You see a young man-- clad in leather, a helmet, atop a roaring motorcycle, managing fantastic, daring feats. At that moment, various things come to mind: he's an adventurer, he's crazy-- he's cool. You take a better look when the helmet is no more: chopped, short hair dyed violet, various piercings, a face marked with tattoos, eye shadow, lipstick . . . The thoughts give a slight twist, don't they? Is he a hooligan, tough as nails? A confused punk? Cool? Unfortunately, most of those things don't hit close to home base for Skull-- at least, he does what he can to hide what he is and put forth what he isn't.
Firstly, Skull is opposite of most points mentioned above. Cool? Only in image and dreams maybe, and sometimes, not even that. Most things don't happen right for Skull, from plans to life choices; He constantly suffers physical abuse ( mostly by Reborn and Colonnello ), making him not only the weakest ( and youngest ) Arcobaleno, but the most pitiful and everyone's favorite little punching bag. A regular occurrence, he might as well have a permanent KICK ME sign on his back that he can't quite shake off, a sign that his higher peers can't resist. He's called an errand boy, a lackey-- and while Skull takes great insult to this, especially from Reborn who does it most, he attempts denying it . . . In the end, he himself knows it's true, from taking Boss orders to being told to fetch drinks for everyone. It ends up following him around, stuck to his boot like freshly chewed gum, and to avoid even more abuse, he takes it.
There are two sides of the coin: Skull is both tough and weak, and it all depends on the person and situation at hand, as well as what or who you're comparing him to. Being chosen as one of the Arcobaleno, the strongest seven, it's true that he has to be stronger than most in some way. Before the curse, Skull was a well known the Immortal Stuntman in the Mafia World nicknamed "Skull from Hell" and said to be "hated by the Death Gods themselves" because of his dangerous actions and cheating death like a roach. He can do some nasty things on a motorcycle that would make your stomach drop by just watching on, and he does it all without a scratch or sweat. It's safe to say he's something of an adrenaline junkie, and he's proud of his title. You need to have guts ( or just be damn crazy ) to do those things, and in this instance-- he has guts of steel, no doubt about it.
During his early appearance in the series, Skull seems to have much respect from his base as combat commander of the Carcassa Family, being referred to as "Skull-sama". He has a group of ready men at his fingertips as well as an armored octopus at his command-- during Mafia Land's invasion, there were men truly impressed by Skull's feats, and that's just how he likes it, just how it should be. Alas, some people need to disagree and threaten to eat his pet, and that's one thing that sours him to no end. Skull hates, truly hates being looked down upon and not taken seriously, much less ignored. It's where he has a very bad habit of boasting about who he is and what he does, what he could do. He brags and shouts it to the world if he has to, giving orders like he's the top dog, even calling himself "The Great Skull", all in favor of being noticed as Skull from Hell and not just-- the weird princess baby over there. Unfortunately, his attempts boil up the opposite opinion of what he wants others to think.
Then there are people. Skull has had little screen time, but what spotlight he did have points to two things that tie in with the above: Skull is a coward, yet Skull is also a hero. This can sound a bit confusing, so allow for a brief explanation! As previously stated, it really depends on the person Skull interacts with-- for example, he shows certain fear when it comes to Reborn and Colonnello, mostly because they're the first to take a whack at him for no apparent reason other than free bullying. They're also the ones that seem to put him down the most, threaten, or simply straight out ignore him because he's a total loser compared to them. He also states in the anime that Hibari Kyouya scares him, and with good reason, since-- Hibari is one of those people that wants to hit anything that moves. It seems that unpredictable people scare him, or those that are simply abusive towards him. A motorcycle is controllable, for example. you do what you want on the bike. Reborn is uncontrollable, does what he so much pleases and does it when the itch hits him; no one in their right mind would enjoy it anyway, unless they're into that sort of thing. On the other hand, when Enma was in danger of getting incinerated with a blast of dying will flames from the Varia ( during the curse of the rainbow arc ), Skull panics, enters the battle, and tanks the blast with his ability 'undead body', absorbing the attack and saving his representative. Of course, there are two sides to this: interest, and mutual understanding. He and Enma had gotten along and formed a friendship as two mutual butt monkeys, so there's that.
He's loud, his sense of bravado a bit too over the top, and on top of that, he's vain. He's confident, but there's a blurry line between what's genuine confidence or exaggerated pride to make up for a lack of confidence. Skull's image also has to do with attempts of grabbing for attention, one might say-- it's a blaring and almost intriguing sight to see a man ( or baby ) in colorful make up and piercings, walking around in a full leather suit and beautifully designed helmet, and as someone who lived a good chunk of life performing, living off of those that wanted to see him, it's only natural that Skull is something of an attention seeker, especially after he was cursed.
Things took a turn for him when getting turned into a baby was a thing; he lost nearly everything he loved to do. Ride, do some crazy shit, enjoy his youth, drown in screams from some fans here and there-- and suddenly, it's all gone, what he thought was forever. Consequentially, his self-esteem ( most likely ) took a very hefty tumble, explaining why his need to be seen as someone great and all-powerful is so accentuated. He's on a high horse he doesn't have, he's a lot of bark and little bite when it comes down to getting dirty-- hell, sometimes he tries to sneak off dirt free from a problem he caused. Skull puffs out his chest, threatens and exaggerates ( "i'm one of the strongest arcobaleno!!" when he's . . .actually the weakest . . . ) when all that is just a lot of talk and little do. He doesn't think much before he opens his mouth, and he's also pretty rude, whether he's speaking to a man or woman-- mostly, it's because he isn't taken seriously or when his patience runs thin, where he explodes and that build up of flustered anger shows on his pudgy baby cheeks. It's hard being a baby. It's hard and nobody understands.
In the Curse of the Rainbow arc, Skull seems to be aware of his unpopularity as well as his slim chances of battling one on one against the other Arcobaleno ( as much as it pains him ), as no one had wanted to voluteer or take up his offer to be his representative. It's at times like these that he believes religiously in the saying "I wash your hand, you wash mine". He goes out of his way to build up a certain dept when something is of his interest and wanted, and afterwards he thinks it's okay to obligate a person to immediately pay the "debt" back to him; It's almost childish. Convenience is something that can also drive Skull to changing his tune; For example: He tried to jump into Adelheid's breasts twice with glee, only to get smacked away both times, and afterwards, he proceeds to call her an ugly bitch. Another scene that comes to mind is when he's getting ganged up on, asking Lal Mirch or another higher-up he knows is tough stuff, and pleads for help, even adding "big sister" or "-san" in the mix for emphasis to his look how polite i am please help me.
Skull is-- a good guy hidden under a huge block of swagger syndrome. He can care for people, he can even put his life on the line for them if he wants to. He has a soft spot for his pet octopus, and that can serve for other future pokepets he may have-- Skull's downfall is the fact that his constantly wounded ego suffers inflammation, and just like a broken bone, it proliferates and tries desperately to find stability by getting tougher. In Skull's instance, he puts on the tougher front, but he'll probably still be the Strongest Seven's butt monkey.
( a note: since i'll be taking skull from the manga's end, his curse has been lifted. he's still supposed to be in infant form, and the process of getting his adult form back is something that should take time, like a baby actually going through growing up. he'll arrive as an infant, but as time progresses, i'm hoping that arceus can help speed up his growth process? )
Strengths/Weaknesses:
☠ Skull possesses the cloud flame of the dying will flames, a form of condensed energy that carries an ability of increase or propagation. This is where his 'undead body' ability stems from-- the ability to soak and absorb damage like a sponge. The cloud flames are able to absorb other flames and energy, causing Skull's inhuman durability.
☠ Skull specializes mostly in seemingly radical motorcycle related stunts, from high jumps to explosions, and could probably pull off some gut-clenching moves in a pinch! He also has a helmet with filter capabilities, strong enough to block out things like radiation.
☠ He has ties with the mafia, specifically the Carcassa Family, who are known to traffic drugs and act in other questionable things. It isn't solid enough to say that he takes part in said activities, but he is head of their combat forces, giving him an important seat and some knowledge in field battle.
☠ He'd be an excellent fighter if all of his edges were sharpened for combat, including strategy. Skull doesn't have this, where his plans usually end up being either easily foiled or unable to even lift off the starting stages. He doesn't do his research beforehand, he's impulsive, doesn't plan thoroughly-- the result, of course, being failure.
☠ It's funny and a bit ironic; In the face of his dangerous stunts, or in situations that involve those he cares for, Skull is fearless, gives death a huge backslap and says "no". Yet, when confronted with certain people like Reborn or Hibari ( people that would hurt but probably not kill him for various reasons ), the punk literally shakes in his boots. He seems to be ( somewhat ) easily intimidated on a social level, so there's a visible part of him that is a huge coward. This is partially why a lot of people don't take him seriously.
☠ He's a series punching bag. It humiliates him and follows him like a magnet, chipping away at his self esteem and only making him rebel further. And hey, if you intimidate him enough, you've got yourself an errand boy to fetch your morning coffee every day.
☠ He boasts way too much. All bark and no bite. From his looks to his skills, to his very being. Skull has a huge need for people to recognize him, preferably as someone high and mighty-- he does it so much that he gets them to think the exact opposite.
☠ By appearance, he looks like a total delinquent. Piercings, teardrop tattoos, leather and armor from head to toe, make up . . . the perfect hot topic poster boy-- he can be kind of intimidating on the outside! Or not, let's not lie. Unfortunately, he's not as tough as he seems and tries desperately to make himself out to be. This can go both ways, from either people thinking he's some kind of nutjob hoodlum to making fun of a guy using eyeshadow and matching lipstick.
☠ If it wasn't already noticed, Skull seems to be pretty invested in fashion. He's color coordinated and makes things match and mesh well into a hot fashion statement that is his own image-- he probably knows what's in this season in terms of Punk Today and Bikers Monthly, and will spend time on making himself look good. ( although it's already been canonly stated, he takes ten minutes a day to do his make up ).
☠ He's loud and rude, especially when things aren't convenient for him. Consequentially, it doesn't take much of that to have people dislike him. When something is of his interest or when there's convenience involved, you can bet that he changes his tune completely in hopes of getting what he wants or getting dragged out of trouble. This also isn't very attractive as it's something he does that's jarringly obvious.
☠ Skull is well informed in pet care, actually-- especially with octopi. He seems to take really good care of his.
☠ If Skull starts showing his gush feelings or that he genuinely cares, he'll try to quickly remedy the fact with something hilariously tsundere, mostly because it'll probably make him less cool. It's a true eye roller.
☠ The kid cares too much about what other people think of him. It interferes with his actions and behavior, and insultingly enough for him-- he knows half of what they think is true. He's a lackey, he's unpopular-- although he tries hard not to be those things.
SKULL | katekyo hitman REBORN! | not reserved
You see a young man-- clad in leather, a helmet, atop a roaring motorcycle, managing fantastic, daring feats. At that moment, various things come to mind: he's an adventurer, he's crazy-- he's cool. You take a better look when the helmet is no more: chopped, short hair dyed violet, various piercings, a face marked with tattoos, eye shadow, lipstick . . . The thoughts give a slight twist, don't they? Is he a hooligan, tough as nails? A confused punk? Cool? Unfortunately, most of those things don't hit close to home base for Skull-- at least, he does what he can to hide what he is and put forth what he isn't.
Firstly, Skull is opposite of most points mentioned above. Cool? Only in image and dreams maybe, and sometimes, not even that. Most things don't happen right for Skull, from plans to life choices; He constantly suffers physical abuse ( mostly by Reborn and Colonnello ), making him not only the weakest ( and youngest ) Arcobaleno, but the most pitiful and everyone's favorite little punching bag. A regular occurrence, he might as well have a permanent KICK ME sign on his back that he can't quite shake off, a sign that his higher peers can't resist. He's called an errand boy, a lackey-- and while Skull takes great insult to this, especially from Reborn who does it most, he attempts denying it . . . In the end, he himself knows it's true, from taking Boss orders to being told to fetch drinks for everyone. It ends up following him around, stuck to his boot like freshly chewed gum, and to avoid even more abuse, he takes it.
There are two sides of the coin: Skull is both tough and weak, and it all depends on the person and situation at hand, as well as what or who you're comparing him to. Being chosen as one of the Arcobaleno, the strongest seven, it's true that he has to be stronger than most in some way. Before the curse, Skull was a well known the Immortal Stuntman in the Mafia World nicknamed "Skull from Hell" and said to be "hated by the Death Gods themselves" because of his dangerous actions and cheating death like a roach. He can do some nasty things on a motorcycle that would make your stomach drop by just watching on, and he does it all without a scratch or sweat. It's safe to say he's something of an adrenaline junkie, and he's proud of his title. You need to have guts ( or just be damn crazy ) to do those things, and in this instance-- he has guts of steel, no doubt about it.
During his early appearance in the series, Skull seems to have much respect from his base as combat commander of the Carcassa Family, being referred to as "Skull-sama". He has a group of ready men at his fingertips as well as an armored octopus at his command-- during Mafia Land's invasion, there were men truly impressed by Skull's feats, and that's just how he likes it, just how it should be. Alas, some people need to disagree and threaten to eat his pet, and that's one thing that sours him to no end. Skull hates, truly hates being looked down upon and not taken seriously, much less ignored. It's where he has a very bad habit of boasting about who he is and what he does, what he could do. He brags and shouts it to the world if he has to, giving orders like he's the top dog, even calling himself "The Great Skull", all in favor of being noticed as Skull from Hell and not just-- the weird princess baby over there. Unfortunately, his attempts boil up the opposite opinion of what he wants others to think.
Then there are people. Skull has had little screen time, but what spotlight he did have points to two things that tie in with the above: Skull is a coward, yet Skull is also a hero. This can sound a bit confusing, so allow for a brief explanation! As previously stated, it really depends on the person Skull interacts with-- for example, he shows certain fear when it comes to Reborn and Colonnello, mostly because they're the first to take a whack at him for no apparent reason other than free bullying. They're also the ones that seem to put him down the most, threaten, or simply straight out ignore him because he's a total loser compared to them. He also states in the anime that Hibari Kyouya scares him, and with good reason, since-- Hibari is one of those people that wants to hit anything that moves. It seems that unpredictable people scare him, or those that are simply abusive towards him. A motorcycle is controllable, for example. you do what you want on the bike. Reborn is uncontrollable, does what he so much pleases and does it when the itch hits him; no one in their right mind would enjoy it anyway, unless they're into that sort of thing. On the other hand, when Enma was in danger of getting incinerated with a blast of dying will flames from the Varia ( during the curse of the rainbow arc ), Skull panics, enters the battle, and tanks the blast with his ability 'undead body', absorbing the attack and saving his representative. Of course, there are two sides to this: interest, and mutual understanding. He and Enma had gotten along and formed a friendship as two mutual butt monkeys, so there's that.
He's loud, his sense of bravado a bit too over the top, and on top of that, he's vain. He's confident, but there's a blurry line between what's genuine confidence or exaggerated pride to make up for a lack of confidence. Skull's image also has to do with attempts of grabbing for attention, one might say-- it's a blaring and almost intriguing sight to see a man ( or baby ) in colorful make up and piercings, walking around in a full leather suit and beautifully designed helmet, and as someone who lived a good chunk of life performing, living off of those that wanted to see him, it's only natural that Skull is something of an attention seeker, especially after he was cursed.
Things took a turn for him when getting turned into a baby was a thing; he lost nearly everything he loved to do. Ride, do some crazy shit, enjoy his youth, drown in screams from some fans here and there-- and suddenly, it's all gone, what he thought was forever. Consequentially, his self-esteem ( most likely ) took a very hefty tumble, explaining why his need to be seen as someone great and all-powerful is so accentuated. He's on a high horse he doesn't have, he's a lot of bark and little bite when it comes down to getting dirty-- hell, sometimes he tries to sneak off dirt free from a problem he caused. Skull puffs out his chest, threatens and exaggerates ( "i'm one of the strongest arcobaleno!!" when he's . . .actually the weakest . . . ) when all that is just a lot of talk and little do. He doesn't think much before he opens his mouth, and he's also pretty rude, whether he's speaking to a man or woman-- mostly, it's because he isn't taken seriously or when his patience runs thin, where he explodes and that build up of flustered anger shows on his pudgy baby cheeks. It's hard being a baby. It's hard and nobody understands.
In the Curse of the Rainbow arc, Skull seems to be aware of his unpopularity as well as his slim chances of battling one on one against the other Arcobaleno ( as much as it pains him ), as no one had wanted to voluteer or take up his offer to be his representative. It's at times like these that he believes religiously in the saying "I wash your hand, you wash mine". He goes out of his way to build up a certain dept when something is of his interest and wanted, and afterwards he thinks it's okay to obligate a person to immediately pay the "debt" back to him; It's almost childish. Convenience is something that can also drive Skull to changing his tune; For example: He tried to jump into Adelheid's breasts twice with glee, only to get smacked away both times, and afterwards, he proceeds to call her an ugly bitch. Another scene that comes to mind is when he's getting ganged up on, asking Lal Mirch or another higher-up he knows is tough stuff, and pleads for help, even adding "big sister" or "-san" in the mix for emphasis to his look how polite i am please help me.
Skull is-- a good guy hidden under a huge block of swagger syndrome. He can care for people, he can even put his life on the line for them if he wants to. He has a soft spot for his pet octopus, and that can serve for other future pokepets he may have-- Skull's downfall is the fact that his constantly wounded ego suffers inflammation, and just like a broken bone, it proliferates and tries desperately to find stability by getting tougher. In Skull's instance, he puts on the tougher front, but he'll probably still be the Strongest Seven's butt monkey.
( a note: since i'll be taking skull from the manga's end, his curse has been lifted. he's still supposed to be in infant form, and the process of getting his adult form back is something that should take time, like a baby actually going through growing up. he'll arrive as an infant, but as time progresses, i'm hoping that arceus can help speed up his growth process? )
Strengths/Weaknesses:
☠ Skull possesses the cloud flame of the dying will flames, a form of condensed energy that carries an ability of increase or propagation. This is where his 'undead body' ability stems from-- the ability to soak and absorb damage like a sponge. The cloud flames are able to absorb other flames and energy, causing Skull's inhuman durability.
☠ Skull specializes mostly in seemingly radical motorcycle related stunts, from high jumps to explosions, and could probably pull off some gut-clenching moves in a pinch! He also has a helmet with filter capabilities, strong enough to block out things like radiation.
☠ He has ties with the mafia, specifically the Carcassa Family, who are known to traffic drugs and act in other questionable things. It isn't solid enough to say that he takes part in said activities, but he is head of their combat forces, giving him an important seat and some knowledge in field battle.
☠ He'd be an excellent fighter if all of his edges were sharpened for combat, including strategy. Skull doesn't have this, where his plans usually end up being either easily foiled or unable to even lift off the starting stages. He doesn't do his research beforehand, he's impulsive, doesn't plan thoroughly-- the result, of course, being failure.
☠ It's funny and a bit ironic; In the face of his dangerous stunts, or in situations that involve those he cares for, Skull is fearless, gives death a huge backslap and says "no". Yet, when confronted with certain people like Reborn or Hibari ( people that would hurt but probably not kill him for various reasons ), the punk literally shakes in his boots. He seems to be ( somewhat ) easily intimidated on a social level, so there's a visible part of him that is a huge coward. This is partially why a lot of people don't take him seriously.
☠ He's a series punching bag. It humiliates him and follows him like a magnet, chipping away at his self esteem and only making him rebel further. And hey, if you intimidate him enough, you've got yourself an errand boy to fetch your morning coffee every day.
☠ He boasts way too much. All bark and no bite. From his looks to his skills, to his very being. Skull has a huge need for people to recognize him, preferably as someone high and mighty-- he does it so much that he gets them to think the exact opposite.
☠ By appearance, he looks like a total delinquent. Piercings, teardrop tattoos, leather and armor from head to toe, make up . . . the perfect hot topic poster boy-- he can be kind of intimidating on the outside! Or not, let's not lie. Unfortunately, he's not as tough as he seems and tries desperately to make himself out to be. This can go both ways, from either people thinking he's some kind of nutjob hoodlum to making fun of a guy using eyeshadow and matching lipstick.
☠ If it wasn't already noticed, Skull seems to be pretty invested in fashion. He's color coordinated and makes things match and mesh well into a hot fashion statement that is his own image-- he probably knows what's in this season in terms of Punk Today and Bikers Monthly, and will spend time on making himself look good. ( although it's already been canonly stated, he takes ten minutes a day to do his make up ).
☠ He's loud and rude, especially when things aren't convenient for him. Consequentially, it doesn't take much of that to have people dislike him. When something is of his interest or when there's convenience involved, you can bet that he changes his tune completely in hopes of getting what he wants or getting dragged out of trouble. This also isn't very attractive as it's something he does that's jarringly obvious.
☠ Skull is well informed in pet care, actually-- especially with octopi. He seems to take really good care of his.
☠ If Skull starts showing his gush feelings or that he genuinely cares, he'll try to quickly remedy the fact with something hilariously tsundere, mostly because it'll probably make him less cool. It's a true eye roller.
☠ The kid cares too much about what other people think of him. It interferes with his actions and behavior, and insultingly enough for him-- he knows half of what they think is true. He's a lackey, he's unpopular-- although he tries hard not to be those things.