SIREN'S PULL APPLICATION
Character Information
General
Canon Source: Seikon no Qwaser. (a.k.a. The Qwaser of Stigmata.)
Canon Format: Manga.
Character's Name: Mafuyu Oribe.
Character's Age: ~16.
Conditional: If your character is 13 years of age or under, please clarify how they will be played. n/a
What form will your character's NV take?
A Samsung t559, examples seen: here.
Abilities
Character's Canon Abilities:
Her favorite thing to do is headsmash people with her bamboo kendo sword, so go figure. However, her concentration and meditative stance when using said sword is admirable -- she was a skilled member of the Kendo Club (the Captain, I think) prior to dropping out for her concept of "protecting" Tomo. From what we see in flashback glimpse, she's been training in Kendo since she was a little girl.
SWORDS MARIA CIRCUIT: It's barely explored so far in the scanslated manga, and it only gets more bizarre in the volumes that aren't translated, but here goes. The Swords Maria Circuit is one of two, divided between Mafuyu and Tomo. When Mafuyu's circuit begins to activate, a tattoo manifests on her arm. The higher the level of manifestation, the higher up her arm the tattoo moves, and at full manifestation, the tattoo is found spanning from above her left hip to the side of her neck, and back over her left shoulder to her shoulder blade, as well as the length of her arm. (As seen here.) At full manifestation it is likely possible, or at the least probable, that the figure manifesting can be seen by others, and it does appear to have its own inherent glow.
This manifestation can be seen in the background of this picture; a weird sort of hooded woman with a multi-sectional bladed weapon attached to her wrist, and some strange arm guard thing going on. In essence this is like a shadow manifestation of the circuit itself. Mafuyu's strength and speed are enhanced when the SMEC is activated, though she has poor control of either at the moment, which leads to tearing apart bodices like some Hark! A vagrant! Mr. Darcy; she lacks fine control of her circuit. A glaring weak point of this in canon is that a full "awakening" of the circuit apparently requires her to... orgasm? So far it seems that way. Anyhow there's a reason Sasha doesn't really help her activate it entirely, though he can recognize the signs of it's activation once it's been done. Probably because at that moment Mafuyu sends out a GIANT SPEAR OF LIGHT TOWARD THE HEAVENS. It's very. Impressive? (It's sensed as a wave of energy, I believe, more than it's anything visible to the naked eye.)
Note, the only full, consistent way to "awaken" her swords maria circuit is through orgasm, but concentration can help her bring it out as well (at least halfway). The focus that serves her well in kendo likewise helps her tap into her swords maria elemental circuit; it's her control that remains an issue. (She hits too strong, and it... destroys her clothing in the aftermath?) This concentration only partly activates the circuit to begin with, though the theory is that over time she can better control and use her circuit without it being an inherent danger to herself. (Sasha was concerned about her activating the circuit in a half assed way, since in theory the circuit could completely destroy her if she does something wrong because she doesn't know how to use it properly.)
To now touch on what it seems to do -- for all intents and purposes it's like having concussive force of air attached to her movements/actions. When she's focusing it through a weapon (in her case, her shinai [kendo bamboo sword] or anything sticklike) it adds that concussive pressure of air behind her movements, and tends to rip things apart. Not skin, or anything, but clothing (especially her own) has a really hard time staying intact. Above all, Mafuyu's Swords Maria EC is an offensive weapon, where-as Tomo's has manifested as defensive. (Tomo's shields her.)
However, she seems only to be able to channel the SMEC through objects she's wielding at the time. Her favorite happens to be her shinai, due to her kendo background, though she has on occasion attempted to use any available length of wood to defend herself. Presumably, with training, she could use her SMEC effectively through anything capable of capitalizing on the added force it gives her, though from how the SMEC appears to work, it'll always have to be used directly on someone (as in no waving her hands and WOO WALL OF FORCEFUL AIR??? directed at people).
A few other trivial bits of knowledge that aren't fully explained: in moonlight, her circuit can be seen (sometimes, if she's standing around in the nude and probably isn't in the City with its dull little moonlight) as a glimmer.
Illustrative Examples:
[ Mafuyu Half-Activating her Circuit | focus | and | then | go ]
[ Mafuyu's Half Activation, Pt. 2 | we're | partners | okay ]
[ Mafuyu's Fully Activated Circuit | glowy goodness? ]
Conditional: If your character has no superhuman canon abilities, what dormant ability will you give them? Pretty sure her crazy SMEC counts as a superhuman canon ability, so n/a?
Weapons: Given her point of pull, she doesn't have a weapon on her. She has half her clothing on her, and her circuit is almost completely deactivated.
History/Personality/Plans/etc.
Character History:
Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Qwaser_of_Stigmata#Human_Students
Unfortunately the only summaries I found were for anime episodes, and while there are many similar elements in the anime and manga, they are still only similar, and not the same. Characters and plot elements and settings were shifted as suited the animation itself; and following manga canon (and thus being behind where the anime went, ultimately, though who knows how fast the serialization of the manga will be caught up on, I can hope quickly) her history goes as follows:
At a young age Mafuyu was orphaned. She was then taken in by Tomo Yamanobe's father, the prior dean of St. Mihailov Academy, an eastern orthodox (Russian Orthodox Christianity for all intents and purposes) institution in Japan. Mafuyu believed she was being taken in as a protector for the often sick, very frail Tomo. It becomes her life reason and privilege to protect Tomo from the world in all it's various manifestations for the sake of her adoptive Uncle, and out of love for Tomo herself.
Life is grand, or rather life is usual for years; Mafuyu and Tomo and Tomo's father appear to be well and happy, until his abrupt disappearance. At that point Tomo and Mafuyu are living at the academy on the grace of the new headmaster and the private student's funding, running their former home as a boarding house (though no one apparently boards there) to get by. Their fellow students either involve themselves in cruel pranks on Tomo (more so than Mafuyu, as Mafuyu fights back), or ignoring the pranks so they don't get pulled into the cruel bullying going on themselves.
Then one day as they're walking home, they find a 13 year old white haired Russian collapsed under a tree. He gropes Tomo, Mafuyu knocks him out, and then their world changes~ Well, a little later, but she learns about these magical beings -- no wait not magical. She learns about these very religious persons known as "Qwasers," who are apparently created through extensive, horrid experimentation, but I don't think Mafuyu has learned anything of that quite yet. Anyhow, she is pulled into the world of the Qwasers when running for the doctor to help this poor beaten Russian out that night, which is when she catches sight of the campus church on fire. She runs in, gets pinned to a wall, and meets her first Qwaser working their Qwaser groove -- Magnesium. Magnesium turns out to be puppeting Tomo, trying to get information on the location of the real Theotokos -- an icon painting of the virgin Mary nursing baby Jesus.
Yes, this is also where the theme of nursing apparently comes from. Because! As Mafuyu was shocked to learn when Sasha saved her in the burning church, a Qwaser powers up by -- nursing. Yes, a Qwaser -- male or female -- has way too much business time with a willing (or unwilling) breast and sucks out the "soma" -- holy breast milk. MAYBE IT'S LITERAL. My sanity swears to prefer to think of this as a representation of life-force being sucked out since it's also mentioned as being the life force of a given woman; not that this apparently harms the ladies being used for their soma, but it does make a certain greater level of sense, since women don't go around lactating all their lives waiting for a Qwaser to come along and relieve them of the extra weight.
Anyhow, Magnesium is trying to find the Theotokos, the underlying plot for much of the series thus far, as the Theotokos is supposed to be the key to a greater power (or more like a key to a sanctuary ultimately revealed to be in the lake behind the school, but that part of the manga isn't translated, so just know it's a key to Big News). Sasha manages to defeat Magnesium, and a whole slew of weird adventures begin, mostly threatening, well. Everyone.
The main idea is that Sasha transfers to the area on behest of the organization through the Eastern Orthodox Church that's trying to prevent the Theotokos from falling into the "bad guy's" hands. Mafuyu is presumed by most everyone to know where the Theotokos is, when she actually doesn't; this prompts the first few attacks on herself and Tomo, though later the focus shifts to Sasha himself. Various Qwasers, most notably the Qwaser of Gold and Sodium (both responsible for traumatic events in Sasha's past), take a lead in the action; the Qwaser of Sodium is grooming Sasha from a distance to rise past all the other Qwasers, for a purpose he never quite manages to fully encapsulate before he's later killed and that is perverted by the Qwaser of Gold. The Qwaser of Gold is manipulating everyone from the start, and is the head of the Probably Bad And Slightly Morally Grey Guys (who are actually called the Adepts, but Probably Bad And Slightly Morally Grey Guys is just so much more... apt), who has left a sliver of himself in Tomo (constantly draining her soma until she dies). Again, arguing that "soma" is actually life-energy, and manifests through the breasts looking like milk and actually having nothing to do with actual lactation PLEASE SOMEBODY oh who knows.
Anyhow, at some point another Qwaser working for Sasha's group (Athos) is sent to join ranks with him at the school -- Ekaterina. She is the consummate loli, really, if you ignore the vicious dominatrix streak she employs against a few of Mafuyu's classmates. Ekaterina is the Qwaser of Copper, and travels with her "mother,' a giant copper puppet woman of sorts named Anastasia.
So Copper and Iron help each other out unwillingly time to time, and ultimately, Sasha is brought to a head after facing down five or so Qwasers from the Bad Guys. (Who aren't ultimately bad just SHADY god this series.) In this conflict, where Tomo had been kidnapped and now Sasha and Mafuyu were in pursuit, the two girls end up causing part of the actual key to opening up the magical place every Qwaser wants to get to to split and then -- imprint on both of them.
Tomo is then stolen away by the Adepts, and Mafuyu is left with Sasha (who kind of got part of his revenge on the Adepts at that time, but not more than part of it) to get Tomo back.
To make all of this more Mafuyu relevant, she's forced to confront strange things because she refuses to stay behind, once she's caught wind of this Qwaser business. When Sasha transfers into her school, she later confronts him -- and is drawn into his Qwaser battle. When it ultimately appears that Tomo, at least, will not be able to be uninvolved with the Qwasers, Mafuyu, who Sasha first says is allowed to run away if she's scared, instead says she's staying -- and that Sasha can be under her in the line of Protect Tomo Command.
This ends up placing Mafuyu in the line of fire for the various Qwasers sent after the Theotokos and Sasha himself; she has to prove herself capable of either helping (as she does against Ekaterina, though Sasha tells her he had it handled, she didn't help!!! afterward), or getting out of the way (as with most the others), since she's just standard human when faced with these Qwaser alchemists.
As time passes, she finds herself coming to care for Sasha more and more; this leads to the first time she allows him to take soma from her (even if he was... unconscious? at the time) while denying she'd done so, to make sure he survives, and because she manages to shelve her embarrassment at the whole process for long enough to give him what he needs. By that point she's more or less feeling strong affection for him (love), which matters because apparently emotions translate through soma, and affect the quality and strength of the soma. (LIFE FORCE I SWEAR or else I keep thinking "oh dear flavored breast milk???")
The reality and heartbreak behind how Qwasers are brought about starts to leave an impact on Mafuyu, and she understands more of Sasha than before, acting as a support for him in ways he probably didn't realize he wanted. (And needed.) It does add distance between herself and Tomo, which Tomo notices, though she's not resentful. If anything, Tomo is apparently pleased, as Sasha being around has prompted more smiles and laughter out of the too serious Mafuyu (serious since the abrupt disappearance of Tomo's father).
When the Qwaser of Mercury attacks the school, Mafuyu stands up to her within her classroom, despite knowing full well it could get her killed -- because she can't allow another bully to bully her classmates, let alone one this frightening. (The class president ends up being a key part in this, starting, and trying, to take a stand against the bullying in the first place.) Sasha ultimately pulls through, "killing" the Qwaser, though this leads to an "unveiling" of his being a secret special agent from Russia to the school at large. (Yeah, what a great cover story, seriously.)
The Qwaser of Mercury didn't exactly die, however, and ends up kidnapping Mafuyu -- and baiting Sasha into another confrontation where she hoped to kill him. (By the way, the Qwaser of Mercury? Is also supposed to be Eva Anna Paula Braun. It's as horrible as google might tell you it is. She creates clones of herself that she then raises to be sadomasochistic slaves, their primary purpose to be horribly abused by the organization, and to fix Mercury's body when she's heavily injured, or appears to be aging. Solvent Green Is People -- Anti Aging Cream Is Clones.)
That confrontation ended up being the second time Mafuyu allowed Sasha to suckle, and as it follows her declaration that he needs to understand that caring is not weak, that caring gives you so much more to fight for (or he remembers her saying as much before, Sasha is an odd kid), he kind of levels up and then defeats the Qwaser (with help from the Qwaser of Sodium, though he doesn't make a direct appearance right then) and then BAMF is unconscious.
And for a while amnesiatic, which worries Mafuyu. He goes off on cosplay adventures (I wish I was kidding) and when she eventually finds him, she learns two things: his memories have returned, and the other Qwaser with him is someone she already knows... and had met in the mountains a while back. About this time, Tomo is also kidnapped by the Qwaser of Sodium, and it gets down to what might seem like final game time.
Sasha is ready to set off and reclaim Tomo (protector number two to the rescue!) when Mafuyu says she's coming with. As she tells him, Tomo is her everything. Mafuyu remembers nothing of when she was little. All of her memories are tied up together with Tomo. Of course this is all said as she strips, offering Sasha her body (more her energy) so that he can be in top form, and he rather aggressively pushes her on the point of the fact he's burning with rage -- and while he painfully makes that known, she doesn't back down, because she understands.
This battle mostly doesn't involve Mafuyu, though she stays with Sasha until he tells her to go toward the building Tomo is being kept in; she does, and is confronted with a Tomo being completely controlled by the Qwaser of Gold. Mafuyu dives for the Faberge egg supposed to be part of this whole equation, saved from gold blasted oblivion by the Qwaser of Copper and the Qwaser of Sodium, respectively.
Sasha makes it to the main room, being goaded by the Qwaser of Gold, and Mafuyu declaims "his" statements as she throws herself and the egg into Tomo's possessed chest. The action causes the egg to hatch, and breaks the Qaswer of Gold's hold on Tomo -- also cementing Tomo and Mafuyu as two halves of the Swords Maria Elemental Circuit. (Element of what? Who knows!)
A little more fighting goes down, and unfortunately, one of the Qwaser of Gold's lackies makes off with Tomo.
No! Not Tomo!
Mafuyu and Sasha are left to try and track down Tomo, while maintaining their "normal" lives. At the same time Mafuyu starts experimenting with her Marias Sword Elemental Circuit, to see what it is about, really. Her opportunity arises when another elemental circuit user shows up at school, and she confronts him. Sasha ultimately has to help her out, but as she confessed to him after being berated for trying to take on the veritable qwaser on her own, "I believed I wanted to protect Tomo, but I was just scared. I couldn't help but want to run away." (Though she never did so... give yourself some credit, Mafuyu.) "But I won't hesitate anymore. No, I don't have the time to hesitate anymore! I will save Tomo, at any cost!" Bearing her chest to Sasha, she tells him to take her soma, and he blushes and looks to the side while telling her he already has enough, and that she shouldn't carelessly bare her breasts in public.
Which, coming from him, is kind of rich. Anyhow, the two of them take on the elemental circuit user together, and while Mafuyu is not really able to control the Swords Maria Elemental Circuit all that well, she proves she can use it, and it's better than the lack of recognition from before.
Shortly there-after, transfer students show up at school whom Sasha knows, while Mafuyu has no idea about. This leads to a few creative situations -- mainly Mafuyu getting kidnapped and molested by the female transfer student. A seemingly innocent -- no. Wait. Innocuous? No, not that either. A seemingly straight-forward molestation turns out to be an attempt at waking the full Swords Maria Elemental Circuit, which happens!
... When Mafuyu is sufficiently aroused?
... Anyway this causes a surge of energy to release along with the circuit, drawing Sasha's attention so that he's drawn from his battle to the one Mafuyu is fighting against her molester -- and then she's taken to the City, after Tasuku Fujiomi and Mutsumi Sendou (the transfer students) announce that they are spirit guardians of Japan here to "destroy the 'living goddess sarui sui!'"
Sidenote: As of Chapter 25, it appears that Mafuyu may in fact be some sort of reincarnation of Joan of Arc (not... even kidding), the potential former possesser of the Swords Maria Elemental Circuit. What this means in general is uncertain, but as a potential reincarnation, she looks exactly like (her world's) "Jeanne" of Arc. This is seen from Tomo's perspective, when she's still in a coma as a result of having her half of the Swords Maria Elemental Circuit activated. One can presume it's a memory imprinted into the circuit itself. This chapter also demonstrates that the Swords Maria circuit broke into a "sword" and "shield" composition; Mafuyu being the sword, Tomo the shield.
Point in Canon:
Chapter Twenty-Four, after Tasuku Fujiomi and Mutsumi Sendou announce that they are spirit guardians of Japan here to "destroy the 'living goddess sarui sui!'" This is also directly after being molested by Mutsumi and really awakening the "Swords Maria" elemental circuit.
Conditional: Brief summary of previous RP history: n/a
Character Personality:
Mafuyu is very loyal to Tomo, admiring her as a person who can smile through the "worst" of things happening around her, and crediting her with an inner strength that Mafuyu doesn't always believe she herself has. Her loyalty and ideas of loyalty tend to extend to her friends; she has so few in series that those she does have she thanks for simply standing by her. (Right before they, you know, turn out to be part of Team Bad Guys, and then it's time for some good old betrayal face.) She's temperamental; her ideas of right and wrong dictate most of her actions in life, and she doesn't like or appreciate when Tomo (and by extension, herself) are treated poorly for no good reason. She has a tendency to see people as the perpetrators of their own actions, and doesn't have the same faith that Tomo displays early in the series that God will watch after and help them as long as they remember to not hate and to smile through everything. ("Besides, Father said so, didn't he? 'God will always help those who do not hate, and who are always smiling."
Mafuyu's following thoughts are telling: But God never helps, and her father is missing, and there's no one to help us. Which is why... "I promise I will always protect you.")
She takes that promise seriously, even as her world quickly goes from sensible, if filled with ridiculous, cruel bullying at school, to absolute batcrazy.
Mafuyu gets scared. She'll try to put on a brave face in situations she doesn't understand, as when her precious things (like the memories that she associates with the icons in the church on campus) or precious people (such as Tomo) are attacked, she can't prevent herself from trying to save them. She also doesn't always know how to do that -- but she'll try anyway, because she can't not try to save what's important to her. To "protect" what she believes in, even if it scares the hell out of her trying to do just that. For example, running toward the fire she saw in the church because she wanted to save the painting her Uncle had so treasured, even realizing that the fire was going to spread and she had no way to help control that.
The first chapter is a fairly decent summary of Mafuyu herself. She doesn't believe anyone but herself can save her from the world, so she strives to become stronger, to help and protect Tomo (and likewise herself). She's a nobody, and with Tomo's father disappearing, so is Tomo. This changes over the time she spends with Sasha and Teresa and everyone related to the Qwasers; while Sasha tells her when they second meet that she has to help herself, since no one else is going to do it, it's after he's already saved her once -- one of those trends that establishes itself in the first 24 chapters. However, for Mafuyu, this is a kind of bridge into understanding that friends are the people who help protect each other, and that she isn't alone. She and Tomo aren't alone; there are people who can and do care, and that she can care about in turn.
Who also won't turn out to be evil, though her sense for these things could use some work.
I mention Mafuyu gets scared, and I'll elaborate here. She does find herself in extreme situations, ones she doesn't understand in the slightest at first, though she picks up pieces of the puzzle as she spends more time in contact with Sasha and the Qwaser's popping up around the school. She can be smart enough to run away, instead of freezing on the spot when frightened; Mafuyu definitely feels her fear, but forces herself to move and think beyond it.
She also has a tendency to notice odd details in the middle of a fight and/or dangerous scene; for one, she thinks more about how similar Sasha's nursing on Teresa looks to the Theotokos painting than she spends time lingering on the fact he's nursing on Teresa in the first place. (Which did shock her; she later has a nightmare about being tied up in bondage gear with him coming after her, stating he wanted her breasts, GIVE HIM HER BREASTS, and then she wakes up to Tomo essentially "nursing," which is later explained by the fact Tomo's own soma had been taken away quite often by the classmate posing as a friend, who was actually also Magnesium.) Right after the first fight she witnesses with Magnesium, she also picks up on Sasha's bleeding as she is dangling off the edge of the roof. Mafuyu is attentive to other people and how they feel about things in a general sense; she shows this when noting to Teresa that the nursing was in fact embarrassing (Teresa agrees) and in how she doesn't demand or push for people to act on her behalf and become another target in class for the ridiculous bullying that goes on.
Mafuyu is "sensitive" to potential perverts, in regards to herself, Tomo, or her classmates, which is borderline ridiculous at times, as her body image with other women is perfectly fine, and she's demonstrated that she has no obvious discomfort bathing nude with relative female strangers; it's her sensitivity toward the opposite sex. This isn't to say she allows herself to be taken advantage of by women -- the one young lady who tries ends up having limited success before Mafuyu breaks free (kind of) and the two of them fight more or less nude.
... Yes, overall, Mafuyu doesn't hesitate to charge in on behalf of a friend, no matter her current state of dress -- or undress. Modesty can wait in the face of protecting her important people, and while she'll make attempts at gaining modesty, or a sense of privacy, even during the moments where she allows an unconscious Sasha to partake of her... soma (this is so hard to write without wanting to laugh), where she drapes the both of them in a blanket, though arguably this is because they'd fallen into an underground river and she was using body-heat to warm them both up anyway. (When he comes too, fully energized, she's dressed again, and so is he.)
This tangents into Mafuyu's mothering tendencies. She's a good cook -- apparently a really good cook -- and takes pride in this fact. She absorbs most the duties around where they live, cooks all the meals, takes care of Tomo from dressing to being ill to anything, and extends this kind of maternal clucking to anyone else in her immediate sphere. Sasha falls into this category; while at times Mafuyu's own confusion over how she feels toward him dictates her being a more harsh judge on his actions than she is toward others, he still falls in her realm of "people to make sure are doing okay, and feed right." Mafuyu's sense of responsibility for Tomo has extended into other areas of her life; she doesn't think much or hold back on trying to take responsibility for things going on around her, because there's no one else to do so. If this can also make her overreact (mostly on comedic notes) or commit herself to frightening realities, she has to do it; she can't run away from things just because she's scared.
She also really, really enjoys saving money -- at least when shopping, and probably overall frugality paying off. Bargain sales are one of her favorite things; shopping and saving is probably one of her hobbies. And I do mean hobbies; she finds it fun.
Mafuyu is a teenager, albeit a responsible, often mature-attempting one. She keeps herself in charge; she gets angry at people treating Tomo unfairly, and expresses how she feels with few reservations when it comes to speaking out against things she perceives as wrong. She really does admire Tomo for Tomo's strength in being able to smile, though this doesn't prevent her from being strict with Tomo (such as bopping her on the forehead with her shinai [kendo bamboo sword] when she nods off at church), or later being strict and critical of Sasha when he's putting on a front. (She's fairly consistent with her behavior; she calls or teases Sasha all the time, referring to him as a "tundra brat" and later, a "tsundere brat.") She's not always right, though she'd like to be, and she takes the words of people around her seriously... if grudgingly at first.
She doesn't always understand the motives of people around her. She's more likely to accept people at face value until she has a reason to do otherwise, and betrayal is something that hurts her deeply. She's dedicated, and will fight with her everything in order to Get Tomo Back.
Most recently in canon, Mafuyu has shown her certainty to fight for what she believes in, and to bring Tomo back home, even though she's not quite a match for a Qwaser. (Yet, supposedly.) She has to help, and she can't let fear stop her from trying. Tomo's too important to her.
Right, and her personal feelings -- Mafuyu is pretty open with how she feels, if not so much in direct statements as in her actions. She is naturally friendly with people, even understanding of their weaknesses (as long as those aren't perverted ones or degenerative to people important to and around them; by this I more mean she's forgiving of the students afraid to stand up against the bullies in their class), and is not opposed to being in sociable company. In fact, she seems to enjoy it; and enjoy the chance to, who knows, feed people. She likes using the skills she has to their fullest effects, when she can.
She's also pretty "honorable," which ties back into her sense of responsibility. If she can defend her compatriots, she will; especially if the reason they're being attacked in the first place can be traced back to her, or her most important people. She won't let others get away with whatever they want simply because that's what they want to do, or because they're more powerful.
And at the same time she's willing to get down on her knees to beg someone who holds very little regard for her in order to find information that might help Tomo -- or even Sasha. She's not unwilling to bend her pride for the sake of others. (Perhaps, again, a sign of responsibility -- and duty.) Nor is she ungrateful for the things people do for her -- she is actively polite toward strangers and figures of authority outside of life threatening situations where they're on The Bad Side (as in, not her side).
To briefly touch on her temper again -- she's more irritated by things that seem to be bizarrely out of context than things that might more usually irritate a teen girl. (Sasha dismissing her after she witnessed his first battle, telling her if she couldn't save herself from her precarious off the roof dangling position, then she didn't deserve to live -- this pissed her off.) She also dislikes being insulted for something she knows she does well, though her rebuttal to that is usually to demonstrate her skill. (Sasha re: insulting her cooking, and her coming back with AH-HA BUT TRY THIS AND THEN REPEAT YOURSELF!)
She's angered on behalf of her friends all the time, Tomo most predominantly -- Mafuyu cannot stand how Tomo is treated, and verbally calls out the classmates usually responsible, as well as asking for explanations and making her feelings on bullying well known. (She then has to bite her tongue, because she also realizes the reality of their situation. Too much of a fuss, and they could be kicked out, and then they'd really have nothing but each other.)
Still, even angry with people, Mafuyu is willing to give them the benefit of the doubt when a situation calls for it, or at the very least acknowledge the good points a given person might have. Unlike Ekaterina, she's not a cynic; in spite of thinking God is not there to help, and that only she can be there to protect herself and Tomo, no one's going to save them, at heart she still hopes and believes someone will. (Sasha, to that effect, did.)
Expanded Weaknesses:
Actually, can we start with the fact she apparently lacks a stranger danger sense? If people are being overtly hostile or creepy or ominous she picks up on that, but if some people have that sense to say something is off about that random dude over there... Mafuyu doesn't have that sense.
This leads into taking people at face value. No, really, she does. On the bright side, while she doesn't understand why people choose to act two-faced, she can accept it happens.
She can be judgmental. She can also be uncertain, and afraid. While she's worked to move past her fears, and has, time to time, managed to get through them, she is still afraid of what she doesn't understand.
Mafuyu also tends to not entirely think through her reactions to dangerous situations, letting her sense of responsibility and "honor" (if that's the proper word) guide her even when ability and reality are... lacking. Without Sasha around to save her from her half-baked offensives, she's going to end up getting herself into tight situations if she's not careful. (She's not guaranteed to be careful.)
I can surmise Mafuyu tends to put a lot of her insecurities into the background to focus on "protecting" Tomo -- without Tomo, and on another world (for most intents and purposes, either way she's in the City when she used to be in Japan) will leave her unsettled. With no one from home around, suddenly she's back to ground zero -- at least she'll still have a goal to work toward, which might easily become her life if she doesn't branch out to other people. (I think she has to; Mafuyu doesn't enjoy being alone.)
Conditional: Personality development in previous game: n/a
Character Plans:
Mafuyu will have one main goal: to get back home. Tomo is waiting; she can't save Tomo from within the City. Thus she'll have to figure out how to "help" her own goal along, which is shenanigans and a half. I'd expect it'd be fairly easy for her to land herself in trouble, particularly given her views toward bullying (especially of women), but she's not stupid. Mafuyu will do what she can to help the people around her while focusing on the most important thing: getting back to Tomo.
Over time, securing herself a place here that's tolerable while she works toward goal one would be important to her. Similarly, making a few good friends.
Appearance/PB:
Average (Japanese female) height, red hair, blue eyes. [here||there||in the water]
Writing Samples
First Person Sample
[ video's activated, even if Mafuyu isn't particularly aware. viewers can see a shot of her face, the top of one shoulder covered by a dingy, dirty jacket. she's frowning, brow furrowed, as she stares at her NV.
she licks her lips before beginning. ]
Hello, Siren's Port?
[ she stops, lips pressing into a frown. this feels like such a shot in the dark. ]
My name is Mafuyu Oribe. I'm from St. Mihailov Academy, in Japan. Has anyone seen or heard from someone by the name of Alecsander Nikolaevich Hell or -- [ she hesitates; ] -- Tomo Yamanobe? Alecsander-san is around thirteen, with white hair and blue eyes. Tomo is about sixteen, with deep blue hair and red eyes. She's --
[ Mafuyu doesn't finish that thought, glancing off to the side. She's weak. She needs help. She shouldn't be here, let alone without me. Mafuyu chose to believe no one would recognize Tomo's name, and it would be good thing. Sasha, on the other hand... ]
-- fragile, health wise. If you've heard of her around here, please tell me.
[ her voice ends on a firm note, followed by another pause. she grits her teeth, blushing a fierce red as a persistent reality comes back to the front of her mind much as she shoves any thoughts on Sasha to the back of it; ]
Does anyone has a spare set of clothing I could borrow for a while? My uniform didn't survive the trip here all that well. My Greeter's waiting to get their jacket back.
Third Person Sample
Mafuyu looked up at Sasha from where he'd deposited her on the ground, still faintly surprised by his immaculate sense of timing. His irritation was easy to see; it usually was. "Sasha," she said, starting to speak, and trailing off in the same moment. Something in his expression kept her from continuing, searching Sasha's face for some idea of his mood and intention.
She didn't have long to wait.
He exhaled sharply, clenching his teeth before he turned around to confront her directly. "Are you an idiot?! Recklessly charging in like that!" He strode toward her, kneeling down on one knee in a fluid movement she more registered because it ended with his hands around her biceps than because she'd seen the movement coming. His face mere inches away from her, she tried to contain her shock at his vehemence -- or was it surprise? "You half-assedly activated a half-assed circuit! What would have happened if it went berserk? You have no clue, do you?!"
Her heart thudded faster, a remnant of the adrenaline spike from minutes before. She tensed, and then her eyes dropped from his, focusing instead on the hand she brought up to dislodge one of his hands from her arm. She knew he was right, at least about her not knowing what would have happened, if the worst had happened. Sasha had more experience with these things, and Mafuyu, for all that had been going on since he collapsed into her life, was still learning. There's so much to learn.
"But... I decided," she said, regarding the ground, feeling him listen. "Ever since I met you, I've been trapped in the Qwaser's fights."
His hand dropped away from her other arm. Part of her missed the contact, felt like it was a connection slipping away. She continued talking nevertheless. If she stopped, she wasn't sure she could continue. There wasn't a choice in that. Mafuyu had to try and explain to him why this was so important to her. He needs to see. "I believed I needed to protect Tomo, but... I was just scared. I couldn't help wanting to run away. But," she said, pushing herself off the ground, "I won't hesitate anymore!"
He needs to understand. Please, understand. Mafuyu held her arms close to her chest, resting her chin on them as she articulated what it was she felt, when she'd decided minutes earlier that she had to face down the not-quite-qwaser who'd been terrorizing her classmates.
"No, I don't have time to hesitate anymore." Not when Tomo needed her. Not when being afraid was only a part of what she felt, and couldn't be any worse than the fear Tomo might be feeling right now. Mafuyu hadn't been melodramatic when she'd told Sasha that her world, her memories were all of Tomo. In so many ways, her adoptive sister was her world; her duty, the one constant and forgiving thing that she'd fight for. Whatever the cost.
That thought stuck with her as she let one arm drop, making a wide, encompassing gesture toward her companion and the world at large as she lifted her chin and turned to look directly at him. He'd risen as she did, holding his silence, either out of respect or a lack of things to say.
"I will save Tomo, at any cost!" Her eyes flashed, bright with the determination she knew would carry her through. To Tomo. For Tomo. I have to get her back. She bridged the distance between them, pulling down hard on the torn edge of her shirt, exposing her bra. Her face blushed scarlet, but was this even a choice? Sasha had given his word to protect Tomo, and she'd seen him working his avenues to get her back. This was how she could help him. She steeled herself, thinking of things beyond the heat on her face.
"Sasha! Take my soma!" She would do near everything for family. And this... if Mafuyu was entirely honest, this wasn't something she minded as much as she maybe should.
General
Canon Source: Seikon no Qwaser. (a.k.a. The Qwaser of Stigmata.)
Canon Format: Manga.
Character's Name: Mafuyu Oribe.
Character's Age: ~16.
Conditional: If your character is 13 years of age or under, please clarify how they will be played. n/a
What form will your character's NV take?
A Samsung t559, examples seen: here.
Abilities
Character's Canon Abilities:
Her favorite thing to do is headsmash people with her bamboo kendo sword, so go figure. However, her concentration and meditative stance when using said sword is admirable -- she was a skilled member of the Kendo Club (the Captain, I think) prior to dropping out for her concept of "protecting" Tomo. From what we see in flashback glimpse, she's been training in Kendo since she was a little girl.
SWORDS MARIA CIRCUIT: It's barely explored so far in the scanslated manga, and it only gets more bizarre in the volumes that aren't translated, but here goes. The Swords Maria Circuit is one of two, divided between Mafuyu and Tomo. When Mafuyu's circuit begins to activate, a tattoo manifests on her arm. The higher the level of manifestation, the higher up her arm the tattoo moves, and at full manifestation, the tattoo is found spanning from above her left hip to the side of her neck, and back over her left shoulder to her shoulder blade, as well as the length of her arm. (As seen here.) At full manifestation it is likely possible, or at the least probable, that the figure manifesting can be seen by others, and it does appear to have its own inherent glow.
This manifestation can be seen in the background of this picture; a weird sort of hooded woman with a multi-sectional bladed weapon attached to her wrist, and some strange arm guard thing going on. In essence this is like a shadow manifestation of the circuit itself. Mafuyu's strength and speed are enhanced when the SMEC is activated, though she has poor control of either at the moment, which leads to tearing apart bodices like some Hark! A vagrant! Mr. Darcy; she lacks fine control of her circuit. A glaring weak point of this in canon is that a full "awakening" of the circuit apparently requires her to... orgasm? So far it seems that way. Anyhow there's a reason Sasha doesn't really help her activate it entirely, though he can recognize the signs of it's activation once it's been done. Probably because at that moment Mafuyu sends out a GIANT SPEAR OF LIGHT TOWARD THE HEAVENS. It's very. Impressive? (It's sensed as a wave of energy, I believe, more than it's anything visible to the naked eye.)
Note, the only full, consistent way to "awaken" her swords maria circuit is through orgasm, but concentration can help her bring it out as well (at least halfway). The focus that serves her well in kendo likewise helps her tap into her swords maria elemental circuit; it's her control that remains an issue. (She hits too strong, and it... destroys her clothing in the aftermath?) This concentration only partly activates the circuit to begin with, though the theory is that over time she can better control and use her circuit without it being an inherent danger to herself. (Sasha was concerned about her activating the circuit in a half assed way, since in theory the circuit could completely destroy her if she does something wrong because she doesn't know how to use it properly.)
To now touch on what it seems to do -- for all intents and purposes it's like having concussive force of air attached to her movements/actions. When she's focusing it through a weapon (in her case, her shinai [kendo bamboo sword] or anything sticklike) it adds that concussive pressure of air behind her movements, and tends to rip things apart. Not skin, or anything, but clothing (especially her own) has a really hard time staying intact. Above all, Mafuyu's Swords Maria EC is an offensive weapon, where-as Tomo's has manifested as defensive. (Tomo's shields her.)
However, she seems only to be able to channel the SMEC through objects she's wielding at the time. Her favorite happens to be her shinai, due to her kendo background, though she has on occasion attempted to use any available length of wood to defend herself. Presumably, with training, she could use her SMEC effectively through anything capable of capitalizing on the added force it gives her, though from how the SMEC appears to work, it'll always have to be used directly on someone (as in no waving her hands and WOO WALL OF FORCEFUL AIR??? directed at people).
A few other trivial bits of knowledge that aren't fully explained: in moonlight, her circuit can be seen (sometimes, if she's standing around in the nude and probably isn't in the City with its dull little moonlight) as a glimmer.
Illustrative Examples:
[ Mafuyu Half-Activating her Circuit | focus | and | then | go ]
[ Mafuyu's Half Activation, Pt. 2 | we're | partners | okay ]
[ Mafuyu's Fully Activated Circuit | glowy goodness? ]
Conditional: If your character has no superhuman canon abilities, what dormant ability will you give them? Pretty sure her crazy SMEC counts as a superhuman canon ability, so n/a?
Weapons: Given her point of pull, she doesn't have a weapon on her. She has half her clothing on her, and her circuit is almost completely deactivated.
History/Personality/Plans/etc.
Character History:
Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Qwaser_of_Stigmata#Human_Students
Unfortunately the only summaries I found were for anime episodes, and while there are many similar elements in the anime and manga, they are still only similar, and not the same. Characters and plot elements and settings were shifted as suited the animation itself; and following manga canon (and thus being behind where the anime went, ultimately, though who knows how fast the serialization of the manga will be caught up on, I can hope quickly) her history goes as follows:
At a young age Mafuyu was orphaned. She was then taken in by Tomo Yamanobe's father, the prior dean of St. Mihailov Academy, an eastern orthodox (Russian Orthodox Christianity for all intents and purposes) institution in Japan. Mafuyu believed she was being taken in as a protector for the often sick, very frail Tomo. It becomes her life reason and privilege to protect Tomo from the world in all it's various manifestations for the sake of her adoptive Uncle, and out of love for Tomo herself.
Life is grand, or rather life is usual for years; Mafuyu and Tomo and Tomo's father appear to be well and happy, until his abrupt disappearance. At that point Tomo and Mafuyu are living at the academy on the grace of the new headmaster and the private student's funding, running their former home as a boarding house (though no one apparently boards there) to get by. Their fellow students either involve themselves in cruel pranks on Tomo (more so than Mafuyu, as Mafuyu fights back), or ignoring the pranks so they don't get pulled into the cruel bullying going on themselves.
Then one day as they're walking home, they find a 13 year old white haired Russian collapsed under a tree. He gropes Tomo, Mafuyu knocks him out, and then their world changes~ Well, a little later, but she learns about these magical beings -- no wait not magical. She learns about these very religious persons known as "Qwasers," who are apparently created through extensive, horrid experimentation, but I don't think Mafuyu has learned anything of that quite yet. Anyhow, she is pulled into the world of the Qwasers when running for the doctor to help this poor beaten Russian out that night, which is when she catches sight of the campus church on fire. She runs in, gets pinned to a wall, and meets her first Qwaser working their Qwaser groove -- Magnesium. Magnesium turns out to be puppeting Tomo, trying to get information on the location of the real Theotokos -- an icon painting of the virgin Mary nursing baby Jesus.
Yes, this is also where the theme of nursing apparently comes from. Because! As Mafuyu was shocked to learn when Sasha saved her in the burning church, a Qwaser powers up by -- nursing. Yes, a Qwaser -- male or female -- has way too much business time with a willing (or unwilling) breast and sucks out the "soma" -- holy breast milk. MAYBE IT'S LITERAL. My sanity swears to prefer to think of this as a representation of life-force being sucked out since it's also mentioned as being the life force of a given woman; not that this apparently harms the ladies being used for their soma, but it does make a certain greater level of sense, since women don't go around lactating all their lives waiting for a Qwaser to come along and relieve them of the extra weight.
Anyhow, Magnesium is trying to find the Theotokos, the underlying plot for much of the series thus far, as the Theotokos is supposed to be the key to a greater power (or more like a key to a sanctuary ultimately revealed to be in the lake behind the school, but that part of the manga isn't translated, so just know it's a key to Big News). Sasha manages to defeat Magnesium, and a whole slew of weird adventures begin, mostly threatening, well. Everyone.
The main idea is that Sasha transfers to the area on behest of the organization through the Eastern Orthodox Church that's trying to prevent the Theotokos from falling into the "bad guy's" hands. Mafuyu is presumed by most everyone to know where the Theotokos is, when she actually doesn't; this prompts the first few attacks on herself and Tomo, though later the focus shifts to Sasha himself. Various Qwasers, most notably the Qwaser of Gold and Sodium (both responsible for traumatic events in Sasha's past), take a lead in the action; the Qwaser of Sodium is grooming Sasha from a distance to rise past all the other Qwasers, for a purpose he never quite manages to fully encapsulate before he's later killed and that is perverted by the Qwaser of Gold. The Qwaser of Gold is manipulating everyone from the start, and is the head of the Probably Bad And Slightly Morally Grey Guys (who are actually called the Adepts, but Probably Bad And Slightly Morally Grey Guys is just so much more... apt), who has left a sliver of himself in Tomo (constantly draining her soma until she dies). Again, arguing that "soma" is actually life-energy, and manifests through the breasts looking like milk and actually having nothing to do with actual lactation PLEASE SOMEBODY oh who knows.
Anyhow, at some point another Qwaser working for Sasha's group (Athos) is sent to join ranks with him at the school -- Ekaterina. She is the consummate loli, really, if you ignore the vicious dominatrix streak she employs against a few of Mafuyu's classmates. Ekaterina is the Qwaser of Copper, and travels with her "mother,' a giant copper puppet woman of sorts named Anastasia.
So Copper and Iron help each other out unwillingly time to time, and ultimately, Sasha is brought to a head after facing down five or so Qwasers from the Bad Guys. (Who aren't ultimately bad just SHADY god this series.) In this conflict, where Tomo had been kidnapped and now Sasha and Mafuyu were in pursuit, the two girls end up causing part of the actual key to opening up the magical place every Qwaser wants to get to to split and then -- imprint on both of them.
Tomo is then stolen away by the Adepts, and Mafuyu is left with Sasha (who kind of got part of his revenge on the Adepts at that time, but not more than part of it) to get Tomo back.
To make all of this more Mafuyu relevant, she's forced to confront strange things because she refuses to stay behind, once she's caught wind of this Qwaser business. When Sasha transfers into her school, she later confronts him -- and is drawn into his Qwaser battle. When it ultimately appears that Tomo, at least, will not be able to be uninvolved with the Qwasers, Mafuyu, who Sasha first says is allowed to run away if she's scared, instead says she's staying -- and that Sasha can be under her in the line of Protect Tomo Command.
This ends up placing Mafuyu in the line of fire for the various Qwasers sent after the Theotokos and Sasha himself; she has to prove herself capable of either helping (as she does against Ekaterina, though Sasha tells her he had it handled, she didn't help!!! afterward), or getting out of the way (as with most the others), since she's just standard human when faced with these Qwaser alchemists.
As time passes, she finds herself coming to care for Sasha more and more; this leads to the first time she allows him to take soma from her (even if he was... unconscious? at the time) while denying she'd done so, to make sure he survives, and because she manages to shelve her embarrassment at the whole process for long enough to give him what he needs. By that point she's more or less feeling strong affection for him (love), which matters because apparently emotions translate through soma, and affect the quality and strength of the soma. (LIFE FORCE I SWEAR or else I keep thinking "oh dear flavored breast milk???")
The reality and heartbreak behind how Qwasers are brought about starts to leave an impact on Mafuyu, and she understands more of Sasha than before, acting as a support for him in ways he probably didn't realize he wanted. (And needed.) It does add distance between herself and Tomo, which Tomo notices, though she's not resentful. If anything, Tomo is apparently pleased, as Sasha being around has prompted more smiles and laughter out of the too serious Mafuyu (serious since the abrupt disappearance of Tomo's father).
When the Qwaser of Mercury attacks the school, Mafuyu stands up to her within her classroom, despite knowing full well it could get her killed -- because she can't allow another bully to bully her classmates, let alone one this frightening. (The class president ends up being a key part in this, starting, and trying, to take a stand against the bullying in the first place.) Sasha ultimately pulls through, "killing" the Qwaser, though this leads to an "unveiling" of his being a secret special agent from Russia to the school at large. (Yeah, what a great cover story, seriously.)
The Qwaser of Mercury didn't exactly die, however, and ends up kidnapping Mafuyu -- and baiting Sasha into another confrontation where she hoped to kill him. (By the way, the Qwaser of Mercury? Is also supposed to be Eva Anna Paula Braun. It's as horrible as google might tell you it is. She creates clones of herself that she then raises to be sadomasochistic slaves, their primary purpose to be horribly abused by the organization, and to fix Mercury's body when she's heavily injured, or appears to be aging. Solvent Green Is People -- Anti Aging Cream Is Clones.)
That confrontation ended up being the second time Mafuyu allowed Sasha to suckle, and as it follows her declaration that he needs to understand that caring is not weak, that caring gives you so much more to fight for (or he remembers her saying as much before, Sasha is an odd kid), he kind of levels up and then defeats the Qwaser (with help from the Qwaser of Sodium, though he doesn't make a direct appearance right then) and then BAMF is unconscious.
And for a while amnesiatic, which worries Mafuyu. He goes off on cosplay adventures (I wish I was kidding) and when she eventually finds him, she learns two things: his memories have returned, and the other Qwaser with him is someone she already knows... and had met in the mountains a while back. About this time, Tomo is also kidnapped by the Qwaser of Sodium, and it gets down to what might seem like final game time.
Sasha is ready to set off and reclaim Tomo (protector number two to the rescue!) when Mafuyu says she's coming with. As she tells him, Tomo is her everything. Mafuyu remembers nothing of when she was little. All of her memories are tied up together with Tomo. Of course this is all said as she strips, offering Sasha her body (more her energy) so that he can be in top form, and he rather aggressively pushes her on the point of the fact he's burning with rage -- and while he painfully makes that known, she doesn't back down, because she understands.
This battle mostly doesn't involve Mafuyu, though she stays with Sasha until he tells her to go toward the building Tomo is being kept in; she does, and is confronted with a Tomo being completely controlled by the Qwaser of Gold. Mafuyu dives for the Faberge egg supposed to be part of this whole equation, saved from gold blasted oblivion by the Qwaser of Copper and the Qwaser of Sodium, respectively.
Sasha makes it to the main room, being goaded by the Qwaser of Gold, and Mafuyu declaims "his" statements as she throws herself and the egg into Tomo's possessed chest. The action causes the egg to hatch, and breaks the Qaswer of Gold's hold on Tomo -- also cementing Tomo and Mafuyu as two halves of the Swords Maria Elemental Circuit. (Element of what? Who knows!)
A little more fighting goes down, and unfortunately, one of the Qwaser of Gold's lackies makes off with Tomo.
No! Not Tomo!
Mafuyu and Sasha are left to try and track down Tomo, while maintaining their "normal" lives. At the same time Mafuyu starts experimenting with her Marias Sword Elemental Circuit, to see what it is about, really. Her opportunity arises when another elemental circuit user shows up at school, and she confronts him. Sasha ultimately has to help her out, but as she confessed to him after being berated for trying to take on the veritable qwaser on her own, "I believed I wanted to protect Tomo, but I was just scared. I couldn't help but want to run away." (Though she never did so... give yourself some credit, Mafuyu.) "But I won't hesitate anymore. No, I don't have the time to hesitate anymore! I will save Tomo, at any cost!" Bearing her chest to Sasha, she tells him to take her soma, and he blushes and looks to the side while telling her he already has enough, and that she shouldn't carelessly bare her breasts in public.
Which, coming from him, is kind of rich. Anyhow, the two of them take on the elemental circuit user together, and while Mafuyu is not really able to control the Swords Maria Elemental Circuit all that well, she proves she can use it, and it's better than the lack of recognition from before.
Shortly there-after, transfer students show up at school whom Sasha knows, while Mafuyu has no idea about. This leads to a few creative situations -- mainly Mafuyu getting kidnapped and molested by the female transfer student. A seemingly innocent -- no. Wait. Innocuous? No, not that either. A seemingly straight-forward molestation turns out to be an attempt at waking the full Swords Maria Elemental Circuit, which happens!
... When Mafuyu is sufficiently aroused?
... Anyway this causes a surge of energy to release along with the circuit, drawing Sasha's attention so that he's drawn from his battle to the one Mafuyu is fighting against her molester -- and then she's taken to the City, after Tasuku Fujiomi and Mutsumi Sendou (the transfer students) announce that they are spirit guardians of Japan here to "destroy the 'living goddess sarui sui!'"
Sidenote: As of Chapter 25, it appears that Mafuyu may in fact be some sort of reincarnation of Joan of Arc (not... even kidding), the potential former possesser of the Swords Maria Elemental Circuit. What this means in general is uncertain, but as a potential reincarnation, she looks exactly like (her world's) "Jeanne" of Arc. This is seen from Tomo's perspective, when she's still in a coma as a result of having her half of the Swords Maria Elemental Circuit activated. One can presume it's a memory imprinted into the circuit itself. This chapter also demonstrates that the Swords Maria circuit broke into a "sword" and "shield" composition; Mafuyu being the sword, Tomo the shield.
Point in Canon:
Chapter Twenty-Four, after Tasuku Fujiomi and Mutsumi Sendou announce that they are spirit guardians of Japan here to "destroy the 'living goddess sarui sui!'" This is also directly after being molested by Mutsumi and really awakening the "Swords Maria" elemental circuit.
Conditional: Brief summary of previous RP history: n/a
Character Personality:
Mafuyu is very loyal to Tomo, admiring her as a person who can smile through the "worst" of things happening around her, and crediting her with an inner strength that Mafuyu doesn't always believe she herself has. Her loyalty and ideas of loyalty tend to extend to her friends; she has so few in series that those she does have she thanks for simply standing by her. (Right before they, you know, turn out to be part of Team Bad Guys, and then it's time for some good old betrayal face.) She's temperamental; her ideas of right and wrong dictate most of her actions in life, and she doesn't like or appreciate when Tomo (and by extension, herself) are treated poorly for no good reason. She has a tendency to see people as the perpetrators of their own actions, and doesn't have the same faith that Tomo displays early in the series that God will watch after and help them as long as they remember to not hate and to smile through everything. ("Besides, Father said so, didn't he? 'God will always help those who do not hate, and who are always smiling."
Mafuyu's following thoughts are telling: But God never helps, and her father is missing, and there's no one to help us. Which is why... "I promise I will always protect you.")
She takes that promise seriously, even as her world quickly goes from sensible, if filled with ridiculous, cruel bullying at school, to absolute batcrazy.
Mafuyu gets scared. She'll try to put on a brave face in situations she doesn't understand, as when her precious things (like the memories that she associates with the icons in the church on campus) or precious people (such as Tomo) are attacked, she can't prevent herself from trying to save them. She also doesn't always know how to do that -- but she'll try anyway, because she can't not try to save what's important to her. To "protect" what she believes in, even if it scares the hell out of her trying to do just that. For example, running toward the fire she saw in the church because she wanted to save the painting her Uncle had so treasured, even realizing that the fire was going to spread and she had no way to help control that.
The first chapter is a fairly decent summary of Mafuyu herself. She doesn't believe anyone but herself can save her from the world, so she strives to become stronger, to help and protect Tomo (and likewise herself). She's a nobody, and with Tomo's father disappearing, so is Tomo. This changes over the time she spends with Sasha and Teresa and everyone related to the Qwasers; while Sasha tells her when they second meet that she has to help herself, since no one else is going to do it, it's after he's already saved her once -- one of those trends that establishes itself in the first 24 chapters. However, for Mafuyu, this is a kind of bridge into understanding that friends are the people who help protect each other, and that she isn't alone. She and Tomo aren't alone; there are people who can and do care, and that she can care about in turn.
Who also won't turn out to be evil, though her sense for these things could use some work.
I mention Mafuyu gets scared, and I'll elaborate here. She does find herself in extreme situations, ones she doesn't understand in the slightest at first, though she picks up pieces of the puzzle as she spends more time in contact with Sasha and the Qwaser's popping up around the school. She can be smart enough to run away, instead of freezing on the spot when frightened; Mafuyu definitely feels her fear, but forces herself to move and think beyond it.
She also has a tendency to notice odd details in the middle of a fight and/or dangerous scene; for one, she thinks more about how similar Sasha's nursing on Teresa looks to the Theotokos painting than she spends time lingering on the fact he's nursing on Teresa in the first place. (Which did shock her; she later has a nightmare about being tied up in bondage gear with him coming after her, stating he wanted her breasts, GIVE HIM HER BREASTS, and then she wakes up to Tomo essentially "nursing," which is later explained by the fact Tomo's own soma had been taken away quite often by the classmate posing as a friend, who was actually also Magnesium.) Right after the first fight she witnesses with Magnesium, she also picks up on Sasha's bleeding as she is dangling off the edge of the roof. Mafuyu is attentive to other people and how they feel about things in a general sense; she shows this when noting to Teresa that the nursing was in fact embarrassing (Teresa agrees) and in how she doesn't demand or push for people to act on her behalf and become another target in class for the ridiculous bullying that goes on.
Mafuyu is "sensitive" to potential perverts, in regards to herself, Tomo, or her classmates, which is borderline ridiculous at times, as her body image with other women is perfectly fine, and she's demonstrated that she has no obvious discomfort bathing nude with relative female strangers; it's her sensitivity toward the opposite sex. This isn't to say she allows herself to be taken advantage of by women -- the one young lady who tries ends up having limited success before Mafuyu breaks free (kind of) and the two of them fight more or less nude.
... Yes, overall, Mafuyu doesn't hesitate to charge in on behalf of a friend, no matter her current state of dress -- or undress. Modesty can wait in the face of protecting her important people, and while she'll make attempts at gaining modesty, or a sense of privacy, even during the moments where she allows an unconscious Sasha to partake of her... soma (this is so hard to write without wanting to laugh), where she drapes the both of them in a blanket, though arguably this is because they'd fallen into an underground river and she was using body-heat to warm them both up anyway. (When he comes too, fully energized, she's dressed again, and so is he.)
This tangents into Mafuyu's mothering tendencies. She's a good cook -- apparently a really good cook -- and takes pride in this fact. She absorbs most the duties around where they live, cooks all the meals, takes care of Tomo from dressing to being ill to anything, and extends this kind of maternal clucking to anyone else in her immediate sphere. Sasha falls into this category; while at times Mafuyu's own confusion over how she feels toward him dictates her being a more harsh judge on his actions than she is toward others, he still falls in her realm of "people to make sure are doing okay, and feed right." Mafuyu's sense of responsibility for Tomo has extended into other areas of her life; she doesn't think much or hold back on trying to take responsibility for things going on around her, because there's no one else to do so. If this can also make her overreact (mostly on comedic notes) or commit herself to frightening realities, she has to do it; she can't run away from things just because she's scared.
She also really, really enjoys saving money -- at least when shopping, and probably overall frugality paying off. Bargain sales are one of her favorite things; shopping and saving is probably one of her hobbies. And I do mean hobbies; she finds it fun.
Mafuyu is a teenager, albeit a responsible, often mature-attempting one. She keeps herself in charge; she gets angry at people treating Tomo unfairly, and expresses how she feels with few reservations when it comes to speaking out against things she perceives as wrong. She really does admire Tomo for Tomo's strength in being able to smile, though this doesn't prevent her from being strict with Tomo (such as bopping her on the forehead with her shinai [kendo bamboo sword] when she nods off at church), or later being strict and critical of Sasha when he's putting on a front. (She's fairly consistent with her behavior; she calls or teases Sasha all the time, referring to him as a "tundra brat" and later, a "tsundere brat.") She's not always right, though she'd like to be, and she takes the words of people around her seriously... if grudgingly at first.
She doesn't always understand the motives of people around her. She's more likely to accept people at face value until she has a reason to do otherwise, and betrayal is something that hurts her deeply. She's dedicated, and will fight with her everything in order to Get Tomo Back.
Most recently in canon, Mafuyu has shown her certainty to fight for what she believes in, and to bring Tomo back home, even though she's not quite a match for a Qwaser. (Yet, supposedly.) She has to help, and she can't let fear stop her from trying. Tomo's too important to her.
Right, and her personal feelings -- Mafuyu is pretty open with how she feels, if not so much in direct statements as in her actions. She is naturally friendly with people, even understanding of their weaknesses (as long as those aren't perverted ones or degenerative to people important to and around them; by this I more mean she's forgiving of the students afraid to stand up against the bullies in their class), and is not opposed to being in sociable company. In fact, she seems to enjoy it; and enjoy the chance to, who knows, feed people. She likes using the skills she has to their fullest effects, when she can.
She's also pretty "honorable," which ties back into her sense of responsibility. If she can defend her compatriots, she will; especially if the reason they're being attacked in the first place can be traced back to her, or her most important people. She won't let others get away with whatever they want simply because that's what they want to do, or because they're more powerful.
And at the same time she's willing to get down on her knees to beg someone who holds very little regard for her in order to find information that might help Tomo -- or even Sasha. She's not unwilling to bend her pride for the sake of others. (Perhaps, again, a sign of responsibility -- and duty.) Nor is she ungrateful for the things people do for her -- she is actively polite toward strangers and figures of authority outside of life threatening situations where they're on The Bad Side (as in, not her side).
To briefly touch on her temper again -- she's more irritated by things that seem to be bizarrely out of context than things that might more usually irritate a teen girl. (Sasha dismissing her after she witnessed his first battle, telling her if she couldn't save herself from her precarious off the roof dangling position, then she didn't deserve to live -- this pissed her off.) She also dislikes being insulted for something she knows she does well, though her rebuttal to that is usually to demonstrate her skill. (Sasha re: insulting her cooking, and her coming back with AH-HA BUT TRY THIS AND THEN REPEAT YOURSELF!)
She's angered on behalf of her friends all the time, Tomo most predominantly -- Mafuyu cannot stand how Tomo is treated, and verbally calls out the classmates usually responsible, as well as asking for explanations and making her feelings on bullying well known. (She then has to bite her tongue, because she also realizes the reality of their situation. Too much of a fuss, and they could be kicked out, and then they'd really have nothing but each other.)
Still, even angry with people, Mafuyu is willing to give them the benefit of the doubt when a situation calls for it, or at the very least acknowledge the good points a given person might have. Unlike Ekaterina, she's not a cynic; in spite of thinking God is not there to help, and that only she can be there to protect herself and Tomo, no one's going to save them, at heart she still hopes and believes someone will. (Sasha, to that effect, did.)
Expanded Weaknesses:
Actually, can we start with the fact she apparently lacks a stranger danger sense? If people are being overtly hostile or creepy or ominous she picks up on that, but if some people have that sense to say something is off about that random dude over there... Mafuyu doesn't have that sense.
This leads into taking people at face value. No, really, she does. On the bright side, while she doesn't understand why people choose to act two-faced, she can accept it happens.
She can be judgmental. She can also be uncertain, and afraid. While she's worked to move past her fears, and has, time to time, managed to get through them, she is still afraid of what she doesn't understand.
Mafuyu also tends to not entirely think through her reactions to dangerous situations, letting her sense of responsibility and "honor" (if that's the proper word) guide her even when ability and reality are... lacking. Without Sasha around to save her from her half-baked offensives, she's going to end up getting herself into tight situations if she's not careful. (She's not guaranteed to be careful.)
I can surmise Mafuyu tends to put a lot of her insecurities into the background to focus on "protecting" Tomo -- without Tomo, and on another world (for most intents and purposes, either way she's in the City when she used to be in Japan) will leave her unsettled. With no one from home around, suddenly she's back to ground zero -- at least she'll still have a goal to work toward, which might easily become her life if she doesn't branch out to other people. (I think she has to; Mafuyu doesn't enjoy being alone.)
Conditional: Personality development in previous game: n/a
Character Plans:
Mafuyu will have one main goal: to get back home. Tomo is waiting; she can't save Tomo from within the City. Thus she'll have to figure out how to "help" her own goal along, which is shenanigans and a half. I'd expect it'd be fairly easy for her to land herself in trouble, particularly given her views toward bullying (especially of women), but she's not stupid. Mafuyu will do what she can to help the people around her while focusing on the most important thing: getting back to Tomo.
Over time, securing herself a place here that's tolerable while she works toward goal one would be important to her. Similarly, making a few good friends.
Appearance/PB:
Average (Japanese female) height, red hair, blue eyes. [here||there||in the water]
Writing Samples
First Person Sample
[ video's activated, even if Mafuyu isn't particularly aware. viewers can see a shot of her face, the top of one shoulder covered by a dingy, dirty jacket. she's frowning, brow furrowed, as she stares at her NV.
she licks her lips before beginning. ]
Hello, Siren's Port?
[ she stops, lips pressing into a frown. this feels like such a shot in the dark. ]
My name is Mafuyu Oribe. I'm from St. Mihailov Academy, in Japan. Has anyone seen or heard from someone by the name of Alecsander Nikolaevich Hell or -- [ she hesitates; ] -- Tomo Yamanobe? Alecsander-san is around thirteen, with white hair and blue eyes. Tomo is about sixteen, with deep blue hair and red eyes. She's --
[ Mafuyu doesn't finish that thought, glancing off to the side. She's weak. She needs help. She shouldn't be here, let alone without me. Mafuyu chose to believe no one would recognize Tomo's name, and it would be good thing. Sasha, on the other hand... ]
-- fragile, health wise. If you've heard of her around here, please tell me.
[ her voice ends on a firm note, followed by another pause. she grits her teeth, blushing a fierce red as a persistent reality comes back to the front of her mind much as she shoves any thoughts on Sasha to the back of it; ]
Does anyone has a spare set of clothing I could borrow for a while? My uniform didn't survive the trip here all that well. My Greeter's waiting to get their jacket back.
Third Person Sample
Mafuyu looked up at Sasha from where he'd deposited her on the ground, still faintly surprised by his immaculate sense of timing. His irritation was easy to see; it usually was. "Sasha," she said, starting to speak, and trailing off in the same moment. Something in his expression kept her from continuing, searching Sasha's face for some idea of his mood and intention.
She didn't have long to wait.
He exhaled sharply, clenching his teeth before he turned around to confront her directly. "Are you an idiot?! Recklessly charging in like that!" He strode toward her, kneeling down on one knee in a fluid movement she more registered because it ended with his hands around her biceps than because she'd seen the movement coming. His face mere inches away from her, she tried to contain her shock at his vehemence -- or was it surprise? "You half-assedly activated a half-assed circuit! What would have happened if it went berserk? You have no clue, do you?!"
Her heart thudded faster, a remnant of the adrenaline spike from minutes before. She tensed, and then her eyes dropped from his, focusing instead on the hand she brought up to dislodge one of his hands from her arm. She knew he was right, at least about her not knowing what would have happened, if the worst had happened. Sasha had more experience with these things, and Mafuyu, for all that had been going on since he collapsed into her life, was still learning. There's so much to learn.
"But... I decided," she said, regarding the ground, feeling him listen. "Ever since I met you, I've been trapped in the Qwaser's fights."
His hand dropped away from her other arm. Part of her missed the contact, felt like it was a connection slipping away. She continued talking nevertheless. If she stopped, she wasn't sure she could continue. There wasn't a choice in that. Mafuyu had to try and explain to him why this was so important to her. He needs to see. "I believed I needed to protect Tomo, but... I was just scared. I couldn't help wanting to run away. But," she said, pushing herself off the ground, "I won't hesitate anymore!"
He needs to understand. Please, understand. Mafuyu held her arms close to her chest, resting her chin on them as she articulated what it was she felt, when she'd decided minutes earlier that she had to face down the not-quite-qwaser who'd been terrorizing her classmates.
"No, I don't have time to hesitate anymore." Not when Tomo needed her. Not when being afraid was only a part of what she felt, and couldn't be any worse than the fear Tomo might be feeling right now. Mafuyu hadn't been melodramatic when she'd told Sasha that her world, her memories were all of Tomo. In so many ways, her adoptive sister was her world; her duty, the one constant and forgiving thing that she'd fight for. Whatever the cost.
That thought stuck with her as she let one arm drop, making a wide, encompassing gesture toward her companion and the world at large as she lifted her chin and turned to look directly at him. He'd risen as she did, holding his silence, either out of respect or a lack of things to say.
"I will save Tomo, at any cost!" Her eyes flashed, bright with the determination she knew would carry her through. To Tomo. For Tomo. I have to get her back. She bridged the distance between them, pulling down hard on the torn edge of her shirt, exposing her bra. Her face blushed scarlet, but was this even a choice? Sasha had given his word to protect Tomo, and she'd seen him working his avenues to get her back. This was how she could help him. She steeled herself, thinking of things beyond the heat on her face.
"Sasha! Take my soma!" She would do near everything for family. And this... if Mafuyu was entirely honest, this wasn't something she minded as much as she maybe should.