as Vitium Studio in 2017. Higan became the sole proprietor, catering to the supernatural underground with specialized tattoo-charm infusions. His past remains shrouded in mystery, and the trauma of losing his brother continues to haunt him as he navigates the fine lines between the human world and the supernatural.

### Motivations and Goals

To carry out Rusty's wishes and provide his community with protection spells in the form of inconspicuous tattoos, to further hone his abilities in dark magic and necromancy, to one day bring his younger brother back from the dead.

### Relationships with other Characters

Andreas Matthews - employee

Itachi Uchiha - friend

## Living Situation

### Home

Higan lives in a two-bedroom apartment situated directly above Vitium Studio. The interior of his living quarters does not appear much different from the interior of the tattoo shop. In fact, many of the same design elements appear to carry over into his private space: black-and-white walls, dark antique furniture, wall-to-wall paintings arranged in a maximalist style, and vined plants take over the space. The spare bedroom he has is not for guests, but has been repurposed for a designated space of potion-making and divination. He keeps this room locked when it is not in use, but if someone unaware of the Secret were to step inside, it would appear no different from an occult enthusiast man-cave.

### Never Leaves Home Without

A pair of large sunglasses to shield his eyes, as well as a spiked ring to draw blood on a moment's notice.

### Travel

Because Higan lives in such close proximity to his work, commuting is no concern of his. All it takes is a quick walk by foot. For further distances, though, he drives a black 1980 Cadillac DeVille Superior hearse with a novelty license plate that says "TAT DAD" on the back.

#### Familiar

Higan has one familiar: a black female Sphynx cat by the name of Kyoho, eternally six years old. Kyoho is a cat spirit who can slip through walls and disappear from sight, and can manifest into a physical form at will. She often goes out in the middle of the night to gather bones and potion ingredients for Higan while he is busy.

## Plotting

### Desired Ships/Plots

Platonic relationships, mostly! Clients, coworkers, friends - though I am also very much down for something more antagonistic, like enemies or rivals. Past lovers can be an option as well, though rare.

### Where to Encounter Higan

Higan lives and breathes Vitium, for the most part. If you don't see him in the studio, he is likely upstairs in his apartment. Though on his off days, one can see him shopping at the Cedargrove Outlet Mall in Upper Cedargrove or taking in the historic charm of Old Cedargrove.

### No-Go's for RP

Not looking for a current romance for Higan at the moment. Could be subject to change in the future, though!