chessboardthinking | seasons info & permissions

Player

Name: avery
Pronouns: they/them or she/her
Contact: PM this journal or find me in the seasons discord
Time Zone: CET (UTC+1) or CEST (UTC+2)

Character

Character Name: Battler Ushiromiya, spelled 右代宮 (Ushiromiya) 戦人(Batora) and pronounced this way ~~because his grandfather is insane~~ for family reasons
Canon: Umineko no Naku Koro ni
Canon Point: episode 8, just before Ange makes her choice
Age: 18
Height: 178 cm (5’10”)
Season: winter
Flower: white chrysanthemum
Network UN: battler

About: Battler is mostly a normal teenager, brought up in a rich family but not particularly spoiled by it, fond of mystery novels and blonde women with big boobs. He’s fairly bright, good with kids, surprisingly principled, and all in all decently pleasant to be around. His biggest flaw is probably his baffling assumption that people find it funny when he acts like a pervert.

Umineko ep. 8 spoilers

He’s also the piece — a mundane representation used by a being ascended to a higher plane of existence — of the Golden and Endless Sorcerer Battler, who saw his family killed over and over in a cruel witch’s game, then came to understand the witch (thus gaining his own magic powers), and finally fell in love with her. Not even death has managed to truly separate them. Since he’s been taken from his world in the late afternoon of October 4th 1986, partway through his last game, he has a vague idea of what will happen during the family conference and is convinced that he will be one of the victims.

Other: let me know if you’d like me to avoid Umineko spoilers in tags (there are some in the powers section of this entry)

Permissions

Backtagging: yes, happily, as long as we’re both still interested
Threadjacking: yes on network posts, otherwise please ask first
Fourthwalling: please ask first
Mind Reading: yes; you can hit me up to ask for more details of what your character will see if they go rummaging in there
Touching: yes
Shipping/Kissing: open to it; hit me up to plan. please note that he is not over his (dead. sort of. it’s complicated) wife and likely will never be, so any ships will have that (metaphorical) ghost haunting them at least for some time. i’m open to both M/F and M/M ships, but he’s from 1980s japan, so the idea of hypothetically being with another dude will take some getting used to. chances are any potential relationship would have to be a slightly awkward slow burn at least at first
Fighting/Injury: he’s bad at fighting and does not enjoy it, but i’m open to it; hit me up to plan
Character Death: tentatively open to it; hit me up to plan

Powers

Canon:

— as a sorcerer, he’s capable of using magic. what this means exactly is a matter of some debate, both in-universe in Umineko and out-of-universe among the fans. for simplicity’s sake i’m deciding to roll with the most restrictive definition of magic provided in canon, which is that magic can accomplish only what is already possible for a human — a piece of candy can be magically placed under an upside-down cup only if a human could feasibly do so themselves, and so on. i’m also making the executive decision that his magic doesn’t work outside of his gameboards or interactions with other Umineko witches

— his innate resistance to magic is shockingly high (to people capable of perceiving that sort of thing, it will appear functionally infinite, a string of endless nines); this means no magic can harm him if he is able to construct a logical argument that denies its existence — in other words, magic will not work on him unless he’s been forced to accept it as fact. i’m again making the executive decision that this does not apply to seasonal powers, since he has seen that they objectively exist and work. with other magic, i’m happy to figure it out on a case-by-case basis

— he is capable of setting up witch games, which are stories taking part in a specific sliver of space-time (for example, the 4th and 5th of October 1986 on Rokkenjima), populated by pieces representing the people who appear in the story, controlled by the game master (in this case, himself); the other player in the game also gets to control a piece, usually a representation of themselves. these are only stories (you could compare them to very realistic fanfiction, or a one-on-one tabletop game) and so they do not impact reality in any direct way, since they are removed from it, taking place only in the players’ imagination (represented by a physical gameboard of some kind). this is not something he can do to others unwillingly; only people who agree to play with him can experience these games, and though anyone can be represented as a piece on the gameboard, those are based only on the game master’s perception of a given person, and will not influence the real person in any way

— within his games, or in interactions with other Umineko witches, he’s also capable of using blue, red, and golden truths — declarations that are given extra power by magic. blue truths are theories, hypotheses, possibilities; red truths are objective fact, never lying; and golden truths are something more, truths backed by deep emotional attachment, made powerful by the strength of belief. these are commonly used as weapons in battles between witches, but for humans playing a witch game they can be crucial information on the game’s rules or valuable hints. again, this is not something he can do in reality; unfortunately, in normal conversations with humans, there is no way to unerringly declare something true or false

note: this is my genuine understanding of Battler’s skillset and how it works, but canon is not very clear about many of these things, so this is by necessity a personal interpretation. if your read of canon is different, and this comes up in a thread, please let me know and we can work something out; i’m always open to being proven wrong, compromising, and so on!

✔️ — confident in, skilled at
〰️ — still learning, mediocre at
✖️ — hasn’t started learning it yet, can’t do it

WINTER POWERS

Elemental:
can be learned at any pace and in any order

— Water manipulation ✖️
Manipulate existing bodies of water. Does not change the water temperature, just controls the shape and how it moves. Able to draw water out of plants/trees. Also able to lift water in the air and hold it there.

— Water creation ✖️
Create water. Usually freshwater, but salt water can be learned as well with additional magical focus. Able to levitate created water in the air.

— Mist ✖️
Turn water in the air into a vision obscuring mist. Can also be used as a way to make rooms damper where necessary. Mist usually remains cool in temperature.

— Steam ✖️
Turns water into scorching hot steam, great for melting things or hurting enemies.

Advanced Elemental:
skills that you can start learning after being three months in the game; after learning the first you can learn a new skill every other month; take slightly more energy than the basic ones — unlocked: not yet

— Breathe underwater ✖️
Lets the user breathe water instead of air without creating gills. Lasts between half an hour to two hours, depending on how much magical energy the person has.

— Ice ✖️
Turn water into ice (without bodies of water around, uses water in the air for the ice). User will be able to control the shape of the ice and even hover it for a while before using it.

— Ice Armor ✖️
Covers the whole body or parts of it in sturdy ice. The armor doesn't feel as cold for the user, but if the armor is given to anyone else, it will definitely feel chilly. Does not require "Ice" to be learned first, but the Ice Armor can be manipulated with the "Ice" ability.

— Temperature control: cold ✖️
Controls the temperature around the user, making it feel either less or more cold. The temperature can't go above +5 celcius/41 degrees Fahrenheit. Also helps regulate the user's own body temperature, making them able to withstand cold atmosphere better or making them cooler in the warmer climates. May make the user feel cold to touch.

Others (basic):
can be learned at any pace and in any order

— Redirect moonlight ✖️
Use existing moonlight and direct it to places where the moonlight doesn't reach. Great for blinding enemies or increasing the light amount around the area. The source of the light beam is usually from users' hands.

— Repair items ✖️
Repairs items without needing extra tools. Gets more powerful over practice, but the limit will always be repairing a full dining table from scratch. Works less well on materials that are sturdier, such as metal or precious gems. Requires physical contact.

— See in the dark ✖️
Lets the user see everything clearly in total darkness. Passive ability.

— See spirits/ghosts ✖️
The ability to see native spirits and ghosts and communicate with them more easily because of that. Passive ability.

Advanced:
skills that you can start learning after being three months in the game; after learning the first you can learn a new skill every other month; take slightly more energy than the basic ones — unlocked: not yet

— Create own moonlight ✖️
Create a beam of light that resembles the moonlight. Works especially well on monsters that are weak to the moon, but otherwise useful as a light source or as a way to blind enemies. The source of the light beam is usually from users' hands.

— Manipulate darkness ✖️
User is able to manipulate darkness and shadows as an element. Very useful for obscuring enemies' vision, but can also be used as a physical attack. The shadows/darkness can be manipulated into physical objects, for example; as hands to grab things. Requires the presence of shadows or existing darkness. Darkness and shadows are considered similar elements. Does not work on "Dark Energy" that's around the Segments.

— Shadow traveling ✖️
The ability to jump from one shadow to another, using them as a quick way to travel. User can remain in the shadows long enough to find the one they want to emerge from, no matter how small the shadow is. The longer the stay in the shadows the harder it will be to come back. The act of jumping into a shadow is just simply stepping on a shadow and focusing.

— Spirit Exorcism ✖️
Help spirits and ghosts pass onto afterlife without needing a ritual that happens once a year. Malevolent spirits can be forced into moving on but friendly ones need to consent to being sent off.

Highly Advanced:
skills that you start learning after over half of the Advanced skills have been learned; these skills also take a lot more energy than the basic ones; learned every other month — unlocked: not yet

— Create void pocket ✖️
Void pockets are a way to hide completely. No one can pick the characters' presence or scent through it. It feels like floating in dark space and lasts up to ten minutes. Only works on the user.

— Freeze movement ✖️
Keeps the target frozen to their spot as long as eye contact is kept. The target cannot even blink their eyes to escape the hold, but if the user blinks, the target may be able to escape.

— Repair whole buildings ✖️
No matter how large the damage to a building, repair all the basic damage done to the structures of it. Does not change how the building originally looks. Requires physical contact.

DRAGON BLESSED POWERS

as these powers are more advanced and some even more dangerous, they take longer to learn and master: 1 normal skill per month OR 1 advanced/high risk skill per three months — unlocked: not yet

Elemental:
1 per month (unless that month is counting towards a more advanced skill)

— Geysers ✖️
Create geysers gushing out of the ground or water source. When combined with Water Creation or using an existing body of water, the water supply to the geyser is continuous. Water pressure can suspend items or people atop the geyser.

— Ice Breath ✖️
The ability to breathe ice like air. The user doesn't freeze their mouth or throat by doing so, but it might leave their mouth unnaturally cold for a while.

— Immune to Freezing ✖️
No matter how cold it gets or if ice magic is used against the user, they cannot freeze or sustain frostbite or other ice damage. Passive ability.

— Walk on Water ✖️
User can disregard surface tension and cross water as if it's ground.

Other Abilities:
1 per month (unless that month is counting towards a more advanced skill)

— Absorb More Information at Once ✖️
Process more information at once when given. May read faster, notice more details, and resist sensory overload. Applies to anything the user sees or experiences.

— Invisibility ✖️
Turning invisible, including clothes. User can still be detected by other senses.

— Make Objects Invisible ✖️
Turn any item the user touches invisible. This lasts five minutes or until the user ends the spell.

— See Through Fog ✖️
See through fog, mist, clouds, and similar.

Advanced Abilities:
1 per 3 months

— Darkness Field ✖️
Creates a light-proof darkness field around the user. Keeps light out and allows user to hide. Counts as a shadow for the Shadow Travelling ability.

— Grow/Shrink ✖️
Grow or shrink to any size. Clothes change with the user, other items do not.

— Presence Hiding ✖️
Hide presence from others from all senses, not just sight. A strong enough detection skill can overcome this, but only if cast by someone stronger than the user.

— Shadow Clones ✖️
Create imperfect shadow copies of self that follow the user and assist in their task. Shadow clones have the same (shape of) clothing and weapons that the user has when the ability is used, but without any special abilities that those would grant.

High Risk:
1 per 3 months

— Absorb Moonlight ✖️
Absorbs moonlight to make any ability three times stronger. The ability has to be used as soon as possible after absorbing, as having moonlight energy in your body is dangerous and may cause internal damage over time. If the energy isn't used at all, there's also the risk of death.

— Channel Spirits ✖️
Channel ghosts and other spirits through the user's body, becoming possessed by them. User can wrest control back or eject the spirit, provided they have a stronger will and more power. Risk of the spirit maintaining possession if the user isn't strong enough to hold them under control or eject them.

— Turn to Water ✖️
Turn body to water while either maintaining its shape or warping it. User can move and change at will. Default is maintaining the shape of the body. If water is separated or mixed with another water source, user will have difficulty reconstituting.

ANIMAL TRANSFORMATIONS

skills here include: full or partial transformation into animals (can also mix and match); ability to speak with animals you are transformed into; characters can speak with their own voice and words, but it's a matter of what their view on the transformation is. thinking "animals can't talk, therefore i cannot" vs. "i can talk so my animal form can talk" makes a big difference; use enchanted senses without the need to transform; possibility of permanently gaining features of an animal

Land Animals:
— Arctic Variations (Snow Leopards, Polar Bears, Arctic Foxes etc) ✖️
— Lemmings ✖️
— Minks ✖️
— Musk Oxes ✖️
— Reindeer ✖️
— Wolverines ✖️
— Wolves ✖️

Flying Animals:
— Cormorants ✖️
— Fulmars ✖️
— Owls ✖️
— Puffins ✖️
— Razorbills ✖️

Water Animals:
— Coldwater Fish ✖️
— Otters ✖️
— Penguins ✖️
— Seals ✖️
— Walruses ✖️
— Whales ✖️

Inventory

From home:
— golden longsword — a conceptual weapon, crucial in battles between Umineko witches, but useless in regular combat as it cannot physically damage enemies. can be conveniently summoned or dismissed with magic
— cape — a symbol of his authority as a sorcerer; a big deal back home, but otherwise a completely mundane black cape with a high collar, prone to billowing dramatically in the wind
— the Ushiromiya family ring — a symbol of his authority as a territory lord; a big deal back home, but otherwise a completely mundane golden ring, stamped with a one-winged eagle symbol
— Beatrice’s game board — a nice wooden chessboard that folds in half. comes with a set of wooden pieces carved in the shape of people bearing a slightly suspicious resemblance to his family (including himself) and their servants