Umeko Tatsumi (Smoke) [Student]

THE BASICS

PHYSICAL APPEARANCE

PERSONALITY

The ability to think ahead is a necessary skill to have when you're a hero, especially one training to be a pro. It's... definitely not a surprise that Umeko lacks the ability to plan and map her next actions, whether it's in battle, in exams, or writing her grocery list. She is impulse born in human form, and she manages to get by on it by being arrogant and point-blank.

A 'punch first, ask questions later' kinda girl. It is basically second nature for her to jump headfirst into anything swinging. Verbally or physically. It's not that she doesn't have manners... it's just, well. She doesn't have any manners. Eloquence is lost on this girl. Nine out of ten times, she'll yell in your face even for a normal greeting.

You do need a bit of bravery to be as intense as Umeko, and she certainly has a lot of it. But her bravery comes to a screeching halt whenever she is face to face with a crowd of people. Even when she's in the crowd, her brain starts to malfunction. As soon as it activates she is prone to extreme nausea. She prefers to avoid this by running away from the problem if possible. But, she is able to put this aside if her fight or flight response kicks in, and it does about 40% of the time.

She may seem harsh and blunt, but she considers herself to be quite friendly and welcoming. It's always nice to do your best to make people feel safe around you. Unfortunately, while she tries to be gentle, it's lost on her having an intimidating aura. But, given the change she will probably donate her entire life savings to a friend so they could get lunch. Just a biiit chivalrous. In her mind, at least.

Truthfully, she doesn't consider herself to be very smart. She enjoys playing the role of "big dumb idiot jock" except much smaller and lean. And she will definitely yell "I CARE ABOUT YOUR FEELINGS AND CHERISH YOUR FRIENDSHIP, JERK" at you.

BACKGROUND HISTORY

Kazuo Tatsumi married his long-term girlfriend Aoi when they were both at the ripe old age of eighteen. They eloped, ran away from home, and abandoned their old lives to live in a harbor town. They weren't running away from anything in particular. In fact, they had relatively normal lives, but they wanted change. And change smells like the sea.

They lived uneventful lives, with Kazuo working as a fisherman. Well, it was uneventuful and perfectly normal, until Aoi became a stay-at-home mom when she gave birth to their daughter Umeko at the age of twenty-three. They were excited, of course, this was obviously their first child and although they had not prepared at all, they would welcome her with open arms. It caused a bit of turmoil, as Aoi was convinced Umeko would inherit her ash manipulation quirk, while Kazuo was convinced she'd be able to breath underwater.

Aoi was correct, like always. Kazuo admitted his defeat. At age five, Umeko manifested her quirk. As her mother and father watched as Umeko was able to lift a small pile of ash just a few inches off the ground, they grew excited. Perhaps she could use it to her advantage and do something her mother never did: become a hero.

That idea fizzled out fast. In just a span of four years, Umeko went from a perfect little angel baby to a problem child. Or, well, Kazuo thought so. Aoi still thought she could do no wrong. She was still unable to do anything other than lift little piles of ash off the ground, just one to two inches. But she was... a handful, personality wise. She had a tendency to bite. A lot.

The horrible temper tantrum continued at. At home, at school. Umeko was around eight years old. when they decided it was time to send her to a disciplinary school. Much to Kazuo's dismay, this solved nothing. Aoi was still convinced she was perfect. At this point, she was able to form small household objects. A baby spoon, a tiny plate. A toy car.

When Umeko was ten, she found an outlet for her unbridled child fury, MARTIAL ARTS CLASSES. She dabbled in a bunch, as many as she could get her father to find for her. Kazuo was more than happy. If it meant she had an outlet, he'd suggest anything. Aikido, Hapkido, Judo... none of them were satisfying. She eventually ended up developing her own style that she practiced her bedroom. Umeko began to incorporate her power, and she would use the ash from her fireplace to create tiny weapons. Her favorite was just a mini-whip, which would be more comparable to a piece of yarn, probably 10 inches in length. She would run around swinging it everywhere. It would turn into a cloud of dust upon contact with anything, so it caused no harm.

She grew interested in heroes when she turned twelve. It was here where she first decided that she wanted to be just like them. Fighting bad guys, saving lives. It sounded cool. And Umeko liked cool. She wanted to be just like the PROS. She even prepared a speech about them for her classes show and tell. When she stood at the front of the class, she could barely open her mouth to speak. All that came out was unintelligible squeaks. It took her less than five seconds to throw up in front of the entire class. She was petrified. They laughed, and were also kinda grossed out.

Umeko went home, extremely embarrassed. Being young and emotional, she swore off public speaking ever since, and has since developed even greater fears. In her embarrassment, she decided to hang back from the crowd, opting to stay home whenever she could. Obviously they'd still remember her incident five years from now, so she should make herself forgettable and basically a shadow, right? Right.

While Kazuo and Aoi urged her to join an afterschool club or play some kind of sport, Umeko started taking Krav Maga classes at the age of thirteen. She was the youngest one there, and found herself at an advantage. She had developed a habit of carrying tiny bags of ash on her person at all times, just in case. It served no purpose until she started this class. From time to time, she'd use it to trip her fake-opponents, creating small tendrils that could only go out about one foot. She had to think fast, of course, or else she'd get flipped herself.

This became her escape. At home, she was able to incorporate her quirk into her techniques. At age fourteen, she had managed to create an item that was about 10 inches in length. An incredible feat, she thought. Anytime she wasn't at home, she was practicing her quirk. It took a couple of lengths for her to get the tendril to go to two feet.

Practicing so much caused her schoolwork to gradually decline, which was no issue for her. Although, she found it extremely hard for her to cram for the entrance exam, and ran into a bit of a mental block that pushed her into overdrive, causing her to work even harder than before. It was harder than she thought, but her ability to improvise seemed to work. And she was in.

Now all she had to do was stay in.

THE ARMORY

- Black harem pants for easy movement
- Black tank top
- Black body suit under hero clothes ("black because its COOL)
- Full face respirator
- Gloves (for heat protection in case of temperature-sensitive ash)
- 5gal pill capsule shaped container (for carrying ash, fastened to back)

QUIRK & SKILLS

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TEPHRAKINESIS

TYPE: Emitter
RANK/LEVEL: C
SUMMARY:
Tephrakinesis, otherwise known as ash manipulation, allows the user to control the solid remains of fire. Some users are able to generate ash and some are only able to simply control it, not create it. Through naturally occuring means, the more recent the ash was made, the more heat it could contain, leading to fire-based damage.

With the control of ash, a basic level user can create the most basic of objects. A cup, a plate, a knife. But it depends on the amount of ashes the user has at their disposal. For a user that can create ash, that is barely a limitation.

The less you have, the less you are able to form. Umeko herself can carry about four pounds of ash at a time, allowing her to create anything similar to an already existing item smaller than 25 inches, which is the average size of a bowling pin.

As long as it is under 25 inches, Umeko can manipulate ash into tools, weapons or other items. Consider a hammer constructed of ash. Depending on the concentration and focus that the user has, it will either burst into a cloud of dust upon contact, or have the same force that an actual hammer swing would have. Besides creating objects, the user is able to use ash in the form of tendrils as well. It can be used to suffocate and subdue, constrain, or capture. Using it as a bind is the equivalent of a bear hug. The tendrils can go up to 4 feet long, 1 foot wide. She can only send them out 4 feet or less from herself.


WEAKNESSES/LIMITATIONS:
Sure, you can create anything you want with fire dust, but it depends on the amount of ashes the user has at their disposal. For a user that can create ash, that is barely a limitation. But Umeko is limited to a specific amount of ash, about as much as she can carry. Currently, she is only able to carry about five pounds of ash.

At her current level, she's only able to manage each manipulated item individually. And being knocked out of focus/concentration, or knocked unconscious, will cause the constructed item to turn its original state. Items around the length of 10 inches are able to be used for at least 4 posts assuming there are no interruptions, and items at the full length of 25 inches are able to be used for 1 1/2 posts, interruptions considered.

Tendrils for restraint are only able to be sent out at least 4 feet, and can be maintained for at most 2 posts. She's only able to create 1 at a time. Works more on smaller-sized individuals, roughly the same size as Umeko herself (5'0 to 5'3", anywhere around 100-120lbs.) Anything over that isn't able to be restrained. She could try, but it's easily breakable at the point.

As a fire-based power, water / water-based quirks (steam, mist, etc.) that has come in contact with the ash she controls will no longer allow her to use it. And quirks that involve control of the wind also prove to be detrimental to her keeping control of the ash. That being said, if her entire stash is hit by water/blown away by wind, Umeko is at a huge disadvantage.

Umeko uses a full-face respirator in her hero uniform. While she has the ability to control ash, she is in no way immune to the effects it has. Prolonged contact of more than 10 (4 posts) minutes without the proper protection sends her into a spiral of asthma/respiratory attacks, including coughing, wheezing, and difficulty. This breaks her concentration, blocking her from being able to maintain the form of anything larger than a thumbtack. Contact with her skin for more than 3 posts also causes it to grow dry/itchy.

If for some reason she got separated from her capsule or she had to gather her ashes back up into one spot, it would take 1-2 posts for her to gather that back up or focus hard enough to control it from a distance. The further she is from the source, the harder it is to form/control.

RANK/LEVEL: C-
SUMMARY:
Umeko took classes religiously during her free time after she turned 13. She's currently at blue belt level.

Vega

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