Evelyn Takamura

[Evelyn Takamura]

Application for Hogwarts School

→ CHARACTER INFORMATION.

Name: Evelyn Takamura

Birthday: June 17

Hometown: San Francisco

Bloodline: Muggleborn

Magical Strength: Transfiguration

Magical Weakness: Divination

Year: Four or Five

Biography:
     As the sunset fell upon the racing ground outside the Hogwart’s Express window, Evelyn remembered her mother’s voice, the plain flatness of it, as she recalled the earthquake that ravaged Tokyo. “The ground opened and swallowed them.” she always whispered while carefully tucking flower seeds into the wet earth, “Just like these”. It was after that earthquake that her parents came to America on a cramped ship, and in a few years they assimilated into the salty air of San Francisco. Growing up, Evelyn walked an invisible line she never quite understood- she wanted to feel American, but in grade school a boy threw sand in her eyes because they looked different. Over time, she realized that although she sang “Amazing Grace” and cut her hair like the other girls, she never could become one of them. On New Year’s, she ate mochi with her parents and one night when she was seven and her mom gifted her a yukata out of hand-sewn from green cloth and Evelyn accidentally commented on how strange it felt and her mother rushed to the bathroom and sat on the floor, weeping. She never stopped. Although she started life speaking Japanese, she was only ever given books in English, and like mountains she tackled them, scaling them, and re-stacked them when she was finished. In books, there were no boys pulling the corners of their eyes down, and no teachers who wouldn’t call on her in math class. At first she only read stories, and then she began to read books about science and geography and boring biographies. However, whenever she read at home, her mother always chided her- “Don’t study, help me arrange these flowers. You’ll get married after high school anyways.” Evelyn didn’t know if she wanted to get married to a mean boy, but maybe if she did she could have an American family and be accepted. It was too confusing to think about, and still was.
   
      Everyday when she was ten, she would read as much as she could on the way home and then sell flowers out of her family’s house with her mother. It was one particularly hot summer and the flowers kept wilting, unwilling to live. After sunset, a kind old man came and bought a single rose for his wife, and also gave Evelyn a new book to read-a brand new novel from her favorite series, the smell of fresh ink still in its pages. As she wrapped the rose and cut the thorns, she wished desperately that it wouldn’t die, because she wanted the man to be happy.
   
     The man and his wife came back a month later with the rose, and it was alive. By the end of the summer, the man’s wife passed on and wilted in the summer heat, but the rose lived on. Together, the man and Evelyn put it on her tombstone and as far as she knew, it was still there.
   
     Three days later, the letter came.
   
     At first, he parents were shocked that she was actually a witch, but Evelyn herself was conflicted. On one hand, she was excited to escape the mundane life of a housewife, but on the other, being a witch seemed like it would make her even further removed from her peers. That fall, she left home and traveled cross country to the Salem Institute***, where many things were different yet much was the same. She enjoyed studying, but always envied the groups of students who traveled in flocks, particularly the Quidditch team. However, after last term’s events, she was traveling as a permanent exchange student even further- to Hogwarts. Maybe it would be a new page of her own book, or maybe the ground would swallow her, too.

      Nervous, she turned from the window and cooed to her cat, Prince, sleeping in the cage on the seat next to her. The rest of the coach was empty.

***(OOC: I hope this biography is alright. I read the time warp summary and I think this background could be either in the 1920s or 1970s. Additionally, I would like to have Evelyn transfer from Salem Institute from America but as I was unable to find much information on what happened there last term if that’s impossible within your cannon I can play her as an ongoing student at Hogwarts. Sorry if my placement is awkward, this is my first term! Thank you.)

→ ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.
Note: This section is optional, and is up to you to complete.

House Request: Ravenclaw or Gryffindor

Personality:
Overall, Evelyn is very introverted and avoids actively participating in groups and would rather study or venture around the campus grounds. This behavior stems from fear of rejection and a history of exclusion on the basis of her race (from the bio). Additionally, as a new student to Hogwarts, she is hesitant to disrupt the cliques that have formed within her year. Despite this, she hopes to join her house as a full member and feel included as part of a team. Once befriended, she’s extremely loyal and chatty. Oddly, she enjoys playing harmless pranks on her friends. Additionally, she has little patience for morons, especially lazy classmates, and can be quick to anger.

Other facts:
-When nervous, Evelyn sometimes folds paper stars, which she keeps in a jar under her bed. The paper for these is used as bookmarks in her textbooks
-She has a fondness for cats and sometimes may give other students’ cats treats
-Her Japanese name is “Yuki” but she stopped her mother from using it after grade school
-She despises the nickname “Eve”
-Left-handed
-Her favorite foods are bananas and strawberries.

Appearance: Evelyn is 4' 11”, 95 pounds, and a Japanese-American. Her hair is kept short most of the time, and she often walks while looking at the ground. Often, she can be found in the common room in her pajamas. She speaks American-English rather than British-English. (Faceclaim: Momoko Tsugunaga)

Her cat, Prince, is the birman breed.


→ SAMPLE ROLEPLAY.
Please reply to one of the Sample Roleplays below.

Option 1:

     As the rioting tone rose to an intolerable decibel, Evelyn’s eyes broke from the pages of the thick botany text she was studying at the house table and searched for the source. Down the dual lines of faces, she found the tell-tale stained Quidditch uniform of the player that botched the game for the entire time earlier that day. From the stands, she watched in awe, uncharacteristically chanting, and cheering and standing on her chair to catch a glimpse. Although she had never had any interest in boring Muggle sports, the magical energy that surrounded the students whizzing by on broomsticks fascinated her. In the cool October air, it was surreal to watch the blur of colors as the game was played, and feel the roar of the crowd ebbing with her racing heart. She’d never experienced anything like it on the cement streets of her hometown, or in the black and white pages of her beloved books. More often than not, she entertained notions of joining the tryouts, but she felt as if it might be awkward if she didn’t know anyone on the team…

     The shock wave that rippled across their house as James dropped the quaffle was palpable, marked by a united intake of breath. It fell through the air, glinting in the sunlight, and for a silent moment, the entirety of Hogwarts sat still in disbelief. Even though they were a generation used to defeat, it was surreal walking back across the grounds, with the sweet taste of victory sour on their tongues. Of course, whatever Evelyn was feeling as a spectator was probably multiplied tenfold in the hearts of the players themselves.
   
     The most disturbing part of the situation was not the cheers from the winning team, as that was normal in the aftermath of a game, but rather solemn quiet in the losing house. What happened to unity? What happened to “maybe next time” and “it happens to everyone?” No one was consoling the obviously upset player- his name was James, right? They were completely ignoring him. Evelyn flinched as he finally reached his limit and stormed from the room.
   
     Without hesitation, Evelyn opened her book and slid out a long strip of light blue paper from the stack she used as bookmarks. With quick, precise folds, she crafted it into a perfect origami star, about the size of a knut. Quietly, she followed the disgruntled player into the hall. Not quite sure what to say, she stood watching for a moment, hesitant.
   
     It completely frightened her to be yelled at as he noticed her presence, and part of her wanted to run back and lose him among the crowd. However, she had been bullied before, and knew how it felt as if every other person was out to get you.
   Assertively, she took a step forward and proffered the star on the palm of her outreached hand.
   
      “I…” she started shyly, glancing down at the floor, her confidence lost.
     
      “I made this for you. If you think of mistakes like stars, there’s so many that it doesn’t really matter anymore. Each one shines bright, and might even be blinding. But…they’re also old and over time, grow more beautiful. You’ll never see them if you never look up.”

     How awkward.

→ ABOUT YOU.

How did you find us?: Sylvianne Marceau referred me~

[Collin OReilly]

Hello Evelyn and welcome to Hogwarts!

Your application is looking great and I can't wait to see more of Evelyn this coming term! Before we can accept you, though, there are just a few things we need you to look over.

Firstly, it's completely fine to pretend Evelyn attended Salem last term! On a side note, in Salem they played a game called Quodpod but not Quidditch. Quodpod is a team sport too, but instead of throwing quaffles they throw a quod, which at times explodes.

Secondly, before the time warp everyone lived in the 1970, so that is where Evelyn would have grown up, though it is doubtful she will remember more than blurry things. She might remember an earthquake if one had happened in the 1960s or 70s, or tales of one, but probably not the specifics.

However, when the time warp happened everyone with magical blood slid back to 1937, but the muggles were all left behind. For Evelyn that would mean she became an orphan. However, it is of course completely up to you if you wish to change her heritage to halfblood or pureblood instead, or you could pretend that she got taken in or adopted by another family.

If you want to read more about the time warp, we have a guide here!

Please address the above things and repost your application in this thread, and we'll be happy to take another look at it!

Once again, welcome to Hogwarts!

- Collin O'Reilly

[Evelyn Takamura]

Application for Hogwarts School

→ CHARACTER INFORMATION.

Name: Evelyn Takamura (イヴリン・高村)

Birthday: June 17

Hometown: San Francisco

Bloodline: Muggleborn

Magical Strength: Transfiguration

Magical Weakness: Divination

Year: Four or Five

Biography: Re-written

Outside the window of the Hogwarts Express, the last beams of sunlight raced across the countryside, staining the sky a velvet shade of purple. Within the warm cabin, Evelyn sat with her face pressed against the cool glass, her fingers absentmindedly twirling the fluffy hair on her pet cat, Prince as he sleepily stretched in her lap. Besides them, the cabin was completely empty, save for a few bags and some forgotten sweets. It was quiet too, with the sliding door tightly shut.

It was perhaps unwise to at least attempt to make friends on the train, but the first memory Evelyn remembered was a red-faced boy with short hair hurling a handful of sand into her eyes outside the orphanage. Every single grain glinted in the sunlight as they shot towards her, and although she turned and shielded her face, it stung. The same boy pushed her on the ground and told her she deserved it, and maybe if she got a new set of eyes she could at least look American.
The other children were just as violent, but their attacks didn’t come in fistfuls of hatred. They came instead in whispers, and fingers pulling at the corners of their eyes, and girls who never had space at their table in the Cafeteria.

To Evelyn, the thought that she was not American was unbearable. She was careful not to see her own reflection in the glass of the window as she watched the landscapes rush by. However, the rich color of the sky brought forth memories older than the sand- ancient, confusing images and a half-forgotten glimpse of her childhood. A yukata, a deep, enchanting purple with pink flowers. A black lunchbox with bright white rice inside. Another name, Yuki, and the snowfalls that inspired it.

The unnerving fact that she still somehow spoke Japanese, although she never remembered studying it. It flowed off of her tongue easily, and sometimes she traced its letters in the air.

“思い出せない”* she muttered to her pet, who stared up at her with bright grey eyes. Prince never  paid attention to how she spoke, or cared much as long as he had fish to eat.

The only rational explanation for her memories was that her parents had taught her these things, but their faces were like shadows, and she didn’t recall ever being left at the orphanage- just the stinging in her eyes. Over time, she’d come to terms that maybe she simply didn’t want to remember what had happened that long ago, as whatever it was, it must have been terrible. The only clue she had to her history was her strange name, and the few fleeting images.

To cope with the loneliness, Evelyn drowned herself in printed words. During their free hours at the orphanage, she had wandered down the dirt road and took books from the library. The scientists and rough-faced children and Queens she envisioned never judged her.

Only a few years ago, a strange old man with a broken tooth adopted her, and it was the first time she’d met someone of her own heritage. With only one bag on her shoulder, she went and lived with him in a white-washed flat. The man’s name was Hiroshi Yamashita, and his wife had died in the last few months of winter. There was a lot of fuss with the adoption papers as it was a little queer for an old man to shelter a young girl, but with the times being as they were and the easy way they spoke Japanese together, they could not be denied. Hiroshi was a wizard, and often went on long tangents about how he had been great at dueling, once, so many years ago. In his old age, he sold charmed flowers- roses that would change color if someone loved you, or had lied to you and elaborate bouquets that never wilted. On Sundays, he went fishing, and sang in their native language while cats gathered and mewed patiently for a taste of fish. Although bit strange, Evelyn grew accustomed to living with Hiroshi and selling the flowers  under the California sun. They adopted Prince as a kitten, and lived as a family for a few months, forgetting the troubles that plagued the previous few years. It wasn’t an easy life, but it was better than the long nights tossing on a cot with a score of other restless children.

When the letter came for Evelyn to go to Salem, Hiroshi passed it to her silently across the table during dinner, and after reading the words, she looked over the top of the paper and he gave her a wide, broken-toothed smile. It was hard to leave him entirely alone, but he insisted she took Prince since two men couldn’t keep a house together. Across the continent, she always worried about the old man, and now she’d left him to go across the sea, all the way to Hogwarts.

She couldn’t help the events at Salem, but she was always lucky with second chances. Still, she’d heard that muggleborns had trouble obtaining WiSas and leaving Britain nowadays. Perhaps she wouldn't be able to go into the country if her education wasn't at stake? What would she do if something happened to Hiroshi, her loving grandfather? Normally, the blood-red badge on her clothes wouldn’t have bothered her, as it was just another layer to her cruel oppression, but the thought of being unable to return to the flat and see that senile smile again brought tears to her eyes. She wouldn't be able to stand it- much less forgive any bully or dark creature that dared keep her from returning home. It just felt as if something terrible was going to happen soon, and although she had never proven herself adept at reading tea leaves, the world was changing around her. As twilight cast across the world, she silently wished for time to stop.

Sighing, she reached over the languid body of her cat and fetched a book from her
bag.

*思い出さない omoi dasanai  I’m not able to recall

→ ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.

House Request: Ravenclaw or Gryffindor

Personality:
Overall, Evelyn is very introverted and avoids actively participating in groups and would rather study or venture around the campus grounds. This behavior stems from fear of rejection and a history of exclusion on the basis of her race (from the bio). Additionally, as a new student to Hogwarts, she is hesitant to disrupt the cliques that have formed within her year. Despite this, she hopes to join her house as a full member and feel included as part of a team. Once befriended, she’s extremely loyal and chatty. Oddly, she enjoys playing harmless pranks on her friends. Additionally, she has little patience for morons, especially lazy classmates, and can be quick to anger.

Other facts:
-When nervous, Evelyn sometimes folds paper stars, which she keeps in a jar under her bed. The paper for these is used as bookmarks in her textbooks
-She has a fondness for cats and sometimes may give other students’ cats treats
-Her Japanese name is “Yuki” but she doesn’t remember why
-She despises the nickname “Eve”
-Left-handed
-Her favorite foods are bananas and strawberries.

Appearance: Evelyn is 4' 11”, 95 pounds, and a Japanese-American. Her hair is kept short most of the time, and she often walks while looking at the ground. Often, she can be found in the common room in her pajamas. She speaks American-English rather than British-English.

Her cat, Prince, is the birman breed.


→ SAMPLE ROLEPLAY.

Option 1:
-At Hogwarts- (A few lines changed)

 As the rioting tone rose to an intolerable decibel, Evelyn’s eyes broke from the pages of the thick botany text she was studying at the house table and searched for the source. Down the dual lines of faces, she found the tell-tale stained Quidditch uniform of the player that botched the game for the entire time earlier that day. From the stands, she watched in awe, uncharacteristically chanting, and cheering and standing on her chair to catch a glimpse. Although she had never had any interest in boring Muggle sports, the magical energy that surrounded the students whizzing by on broomsticks fascinated her. In the cool October air, it was surreal to watch the blur of colors as the game was played, and feel the roar of the crowd ebbing with her racing heart. She’d never experienced anything like it on the cement streets of her hometown, or in the black and white pages of her beloved books. At Salem, she’d watched Quodpod, but the violence of the sport had reminded her too much of stories of war with its explosions. Recently however, she entertained notions of joining the Quidditch tryouts, but she felt as if it might be awkward if she didn’t know anyone on the team…

 The shock wave that rippled across their house as James dropped the quaffle was palpable, marked by a united intake of breath. It fell through the air, glinting in the sunlight, and for a silent moment, the entirety of Hogwarts sat still in disbelief. Even though they were a generation used to defeat, it was surreal walking back across the grounds, with the sweet taste of victory sour on their tongues. Of course, whatever Evelyn was feeling as a spectator was probably multiplied tenfold in the hearts of the players themselves.
   
The most disturbing part of the situation was not the cheers from the winning team, as that was normal in the aftermath of a game, but rather solemn quiet in the losing house. What happened to unity? What happened to “maybe next time” and “it happens to everyone?” No one was consoling the obviously upset player- his name was James, right? They were completely ignoring him. Evelyn flinched as he finally reached his limit and stormed from the room.
   
Without hesitation, Evelyn opened her book and slid out a long strip of light blue paper from the stack she used as bookmarks. With quick, precise folds, she crafted it into a perfect origami star, about the size of a knut. Quietly, she followed the disgruntled player into the hall. Not quite sure what to say, she stood watching for a moment, hesitant.
   
It completely frightened her to be yelled at as he noticed her presence, and part of her wanted to run back and lose him among the crowd. However, she had been bullied before, and knew how it felt as if every other person was out to get you.

Assertively, she took a step forward and proffered the star on the palm of her outreached hand.
   
 “I…” she started shyly, glancing down at the floor, her confidence lost.

 “I made this. Here. It's a star, so look up sometimes.” her eyes darted away again, and her teeth tugged at her lower lip. "There's lots of mistakes in life, I guess...but they're like stars. The more you make, the brighter you become."

How awkward.

→ ABOUT YOU.

How did you find us?: Sylvianne Marceau referred me~

[Collin OReilly]

Miss Takamura,

Congratulations, your application to Hogwarts School has been accepted. Term begins 01 May 2014. Currently, students have gathered at Camp Loki. Your admission is joint for both the school and Camp Loki, and we encourage you to spend your summer there. Should you choose, you may also visit our Elsewhere board via the Floo Network to visit or purchase school supplies. We look forward to seeing you at the School.

Regards,
Collin O'Reilly,