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Archived Applications / Tsubasa Arai- Astronomy ★
« on: 27/03/2015 at 00:54 »
CHARACTER INFORMATION
Character name: Tsubasa Arai (新井翼）
Previous and/or Current Character(s) if applicable: Ars Cadwallader, Tiberius Owain Paladin, Evelyn Takamura
Character age: 26
Character education: Mahoutokoro, 1935
Strength and weaknesses (details please):
Weaknesses:
Difficulty not only finding the words she needs, but also pronouncing them in a way that’s understandable to her audience. Unlike other members of her family, her patience for the intricacies of her second tongue is short at best and mistranslations can easily set her into a fury of nonsensical raving. Despite this, she gets along well with other ESOL wizards and witches and can manage with anyone who gives her patience.
Another key weakness is obviously her lycanthropy. As she remains unregistered, her status as a werewolf is a closely guarded secret but as an extraordinary in a close-knit community such as Hogwarts she may run into difficulties crafting enough lies to tell with her lacking linguistic capabilities.
Personality wise, Tsubasa is as stubborn as an ancient cliff face when it comes to her interactions with others, and will not back down from any argument brought against her. Passive aggressive to a fault, it’s better to apologize to her than to wait for her to forgive, as it would wiser to wait for the moon to fall from the sky. Worse yet, she’s quick to snap in the first place, so dealing with her is like trying to touch fire.
Magically, Tsubasa is rather inept at conjuring and summoning, which is problematic as she tends to be messy and often loses things. It’s never really bothered her too badly, but her levels will continue to reflect this aspect of her.
As an Astronomer and Pureblood lady, Tsubasa is never awake before noon.
Strengths:
Because of everything she’s been through in her life, Tsubasa is able to be spontaneous and is quick to adapt and change to assimilate into whatever situation she’s faced with. She understands that life is not constant with each hour, minute, and second, and can easily change plans to suit her needs. She hates schedules, and values early morning walks, random acts of kindness, and the fact that things do, eventually, get better.
As a Japanese woman, Tsubasa can identify with cross-cultural characters well and use her nationality/ perceived exotic status as an advantage when it comes to dealing with others.
As a werewolf, Tsubasa’s devotion to astronomy is in the interest of self-preservation, and she is used to grueling hours and thankless labor.
Because of her spontaneous personality and childlike wonder with the possibilities of life, she’s still quite like a student herself.
Physical description:
Outside from her existence once a month as a fear-inducing werewolf, Tsubasa stands at a little over 5’2” while wearing heels. Rarely caught in anything that could be deemed unworthy of a runway, she routinely wraps her slight frame in gorgeous gowns and exotic furs. As a Japanese woman from Uji, she kept her skin pale in her youth with the use of parasols and long sleeves. but it has become even more so due to her lycanthropy. On her left shoulder, there is still a faint scar but it’s hardly noticeable. Tsubasa holds herself in a haughty way, and her facial expressions often leave a lingering feeling of being judged.
In her private life, Tsubasa wears slippers in the place of heels and parades about in sweaters stolen from her brothers or past lovers. These sweaters cannot be reclaimed once they are taken. While working, her hair may be tied in a messy bun but visitors who catch a glimpse of that sight would be wise to leave.
Personality (nice, rude, funny etc. Paragraph please.):
As someone who has landed on the opposite side of a coin from where she was years prior, Tsubasa knows what it’s like to fall once, try to stand up, and tumble back down twice as hard. Like many members of her family, Tsubasa builds her identity out of the Japanese concept of honne and tatemae, which dictate that the masks one presents in public and private must be kept separate at all costs.
Although maintaining this balance requires a network of intricate lies, Tsubasa’s English skills make her clumsy at them.
Tatemae: Public LifeWith a heart made of bulletproof glass, she’s not prone to give into any sort of emotional attacks. She’s independent and refuses to bow down to any cause other than those she sees are worth her acknowledgement. Additionally, she uses her beauty to bend the wills of those around her, and is shamelessly selfish when it comes to getting what she wants. As mentioned before, once crossed, Tsubasa is nearly impossible to reconcile with, and would rather burn all her bridges down than surround herself in mediocre company.
Honne: Private Life In private, Tsubasa is much more unsure about life than she lets on to be, especially in matters surrounding both her family life and lycanthropy. Her offices and rooms are all disorganized, and even though she usually makes it to her destination on time, the path she takes to get there is rarely the one she started on. Although prone to cat fights with loved ones over frivolous matters, Tsubasa’s upbringing learning tea ceremonies in Uji will be felt by anyone who gets close to her in the way of unnerving, and sometimes inconvenient hospitality.
Hopes and dreams. Why are you teaching at Hogwarts?:
Tsubasa’s main motives for applying for a Professor are not entirely philanthropic, as she mainly is quietly seeking access to the libraries of Hogwarts and a valid excuse for her research surrounding the correlation between astronomy and lycanthropy. Additionally, teaching lessons would give her more opportunities to speak English as well as a legitimate career to use as leverage against any proposed marriage from her family.
Biography (500 words minimum. There is never such a thing as too much.):
Tsubasa was born in Uji, in the same place Lady Murasaki had composed The Tale of Genji, and where the Buddhist temple Byōdō-in had remained in silent solemnity for over a thousand years, its halls elegantly mirrored in the surrounding lake. As a small girl, and the eldest of the Arai family, she ran freely with her younger brothers across the fire-red bridge spanning the river, and ate rainbow konpeitō in the shadow of the mountains. At the time, she didn’t think she’d ever leave the river’s edge, and as she grew, she watched her brothers join the other men who participated in the Agata festival by carrying the weight of their god on their shoulders. As the darkness enveloped the city, time ceased and she knew her sons would come back to this place, and continue the tradition that ran in their blood.
When the time came, Tsubasa entered Mahoutokoro as the rest of her family had, and although her wand wood was not cherry, as was so coveted among her classmates, but rather red maple, everyone said it suited her, as the fall leaves in Kyoto were so famous. During her schooling, she regularly attended classes on the art of tea ceremonies at her mother’s tea house and eventually recruited several of her classmates into a club. With her soft accent and graceful movements, she was quite popular, and she reveled in it. Secretly, during her seventh year she began to date a half-blood boy, who was widely regarded as one of the most attractive people in the school. After graduation, she continued to see him on her way home from the tea house, and they routinely chatted over green tea shave ice.
However, Tsubasa’s parents, ever concerned for her future, arranged a marriage for her, through an omiai at the age of eighteen. Though everyone in her family had been married through this process, some of them more happily than others, Tsubasa broke down in tears after being shown a profile of her proposed husband, and fought with her mother about the idea of assimilating her half-blood boyfriend into the family instead. After the argument accomplished nothing, she ran away into the mountains, and planned to spend the night at a shrine. After a few hours, however, she became disoriented in the darkness, and her sobbing attracted a werewolf, whom attacked her.
In the morning, Tsubasa’s brothers, Takeru and Hikaru, found her in the woods, unconscious and bleeding. After carrying her home, their parents consulted a family friend, who sealed her wound with silver and dittany. Afraid of any word of the event becoming public, and thus destroying their reputation, Tsubasa’s father moved the entire family to Sapporo, a city in Hokkaido, the northernmost island of Japan, under instruction by her mother. This move was incredibly important as Chieko Arai, once of the Nakamura family and the wife of Tsubasa’s cousin Yuusuke, through a less than successful marriage, lived in close quarters and had proven herself to be quite troublesome when it came to digging up any information that may allow her to petition for a divorce. Since the move, Tsubasa’s lycanthropy has not been discussed among anyone besides her older brothers and parents, and only using code words. As such, she remains unregistered.
After the move to Hokkaido, Hikaru and Taketo continued to study at Mahoutokoro, while Tsubasa and her father planned for her monthly transformations. During this time, Tsubasa spoke to her mother less, as any conversation they had devolved into an argument. Because of this, she slowly began to detest her mother’s training in tea ceremonies, cooking, and the other ladylike mannerisms that had made her so popular in school. During her ample free time, Tsubasa wandered around the snowy plains, and came to terms that she no longer had the capability for love or fear.
A few months passed, and eventually Hikaru, who’d taken to slyly searching for any information regarding werewolves in the school’s library (and finding nothing of use) suggested to Tsubasa and Hikaru that they work together to research lycanthropy and develop a cure. Together, the trio studied English and Latin in order to read more literature, and slowly began to carefully explore the field of Lycanthropy. Tsubasa particularly took a fascination with astronomy, as she could not rationalize why her fate was tied to the moon. Absorbed in her work, she slowly became nocturnal, and wandered in the mountains with her telescope, searching for answers she couldn’t possibly find.
In 1939, the family received word that Tsubasa’s cousin Yuusuke had been reported MIA after a conflict in the government-controlled nation of Manchukuo, and without reserve, Chie suggested that the family leave, unless they intended for Taketo and Hikaru to be drafted into the military upon graduation. Another letter from a cousin in America, Kenji Kanada, also hinted at the possibility of some sort of conflict with the United States.
Unsure what else to do, the family moved to an even more remote location, a settlement called Torrin on the Island of Skye in Scotland. After some pleading, they also brought along two teenage children of Chie and Yuusuke, and intend to send them to Hogwarts.
Despite living in Scotland for nearly five years, the Arais have remained antisocial and none of them have bothered to learn much Gaelic, besides Taketo and Tsubasa’s younger sister Natsuki. Although the children’s’ English is improving, the Arais’ parents rarely leave the house, and have taken to raising sheep, sometimes even acquiring tips from muggles. They still speak mainly Japanese within their household.
During her transformations, Tsubasa is taken by her father and brothers into a predetermined location near their home on the Isle of Skye, confined. In silent protest, she always wears high heels, no matter the terrain.
After five years of near isolation, Tsubasa has taken to re-claiming her identity, and often visits London on the pretense of research, even though the sort of “research” she often partakes in is not the sort her brothers would support. Wild and free, she’s fast to burn bridges and eager to play the field however she can. Recently, after meeting a few of the Professors at Hogwarts, she’s realized that her private studies might be simplified at a school, and has decided to take a stab at teaching, if her students can handle her attitude and accent.
SAMPLE ROLEPLAY
(Please respond to to this in third person past tense. Do not write the other characters' reactions. Only your own.)
It was the largest office in Hogwarts and, perhaps to students and newcomers, the most intimidating. The shelves were filled with various odds and ends, with a place of honor for the Sorting Hat, and the walls held all the portraits of past Headmasters and Headmistresses.
In the middle of the room sat a large desk. Everything was in order, for the current occupant had always despised a messy desk. It was the sign of a messy mind, and she had always favored neatness.
A clock sat on the desk, which currently showed the time to be 2:05. The meeting was supposed to begin at 2:00 precisely.
Along with order, Anneka valued punctuality. She was a very busy woman these days. Even during the summer, she had a number of matters to attend to. Interviewing and hiring staff was only of those matters. The newest potential member of her staff wasn't making a good impression.
She paced the room, black heels clicking against the stone floor. When the door finally opened, Anneka turned, her expression reminiscent of a Russian winter. "You are late."
Explain yourself was what her face said.
Roleplay Response:
All morning (or was it afternoon) Tsubasa was plagued by a vague but persistent notion that she’d forgotten something of dire importance. As she sat in the battlefield of her bedroom with a cup of coffee in her hands, her eyes lazily hunted for some sort of clue as to what that thing might be. It was frustrating work, as she’d been up nearly the entire night dredging through laborious calculations comparing the luminosity of the full moon when seen at day versus at night. The only thing she wanted to do was go back to sleep, but the nagging sensation was keeping her awake. What could it be?
Quills were scattered on the floor like fallen soldiers, and a broken vial of ink made the scene all the more macabre. The terrain was crafted out of abandon sheets of parchment and newspapers, and crumpled balls of paper formed entire mountain ranges. Trinkets cascaded in a waterfall off her desk, and after some digging, she found what she was looking for- a paper riddled with coffee stains, but mercifully unwrinkled for the most part.
The Hogwarts interview. At two.
All things considered, she was rather proud to even make the interview within the hour. She’d lost a few minutes meandering about in search for her destination as it was her first time in Hogwarts, and navigating the castle was more of a pain than she’d anticipated. Moving staircases did not agree with heels.
All in a rush, she entered the office and smiled as her eyes fixed on a clock sitting on the desk. Even after forgetting, getting dressed, traveling, and getting lost, she’d only wasted five minutes! Perhaps she hadn’t lost her punctuality after all?
Her face fell when she noticed her potential employer’s gaze, however.
"You are late."
What had this woman had for breakfast? The accusation reminded Tsubasa of something her mother used to say- ”Go-fun mae ikenakereba, ikanaihougaii” That wasn’t in English, though. What would it translate as? she wondered distractedly. Fifteen minute can not go before, best not to go? How did this stupid language work again?
“Oh- yes.” she answered absentmindedly as she mentally went on a panicked search for a handbook of polite apologies in English.
“I got… lost.” The last word betrayed her accent, but she figured the half a truth was better than a half-hearted apology.
Lesson Plans PM’d to Anneka Ivanova
