just_a_minute

[Name]: Mew
[Age]: Over 18
[Contacts]:
♦ DW: Simple Elegance
♦ AIM: Cyromew
♦ Plurk: Cyromew
[Timezone]: Eastern Standard
[Other Characters]: None


[Name]: Ban Midou
[Canon]: Getbackers
[Age]: 21
[Gender]: Male
[Canon Point]: Post Anime Series.

[History]: Wiki Link

[Personality]:

Ban can be brash, arrogant, and considerably rude towards others, whether he’s familiar with them or not. He practically has made an art form out of making terrible first impressions, and unless he’s dealing with a client he tends not to use people’s actual names but instead opts to call them by various nicknames, some that are less than flattering, This “courtesy” was even extended towards his current business partner and best friend, Ginji Amano, when they first started working together. It’s not a matter of whether he can remember names but it’s whether or not you’ve earned his respect which isn’t something he doles out readily or easily. Ban possesses more than his fair share of pride, in both himself and his abilities. Oftentimes he can be heard boasting about himself, and if further evidence is required even his favorite coffee mug calls him “the invincible Midou Ban-Sama”. He’s prone to making rash decisions especially if it involves the prospect of obtaining money, which often leads to him gambling the Getbackers earnings away, making terrible deals, and being unable to pay off his debts. It’s been said that he has no luck with money, but it can also be said that he creates a lot of his own problems in terms of finances.

He is also short-tempered, irresponsible, and impatient. When Ginji’s friends began leaving Mugenjou and getting into the field of retrieval themselves, Ban was quick to berate them for trying to steal his jobs, and he openly demanded that they find something else to do with their time. He’s not afraid to try new things or do things in public that others might find too embarrassing... like showering in a public fountain, sleeping in his car, or trying to wheedle others to offer him a handout or hire him for a job. When he tries to suck up to a potential client, his voice can take on a higher pitch that gives away that he’s being insincere, or laying it on thick. Fortunately for him, clients tend to go based more on what they’ve heard about the Getbackers more than how they act. In many ways, Ban can be very immature but there is another side to him.

Despite everything, Ban is really a kind and compassionate person, but if anyone ever told him so he would deny it profusely. One of the reasons is because he doesn’t want anyone to think he’s a soft touch or that he can be taken advantage of. Besides that it ties in to his inability to express himself openly in regards to feelings. Many of the jobs he accepts it is for the express purpose of aiding the client and not just the monetary gain. There are times when a client will pay them more than Ban thinks is fair for the job, or the person and he will refund part of it. While he says they don’t take on charity cases, the truth is they have on many occasions. In one case, they were hired by an old man who was living on the streets who had only given them some food to eat and that was before he made the request for them to retrieve his daughter from a yakuza boss. Even though the daughter made the choice to stay with the yakuza, Ban used his evil eye to show the man a pleasant dream where he did get to see his daughter for the last time and say goodbye which had not been part of their deal. There are plenty of times where Ban provides this sort of after service, when the retrieval was already completed.

There is a mysterious side to him as well. Being a descendent of the witch queen has thrown Ban into plenty of dark and bizarre situations along his lifetime. He does not particularly enjoy talking about his past even when some of his older enemies decide to turn up. When possible he tries to avoid killing anyone, no matter who they are believing that it takes a stronger person to spare a life than to take one and that it is the right thing to do. For the most part he is confident and optimistic but there are times when that optimism is shaken. Like anyone he can be prone to darker thoughts when things look insurmountable. Another one of his philosophies is “If you want something back no matter what or who it is you just have to get it back”, like nothing is impossible with time and effort.

Ban has been called a genius at combat. He’s able to strategize both in the middle of combat and beforehand oftentimes surprising those who have underestimated him based on his appearance or mannerisms alone. His knowledge extends to a variety of subjects: music, science, mathematics and art. Early in his life he had been instructed that if he was to survive then he’d need a vast wealth of knowledge to accomplish it. That was something that he had taken to heart, being very studious in his younger years. He does hold an appreciation for the arts and gets irritated with Ginji when his partner is unable to recognize artwork by the masters. It should also be noted that Ban is fiercely loyal to his companions, courageous, and willing to risk his life to save theirs.

[Abilities / Strengths & Weaknesses]:

Being the descendant of the witch queen and having been born under the 13th Zodiac symbol has granted him certain powers and abilities. Some of which follow a snake theme, a tie-in to Ophiuchus and Asclepius.

Fighting Abilities - To start with Ban has an incredible grip strength of 200 kg in each hand. He also has been shown to possess heightened agility, strength, and endurance. For instance, during a battle in Mugenjou as Shidou was watching Ban fighting one of his opponents he made the comment that out of three attacks he only could catch one with his vision, attesting to Ban’s speed. There’s a character in the series, Takuma Fuudo, that’s missing one of his arms. Apparently, Ban was responsible for having ripped it off, and he later rips off the mechanical replacement arm as well. Using a power called “snake bite”, he gains a bit more power but this is usually reserved for a final blow. For really difficult situations he can recite an incantation and call on the power of Asclepius. Doing so, is exponentially more powerful than snake bite but it is rarely employed.

Jagan (Evil Eye) - The Jagan allows him to show any living thing a one-minute dream or nightmare depending on the person and the situation. These minute long dreams can feel like they last for hours to the person or creature experiencing it but in actual time only a minute will have passed. In order to trigger it he must make eye contact and be concentrating on using it. In the series he has been shown to use it on a flock of birds, or a pack of lions so animals are not immune to the effects. If multiple people happen to be looking his direction they can all fall prey to it. There are some built in limitations to this power. For one, it can only be used three times a day and not on the same person or creature in the same 24 hour period. Using it a 4th time would have a detrimental consequence... it would erase him completely, not just from the vicinity but also from everyone’s memories.

Intellect - Despite his outward appearance, Ban is a very intelligent person, a skilled leader, and a cunning strategist. He possesses a good deal of knowledge about magic, science, and a variety of subjects which comes in handy more often than you would expect for a retrieval specialist.

Many of Ban’s weaknesses are intrinsic to his personality. He often scoffs at criticism, when he might benefit from the advice he’s been given. He can be stubborn and obstinate, unwieldy. Sometimes he has to commit mistakes before he’s able to admit, not openly, that someone else was right. There are times when he can be blinded by the prospect of personal gain. Money is one of his greatest weaknesses as he’s willing to risk his life to obtain it. Despite all his skills, training, and knowledge Ban still knows there’s something that Ginji has that he feels that he’s lacking in. Compassion, kindness, and trust in others. While Ban can show others kindness, he’s far more guarded than his partner, and much more skeptical. His pride oftentimes gets in the way.

Another weakness is his mouth. He does not always know when to shut up, making situations more difficult for himself than they need to be. His friends and companions can also be used against him. If they are in danger, it can distract Ban from what he’s doing or he’s more apt to be injured trying to defend them. One example of this is during a fight Ginji was engaged in with Akabane. In order to break it up, and to conserve his last Jagan for the day, Ban took an attack that had been intended for Ginji leading to his being impaled by a sword through the shoulder.

[Limited Powers]:

For the Jagan, I can post a permissions post. Many of Ban’s opponents consider this his trump card, but they do so foolishly. This isn’t something he has to use all the time in order to accomplish his task. Generally when I’m playing Ban in a game setting I do tone down the speed a bit to more normal levels. There isn’t much sport in rping a battle when your character can out pace everyone! He’d still be fast but not superhuman fast. Calling on Asclepius would be as rare as it is in the series. He almost never uses that power, with good reason. Ban’s focus is on completing his retrievals not having knock down drag out fights, and he’s not out to kill anyone. Asclepius would be overkill in most situations.

[Other Important Facts]: 

[Samples]:
♦ Thread: Dear Mun
♦ Post:

[The author appeared enthusiastic and energetic as the words flew from his pen. Whatever was to follow was something Ban was keen on conveying to the otherwise sparsely written in tome]

I can’t believe my luck! No one’s going to think of looking for those shards here.

[Particular care was taken to ink the following three words..]

On Isla Unsinn.

They’re just ripe for the picking! I won’t even have to share them with anyone. BUWHAHAHAHA! I’ll be back in Shinjuku before I know it.

Yup, just as long as no one sails due west of Isla Empieza.

I just can’t wait to complete this thing and get the hell out of here...

Just go due west, until Isla Empieza disappears completely from the horizon and don’t stop until you come across this tiiinny speck of an island. I suspect most of the shards are right here!

[There was a brief pause before the entry continued]

... And they’re all mine!

[Ooc: Ban isn’t much for keeping journals or playing fair during competitions. This is something he penned to mislead his fellow pirates to go in a direction he’s not headed in himself. ]