Coyote Starrk

, sometimes incorrectly romanized as Coyote Stark, is an Arrancar and the Primera (1st) Espada in Sōsuke Aizen's army, along with his other half, Lilynette Gingerbuck.

Appearance
Starrk has blue-gray eyes and wavy, dark brown hair, which ends at the base of his neck, is always unkempt, and is parted down the middle. He has a faded goatee. His clothing is typical of an Arrancar: he wears a white jacket outlined in black, though altered with the collar upturned. A black sash is worn in a manner similar to a matador around his waist and he wears white gloves. The remains of his Hollow mask consist of a fanged bottom jaw which is positioned along his neck. His Hollow hole is on his sternum, right below the tip of his mask. His Espada tattoo is featured on the back of his left hand, which he conceals with his glove.

Personality
Starrk is a lazy and unenthusiastic man who spends much of his time asleep, and no one, except Lilynette Gingerbuck, appears to try and stop him from doing so. He rarely directly addresses any Arrancar other than Lilynette, his other half. Despite being the highest-ranking Espada, he is not eager to take a leadership role, allowing Baraggan Louisenbairn to take over at the battle of the Fake Karakura Town. He is not particularly interested in whatever is going on around him, though he is observant and a capable analyst. Unlike many of the Espada, he is not inherently violent or overly arrogant.

He initially does not seem to care a great deal for his fellow Espada, showing no visible signs of distress or concern. When he learns of Aaroniero Arruruerie's death, he lazily states there is nothing he could do about it, and when Baraggan and Tier Harribel are apparently overwhelmed by their opponents' respective Bankai, he only asks Shunsui Kyōraku if all the captains' Bankai are so powerful. However, this indifferent attitude seems to be dispelled with Baraggan's death. Starrk states Sōsuke Aizen not sparing even a word for Baraggan is horrible. Starrk himself is notably affected by this turn of events, being drained of his motivation to fight. After arguing with Lilynette for a while, he states he is not the type for revenge, but his desire to not see any more comrades die proves to be enough motivation for him to keep fighting. Starrk seems to be opposed to the notion of killing people, offering Love Aikawa and Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi a chance to run away instead of finishing them off.

Starrk often ends up in situations with him on the receiving end of physical abuse from his partner Lilynette, even though he does little to stop her actions. He can be serious on occasion, although his personality does not change much: he comes off as reluctant, but nonetheless willing to complete the task at hand. Such is the case when he was ordered to take back Orihime Inoue, despite saying he abhors such a strategy. He is fairly similar to Shunsui in personality, something Starrk himself acknowledges.

History
Starrk tried to live with other Hollows, but simply being near him caused them to lose their souls and die. Because of this, he became jealous of how the weak are allowed to come together, and so wanted to become weak. In an attempt to escape his loneliness, he split his soul into two, which became himself and Lilynette Gingerbuck. Not remembering which of them originally resembled themselves before they split, Starrk suspected their original appearance corresponded to neither of them. Even so, Starrk wanted to become weak so he could be together with a group, and if this were not possible, he wanted to find someone as strong as him.

When he split his soul, he asked the newly formed Arrancar if she had a name. Telling him her name was Lilynette, she asked if he had a name, despite them being the same person. Telling her his, he threw her a cloth to wrap herself up in. As she asked him what would they do now, he stated they could do anything. When she asked where would they go, he, stating they could go anywhere, assured Lilynette no matter what, they would stick together forever.

Starrk and Lilynette were alone when they were first found by Sōsuke Aizen. The two were sitting in front of mountains of dead Hollows, which impressed Aizen. When asked if they had killed all the Hollows in the area, Starrk told him no, for they had just died. This further impressed Aizen, who told Starrk he seemed strong. Pondering something, Aizen told the Arrancar he was searching for allies. Commenting on what a coincidence it was, for they too were looking for allies, Starrk asked Aizen if his allies were strong. When Aizen told him to come along and find out for himself, Starrk, agreeing to join him, noted Aizen looked like he could stay with them without dying.

Arrancar arc
Starrk is present during the creation of Wonderweiss Margela, standing on the steps opposite from Sōsuke Aizen along with several other Espada.

Hueco Mundo arc
Later, he, having slept beforehand, joins his fellow Espada as they are gathered by Aizen to discuss the matter concerning Ichigo Kurosaki, Yasutora Sado, and Uryū Ishida entering Hueco Mundo to save Orihime Inoue.

When the 9th Espada Aaroniero Arruruerie is killed by Rukia Kuchiki, Lilynette Gingerbuck, crudely waking him up, and informs him of the event. When Starrk states he already knows about it, Lilynette, urging him to do something, is asked what she wants him to do about it.

Later, after Las Noches is invaded by the Gotei 13 and Szayelaporro Granz, Zommari Rureaux and Nnoitra Gilga are killed in battle, he appears before Orihime as she heads over to heal Kenpachi Zaraki. Before Ichigo and Kenpachi can stop him, he, stating he abhors such tactics, brings her to Aizen with Sonído.

Fake Karakura Town arc
When Aizen travels to Karakura Town, he summons Starrk, along with Lilynette and the two other strongest Espada and their Fracción, to the Fake Karakura Town in order to do battle with the Gotei 13. When Captain-Commander Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto uses his Shikai to trap Aizen, Gin Ichimaru, and Kaname Tōsen, Starrk narrowly avoids the attack. When Baraggan, deciding to take control of the situation himself, tells Starrk he had better not have a problem with this, Starrk agrees, which earns him a kick from Lilynette.

After the pillars which keep the Real Karakura Town in Soul Society are successfully defended and four of Baraggan's Fracción are killed, all of the other Arrancar, pairing up against the Shinigami, begin to battle, with Starrk and Lilynette engaging in battle with Captains Shunsui Kyōraku and Jūshirō Ukitake. When Shunsui asks Starrk to send Lilynette somewhere else, for he cannot give the fight his all with her there, Starrk, brushing the comment aside, states if Shunsui will not fight at full power, neither will he. When Ukitake asks him what he means, the Espada, stating this sort of thing does not really suit him, asks if they can just pretend to fight and wait until the others are finished. Agreeing it would be a good idea, for as he is the same way and hates getting hurt, Shunsui states this time, he cannot. Stating it is a pain, Starrk draws his sword.

Noticing the fight between Rangiku Matsumoto, Momo Hinamori, and Harribel's Fracción, Shunsui asks Starrk if they should also put on a show. Not amused by Shunsui's attempt at humor, Starrk declines, stating neither one of them is fighting at full strength anyway, and notes how Shunsui's short sword is still sheathed. When Shunsui claims he only uses it in places where it is difficult to use a katana, Starrk notes Shunsui is ambidextrous, and he is faster with his left hand than his right, so he does not quite believe his excuse for his supposed lack of using his short sword. When Shunsui attacks, Starrk, dodging, is surprised by Shunsui's switching hands mid-attack and correcting his swing by making his right hand's strength match his left. After Starrk comments on the change, Shunsui asks him if he will take the fight seriously if he unsheathes his short sword. When Starrk states Shunsui is already plenty strong enough and he would not want him using his short sword, Shunsui decides to unsheathe his sword.

After Yamamoto kills Ayon and subsequently defeats Emilou Apacci, Franceska Mila Rose, and Cyan Sung-Sun, Starrk notices Harribel's change in tactics. Assuming Harribel is the 3rd Espada, Sunsui states he hopes Starrk is the second strongest so the battle will be a little easier for him. When Starrk reveals himself to be the Primera Espada, Shunsui, not seeming very surprised, states the battle will not be too easy after all.

Evenly matched with Shunsui, Starrks states he is surprised Shunsui was able to dodge his attacks without losing his hat or mussing his kimono. As the battle progresses, Starrk, scolding Shunsui for running away, fires a Cero at Shunsui, surprising him by not using any fighting pose, before staring in horror at Hitsugaya's approaching cloud.

Watching Baraggan being hit by Suì-Fēng's Bankai, Starrk, looking over to the obelisk of ice which Harribel is imprisoned in, asks Shunsui if all their Bankai are this powerful. When Shunsui calls them their secret weapons, Starrk asks if his own Bankai is more powerful than Tōshirō Hitsugaya's. When Shunsui states while he is uncertain of it, in a hundred years or so, it is possible Hitsugaya might become more powerful than himself, Starrk notes this means Shunsui is currently the stronger one. When Shunsui, tossing his kimono to Ukitake, states he believes Starrk finally wants to fight for real, Starrk says he wants to see Shunsui's Bankai.

Sheathing his sword, Starrk, calling Lilynette over, reveals he and Lilynette are one: while other Hollows split their power into their sword and body, they split into two bodies instead, and once they are one again, their full power will be released. With that, Starrk enters his Resurrección while Shunsui releases his Zanpakutō's Shikai. After the two clash, Starrk tells Shunsui he seems a little panicked, which is not at all like him.

Shunsui states he meant to kill him with the first blow, but his release must be really something if he could parry it. When he deduces Starrk's gun fires Ceros, Starrk, confirming this, denies it can do anything else when Shunsui asks if it is capable of more. When Starrk tells him he made him better show him his Bankai because he made him enter his Resurrección, Shunsui states he has no intention of showing him, no matter how strong he has gotten, especially if he is just going to fire Ceros. When Starrk fires Cero Metralleta at Shunsui, Ukitake, jumping in front of Shunsui after activating his Shikai and negates the multiple Ceros with a blast of his own, prompting Starrk to, dodging the blast, ask Ukitake if it was a Cero.

When Starrk asks Ukitake how he fired a Cero, Ukitake states maybe he will figure out if he does it again. After they clash, Starrk, using Sonído to get closer to Ukitake, explains what he has learned of his ability. As Ukitake expresses surprise at him figuring it out after only three attacks, Starrk surmises if Ukitake has to absorb the attack first, there has to be a limit to what can be absorbed. He tells Ukitake he does not think he will be able to absorb the attack if he fires 1,000 shots at once.

After Shunsui tries to cut off his head, Starrk comments on how such actions are not like him, prompting Shunsui to state he should not make judgments, for he is the one not acting like himself. As Starrk states he thought they were alike, a Garganta begins to open, surprising the three combatants. As they watch as Wonderweiss Margela walks through the Garganta, Ukitake and Shunsui both wonder who he is while Starrk, saying his name, is just as surprised to see him there being accompanied by Hooleer.

While Ukitake is distracted, Wonderweiss, attacking him from behind, impales through his chest with his hand. Seeing this, Shunsui, moving to attack the Arrancar, is shot at point-blank range by a Cero to the back by Starrk, with both captains falling down to the buildings below. Starrk states Wonderweiss's arrival means Aizen is sick of waiting.

As the Visored intervene in the fight, Starrk faces off against Love Aikawa and Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi. When Starrk asks if they are sure about taking off their masks, Love says they are superheroes, and they only last for 3 minutes.

Following the death of Baraggan, Starrk, stating Aizen not sparing a single word at Baraggan's death is horrible, turns toward Rose and Love and clarifies it is not in their nature to avenge each other. Later, the battle between Love, Rose, and Starrk became more devastating, causing Rose to crash into a building below. After being knocked down into the buildings below by Love, Starrk, lying on the ground, is reluctant to get up, prompting Lilynette to ask him what he is doing, for he should be getting revenge.

Starrk states he does not care anymore, for he knows Aizen is not going to save them. Noting Love and Rose are strong, and it is pointless to continue if it will only result in someone else dying, he decides it would be best to just go home and go to sleep. Telling him he is the Primera Espada, and if Aizen did not believe in his strength, he would not have made him #1, Lilynette says if he does not want his friends to die, he has to fight. Stating she is right, Starrk resolves to continue the battle. After he and Love clash, Love asks him if he was grieving. After Starrk admits he was doing something like this, Love, donning his mask, launches a massive fireball, only for Starrk to escape the attack. When the smoke clears, Starrk stands at the front of a pack of hundreds of wolves.

The wolves charge at Love and Rose upon Starrk's command, prompting the Visored to don their masks. Despite the duo fending off the attacks, the wolves, proving too many for Love and Rose, close in and detonate, creating a huge explosion. Revealing the wolves are part of him, Starrk states they are the Primera Espada, Coyote Starrk and Lilynette Gingerbuck, and this is their power. As Love and Rose get up from the attack, Starrk, telling them the game is over, states if they run away, he will not chase them. When Love refuses to do this, Starrk, stating he does not like to do this, but he has no choice but to finish them off, is pierced from behind by a blade from the shadows.

Surprised, Starrk, looking at his own shadow, sees Shunsui rise up from it. Asking what this is, Starrk, noting Shunsui being able to hide in the shadows is ridiculous, asks if he was holding back an attack like this the entire time. Stating he was not holding back, Shunsui explains to Starrk the power of his Zanpakutō, and the different rules and games he has used in the battle. As Shunsui moves to attack him, Starrk generates a sword of spiritual energy to block his attack. Starting the game Irooni, Shunsui, naming the color gray, attacks Starrk, wounding his right arm.

Starrk notes it is a shallow wound, but it felt like he practically cut his arm off. As he catches on to the rules of the game, Shunsui tells him it is his turn, and he can state any color which he wants to cut, but he can only cut this color. Calling out white, much to Shunsui's surprise, Starrk, moving behind him, make a small slash across the captain's back, which gushes blood. Congratulating him, Shunsui, telling him the color he chose could also damage him, reveals the higher the risk to yourself, the more damage you inflict. Telling him he is amazed at how fast he learned the rules of the game, Shunsui notes he is a tough opponent. As the two clash, Starrk, thinking to himself he could say the same thing of Shunsui, wonders why he has to fight someone so strong. Recalling his past, he sees Shunsui's haori flying toward him. He swipes it away, uncovering Shunsui, who, preparing an attack, says black and slashes Starrk directly across the chest, nearly cutting him in half.

As the area around Starrk's Hollow hole begins to crack, the wound brings out a torrent of blood, which bursts from his chest. As he falls out of the sky, Starrk, surrounded in his own falling blood, remembers his first meeting with Aizen. Apologizing for not being able to repay him for his help in escaping his loneliness, he recalls the other Espada and the creation of Lilynette. Realizing he was not alone, he, losing consciousness, dies as he falls to the ground, while Shunsui looks on without expression.

Equipment

 * Sword: While having no special properties, Starrk wields a standard-sized katana. He uses it as a weapon in his pre-released state to make up for not having a standard Zanpakutō. It sports a pewter-colored rectangular guard, with small protrusions on each corner, and a sun-like design wrapped around the hilt's collar. The hilt itself is a yellow color, and the sheath is a metallic-gold color.

Powers & Abilities
Master Swordsman: Starrk has demonstrated tremendous skill in swordsmanship, fighting on even ground with Shunsui Kyōraku, one of the most proficient swordsmen in all of Soul Society, and landing a few minor cuts without fully trying, though Shunsui was also holding back.

Master Marksman: Starrk is quite skilled with his pistols when released. He can fire very precise Ceros while fighting more than one opponent, and can launch a continuous barrage of Ceros which even captain-class fighters have difficulty avoiding. He skillfully used them to block at close range against Love Aikawa.

Immense Spiritual Power: As one of the strongest Espada, Starrk possesses tremendous spiritual power. Starrk is forbidden to release his Zanpakutō inside of Las Noches because such a release could destroy the fortress. His spiritual energy is blue. Prior to meeting Aizen, his immense spiritual power was unintentionally killing other Hollows just by Starrk being near them, even after splitting his spiritual energy.

Sonído Master: Starrk's skill and speed in Sonído is so great, it seems as though he possesses a form of teleportation, simply appearing solidly instead of shimmering for a second like other Sonído users. He avoided both Kenpachi Zaraki and Ichigo Kurosaki in order to recapture Orihime Inoue, returning her to Sōsuke Aizen within an instant. His proficiency with Sonído allows him to create multiple after-images of himself to confuse the enemy. He surprised Jūshirō Ukitake by appearing next to him after dodging an attack faster than his own post-release Cero. He evaded various attacks by the Visored Lov and Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi, along with attacks from Shunsui while fighting them.

Cero: His Cero is blue in color. While a standard ability for Arrancar, Starrk's abilities with it are very unique. As noted by Shunsui, unlike other Arrancar, he can apparently fire a Cero without a "fighting pose", meaning he can fire it without any warning from body gestures. Starrk can charge and fire it rather quickly, leaving even less time for his target to react. He can fire his Cero from various points on his body, such as from either hand, his chin, and his chest.


 * A technique used by Espada-level Arrancar, and sometimes others, to open a Garganta between the Human World and Hueco Mundo. He uses one to travel to the Fake Karakura Town.

Highly Perceptive Combatant: Starrk is very detail-oriented when it comes to fighting. He notices his opponent's mannerisms, and discerns the reasons behind those actions and the weaknesses and strengths of his opponent. He can look at unfamiliar attacks and figure out how they work by just viewing them once.

Soul-Separation: Starrk has the unique ability to separate his soul due to his immense spiritual energy. His spiritual energy splits and turns itself into another being, which reacts to his spiritual signature.

Second Being

 * Unlike all other known Arrancar, Starrk's enormous power is not sealed in the form of a Zanpakutō. Instead, it is sealed in the form of another Arrancar, his own subordinate, Lilynette Gingerbuck, who, while a separate, distinct being, is an actual part of him.


 * Resurrección: The release command of Los Lobos is . When released, he wields two ornamental pistols, each of them the same length. These pistols are actually Lilynette, for both pistols appear to house her body as well as her consciousness. She can speak through both pistols, and retains a sense of feeling via outside stimulus. Part of Lilynette's mask appears on his head, stretching from the back of his head around to the eyepiece on his left eye, with the flame pattern changing to emerge from the eyepiece and follow the mask fragment around to the back of his head. The mask itself is connected by two chains around his right eye. His Arrancar outfit changes drastically as well: his upper body is covered in a gray fur-lined jacket over a double-breasted vest, while his legs are covered in dark, skin-tight pants, with gray knee-high fur leggings covering his lower legs, and his arms are covered in gray, elbow-length fur armbands, which end at his wrists. There are ribbon-covered bandoleers emerging from his upper back and disappearing into his upper forearms. With fur-covered holsters, Starrk's released form resembles a Wild West gunslinger.


 * Resurrección Special Ability: Starrk's released form grants him new abilities and enhances his existing ones.


 * Enhanced Strength: While in his released form, Starrk is physically enhanced to the point where he can parry a powerful technique from Shunsui.


 * Enhanced Cero Firing: Starrk can fire Ceros from his guns. Starrk claims he can fire 1,000 of these Ceros at once.


 * Starrk uses his pistols to simultaneously unleash a powerful barrage of Ceros which, because of their density and grouping, appear to fuse together into one large Cero blast. He can change the direction of this attack while firing, making it extremely difficult to avoid.


 * Enhanced Hierro: Starrk's Hierro is enhanced in this form. After taking a direct hit from Love's immense Shikai, Tengumaru, and being sent crashing into the town below, Starrk ended up lying practically unharmed among the rubble while uttering only a half-hearted "ow" in response to the attack.


 * Starrk can summon spiritual energy swords from his bandoleers, which vaguely resemble the ordinary katana he wields in his sealed form, but with four curved prongs hanging off of the guard. He uses one, then two swords to combat Shunsui's dual-blade Shikai.


 * Wolves: Starrk can summon a pack of gray wolves, seemingly numbering in the hundreds. The wolves are controlled verbally by Starrk, and will chase down the enemy with the intent to cling via a bite. Upon biting the enemy or getting close enough, the wolves erupt in explosions of varying size and power. They can be very destructive; when one exploded, it destroyed a large area of the Fake Karakura Town in a huge explosion, which dwarfed the surrounding buildings. Starrk can summon them without limit, thus overwhelming the enemy with their sheer numbers. These wolves are pieces of both Starrk and Lilynette's soul, which they can split apart and control in battle. Love states they are like flames, for they reform from any harm done to them to continue their attack without pause. The two bandoleers on Starrk's back are the source of the wolves. This ability fuses him and Lilynette even further, for the pistols disappear and she becomes a presence in his body, allowing her to speak through him. (Unnamed)

Appearances in Other Media
Starrk appears in the video game Bleach: Flame Bringer (along with Lilynette) as the final boss of survival mode, but he does not use his Resurrección, nor is he a playable character. He appears in Bleach: Heat the Soul 7 as a playable character, utilizing his chest-fired Cero as one of his attacks. He uses his Resurrección, Los Lobos, as one of his attacks, in which he releases (with Lilynette) and uses his spirit wolves to attack his opponents. His Cero is colored grey rather than blue. In Bleach: Soul Resurrección, he is playable in his Resurrección, using Cero Metralleta as his ultimate technique. In this game, his wolf-summoning technique, despite not having an official name, is named "Camarada".

Trivia

 * In Spanish, "Primera Espada" is a term referring for a very prominent bullfighting matador, but it can refer to any person who excels in their profession.
 * Starrk's aspect of death is Solitude.
 * Starrk's name is derived from a French product designer named Philippe Starck.
 * When Starrk remembers his Espada comrades right before his death, Yammy Llargo does not appear in the flashback at all.
 * In Starrk's original appearance with a sword, the sword is shown with an intricate handle; why the handle's design was changed is currently unknown.

Quotes

 * (To Lilynette Gingerbuck after hearing about Aaroniero Arruruerie's death) "What do you want me to do about it?"


 * (About Lilynette) "The two of us are one. When we evolved from Hollow into Arrancar, we divided the Hollow power that the other Arrancar divided between their bodies and their swords into two bodies. When we once again become one, our power is released."


 * (To Shunsui Kyōraku) "I went through all the trouble of doing this pain-in-the-ass release, so you will show me your Bankai, even if I have to force it out of you."


 * (To Lilynette) "I said I'm not the type, didn't I? I give up. Aizen-sama doesn't have any intention of helping us. Those guys are strong. I get it, I'm done. Even if we keep fighting like this, somebody else is probably gonna die. I get it, so let's go home and get some sleep."


 * (To Love Aikawa and Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi) "Game over. If you make a run for it, I won't chase you."


 * (To Love and Rose) "No choice then. I hate the word 'deathblow', but here comes the deathblow."


 * "Why do I have to fight with such a strong guy? I envied the weak ones. The souls of everyone in our group of friends wasted away and disappeared just from being around us. From loneliness we divided our soul in two. We don't know which was the original, or maybe it was neither of us. It's just that there was no other way to escape from the loneliness. I envied the weak ones. If you're weak, then you can gather in as large a group as you want. I want to become weak and if that's not possible, then I at least want to make friends that are as strong as me."


 * "I am not alone."

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