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Realistic or Modern Heartfelt Lies - Character Sheets Thread

Ehb

Ehb

Literal No One
Roleplay Type(s)
HeartfeltLiesCSThread.jpg


This is the Character Sheets thread for the One Shot RP : Heartfelt Lies.

At the moment, the RP is Completed and Closed.

Please Note:
If you choose to make a boy and girl character, keep their sheets in one post here!​
Use the interest thread or the discord for questions! Only post your character sheets here only!​
Note that Ehb will begin formally accepting sheets in Mid June 2023.​
Voting for ships will occur thru the discord in shortly after.​
In Character 1 to 1s will begin Late June and go through the Month of July.​
1 to 1's can last as long as you want them to but formal voting in reguards to this rp 'event' will occur shortly after July 2023.​

For more information, please see the interest check!


This RP Has a Discord! The discord is meant to be used as an ooc for when the event commences, but also to help players rapidly get responses from the GM or other players in regards to questions that they have, which were not mentioned previously. The OOC is generally meant for people who have made the decision to attempt to create characters in the RP in the hopes of being accepted and randomly shipped with someone.

In order to get discord acess you need to make a post in the interest thread and also leave a reaction to that interest thread's opening post. For more details about discord acess, as well as general information in creating a character such as the character sheet skeleton, see this post.

If you have made the decision to attempt to create the two characters needed for this RP One-Shot, please make your post in this thread with the following information:

  • Your Character's Name
  • (or both character's name if you intend to do both a boy and girl)
  • Their Gender(s)
  • Faceclaim(s) (anime faceclaims please)
  • Your Favorite Color

You will use that post to edit in your character sheets as you work on them! Be sure to say hi after getting acess to the Heartfelt Lies Discord, and chat up with fellow players to generate interest in pairings and potential plots!
 
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Ehb's Example Character
The identity of the example character is still to be decided based on the vote in the interest thread. But just as an example:


  • Basic Information​


    When you meet someone on the street, and you make eye contact, 'Communication' is initiated.

    Humans are a social species, and thus, they've evolved to be able to communicate in many complex ways. Posture, Gesture, Eye-Contact, Words, Tone, Pace, Expression... and many many other ways that one is able to communicate themselves to the outside world and their peers who pay attention to them. But, even with all of these tools, not everyone can garner all information being relayed in one go. Certainly, one who would be able to do that would be... extraordinary. But, that communication is not always sincere. Just as one read what it communicated, one can alter their words or behavior to muddle the otherwise honest messages that would naturally give off. The people who do this sort of thing are the worst.

    In my life, I've always sought out to find it. The sincerest of communication. To be frank, I'm not sure what it even looks like, but I'm certain it's out there, waiting within someone whom I've yet to meet yet. Thusly, I seek out to meet many different people, get to know as many people who'd give me the chance to do so. Perhaps then... possibly, maybe. I'll find it. Pure and sincere communication that everyone secretly wishes for from the bottom of their heart.



    Mizunohara, Sagawa
    HLSagawaProfile.jpg

    Speech Color: DDA0DD (Plum)
    Gender: Female
    Age: 16

    Date of Birth: 9th, June
    Blood Type: AB
    Height: 151.7 cm
    Weight: 46.1 kg

    Character Voice: Rumi Okubo
    Character Theme: Luminous Memory


    Character Background and Personality​



    Love means anything. It is a social construct that everyone seeks out. Perhaps, the purest form of love comes from that nurturing of a mother to it's child. A mother will go out of it's way, sometimes to the point of neglecting herself, in order to meet the needs of it's fledgling child so that they might survive. But in nature, there is a time where that ultimately runs out. When the child is either weaned off or forced out of the next in order to fend for itself, to which that love expires. This is but a common function of the way nature works. Humans - people, liable that function to their own concept of love. Whether it be the generously long period that it takes to raise a child, or to describe the desire of two people whom start off as strangers who - through time, end up wishing to be with each other, or even bring new life into this world together. So, to surmise, love can be used to describe child rearing, or physical attraction. But those are only a couple of examples that are equally broad and narrow at the same time.

    At the end of the day, I personally think Love is merely communication. It is an honest communication by which the intentions that inspire it are wholly sincere. It dosen't have to be governed by rules of the duty of motherhood, or by the fickleness of physical attraction, or the ravages of hormonal urges. We as a species have enshrined love as a thing that can mean many things.

    Love thy lover, love thy neighbor, love thy enemy, love thy stranger.

    The answer, or answers are for you to decide.

    So in the end, truly...
    Love means nothing. Therefore, Love means anything.


    Personality (At Start)
    "A cruel creature who relishes in the misfortune of others, and has an insatiable hunger for chaos! Ever fighting against the notion of a boring day!"
    At least that's what Sagawa Mizunohara, the self-proclaimed delinquent, likes to say. While she wasn't born in Kusatsu, she was raised there from a very young age. Getting along with boys, girls, and considered generally active. Her prolific nature made her acquainted with everyone due to her just always being around and always being drawn to anything she finds 'interesting'. In fact, in some circles considered everyone's little sister (Possibly due to her never hitting her growth spurt - yet). This works to her advantage though, as it means her peers are generally more tolerant of her love of pranks as 'Sagawa doing Sagawa things'. It would be unwise to think that she's only messing around all the time however - as while she looks like she's enjoying her youth to the fullest extent, there's always a sense that she knows more about the goings on in town that she lets on from the ever scerene aura she always seems to give off.

    Pre-Story Background
    Sagawa is a guest of the Amane Family of Kusatsu. She was presumably adopted by Kokoro Amane - a highly influential member of the town council - in order to learn from her. Though this setup would seem to imply Sagawa has little to no free time - it doesn't seem to be quite the case. When she was young she played with the kids of the town, and she was active enough to keep up with the boys. So good she was at this that in the beginning most kids presumed she was a boy as well. Going by the name of Saga, she was responsible for one notable prank where they filled an entire hot springs bath with popcorn kernels in order to find out if the water would be hot enough to make it pop (into popcorn). They had to clean that up afterward.

    It was a surprise to Sagawa's fellow preschoolers when it did turn out that the third best soccer player on the team was actually a girl. This generally didn't matter much though since her reputation as a fellow troublemaker and her ability to kick a ball in a straight line was what was more important. Sagawa's athleticism allowed her to generally be well liked by everyone. Though her love of mostly harmless but inconvenient pranks did sometimes put a damper on all that. At the end of primary school - before the boys and girls would be separated to go to either St. Kisai Girls' School or Tenijiro Boy's school, the class collectively planned a prank to have a gift and love letter be placed in Sagawa's shoe cubby that would pop off a confetti bomb. The young prank-master proceeded to turn this around by turning the 'love letter' into a gift of appreciation for their homeroom teacher from the entire class. Sagawa and everyone got to spend just a bit more time together as a single class as they cleaned up their homeroom until the sun nearly set down that day.

    At St. Kisai's Sagawa occasionally jumped into the school's few sports clubs but never hung around too long. She sadly remained just a little shorter than most of the classmates - which may have affected her performance in certain sports - and was something that she'd occasionally get teased on, but she was still well connected within the school's various social circles. A drifter who went as she pleased, yet managed to fit in whenever or wherever she wanted.


    Common Route Story Background
    When the schools merged, Sagawa seemed happy to be able to be reunited with her former classmates from primary school. She didn't allow herself to be confined to the bounderies the boys and girls had made for themselves and rather let her desire to see interesting things dictate where she would pop up and wander over to. Sadly, the growth spurts of the boys made her a bit outclassed when it came to playing any sort of sports with them which was a bit embarrassing for her to come to realize- but she still enjoyed engaging in the odd prank or two. There was the one prank where she notably messed with the girl/boy divisions and which helped many of the girls become more worldly after they learned of the existence of a certain bathroom fixture that did not exist in their own designated bathrooms. A massive success for Sagawa's prank record!

    While Sagawa declined to join the Gender Relations Club she was soon forced to help them out. The Peephole Incident and the Sabotage of the Sports Equipment prior to the Sports Festival was quickly partially or wholly attributed to her. To keep herself from being expelled, she assisted the fledgling Gender Relations club in finding the first clues to lead them to the true culprit. After the misunderstanding was resolved, Sagawa distinguished herself in the team relay, where she helped her school gain a lead by causing the runner beside her to crash into the other contestants after he became fixated on her ponytail. Sadly despite the victory, Yuzu High was disqualified from that particular match.

    Towards the end of that first semester, the school faced it's biggest crisis. A sudden announcement that it was to fully close by the end of that semester. The Gender Relations Club was at a loss at how to handle the situation - but Sagawa, a bit more aware of how and why this was occurring, was able to lead the club to the revelation that they could get the student body to overturn this decision by way of voting to save their school. Sagawa in one very rare instance, made bare her connection with the Amane Family and their involvement in the town's politics in order to bring the machinations of the politician seeking to close the school out in the open. But it was ultimately everyone's effort that stopped his plan dead in it's tracks.

    For her help in the previous two matters, the Gender Relationship Club sought out to recruit Sagawa when the returned from winter break. She refused - indicated she preferred to simply do things as she pleased. Sadly, one of these things ended up bring a prank involving a toothbrush that ended up causing an entire section of Yuzu High's School building getting flooded. The emergency repairs that had to be made put a nearly intolerable level of stress on the school's already tiny budget to the point that the class trip to the beach that season had to be canceled to free up more funding for repairs. An apologetic Sagawa yet again avoided suspension by using her ties to open up one of the hot springs in the area for the school's exclusive use for a weekend. Which was a welcome change that allowed students to get away from the negative press that was harassing their school at the time. It was by sheer happenstance that the Gender Relations Club discovered the greater plot to close down their school that extended beyond just a single politician. The news would only get worse soon afterward.

    One day, Sagawa appeared in the Gender Relationship's Club-room - presumably to help give them information to help them with the current problem. Instead however, she made heel face turn, telling them that the Amane Family and herself had been working to get the school closed all this time. IN a very menacing fashion, she gloated that pretty much everything that they had achieved this far wouldn't mean anything in the face of the school's poor test scores. You see, even if the students wanted to keep the school open, if the school placed in the bottom percentile in the nation's rankings, it would have it's funding completely pulled, and Yuzu High would effectively be unable to even keep it's doors open. She left the club-room stunned as she walked away, thanking them for entertaining her with their sincere efforts in their pointless struggle. Word got around, and Sagawa's betrayal and revaluations cast a shadow over the setup of the school's culture festival.

    The student body and the gender relations club worked together without help from Sagawa in order to dramatically raise Yuzu High's test scores. Thorough out this time, Sagawa had become far more quiet. Not much for pranks or popping in randomly - possibly just to allow for everyone to study and resolve their own issues. Only Sagawa's closest friends really would ever know why she betrayed the school. While they couldn't defend her actions, they chose to remain her friend. Which she was grateful for.

    Sagawa chose to not go to the American Style Dance at the end of the year. Instead, as always - opting to do her own thing.

    Personality (At End)
    At the end of the year there were many in Sagawa's large entourage of acquaintances that were hurt by the news that she had been working towards getting the school closed this entire time. There appeared to have been at least one person who was particularly mad, as at the end of the story, she seems to be nursing some sort of injury to her arm that again, only her closest friends seem to know true story of what caused that injury. The end of the school year leaves a lot of bitter feelings towards Sagawa from the many people she knew, but as for Sagawa herself? Her expression remains serene as ever. Though maybe nowadays just a little bit more lonely looking.


    Club
    Go Home After School Club


    Likes:

    Interesting Things: Sagawa loves to be witness to the interesting goings-on around campus. Though when that fails, playing pranks on people is her bread and butter to get that fix of seeing something interesting happen. The more chaotic, the better!

    Mystery / Paranormal Documentaries: So Sagawa finds the topic of real life supernatural things to be very interesting, and happily binge watches whatever spooky 'allegedly real' content that goes up on streaming sites. She absolutely hates normal 'scary' movies though. On the basis that they only exist to make you scared for the express purpose of 'scaring you.'

    Gossip: Sort of a complimentary element to liking 'interesting things'. While Sagawa prefers to actually see interesting things happen in person, hearing about it afterward is also acceptable. It's probably one of the reasons why she's always going around and interacting with generally everyone who'll give her an audience. She isn't the type to start gossip of her own - and ironically she really dislikes gossip that involves herself!

    Wandering Around Places: Is it in order to admire the various delightful views around the mountain town of Kusatsu? Or is it in order to be able to scout out a notable event to add spice to the day's proceedings? Maybe it's a little bit of everything. In any case, Sagawa even knows secret shortcuts around town that she's used since childhood to get around the town on foot faster that most others. It's thanks to her relatively unchanged height that she can still use some of them...


    Dislikes:

    Computers: "The dumb things never work the way you want them to! Especially with all of the soft-coded limitations that are stuffed into these things nowadays! Older stuff were simpler but you had more freedom to just do with it as you pleased. But nowadays they go the extra mile with DRM and Mandatory Updates!"

    Being Confined: Sagawa had reoccurring nightmares of being stuck in a room that she couldn't get out of and was stuck with all manner of strange and scary beings. Perhaps that's why she loves wandering around all the time now?

    Self Interested People: Sagawa can tell, after seeing it so much - when people are acting solely in their own self interest - to the detriment to other people around them. She despises that kind of behavior.

    People who ignore her: It's not a good idea to ignore Sagawa. That's how you and another student get their shoes traded leaving you with two right footed shoes in your locker.


    Hobbies:

    Cooking: A surprisingly good cook. She knows how to make the best out of cheap ingredients and locally grown items such as vegetables from the surrounding farms - even though she has access to better ingredients at the Amane House (not to mention they have their own cook). Sagawa had originally been slated to help cook for the Maid and Butler cafes for the Culture Festival because of this.

    DIY Electronics: At St. Kisai's Sagawa was a frequenter of the Robotics Club, and only joined on an on an off basis in order to have easy access to things to make devices for use in her pranks. In fact, Sagawa's most elaborate pranks involved electronics and happened while the school was still open before the merger. The prank was so good that she was banned from touching any robotics or computer equipment outside of class thereafter - a ban which carried over to Yuzu High, interestingly enough.

    Trading Cards: Sagawa was one of the kids who always seemed to have the best and rarest cards in any of the major card games everyone played/still plays nowadays. While she wasn't that good at the game itself (until recently), she really loved the anime the card games were based off of. Apparently she still watches the show's current incarnations.


    Dreams/Life Goals:

    Graduate: Sagawa's grades are average but not really anything that would make her graduating on time a question. Perhaps she just has nothing else she can think about?

    Meet a Real Friend: A curious goal for a girl who's generally considered friends with almost everyone. But, perhaps her trying to make friends with everyone was in order to find something that no one else had?


    Values:

    Freedom: The joy of being able to choose where you want to go, when you want to to the whims of your own will. It's perhaps Sagawa's situation that sometimes make being able to have freedom a questionable prospect.
    Diligence: Being able to set a goal and persue it even when things become tough. She admires the people who set their mind to things and see things through to the end.

    Loyalty: To have ones actions not be dictated not only by the things one wants, but also being able to set that aside for the sake of someone you care about.

    Thoughtfulness: She adores people who do things for the sake of other people. The little things - like taking up more work because somone else is dealing with something. Or someone putting aside time for the sake of someone who really needs it. Sagawa has seen these things and it's her favorite form of 'interesting thing' to see.


    Most Embarrassing Moment
    The time during childhood when Sagawa learned that girls aren't allowed to go into the same hot springs baths as boys. Sagawa just started undressing with the rest of the boys before going into the springs. While she was about to lift up her shirt she was immediately covered with a towel and dragged away by a hysterical bath attendant wrapped up like a cocoon. As a child the kids mostly remember her being wrapped up in a towel and being kidnapped being the most memorable part. Though she still gets really bad residual embarrassment at her own carelessness.


    Insecurities

    Trusting People: Even though she talks to everyone, interacts with everyone, and gets to know everyone, there is still a certain wall that remains. There are parts of her that she still yet allows anyone else to see - perhaps in fear that she'll be taken advantage of if she lets anyone know about it. Sagawa's closest friends caught a glimpse of that part of her. A revalation that made them realize that their whole time together - the things that they thought they knew about her was merely a surface level facade hiding a deeper truth beneath.

    Her Place in the World: Sagawa was brought to train under the Amane Family as a guest to learn from the family's current head, Kokoro Amane. While people still generally don't know what her exact relationship is to the influential councilmember, it is known that the failiure to get the school closed down, which by extention is Sagawa's failiure, is something that probably displeased her given that the Amane Family had a stake in seeing those warehouses get built. What is her place, if she failed to do what she was supposed to do?

    The Future: What happens after graduating from Yuzu High? Will she be able to make it? Isn't it true that just one catasrophic thing can leave one in misery for the rest of their lives?

    Character Shipping Preferences

    She's an Example Character. Existing as an example, and unavailable in the base Heartfelt Lies Shipping Roster.



    Opinions of Other Students:

    Haru Sarachi    : "It's a shame that the Stride Club ended up being disbanded again. Sarachi-kun seemed to have dropped off after all that happened. I suppose we have that in common."
    Tokita Yuuki: "I'm a little envious of you, maybe. No use fretting over things out of our control, I suppose."

    Cinabu Naro: "The things that happened around her with the girls was usually entertaining. She's a bit like a magnet though. I didn't want to ever get close and get sucked in. Look what happened, after all? In any case, I don't think I'm ready to just let bygones be bygones. Sorry."
    Reginal Queckenbush: "What kind of reality have I been born into?"

    Akiko Akiyama: "She sort of spends more time thinking about what she wants to write than actually doing anything worth writing about. I wonder if maybe I can help with that?"
    Haruki Higuchi: "Higuchi-kun...? *poses* Hen-SHIIIIIN....!"

    Uwuru Ruruwu: "She's entertaining to watch from afar dealing with other people, but interacting with her directly gives me a headache. Also, is it just me, or is she cosplaying Gir from Invader Zim or someething?"

    Atsuko Fukumoto: "She's kind of like an Idol? Or at least, what Idols are generally supposed to embody, right? Good work, Fukumoto-chan."
    Shin Yukimura: "He beat up like a hundred people in one day. It's true! It never gets old seeing Yukimura-kun do that!"

    Yuriko Minamoto: "Minamoto-chan! You're going to grow early wrinkles if you keep worrying over every little thing all the time. So let's just allow this prank slip by, please~?"
    Daisuke Minamoto: "We (You) went really hard into the whole Bushido thing after primary, huh?"

    Sami Ishioka: "Hi there. Ray from Neogen Evanjelly Sandwich."
    Ryousei Kamirosu: "Hi there, Shadryo the Edgehog-kun."

    Okane Ayashii: "Her eyesight is so bad she doesn't even notice when I leave stickers on her. Today I put 'free real estate' sticker on her- *class chime* Hm? Oh, I guess it's time for class now."
    Toru Fohai: "You wanted to play the role of an observer to but in the end you still couldn't help yourself. Hmph. I can respect that a little. I still think you're a big weirdo though."

    Yukiko Benri: "She's not as pleasant to deal with as Ayashii-chan, but her prices are better."
    Takao Hirokumi: "The fact that everyone started leaving him little mice after I started it feels like one of my best pranking accomplishments this year."

    Sango Namino    : "Super-size me with dem piles of nuggies! Sango-chaaan!"
    Shirou Nakamura: "Just one servant away from being a truly fabricated hero of justice."



  • Favorite Color : Turquoise
 
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  • Basic Information

    "Words are… a double-edged sword. It has the power to manipulate your reality and influence others, but it can also be used against you. Communication can be used to protect yourself, yet it can also be used to hurt you if you say the wrong thing or you let on more than what’s necessary. But human beings are creatures of self-gratification that would rather hear a sweet lie than the bitter truth. So I say, let ‘em have it! As long as both sides benefit, there’s nothing wrong with spouting a white lie here and there. I get on your good side, and you get to hear those words of affirmation you’ve been craving all this time. Everybody wins!"


    Name: Fukumoto, Atsuko

    Appearance:
    __anastasia_idolmaster_and_1_more_drawn_by_ashidaex__sample-86bfbbfc4bac1d1d0ef100ceb968bbfd.jpg

    Artist: ashidaex
    Speech Color: #87CEEB (Sky Blue)
    Gender: Female
    Age: 16

    Date of Birth: 1/4
    Blood Type: O
    Height: 165 cm
    Weight: 43 kg

    Character Voice:


    Character Theme:


    Character Background and Personality

    "Love means nothing. Especially when it is given or uttered so casually. The truth is that love and lies are so heavily intertwined.

    The unconditional love of parents is nothing more than a lie of obligation or self-interest. My parents were living proof of that.

    The admiration of peers is nothing more than a lie of acceptance. The other kids wouldn’t have joined in on bullying and abusing me in the orphanage if they had not accepted the dominant kids' will as absolute.

    The camaraderie between friends is just a lie of mutual benefit. Some of my so-called friends attempted to end my life when they believed the articles saying I was cursed.

    And more often than not, even the love between lovers is nothing more than a lie of shared reliance… It seems that’s the only form of love that hasn’t let me down… yet.

    Anyways, just as words are meaningless without actions, love is meaningless without sincerity at its foundation. Though it is entirely up to you whether you seek the low-hanging fruit of a love drenched in lies, or seek out genuine love. After all, love means nothing. Therefore, love means anything."


    Personality (At Start)
    The best way to describe Atsuko is by calling her a “social chameleon”. She maintains a wide array of friends and acquaintances from all walks of life by portraying a persona that they're more likely to get along with. Behind the gentle smile she perpetually plasters in front of everyone is an analytical mind that carefully observes everyone around her down to the minutest of details. She’d be the first to notice something like if someone changed their hairstyle, used a new kind of shampoo, or even how someone truly feels by their body language. In reality, Atsuko simply wishes to be liked by her peers to avoid a repeat of her traumatic experience in the orphanage and prevent people from abandoning her like her mother and father. And the best way to achieve this and protect herself is through lies.

    Behind the layers of personas, she interchangeably wears as masks is an insecure girl, desperate to be liked, needed, and sought after. She is quite clingy towards people she develops a bond with to the point when she gets separation anxiety and fears missing out on forming memorable bonds with them. Any soul lucky (or unlucky) enough to capture her heart best be prepared to handle the possessive and needy side of her.

    Pre-Story Background

    Some people experience tough childhoods… and then there’s Fukumoto Atsuko. The silver-haired girl was the product of an affair between Alexei Orlenko, a visiting Russian entrepreneur, and Mitsuki Kobayashi, a woman who works at Shibuya’s infamous Kabukicho red light district. When she found out that she had gotten pregnant, Mitsuki insisted on keeping her, as opposed to what her peers in the same trade would have done. She eagerly contacted the baby’s father who seemed to take the news on a positive note. While he claimed he couldn’t stay in Japan due to his business, he promised to regularly send money to support her and her unborn child and vowed to come back for her one day… and she believed his every word.

    Whether he was truly keeping his promise or was merely trying to appease his conscience, Alexei remained true to his word, at least at the start. But gradually, the money stopped coming in. At first, her father would miss sending money for a few days… then days turned to weeks, and weeks turned to months, until finally, her dad stopped all forms of communication by the time Atsuko was five.

    Her mother’s attitude towards her started to shift for the worse as well. She would at first spend less time with the young girl, which slowly turned into deliberate neglect, until eventually, she couldn’t stop looking at her with a look of disgust in her eyes. What she thought was the miracle that would uplift her into a life of luxury and comfort was nothing more than a curse that continued to drag her down in the mud.

    Eventually, Mitsuki could no longer muster any feelings of love for her daughter, so one day, she decided to abandon her once and for all. Neighbors started to worry when they realized Atsuko was left to fend for herself and eventually, the city’s social welfare division was called in to take care of her. After failing to find a family that could immediately take her in, Atsuko was placed in an orphanage, where her unique appearance and circumstances made her a prime target for bullying and abuse, both physical and mental.

    After having spent more than a year juggling between different foster homes, and subsequently being sent back to the orphanage she had come to associate with hell on earth, Genji and Chiyo Fukumoto, an affluent yet childless middle-aged couple decided to adopt Atsuko and brought her home with them to Kusatsu.

    During the years before middle school, Atsuko was homeschooled while her foster parents tried to slowly help her heal from the trauma she suffered from being abandoned by both of her parents and the abuse she received while in the orphanage. Much to their relief, she seemed to have adjusted to her new environment, but unbeknownst to them, she had simply adopted a coping mechanism to protect herself.

    Upon entering high school, she had already developed a reputation as the friendliest girl around, which served her well at the All-Girls school she enrolled in. Prior to the merge with the All-Boys school, she had worked hard to cement her place as the girl who could befriend anyone and ensure a smooth, conflict-free high school life. However, her plans were thrown out the window when both schools combined to form Yuzu High.

    Common Route Story Background

    1) - Yuzu Municipal and the Merged Schools

    Initially, Atsuko didn’t appreciate the merger between the two schools. Not only did it mean that she had to practically start over befriending an entire school’s worth of students, but she also had to do it when both sides of the student body were practically in a cold war. It didn’t help that the new campus was in such a state of disrepair, and both factions have marked territories as if they were rival Yakuza clans.

    Still, she took it upon herself to start befriending her male peers when she had the chance. While the rest of the girls were focused on using separate stairs and hallways to navigate the school, she would boldly take any path she deemed convenient. Even when she was harassed by the boys, she didn’t let it get to her, and would even reciprocate the treatment she received in a friendly manner. There were even times when she helped some guys with their homework and tutored them when she observed that they were struggling with English.

    In this way, Atsuko Fukumoto developed a reputation as walking “Neutral Zone” since she could confidently interact with any student regardless of gender and both sides recognized her as an ally. Still, she was only a single person, and she understood that the girls and boys still have their grievances. Thus, there was no possible way she could have ended the dispute by herself.

    2) - The Gender Relations Club and the Tri-City Sports Festival

    Shortly after, Atsuko heard about a certain Gender Relations Club being formed with the hopes that it could bridge the gap between the students once and for all. While she considered joining the club, she ultimately decided against it, thinking it was more trouble than it was worth.

    The first signs of trouble occurred when the girls discovered what seemed to be peepholes drilled into the girls’ locker room. While most of her peers were out for blood, Atsuko did her best to convince them not to retaliate. After all, there wasn’t any evidence that the boys were responsible, and revenge would only blow things out of proportion.

    Her efforts seemed to be in vain, however, as the following day, crucial sports equipment was found to be ransacked, in what seemed to be retaliation by the girls. Again, she had to play the role of peacemaker and explain to the boys that there wasn’t conclusive proof that the girls were responsible for the sabotage. She was also quick to point out that ruining the sports equipment wouldn’t be in the girls’ best interest since a lot of them were also interested in proving themselves in the upcoming sports festival.

    Thankfully, Atsuko managed to rein in enough people from both sides long enough for the Gender Relations Club to conduct a thorough investigation and come up with a groundbreaking discovery revealing the true mastermind behind both incidents.

    As the Sports Festival commences, Atsuko had the option of choosing from different sports events to participate in, but ultimately decided in favor of the Women’s Relay Competition. Incidentally, she was placed in the very last leg of the race, and seeing her teammates get off at a slow start made her anxious to play catch-up when it came to her turn. As her teammate finally rounded the corner and handed her the baton, she took off, determined to close the gap her competitors had maintained throughout the race. In between her tired pants and gasps, she managed to close the lead, and in one desperate attempt, secured first place by diving straight for the finish line.

    Given her impressive performance earlier, it didn’t take her much effort to gather a sizable crowd to cheer for the players participating in the Cavalry Battle. She even managed to convince the Broadcasting Club and the Idol Fan Club to lend her their equipment. Thus, as the representatives of Yuzu High squared off against their rivals, they would undoubtedly notice the crowd of people waving lightsticks to cheer on them, with some even performing a full-on wotagei dance, led by Atsuko shouting words of encouragement through a megaphone.

    3) - An important election. Keep the school or get out of town?

    When winter arrived, Atsuko was once again blindsided when news broke out about Yuzu High’s potential impending closure. If such rumours turned out to be true, it would have undermined the hard work she had put in all this time. So when the Gender Relations Club hatched a plan to gather student signatures in an effort to prevent the shutdown of the school, Atsuko immediately sprung into action, putting on a small play with her fellow Drama Club members to inspire the students to hold on to the friendships and memories they created during their short time in Yuzu High. Even though the plot was hastily written and they struggled during practice rehearsals due to time constraints, Atsuko and her fellow club members pulled off an awe-inspiring and motivational performance, which some have even cited as the Drama Club’s finest production to date.

    While she had no accurate way of determining how much she had contributed to saving the school, in the end, the results were what mattered most. Not only did the Gender Relations Club gather enough signatures, they also uncovered a nefarious plot by a local politician to profit off of the land the school was built on. Ultimately, the politician was forced to resign after the scandal became public. “That will teach you to mess with my plans”

    4) - Misinformation and the Curse of Yuzu High

    After all the drama that’s happened the past couple of months, Atsuko expected things to calm down for a bit for a while. But what did she find one day was a slew of reporters aggressively stalking her on the way to school. Apparently, someone made a report about the sports festival but focused it more on the peephole incident and blew the whole thing out of proportion. She initially tried to correct the misconception but quickly realised these reporters were only interested in hearing what they wanted to hear.

    Due to the constant stalking and hounding of reporters, the school had to cancel the much-awaited beach trip, much to Atsuko’s chagrin. Unfortunately for Atsuko, that would be the least of her problems as one particularly xenophobic reporter noticed and pointed out Atsuko’s foreign-looking appearance despite her claims that her parents were both locals. On top of the harassment, her fellow students also experienced. Atsuko was subjected to numerous slanderous articles such as one that labeled Yuzu High as a “haven for delinquents, perverts, and gaijin bastards”. The harassment and stalking got so bad that at its peak, Atsuko refused to leave home for almost a week.

    Thankfully, Kusatsu’s local hot spring resorts graciously offered to shelter the students until things relatively calmed down, which gave Atsuko a much-needed reprieve. When she made her return, however, the damage had been done.

    Kusatsu’s residents had a predilection to believe the supernatural, and once the media frenzy descended upon Yuzu High, rumors started circulating about the school and its students being cursed. Even some of the students were swept away by these rumors and believed the lies and gossip that spread throughout the town like wildfire. They were frustrated, confused, and desperate enough to look for a scapegoat in hopes of getting their lives back to normal. And thanks to those slanderous articles about her, Atsuko had unknowingly become the target of a witch hunt.

    It first started with people she thought she was friends with going out of their way to avoid her. As soon as she entered the women’s hot springs, girls who looked to be previously enjoying their time would suddenly leave in droves. She’d also find herself eating alone during meals, and discover her bed and possessions ransacked. Finally, some students decided to lock her inside the sauna room while she was using it, causing her to pass out from heat exhaustion. Thankfully, a certain someone managed to get her out in time before things got any worse.

    When Atsuko came to, she learned that the Gender Relations Club managed to uncover a deeper plot involving all three schools in Kusatsu and the true source of their misfortunes.

    5) - The Yuzu High Culture Festival (and Maid Cafe Tournament)

    After their true enemy was brought to light, the attacks on the students of Yuzu High became more bold and more apparent. At one point, they barely saved the school from burning to the ground, and numerous students suffered varying degrees of injuries.

    Fed up with the treatment she and her fellow students were experiencing, Atsuko takes matters into her own hands and hatches a plan to fight back against the company and get the sympathy of as many people as possible behind them. First of all, she recruits the students injured during the arson attack to participate in the Maid Cafe the school was planning for the Culture Festival. After training with her rigorously, the students managed to deliver stellar performances as maids for the cafe.

    Word quickly spread of the impressive service Yuzu High’s Maid Cafe provided, and an exodus of both casual guests and hardcore maid cafe enjoyers came to experience it for themselves.

    At the Culture Festival’s peak, Atsuko launched the second phase of her plan and enlisted the help of the broadcasting club to spread the word about how the students are suffering all because of the greed of a few individuals. They recorded the shocked and angry reactions of the patrons as Atsuko revealed that almost all of the angelic maids that served them with an unwavering smiles were hurt and almost died during the attacks at the school. Atsuko ended her speech by delivering a heartfelt and tearful cry that rallied the people of the nation to the students’ cause. “Please don’t take away our youth!”

    6) - End of Year Exams and the 'American(?) Style' Dance

    Compared to the trouble and drama they’ve been dealing with for the past few months, the “final boss” Atsuko and her fellow students had to face was deceptively mundane. Yet it was arguably the most important battle since Yuzu High’s foundation. Atsuko kept her nose to the grindstone for the days leading up to the exams and her hard work paid off when she managed to pass with flying colours.

    When the time for the American Style dance came, Atsuko pulled all the stops to look good for it. She still had a reputation to maintain and upheld after all. However, she did not expect that the person she had been eyeing for some time would ask her to dance. That day was one of the few times Atsuko smiled genuinely and cried tears of joy in a long while.

    Personality (At End)

    Despite remaining a social chameleon, Atsuko has learned to be less trusting of others, especially after the Hot Spring incident. She still tries to get along with everyone but has learned that no matter what she does, there are some people that would betray or abandon her for their own benefit.

    With that said, she now seeks to form genuine connections with people she cares deeply about and is determined to do whatever it takes to maintain those bonds and protect the ones she loves. She is also more willing to bare the side she has desperately hidden for so long to the people she trusts, even if there is a risk that they’ll reject her.

    After everything she experienced in Yuzu High so far, her ambition to succeed in her chosen career has also been stronger than ever to prove her worth not only to her biological parents but also to herself.

    Club:

    Drama Club

    Likes:

    Snowy Weather     - she enjoys staying at home or visiting a cafe during snowy weather to enjoy a warm cup of tea.

    Matcha Green Tea - Atsuko likes all kinds of tea, but she especially likes making drinks out of matcha green tea powder. She always has a stock of it at home, and would instinctively order it when she’s at a cafe.

    Warm Baths - despite her dislike for warm and humid weather, Atsuko is a huge fan of warm baths. She tends to have a relaxing warm bath before going to sleep at night and the hot springs trip would have been the perfect vacation if she didn’t almost die in the middle of it.

    Music - listening to music is one of Atsuko’s favorite methods to relax. When she’s alone, she even tries to sing along to whatever song she’s listening to and she’s guilty of having full-on concerts in the shower. Though she knows she isn’t talented enough in that department and would be deeply embarrassed if anybody other than her foster parents caught her singing.


    Dislikes:

    Summer     - Atsuko isn't fond of hot weather, and the unbearable summer heat is nothing short of suffering for her.

    Bullying - her experience at the orphanage has made her dislike any forms of bullying and abuse.

    Bell Peppers - who would willingly eat these vile things?

    Dogs - Atsuko finds dogs cute at a distance but she freezes up when they get too close to her. Back when she was still at the orphanage, the kids who were bullying her got a stray dog to chase and attack her. She was bitten on her right thigh and was traumatized by the incident. The scars from the incident remain to this day.


    Hobbies:

    Cosplaying     - although seemingly out-of-place for her, Atsuko enjoys cosplaying. However, she doesn’t just stop at wearing costumes but takes it up a notch by portraying the characters she cosplays as accurately as possible, down to their speech and mannerisms.

    Watching various forms of media - from TV dramas to movies, and even anime, Atsuko has always been fond of watching these shows and gaining inspiration from them to improve her own acting skills.

    Cooking - Atsuko learned to be independent at an early age since her mother was away from home most of the time. It was either she learned how to cook or endured eating awful-tasting food. She still enjoys cooking at home and trying new recipes.

    Dreams/Life Goals:

    Become a Famous Actress     - Acting was a skill she discovered by accident when she began being a social chameleon, and she grew fond of it enough to join the school’s drama club. She wishes to cultivate this skill further enough to make a name for herself in the industry and make her foster parents proud.

    A Parent’s Regret - The other reason why Atsuko wishes to become famous is to get revenge on both of her parents and hopefully make them regret ever abandoning her.

    Values:

    Loyalty     - Her abandonment trauma has caused her to value loyalty above everything else in a person.

    Determination - If there’s a will there’s a way are words to live by for Atsuko. She isn’t one to give up easily, especially once she sets her mind to doing or achieving something.

    Genuineness - while seemingly very ironic for a person such as herself, Atsuko seeks to form genuine relationships with people around her. While she tries to befriend everyone as an act of self-preservation, she would only consider people as true friends if she senses sincerity in their words and actions. If she deems someone trustworthy, she is willing to slowly reveal the person behind the perpetually smiling and friendly mask she has carefully crafted all these years.

    Growth - for a long time, Atsuko has struggled with her sense of self-worth due to the various issues she had endured in the past. After she had embarked on her journey to recovery, she made it her goal to prove to herself, and everyone who had wronged her in the past that she is more than the trauma and suffering she had experienced.


    Most Embarrassing Moment

    “A Russian Sailor’s Mouth”

    During middle school, a couple of Atsuko’s friends discovered that she was half-Russian and for some reason, thought she was fluent in the language. They kept pestering her to say something in Russian until she gave in and screamed the only Russian phrase she knew, сука блять (cyka blyat) just as the School Principal was passing behind her. Needless to say, she was suspended and when she returned, the students kept teasing her about it, with some even giving her the nickname Atcyka.

    Insecurities

    “Who am I?”     - an adverse effect of Atsuko’s strategy to get along with everyone by becoming a social chameleon is that she sometimes forgets what her true personality is like. She’s afraid of showing it to others, thinking it would affect others’ perception of her in a negative way and cause people to abandon her all over again, or even worse, lead to further abuse.

    “Dirty Bastard” - as the daughter of an “adult entertainer” and a foreigner, Atsuko is ashamed of her origins and fears that the whole truth about her would be revealed. That xenophobic journalist came really close to uncovering the truth and she’s afraid someone else might discover it one day and reject them for it.

    “Please don’t leave me…” - being rejected and abandoned, especially by people she genuinely cared about is one of Atsuko’s worst fears. She will desperately try to prevent it from happening all over again, whatever it takes.

    Character Shipping Preferences

    How do you want your character to be shipped?

    Through Vote Shipping

    Who do you wish to be shipped with?

    Boys + Girls

    When Ship Voting Occurs, Which Round of Ship Rolling do you want to participate in first?

    Boys/Girls Pairings then Same-Sex Pairings if Not Yet Paired

    Opinions of Other Students:

    Sagawa Mizunohara: "Sagawa... she was such a prankster at heart that I still couldn't believe she had it in her to betray everyone. I still wish she would one day say that her revelation was just an elaborate prank blown way out of proportion... I still wish I could call her a friend."
    Ruger Misoto: "Ah... a fellow half-gaijin... though to be honest I am jealous at the fact that not only are his parents together, but they also love him like any normal parent would. I guess I should be just glad that between the two of us... I drew the shorter end of the stick. But I still feel sorry about what happened to his sister though. That's it, I've decided to redouble my efforts in befriending him."

    Akiko Akiyama: "Oh... well how do I say this... she used to give off Big NPC Energy at the start of the school year. But she has slowly come out of her shell. Akiko-chan looked totally adorable as a maid, even though she treated the customers like she genuinely hated them. Though I guess a lot of them were pretty into that. I kinda relate to her since my old man also decided to "go out to get some milk" I heard she's a writer and wants to get published one day so I hope she achieves her dream."
    Haruki Higuchi: "Haruki-kun was a real life-saver during the exam season. He explained those math equations in such a digestible way. I heard about his situation and if he's worried about making a name for himself, I doubt anyone's gonna forget him after what he did for us."

    Okane Ayashii: "Okane-chan? You mean "The Girl Who Has Everything?" I'm not even exaggerating that bit. I once blurted out loud that I always wanted to try some kompot and she offers me a canteen full of the stuff! I think it's admirable what she's doing and I'm confident with her mentality, she's gonna be filthy rich one day."
    Toru Fohai: "Toru-kun gives of such a calm and serene vibe whenever we get a chance to talk that I mentally gave him the nickname "Garden Buddha". However, it really came as a shock when he floored that politician. I really didn't think he had it in him to resort to violence. I feel bad that he got arrested but it somehow worked out in the end, I think?"

    Yukiko Benri: "I try to stay on amicable terms with Yukiko-san, but honestly, she's one of the few people in the school that unnerves me. I know asking for a favor from her is tempting, especially since she seemingly can grant any wish like a genie, but doing so is practically making a deal with the devil. If you're dumb unfortunate enough to owe her one, then just do what she asks."
    Takao Hirokumi: "It might sound strange, but I am a bit jealous of Tak-kun. He seems to have no problem displaying his true self for all the world to see, even if the world doesn't quite accept him for it."

    Haru Sarachi: "Haru-kun was really adorable when he wore that maid outfit. I can't help but be pissed with what his teammates did that day... and after losing the one thing that he's poured his heart and soul into, he's really becomes a shadow of his former self. If he cannot rekindle the flame of his passion, then I sincerely hope he can find something else he can devote himself to as wholeheartedly."
    Yuuki Tokita: "In some ways, Yuuki-chan and I seem a lot alike. She gets along well with people and is always ready to have a good time... but she somehow feels more distant now. Maybe she's going through something personal? As much as I'd like to offer her help, even I know when to back off and avoid being pushy."

    Yuriko Minamoto: "Chill out with the gaijin hate, I hate myself enough already. Did you think I chose to be a bastard? Did you think I wanted to be abandoned like trash by not just one but both of my parents? Whatever... I try to be friends with everyone but there are some people who just aren't worth it."
    Daisuke Minamoto: "The chiller Minamoto, as I like to call him. I know his family are all about tradition this, and customs that, but at least he is civil enough not to show his prejudices against foreigners. He's just as intense as his cousin though."

    Cinabu Naro: "Cinabu-chan... I can't help but feel sorry for what happened to her. In a way, she and I are alike if I had taken my kindness and friendliness to the extreme. Still, I hope she recovers from that experience."
    Reginald Quackenbush: "We may be in the same club but he's an enigma that I could never comprehend, try as I might."

    Sami Ishioka:     "From my observation, I can tell that Sami-chan is a person of action. She doesn't like to talk much but she's a good listener. She also has done a lot for the school, whether it's her magnificent performance as the water girl in the sports festival or her efforts in the culture festival that drove others to action."
    Ryousei Kamirosu: "In the surface, he seems to be the same as me, a social chameleon. But my instincts are screaming at me that he's an amalgamation of everything and everyone I hated at the orphanage. Whereas I use lies and deception for survival, I can't help but feel he uses it for malice. Besides, his reputation among the girls before even the schools merged doesn't help his case."

    Uwuru Ruruwu: "Uwu-chan's energy is really infectious. I love how optimistic and curious she is about stuff and her attempts to solve problems are always unique and mostly endearing."

    Sango Namino: "Don't tell Sango-chan, but I'm a fan of her dancing. Even though I'm confident about impersonating people, there's no way I can mimic her skills. I'm sure she's gonna be successful one day."
    Shirou Nakamura: "It was really disheartening when Shirou-kun had to quit basketball after suffering such an injury. Still, it's admirable that he has somehow bounced back from that and I'm happy he did his best to save the school."

    Shin Yukimura: "Who's that?"

 
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  • Female | Green

    Basic Information

    When they read my short stories, a common question they ask me is "why don't the characters just communicate properly and talk things out?" And to that, what can I really say but "it's more interesting that way?" Of course, it doesn't really matter in the long run if they do communicate or not. I'm the one behind the pen. Whether or not they choose to talk things out, it's always up to me in the end to decide if it was worth it, if it really solved anything.

    And unfortunately for the faint of heart, it rarely is worth it in those stories. Two people whose differences are just so irreconcilable that they realize, perhaps the only way they can move forward is to cut their ties to each other and free themselves of their baggage. What can one even say in a situation like that? To frankly tell the other that they just frankly didn't care to be around them anymore, that they'd rather be anywhere else, that they just didn't care about them anymore? No, I think in the end, it would be less cruel to just silently say your farewells and part ways from there. To just leave behind the one you once loved without a word, whether because you think it would spare their feelings, or if you frankly just can't be bothered anymore.

    Was that too depressing? Sorry, it can't really be helped. I guess I get that line of thinking from my father, wherever he is now.


    1685009695132.png
    Name: Akiyama, Akiko
    Speech Color: #61BD6D
    Gender:     Female
    Age: 17

    Date of Birth: January 11
    Blood Type: O
    Height: 160 cm
    Weight: 52 kg

    Character Voice: Rina Satou
    Character Theme: Hi Ha Matashizumu
    Art: Kazusa Touma (White Album 2) by Takeshi Nakamura


    Character Background and Personality

    Love means nothing.

    It never lasts. Like anything else, it's transient, and it fades with time. Yes, you might feel amazing when you're in the midst of it, like an indescribable high or a beautiful dream that you never want to leave, but inevitably, what comes up must come down. I saw it in my mother's eyes the day that man left us. The dream ended and she had to wake up. I think there once was a time I pitied her for the pain she carried. And yet, I failed to consider that maybe she never needed my pity.

    Just as love fades, pain fades as well. I saw the memory of that man's back turned to us start to haunt her less and less with each passing day. Every single day, without fail, the sun came up again and she held her head up high and continued on. I can't claim to understand her. She comes home, talks about a new man who's interested in her every other month, and entertains the idea of loving him back. It never lasts, but it never hurts her either. That's when I realized she isn't thinking about the pain that comes with love. Maybe she's just having fun, or maybe she's trying to reach the bliss again, the beautiful dream she once found in her first love. Just like love, dreams don't last. They can elate, they can hurt, but they always fade either way, yet we always come back for more in the end, hoping that this time, things will be different, that we can shape those dreams into the heaven we wanted it to be. It's the chase of that beautiful, perfect dream that keeps us going.

    In that regard, love means nothing. Therefore, love means anything.


    Personality (At Start)
    Misanthropic, but not really unfriendly. Cold, but not really cruel. Quiet, but not really antisocial. Akiko is simultaneously viewed as a detached ice queen at once and a reticent eccentric at another. She tends to keep her distance, yet not completely unreachable. In that regard, perhaps she's almost like a cat. Or, more like a spectator. Someone who isn't even really there, at least to talk, but rather to watch. To analyze and see what stories the people around her hid behind their eyes, the windows to their souls.

    Akiko makes little effort to converse with her classmates in her day to day. She'll respond if you say something to her, but she'll just as easily let the conversation drop if she really doesn't have much to add. And yet, she can't seem to fully commit to being the aloof, standoffish girl people see her as, or else she wouldn't keep showing up to the Literature Club meetings. Even when she is there, she hardly contributes much, only speaks when directly spoken to. But that part's not really her fault. She showed up to the Literature Club because she had a real passion for the written word, wanted to see if anyone there had anything interesting to say or analyze about the arts, but when you're at an all-girls school like Saint Kisai's Academy, it turns out the only thing they were interested in was reading BL.

    When Saint Kisai's merged with Tenijiro Municipal to create the school they now called Yuzu, Akiko didn't think too much of it. She never had much of an opinion for boys. After all, for the majority of her life, she didn't have a single one in her life, aside from the one who left her behind without a word, so she didn't fit in with either camp of the other girls; she wasn't particularly excited, but she wasn't that opposed to the change either. She was mostly apathetic toward the coming influx of boys, but if anything, she was just annoyed at there being any drastic change at all, and yet, the more things changed, the more things stayed the same. The halls became more crowded, but they also had more space to accommodate them all. Most of the boys were annoying, but not in a way unique from girls. Except for the part where a good amount of them tended to leer at her in ways she was unaccustomed to.

    Okay, maybe boys really were more obnoxious than girls.

    But at least the Literature Club now had more people actually interested in talking about literature, and they all even encouraged each other's own creative pursuits as well, including Akiko and her fabled short stories too.

    Ultimately, there was more annoying people now, but there was also more interesting people too. Maybe this wasn't so bad after all. Maybe Akiko didn't mind too much if things were about to get more interesting.

    Pre-Story Background
    Akiko wasn't born in Kusatsu, nor did she have a particularly deep family history there, but she may as well have lived there for all her life. She must have been about five years old when her mother had decided to move there with her, after Akiko's father had walked out on them on his whim. Her mother wanted a fresh start in a place where no one knew them, and humble little Kusatsu seemed to be as good a place as any at the time.

    But one could say, even after ten years, people still knew nothing about the Akiyama family. The mother worked out of town, seldom home except to sleep, and sometimes, that didn't even happen every day of the week, with a babysitter to occasionally look after her daughter in such cases, but even that stopped being necessary once the girl neared the end of middle school, and she'd proven how well-behaved and responsible she was. Socially, Akiko herself was so quiet and withdrawn, always having her nose in a book or having her eyes eerily planted on someone, watching their every move, that she never made much in the way of friends, even as she joined the Literature Club in high school. She never had so much interest in people; she hardly considered herself "one of them." To her, they were more useful as research material for her own stories that were cooking, formulating in her mind. And it was her hope that within one of these people would be the secret to the perfect novel that she would pen, and give her life meaning.

    But the girls of Saint Kisai's were just so boring. She could make an individually interesting character out of what she'd analyzed from her classmates, but the way they carried themselves around each other, their relationships, there was just something missing. Something she couldn't quite put her finger on, until that fateful day when her school had abruptly merged with that boys' school to become Yuzu Municipal, and everything changed.

    Common Route Story Background
    First Semester
    1. Yuzu Municipal and the Merged Schools
    "Annoying" was the only word that came to Akiko's mind when the short-notice announcement was made that the two gendered schools were about to merge to become one. Akiko herself didn't think much at the time of how the sudden influx of boys would affect her, but it was more the "sudden" part in of itself that she found annoying, and the notion of her life having to drastically challenge merely on the whim of some adults she'd probably never even meet, but it was ultimately out of her hands, like so many things, so she resigned herself to her fate and let it happen.

    2. The Gender Relations Club and the Tri-City Sports Festival
    The first several weeks of Yuzu Municipal left Akiko with feelings of... ambivalence. In some ways, the addition of boys in her life was even more obnoxious than she was expecting. They were stupid, loud, and unsightly, but not in a particularly distinct way from girls for the most part. On the other hand, the few that were different managed to catch Akiko's eye as interesting materials, but above all that, it didn't seem to be that big of a deal. And that was where the trouble really started; the Sports Festival.

    Participating in sports wasn't really something Akiko was eager to do. Like most of the other girls there, she was hardly what one would call athletic, but it couldn't be helped. She was sure if she tried to opt out or complain to a teacher, she'd just get some impotent lecture about how she should be enjoying her youth, so she just went with the flow.

    If she had a net neutral opinion on boys before, it definitely dipped into the netherworld when peep holes were discovered in the girls' locker rooms. Even after the newly formed Gender Relations Club sorted out the affair and concluded that not everything was as it seemed, Akiko maintained an instinctive distrust of boys ever since that incident, but perhaps what struck her the most was this new club that had been born from the merger. One club out of so many that took it upon themselves to soothe the friction between boys and girls, even preventing misunderstandings that could have led to calamity. Oh, yes. This might be interesting after all. Though Akiko herself had no interest in joining the club and getting involved in the center of attention, she observed them from afar and realized it. Maybe they'd make good bases for a group of legendary heroes in a prospective story.

    3. An Important Election - Keep the School or Get Out of Town?
    Like many others, Akiko was pointedly opposed to the closing of the school. It wasn't that she was particularly attached to the school, or even the town for that matter, but this was where she lived, and in the interest of a life as smooth and quiet as possible, she had to make a stand for it alongside her classmates, old and new. But if you asked her, she would have just said it was merely a matter of convenience. Who'd want to take a two hour commute to school, after all?

    When the local politician who had been behind this rushed attempt at a closure was foiled and forced to resign, Akiko once again didn't even really have the inclination to derive any sense of personal satisfaction out of it, or even pity for them for that matter. She just looked at the situation and thought to herself, this would make for a good story.

    Well, maybe that was a bit of a lie. Maybe she was a bit happy that Yuzu High managed to stay open, just a little.

    Second Semester
    4. Misinformation and the Curse of Yuzu High
    When the reporters came, Akiko tried her best to tune them out. They didn't really have anything to do with her, right? After all, it was pretty common practice for people like them to latch on to some vague half-truth and blow it out of proportion, but Akiko learned firsthand just how unbearable that kind of experience truly was when she was in the midst of it along with all her other classmates. No matter how much she insisted she had nothing to say on the matter, not wanting to stoke the flames of this volatile situation, Akiko was continuously harassed by reporters just like most everyone else. And then she ended up stoking those flames anyway when she accidentally lost her temper and shoved a reporter back who just wouldn't get out of the way. Oops. She was not beating the "mentally ill, unstable child" allegations there. At least she managed to run off before she could get charged for it.

    Akiko wasn't too hung up on the cancellation of the beach trip, so she thought to herself, but she found herself greatly relieved when she did end up in the hot springs with everyone else, happy to escape the reporters' clutches even for just a moment. Within the hot springs themselves, she found herself idly wondering to herself, maybe this was just a taste of what her life would be like when she'd get some novels published and became a nationally famous author. Hmph, one could only dream. But once Akiko caught wind of the whispers and murmurs that the politician might not have been the only one interested in discrediting and closing the schools, Akiko had to wonder, how far did this go?

    5. The Yuzu High Culture Festival (and Maid Cafe Tournament)
    These conspiracies were, frankly, almost too much reference material for Akiko to contend with for her stories. She really had learned firsthand that reality truly was stranger than fiction. If someone were to see this unfold in a drama or a book, surely they would say this was just too on the nose, right? But this was the reality Akiko found herself in. It was honestly a bit scary, yet somehow exciting. But even so, how could the school possibly contend against such a nebulous yet powerful entity that wanted them gone, and how would the Culture Festival specifically achieve that?

    Oh, a Maid Cafe Tournament. Okay. Pass. Or at least, she would have passed if the rest of the Literature Club -- the closest people she had for friends -- hadn't strong-armed her into it. Once again, in the spirit of "youth" and all that. She might have resisted the notion at first, but some of them might have noticed she gave in to dressing up as a maid pretty easily. Ironically enough, it was Akiko's antisocial mien and her cold demeanor that precisely made her such a hit with customers. The raven-haired maiden who was as beautiful and pure as snow, and just as cold. It seemed a lot of people enjoyed that type. It was definitely an interesting experience. She would never let anyone hear the word "fun" come out of her mouth, but if nothing else, she wasn't bored during the ordeal. Akiko really wished they'd stop calling her a "kuudere" though, that was really annoying, but in service of the school's reputation, she managed to hold back her temper this time. Or maybe they would have liked it if she threatened to step on them, but she dared not push her luck.

    And it paid off, in the end. The widespread exposure of the Culture Festival left such a positive impression on everyone that the story finally found the happy ending that Akiko was struggling to conceptualize.

    6. End of Year Exams and the "American(?) Style" Dance
    Well, in for a penny, in for a pound, as they said. She had already ended up doing this much for the sake of the school, she may as well see it through to the end. Akiko had always been an average student, with her own notable best and worst subjects, but when it was said that the end of year exams would have more weight placed on them than usual, Akiko could only sigh in resignation. It was always something, wasn't it? But even so, she owed it to herself to keep this place up and running, at least until she graduated, choosing to participate in the assorted study sessions that the other students had created amongst themselves, and she did mean "participate" this time and not "spectate." Her skills as a tutor for the markedly dumber boys left much to be desired, but Akiko proved to be remarkably effective in teaching them what they needed to know in her best subjects, which included Japanese language, literature, and English.

    When it came out that Yuzu High's ranking made one of the most unprecedented leaps ever, even Akiko could hardly believe it. For the first time, not even after the Sports Festival, Akiko felt an inkling of pride in her achievements and the community she found herself finally living among. And to think, all this started from the moment the girls had met with the boys.

    And then the dance came, and with it, the dream. The dream that Akiko saw her mother continuously chasing after. The dream that had stopped on her doorstep in the form of a special someone who had wormed their way into Akiko's heart throughout the year, and by the time the dance had come, she realized that they were the only one she could think about. She, just like everyone else, had finally succumbed to this foolish dream her teachers was calling "youth."

    Maybe this time, that happy ending that eluded her could finally begin to take shape.

    Personality (At End)
    By the end of the year that had passed much too quickly in Akiko's mind, she had become a little -- just a bit, not too much -- more sociable. She was still, at her core, the same reserved, mysterious girl whom you might catch occasionally staring at you if you were lucky, but now, she's a bit more involved. There's a distinct lucidity in her eyes that wasn't there before; she now registers herself as a participant of the world before her rather than a mere spectator, not that she's entirely grown out of people-watching. She's even willing to call the others in the Literature Club her friends now, even if she still feels quite a bit out of sync with them.

    She's alive now in a way that she wasn't before. On a deeper level, she understands now what she wants to write, and why she wants to write. Even if everyone else were to forget about the turbulent days that plagued Yuzu High, she would make sure to record it, immortalize it in the pages of a novel of her own creation, for everyone to be able to see. And even if everyone were to forget her one day, long after she was gone, she would make sure beforehand to write of the life she led, the kind of girl she was, the tribulations she faced, and the person whom she dreamed to spend her life with.

    Club
    Literature Club

    Likes
    • Black Coffee - Her favorite drink. She'll accept one with cream and sugar if given to her, but black coffee just hits the spot for her in a special way.
    • Anime - Akiko considers it to be a bit of a guilty pleasure, even though one could easily argue that as a storytelling medium, it's perfectly in line with her literary interests. She grew up on quite a bit of magical girl anime, and still maintains a soft spot for them, but she'll watch anything if the premise interests her, just like with books.
    • Cutesy Things - Another vice she tries to keep to herself. Unflappable as she may try to present herself, Akiko too isn't immune to having her fair share of girlish affections, most notably plushes, cute keychains, and so on. Rumor has it she has a bit of a plush collection in her room.
    • Spicy Foods - Her favorite type of food. She can clean a plate or two of a spicy dish without beating a sweat, whether it's mapo tofu, red curry, tom yum, spicy ramen, and so on. One might say she likes them because they're the only thing that can impress upon her icy demeanor, if they don't value their life very much.

    Dislikes
    • Nicknames - They just annoy her, and she thinks most of the nicknames people feel inclined to come up with for her are stupid. "AkiAki," derived from how both of her names begin, is the bane of her existence. Even "Kiki" and "Aki" are on thin ice.
    • Insects/Bugs - Smaller ones will just creep her out, but Akiko will actually freeze up in terror if she sees a cockroach or a big spider.
    • Stupid Questions - Whereas your old teachers might have tried to tell you that there's no such thing as stupid questions, Akiko would certainly beg to differ. Heck, most things she believes, whether as facts or even opinions, are so obvious to herself that if she were asked to justify her beliefs, she would just look at you with pure condescension because you couldn't reach her conclusion yourself.
    • Overly Nice People - Strange as it might be to say, Akiko doesn't like people whom she deems "too nice" to everyone. In fact, she finds people like that to be suspicious, like they're hiding or compensating for something. Instead, she prefers the company of people who, in her view, are more honest with themselves, whatever that might entail.

    Hobbies
    • Reading - Akiko is a pretty big fan of the written word. She always makes sure to have something on hand to read to pass the time. Mostly novels, but if you're astronomically lucky, you might even catch her with her nose in some manga. When it comes to novels at least, she hardly discriminates by setting or genre; she enjoys anything from murder mysteries to period pieces and melodramatic romances. She'll even read books from overseas as well if they interest her.
    • Writing - In conjunction with her fondness for reading, she also enjoys trying her hand at writing as well, mostly short stories, but is also working on a novel of her own too, not that she has much time for that these days. For someone who might come off as rather cold to others, her writings often stand out as being emotionally charged.
    • People-Watching - And in conjunction with her literary interests, Akiko has a fondness for simply watching people, taking note of their mannerisms, their interests, their beliefs, and so on, analyzing each piece of a person she can gather up and deciding if it's interesting enough to put into a story in some way. After all, reality is stranger than fiction. And besides, like that one British author -- what was his name again? Emil Gaiman? Something like that -- once said, loosely, the price of being a writer was that, even in the most terrible moments, a small part of you could only watch on and think about what parts of "this" you can use.

    Dreams/Life Goals
    • Get Published - Akiko hopes that one day, she can finish a novel and get it published. The money and fame (if she'll even get any) are secondary to the thought of creating something and putting it out into the world for someone to possibly connect to.
    • Attend an Amusement Park - An ambition that Akiko could never see herself admitting to anyone. One of her earliest childhood memories was her mother promising that the two of them, along with Akiko's father, would all go to an amusement park together, but such a promise was promptly broken when Father later walked out on them. To this day, Akiko has still never been to one, and still finds herself wondering what it must be like.

    Values
    • Affection - Akiko might carry herself as someone who would get annoyed by someone constantly on her back all the time, on top of her distaste for those who are "too nice," but in truth, she can't deny to herself that she would rather like to be doted on by the right person, to be pampered and showered with attention, gifts, all that good stuff. Maybe she'd even feel inclined to give back as much as she receives. After all, it's one thing for someone to be too nice to everyone, to freely give away their happiness, but if someone were too nice to only her, then at least that kindness belonged to just her.
    • Emotional Intelligence - She certainly wouldn't want to be with anyone she saw as stupid. In her mind, emotional intelligence, artistic intelligence, and common sense in particular are way more important than book smarts, but she won't say no to a free tutor, at least.
    • Loyalty - This should be a no-brainer for anyone, but thanks to Akiko's past, being faithful and loyal to one's partner ranks extremely high on her values. She tries not to show it and is fully aware of how stupid and unfair it is, but she's the type to get jealous easily, even if her prospective partner were to just innocently chat a bit too long with another girl. But more than that, she wants someone who will always take her side when the situation calls for it, someone she can be sure will stay by her side.
    • Interesting - She definitely doesn't want someone she'd find boring. However, despite her cold exterior, it's much easier to meet her qualifications of "interesting" than one might think. At the very least, she can find something to admire in anyone who has their own convictions and passions in life, who believe in or are passionate about something enough that they can easily talk about it at length, even if she might not have any idea what they're actually talking about. If nothing else, people like that make for good references for character models in her stories. Oops, she didn't say that aloud, did she?

    Most Embarrassing Moment
    • The Cutest Sneeze Ever - On one occasion, Akiko came down with a small cold, but chose to attend school anyway -- with a mask, of course -- as she believed she'd be able to power through it. This turned out to be a grave mistake on her part, as she found out the hard way how other people seem to hear her sneezes; as inhumanly high-pitched squeaks, almost like that of a mouse. Now, she doesn't even want to sneeze anymore if she can help it. One could say this "moment" is in fact a currently ongoing thing to this day.

    Insecurities
    • No "Real" Talents - She's an average student at best, she doesn't know how to play any instrument, she can barely cook, she's not athletic. Akiko doesn't have much in the way of talent, and sometimes it even seems like she herself dislikes being passionate for writing since she imagines it's not a very "interesting" talent to have, to say nothing of what her own mother thinks of it.
    • Abandonment - Her father leaving is perhaps the most significant moment in Akiko's early life. Ever since then, she's hardly let anyone become close to her, as a means of protecting herself from getting hurt like that ever again, or at least, that was a part of it. Indeed, Akiko is well aware of how brusque and curt she might come off to others. She's certainly lightened up a bit since then and let herself open up a little, but even so, there's little changing her nature that was hard-wired into her since childhood. If someone were to leave her because they just couldn't stand her, would that really be their own fault, or hers?
    • The Smartest One in the Room - Just as Akiko values intelligence in others and detests what she sees as stupidity, she's just as harsh on herself as she is on others. She has a compulsive desire to be looked up at as intelligent. Not as much book smarts (though that would be nice too), but rather to be seen as emotionally and artistically intelligent. In other words, to be seen as anything but "smarter than you" is one of her greatest anxieties, one that even she knows is a stupid one to have.


    Character Shipping Preferences

    How do you want your character to be shipped?
    Through Vote Shipping

    If you will go through Ship Voting, please answer the following:

    Who do you wish to be shipped with?
    Boys + Girls

    When Ship Voting Occurs, Which Round of Ship Rolling do you want to participate in first?
    Boys/Girls Pairings then Same Sex Pairings if Not Yet Paired


    Opinions of Other Students

    Sagawa Mizunohara: "Overbearing, yet interesting... is what I would have said, up until recently. But even I can't look at her objectively anymore, not with the ugly truth of what she tried to do to us dangling over her head."
    Ruger Misoto: "For an American, he certainly knows how to address people properly, if nothing else. Otherwise, I don't really think much of him to be honest. Maybe he'd make for a good protagonist type."

    Atsuku Fukumoto: "I don't really care for people who are too nice, to be honest, but she seems harmless enough. There's just something about her, though, that reminds me of... myself. If I may."
    Shin Yukimura: "He seems a bit gloomy, even for my taste. But I suppose I can admire the decision to solely dedicate yourself to your craft, no matter how many people try to undermine it."

    Okane Ayashii: "Someone who can play nice and is upfront about what she wants from you. I suppose that's more respectable than most other people."
    Toru Fohai: "A detached person who can't fully commit to being detached. A spectator who wanted to be a participant. Huh? What are you looking at me like that for? Anyway, I might have once described him as boring, but after that incident at the Culture Festival, maybe there's more to him than I gave credit for."

    Yukiko Benri: "I'm not really sure what to make of her. She seems rather guarded, but I suppose when your father is someone like that man..."
    Takao Hirokumi: "I guess he technically fits my criteria for "interesting." But also, he's just a lot to handle."

    Haru Sarachi: "Interesting. A bit intimidating to be honest, but interesting. He'd make for a good character."
    Yuuki Tokita: "Oh, yes. We're in the Literature Club together. She has a good eye when it comes to analyzing stories, but lately, it feels like she's been showing up to club meetings less and less. A shame."

    Yuriko Minamoto: "The worst of both worlds. A pain to deal with, and dishonest with herself, even I can see it. Someone like that who clearly gets off on exercising authority... always has a skeleton or two in their closet."
    Daisuke Minamoto: "Now, her cousin on the other hand... Much better, though he reminds me of Yukimura quite a bit. Maybe the two of them should... Hah, just kidding."

    Cinabu Naro: "Exactly what I mean by the trouble with people who are too nice. There's just something about her that makes me uncomfortable."
    Reginald Quackenbush: "Westerners..."

    Sami Ishioka: "A bit on the quiet side, but I suppose I'm not one to talk. Still, I never would have thought she'd end up at the forefront of the movement to save this school."
    Ryousei Kamirosu: "Enemy of women everywhere. I don't even want to breathe the same air as him. Still, is it just me or did someone manage to knock him down a peg recently?"

    Uwuru Ruruwu: "Very weird girl, but she's certainly not boring. As someone trying to get a good grasp on her for character reference, she certainly keeps me on my toes."

    Sango Namino: "I'm embarrassed to admit it, but I actually used to dislike her back in the day. She was so vibrant and overly cheery for my liking, but I've grown since then, and now... I think the truth was I was just jealous of her. But there's no need to elaborate on that."
    Shirou Nakamura: "Comes off as a bit of a goofy, unserious guy... but I suppose every novel does need a comic relief character."

    And finally...

    Haruki Higuchi: "Who?"

 
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  • ​
    "You need body spray, I got lynx. You need a cat? I got a lynx. You need contacts, I got links. Numerous video game character plushies? I got links'.

    Now, I know what you're thinking. 'Okane, how do you have access to all these goods that I badly need? Wow you're so resourceful!'. To that I say, wow thanks. I'd also say that to work in the business I compete in is no easy feat. I have a network, great personal skills, and an undying burning urge to make money! Sure, words and actions do a lot to improve a person's mood. But the greatest improvement to someone's mental state is a solid foundation of fed materialism.
    Have you ever tried to add up the worth of your life? If I told you the number right here and now, would you pretend to not care? Or admit that you'd most likely be disappointed at how low the amount is. Others may try and tell you that there's a deeper meaning to our existence but in the end the only thing that changes the quality of memories we hold in our life is the material existence that memory exists in.

    Which is another way to say that I know my stuff when it comes to money and so you should trust and want all my products. I have a sale at the moment, come look at my stuff sweetcheeks! And no, you don't get to question why I have an entire glazed ham in my bag!"

    Ayashii, Okane

    anime-girl-smile-sunglasses-1-4k.jpg
    Source: QYS3
    Speech Color: #B9FF00
    Gender:     Female
    Age: 17
    Date of Birth: 13/10
    Blood Type: Type O
    Height: 176cm
    Weight: 58kg

    Character Voice:
    Character Theme:



    Character Background and Personality


    Love means nothing, therefore Love Means Anything Monologue

    "Love Means Nothing

    But it is worth something, yes? For we express love in gifts; chocolates and jewellery for partners, teddies and games for children. Is love an feeling? Or can it be materialized into physical context, is act of intimacy not what often use to describe as a form of love, and are those not the most infamous type of acts that can be sold for a certain price? For what else would we do with the hole of our insecurities about our own self love then to literally purchase filler to plug said gap? Love can be bought, it can be earned, it can be sold. We need it for what? Someone to take care of us? To laugh at our jokes? To share a bed. From the poorest of paupers to the richest of kings, Love is always traded for something in return.

    So like, buy these chocolates man, it's a two for one deal. I'll share them with you, chuu~~

    Love Means Nothing. Therefore, Love Means Anything."

    Personality (At Start)
    Okane is the girl with a grin and fancy shades in the background of any situation. Always there to lend an ear or offer solutions to a problem, for a price that is. Peer into Okane's bag of tricks and you will find a selection that would make Gilgamesh weep. In need of any good or service that a student may require? Then Okane is your gal. She's your best friend, as long as you're her customer.

    But who is Okane as a person, really? It's hard to guess. She's on everyone's side and therefor completely neutral. The troublesome events of the school and her classmates don't seem to effect her much. At no point does she ever seem to offer advice or help that doesn't in some way benefit herself. So maybe she is just someone who cries alligator tears to sell a quick buck, but no one can say that she doesn't come in handy when needed.

    Pre-Story Background
    Okane came from a poor family. Her parents worked odd-jobs to make a living and they spent many a evening trying to budget correctly to survive bill to bill. As a child, Okane always wanted for something. A chocolate bar at the till, a teddy bear in the shop window, A new toy that she saw some other kid have. Each and every time, her requests were turned down. 'We Don't have the money for that, sweetie.'

    Yet still she asked everyday for a new thing. She never received anything special because the heating had to be kept on and the water running. It wasn't until her 9th birthday that she received something cool for her birthday. It was a Gundam model from one of her favourite shows. She was so proud of it, material proof that her parents loved her despite all the hours they spent 'working'. She was so happy with it that she took it with her to school the very next day. Okane never had anything to bring to school to show off but today would be different. She wouldn't just be that kid people made fun for being poor anymore, she had a super cool robot!

    Imagine her surprise when after showing her toy with a smug grin, her pride was immediately laughed at by the rest of the kids as they all revealed that she had a model that was years old and that they had all gotten the newest model already. They told her that her parents probably found it in some sort of charity shop bargain bin. She hated them telling her that, she hated that it was probably true.

    What love could her parents show her if they couldn't even afford to give her an toy that wasn't laughed at. She realised right there and then that no one would ever laugh at Okane again for her financial situation. If her parents were too busy dreading over the next bill to even give her time for affection, she would find her own self love in the only trait that everyone else seemed to share that she didn't. Money.

    Within weeks Okane had already set up a tiny child business selling candy. In the time that other kids spent playing around Okane spent trying to barter with various shopkeepers. They humoured the small girl, but she was deadly serious.
    As the years went by, Okane found herself in the position to be in direct contact with a market of people who at that time of the day were away from the general corporate 'opposition' of stores. If there's two things to say about Teenagers, is that they have too much money for their own good and that they love spending said money. Okane was a friend to everyone, but not a true friend to a single student in any of her schools. After all, she never forgot that classroom of kids that all laughed at her prized toy.

    Common Route Story Background

    1) - 'Gender Relations' Club
    You know what the merging of schools had originally meant for Okane? Easier access to a larger market of consumers. Of course, there was a general discontent around the school about the boys and girls having to see eachother. Okane made quite the killing on selling pepper spray to girls and stink bombs to boys. To Okane the whole thing seemed a little silly but she was essentially a neutral party in terms of the civil war between the sexes, regardless of her own gender. It was because of her no-nation status that she was heavily implored to join the Gender Relations Club. At first she seemed quite hesitant at the whole idea but putting a bit of thought into it Okane realised the great potential that this club had to change the ways of the school. If she was there for every problem that the club tackled she could been seen as a helpful person while equally marketing her wares. If this school experiment was going to go in flames, she wanted to be there with the marshmallow and sticks. Flowers and movie tickets always sold better then 'boys rule girls drool' posters anyway.

    2) - Tri-City Sports Festival.
    Though the selling of duct tape to cover peepholes and new sports equipment after some sabotage or something seemed in somewhat bad taste to others, (and if they thought that was, they would have balked at Okane's shortly lived idea to advertise said Peephole for an entry fee) Okane quite easily held her own in the sports festival. Though her teammates wondered if they could have done better with her clear finesse in basketball and volleyball if she hadn't spent half the time on court trying to make deals with students from other schools.
    When it came to the Calvary battle, Okane was already a little worn out through all the other events she had tried with the school. But seeing that the moral of her fellow students were teetering with the outcome of this event, Okane found herself bribing some of the more physically impressive students to have sudden injuries or to feel unmotivated for the event. Not that Okane sunk her own costs for nothing, after all. Who was selling the good water for everyone with the victory after the school supplied water suddenly vanished?

    3) - The Winter Vote
    By the time winter had started to creep in. Okane had found herself in quite the cosy position with the rest of the students. 'Well' She thought. 'it would be quite the shame for this particular arm of the business to go under now.'
    So with a little bit of help from various online resources. Okane came back into the school with an entire suitcase of 'Save Yuzu's Highschool' pins and badges. She had gotten a little zealous with it last night, so she kinda had to sell the pins at a bit of a discount to get rid of most of them. But by the end of a week, the majority of students could be seen with the pin somewhere on their apparel. If a particular student cared or just like the look of the pins, we'll never know.

    4) - The Hot Springs
    Despite a small period spent wondering if she should pack her suitcase with spooky attire to appeal to the whole story of curses or various forms of skincare ointments for the side of hot spring. Okane arrived at the hot spring with the odd feeling to actually try and...relax? This decision was helped by the fact that the steam of the springs made her shades fog up and trying to do capitalism while blind is a somewhat dangerous endeavour. But as fate would have it, numerous scenarios occurred where her goods were needed. A girl burnt her skin and so Okane's skincare was needed, another person had a sudden 'bathroom' need and so Okane's bathroom products were needed. At one point while trying to have a massage she was in-between two sisters talking about a particular brand of make up they couldn't find anywhere that Okane had right in her suitcase of goods. By the end of the trip, there was a quiet feeling that Okane had somehow orchestrated these events to make more profit. Some wondered if Okane had caused numerous events just so she could financially gain from it. Her reputation was beginning to suffer among her club members...

    5) - The Culture Festival
    If there was ever a point where the wellbeing of the school and Okane's own wants aligned. It was when the need for a maid cafe for the culture festival appeared. Having spent the last few weeks feeling a divide between her and the rest of the member begin to widen. Okane suddenly felt the pressure to solidify her reputation amongst the student body for the sake of her business and for her own apparent friendships. She used all her acumen to get the maid cafe flourishing, in terms of marketing, the prices, the uniforms, the manner in which to speak to customers. She hadn't realised it, but she had gone full zealot mode in terms of the work involved. Evidently everyone saw how hard she was working for 'everyone else' that they realised that she did care for the club and school. Even if she swear that she did it for her own experience.

    She did feel quite overworked though, and only was stopped from overextending herself when a certain someone told her that they'd like her to be a maid as well, and that they'd look quite cute in it. She had gotten her fair shade of compliments in life, but this one made her blush.

    6) - The Final Tests
    With the school hinging on the test scores of the students. Okane quickly found herself corralled into helping her fellow colleagues with business and economics. She didn't even ask for direct payments from the students, it felt slightly unfair to extort them in this specific scenario. Plus, everyone having successful lives meant that she would have contact in more industries later in life. It was a down payment for her future, is what she told herself. Her own test were never a real issue, as she'd always been secretly a bit of a smart cookie. Though she did figure out she might have ADHD when she sat down to be part of a study session instead of leading one. It went poorly, much to the humour of the others. But she didn't felt awful this time, and laughed with her....friends?

    Huh....

    And the Rest?
    With the school saved and the club ended it's services. Okane feels like she had made quite the tidy profit on the endeavour financially...and emotionally. It's only when she looks back that she realised that with all the time spent doing her schemes and deals, that she had gotten quite close with her colleagues. She realised after all this time, they weren't laughing at her for her financial situation, even if she hadn't spent all this time to rectify her own income.
    Still, Okane was mostly continuing business as usual, pardon the pun, with a sale of chocolates and other assortments for any potential brave student to give to their crush. Though Okane can't help but wish that a certain someone would just go and buy some from her and then proceed to give it to her.
    Was it asking too much for some consumer activism, jeez.

    Personality (At End)
    The business-minded girl is still every bit the wheeler and dealer she was before. Though the events of the story have slowly made her warm up to the idea of doing that's that don't directly give her financial success. Paying for a part of a school is saved celebration pro bono was quite an unprecedented step for her. The others in the club can successfully say that Okane has some sort of personality behind her business façade, Of a ultimately mischievous, driven and fun loving girl who just...really likes money.

    Club
    Gender Relations Club

    Likes:
    • - Fashion: If there was an uniform code Okane went and destroyed it's existence for herself. She's always dressed in the latest trends or sometimes pulling off her own avant-garde looks. Not to mention she's willing to sell such products...
    • - Honesty: It's hard to do fair bartering if one partner isn't telling the truth. Okane rarely if ever lies, she find's it unproductive. Twisting the truth so that it shines brightly on her? Sure, that can be found in her wheelhouse.
    • - Gundam (Or Similar) Shows: She likes seeing big mecha robot fights, sue her. It's always been a fascination since she was a child watching on her crappy tv.
    • - Beaches: As a child, she got strangely proficient at making massive sandcastles. Perhaps it was the fact that it cost nothing to go there that made her and her parents visit it so much. Nowadays, she still shares the same fondness for making large sand structures. But she also gets to do with while getting sun in a cute bikini and having her shades make sense for once.

    Dislikes:
    • - The Cold: She's always been one to enjoy the warmth, and the cold rules out a lot of her wardrobe. Don't get her wrong, she still looks glam as fuck on a cold December's morn, but she'll be doing it begrudgingly.
    • - Generational Wealth: As something she never had, she can't help but feel that everyone who gets to sit on their bum and be a hundred times richer then her parents ever were deserve to have some form of comeuppance. They are those who are the easiest to extort for the most money though, so she'll always favour them for that.
    • - Taxes: Well, she hasn't paid any yet. Her sales are cash only, of course. But at some point she'll have too. And the thought of that annoys her.
    • - Normal Glasses: She refuses to wear them despite her poor eyes. No matter her surroundings or clothing you will find her with her sunglasses firmly set upon her.

    Hobbies:
    • - Making Money: It's also basically her job even though it's not officially a job. The moral of the source matters somewhat, but most things she's open to doing to get some of that sweet cash.
    • - Nicknaming: Saying someone's name? Formal, distant, boring. Making up a whole new name based on their name? Casual, close knit, very fun! So began the trend of Okane never actually calling anyone in the school their actual goddamn name.
    • - Knitting: What originally started as a cost cutting measure, now has led to something that Okane is quite skilled at. Her prized jumpers and hats are of high quality but are a good under-market value for the lovable students of Yuzu.
    • - Playing Mystery box!: Okane often carries in a box to school. What's inside this box? Who knows! It's a different thing everyday. But the contents inside of it for today can be yours for a certain price. Well, do you want to open the mystery box?

    Dreams/Life Goals:
    • - Be Rich: Like super rich. Like own your own mansion with many man servants in bowties type rich. Frankly, Okane wants to get to a point that she never has to work for a material good ever again.
    • - Be Inspiring: She wants to be The Girlboss. Of what you say? Who knows. But she already has a nice looking suit.

    Values:
    - Smarts: Life problems come at you fast. Blam-Wham! Brain wrinkles must be deep and numerous to deal with them!
    - Charm: Sharp is the wit and bright is the smile. Okane deserves to be constitently woo'd, does she not?
    - Fashion Sense: You think she wants to be spotted with someone who can't dress themselves well. That's not shallow, it's protecting her brand!
    - Loyalty: There's a need for security in an investment. How can one spend time with someone not willing to have your back?

    Most Embarrassing Moment
    The Sunglasses she wears permanently are actually quite a high prescription and she's quite blind without them. One day someone broke them by a misplaced dodgeball. Okane spent the rest of the day with her hands in front of her squinting as she tried to make her way through the day without admitting that she couldn't see.

    Insecurities
    • - Reputation Damage: Any merchant lives and dies by the reputation they have. If something was to happen to that then Okane fears she would have much greater difficulty being able to access and sell the goods she can at the moment.
    • - Being a Joke: As light-hearted as she appears. The idea of being laughed at by a group of people for something she can't control again makes her blood boil.
    • - Who Loves the Shopkeeper: It had occurred to Okane if she was to for someone forgo trying to sell people shit, could someone come to like her by her own merits? Who comes to fall for the faceless shop keeper?


    Character Shipping Preferences
    This section is used to determine your preferences in who your character gets shipped with.

    How do you want your character to be shipped?
    • Voting Shipping

    Who do you wish to be shipped with?
    • Boys + Girls

    When Ship Voting Occurs, Which Round of Ship Rolling do you want to participate in first?
    Note that ship voting will pair Boy X Girl Pairs, and then Same Sex Pairs with whomever is left
    • Boys X Girls pairings and then if not selected same sex pairings.


    Opinions of Other Students:

    Sagawa Mizunohara: "Company saboteur! And she was such a good consum- I mean relatively decent club mate! The money I made off the trading cards has no relation!"
    Ruger Misoto: "He really put his full self into solving the schools problems. Now if only I hadn't made a bad bet on him liking burgers by buying a whole batch..."
    Atsuko Fukumoto: "Those hot spring 'pranksters' were permently put on my black list! A true talent, who needs good funding to make it big. And I know someone who can help her with that.
    Shin Yukimura: "I'm sorry, I just think that calling one's life a one where they need pure dedication to make something for themselves is slightly ruined by being part of a loaded family. I'm not saying he didn't do good. Let's just put an asterisk.."
    Akiko Akiyama: "They say to sell a person a pen you give them a need to write something down! Sure the digital landscape now has slightly ruined that notion but that girl must keep finding her passion for the future. Maybe I can be the publisher."
    Haruki Higuchi: "Hoho~ Another passionate fan. You know what's better then a person who will spend well for your goods. A person who can also talk about said goods!"
    Yukiko Benri: "We may have...different views on how to treat our customers, but a referral system does plenty of charm between our enterprises. What do you mean colluding to push others out of the school market is called a 'cartel'?"
    Tak Hirokumi: "The thing they don't mention about being different from the rest of the world is how much money it costs. Cosplay is a pretty penny! Yet, I don't think anyone can look down upon the super special mission he fought for"
    Toru Fohai: "You can always suspect a person who doesn't feel inclined to open the mystery box! Maybe if he does hit the slammer I can start doing prison selling....You didn't hear me say that."
    Haru Sarachi: "I for one welcome another person choosing to leap into the freedom of fashion. True drip is not limited by any societal norms!
    Tokita Yuki: "What do you mean money is meaningless. That's what people who money is meaningless say!"
    Yuriko Minamoto: "'You can't put that up here' 'That's not allowed on school grounds' 'This is not the time to sell those sort of goods' - Oh wait, I SOLD YOU SOME CIGARETTES!"
    Daisuke Minamoto: "Karaaaaate~ Wait no it was kendo. He should lean more into that instead of that stifled up persona he does!"
    Cinabu Naro: "Real talk. That was fucked up what happened to her. She can take whatever she needs for the next while, free of charge..."
    Sami Ishioka: "She may have been surprised by my availabilty of goods. But a good enterpuer always has their pulse on the market!"
    Kamirosu, Ryousei: "Bing - Bang! Good practice for dealing with tilted customers! Now look at him. That's what we call a general improvement on customer behaviour!"
    Reginald Quackenbush: "He's got a lot of ducktales. Woohoo!"
    Ruruwu, Uwuru: "She drives a hard bargain. Mainly cause I don't think she understands what or how to use money. The art of confusion is strong!"
    Sango Namino: "She's not quite as fashionable as I am, but she's close! A good eye for what apparel is in the market at least."
    Shirou Nakamura: "Maybe I should get him to be the front for some sort of ad in the future..."



Favourite Colour = Violet
 
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  • Boy: Takao "Tak" Hirokumi
  • Girl: Yukiko Benri


  • They say I can make wishes happen. Just remember... not all wishes are positive.

    Basic Information

    'Communication' Monologue
    "They say 'money makes the world go round' but that isn't true. People want things they can't have and that's why money exists. Money can be traded for the 'want'. All kinds of want and all kinds of needs. No, I trade in favors. And at this point, I can do whatever I want to this school. That's probably why I can't wait to foil this little club. All it takes is one in-fight. Just one blackmail. And that's all I need to win."

    Name: Yukiko Benri
    Appearance: Yamagishi Fuuka
    Speech Color: This green! Or, #41A85F.
    Gender: Female
    Age: 16

    Date of Birth: 7/7
    Blood Type: A-
    Height: 153 cm
    Weight: 45 kg

    Character Voice:

    Character Theme:


    Character Background and Personality

    Love means nothing, therefore Love Means Anything Monologue
    "Love means nothing. You can't trade love for anything. You can't expect someone to deal solely on love to survive. So why expect something from it at all? Simple. It doesn't have a value. It is like paint on it's own, you can't do anything with just paint. You need a canvas or a wall, but the paint transforms what should be empty and blank and worthless into something beautiful. Whether I meant it or not, it seems I was paint for the club to transform into art. Love means nothing. So, in the end I guess love can mean anything."

    Personality (At Start)
    Even before the school merger, Yukiko was well known for her 'wares'. Boys, girls, anyone sought her out because she didn't judge. Need a knife to injure a rival athlete? Done. Need the answers to next week's test? Done. There was always a price, however. Simple things like items could be bought with money, but the more complex the ask, the more it would cost. Favors were Yukiko's favorite. the one time someone didn't 'pay up' when the favor was asked, their life was ruined beyond repair. Rumor has it, Yukiko has a blackmail ledger containing every secret of anyone who has used her services.

    Pre-Story Background
    Yukiko Benri grew up in a politician's home who had thrown away any hope of his child growing up in his own footsteps based solely on her being female. In order to prove him wrong, she started trying to get as many friends as possible. This wasn't enough, he said. So instead of friends, she realized that blackmail and favors were the world of politics. You don't play the game fairly, you cheat or get cheated by. By the time the girl's school was merged, she was starting to truly build a name for herself outside the schools. She even had information on her father's plans to later bulldoze the newly merged schools, and so she played her cards wisely and waited until the school folded. When it all collapsed, she'd move to her dream school by using these facts against her father.

    That is, until the Gender Relations Club threw a wrench into her plans by actually caring about the newly merged school.

    Common Route Story Background
    1) - Joined the 'Gender Relations' Club
    Yukiko infiltrated the club easily. She listened and waited for what would be her chance. The school had a dozen and a half things wrong with it, and so they were fighting an uphill battle. However, her plan hinged on the school closing down, so she would leave nothing to chance. Destroying these fools would be simple, as she had blackmail on half of them already. So she mostly just sat back and waited as the introductions rolled in.

    2) - The school took part in the Tri-City Sports Festival.
    It only took one little rumor for the sabotaged equipment to start fights. Not to mention she had the peep holes in the girl's room in her back pocket if she really wanted the whole thing to boil over. She sat back and watched as the club... took it upon themselves to repair the equipment and figure out the culprits. When things were looking up for the festival, Yukiko leaked that some of the boys had made peep holes in the bathroom wall. With so little time to fix it, Yukiko was sure they'd fail there, as well. However, so soon couldn't be more wrong as she herself was pulled in to help repair the wall.

    Utilizing her 'store' they asked her to pull her influence to get contractors or even just experts to just close up the wall. Even the club leader was willing to risk a 'favor' for measly holes in the walls. The holes were fixed overnight, and new equipment was also brought in around the same time. Yukiko claimed it was simply her payment for joining the club.

    These people were her enemies, and so foiling them would not be so simple. She was planning her next move when she was suddenly pulled into the calvary battle. Even though she could only barely help there, she was still held up as a hero of the Tri-City Sports Festival, having saved it single handedly by her influence. Taking the memory home, however, just reminded her that her goals were more far reaching than a mere sports festival. Her next move had to destroy the club entirely.

    The lonely girl worked through the night, and wondered if this was her determination to crush the school... or help save it.

    3) - The Gender Relationship Club makes the decision to not leave the school, allowing it to continue into next year.
    Akane was working to her fullest, making sure the strings she wanted could be pulled at a moment's notice. All she had to do was...

    Just send one email.

    Was one semester at a nice school really going to help her that much?

    As her hand hovered over the send button, she realized something. Her father threw so much behind this warehouse plan that he'd tied his reputation to it. This had nothing to do with the fact that she liked the club and didn't want to see them fail.

    Suddenly a whole new chessboard laid out in front of her. A whole new game, and this time she'd win. Forget playing the cards she was dealt, she was going for checkmate.

    The next day the school was crowded with reporters. An anonymous tip had been 'leaked' that Local Politican Benri was trying to bulldoze the school, even if there were still kids inside. Yukiko played the victim, and gained sympathy for having such a cruel and evil father. Working with the club, she ensured that the school would continue on into next year. However, this was not the endgame, as she still needed proof of the curse...

    4) - The school took a school trip to the mystical hot springs and was able to discover the source of the school's curse and woes.
    Her father had made his move, next starting a rumor about the school being cursed. However, his web extended further than hers, so she had no idea where the source of the rumor started. As the club had entrusted funding mostly to Yukiko, she'd been put into a position of power within the very club she'd hoped to crush mere months ago. Her endless poring over spreadsheets and emails and news articles took their toll and the other members quickly noticed her burnout.

    They took advantage of the school trip to try and rest and relax in order to come at the problem from a new angle. Officially banned from any official clerical duties, Yukiko was dragged all around the hot springs by the club. During these outings, she spotted her father from a distance.

    Taking a bath late at night provided an excellent excuse to be up later than the others.

    Confirming exactly behind the plot was easy once she knew her father was involved. The Amane Group had shielded itself behind at least three shell companies. Which meant bad press was something they had to avoid at any cost. Making her father take the fall was within tolerance, but if she could get them to back off by making the school too high profile...

    5) - The school's culture festival was a huge success despite attempts to sabotage from people trying to close the school down.
    Yukiko was deep in thought when the club came up with their club theme for the upcoming festival. This meant when they debuted their 'Idol Cafe' on social media she could not worm her way out of singing at least one song. The idea was cemented and Yukiko had to figure out the best way to market it to the media. However, word of mouth was getting around that Yukiko might serve them food, and she'd softened up. Add to that she was a local celebrity still receiving pity letters from her father's colleagues.

    Still pondering how they were even remotely going to pull this off, Yukiko was pulled into rehearsal and costume fittings. She practiced her song so hard she would hum it while doing homework or easy chores.

    The slow burn only got faster when the rumor got out that each member of the club was going to sing.

    The day of the festival exploded with people. Not only for the cafe, but also to see what this school that had supposedly defied death had in them. Yukiko took advantage of the trend to start #SaveOurMergedSchool which took off quickly. Suddenly, the Amane company seemed a lot less interested in buying the lot to bulldoze it all.

    She also sang a Pretty Girl Magical song that went viral.

    6) - The students are able to rally the school's test scores, letting it be safe to continue operating even after they graduate, saving the school.
    Yukiko started the second the festival ended by researching the teacher's habits and the best way to get the test answers. Yukiko then offered the answers to the club, who then turned around and refused her help. She didn't get that someone would turn down the answer best it wasn't gotten in a fair fashion.

    In all her years of her shop being open, no one in the school took her proffered answers.

    Soon, she realized that she'd have to switch tracks. Instead, she prepared study guides with the help of the rest of the Gender Relations Club. They made it with just enough time to properly prepare for the exams. For once, she didn't really have a plan beyond trusting other people. So she waited with the others, hoping that they somehow made it over this hurdle.

    Now that she was actually trying, she managed to take the top spot. But everyone else wasn't far behind. The overall grades of the school leaped much higher than needed to make sure the school survived. Yukiko was blown away.

    Personality (At End)
    While still a calculating spymaster, Yukiko learned to rely on others and opened up to new goals and people. Now, she's far more likely to not ruin your life because she didn't like you once. Now, she's loyal to people who show loyalty to her. She's still a bit cold and hard to approach, but if nothing else she no longer offers less than legal goods for sale.

    Club
    Gender Relations Club
    Board Game Club

    Likes:
    • Making people owe her favors- with just a bit of urging, she can make these snowball into having more people owe her favors. Most of the students and teachers owe her a favor that she earned from their patronage... or through blackmail.
    • Milk Tea- she drinks it to ease her nerves and sleep. She likes to add a bit of honey to it.
    • Tiny cactus- she thinks that they're cute and tiny, and this also includes succulents.
    • Libraries- she usually sets up shop in the school library because it's quiet and relatively peaceful. She borrows the most books of the entire class body.
    Dislikes:
    • Being the Center of attention- more content to stir things behind the scenes, she likes her power to be soft and quiet. Unfortunately, this year has been a mild nightmare as she ended up being the center of attention more than her liking.
    • Hypocritical people- people who lie and say they're virtuous and good people. Those who say it are usually lying, and the irritation came about because of her Father's being one such person.
    • Folding Paper- she finds the feeling unpleasant. She also has a really hard time folding in a straight line.
    • Chalkboards- they don't erase fully, leave gross powder everywhere, and the sound of chalk scraping against a chalkboard is annoying. Whiteboards are superior in her mind.
    Hobbies:
    • Gambling with a Loaded Deck- she plays as the House in the Board Game Club, and the house always wins. Which makes the club more of a casino, to be honest.
    • Gardening- she has a small succulent garden at home.
    • Painting her nails- Yukiko is quite adept at painting her own nails. She even tries to go for strange or unusual color combinations.
    Dreams/Life Goals:
    • Become a civil servant in the government. A politician or congresswoman in particular.
    • Wield power over even more people. If she's a 'villain' or something, then she's fine with that.

    Values:
    • Loyalty- "Minions of mine need to be trusted not to stab me in the back. And friends too, I guess." She wants tot rust with her whole heart, but she never stumbles into it. She needs acts to prove loyalty.
    • Smarts- "Think for yourself!" She wants someone to keep up with her, and that's a tall task. She hates hand holding, and feeling like she's being held back.
    • Humor- "... I like jokes." Yukiko can't tell a joke to save her life, but she just likes to laugh and escape her favor for favor world.
    • Restraint- "Someone has to hold me back from doing terrible things." She wants someone to keep her in check to keep her from going too far and hurting someone. This isn't something she'd admit freely, but she tries to at least help people, even when that means hurting another, she just doesn't care if she doesn't look.

    Most Embarrassing Moment
    During the school festival, Yukiko sang a Pretty Girl Magical song. She did her best, but she's no singer. The performance went viral and she never got to live down shouting 'Pretty Girls Are Magic!' to an entire crowd of people who she then helped to serve.

    Insecurities
    • Not Knowing Enough- Yukiko always has to feel like the smartest person in the room. While this need has diminished since working with the club, she still feels the need to 'win' at being smart.
    • Taking Compliments- her father rarely (if ever) gave out compliments. She can be easily made to stop in her tracks at a compliment.
    • Having Her Own Success Linked To Her Father- she earned almost everything she has, and given his absenteeism, just because he's slightly famous does not mean he gets to take credit for her work.
    Character Shipping Preferences

    How do you want your character to be shipped?
    • Through Vote Shipping

    If you will go through Ship Voting, please answer the following:

    Who do you wish to be shipped with?
    • Boys + Girls

    When Ship Voting Occurs, Which Round of Ship Rolling do you want to participate in first?
    Note that ship voting will pair Boy X Girl Pairs, and then Same Sex Pairs with whomever is left
    • Boys/Girls Pairings then Same Sex Pairings if Not Yet Paired


    Opinions of Other Students:

    Sagawa Mizunohara: "An excellent ally at the start, and her change echoes my own. I... kind of understand. Plus she buys from my more prank stock and I appreciate it."
    Ruger Misoto: "Our illustrious leader. Far too annoyingly straightforward and he's already blackmailed into doing this club."
    Atsuko Fukumoto: "Easy enough to manipulate. Her past is public record, and boy is it ugly. Just a little push and her façade crumbles. A useful tool."
    Shin Yukimura: "Ah, the rejected son. Just shove his siblings in his face and he folds like a house of cards.
    Akiko Akiyama: "The way she speaks bothers me for some reason. Besides that, her writing is... interesting. Her frigid nature does her writing no favors, seeing how an author needs to share with the readers, but if she asked I could get it published. Or blacklisted."
    Haruki Higuchi: "Thinks he can unseat me. Cute, but not possible. Connections work better than studying any day. Admire his diligence, albeit narrow-minded focus on his work. ... He also needs someone to tell him that his successes are his own, not his brother's."
    Okane Ayashii: "We do referrals to each other's businesses. She's reliable and good for knowing where to get nearly anything. Her focus on money is a bit short sighted, however. When that fails her, I'm always happy to lend her a favor."
    Toru Fuhai: "He has nice flowers. Never really had to worry about him."
    Haru Sarachi: "Handsome boy gone crossdresser. Not much to say other than he went about his desire to win in a poor way. Can't wait to grant him a favor."
    Tokita Yuki: "She is too observant. I have to keep my guard up before she catches on...."
    Yuriko Minamoto: "A stickler for the rules, but she seems to have a need to turn them on herself. Still, I have photos and the certain brand of something she wants hidden. The Ethics Committee is as corruptible as anyone else, after all."
    Daisuke Minamoto: "He's fun to tease. Probably too fun."
    Cinabu Naro: "Never agreed to shelter this girl any more than necessary, but girls paid good money to keep her optimistic. Hard to argue when her mere existence turned quite a profit for me. Then she offered my father a gift basket. I had a good laugh at that."
    Reginald Quackenbush: "Try as I might, I can't find much on him. Weird guy."
    Sami Ishioka: "A drifting girl afraid of crowds. Can't say much about this one, really."
    Ryousei Kamirosu: "Full of himself, and an edgelord. He has his work cut out for him if he thinks he can beat me, however."
    Uwuru Ruruwu: "I played hide and seek with her once. I was 'it'. She hid for over three hours. I got a lot of reading done that day."


    Tak Hirokumi: "Who is that?"

 
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  • Male | Gold

    Basic Information

    eabEvzK.png


    Words don't mean anything. It's just air, in the end. That's why there's stuff like lip service. Flattery. White lies. Bullshit. People talk about having heart-to-hearts with each other, but those are just precursors to action. In the end, that's what it all boils down to. If you want your words to mean something, if you want your communication to matter, then put your money where your mouth is. And if you can't?​
    ​
    Then don't waste your breath. I've grown deaf to empty communication.​

    Name: Sarachi, Haru
    Speech Color: Gold #FAC51C
    Gender: Male
    Age: 17

    Date of Birth: August 31st
    Blood Type: A
    Height: 162 cm
    Weight: 64 kg

    Character Voice: Atsushi Abe
    Character Theme: Break Through

    Character Background and Personality

    Love means nothing.​
    ​
    You can't hold it. You can't buy it. You can't take a picture of it. You can hardly feel it. Scientists break it down into chemicals and nervous electricity, poets compare it to substantial, natural scenery, monks see it as an impediment to enlightenment and inner peace, and teenagers hunger for it without understanding it. When you embrace someone, are you trying to capture love? When you kiss someone, are you trying to taste love? When you fuck someone, are you trying to breed love? If it means something, you shouldn't need anything else.​
    ​
    But that's stupid as shit.​
    ​
    There is no love. There are only people. The hand I can reach for, the one I can chase after, the eyes I can lose myself in, the heart that I feel beating in sync with mine. Always there. Rendered in flesh and bone, born from the culmination of human history, made substantial by countless actions. Love means nothing, and I don't want it anyways, not when you have your own name.​
    ​
    Only dumbasses say that line unironically:​
    ​
    "Love Means Nothing. Therefore, Love Means Anything."​

    Starting Personality
    Haru was one of the boys, more focused on sports than on people. Handsome and audacious in the way that only a teenage athlete could be, he found the inclusion of girls in his school life a distraction at best, and the Worst Thing Ever (tm) at worst. Yet his popularity drove a wedge between himself and the rest of his team. It never got to the point of bullying, not when he was their most promising first-year, not when he could bring in the results that saw the school's strained budget still bend over backwards for the club, but isolation remained. He couldn't understand why other boys were trying so hard to appeal to girls. They couldn't understand why he didn't build himself a harem of fans already.

    One thing was clear though. All those oaths and mottos about camaraderie turned out to be bullshit.

    Pre-Story Background
    The Sarachi family had always been rooted in Kusatsu. They were rice farmers, three generations all living together: grandparents, parents, and children. Sixteen people altogether. It made for a loud family, and Haru was born right in the middle of it. His grandfather had been a musician. His father had been a writer. His grandmother had been a fashionista. His mother had been a reporter. In their own ways, they had all tried to leave Kusatsu.

    In the end, they had all failed, and been drawn back into the family business.

    Haru too, wanted out. Out of this deteriorating city, out to a place with more life, more action. His parents supported it, his grandparents too. Their bones knew what a farmer's lifestyle did to you. So he picked up sports early. He was the ace of the soccer team back in elementary school. He was the anchor of every Sports day relay race. And then, in middle school, he found it.

    Stride.

    An obstacle course race, where parkour athletes flung themselves through windows or between roofs, scrambling up the sides of walls or swinging from a skylight to a second floor. It was insane! It was theatrical! And, most importantly, it was a growing sport. He knew, in the second year of middle school, that whatever funding the school received wouldn't be enough to raise a national-level team for soccer.

    So he reached for it himself. The ticket out of the boonies.

    Common Route Story Background
    The fusion of schools into Yuzu Municipal High School was, from Haru's perspective, not worth commenting on. Mixed classes aside, it was easy enough for him to blot out the existence of the female students during club time by slipping on his earbuds and then simply training. After all, club-room space didn't matter, nor did funding. Stride was a sport that used the urban environment, so all one needed was a good pair of running shoes.

    Really, everyone was making too much of a fuss about it; there weren't any girls who could even run half as fast as he could. And there certainly weren't any who could do a cat pass from the second floor's exterior staircase to the gym shed. They were girls, after all.

    But the rest of his club didn't think so. Even as friction bubbled up during the Tri-City Sports Festival, the topics in the boys' locker room after practice shifted slowly from what they could do to improve their times, what they could do to pull off a sicker flip, to whether bloomers or spats looked better, which girls' tits bounced the most. And that...that triggered a visceral disgust in Haru, especially as more incidents popped up. The peep holes? That was a fucking crime! The stolen sports equipment? That was suicidal on both ends! He was furious, furious that the first opportunity he had to get noticed on a municipal level was going to be ruined because of this.

    And when things came to blows between the girls and the boys, Haru sided with the girls.

    After all, there was a distinction between the fangirls that broke open his shoelocker or screamed for his attention during practice and the athletes who wanted to do something that their old school never allowed them to do so. They were serious about this. His own teammates were not.

    Though the conflict was resolved with an explanation that ended up absolving both sides of blame, the line had been drawn and the schism had been formed. Haru, for all intents and purposes, was no longer one of the boys.

    Well, fuck you too.

    He didn't care for the accelerated closing of the school; maybe moving to a new place would've been better for all of them. Even if it wasn't, there were options for homeschooling or virtual classes anyhow. And if a developer was out there buying land, maybe his family could finally have an opportunity to move out and move on! Even the sudden emergence of reporters at Yuzu High didn't perturb Haru. For all he cared about, for all he had personally experienced, that sensationalized report may as well have been correct. What were they expecting, after all, from a co-ed school that had a segregated population early?

    And, regardless, any publicity was good publicity.

    A reporter, running out of substance to support her claims about sexual harrassment amongst the student populace, ended up doing a piece on the Stride Club instead, with Haru front-and-center as their handsome, affable ace. He looked good on camera, somersaulting over cars with his lithe, cat-like frame, and his reputation went national, if only for a couple days. He didn't even end up going to the resort in the end, deciding that this was the best chance he'd ever have of being somebody.

    Another wedge between player and team.

    And the final stake came soon after, when Haru arrived at the Yuzu High Culture Festival dressed like a maid. The event itself was a success, the 'tomboy' maid a hit among the visitors. Even in a frilly dress, with glossy lipstick and thick mascara, Haru came out as handsome and striking. Then, he actually did strike someone in the face with his fist when he caught a customer sneaking an upskirt photo. His fury doubled when he realized it was one of his own teammates. What the hell was wrong with them?

    Their answer? What the hell was wrong with him?

    So, what else was there to do, but bring it outside?

    By the time the Gender Relations Club caught wind of this, there was a full-blown fistfight happening in the courtyard, and it was only by some extremely impressive gaslighting that they made it out to be a performance by the Drama Club or the Martial Arts club, before strongarming both people off the 'stage'. The damage was done though. Haru quit the Stride Club. Soon after, the club itself was dissolved, the advisor having stuck around only to see Haru blossom as an athlete. And with that, his ticket out of the boonies was gone. You couldn't have a relay race, after all, with just one person.

    The studies were a blur. His head was a mess. Perhaps he wasn't as strong as he thought.

    Running forward with all his might. Clapping hands with the one whose dreams he'd shoulder. Rocketing through pavement and skylines, to grasp victory, to grasp the future.

    Seeing it disappear now, like the flotsam of a murky ocean.

    Was it any surprise, that he took the hand that was offered him without thinking too much about it?

    Current Personality
    There's an edge to Haru now, a glare that flickers and flashes, but doesn't remain too long. He holds himself with an aggressive confidence, the same confidence that inspires his new look. Gone is the handsome, model athlete, and in its place, is a crossdresser with a punk attitude. Perhaps he's still stuck in that fistfight at the Culture Festival. Perhaps it's just comfortable for him, being able to so aggressively challenge anyone and everyone, just by dressing as he does. He feels it, the impending weight of his future, a future stuck in Kusatsu, a future his grandparents and parents have both tried to face and failed to surpass.

    He feels the future. He'll face the future.

    He'll fight the future.

    Club: Formerly in the Stride Club.

    Likes:
    Stride - It's still his passion now, even if there's no one left for him to relay with.
    Crossdressing - It makes a statement, and there's so many other options for clothes to mix-and-match with.
    Salted Watermelon - The best snack to enjoy the end of summer with.
    Rock Music - Great to vibe with. Greater to go to concerts with.

    Dislikes:
    Perverts - He doesn't understand them. He especially doesn't understand what a 'man's romance' is.
    Rainy Days - It makes all outdoor surfaces too slippery to do any proper tricks on. And Japan has too many of those rainy days.
    Video Games - Just go touch grass. It's about four times as engaging.
    Team Sports - He would still be fine, if he had devoted himself to a single-person sport.

    Hobbies:
    Urban Exploration - What's the use of practicing Stride, if you didn't maximize the environments you could do it in?
    Live Shows - Something he really got into during the summer. Changed his entire aesthetic.
    Cooking Rice - A satisfying, meditative activity, especially when you don't use a rice cooker to do so.

    Dreams/Life Goals:
    Leave Kusatsu and live an exciting life in the big city.
    Place first in the Prince of Stride National Tournament in Japan.

    Values:
    Integrity. What was the value of your words if you did not realize them in reality?
    Proactivity. Why do you desire something, if you would not take the steps to obtain it?
    Self-Expression. Why live in this world, if you could not show yourself to the world?
    Purity. How could you achieve your best form, without removing every unnecessary distraction?

    Most Embarrassing Moment
    Haru, back in elementary school, made a shot for the goal during a match of soccer. The ball richocheted off one post, then another post, and then finally flew right back into his face, drawing a trajectory akin to a perfect triangle. It definitely wasn't his only reason for quitting the game, but he did feel like kicking a ball was a pretty stupid sport.

    Insecurities
    Haru has no idea how relationships even work, but refuses to accept any advice from others as well.

    Having devoted his youth to sports, only to watch it combust as he realized he really fucking hated who his teammates had become, Haru's now just known as the 'athletic guy with bad grades'. At this rate, he's unlikely to get into anything other than a community college.

    Being burned once already, he's unwilling to truly pursue any other interest, as all his interests ultimately involve other people. And he can't trust other people to not fuck up.

    Character Shipping Preferences

    How do you want your character to be shipped?
    Through Vote Shipping

    Who do you wish to be shipped with?
    Girls

    When Ship Voting Occurs, Which Round of Ship Rolling do you want to paricipate in first?
    Boys X Girls Pairing Only

    Opinions of Other Students
    Mizunohara Sagawa – Yeah. I don’t get Saga…wa. Should call her out for ramen some time. Or force it on her. Pretty sure I can outrun her, even if I wore heels.

    Misoto Ruger – A definitively good person, I guess. I’m happy he was able to turn it around. …what? You expecting some grievance outta me here? Fine. Dude needs to cut down on the soda. There.



    Fukumoto Atsuko – Her final sprint was during the Sports Festival was good. And her speech was something too. I mean, what else is there to say? Doesn’t look like it, but she’s got guts.

    Yukimura Shin – Hm…nope. Nope fucking nope. Can’t like that guy after all. Guess I’m still a petty motherfucker on the inside, huh? Fuck. …FUCK.



    Akiyama Akiko – Hardly know her. Bookish type and everything, yeah? Yeah. Maybe she was one of the ones that helped me study, but eh. Really, just gotta say one thing. If she was going to shove that reporter dude, she may as well have gone for a kick to the balls instead.

    Higuchi Haruki – Yeah, I’ll be the asshole. School would’ve been at least 7 times better if it was Natsuki, rather than Haruki, who was still kicking. Basically just a fact, don’tcha think? Wouldn’t have prevented my own shithouse from burning, of course, but the rest could’ve been smoother sailing.



    Ishioka Sami – Oh, the one that threw up after getting the win during the relay race? Yeah, that happens. Didn’t take her for the type to be in the Gender Relations Club though, but hey. Guess it worked out for her, if a wallflower would end up putting herself out in public like that.

    Kamirosu Ryousei – Dude’s fucking weird. Like, wew, look out, total badass alert, being the top student in, what, a countryside school in the middle of fucking nowhere? Well, whatever. He got his reality check, I guess. Gods favor the undeserving, after all.



    Ayashii Okane - Well, what can be said, other than the fact that I can respect the hustle? That’s all I can respect her for though. The rest, well…fucking hell. Can’t trust a grifter, can I? She’s probably the source of those changing room pictures that were going around for a while.

    Fohai Toru – Real low-profile guy, that one. That punch was good though. The kick? Also good; should’ve gone for the ball. What can I say? People like that don’t deserve descendants and erections.



    Benri Yukiko – Okane’s a grifter, but, I mean, she’s easy enough to understand. Yukiko though? Ever since that rumor got out about who exactly her father was…and then other rumors started spreading…even if she’s trying to change, she clearly isn’t trying enough.

    Hirokumi Takao – Hanh? He said that about me? Christ, I don’t hate the spotlight. I just hate associating with him. And even that’s nothing personal, really. Dude’s just…ugh. The glow-up is unreal. How did he even get to where he is now?



    Minamoto Yuriko – There was a point where we could’ve been allies. Maybe even friends? But lol. Lmao. Fuck her and her power-obsessed bullshit. There are ‘laws’ and there are ‘rules’. Yuriko better learn how to distinguish between those real fucking fast.

    Minamoto Daisuke – Rough life. Imagine coming from a whole ass ancient kenjutsu family and everything, but still getting trumped by Shin. Well, got nothing against the dude all too much. Not being a fucking pervert already puts him in the top ten percentile to me. Doesn’t mean I’ve any reason to get along though.



    Naro Cinabu – Sometimes, I look at Cinabu and wonder. Then, I remember again, that we’re dealing with two different problems. Still fucked up though. Motherfucker seriously went and killed someone. Absolutely surreal.

    Quackenbush Reginald – What the duck?



    Ruruwu Uwuru – Tak grew out of it, it feels like, but Uwuru…yeah, I dunno. It’s cool that she’s so committed to her bit, but I mean. What the fuck? I don’t have the energy to understand what the hell’s going on in her mind.



    Namino Sango – Sango, Sango…well, she existed, certainly. At least, throughout that whole fucking thing with possible closures and peepholes and co-ed bullshit and my club, I sorta recognized that she existed. Guess it was only after all that, that we got to know each other some. Music tastes don’t match, but the venues we visit turned out to be the same, and yeah. That was that.

    Nakamura Shirou – Should’ve poached him for Stride. Did try to poach him for Stride. But basketball’s the more easily recognizable one, isn’t it? And I guess if one bad fall was enough to fuck up his foot, it was for the better anyhow. Still, Shirou’s a good one. Ah, but he can go fuck himself. I don’t need his disappointment or pity.
 
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  • chiriko-Tsurumi-anohana.jpg

    Female | orange #D14841

    Basic Information

    'Communication' Monologue

    "Communication... It's a delicate dance, isn't it? A tapestry woven with words, unspoken emotions, and hidden desires. In my current life, it feels like I'm caught in a whirlwind of conflicting expectations and concealed truths. And yet, amidst this chaos, I search for my own voice, my own identity.

    From a young age, I was taught the power of communication. But it's not just the words we speak; it's the way we carry ourselves, the fierce glances, and the weight of silence. Idleness was deemed the worst crime, so I honed my skills, wielding language like a blade, with physical intimidation if necessary, but preferably with a sharp tongue that cuts through the facade.

    But there is an irony in my communication, a contradiction I can no longer ignore. Though I command authority, there lies an incoherence between what I project and what I feel within. The mask I wear, the coldness and harshness, conceal the vulnerable fragments of my true self.”

    Minamoto, Yuriko

    Faceclaim: Tsuruko - Anohana

    Speech Color: orange #FBA026
    Gender: Female

    Age: 16

    Date of Birth: January, 23rd

    Blood Type: AB

    Height: 168 cm

    Weight: 58 kg

    Character Voice: Nazuka, Kaori


    Character Theme: Kingyo Hanabi






    Character Background and Personality

    Love means nothing, therefore Love Means Anything Monologue

    Love Means Nothing. It's a phrase I've come to understand all too well. In this world of contradictions, where love can bring joy and pain in equal measure, I've learned that it holds no guarantees, no promises of happiness. It's a fragile concept, easily shattered by the harsh realities of life.

    In my pursuit of love, I have faced rejection, heartache, and disappointment. I have learned that love does not always conquer all, that it cannot always bridge the gaps between people or heal the wounds of the past. Love is not a cure-all, nor is it a guarantee of happiness.

    So, as I stand here, my heart heavy with the weight of my experiences, I come to a new understanding. Love Means Nothing. It is not the end-all, be-all of our existence. It does not define us or determine our worth. Love Means Nothing. Therefore, Love Means Anything.

    Personality (At Start)

    Yuriko is an intense individual whose strong work ethic and impressive skills make her a force to be reckoned with. Her aristocratic manners barely conceal a tendency towards harshness, revealing her no-nonsense approach to life. While she is a practitioner of martial arts, she rarely resorts to physical intimidation, instead preferring the power of her words or even just a fierce glance to assert herself.

    Yuriko feels immense pressure to meet the lofty expectations set by her parents and family. As a result, she maintains a strict and proper demeanor, often appearing cold and harsh to outsiders. Her strictness is also fueled by recent setbacks in her life. Having had to step back from the competitive kendo circuit due to health issues and feeling overshadowed by the Gender Relations Club in her work on the Ethics committee, she harbors resentment, projecting her frustrations onto others. At times, she can be manipulative and cruel, even though deep down she knows it goes against her better judgment.

    Beneath her rigid exterior, Yuriko conceals secret indulgences and vulnerabilities. She has developed a fondness for cigarettes, managing to keep this habit hidden from those around her. However, her most troubling secret is her awkward blush whenever she encounters a pretty girl. Despite her efforts to project an image of perfection, Yuriko grapples with her own personal desires and struggles with her hidden attractions.

    Pre-Story Background

    Yuriko was born into the prestigious Minamoto family, a lineage deeply rooted in the practice of martial arts that dates back to the Sengoku period. During that time, the Minamoto family served as landlords in the region and since then they still held significant political influence in the region. Yuriko's great-great-grandmother was even one of the founders of Saint Kisai, further solidifying their prominence.

    Growing up as a member of such a notorious family, Yuriko was subjected to a strict education and faced high expectations from her parents and relatives. She excelled in her studies, earning a reputation as an excellent student. Her intelligence and leadership qualities led to her appointment as the former president of the Ethics Committee (EC) at her school, where she wielded authority and was relatively popular among the girls who appreciated a female role model. In that position she worked closely with Nozomi, the student council president, and had to deal many times with rebellious students like Sasagawa.

    However, Yuriko's position also made her a target of mockery and criticism from other students. She faced constant ridicule from her female schoolmates, who nicknamed her the "megane witch" or "elementary school student" due to her conservative dressing style. Many students resented her for attempting to dictate their behavior and disliked being told how to act.

    Yuriko’s family has practiced kenjutsu during years and although Yuriko is by far more skilled than the average person, she’s also by far overshadowed by other talented members of her family, in part because of her asthma, this frustration and sense of her own mediocrity motivated her to seek recognition in other areas. This drive led her to take on the role of the EC president, where she maintained discipline and attempted to keep misbehaving students in line. The act of disciplining others also served as an outlet for her own frustrations.

    Outside of her school activities, Yuriko has been aware for quite some time that she is not the biological daughter of her parents. Instead, she was the result of an affair her father had with another woman. Following her birth, she was legally adopted by her "parents." A couple of years ago, her biological mother relocated to Kusatsu, where she now owns a small business. Yuriko and her biological mother shares a strong resemblance, but are strikingly different in personality and tastes.

    Common Route Story Background
    First semester:

    1) - Yuzu Municipal and the Merged Schools
    Yuriko hit the student council desk with both of her fists when she heard about the merge, she was the president of the Ethics Committee, part of the student committee and worked closely with Yuri Nozomi, the president of the student council. Just like Nozomi, Yuriko was against the merge and vehemently enforced the strict limitations on the boys' side of the school established by Nozomi, but if boys’ refusal can lead to Nozomi crying, boys’ refusal -and sometimes less than that- might end in a furious staring or even a physical intimidation from Yuriko to force them to comply.

    2) - The Gender Relations Club and the Tri-City Sports Festival

    Yuriko opposed the formation of the Gender relations club because she believed in maintaining gender apartheid by force, but in the student council she was overwhelmingly defeated. Even worse, the EC wasn’t able to prevent the peeping and ransacks incidents which led to several complaints and questioning the work of Yuriko and the EC. When the GRC smoothed the relations between the students, Yuriko thanked them, but being them and not the EC who solved the situation was humiliating for someone so proud as herself. Not to mention that ending second in the female kendo competition in the Tri-City Sports Festival with most of the attention going to the successful male athletes hurt her ego.

    3) - An important election. Keep the school or get out of town?

    The Minamoto family, who is very important in politics, was against the corrupt politician, but had decided not to act directly against him immediately (probably they suspected he was a pawn in a bigger scheme). Yuriko has been taught about obeying faithfully such decisions, even if she disagreed. However, because of her loyalty to Saint Kisai Yuriko supported the GRC proposal of keeping the school open until everyone graduates and later, with the help of Daisuke, anonymously passed a few tips to them that helped to fight that politician.

    Second Semester : Schools, Scores, and Saving the School

    4) - Misinformation and the Curse of Yuzu High

    Yuriko felt the misinformation about the supposed promiscuity of Yuzu’s students as a personal attack precisely because she was EC’s president, which was created to prevent that kind of misbehavior. Besides, her grandfather found out that someone had tipped information about the corrupt politician, he didn't catch Yuriko, but did catch Daisuke's involvement in the issue. Yuriko felt remorse after having broken the loyalty she owned to her family and put Daisuke into troubles. Therefore, though she wanted to spend some days in the relaxing hot springs, out of solidarity with Daisuke, Yuriko decided not going to the hot springs trip. Unfortunately, many students thought she was simply too apathetic or posh to join them in the trip.

    5) - The Yuzu High Culture Festival (and Maid Cafe Tournament)

    Yuriko helped the students fighting the fire that threatened to devour the newly founded Yuzu High with fire extinguisher on hand she bravely fought the fire, even ending with some burnts while trying to save the picture of the founders of Saint Kisai. However, when she saw several classrooms burnt down she made a superb effort to not explode in anger while a sense of failure and uselessness was about to engulf her just like a wildfire. When the Host/maid cafe event was proposed to save the school she opposed, for someone as conservative as her such an event was out of place, but again she was defeated in the student council. All these and her strained relation with Nozomi (who came to accept the boys and girls in the merged school) led her to renounce as president of the EC and, therefore, renounced her seat in the student council. For her it was a matter of principles, but many thought Yuriko was simply unsupportive and envious of GRC success.

    6) - End of Year Exams and the 'American(?) Style' Dance

    During the race to improve the grading of the merged school students, Yuriko (who was a straight-A student) joined several study sessions and many received her help, though it was difficult to deal with her lack of patience, besides reputation made many to avoid her, probably, her most important contribution was to put the lazy delinquents of the school -female and male- to study. The year was about to finish and she found a letter in her locker inviting her to the dance. She thought about going, but she felt insecure about going. Would she look good with make-up? Would she be able to dance without looking silly? Would it be an actual invitation or just a cruel joke? She convinced herself the best thing to do was writing a respectful apology and rejecting the invitation.

    Personality (At End)

    After going through the series of events and challenges, Yuriko's personality has undergone a subtle but noticeable change. However, this change has not necessarily resulted in a more optimistic outlook. Instead, the events have left a mark on her character, deepening some of her negative traits and amplifying her internal conflicts. The merger of the schools and the rise of the Gender Relations Club have only fueled Yuriko's resentment and bitterness. The incidents involving the misinformation and the fire at the school have only added to Yuriko's sense of failure and frustration. She sees these events as personal attacks on her authority and competency as the president of the Ethics Committee.

    Yuriko's strained relationship with Nozomi and the Student Council has also contributed to her growing isolation and distrust. She views their successes and collaborative approaches as a betrayal of her own values and authority. This unwavering attachment to traditional values has hardened her demeanor and intensified her harshness towards those who challenge her worldview. While she may have evolved in some aspects, her transformation has led her down a path of increasing negativity and a reluctance to embrace change or even fearing to think in changing herself, even if it might lead to finding genuine happiness.

    Club: Student Council (formerly), Ethics Committee president (formerly), Ethics Committee member (currently)

    Likes:

    • Exercising Power: Yuriko enjoys exercising her power within the EC or Student Council, relishing in the authority she holds and the opportunity to command and lead others. She finds satisfaction in the sense of control and the ability to influence decisions and outcomes.
    • Commanding and Yelling: Yuriko takes pleasure in commanding and yelling at people, finding it cathartic and empowering. It allows her to release her frustrations and assert her authority, even though she may struggle with the consequences of this behavior.
    • Recognition: Yuriko feels her schoolmates doesn't realise the important task of the EC and herself, since she took the presidency of the EC, very few bullies dared to harass younger students or took their lunch money (needless to say it's a question of ego as well).
    • Drawing Fanart: Yuriko has a creative side that she expresses through her passion for drawing fanart. In her spare time, she immerses herself in the world of her favorite anime, manga, or video games, bringing beloved characters to life on paper. Through her artwork, she finds an outlet for self-expression, allowing her to unleash her imagination and showcase her admiration for the stories and characters that captivate her.
    • Taking Long Hot Baths: Yuriko finds solace and rejuvenation in indulging herself with long, hot baths. After a long day of training or dealing with the pressures of her responsibilities, she looks forward to immersing herself in a steaming bath filled with scented oils and bath salts or going to a hot spring during weekends. The warm water eases her muscles and allows her to unwind both physically and mentally. It's a personal ritual that helps her find moments of tranquility and self-care amidst her demanding lifestyle.
    • Smoking: In a rather contradictory fashion, Yuriko has developed a secret habit of smoking. It's an indulgence she keeps hidden from most people, using it as a means of relaxation and escape from the pressures of her demanding life. Despite being aware of the health risks, she finds a certain allure in the ritualistic act of lighting a cigarette, savoring the moments of solitude it provides.
    • Swimming: Yuriko loved swimming since she was little, she felt swimming or diving gave her a sense of freedom she didn't experience in other activities. In her first year in middle school she briefly joined the swimming club before having to ditch it to focus on her studies and in the EC activities (not to mention she didn't like to wear swimsuit in public).
    Dislikes:

    • Laziness: Yuriko has little tolerance for laziness or idleness. She believes strongly in the importance of hard work and dedication, and she finds it frustrating when she perceives others as not putting in sufficient effort or wasting their potential.
    • Nonconformity: Yuriko has a deep-rooted preference for conformity and adherence to societal norms. She dislikes individuals who deviate from the expected standards or challenge traditional beliefs. This inflexibility can hinder her ability to appreciate different perspectives and limit her openness to new ideas.
    • Intolerance of Mistakes: Yuriko has little tolerance for mistakes, both in herself and in others. She expects perfection and can be overly critical when things don't go according to plan. This intolerance can create a high-pressure environment and hinder her ability to learn from failures or allow others to grow from their own mistakes.
    • Harsh Judgment: Yuriko has a tendency to pass harsh judgments on others based on her own strict standards. She may be quick to label or dismiss individuals who don't meet her expectations, overlooking their unique circumstances or struggles. This judgmental nature can create barriers to empathy and understanding.
    • People Expressing Love: Yuriko harbors a deep-seated dislike for witnessing displays of affection and love between others. It stems from her own envy and longing for a meaningful romantic relationship or deeper emotional connections. Seeing others in loving relationships serves as a painful reminder of what she feels is lacking in her own life.
    • Frozen lakes and skating: She is not putting a foot on a frozen lake, not a chance to skate on it, not since she fall into one frozen lake when she was a kid.
    • H and X Phobic: the Minamoto clan have the tipycally Japanese traditional and conservative approach to gaijins and LGBT and Yuriko is no exception, perhaps, she adheres in order to hide her own insecurities.
    • Not my brother, not my couple: Daisuke and I? No, we are not siblings and we are certainly not a couple! We are just distant cousins. Just because you a boy and a girl eating, hanging out and going home together you shouldn't jump to that conclussion.

    Hobbies:

    • Reading romantic novels: Yuriko has a fondness for romantic novels, often immersing herself in stories filled with love, passion, and heartfelt emotions. Despite being part of the esteemed Minamoto family, Yuriko finds solace and inspiration in the pages of these books, where relationships defy societal expectations and love conquers all..
    • Gardening: Yuriko has a green thumb and finds tranquility in tending to her garden. She enjoys nurturing plants, cultivating beautiful flowers, and creating a serene outdoor space where she can escape from the pressures of daily life.
    • Baking: Yuriko's passion for baking allows her to indulge her creative side and bring joy to others through her delicious treats, offering a break from her disciplined lifestyle and a means of self-expression.
    • Cooking and Culinary Adventures: In addition to her love for baking, Yuriko enjoys exploring a wide range of culinary endeavors. She finds joy in experimenting with new recipes, trying different cuisines, and hosting gatherings where she can showcase her culinary skills.

    Dreams/Life Goals:

    • Leadership and Influence: Yuriko aspires to hold influential leadership positions, such as becoming the student council president or pursuing a career in politics. She desires to have a platform from which she can enact positive change, uphold her values, and shape the direction of her school, community, or even her country. This girl loves power.
    • Gaining Parental and Family Approval: Yuriko's life goal revolves around gaining the unconditional approval and acceptance of her parents and family, particularly, her mother. She seeks to prove herself worthy of their high expectations, demonstrating her capabilities and making them proud.
    • Becoming a Lawyer or Politician: Yuriko feels the weight of her family's expectations to pursue a career in law or politics, and she initially aligns her goals with their wishes. She dreams of becoming a successful lawyer or politician, upholding justice and fighting for the rights of others. She envisions herself making a significant impact on society through these avenues.
    • Establishing her Own Restaurant: Secretly, Yuriko nurtures a different dream - to open and run her own restaurant. She has a passion for culinary arts and delights in the idea of creating a space where she can combine her love for cooking with her desire to provide a welcoming environment for people to enjoy delicious food.

    Values:

    • Discipline: Yuriko places a high value on discipline and self-control. She believes in the importance of structure, order, and adhering to a strict code of conduct. Discipline helps her stay focused, achieve her goals, and maintain a sense of personal integrity.
    • Excellence: Yuriko strives for excellence in everything she does. She believes in giving her best effort and constantly pushing herself to improve. Whether it's in her martial arts training, academics, or any other endeavor, she values the pursuit of mastery and sets high standards for herself.
    • Honor: Yuriko upholds the value of honor and integrity. She believes in acting with honesty, loyalty, and a strong sense of ethics. She holds herself accountable for her actions and expects the same from others. Upholding honor is deeply rooted in her family's traditions and her own personal values.
    • Respect: Yuriko values respect for others, authority, and traditions. She believes in treating others with dignity and expects the same in return. Respect for elders, mentors, and the values of her family and culture are of utmost importance to her.
    • Perseverance: Yuriko embodies the value of perseverance. She understands that achieving success and overcoming challenges requires resilience and persistence. She is determined and doesn't easily give up, even in the face of obstacles or setbacks. Perseverance allows her to continue striving for her goals despite difficulties.
    • Justice: Yuriko has a strong sense of justice and fairness. She believes in equality, standing up for what is right, and fighting against injustice. She strives to create a sense of balance and fairness in her own actions and seeks to make a positive impact in her immediate environment.

    Most Embarrassing Moment

    There is a silly rumor about Yuriko. A few years ago, when Yuriko was in middle school, she received a love letter from a senpai. He was popular with girls and she had a crush on him and they met under the cherry tree of Kusatsu park where it was told that if a couple confess true love they'll be together forever. She confessed her feelings babbling a cheesy speech, but the boy started to laugh at her, then other 2 boys came from behind the tree laughing as well. “She fell for it”, they said. Some people said Yuriko left covering her face in tears and others that she remained stoic as ever and left the place. Needless to say Yuriko has consistently denied that rumour.

    Insecurities

    • L word?!: Yuriko is proud about her self-control and that, unlike many girls of her age, she’s not thinking in boys all time, but she’s also aware she turns her head when a pretty woman passes by her side, she blushes when a female teacher compliments her by her grades. She wonders why it happens because it makes her feel nervous and ashamed. Homosexuality? Of course not, a good girl like her couldn’t experience such deviation, could she?
    • What am I doing wrong?: Yuriko’s family has set high expectations for her, but, despite her efforts, she seemed unable to make things work. She has proven unsuccessful in kendo and, more recently, unsuccessful in the EC and lost much of her grandfather’s confidence. She feels she is unable to fulfill the expectations of her family and that frustrates, that she will disappoint her parents at some point, that she will lose the approval of her family. Is this just the beginning of a slow descent into mediocrity?
    • Little secrets: Yuriko pretends to portray an aura of perfection, the daughter of a high-class family, straight-A student, trained in kenjutsu and until recently EC president, but Yuriko is far from perfection, all that stress led her to develop a habit of smoking. Needless to say that her family and the school disapproves of smoking at such a young age, if she’s caught with cigarettes she could be easily suspended from school. Yuriko is very careful with those little secrets, she never smokes indoors, she always takes a shower and changes clothes after smoking, but how long can she hide it from others?
    • My two moms: Yuriko always noticed her mother was a little colder to her in comparison than her siblings, she always taught that as the elder daughter she simply was more strict to her, but when she found she was adopted she thought her mother disliked her because she was a reminder of her husband’s infidelity. She always worked hard to please her mother and fulfill her expectations. Then she met her biological mom. She is a pretty woman with a carefree, warm and kind personality, she even has a strong resemblance with Yuriko herself. Yuriko should like a person like that, but she doesn’t, she feels uncomfortable as she is not sure how to feel about these two women, about her two moms.
    • Her physical appearance: as many girls of her age, Yuriko has concerns about her body, when she looks herself in the mirror she thinks her slim body, her relatively flat chest and the few scars that her kenjutsu training left in her skin makes her unattractive. Besides, years of cruel nicknames related to her physical appearance have reinforced her doubts.

    Character Shipping Preferences


    This section is used to determine your preferences in who your character gets shipped with.

    How do you want your character to be shipped?
    • Ship Voting
    If you will go through Ship Voting, please answer the following:

    Who do you wish to be shipped with?
    • Boys + Girls
    When Ship Voting Occurs, Which Round of Ship Rolling do you want to participate in first?
    Note that ship voting will pair Boy X Girl Pairs, and then Same Sex Pairs with whomever is left
    • Boys/Girls Pairings then Same Sex Pairings if Not Yet Paired

    Opinions of Other Students:

    Mizunohara, Sagawa: A petite rulebreaker and practically our in-house petty criminal. She should behave as expected of the guest of the Amane family. Everytime I confiscate a whoopie cushion I think: 'Sagaaawa!!!'
    Misoto, Ruger: The thot-slayer. He proves that keeping our schools separated would have been better for everyone. He's lucky the Gender Relations Club handled his sanction after making a girl cry ... if I caught him first he would have learnt the true meaning of making someone crying.
    Fukumoto, Atsuko: An ill-spoken gaijin. Though her sailor's mouth she seems quite harmless. If I had gone to the school trip the hot springs incident would never have happened, I will adhere to my duties more, much more, diligently from now on.
    Yukimura, Shin: He is the boy living and training in the Nishimura Shrine. I always respect a driven person. I appreciate his efforts to convince people to keep the school open, but I don't like the little fight club he organized to do so.
    Akiyama, Akiko: A reserved girl who invest her time in studying (at least, I think she's studying because she's always reading). I wish more students could be like her.
    Higuchi, Haruki: The Tenijiro Municipal's treasurer. Mild-mannered and good with the numbers, he seems to be proficient in his role in the student council, but something more of thoughness would suit him. I don't mind his taste for action figures, as long as he pays it with his own money, because you know ... treasurers.
    Ayashi, Okane: young entrepeneurship of the school, I encourage such endeavours, but I will not consent flea markets in the school area. You are warned.
    Fuhai, Toru: a gentle giant, I thought someone who cares of those beautiful flowers can't be a bad person, then he punched someone during the culture festival. It's always the quiet ones.
    Benri, Yukiko: A white-collared criminal? Through years I've found a few mischievous incidents always point in the same direction. Anyway, I don't mind people playing to politician (the student council does it all time) and I enjoy having a smart opponent.
    Hirokumi, Tak: Chūnibyō. I can't believe Tenijiro Municipal was so permissive with clothing regulation. Cosplay? Crossdressing? Not on my watch!
    Sarachi, Haru: Confused boy. I knew nothing good would come out of the maid event, look, he used to be the proud star of the stride club, but now is a punk crossdresser. Yes, I'm sure I can show him the right path and no, I didn't think he looked cute dressed as a maid.
    Tokita, Yuuki: I don't neccessarily agree with her methods, but I do agree with her results, besides she has a charming smile.
    Naro, Cinabu: The flower in blossom of Saint Kisai. She has an optimism and an innocence so pure that deserves to be protected. Any pervert or bully who pretends to mess with her will have to pass over my cold dead body.
    Quackenbush, Reginard: Interdimensional gaijin? I like uniformity, so guess you can imagine about him, he has followed the rules so far and his puns have made me smile a couple of times, though.
    Ishioka, Sami: Thoughtful. A quiet girl. I have seen her through Kusatsu on her scooter a few times.
    Kamirosu, Ryousei: a jock? He seems a little too intense, perhaps he should calming down a little. I will keep an eye on him.
    Ruruwu, Uwuru: That girl seems to be full of energy all time, but she doesn't seem to be a bad person, just a little itching.



Favorite color: red
 
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  • Basic Information

    "Have you ever just watched people pass by on the street and wondered what kinds of things are inside their heads? They’re like treasure chests full of thoughts and dreams and wonderful imaginations! Well, I guess that makes a nice conversation the key, hehe~! Let’s all unlock each other’s hearts so we can become best of friends!"


    Naro, Cinabu

    IMG_3995.png
    Speech Color: #ffc0ce
    Gender: Female
    Age: 17

    Date of Birth: June 21
    Blood Type: O
    Height: 154 cm
    Weight: 43 kg

    Character Voice: Minami Takahashi
    Character Theme: Argeers
    Character Background and Personality

    Love means nothing, therefore Love Means Anything Monologue
    "Love Means Nothing but what you make it out to be! For some people, they expect it to be hard, and painful. I think that’s super sad. Love should be a wonderful adventure to find your special someone. Don’t worry about it and follow where you heart leads~! Just put on a smile and enjoy it, because love means nothing, therefore love means anything."


    Personality (At Start)
    Cinabu was incredibly optimistic, kindhearted and innocent. She always assumed the best in people and would trust them to the point of walking off a cliff after a friendly face told it was safe.


    Pre-Story Background
    Cinabu’s past is thoroughly unremarkable. She lived with a stable family, in a small community of kindhearted people who may as well have been like a secondary family. Her family lived in near-poverty until just recently, so she lacked easy access to the internet, further sheltering Cinabu from the cynicism, drama, and general negativity that could be found there.


    Common Route Story Background
    Cinabu had established herself at the all-girl’s school as a wellspring of innocence and optimism that needed to be protected at all costs. There were a couple who despised her for this, one for jealousy and another wishing to teach her harsh lessons of life. However, in general, the girls had rallied around the ideal of protecting her innocent spirit from all things crude, dark, sad, hateful, etc…

    Unsurprisingly, as the two schools merge, their protective behavior flings into overdrive. Cinabu becomes one of the most divisive figures in the entire school almost overnight, simply by existing. Her friends suddenly begin diverting her down a new hallway to avoid boys making crude jokes, or cutting into her conversations by asking for help elsewhere. Completely unaware of the reality of the situation, Cinabu quickly becomes a living symbol of feminine innocence, used to justify why the schools never should have been merged in the first place.

    The sports festival offers a first look into how deep Cinabu’s naivety is. She’s one of the first to find the unfortunately placed "peep holes," briefly peering through and immediately stepping back as she realizes what she’s doing. While the girls around her express a brief outrage, Cinabu insists they must be residual holes from construction work, and that the boys would never use them for respect of their privacy. She plans to apologize to the boys for her accidental peeking, but drops the idea after she’s strongly warned against it.

    Without hesitation, Cinabu is quick to vote to remain at Yuzu High when the choice is presented to her. However, once the vote passes, she begins to notice the strange behavior of her friends after she shares her intention to offer the resigned politician a gift basket. Despite their insistence, Cinabu visits his house. Rather than showing thanks, he glares down at her, rejects the gift by smacking it out of her hands, and releases a barrage of pent up frustration suppressed during his political career, deriding her for 5 straight minutes. She apologizes several times throughout, but he ends the encounter by slamming the door in her face.

    From that point on, Cinabu appears more conscious of her friends’ overprotective behavior. During the hot springs trip, she decides to use it as an opportunity to ask why everyone is shielding her from things. While most of the answers are an honest admission to wanting to protect her innocent spirit, the two girls who opposed this seize the opporunity to express their grievances with her: calling out her "fake" and "naïve" and "stupid" behavior.

    Cinabu defends her trusting and optimistic position, declaring that there’s good in everyone and insisting that they just need to give people a chance. The argument heats up, leaving several of the girls shocked as Cinabu grows more aggressive in her stance than they’d ever seen her before. Eventually, she stands up and leaves the bath early, declaring that she intends to prove their view of people wrong.

    From this point on, Cinabu spends a great deal of time researching and asking around about the mysterious politician from before. She learns his name, more details about his occupation, his favorite foods, and favored hobbies. Armed with this knowledge, she makes a couple more attempts over the coming months to arrive at his door and befriend him. Each time, he slams the door in her face with rising impatience and disgust. At school, Cinabu’s frustration shows plainly on her face, earning a few taunts from the girls from the bath and causing her to angrily double down in her resolve.

    As the cultural festival arrives, Cinabu’s cheerful personality and expressive charisma are well-received when she participates as a maid. The event is going wonderfully, but halfway through, she heads out to the politician’s house, still dressed in the maid uniform, hoping to invite him to the festivities. Worried about her, a few classmates, including the two skeptical girls, follow her and hide themselves as she knocks on his door. The disgraced politician rips it open, staring daggers at her in outrage. A tense moment passes before Cinabu puts on her usual act and invites him to visit the cafe.

    The man snaps, grabbing Cinabu by the wrist and yanking her inside. He begins to shout a long monologue about how Cinabu and her school ruined his life. Now he was going to put an end to her "incessant mockery." Cinabu continues to argue back, telling him he’s welcome to turn over a new leaf, up to the point he drags her to the kitchen and he whips a large knife from the cabinet. Despite her shock, she manages to bite his hand to free herself and retreat into a small restroom, locking the door. Her screams alert the students who’d followed her to chase after her. They burst through the front door, attempting to calm the crazed man. After he continues trying to bash down the door, they confront him physically.

    In the struggle, he ends up stabbing the knife through the heart of one of girls, before the others finally manage to subdue him. The police arrive shortly after to arrest him, while Cinabu has a panic attack in the restroom. Once finally coaxed out, Cinabu learns about the death of her classmate and breaks down into tears, feeling personally responsible.

    For the remainder of the exam crunch, Cinabu is no help at all, having been turned into an emotionally-wrecked vegetable. After a time, the last remaining girl who’d challenged her in the bath approaches to console her. Cinabu admits she were right and that people shouldn’t be trusted, while the girl admits she was partially right in seeing the good in people, given how her friend had sacrificed her life to save her. The talk slowly brings her back to reality, helping her to focus enough squeeze in a decent grade.


    Personality (At End)
    Cinabu is still cheerful, and optimistic, but a little less air-headed. She’s still quick to trust, but knows when to start questioning others’ motivations.


    Club
    Music Club


    Likes:
    • People — Cinabu is very much a people person and will strike a conversation with anyone, even if they’re simply passing on the street.
    • Chocolate — Mm, chocolate~
    • Flowers — The most colorful, the better!
    • Emojis — 💕 😊 💕

    Dislikes:
    • Large Knives — Bad memories, bad memories…
    • Bickering — Arguments are great; loud, shouty ones are not.
    • Social Media — Why is everyone always so mean there…?
    • Meat — Cinabu isn’t vegetarian for health reasons, she just really doesn’t like the feel of meat.

    Hobbies:
    • Camping — Spending time out in the woods (especially when toasted marshmallows are involved).
    • Karaoke — Fun with friends, fun in the shower, fun literally anywhere. She’s become an excellent singer.
    • Watching Obscure Game Shows — Welcome to Ultimate Quizzard; I’m your host, Quincy, the Quizzard Wizard~!
    • Gardening — She keeps a small garden of mostly assorted flowers nice and neat.

    Dreams/Life Goals:
    • Become hostess of a game show — Cinabu loves watching these, and figures it’d be just as fun, if not better, to be a hostess. She certainly has the enthusiasm for it, if nothing else.
    • Find love — Perhaps she already has! Cinabu has always told herself that love should be a heart thing and not a mind thing: go with your gut! But now that’s she’s older, she’s finding herself asking those pesky questions she never wanted to be asking, like "is he right for me…"

    Values:
    • Kind — Is my partner kind to me and to others? I don’t want to be with someone mean.
    • Patient — Is my partner patient and slow to anger when I mess up? Can I trust him not to be reckless?
    • Good listener — Will my partner be willing to listen to my troubles? I don’t want to be with someone who never has time for me and cares nothing for my thoughts.
    • Romantic — Will my partner sweep me off my feet and make each moment together feel special? I don’t want to date a brick.

    Most Embarrassing Moment
    She regards getting her classmate killed via her optimism as the most embarrassing moment in her life. In lighter terms, she once passionately sang the theme song to a really explicit anime during karaoke without realizing where it was from.


    Insecurities
    • Technologically Inept — Cinabu is not very familiar with technology, from a generation that’s all about it. She feels shame every time she has to ask about a basic function of her new phone.
    • Naive — Having been way too naive in the past, she now wrestles with the right mix of trust and suspicion, worrying she’s still too trusting of others.
    • Overly Reliant — After her classmates admitted to shielding her from drama, Cinabu worries she’s too sheltered from the world’s hardships, and has become overly reliant on the kindness of others.

    Character Shipping Preferences

    How do you want your character to be shipped?
    • Through Vote Shipping (or whatever…)

    Who do you wish to be shipped with?
    • Boys

    Opinions of Other Students

    Sagawa Mizunohara: "She's nice, but even better, I really appreciate having someone around even shorter than I am! She helps me feel like how I must make all the tall people feel like."
    Ruger Misoto: "He's pretty cute. I'd love to do a duet sometime. He could play guitar and I'd sing. It'd be fun!"

    Atsuko Fukumoto: "She like the nicest girl ever, but I sometimes wish she would give me some more space."
    Shun Yurimura: "He’s very intimidating, but I don’t think he’s mean. Maybe we could go camping together sometime."

    Akiko Akiyama: "Overly… nice? How can someone be too nice? Anyway, she’s kind of hard to talk to sometimes…"
    Haruki Higuchi: "He seems nice, but we don’t share a lot of interests…"

    Ayashii Okane: "Hello, my favorite merchant buddy! Do you have my favorite chocolates~?"
    Fohai Toru: "Woah, so tall! I feel way too short near him, but he’s super nice, so it’s okay."

    Yukiko Benri: "I usually say I like everyone, but… weeeellll… some people are harder than others, that’s all I’ll say."
    "Tak": "Oh oh oh! The Hero approaches from the, uhm… the Dark Leylines are… erm… Hi Tak!"

    Haru Sarachi: "Hm… he seems a little… detached? Maybe even lonely? I wonder if I should go talk to him."
    Yuuki Tokita: "Another camping buddy! She has a lot of spunk, which can make any time a good time!"

    Yuriko Minamoto: "She’s very responsible! Someone you can always rely on to keep her word and get things done! I really look up to her that way."
    Daisuke Minamoto: "He really feels like someone responsible you can count on. It’s very admirable!"

    Sami Ishioka: "Ishioka-chan’s a great listener! I sometimes think I’m talking too much, but she never seems to mind. It’s great to have her around."
    Ryousei Kamirosu: "Who? I’ve never even heard of him. Are you sure he goes to the same school?"

    Uwuru Ruruwu: "Uruw. Urururuw. Ururuwuw—blech! cough Ruru-chan’s a lot of fun! She might be taking the occult club thing a little far sometimes, but it does liven things up a lot!"

    Sango Namino: "I don’t like picking favorites, but she’s probably my best friend! Karaoke with her is like ten-times more fun!"
    Shirou Nakamura: "…and if he’d gone to St. Kisai too, he would probably be best friend number two!"

 
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  • “For something so essential to living in today’s society, communication seems to be one of the least yet simultaneously most cared about things these days. People spend so much time on social media and online messaging, but behave completely opposite in real life. It’s frustrating, really. Is it the guise of anonymity that gives them confidence to speak so confidently? No, their names are right beside their posts. Is it the simplicity of messaging over having to speak up in real life? I don’t know. Why is it that even when people speak, it feels just like that? A text, a sentence. Their voice might change in tone or speed, and yet it doesn’t feel real. Am I the problem? In reality, am I the only one that feels this way? Am I the one who can’t communicate? No, that doesn’t make sense.”

    Name: Ishioka, Samirei drip2.jpg
    Speech Color:Skyblue | 87CEEB
    Gender: Female
    Age: 17
    Date of Birth: 21st, September
    Blood Type: A+
    Height: 159 cm
    Weight: 52 kg
    Character Voice: Megumi Hayashibara
    (I’m leaning into the Rei faceclaim thing and the voice actor is actually so cool)

    Character Theme: Living With Determination -Iwatodai Station Arrange-


    Character Background and Personality
    ‘Love means nothing. It's a hollow word used to justify the urge that people have to be with something or someone, like a drunk to a bottle of beer. It’s a sugar coated way of saying they’re either addicted or have an interest in something, but telling someone that you’re addicted to them doesn’t sound very appealing most of the time, so they use love. As for interests, people think that by saying they love it, it’s giving them some extra form of credibility to how much they may enjoy it, unaware of how meaningless it is. The reality is, people only use love to describe their obsessions. “I love ramen”, “I love comedy movies”, it’s a word that has lost any depth that it may have once had. Still, my mind delves into the idea of what that would be like. I can understand what it’s like to be addicted to something, or even someone, but why call it love? It’s so fascinating. It makes me wonder what love once was, and what it truly meant and felt to say you loved someone in that time. I want to love and be loved, and when I declare it, it’ll feel timeless. Hmm, maybe that’s it. Maybe it feels so hollow when others say it because I have my own idea of what love is supposed to be. Maybe love feels different for other people than it does to me. After all, to some people love is pain, while to others it’s passion. Maybe love is like an open ended book, open to their own interpretation. Truthfully, love means nothing. Therefore, love means anything.’


    Personality (At Start)
    “Thoughtful” would be the most accurate word to represent Sami. At school, she’s viewed as the chill tomboyish girl that is well liked. Most day’s Sami is mildly talkative, being more of a listener than a talker in most conversations. She often finds herself daydreaming during classes, thinking about and pondering life’s mysteries, or coming to her own conclusions about them. Sami’s main struggle in life is her inability to feel any sort of connection or empathy for the people around her. Sure, she can hold a conversation with anyone, but at the end of the day none of it really means anything to her. Though, she acknowledges it and can only hope to one day be able to connect with people on a deeper level. Outside of school is when she is herself the most. Completely quiet and minding her own business, maybe sitting under a tree somewhere, practicing a skateboard trick outside, playing a computer game, or watching a show on her phone. She wears her wireless headphones a lot, as she finds music to be very expressive and almost personal in a sense. It’s the form of entertainment that most easily gets a reaction out of her, though she considers it to be cheating, as she finds it impossible to not tap her finger or bob her head to most music, like some sort of primal reaction. “An abuse of my human instinct” as she puts it.

    Pre-Story Background
    Sami was raised by her father, Matsuda Ishioka, and her mother, Haruhi Ishioka. Haruhi met Matsuda through her job as a firefighter in Tokyo, where Matsuda worked as a part timer at a McDonalds (or any other non brand fast food place) across the road of the station she was working at. Because of the proximity, Haruhi became a frequent customer, eventually getting to know Matsuda better. Matsuda was working 2 jobs at the time, and had the dream to one day open up his own ramen shop. Though, living in Tokyo was not exactly cheap, so in the meantime he was simply working to live, with very little earnings coming in. To Haruhi, she found him to be a charming and charismatic man, and thought his dreams were something to validate. Matsuda had fallen head over heels for her upon first meeting, finding her a bit intimidating upon first meeting but easily coming off as a kind and passionate person with a sense of humor that appreciates his. On the other hand, Haruhi’s feelings for Matsuda were a slow burn, eventually sparking into a fire as they got to know each other deeper, like their obsession with American entertainment. They were two very busy people, and that was a mutual understanding they both had. After 3 years of dating, they would then go on to get married. In that time, Matsuda had actually become a supervisor at a warehouse that he was working on when they met. With the union of checks and living expenses, the pair were already considered what most people would say is the optimal middle class newlyweds.

    A year later, the couple would soon find out they would become parents! With the prospect of a daughter coming soon, they both simultaneously agreed on the perfect name for their newest family member, Sami. With the birth of their healthy baby girl, it had seemed that the Ishioka family was one to be jealous of. Years would go by, and Sami would eventually become old enough to go to school. There, Sami would experience one of life’s first challenges. Though Sami was well dressed by her mother, and even had some of the same charisma her father had, it all seemed for nought. Maybe it was just fate, or the world trying to teach her something, or just the simple cruel reality that children are psychopaths. Either way, nobody liked Sami. Sami was ostracized almost immediately by most of the kids in her grade for reasons she couldn’t even begin to think of. At first, it was just because all the other kids had seemingly already formed into their own little groups, but it quickly turned into bullying. This would continue up until the second year of middle school, which by then she was what she is in her personal life now. Quiet, and kept to herself. Her nickname of “Samishi” was something that haunted her, because she felt it was true. Maybe it’s because she didn’t want her parents to worry, or maybe in her distorted view she thought she would disappoint them by talking about it, but she never brought this up to her parents. She would simply smile, crack a joke, and act like all was well. For the longest time, she would find herself staring at the mirror, and hyper analyzing herself. What was wrong with her, what did they see in her that was so terrible to them? It was a confusing pain that she wanted more than anything to solve. What kept her going was her passions at home, like practicing the saxophone, watching tv, and playing video games. By this time, Haruhi was closing in on a promotion to become a Fire Captain, and Matsuda had become a supervisor for the area of warehouses. Though, none of this would last for much longer.

    It was on a warm night in Tokyo, when the firefighters were called in for a fire at a tower near Shibuya crossing. Among the firefighters on the scene was Haruhi, who was among the first to climb the ladder and climb into the third floor of the tower. It was seemingly a restaurant that had an accident, and as they were trying to put out the fire on the third floor, the fire had spread to the fourth floor, another restaurant. There, the fire managed to make contact with a propane tank, causing an explosion that would launch Haruhi back. Fortunately, Haruhi lived with minimal burns thanks to all the safety equipment. However, one thing that had been lost was her sense of hearing. In explosion, she had taken very heavy auditory damage, and the odds of her recovering any hearing were extremely low. However, Haruhi was an extremely resilient woman. She had accepted the risks of the job upon applying, and she had no regrets. Safe to say, any chance of being fire captain were cut short in that moment. Due to how unsafe it would be for a deaf person to be a firefighter, she couldn’t be allowed to continue as a firefighter, but that didn’t mean there was no way to help. She could help work with maintenance, training, and my other things. The shame is, it couldn’t be here. Or at least it was a shame for Haruhi. Sami on the other hand, had felt a sense of hope she had never experienced at the idea. Matsuda, who loved Haruhi and Sami more than anything, actually had no problems quitting his job. He considered it to be far too stressful and had been wanting to quit soon anyway. Thanks to the economic freedom of having saved for so long, it was a decision they were able to make without much of a problem. So, with spirits of a new and hopefully strong beginning, the Ishioka family moved to Kusatsu, where Haruhi would be working for the fire station.

    Upon arriving, Matsuda had come to a shocking idea. Why not finally give his dream a shot? A small town like this would be great for a ramen place, using his city style to give a spin on the local food. Haruhi, who had always supported Matsuda’s dreams, was approving almost immediately. With this, the Ishioka family ramen shop was born. The only person not giving the new setting their all was Sami, who was struggling to communicate with her mother’s disability. The entire Ishioka family was now learning sign language in the evenings, with Haruhi herself having to take special classes. Obviously, Sami’s disconnect with her mother was putting some stress on her. Then, there’s the matter of the school. now going to be attending the all girls school in the area. Sami was fearful that this new school would be an equal experience to the one in Tokyo, even if at first she was hopeful at the idea of changing schools. On her first day at the new girls school, she immediately became a bit of a spectacle, being from Tokyo. She was a city girl, and it made everyone very curious about her. Though the girls were seemingly nice to her, to Sami it felt… fake. She found herself incapable of letting her guard down, being cold to most people. After the first couple of weeks or so, the fascination around her came to a stop, and people began to leave her alone. To Sami, this was INFINITELY better than what was going on in Tokyo. At the very least, getting bullied was a pressure she could take off her back, now focusing on learning sign language for her mother.

    Throughout the next 3 years, Sami would mainly focus on her grades, and learning how to play her instrument more and more. On her 16th Birthday, she was given a scooter as a gift from her parents, and after studying and passing an exam, was able to get a license to ride the scooter. With the success of the ramen shop, her father’s restaurant was becoming a hotspot for the nearby schools, so she found herself avoiding it as much as she could. Thankfully, her father was very adamant of the shop being completely independent and self ran, so she was never obligated to go. This was a bit of a “healing period” for her, as all her interactions were “neutral” to her, at least up until her second year in high school. It wasn’t until the end of the second year, when it was announced on the week of finals. The school would be shutting down, whether it was because of the failing test grades, low attendance, or whatever it may be. Sami was nervous by the news, as they would now be combining with the nearby all boys school. During the last few years, Sami’s contact with boys had been… minimal, to say the least. She had gotten comfortable being ignored, off on her own world. Still, it’s not like she could do anything about it.

    That summer, the Ishioka family went on a vacation to Tokyo, visiting both sides of the family and going on a trip to the beach. Sami, not knowing how to swim, spent all her time sitting on the beach. Her mother accompanies her, and they sit quietly for a while before her mother speaks up, saying “How’ve you been? I know I don’t spend much time at home these days, you’re usually in your room by the time I get back.” the question surprises her, to which she answers back in hand signs, saying “I’m fine”. However, it seems like her mother was not satisfied with that answer. After some light interrogating, Sami finally gives her a more honest answer, telling her about the school shutting down. This was something that Matsuda was already aware of, but didn’t have the time to mention yet at the time. To her surprise, Haruhi answers with “Well, do you want to move to Tokyo? You could come stay with your grandma… I know that living out in the sticks like we are is probably a lot worse than when you were here, with all the places to eat and have fun, and you’re a young girl, it’s natural you would want to be here.” Sami almost shook. This was the FARTHEST thing from what she wanted, and she quickly reassured her mother of her happiness being out in Kusatsu. Though, her mother’s words made her realize something. The last three years, she spent time all to herself, kind of just coasting along. It wasn’t a healthy way to be, and not something her parents would approve of. She had been comfortable being ignored, but realistically she has to do more. She decided to use this new merger as an opportunity to go to the next step.

    Once school started again, now merged with the boys school, it was surprising to many how drastically her attitude had changed. She was by no means outgoing, but she was trying. She actually talked to people, and seemingly had come out of her figurative shell. Some thought it was because of something that had happened at home, or maybe there was a guy she liked. Truthfully, Sami felt the same way she always did, but now was actively trying to fit in more as a student. This led to her also joining the music club, surprising the members with her knowledge of playing the saxophone, and interest in learning trumpet as well. However, like a backhand from the universe, the rumors soon started of this school potentially being shut down as well, and seemingly for the same reasons. It had seemed like the curse, or bad habits, as Sami thought, had followed them to this new school. Still, if this school closed, that meant that she would have to finish the rest of her third year in Tokyo. While it had been a long time since her time in Tokyo, it’s still an idea that gave her anxiety. She wouldn’t allow it, it was irrational how much she hated the idea of going back. She knew she could defend herself now and that it realistically couldn’t be like it was back then, but it was a fear rooted in her deepest consciousness. She would run away before going to school in Tokyo. However, these were just rumors, so she tried not to think about it too much. When the news of the Gender Relations Club came, Sami found herself to be one of the first, if not the first person to sign up to partake in it. This was her chance to fight for a more comfortable educational experience, and she would take it.

    Common Route Story Background
    The union of the boys school with the girls school was… hectic, to say the least. There were plenty of boys and girls who had gone their entire education at a separate gender school, and it was noticeable. Even Sami, who had already been in a mixed gender school before, found it a bit jarring, though for different reasons. She noticed how the intermingling of the students had provoked a new chaos that she hadn’t experienced first hand since back in Tokyo. At first, it gave Sami anxiety, as she feared that perhaps things would become like they did in Tokyo. However, with her new determination to become more integrated into the school’s “social network” as she puts it, she found herself making more “allies” than not. Of course, there were still plenty of other things to be traumatized by. With the boys now running around alongside the girls, wild rumors would begin to spread about this person with that person, the boys would begin to prank not just each other but the girls, and the girls would begin to band together to get revenge. It was a tension that she could not only feel rising, but one she felt torn between, as she did not really care for either side, she just wanted everyone to calm down. However, that would not seem to be happening any time soon. When the rumors of the school being shut down began spreading, Tokyo trauma aside, she couldn't help but think that it was this gender warfare that was a main problem. This led to her signing up for the Gender Relations Club, where she would meet what she would consider like minded people, who would make an effort to keep the school. Though perhaps not all of the people in the club seemed to be there willingly, it was definitely better than trying to unite the school alone like some sort of deity.

    Upon the creation of the Gender Relations Club, they are informed that one of their first tasks would be to make sure the Tri-City Sports Festival, which would be hosted in Kusatsu, went smoothly. Sami took it upon herself to survey students around the school grounds, particularly the athletes, on what could be improved. While a lot of it were things that were rather unrealistic, like “We should get personal masseuses to give us massages after practice” she did find some rather worrying “intel” from the girls. Sami was shown the wall of the girl’s changing room, where they claimed that they believed someone to be spying, or at the very least eavesdropping on them. Sami found herself thinking about how they could solve this issue. After all, it’s not like they could just pay for remodeling, that’s expensive. But after thinking it over with herself, found her solution. She started by clarifying that the holes didn’t seem to have been made intentionally, that there was a good chance that the room had just been built poorly and was falling apart. In her mind, this would at least alleviate the tensions of the accusations the girls were making. She had a male member ask the male athletes about it, and it seemed that they weren’t even aware of the holes. As for the holes themselves, the problem was temporarily solved by wrapping the wall with two layers of gift wrap, using money to buy a bunch from the dollar store. It seemed tacky to the girls, but in Sami’s eyes, the problem was solved.

    When the day of the event came around, Sami found herself volunteering to be the water girl for the events. As a result, in a lot of the pictures of the event, win or loss, you can see Sami in the background pouring water into cups, or handing them out. It was turning out to be a hot but entertaining day for Sami, at least until the races happened. During the final event, which would be the races, Sami was doing her typical thing, serving water. That is, until she ran out of cups. Sami, determined to succeed at her one job at this festival, ran off to retrieve another pack of plastic cups. Coincidentally, she came back at the exact time the race started, and dashed alongside the competitors to get to her table, located in front of the finish line. Turns out that between her slim physique, slightly above average height, and determination to do her job well, she made a good runner. What people saw that moment was the water girl somehow outrunning all of the competitors, leading to an eruption of cheering and laughter for Sami. Sami, in her paranoia, was mainly noticing how people began laughing at her. She goes pale and nearly vomits immediately, before doing her best to serve water with her shaking hands. Thankfully, the winner of the race (or second place, as some people say) was someone from Kusatsu, so in her eyes at least that had gone well. It wasn’t until moments later that someone gave her context as to while people were laughing. Still, it was terrifying for her, as in those brief moments she had mentally dissected herself trying to figure out if she had done something silly, looked silly, or said something silly. She was called Speedy Sami the rest of the day, and thankfully it didn’t catch on beyond that day. When the obligatory invitation to the track team came, Sami did her best to refuse in the most not Sami way possible. Still, it was a relief to her that the club’s first major task was a success.

    When the announcement of the vote happening to decide the fate of the school came at the end of the semester, Sami immediately put on her imaginary “American-thinking cap” and got to work thinking of a way to sway the vote in favor of staying. Her biggest idea was that the school needed a villain, something that would unite the school against the school against them. She immediately thought of the aliens in some of the Hollywood movies she watched, or like a west and east coast rapper collaborating to diss a politician. Sami, determined not to be sent to Tokyo, was ready to play the villain herself, beginning to make a plan of egging the school and leaving a message implying it was from a nearby school saying they sucked. However, like divine intervention, the villain appeared on its own, and on a much higher scale. A politician, who had recently been exposed as trying to get the school closed for warehouses. Sami found herself shortly after in the Gender Relations Club room, helping count votes. It wasn’t until they were all done that she was able to finally sigh in relief. It seemed that all her effort and pain had not been a waste, and she would not have to see a Tokyo classroom in her life again.

    Coming back to school, after both Christmas and the beginning of the year, felt oddly strange. When they left, they were celebrating. But now, there was a weird “vibe” in the air. Still, on new years eve she made it a resolution to continue her efforts in helping the Gender Relations Club, even if it wasn’t for her anymore. It didn’t take long for her to find where the strange vibe was coming from, as the rumor began to float around about. A local paper had been making remarks about the school, claiming it to have been cursed and bringing up some of the incidents that had happened in the prior semester. It all seemed so strange to Sami. The school was literally just on break, and it was the beginning of the year. Moreso, the school had won the Tri-City Sports Festival and proven their unison when they voted to stay at the end of the semester. So why post this now of all times? If it had been at the beginning of the last semester, sure it would have validity, but in Sami’s eyes, the paper had no basis on these accusations anymore. Sure there was still occasional drama amongst the girls and boys, but no more than any average highschool, right? This was something that was caught up in Sami’s head almost constantly since reading the papers herself. So much, she had almost forgotten about the trip to the hot springs.

    Once there, she would attempt to continue thinking about the papers. Evidently, her stress was visible on her face, as the girls she was with at the hot springs asked her about what was going on. For the first time, something felt… different. These were the same girls who were all excited to meet her when she first got to Kusatsu, and in a sense, felt a sort of… I don’t know. But she felt compelled to tell them what had been on her mind, and got the girls thinking as well. Soon all the girls were invested in the mystery of the paper, so they all split apart in search of information in the nearby vicinity. Through social media, even the boys caught wind of the mystery and began doing investigations of their own. Soon, the truth was brought to the light, that it was a scheme by some corporations to get rid of them. People even began saying they were related to the politician who had tried to get rid of them the prior semester, and whether there was any truth or not, it was made clear it wouldn’t be happening. Sami couldn’t explain the way she felt. She was happy that people had listened to her, and that in a way her deduction helped keep the school safe. But it was more than that, it was… comforting, in a way that felt new to her.

    It seemed that this semester’s major task would be the next festival, the culture festival. This was actually one that was a bit difficult for Sami, as usually she always skipped going to the culture festivals, but had to go and help this time around. My oh my did the festival need the help this year around. The papers were still going on slandering the school, and more random problems would seem to appear left and right. For a while, it seemed like the only people who would be visiting would be the parents of the students, as all the flyers that they ordered would seemingly get either lost or delayed until after the date of the festival. It was strange, like someone was trying to keep the school contained. Still, if there was something Sami had learned since joining the club, it was the power of social media. The Gender Relations Club would cooperate alongside the most popular people at the school to advertise the National Host/Maid Cafe Tournament, and to everyone's surprise, it became a SMASHING success. All that was left was the preparation, which is where Sami came in.

    On the day of the festival, Sami would begin to make runs from the school to the local supermarket and back in her scooter, carrying as much as she can in a little attached basket and a backpack. Eventually, more people with licenses showed up to help, and before they knew it, there was a scooter delivery division. It wasn’t until one of the last trips that Matsuda saw Sami at the market, having been there for ramen supplies. Him and Haruhi would both be at the festival later, but he didn’t expect to meet Sami there, initially thinking she might have been skipping. After Sami’s quick explanation, he made up his mind. He would close up shop early that day and help the festival. Using the mini truck to load up the remaining supplies needed and making his way towards the school, with Sami following behind on her scooter, a genuine smile on her face. After Sami reassures him they won’t be needing anything else, he promises to return later in the day well dressed and not smelling like ramen. With everything ready, the school festival started and Sami actually found herself with nothing to do. Everywhere she went, she would be told things were going well and didn’t need assistance. At first, Sami thought that they were just politely telling her to go away, but as she walked around she began to notice what they meant. It was like a well oiled machine, everyone and everything working diligently. It was… nice. Sami felt a weird warmth she hadn’t felt since the solving of the papers mystery and the voting to keep the school. Though she almost hated to admit it, she had already thought too much about it, and knew what those feelings could- no, are. She was proud, proud of her classmates, and weirdly proud of herself. Though she didn’t feel like she was responsible for it, the idea of having been even a tiny assistance for all this was enough for her. Why was she getting emotional? It was like she was listening to a sad ballad through her headphones, but in her own imagination. To her own surprise, she spent the rest of her night walking and participating in stands at the festival (skipping the tournament), even coming across her parents later in the day. That day, she came home with candy, a bear, and more importantly, a smile.

    However, that peace would come to a grinding stop the next day, as the realization dawned on the club that there was still a risk of being closed. The grades had dipped below the national standard, and they had to do something fast, as finals were fast approaching. Now, if there was something that Sami had a lot of up until this year, it was time. As a result, at least a portion of that was always for studying, so her grades were actually fine. Still, she would not sit around and watch the school go under, and would decide to make her magnum opus, what she thought may be her mark on the school. At home, she had a computer. While she usually used it to play games, watch shows, or research, it had now become a canvas. Over the span of a few days, Sami would screen record her screen on MS paint, and make tutorial videos for the subjects she felt most confident in. Using some random free editing software, she dubbed over the video doing her best to explain everything(and adding chill beats too). To her, this was her giving herself to the school. She had spent her entire life closed off from the world, especially at school. Now, she would share her voice to everyone in an attempt to save the school that restored her. Nobody really knows if there was a specific thing that helped the school grades get above the national average. As far as Sami was concerned, whether or not people looked at the videos or were even helped by them, she felt that she had done her part. In the end, they were all successful. The school would remain open, and to Sami, that’s all that mattered.

    Sami came out of this with her goal accomplished, her true goal. She felt something, she finally could look at people and not assume the worst, and while she knew there were still bad people out there, at least she didn’t feel alone. When she looks at the people she considers her friends and laughs alongside them, it’s not fake anymore.

    Personality (At End)
    Sami slowly began to learn to trust people again, and not shut them off. By the end, she feels like she can finally connect with people, and finds a form of happiness in that. It’s like she recovered the innocence and personality that she once had, even if she’s still very well aware of the negativity in the world. She hasn’t completely 180’d, but compared to how she started, it was like night and day. By the end of the school year, Sami had carved her own identity that people acknowledged and respected, from her inherited fascination with American media, skateboarding antics, thoughtful daydreaming, and even unique sense of style.

    Clubs
    Gender Relations Club
    Music Club (on the side)

    Likes:
    American Media- Whether it’s music, movies, or TV shows she has watched and heard plenty. Particularly, she likes the early 2000’s and 90’s rap, though she really struggles to understand it. Secretly had an Eminem phase.
    Music- Her taste varies WILDLY, and there are very few genres she doesn’t like. If you asked her what her favorite music genre was, she would say it changes a lot. Also, she is a horrible singer, at most she will humm a song when she’s by herself.
    Mangos- She herself doesn’t understand why, but anything mango flavored is an instant like from her. She’s borderline obsessed and if she could, would have one every day for the rest of her life.
    Riding her scooter- Even though the thing is not super fast, she still finds it enjoyable and loves the feeling of the wind on her face. In a sense, it’s rather freeing to her. In the future, she can definitely see herself investing into a motorcycle.

    Dislikes:
    Bullies- Considered a cardinal sin in her eyes. Though, up until recently, she would never do anything about it.
    Being in crowded places- It’s still something that gives her anxiety and frankly she will probably not get used to it. As she puts it, “If i do, it’s because Sami is already gone”
    The ocean/any large bodies of water- Maybe it’s because she lives in Japan, but she thinks it’s overrated as hell. The fact she can’t swim also adds to that sentiment. She’s also freaked out by how deep it is and how creepy the creatures can look down there.
    Most seafood- Kind of goes with the last answer, finds fish weird and doesn’t like the smell. This could ALSO be as a result of being from Japan.
    Going to school in Tokyo- Never again.

    Hobbies:
    Riding her scooter- If she didn’t have to pay for her own gas, she could spend hours on it, getting to know the layout of the area better.
    Watching movies/TV- Has watched a lot of the most popular movies and shows, American and Japanese. Loves the Teen Titans.
    Playing games on her computer- Whether it’s a FPS, RPG, or even simulation game, she dabbles in a lot of things. Though, most of the time she plays it’s a FPS. At one point she wanted to go pro, but eventually gave up as all young people do.
    Playing the Saxophone/working on learning trumpet- The trumpet thing has been a slow process. Knowing how to play saxophone is a good start, but it takes time to get used to switching between the two.
    Skating- She’s not remotely good at it, best she can do is an ollie. She just likes to cruise around where her scooter can't and occasionally ride down a hill.

    Dreams/Life Goals:
    Making her parents proud- It was at the core of why she didn’t speak up about what was going on, and she hopes to prove herself one day.
    Travel the world- She absolutely wants to get out and explore the world for herself, and find her calling. First, she has to make the money for that though.

    Values:
    Loyalty- Sami is somenoe who has only recently started to feel true care for people around her and moved on from her trauma so the idea of someone betraying her is something that would crush her spirit and potentially even cause some regression in her progress.
    Kindness- What she wished her younger self had recieved. It's not even like you have to be a saint, just having basic human sympathy is enough for her. Proof that if someone was in a weak spot they would not turn away.
    Instrospection- Being able to reflect upon your self and actions is something she considers admirable. To an extent it's what plagued her for a while, as she would constantly criticize herself. So having some healthy version of it is something she admires.
    Flexibility- Go with the flow. Don't box yourself in. Sami loves to explore many different hobbies from skating, scooters, games, and movies. It's something

    Most Embarrassing Moment
    Wholesome Answer- When she was laughed at during the sports festival. Looking at it in retrospect, it’s something she can manually exhale air from her nose about. Though, in the moment she swore she could have died.
    Honest Answer- Her entire time going to school in Tokyo.

    Insecurities
    Not feeling for people- It’s something that almost makes her feel less human. She would judge herself for it and consider herself on par with a robot.
    Being hated by everyone (again)- She does her best not to disappoint, and hates letting people down or feeling like she made a fool of herself. It reminds her way too much of her situation in Tokyo.
    Her history before coming to Kusatsu- Avoids talking about it at all costs, if you force her to, she will say it was fine and try to change topic as soon as possible.

    Character Shipping Preferences
    How do You Want Your Character to be Shipped?
    Through vote shipping
    Who do You Wish to be Shipped With?
    Boys + Girls are fine
    Which Round of Ship Rolling do You Want to Participate in First?
    Boy/Girls pairings, then same sex pairings if not yet paired.

    Opinions of Other Students:
    Atsuko Fukumoto- "I heard what happened at the hot springs, she seems like a really kind person. Hope she's okay, I don't know what I would have done in her shoes.
    Shin Yukimura- "The bandages remind me of a boxer, like Rocky. Yes, I know he practices a sport that is hand-based."

    Akiko Akiyama- "I've seen her writing before. I wonder where she gets inspiration. Would she let me read what she writes?"
    Haruki Higuchi- "Wish it could have been someone like him making the videos instead of me. It'd probably have been more consistent that way."

    Okane Oyashi- "I've seeked her services a few times. Mostly things like pencils, except for that one time I asked for something from overseas."
    Toru Fohai- "I know he's a nice guy. Not because I've talked to him, but because they let him walk after literally assaulting someone. He must be an angel."

    Yukiko Benri- "She seems nice, surely she is? right? right?"
    Tak Hirokumi- "The only few interactions I've had were a bit strange. I mean, he's a bit strange in general, but that's okay."

    Haru Sarachi- "I'm kind of jealous of some of his outfits. I don't think I could pull off a style like that."
    Yuuki Tokita- "Hmmmm, she seems really cool. Don't think I've ever reallly spoken with her but I like her hair."

    Daisuke Minamoto- "He seems pretty serious, which is probably why he's a bit intimidating"
    Yuriko Minamoto- "Her attitude is kind of scary, but her vibes aren't bad at all. I'm sure she's into video games or something, I wonder what her taste is like."

    Cinabu Naro- "She's tried to talk to me quite a few times and back then it would startle me because people didn't normally want to talk to me out of the blue. I appreciate it, but she was terrifying for a while."
    Reginald Quackenbush- "They should make a game out of his random stories, like a light novel. I'd check it out for sure."

    Uwuru Ruruwu- "I don't know where she gets her infinite well of positivity. I admire it, but it's terrifying."

    Sango Namino- "I may have been to a couple of her performances, in the very, very back. I hate the crowds, but she's good."
    Shirou Nakamura- "I've seen him around taking pictures, kind of wish I could see some of them. What here is truly worth immortalizing?"

    Ryousei Kamirosu- "The things I hear of about him from the girls in my class is so confusing, considering how many people know him. There is something off about his vibe though."

 
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Basic Information

"Communication!? It's sorta funny! Like trying to catch a black hole with a butterfly net. Every day, I wake up to new sounds, new phrases, and new expressions, from the people around me. Like a never-ending puzzle~ a game of charades without an end! Buuut, the weird thing is... I've started to enjoy it!

You see, back home, things were just really different. We didn't really need words. We didn't have misunderstandings... or fights!... Or secrets. Everything was just out there. And in a strange way, that seems now scarier than anything I've experienced on Earth. I mean, what's scarier than knowing that everyone around can see into your very soul!? ... That's not the yellow of the egg, as they like to say!

So yes, communication is a mess. It's clumsy, messy, and feels like walking through a minefield. BUT! There's also beauty. Because every now and then, you stumble upon that perfect phrase. That one word captures EXACTLY what you're feeling. And in that singular moment, you simply feel... understood. Without having to lay everything bare. And that feeling is worth all the stumbling and rumbling that happens along the way.

So here I am, making a mountain out of a molehill, as I'm learning day by day, until I've mastered the art of Earthly chatter. And, well, if I'm not the cat's pajamas at it yet, at least I can say I'm just not another brick in the wall!"

Ruruwu, Uwuru

02941-2619998535-splash20art_1.png
Speech Color: #6CC417
Gender: Female
Age: 17

Date of Birth: January 1
Blood Type: AB-
Height: 165 cm
Weight: 56 kg

Character Voice: Yuka Ōtsubo
Character Theme: Terraria Underground
Character Background and Personality

Love means nothing, therefore Love Means Anything Monologue
"Love means Nothing... at least that's how it was back home. Love was just... everywhere. It wasn't anything special, it wasn't anything less. It was just there, as constant as the stars in our sky. We never had to dissect it, to chase after it, or yearn for it. It was embedded in our very existence. But, here on Earth, everything I thought I knew about it was thrown under the rock!

Here, love is treated like a prize at a fair, something to be won or lost. Something that spices up an otherwise mundane life. It's as elusive as a perfect donut, yet seemingly as necessary as oxygen. It's confusing. Yet, the more I observe, the more I understand. In its absence, it becomes everything; in its presence, it just becomes part of the daily mundane. It's another one of those crazy Earthly logic shenanigans! Like 'barking up the wrong tree', you don't really get it until you're up there, out on a limb! So, it all boils down to this one quirky truth, this one special someone. Love Means Nothing. Therefore, Love Means Anything.


Personality (At Start)
Uwuru Ruruwu, or simply Uwu-chan, is a derpy ball of cosmic energy personified into a curious and bubbly alien, intrigued by the intricacies of earth and human culture. Equipped with boundless enthusiasm, even the mundane aspects of human life excite her. Her expressions are sometimes unique, having picked up tidbits from various media, though she struggles to really comprehend the negative side of human emotions. She is very trusting and somewhat naive. Taking idioms at face value, for example, which often end in weird situations.


Pre-Story Background
Uwu-chan originally hails from the star cluster of Nomoe 66.7, an advanced civilization that views Earth as a charming, yet primitive, tourist attraction. One day, during her interstellar cultures class, Uwuru won her school's lottery: A one-way trip to Earth. A cultural exchange program of sorts. With her heart full of excitement, and her head filled with plenty of misconceptions thanks to Earth-based soap operas, she boarded her trusty UFO.

Upon arrival, Uwuru crash-landed in Kusatu's dense forest, her spaceship frightening the local wildlife and causing quite the scene. With a broken cloaking device, Uwuru couldn't hide her ship from a curious couple in their mid-60s enjoying an afternoon stroll. Thus, she had to use hypnotic alien tech to convince the two that they were her long-lost grandparents who had promised to raise her during her high school years!

Nonetheless, eager to immerse herself in human culture, Uwuru enrolled herself in Saint Kisai's Acadamy. Earth life, of course, wasn't without hiccups. So was she one time responsible for a city-wide power outage upon trying to charge her alien tech. Though in the one year, she had attended school, Uwuru found herself increasingly enchanted with the new earthly life.

Common Route Story Background
When two schools became one, Uwuru Ruruwu found the commotion more intriguing than distressing. Having no understanding of the other gender boundaries, she often ventured, quite oblivious, into the "boys-only" sections; causing rather awkward encounters. And while she did end up trying to mediate between the two genders with her outlandish ideas, the divide between male and female students proved too much for her quirky shenanigans. Though her optimism remained unwavering, even if barely anyone could appreciate her grandiose boys-and-girls-swap-uniforms-weekday!

In the midst of the annual sports festival, Uwu-chan was on cloud nine. As an alien, participating in a sports festival was new and thrilling! And when the scandal of the peepholes and sabotaged equipment put the school in disarray, her simplistic approach of communicating through the symptoms of 'complex-human-misunderstandings' proved baffling, endearing, and effective. Uwuru herself also participated in a bunch of sports festivals, surprising her classmates with her unearthly agility. Though her biggest contribution was to the cavalry battle. Suggesting a strategy taken from one of her alien games where they formed a triangle structure and established a quick-pass strategy. Despite the unorthodox method, it proved quite successful, and Uwu-chan reveled in the warmth of shared triumph and pride of the school.

During the turmoil of the school closure threat, Uwuru Ruwuru became an unexpected beacon of hope. Using her otherwordly charm and boundless energy, she campaigned vigorously to keep Yugu High open. Not only did she intend to graduate from this high school, but she also realized how important a unified community was! Despite being an absolute failure when it came to properly understanding the political aspects and complexity of the issue, her enthusiasm rallied her peers. Even managing to convince some of the more skeptical students with her profound speeches about unity, friendships, love, and a lot of reference to Earth's animated shows. Her genuine belief in the power of friendship ended up as a powerful motivator, playing a key role in the vote successfully being passed.

Upon returning from winter break, the green haired girl was perplexed by the arrival of reporters and the sudden onslaught of negative stories about the school. Unfamiliar with the concept of sensationalized news, Uwuru took it in stride, cheerfully interacting with the reporters and innocently contradicting their negative narratives with tales of school unity and friendship. The cancellation of the beach trip, however, was quite saddening to her, as she had been looking forward to observing human marine culture up close! Not feeling defeated for long, the young alien became instead overly excited about the local hot spring experience. Of course, she was completely oblivious to human bathing customs.

During the Culture Festival, Uwuru Ruruwu channeled all her energy into creating the most unique, other-worldly cafe, she could muster. Including a card game tournament against the maids for free food! The design was a full success, and Uwuru even exposed a sabotage attempt by one of the companies. One day, she mistook one of their planted devices for a human toy and started playing around with it. Unknowingly disrupting its functionality and causing a malfunction. The media coverage that followed significantly improved Yuzu High's reputation, and the 'Alien Maid Cafe' managed to become a symbol of the school's resilience and determination to fight back against the biggest odds in the strangest ways. Of course, nobody believed Uwuru when she let it slip she was a real alien!

Coming from an advanced extraterrestrial civilization, the girl's struggle with Earth's curriculum was an unexpected turn of events. The alien intellect she possessed seemed not to understand the human education system. Algebra was an alien concept(heh) to her, History seemed like fictional tales, and she couldn't comprehend why Earth languages had so many exceptions to their own rules. Grammar was a lot harder than going by feelings! As a result, she often disrupted study sessions with her constant questioning and confusion. Nevertheless, Uwuru's always persistent enthusiasm, despite her academic struggles, inspired her classmates to push past their own challenges and better their grades.

The 'American Style' dance marked the end of the school year, and despite her academic failures, Uwuru didn't lose her alien spirit. Naively misinterpreting 'American Style' as a costume party, she arrived dressed as a popular Earth Astronaut. The sight of Uwuru, in all her adorable confusion, was both amusing and endearing. Even during the celebration, she sparked a school-wide 'alien pong' competition using the abundant red plastic cups, turning the event into a fun-filled mess that created unforgettable memories.

Although her academic performance was not up to mark, Uwuru's charm, infectious positivity, and unyielding resilience played a key role in saving Yuzu High.


Personality (At End)
Uwuru Ruruwu retained her unique charm and alien quirks, instead having fully embraced her role as an unassuming catalyst for unity and understanding. Her constant curiosity and infectious optimism remained undiminished, despite the occasional earthly hiccups she faced. She remained delightfully eccentric, with her innocent misinterpretations of human norms ever so often lightening the mood. Uwuru's approach to life and problem-solving evolved from being comically alien to an unexpectedly effective catalyst for change. Her fearlessness in addressing and challenging terrestrial conventions also infused her with a hint of boldness.

While still mystified by many human customs, the Alien developed a deeper appreciation for Earth's charm and its inhabitants' resilience past a naive comical desire for exploration and sort-of vacation. A real heartbreak had yet to follow.


Club
Occult Club


Likes:
  • Space — Aliens are real!
  • Mismatched Clothes— The only real fashion is your fashion!
  • Experimental Cooking— Even though she doesn't need to eat and her creations are often inedible, she loves the creative process of mixing and matching ingredients.
  • Alien Law — Being an Alien on Earth, she should follow certain rules, and sees reason to do so...

Dislikes:
  • Earth Law— ... unlike earth's strict regulations and norms, preferring flexibility and creativity!
  • Pessimism — Why focus on life's negatives when there is so much to be excited about!?
  • Being Rushed — She enjoys down things at her own pace, which can range from slowpoke to way-too-fast!
  • Complex Earth Tech— She often finds herself bamboozled by needlessly complicated Earth Tech, like smartphones and computers.

Hobbies:
  • Alien Drawings — Spaaaaaace is big, Uwuru likes to imagine other possible lives and cultures and put them on paper!
  • Stargazing — Maybe sometimes, she does miss home?
  • Storytelling — Not like anyone would believe her anyway? Ghost stories seem extra fun though!
  • Earth Games — Despite their primitiveness, Uwu-chan enjoys games like hide-and-seek or tag.

Dreams/Life Goals:
  • Achieve Perfect Coexistence — Uwu-chan wants everybody to live together happily ever after. Different beings, different ideas, all mixed together in perfect harmony. And like every big dream, it needs to start with a single alien! Even if she had to break some rules...
  • Experiencing a Human Romance — The Alien wants to experience love. A roller coaster of emotions, advertised as the bestest thing, ever. Ups, downs, twists, and turns, it all just seems so fascinating and complex! The girl wants this to be a part of her thrilling journey. A human experience she years for.

Values:
  • Open-mindedness — Every situation has a million possibilities, just open your eyes and see beyond what's in front of you.
  • Empathy — In understanding others, we understand ourselves better.
  • Optimism — Every day is an opportunity to turn around. Hope isn't just a wish, it's a way of living.
  • Creativity — Life is a canvas, we're the artist. Every moment, a vibrant stroke we paint with our actions and choices.

Most Embarrassing Moment
On the eve of the Culture Festival, Uwuru decided to conduct a practice run of her Alien Skit for the festival. Excited about the performance, she didn't realize she'd wandered into the town's central park rather than the school grounds. Unbeknownst to her, a group of local senior citizens were having their evening meet-up there. Oblivious, Uwuru started her practice, complete with alien-themed props and sound effects that she'd "borrowed" from her spaceship. The senior citizens, unaware of Uwuru's alien identity and mistaking her skit for a real alien invasion, panicked, resulting in a minor town-wide panic. By the time the misunderstanding was cleared up, Uwuru's 'Alien Invasion Skit' had become a town-wide embarrassment. While Uwuru learned a valuable lesson about checking her surroundings, the incident still makes her blush to this day.


Insecurities
  • Lack of Sleep — Uwuru doesn't require sleep as humans do. She sometimes fears this will alienate her from others, as she cannot partake in or understand common experiences like dreaming or feeling tired
  • Alien Identity — While Uwuru is amicable and kind, she sometimes feels insecure about forming deeper relationships, concerned that her alien identity might push people away if they find out
  • Clueless in Earthly Matters — Despite her vast alien knowledge, Uwuru often feels insecure about her ignorance of common earthly knowledge

Character Shipping Preferences

How do you want your character to be shipped?
  • Through Vote Shipping

Who do you wish to be shipped with?
  • Boys, Girls

Opinions of Other Students
Sagawa Mizunohara: "My fourth senses are tingling about her! No matter how bad she does the things, I just know that deep down we can be total besties! "
Ruger Misoto: "The perfect example of not putting all your notes into one book! Urm, he seemed a bit scary at first, but he was the one who told me that one American thing are Astronauts and the moon landing!"

Atsuko Fukumoto: "I don't understand why some people are so mean to her! She's such a good friend. Like a puppy you look at with awe...!"
Shin Yukimura: "He was the ideal Earth Prince Charming!... Until he just beat up, like, everybody! But-but... you can connect your feelings through fists... they think?"

Akiko Akiyama: "I sometimes catch her staring at me! An open invitation for girl-bonding-time and do all the talks!... Though we just end up reading books...?"
Haruki Higuchi: "I thought he was one of those always-smarty types, but one day when I lost myself in the student council room he was being SUPER INDEPENDENT, and then, again! I even took a video of it! All by myself!"

Yukiko Benri: "I love playing with her! Though it gets boring to win so often..."
Tak: "He was the only one who believed me! Tak has a very special place in my chest!"

Haru Sarachi: "He's so pretty and... weird? But weird is good. It really makes me want to support him somehow!"
Yuuki Tokita: "One day she asked me many questions about my earth-family! Good thing I have been practicing, of course. I've asked her all sorts of questions in return."

Yuriko Minamoto: "She takes rules really, really, really seriously. I REALLY admire that about her. Though sometimes it can be nice to just have fun~ though she denied all my invitations..."
Daisuke Minamoto: "...and the same is true for her, uh, relative? But the early bird GETS the worm, so if at first I don't succeed..."

Cinabu Naro: "She's like an earth alter ego I want to protect at all costs! Why do humans keep reminding me of puppies..."

Sami Ishioka: "She doesn't talk that much, and sometimes I wonder if she's an Alien too! She certainly knows a lot more about the Americas than I do though!"
Ryousei Kamirosu: "He's... wow, so cool! Mhm. Definitely! I'm sure somewhere deep down he cares, a lot. Everybody does!... Yeah!"

Sango Namino: "I've always cheered her on! I think some called it love at first sight? I guess you could say I'm a bit of a fan! Sango is a prime example of what it's really all about!"
Shirou Nakamura: "Wowzers! He's like, all the other cool people, but combined! Ahem... but we don't do favorites here... Sometimes I have trouble understanding him, but that just adds to the charm... yes?"

Okane Ayashii: "Half the time she uses some big and confusing words and something something capitalism. And then she gets scared too! But a hug always seems to calm her down..."
Toru Fohai: "Have you seen those pretty flowers, and all the colors?! I want to surprise him by trying to breed a rainbow one!"
 
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  • Namino, Sango

    Sango.jpg
    Character: Aoi Fuji. Art by 裕


    Basic Information​

    'Communication' Monologue

    "You know, people always say communication is key, right? But the way I see it, it's not that simple. It's like a song, a dance of words and silence, of truth and lies. Just like a rock song, communication isn't about hitting the right notes; it's about the passion, the raw emotions. It's about being honest, saying what you mean, and meaning what you say. Interactions, relationships, they're not always sweet like a pop song. Sometimes they're hard rock, full of crashes and clashes. But that's okay. Because that's what makes it real. You see, life is a series of missteps and miracles, clashes and harmonies, in friendships, in love, and in self-discovery. And it's all woven together with the threads of communication. So, welcome to my story. It's going to be a wild, honest, and sometimes awkward ride. But hey, that's just how I like it."


    Speech Color: #A020F0 (Purple X11)
    Gender: Female
    Age: 17

    Date of Birth: 21 Mar
    Blood Type: B+
    Height: 166 cm
    Weight: 57 kg

    Character Voice: Nana Mizuki

    Character Theme: That's Like The Wind ~ Clannad



    Character Background and Personality​

    Love means nothing, therefore Love Means Anything Monologue:

    "Love means nothing. Or that's what people say when they look at life through a veil of cynicism, or maybe through hearts already broken once too many times. And maybe, in a way, they're right. But then again, love isn't exactly about right or wrong, is it? It's about feeling, about a dance more intricate and beautiful than any routine I've ever crafted, about a song that never truly ends. It's about whispers in the night, glances that last a moment too long, and smiles that light up the gloomiest of days. It's about the softest of touches and the loudest of laughs, the gentlest of tears and the fiercest of quarrels. It's about silence that speaks volumes, and words that sometimes just... fall short. It's about strength, and weakness, all at the same time. About knowing someone, and letting them know you. It's about colors brighter than my wildest outfits, and notes higher than any I've ever sung. It's about everything, and yet, paradoxically, about nothing at all. Because love, when you think about it, isn't about the grand gestures or dramatic declarations. It's about the little things, the insignificant things, the 'nothing' things. Hence: love means nothing, therefore love means anything."

    Personality (At Start)

    Sango Namino is a bright, optimistic, and energetic young woman, full of zest for life. She's a talented dancer and a fashion enthusiast, using vibrant colors and styles to express her creative spirit. She possesses a unique quirk where she relates her feelings and experiences through the musical arts, giving her an unparalleled appreciation for the beauty in life's small moments.

    However, her optimistic and cheerful demeanor hides a certain level of naiveté. Sango tends to see the world through rose-colored glasses, often missing the harsh realities and struggles around her. She has a tendency to avoid conflict, often choosing to suppress her feelings instead of expressing them honestly. This leads to miscommunications and misunderstandings with her peers, male and female alike. At first, she's certain she wouldn't mind the merger all too much, as she doesn't struggle with talking to boys under normal circumstances. However, as soon as cracks begin to show between both factions, Sango starts to feel a sense of dread every time she steps into the building. She fears that one day the pressure will be too much for her, and she'll snap.

    Another flaw of Sango's personality is her passion for dance, as she sets incredibly high standards for herself, bordering on perfectionism. This results in unnecessary stress and anxiety, as she struggles to meet her own expectations. She also has a habit of prioritizing her dreams and ambitions over her own health and well-being.


    Childhood - Sango Namino was born into a warm, loving family in Kusatsu, Japan. Her father, a local artisan, instilled in her an appreciation for craftsmanship and detail. Her mother, a kindergarten teacher, encouraged Sango's vibrant creativity and curiosity. The two nurtured her love for learning and her creative spirit. It was when she stumbled upon clips of a performance by a girl group that would become her favorite idols while channel-surfing on TV that Sango, then age 5, first discovered her love for dance. Captivated by the graceful movements and expressive storytelling of modern pop dance, Sango knew then she wanted to be part of that magical world.

    Primary School - Throughout her primary school years, Sango was known as a diligent student and a natural leader. She was always the first to volunteer for school events and projects, showcasing her energetic nature and love for community. Despite her academic successes, she was more popular for her cheerful personality and infectious laughter than her grades. Sango also joined a local dance group, where she further honed her skills and developed her passion. The dance group was an eclectic mix of traditional and contemporary styles, allowing Sango to experiment and find her unique dance style. Over time, dance became more than just a hobby; it was her outlet for expression, a mirror reflecting her joy, sorrow, and everything in between.

    Junior High - Sango's experience in junior high school was transformative, molding her into the character we see at the start of the anime. Sango attended a mixed-gender junior high school, which came with its own set of challenges. She noticed the unconscious biases against girls in the classroom, especially in Science and Math classes. It discouraged her, and she felt her confidence wavering. All this frustrated Sango, but given her nature to avoid conflict, she couldn't confront her problems directly. Instead, she decided to channel her frustration into her passion—dance. This decision marked a pivotal point in Sango's life. Dance became not just an outlet but a catalyst for change. She began using dance to raise awareness about gender biases and other social issues, gaining attention and admiration from her peers. The powerful message behind her performances, coupled with her determination, helped Sango earn a spot at a nearby all-girls high school, where she believed she could truly blossom.

    St. Kisai Girls' School - Sango's prowess in fashion and dancing, as well as her affable and cheerful demeanor, placed her among the more popular rungs of the social ladder in St. Kisai. However, her refusal to accept any sort of leadership over social cliques and student organizations alike meant she wasn't exactly at the "apex predator" part of the food chain. In fact, this distaste towards assuming positions of authority made her the target of rumors among the more gossipy of her classmates. Because of her natural aversion to conflict, it wasn't as if she had it in her to confront and disprove these rumors herself, so she let them fester instead. In a sense, the merger between St. Kisai and the all-boys school named Teijin was more of a blessing than anything else, as it took a good chunk of the attention away from these people. However, a part of her still dreaded the thought of at least one of these people still harboring a grudge against her...

    Semester 1: Will Power

    Part 1 - Toxic Relations: At the precipice of Yuzu High's potential closure due to low attendance, poor grades, and gender-driven misunderstandings, one of the girls Sango knew from back in St. Kisai asked her to join the newly formed "Gender Relations Club". According to her, the club was meant to bridge the gap between the boys and the girls so the school could be saved... whatever that entailed. By then, however, Sango was well aware of how influential this club and each of its members were going to be for the school, and apprehension had long since set in. Granted, she was touched by everyone's sincerity in their efforts to bring unity and understanding among students, but she couldn't bring herself to fight for their cause alongside them. "I can get behind their philosophy, but there's too much at stake for me to get involved," she thought. "I can't support them publicly... what if the rumors the girls have been spreading about me hurt their credibility? I'm not meant to be some kind of influential figure... not to mention, is this really what everyone in this school wants? I think it's too early to say for sure if anyone actually wants this school to be saved." With her mind set, Sango had arrived at her conclusion: She wasn't going to join the Gender Relations Club. However, the more she tried to justify this mentality of standing idly at the sidelines and waiting to see what happened, the more she felt like something was nagging at her head that this may not have been the right thing to do.

    Part 2 - Go Team: The days leading up to the Tri-City Sports Festival were heavy on Sango's conscience. She could barely pay attention in class, and even listening to music and watching videos of her favorite dancers didn't make her feel as good as she wanted them to. Just a week before the Festival, following a session of practice with the Gymnastic Team, she decided to pop them all a very interesting proposal. Before she and her team could pull it off, however, there were a couple loose ends that needed immediate fixing. For starters, someone had allegedly drilled peepholes in the girls' locker room. Then there was the issue of the sports teams' equipment being sabotaged. "Okay, change of plans. Let's hop to it, ladies."

    They may have missed the opening ceremony for the festival, as well as a couple Track and Field events, but just in the nick of time, Sango and the rest of the Gymnastics Team, clad in full cheerleader outfits, stepped onto the court with replacement supplies, all paid in full by the funds Sango had been saving up to travel to a concert in Tokyo later in the year. For the rest of the event, Sango and her team performed a stellar set of cheers that nobody would have guessed were thought up and practiced by absolute amateurs for a little under a week. In the end while she didn't actually participate in any events herself, Sango's efforts worked wonders in raising Yuzu High's spirits, and they ended up doing very well in the majority of the events, even clinching a gold in the cavalry battle. At this point, Sango realized that maybe her concerns were misguided, and that perhaps it was clear to everyone that there is a reason to save the school.

    Part 3: Yes And No - Sango wasn't entirely aware of the positive impact her little stunt had on the school's spirit until she'd realized that her coach had filmed the routine she'd coordinated with her team... and posted it on the school's website. Within the span of just a day or two, she'd gained a significant amount of popularity--unwanted popularity, mind you--and it was almost like she couldn't go five steps without someone recognizing her and saying they loved what she did with the Cheerleading Squad. It was a stressful experience for Sango, to say the least, but it was too late for her to disappoint her new fans. "The things I do because I just can't say no..."

    With the threat of Yuzu High's imminent closure, Sango became a key player in rallying her peers to vote against transferring out of the school. In the days leading up to the final vote, Sango donned her cheerleading garbs once more and started handing out fliers to students in hopes of swaying the votes in favor of keeping the school running. "They may be able to write 'No' on a piece of paper, but it's gonna be hard for the boys to say no to a pretty girl in a short skirt. If all we need is half the student body to vote 'Yes', then I think this is our best bet... reasonably speaking."

    The above statements are not purple because they're not Sango's words--they belonged to one of her teammates. What made it worse was that this sentiment was echoed by most of the others, all of which followed through with this idea. Much to the surprise of next to no one, Yuzu High scored another W thanks to the Cheerleading Squad, since the voting results came out with a really solid supermajority voting to keep the school running. This triumph allowed Yuzu High to avoid getting bulldozed, bolstering Sango's confidence in her capacity to affect meaningful change.

    Semester 2: Our Moment

    Part 4: Stains of the Past - As the second semester rolled around, smear campaigns started popping up all over social media, trying to cancel Yuzu High. Some of them went as far as to push the narrative that the school was cursed. "Gee, I wonder whose fault that would be." Sango felt pretty confident in her ability to fight off any negative influences targeting the school at this point, but something inside her warned her about her hubris getting all hyped up.

    Two days before the school's trip to a hot springs in the mountains overlooking the town, the corrupt higher-ups looking to bulldoze the school received an anonymous tip that they found very interesting... and sure enough, it involved the star cheerleader of Yuzu High. She didn't even bother wanting to find out what happened and what exactly was written in that article, but she spent the entirety of the bus ride in the back of the bus by herself.

    During the trip to the springs, the class somehow found out about the politicians' dastardly plan to bulldoze down as many schools in the district as they could. The Gender Relations Club wasn't exactly the clearest when it came to relaying that kind of information. "Did they really need to build that many warehouses?" Regardless, as the class came to terms with the news, one of the girls from the Gymnastics Team approached Sango and apologized to her, saying, "I should have known better than to trust baseless rumors like that. I'm sorry for believing that your dad is into [redacted]."

    Part 5: Take Over - The developers' next target was the school's annual culture festival, but Sango's gloves had long since come off. They'd gone as far as to target her family's reputation, and it had become personal. Naturally, the preparations for the culture festival were overseen by the Festival Club, of which Sango happened to be a member of already. Remembering the effects she had on the student body when she dressed the Gymnastics team in cheerleader attire, she jokingly brought up an idea of starting a Maid/Host Cafe Tournament to the President. Knowing the circumstances behind Sango's grudge against the corporations and the developers, the President assigned full control over the Cafe's operation to Sango, and as surprised as she was that her idea was taken seriously, she gladly accepted.

    Coincidentally, this is when the algorithm for social media started a late resurgence of the video the Gymnastics coach had posted following the Tri-City Sports Festival. Riding this wave of newfound virality, Sango invited everyone watching the video to Yuzu High's Maid/Host Cafe. To no one's surprise, the Cafe was a rousing success, gathering such a crowd of people that the building couldn't contain them all. As if to drop a cherry on top, Sango decided to challenge her fears one last time and tackle one of her all-time goals: to dance on a stage before thousands of people... except it was more of a "hundreds" kind of thing.

    Immediately following her performance, Sango was approached by someone claiming to be a producer for a record company in Tokyo. His proposal was simple: she'd come with him to Tokyo within a week, and he'll give her a guaranteed gig as a background dancer to an up-and-coming idol group. As tempting as the offer should have been for her, Sango remembered the lesson she'd learned regarding her hubris. Her response was simple: "I'm sorry, but this school needs me more than you do."

    Part 6: Last Surprise - Sango's efforts had held the corpos off for almost the entire year, but one last obstacle stood between her and a guaranteed victory for the school. By now, everyone was pretty clear that despite not being part of the Gender Relations Club that was meant to ameliorate the situation, Sango had developed into an influential and unifying figure over the course of the year--a real symbol of hope and determination for a school that's been through hell several times over. However, as good as she was at rallying spirit for her classmates to help save the school in the past, this last hurdle was one that spirit alone couldn't overcome.

    Long story short, the school's academic performance was below the national standard, and if that wasn't fixed by the end of the school year, that was apparently enough justification to bring out the bulldozers. These news damaged the morale of Sango's classmates severely, and Sango knew that if anyone had asked her at the start of the school year that this was going to be the outcome, she'd definitely throw in the towel. "Thank God that's no longer me." By resolving her own character issues, she inspired others to do the same. She organized group study sessions and pulled all the stops (within reason) to make sure everyone was as prepared as possible for this test.

    As quiet as the classrooms were during the test, each one of them felt like a warzone to Sango. For the first time in her life, she felt like she was Jeanne D'Arc herself, leading an army that saw her as some kind of beacon of hope that carried everyone's morales on their backs. It was scary, and just thinking about this made Sango block up a couple times, but remembering the face of a certain person who studied with her made her feel more confident, to a similar effect as she would have on everyone else. Thanks to her dedication, Sango and the classmates that stood behind her ensured the survival of Yuzu High, validating their hard work and dedication. The war on the corpos was finally over, but there was still one last pair of loose ends that needed to be addressed...

    Final Act: Signs of Love

    Part 7: I'll Face Myself - Yuzu High's future had been secured, and there was no longer any need for a "Gender Relations Club" or any more campaigns rallying for school spirit or anything of the sort. "At last... I can safely say I'm graduating from Yuzu High."

    The club disbanded in a way Sango considered unceremonious at first... then she found the flyers that had been posted all over the hallways. All of them advertised the same thing: an "American-Style Dance". Sango had a vague idea of what that meant, and her heart almost burst out of her chest as soon as she realized what it all entailed. As soon as the thought of having to ask someone out crossed her head, the face of one student immediately followed, and her face went beet-red. She may have won the war, but now it was time to drop the armor and face the enemy that's been waiting in the wings this whole time: her own feelings.

    Part 8: Heartbeat, Heartbreak - The day of the dance was quickly approaching, and Sango could notice the pool of available bachelors dwindling by the hour. She'd already convinced herself she'd put a close to her high school life by going to the dance and owning the show like she deserved, but every potential Prom Queen needs a Prom King. Unfortunately for any potential admirers vying for that spot, Sango already had her eyes on someone in particular. She thought it was only a matter of time until he asked her, but as the days passed, the anxiety got the better of her more and more.

    Eventually, it took over. "Fuck it. I'm taking matters into my own hands. When has that ever failed me?"

    She knew the risk was massive, but she had to take it. She'd rather cry herself to bed for one night over a rejection than live the rest of her life regretting a shot that she never bothered to take. All it took was an anonymous letter in this person's shoe locker that read: "Come to the Festival Club meeting room after class."

    Personality (At End):

    Sango would emerge from this journey as a resilient, resourceful, and empathetic person, no longer the shy wallflower she used to be. She learns to be a beacon of hope for her peers, rallying them to fight against the closing of their school, and proving herself as a true leader. She's no longer defined by her fear of judgment or rumors, and instead, she becomes a symbol of unity and strength. On a more personal level, Sango grows comfortable with her feelings, no longer running from her own emotions and finally embracing the vulnerability of expressing her feelings towards her romantic interest. She's no longer apprehensive about her influence or visibility, instead, she's accepted her role and utilized her influence for the betterment of her school. The end of this story sees Sango as a woman who not only understands her potential but also effectively channels it for a good cause, who can fearlessly express her feelings, and who is prepared to face whatever life throws her way with a stronger sense of self.

    Clubs:
    • Festival Club (Member)
    • Gymnastics Team (Member)

    Likes:
    • J-Pop Idols - As mentioned in her Pre-Story Background, Sango greatly admires (or, shall I say, idolizes) J-Pop idols and J-Rock stars. She prefers groups like BiSH and Tommy Heavenly6 over solo artists, though she can sing songs from artists like Konomi Suzuki and EGOIST that the average vocalist would find difficult to imitate.
    • Dancing - A huge part of why she prefers groups is because she loves group choreography, far more than singing or musical performances. She’s no stranger to stepping onto a stage and making it her own, but she’s never performed outside Kusatsu. Because of this, as well as the fact that she isn’t the best at handling pressure, her dream is not to become an idol herself, but rather a background dancer for one.
    • Fashion - While Sango can’t really afford to buy the best when it comes to designer clothing, she takes her outfits very seriously when going out or preparing for a performance. Even her school uniform often treads the line when it comes to the dress code. That being said, she doesn’t really dress to impress other people, let alone boys, as she considers her sense of fashion to be an extension of her own creativity. In layman’s terms, she dresses to express, not to impress.
    • Chicken McNuggets - Back when Yuzu High was still partially St. Kisai Girls’ School, one of the biggest rumors that were spread around the gossipy girls in the student body was that Sango would buy them by the hundreds and presumably store them in her fridge for weeks on end, in case of emergencies. While we’re on the topic of McDonald’s, Sango is 100% the type to take a soggy, limp Big Mac out of her fridge, plop it into a microwave, and call the result “edible.”

    Dislikes:
    • Sweets - This one could come off as surprising, but Sango isn't really much of a sweet tooth. She's way more into spicy foods and meats. She's also a bit of a purist when it comes to food flavors, and doesn't like it when people mix flavors in foods, like putting lemons on fish or pickles on hamburgers.
    • Science Classes - She's not the sharpest tool in the shed, to say the least. What she can boast about in creativity and wit, she can't emulate when it comes to Math, Chemistry or Physics. If she had to pick some kind of academic course, she'd much rather pick some kind of History over Science. After all, at least she can picture History in her head.
    • The Color Yellow - She never found the color appealing, and she finds people that dress in that color to look stand-off-ish and overly flashy. Speaking of overly flashy, she can't stare at anything colored bright yellow for too long or her eyes start straining and her head starts hurting.
    • Dogs - This could extend to most domesticated animals in general, but dogs get special mention when it comes to Sango. She hasn't exactly had any terrible experience or trauma with anyone's pets in her past, but she just dislikes so many things about them, like their smell, the way they slobber all over her, the way they chew on her shoes, and how they do the deed on people's carpets.

    Hobbies:
    • Singing - For most intents and purposes, Sango is a dancer. She does not want to make a living out of singing by any means, and it’s more of a hobby for her than anything else. That being said, as explained in the “Likes” section, she’s really good at it and can sing some very difficult songs. However, as she knows she can’t handle too much pressure or attention, she’s chosen to keep this particular talent of hers hidden. She thinks she’s been doing a pretty good job of doing so, too, but…
    • Gaming - Sango isn’t exactly a hardcore gamer, but she’s stuffed her smartphone’s hard drive full of… legally obtained and not-suspicious-at-all games, and she plays them during breaks while always answering that she’s texting a friend if someone asks her what she’s doing. Her favorite series are Fire Emblem and Pokemon, and she could listen to their soundtracks on repeat for hours on end. While she’s lost in her own little world listening to video game music, she imagines herself performing killer dance moves to it on stage.
    • Exercising - She didn’t really make much of a habit of going to the gym or going on morning runs before joining the Gymnastics Team at St. Kisai and later Yuzu High. However, now that she’s one of the better members of the team, she figured she needed to get those gains one way or the other. After all, being a dancer is hard work that requires a lot of physical exertion.

    Dreams/Life Goals:
    • Become a Background Dancer - Explained in detail above. To reiterate, she does not seek the recognition of being an idol herself, but her goal to stand on a stage and steal the hearts of an audience of thousands of people would be satisfied just by standing in the background of a big star in the J-Pop industry.
    • Start a Family - As busy as Sango looks and acts, one of her biggest goals in life is to settle down with a special someone and become a mother. The fact that she was raised under the tutelage of a kindergarten teacher probably had a lot to do with this desire for kids of her own. Yes, I said kids. Plural.

    Values:
    • Honesty - Sango's make or break when it comes to potential partners. She refuses to bond with anyone who has a habit of lying or putting up false impressions with ill intentions.
    • Kindness - Sango values this about as much as Honesty, but she doesn't think as negatively of people who aren't kind. She can understand that there are circumstances where people have to be strict or even harsh towards each other, but she'd be hard-pressed to justify being told a lie, however Heartfelt it may seem.
    • Loyalty - In a very similar vein to Honesty. A cheating partner is a lying partner, after all. She doesn't exactly expect a partner to bend to her will or protect her without thinking twice, but she finds it hard to imagine herself ever getting involved romantically with a partner she can't trust.
    • Tolerance - Sango makes mistakes—more than she'd like to admit. She knows that whoever is her partner is will slip up sometimes too, and while she doesn't expect to be excused from any and all consequences for her mistakes, she expects her partner to be patient with her and measure their reactions appropriately.

    Most Embarrassing Moment:

    Sango's most embarrassing moment stems from all the way back in her days in St. Kisai, when she stumbled upon one of the gossip girls from her school while she was carrying a box with no less than 100 Chicken McNuggets--a week's worth if she didn't give in to gluttony. Overnight, rumors began spreading about Sango being a glutton who eats nothing but McDonald's every night. Whether this was true or not, this became her most embarrassing moment because she lived being tormented by it until St. Kisai became part of Yuzu High, in which case the gossip girls had bigger rumors to chase.

    Her decision to not address these rumors back then would come to bite her in the ass during her trip to the hot springs in Part 4 of the Common Route. She was convinced the rumors being spread about here were about the Chicken McNuggets, so she didn't bother asking why people were avoiding her for most of the trip.


    Insecurities:

    • Sussy Baka Syndrome - I mean, Imposter Syndrome. She's been reassured of her talent and her potential several times by many different people, including her Gymnastics coach, but she can't gather the courage to admit it to herself. She doesn't believe she has it in her to lead the Gymnastics Team or stand on a nationwide stage as anything other than a background dancer, despite the empirical evidence suggesting otherwise.
    • See No Evil, Hear No Evil... - Sango would much rather avoid confronting a problem she's going through instead of dealing with it directly. Even if she knows a problem is only going to get worse overtime, the most she can do is ask someone to solve it for her... easier said than done, I know.
    • Perfectionist - As explained in the Pre-Story Background section, this is likely a result of how strictly she takes her dancing regimen. She becomes frustrated with herself when she makes a mistake, however small, but she knows better than to take her anger out on her classmates. You probably don't want to know how she channels this pent-up frustration, but she wishes that one day dancing would be enough...

    Character Shipping Preferences
    This section is used to determine your preferences in who your character gets shipped with.

    How do you want your character to be shipped?
    • Through Vote Shipping

    - If you will go through Ship Voting, please answer the following:

    Who do you wish to be shipped with?
    • Boys

    When Ship Voting Occurs, Which Round of Ship Rolling do you want to participate in first?
    Note that ship voting will pair Boy X Girl Pairs, and then Same Sex Pairs with whomever is left

    • Boys X Girls Pairing Only


    Opinions of Other Students:
    Sagawa Mizunohara:     "I have a hard time tolerating her. She gets on my nerves with all those crazy pranks of hers."
    Ruger Misoto: "I can kinda get where he's coming from, but I really don't think screaming at girls is going to get you anywhere outside of the Principal's office, sir."

    Shin Yukimura: "His bravery and cool demeanor are really admirable! I haven't spoken to him much, but he seems really dependable."
    Atsuko Fukumoto: "She was at the very top of the pecking order in St. Kisai, and I looked up to her a lot, but the smear campaigns really damaged her image... I hope those lies don't damage her career in the long run."

    Akiko Akiyama: "Akiyama-san is so cool! Her hair is beautiful and I love the whole ice queen thing she has going on. That being said, I see echoes of myself in the way she handles conflict—or lack thereof—with the corpos. That could have easily been me if the stage was set differently, huh?"
    Haruki Higuchi: "He's a dork and his looks aren't really anything to write home about. That being said, I'm surprised someone as talented and brilliant as he is has flown under so many girls' radars. I guess he's not really the type most girls these days are looking for, huh?"

    Okane Ayashii: "Y'know, I consider her a rival when it comes to fashion, but every time we so much as meet passing gazes, it's like I see dollar signs in her eyes instead of fireballs. What a shame..."
    Toru Fuhai: "Just the thought of someone like him being so conniving under the guise of a gentle man is... bone-chilling. Ever since the day he was arrested, I think about the people around me every night and ask myself if I really knew the kind of person they are under the mask."

    Yukiko Benri: "This girl, uh... she concerns me. You didn't hear this from me, but if anyone's to blame for any rumors about me that have spread around in the past, she's my prime suspect."
    Takao Hirokumi: "He's quite the... eccentric fellow. I hope he gets the treatment he desperately needs soon. For the record, I'm not just talking about his eye."

    Yuuki Tokita: "Did we get a transfer student sometime after the merger? I'd probably remember seeing someone as cool as her walking around the halls back at St. Kisai. She really rocks the delinquent look, but I bet that makes her look all the more terrifying when she gets mad."
    Haru Sarachi: "Real talk? When I was cooking up the idea for the Maid/Host Cafe, I had him in my mind from the very instant. Lemme tell you, he did not disappoint... up until, you know..."

    Yuriko Minamoto: "She's very brave and I'm sure she means well, but I think her goals are a little... old-fashioned. Is it her ties to her influential family that has her acting like this?
    Daisuke Minamoto: "He's endearing and kinda cute, but some of his goals are a little misplaced, in my humble opinion. If I had the chance, I'd tell him to blaze his own trail instead of trying to match his cousin's. I mean, I don't think Yuriko could ever teach me some killer martial arts moves that may or may not be useful in my routines!

    Cinabu Naro: "I heard about what happened between her and that politician after the Culture Festival. Could I have avoided this by not giving into my lust for revenge against the people that threatened my family? I've lost so much sleep since then..."
    Reginald Quackenbush: "Ew... why does this man have a duck bill? On second thought, can I really call him a man in the first place?"

    Sami Ishioka: "Im not into girls like that, but if I was, she'd be the first one I'd tell something like 'I am in your care...' and I can't come up with a reasonable explanation as to why."
    Ryousei Kamirosu: "The me from the beginning of the school year wouldn't really mind him, but his attitude really gets on my nerves now. It's like he wants me to see him as the villain. That being said, he definitely has some sort of empathy trapped inside that shell of hyperbolized chauvinism he'd call a persona. I can see it being a 'nurture over nature' kind of thing."

    Uwuru Ruruwu: "She's a bit of an oddball, but she's a real sweetheart. Very huggable and extremely creative. I wish I was that innovative when it comes to fashion. 10/10, would recommend to my friends and family. Keep her away from gendered bathrooms, though."

    Shirou Nakamura: "He has a very punchable face. Were I not a woman of peace, I would beat him senseless on a whim."

 
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