application @ reims
( fandom student application )
PLAYER INFORMATION
PLAYER: Mel
AGE: 27
CONTACT: rollinggirl (plurk); melinelly228 (aim)
PERSONAL LJ: melissa_228
CHARACTERS PLAYED n/a
CHARACTER INFORMATION
NAME: Tamaki Suou
CANON: Ouran High School Host Club
CANON REFERENCE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ouran_High_School_Host_Club
AGE: 17
GENDER Male
YEAR IN SCHOOL HS2
ENROLLMENT Tamaki comes from a wealthy family who are paying for his tuition.
APPEARANCE: Some weird, attractive, rich bastard kid from France!
PERSONALITY: There is only one thing a person needs to remember about Suou Tamaki - he is basically a hybrid of a puppy dog, a five year old boy and a silly teenage boy with keen insight into anything that doesn’t directly relate to himself.
One important aspect of his psychology is that Tamaki needs to be surrounded by others. He can be clingy and craves having other people around. Like any puppy, he needs company. What puppy wants to be left home alone? It’s why he creates a pseudo-family out of the Host Club, it’s why he was drawn to something like hosting in the first place. He does get lonely if he’s on his own for too long, so he will seek to socialize with anyone that is around. Fellow students, adults, teachers, staff, strangers, it doesn't matter. He will seek out others, engage them in conversation, whatever. He might lack the appropriate filter and be rude at times, but not out of any genuine malice. He just doesn’t realize what he is saying is rude, and he has a genuine curiosity about others. He also can't stand seeing someone else alone. The thought of being alone is a awful to him, in every possible way, for both himself and others. It's part of why Tamaki craves family so much.
And that leads into his family, specifically his attitude about families. Tamaki grew up thinking that family bonds were the most important things. Not only that, but he grew up thinking that romantic entanglements were the things that destroyed and broke up families. He is loyal to the idea of family to a fault. Tamaki’s limits are few, but mess with what he considers family (whether it is the one he was born to or the one he created) and well…those are the things that are unforgivable. This is part of why he can’t admit any romantic feelings he has towards Haruhi. The Host Club is his family, and romance destroys families. In Tamaki's mind, romantic feelings towards Haruhi would ruin the club. He would be the one destroying his family unit. So it’s easier for him to live in denial, and pretend that things can stay the way they are forever. If he tells himself that Haruhi is his daughter he can explain away his feelings as nothing more than those of a protective father, and then they can all stay a family. That doesn't mean these feelings don’t confuse him; they do, extremely. But he continuously reasons it away as the feelings of a father, even when he feels compassion and sympathizes with boys Haruhi has rejected. When questioned on this, he will usually dismiss it a minute later, and be all right again.
This is somewhat selfish on Tamaki’s part. He needs the Host Club to fulfill this need for a family. As Kyouya once said, they have their own reasons for being in the club, they all get some merit from it. Not that Tamaki is there completely selfishly. He does love the other hosts and does want very good things for them, but he also needs them to create a family with a sense of stability for him. He wants them to stay in these roles, he doesn’t want anything to destroy it, even as he encourages all of them to expand their worlds. It’s contradictory, but as Tamaki told Hikaru and Kaoru that’s not necessarily a bad thing or a nonsensical thing - it just indicates character and personality.
Then of course there's Tamaki’s childish and whimsical brand of selfishness. Oftentimes he won’t think to ask others what they want to do in a certain situation or stop to think of the consequences of his actions, impulses, and demands. He is impulsive and he'll do whatever he wants without any thought for the future or anyone else's desires. He acts first and just expects for things to fall into place. This may in large part be due to the fact that when confronted with terrible circumstances, he has been able to transform them to the point where he is genuinely happy. He is optimistic to the point where he sometimes doesn’t see the negative consequences his actions might have on other people.
Tamaki optimism is ridiculously large. This is a kid who when locked under house arrest (much later in canon), looks out the window at the guard dogs snarling up at him and thinks if he crawls out the window they won’t hurt him because “dogs love me.” He honestly always thinks the best of others - not to say that he can’t see others faults, because he can, but he expects for people to always be decent and have some redeeming quality that makes them worthy of help and friendship. Which isn’t so great all the time, as it means he can be easily taken advantage of or manipulated. He also expects for things to turn out okay, even when they seem pretty terrible.
Now, saying he’s optimistic and positive doesn’t mean he’s always smiling. He is VERY overdramatic. His propensity for drama is only matched by his quick recovery rate. With a good dose of teasing or mockery he can be brought to tears, sitting in his corner of woe, or indeed growing mushrooms. As the twins once said, he is the kind of pure you can tease, because his recovery time is AMAZING. One second he'll be sad and mopey, but within a minute or two he’ll be bouncing back and smiling again as if nothing happened. Unless of course he’s refused something that he feels very strongly about and really wants. Then he’ll sit in his corner and begin the assault of the PUPPY DOG EYES OF DOOM.
The things that actually deserve a good dose of sadness and emo - well, he is pretty much a Stepford Smiler as far as those things are concerned. He's very often in heavy denial about legitimate points of sadness, ignores them, or is generally unaware He won’t lie about those concerns or worries, and he will be honest with someone about them if he feels that he should be telling them, but it's not something he focuses on and he doesn't want people feeling sad or pitying him. The person who usually hears these things, unrestricted, is Kyouya, although he does seem to be opening up a little more to Haruhi. He has a desire for everyone to smile and be happy, so focusing on things that make him sad is counterproductive to what he wants out of life.
And even that that simple desire has some canonical psychological reason. Tamaki’s mother was very ill when he was growing up and there were days when he was sad and refused to do anything, play or eat or go outside, insisting he needed to be with his mother. His mother told him that’s not what she wanted. She wanted him to go out and enjoy every day and smile and be happy, and then she could be happy. That stuck with him, and that has been how he has lived his life, trying to smile and be happy and enjoy life to the fullest for his mother. And that extended then to him wanting everyone around him to feel the same. It is probably the major reason for his sometimes extreme altruism - helping people even when they don’t always deserve it. Also, it’s important to note that Tamaki being happy isn’t an act, it isn’t something just to please his mother or make others happy. He really is genuinely and extremely happy and thinks life is amazing and fun.
Wanting to see others happy means he’s a sucker for a sob story. When he sees someone needs help, he has to help them. He can’t just walk away from someone in need. Usually this goes well, but there are times when the person he wants to help isn’t really in need and just wants to take advantage (see: the Newspaper Club storyline). It’s hard for Tamaki to understand this, so even if this does happen, he will continue to try to help anyone who asks for it or seems to need it. (Also, a lot of times he fails to see the bad side of people because the other members of the Host Club shield him.) He'll also force himself on people who don't want help, and can be obnoxious at times because of this.
His desire to help people usually turns out fairly well though, due to the fact that he's good at seeing other people and understanding their motives. He has a talent for ~expanding worlds~ and the reason he can do this is that he can see what's holding people back, what they’re trying to hide from the world, what they need to push them and to make them step outside of their frames. Now, you might ask then, how do people take advantage of him if he's so good at reading people. Well, he’s good at that, as long as it’s not concerning himself. The Newspaper editor wanted to hurt Tamaki directly. Tamaki really couldn’t see that, or see how he was directly wrapped up in what was driving the Newspaper Editor. He's very clueless with anything concerning himself.
Tamaki also has a very overactive and vivid imagination. This can be both good and bad. His imagination and intuition are what allows his plans and schemes to be so succesful - as long as he has someone pragmatic and reasonable around to ground him. If left to his own devices, he can get caught up in his own fantasy world. He also has a tendency to invent fantastical explanations or reasons for thing in his own head. A curse is to blame when he has a very confusing day, as opposed to him just wandering into the wrong classroom or being tired from a marathon. He'll daydream often and have ludicrous and elaborate daydreams, dreams, and fantasies. He'll imagine the most dramatic explanations for commoner's customs. His mind is a very strange place at times.
But speaking of commoners, Tamaki loves them. Tamaki has a love for cultures and customs he's not familiar with. He was in love with the idea of Japan long before coming there. He fell in love with the idea of commoners from stories and television and books and films. He has an a-type personality about certain things. He researches these lifestyles in his spare time. He collects and organizes anything having to do with his research. So while his ideas about how these things work might be out there, he still puts in the time and effort and does manage to gain some realistic knowledge now and again.
Tamaki also has an ego of epic proportions. He is Narcissus incarnate. If he sees a mirror, he'll have to stop for a minute to check himself out. This is a guy who's instructions on how to properly place a glass on a table include important details on how to place it so best to see your own reflection. He's smart and he knows it, he's good looking and he knows it, and everything else he assumes he's amazing at as a matter of fact. This isn't to say that he can't admit when he's at fault, because he can. He can also, occasionally, admit when something is beyond his understanding; BUT nine times out of ten he assume he is amazing at everything, and he completely lacks the humbleness to keep this fact to himself.
He's also extremely charming, and it's been shown that he can woo both males and females - both romantically and platonically. He has a great deal of self confidence. His self confidence when combined with his drive to make people happy, his ability to read people and his sincerity, makes him very adept at inspiring people to follow him. He's great at rallying up people and motivating them, he is good at pushing people and inspiring them to want to get a goal done, he allows others around him to play to their strength, and with a snap of his finger or a well placed smile, he can get others around him to move mountains. In other words he's a born leader and he gets people around him to WANT him to be their leader. So while he himself might not have the best skills for a job, he can put together and manage the best team for getting that job finished.
And no psychology about Tamaki would be complete without talking about the ladies. Now, Tamaki may be all NOOOO about romantic relationships, but that doesn’t really effect flirting. This can all be traced back to his childhood (and seriously, at this point, what CANNOT be traced back that far?). He had a super awesome teacher who taught him how to flirt, telling him it was the duty of any gentleman to make women happy. This teach also told him that being intelligent and hardworking were also necessary to properly please a lady, which explains how Tamaki was second in his class at Ouran. So, the Host Club in a way is like playing at romance. He can woo and flirt and kiss and sometimes more (really, what the hell is “forbidden date play”), but it isn’t really a relationship and at the end of the day he can still be friends with all the girls and all the boys, and still maintain his family with his Host Club. This isn’t to say he doesn’t have genuine feelings for these girls, because he does. He may tell all of them they are beautiful and lovely and sweet and all those things - but it’s not a line. He genuinely thinks they are all wonderful and amazing. And while Tamaki enjoys flirting with just about anyone or anything, he can become flustered when the tables are reversed and someone tries flirting with him.
AND NOW A GENERAL DISCLAIMER: IGNORE ALL DEPRESSING OR DRAMATIC PSYCHOLOGICAL THINGS YOU HAVE READ. It’s what Tamaki does everyday. He doesn’t know how to really properly be emo because he thinks life is too awesome and fun to really be genuinely emo (for the expected and proper reasons) over anything. HE IS PUPPY AND A FIVE YEAR OLD. He can pout and be sad about things, but then he recovers amazingly well and is ready to move on to happier things.
COMPUTER APTITUDE: Average to above average for someone his age. Nothing that would involve knowing how to hack, I'm sure.
WEAKNESSES (OPTIONAL): Tamaki would say he has no weakness, and that is a weakness right there. He's very lacking in modesty and he really does think he's amazing in almost every way. Get him around a mirror and he turns into Narcissus. It will be hard to pull him away.
He's also a sucker for any sad story, particularly those involving anything at all even close to a family unit. He's easily moved and trusting and open, to the point where it is VERY easy to take advantage of him - and even then he'll probably thank you and say it was fun.
He's prone to overreacting at times and he seems to come up with ridiculous names for plans.
Also he has an overactive imagination which manifests itself as his Inner Mind Theater. He can get caught up in these fantasies quite often.
AU HISTORY: Tamaki's story begins a few years before he was born when Suou Yuzuru, a wealthy Japanese businessman was forced to take over his family's company. His mother insisted that he enter into an arranged marriage to further the families power, and Yuzuru agreed. The marriage was loveless but served its purpose.
A couple years passed, until one day while traveling in France, Yuzuru met a young French aristocrat named Anne-Sophie Grantaine. He fell in love and the two began an affair. He told his mother that he planned to divorce his wife and marry his mistress. His mother refused to allow this to happen. He informed his mother that Anne-Sophie was also pregnant. His mother was furious. Yuzuru divorced his wife and brought Anne-Sophie to Japan. Unfortunately, she had always been frail, and the conditions in Japan proved poor for her health. So she returned to France and gave birth to Tamaki
Yuzuru's mother - Tamaki's grandmother - refused to acknowledge Tamaki as part of her family.. Tamaki was raised by his mother and her parents. Over time his mother's illness progressed. Fearful for her health, Tamaki didn't have much time to go out and play with other kids his age. Despite this, he did his best to be happy and find fun in his life while caring for his mother. He had a happy childhood.
By the time Tamaki was fourteen Yuzuru had failed to ever remarry or have another child. The Suou matriarch realized that Tamaki might be her family's only chance for an heir. Around the same time, the Grantaine family was plunged into a financial crisis, at risk of losing all their money and assets. Tamaki's grandmother took this opportunity to present Anne-Sophie with a deal - hand Tamaki over to her to become the next Suou heir and she would make sure the Grantaines had enough money to live more than comfortably. Anne-Sophie was hesitant, but Tamaki insisted, both of them knowing they needed the money due to Anne-Sophie's poor health. Without that financial support, they wouldn't be able to afford her care and she would most likely die. Tamaki told his mother not to worry and that he would go to Japan. Tamaki's grandmother had one other condition: Tamaki and his mother could never contact each other again.
Tamaki said goodbye to his mother and family and left France. Upon arriving in Japan, Tamaki was moved into the Suou second mansion and found a staff that was handpicked for him. He received a gift from his father, a dog named Antoinette. Antoinette was related to a dog his mother received at the same time in France. Despite bringing him there, his grandmother still refused to acknowledge him and wouldn't let him live in the main house.
Shortly after arriving in Japan, Tamaki entered Ouran, starting his last year of middle school in class 3A. There he met his Ootori Kyouya. His first question of course was whether or not Kyouya had a kotatsu. This is very important because they are Tamaki's favourite thing and an important symbol of family unity apparently. Tamaki was shocked to learn Kyouya did not have one. This was a very sad revelation, but Kyouya said he would totally get one - which cemented Kyouya's place as Tamaki's BFFL.
Almost as sad as not having a kotatsu, Tamaki quickly discovered that his dad was a big fat liar about everything, and all the stories he'd been told were false. Kyoto really wasn't Japan's Wonderland, and doesn't hold ever national attraction ever. But he did get Kyouya to show him around. They started to spend every weekend and school holiday together. Then Kyouya wanted to go to Hokkaido. Tamaki was all like "we should study, we can have fun later" (forgetting of course that it was his idea the weekend before). During that study weekend, Tamaki stopped by Kyouya's house to see if he had gotten that kotatsu yet. Eventually Kyouya flipped a table and pinned Tamaki. Kyouya couldn't understand how Tamaki could give up so easily when he has the future Kyouya would give anything for. Tamaki pointed out that Kyouya was the only one giving up. Tamaki told Kyouya he should be true to his ambitions. He then asked about the kotatsu and got hit on the head. He saw Kyouya's real demon face. That winter they chilled at the kotatsu and started hatching a plan for a host club that would open when they entered high school.
Tamaki would be President and King, and Kyouya would be vice-president. Tamaki laid out the people he wanted to be hosts in his club. His targets were: high school students Haninozuka Mitsukuni (aka Honey) and Morinozuka Takashi (aka Mori) and the Hitachiin twins, Hikaru and Kaoru, who were in middle school.
He began his recruiting drive with Honey, who was at the time the President of the Judo Club and a National Champion, and Honey's cousin Mori, President of the Kendo Club, and himself a national champion. Despite Honey's strength, he was always attracted to cute things and sweet foods, and he himself was very small and cute. Honey's family insisted that he needed to present a tough exterior to gain the respect needed to become the leader of his family. Honey was unhappy, but focused on becoming manly and tough, setting aside cute things. Mori as always stood by Honey. One day Tamaki asked Honey to join the host club. Tamaki told him they would have lots of cute things and cakes. Honey tried to resist. Finally Tamaki suggested that true strength comes from doing the things we enjoy even if other people don't like them, and it's better to be true to yourself. If Honey liked cute things he should embrace them, and Tamaki's club would present the perfect opportunity for that. After thinking this over, Honey agreed and started to embrace his cute nature. Honey and Mori both joined the Host Club.
Tamaki next approached the Hitachiin twins. They were isolated, keeping everyone outside of them at arm's length. They wanted others to be able to tell them apart, yet they didn't want that as well. Tamaki saw potential in the two and attempted to recruit them for the Host Club. The Hitachiins were hesitant, and finally agreed to consider joining the club if Tamaki could win the "Which one is Hikaru?" game. Over the next month Tamaki became a constant presence in the Hitachiins' lives, using different methods (including tickling for some reason) to win the game. Finally, the twins called a stop to the game. Tamaki didn't give up that easily, and he appeared again, this time winning the 'Which One Is Hikaru?' game. His reason was gut instinct, which they rejected. Tamaki told them that yes, they wanted to be told apart, but they also didn't want to be told apart. When the twins countered that this was crazy and contradictory, Tamaki told them that it just meant that they had character and they should stop isolating themselves and come join his club. He made them take a map to the third music room (the area he had spotted and claimed for his club in the high school) and predicted that in the beginning of next school year they would be opening those doors. His prediction came true, they opened the doors and the Host Club was seemingly complete.
The next year came, Tamaki and Kyouya started high school, the other four moved up a year, and the Host Club was a big success. Each host had their own niche. Tamaki was the prince type, Kyouya the cool type, the Hitachiins were the devil type, Honey was the loli-shota type, and Mori was the wild type. Tamaki embraced the Host Club and viewed it as his family. He also began catching up on the childhood he never really had, the club members his first real friends.
Another year passed, and the club was even more popular. At the beginning of Tamaki's second year of high school a first year commoner scholarship student, Fujioka Haruhi, was lost and stumbled into the Host Club. When Tamaki found out who Haruhi was, he was impressed, thinking this person was a commoner hero. Haruhi proceeded to try to back away from the hosts and in the process broke an 8 million yen vase. It was decided that Haruhi had to work off the debt. Haruhi started the process as the club dog, running errands and doing chores. Tamaki was fascinated by Haruhi's commoner background and saw promise in Haruhi, despite the student's general sloppy appearance. Once Haruhi's glasses were removed, it turned out that their errand boy was very attractive. Tamaki ordered a makeover and decided Haruhi could pay off the debt by being a host! Haruhi turned out to be a natural host and became very popular with the customers of the club. Haruhi was now the natural type host. The school at large thought Haruhi was a boy, but one by one all the hosts figured out Haruhi was really a girl. Of course Tamaki was the last to figure it out. He's an idiot.
After Haruhi joined the club, learning about commoners and embracing their culture became Tamaki's new pet hobby. At first Tamaki seemed open to the idea of being romantically interested in Haruhi, insisting that they were the leads in a romantic comedy. For a short time he flip flopped between wanting her to be revealed as a girl and keeping her gender secret. The flip flopping came to an end after Kyouya helpfully pointed out that if Haruhi's gender was revealed, Tamaki would barely get to see her since she would no longer be a host. Tamaki and the others continuously schemed to find ways to hide Haruhi's gender from the rest of the school so she could stay with them.
As time passed, Tamaki's opinion of the roles of hosts became more concrete. He seemed to have forgotten about any romantic inclinations he had towards Haruhi, instead assigning her as his daughter. (The rest of the family roles: Tamaki is Father, Kyouya is Mother, the Twins are the sons, and Honey and Mori are the neighbors). Tamaki's feelings for Haruhi started to grow, too, although he was generally unaware of his romantic feelings towards her. However all of the other hosts (excluding Haruhi) were very aware.
Soon the time came to start planning for the Ouran Cultural Festival. Tamaki's grandmother had Eclair Tonnere flown in at the same time. The Tonneres were a French family that had started to systematically take over many Japanese companies. Tamaki's grandmother saw a marriage between the Suous and the Tonneres as a strong business move, and told Tamaki that if he married Eclair and left Ouran to live in France she would let him see his mother again. Eclair had fallen in love with the idea of Tamaki after getting to know Anne-Sophie in France, while she was working in Eclair's household. She convinced Tamaki that leaving was not only good for his mother and his grandmother, but was also in the best interests of the other hosts, since they were all sacrificing things to make Tamaki happy. Tamaki agreed to the engagement, and announced the host club would be disbanded. Tamaki left for France with Eclair without saying goodbye. The hosts went after Tamaki to try to bring him back, Haruhi finally convincing him that the hosts were all happier with Tamaki and the Host Club in their lives. Eclair let Tamaki go back to Ouran with Haruhi, and the hosts enjoyed the closing of the Ouran Festival together.
Tamaki's grandmother wasn't too happy with this news, and as plans had all ready been made for Tamaki to attend a school in France, she went forward with having him transferred to Reims Academy. Somehow Kyouya had been enrolled to attend there that semester and Haruhi had won a scholarship, and although Tamaki has no idea how, all signs point to Kyouya. (He's the Shadow King for a reason).
SAMPLES
INTRANET/1ST PERSON SAMPLE: Attention everyone! This week is a very exciting week. You might be wondering what's happening if you don't know all ready. Simply put, this Friday I will be celebrating my very first birthday here at Reims.
Now, I know this is an intimidating prospect. After all, what do you give someone who has almost everything? Fear not though, pauper or rich man, I'm sure you'll all be able to find the perfect gift. After all, the best gift is the one from the heart. A homemade gift from the princesses will make me richer than all the wealth in the world. Plus, I'm fortunate enough to have such talented classmates. All your skills and worldly experiences will make the day really fun.
Of course, certain people who consider me like a father might even want to take me out to distract me while other people who are like mothers plan a surprise party. I have a list of distracting activities in my top drawer, which certain commoners might be able to find while I'm meeting with my study group between six and eight on Tuesday night. There might also be a cute dress in that drawer too, if anyone needed something like that for distracting people.
LOG/3RD PERSON SAMPLE: Tamaki finished unpacking his commoners snack prize collection, having barely crammed it into the shelf space allotted in his new rooms. He looked to Kuma-chan sitting on the bed, staring back at him.
"Ah, this cramped style is really good. It's almost like being a commoner."
He appraised the wall space on his side of the room then, trying to figure out how to place the various portraits, photos, and posters he had brought along with him as well. He was disappointed to discover there wasn't nearly enough room for the large portraits he had commissioned of the other hosts long ago. He stared at them as they lie on top of each other in his closet, Hikaru and Kaoru's faces marked with doodles, stared up at him.
"I'll talk to the superintendent about hanging them in the hallways. After all, what better way to enrich students than through art appreciation."
He nodded to himself, satisfied with this answer. He would decorate his walls later. Right now he was exhausted, and he hadn't even met his roommate yet. He flopped down on his bed, Kuma-chan bouncing with Tamaki's added weight.
"Antoinette, it's been a long -"
He stopped short, remembering his dog wasn't here. His dog was living with one of his old servants now. She loved dogs, and her family loved animals, and she said she'd write and send pictures and...
Tamaki couldn't take it and dissolved into sobs, clinging to Kuma-chan. Kuma-chan only stared back at Tamaki, unblinking and unmoved.
"Kuma-chan," Tamaki wailed at his stuffed bear. "Don't you have any heart, any soul? To be seperated after all these - "
Tamaki stopped, sniffing as he stared at his bear.
"Oh, of course. I see. You're trying to be strong and stoic. I - I didn't know. I'm sorry. Please forgive me."
Tamaki clung to his bear, and he was certain Kuma-chan appreciated the gesture. After all, they were both very far away from home again. They had been strong together before, this wouldn't be any different. A new school and new friends wasn't anything to be upset about, not really. It was just a new chance to broaden their horizons. Plus he was sure he'd see them all again soon enough.
HAVE YOU READ THE FAQ? Yes - the rabid wombat.
PLAYER INFORMATION
PLAYER: Mel
AGE: 27
CONTACT: rollinggirl (plurk); melinelly228 (aim)
PERSONAL LJ: melissa_228
CHARACTERS PLAYED n/a
CHARACTER INFORMATION
NAME: Tamaki Suou
CANON: Ouran High School Host Club
CANON REFERENCE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ouran_High_School_Host_Club
AGE: 17
GENDER Male
YEAR IN SCHOOL HS2
ENROLLMENT Tamaki comes from a wealthy family who are paying for his tuition.
APPEARANCE: Some weird, attractive, rich bastard kid from France!
PERSONALITY: There is only one thing a person needs to remember about Suou Tamaki - he is basically a hybrid of a puppy dog, a five year old boy and a silly teenage boy with keen insight into anything that doesn’t directly relate to himself.
One important aspect of his psychology is that Tamaki needs to be surrounded by others. He can be clingy and craves having other people around. Like any puppy, he needs company. What puppy wants to be left home alone? It’s why he creates a pseudo-family out of the Host Club, it’s why he was drawn to something like hosting in the first place. He does get lonely if he’s on his own for too long, so he will seek to socialize with anyone that is around. Fellow students, adults, teachers, staff, strangers, it doesn't matter. He will seek out others, engage them in conversation, whatever. He might lack the appropriate filter and be rude at times, but not out of any genuine malice. He just doesn’t realize what he is saying is rude, and he has a genuine curiosity about others. He also can't stand seeing someone else alone. The thought of being alone is a awful to him, in every possible way, for both himself and others. It's part of why Tamaki craves family so much.
And that leads into his family, specifically his attitude about families. Tamaki grew up thinking that family bonds were the most important things. Not only that, but he grew up thinking that romantic entanglements were the things that destroyed and broke up families. He is loyal to the idea of family to a fault. Tamaki’s limits are few, but mess with what he considers family (whether it is the one he was born to or the one he created) and well…those are the things that are unforgivable. This is part of why he can’t admit any romantic feelings he has towards Haruhi. The Host Club is his family, and romance destroys families. In Tamaki's mind, romantic feelings towards Haruhi would ruin the club. He would be the one destroying his family unit. So it’s easier for him to live in denial, and pretend that things can stay the way they are forever. If he tells himself that Haruhi is his daughter he can explain away his feelings as nothing more than those of a protective father, and then they can all stay a family. That doesn't mean these feelings don’t confuse him; they do, extremely. But he continuously reasons it away as the feelings of a father, even when he feels compassion and sympathizes with boys Haruhi has rejected. When questioned on this, he will usually dismiss it a minute later, and be all right again.
This is somewhat selfish on Tamaki’s part. He needs the Host Club to fulfill this need for a family. As Kyouya once said, they have their own reasons for being in the club, they all get some merit from it. Not that Tamaki is there completely selfishly. He does love the other hosts and does want very good things for them, but he also needs them to create a family with a sense of stability for him. He wants them to stay in these roles, he doesn’t want anything to destroy it, even as he encourages all of them to expand their worlds. It’s contradictory, but as Tamaki told Hikaru and Kaoru that’s not necessarily a bad thing or a nonsensical thing - it just indicates character and personality.
Then of course there's Tamaki’s childish and whimsical brand of selfishness. Oftentimes he won’t think to ask others what they want to do in a certain situation or stop to think of the consequences of his actions, impulses, and demands. He is impulsive and he'll do whatever he wants without any thought for the future or anyone else's desires. He acts first and just expects for things to fall into place. This may in large part be due to the fact that when confronted with terrible circumstances, he has been able to transform them to the point where he is genuinely happy. He is optimistic to the point where he sometimes doesn’t see the negative consequences his actions might have on other people.
Tamaki optimism is ridiculously large. This is a kid who when locked under house arrest (much later in canon), looks out the window at the guard dogs snarling up at him and thinks if he crawls out the window they won’t hurt him because “dogs love me.” He honestly always thinks the best of others - not to say that he can’t see others faults, because he can, but he expects for people to always be decent and have some redeeming quality that makes them worthy of help and friendship. Which isn’t so great all the time, as it means he can be easily taken advantage of or manipulated. He also expects for things to turn out okay, even when they seem pretty terrible.
Now, saying he’s optimistic and positive doesn’t mean he’s always smiling. He is VERY overdramatic. His propensity for drama is only matched by his quick recovery rate. With a good dose of teasing or mockery he can be brought to tears, sitting in his corner of woe, or indeed growing mushrooms. As the twins once said, he is the kind of pure you can tease, because his recovery time is AMAZING. One second he'll be sad and mopey, but within a minute or two he’ll be bouncing back and smiling again as if nothing happened. Unless of course he’s refused something that he feels very strongly about and really wants. Then he’ll sit in his corner and begin the assault of the PUPPY DOG EYES OF DOOM.
The things that actually deserve a good dose of sadness and emo - well, he is pretty much a Stepford Smiler as far as those things are concerned. He's very often in heavy denial about legitimate points of sadness, ignores them, or is generally unaware He won’t lie about those concerns or worries, and he will be honest with someone about them if he feels that he should be telling them, but it's not something he focuses on and he doesn't want people feeling sad or pitying him. The person who usually hears these things, unrestricted, is Kyouya, although he does seem to be opening up a little more to Haruhi. He has a desire for everyone to smile and be happy, so focusing on things that make him sad is counterproductive to what he wants out of life.
And even that that simple desire has some canonical psychological reason. Tamaki’s mother was very ill when he was growing up and there were days when he was sad and refused to do anything, play or eat or go outside, insisting he needed to be with his mother. His mother told him that’s not what she wanted. She wanted him to go out and enjoy every day and smile and be happy, and then she could be happy. That stuck with him, and that has been how he has lived his life, trying to smile and be happy and enjoy life to the fullest for his mother. And that extended then to him wanting everyone around him to feel the same. It is probably the major reason for his sometimes extreme altruism - helping people even when they don’t always deserve it. Also, it’s important to note that Tamaki being happy isn’t an act, it isn’t something just to please his mother or make others happy. He really is genuinely and extremely happy and thinks life is amazing and fun.
Wanting to see others happy means he’s a sucker for a sob story. When he sees someone needs help, he has to help them. He can’t just walk away from someone in need. Usually this goes well, but there are times when the person he wants to help isn’t really in need and just wants to take advantage (see: the Newspaper Club storyline). It’s hard for Tamaki to understand this, so even if this does happen, he will continue to try to help anyone who asks for it or seems to need it. (Also, a lot of times he fails to see the bad side of people because the other members of the Host Club shield him.) He'll also force himself on people who don't want help, and can be obnoxious at times because of this.
His desire to help people usually turns out fairly well though, due to the fact that he's good at seeing other people and understanding their motives. He has a talent for ~expanding worlds~ and the reason he can do this is that he can see what's holding people back, what they’re trying to hide from the world, what they need to push them and to make them step outside of their frames. Now, you might ask then, how do people take advantage of him if he's so good at reading people. Well, he’s good at that, as long as it’s not concerning himself. The Newspaper editor wanted to hurt Tamaki directly. Tamaki really couldn’t see that, or see how he was directly wrapped up in what was driving the Newspaper Editor. He's very clueless with anything concerning himself.
Tamaki also has a very overactive and vivid imagination. This can be both good and bad. His imagination and intuition are what allows his plans and schemes to be so succesful - as long as he has someone pragmatic and reasonable around to ground him. If left to his own devices, he can get caught up in his own fantasy world. He also has a tendency to invent fantastical explanations or reasons for thing in his own head. A curse is to blame when he has a very confusing day, as opposed to him just wandering into the wrong classroom or being tired from a marathon. He'll daydream often and have ludicrous and elaborate daydreams, dreams, and fantasies. He'll imagine the most dramatic explanations for commoner's customs. His mind is a very strange place at times.
But speaking of commoners, Tamaki loves them. Tamaki has a love for cultures and customs he's not familiar with. He was in love with the idea of Japan long before coming there. He fell in love with the idea of commoners from stories and television and books and films. He has an a-type personality about certain things. He researches these lifestyles in his spare time. He collects and organizes anything having to do with his research. So while his ideas about how these things work might be out there, he still puts in the time and effort and does manage to gain some realistic knowledge now and again.
Tamaki also has an ego of epic proportions. He is Narcissus incarnate. If he sees a mirror, he'll have to stop for a minute to check himself out. This is a guy who's instructions on how to properly place a glass on a table include important details on how to place it so best to see your own reflection. He's smart and he knows it, he's good looking and he knows it, and everything else he assumes he's amazing at as a matter of fact. This isn't to say that he can't admit when he's at fault, because he can. He can also, occasionally, admit when something is beyond his understanding; BUT nine times out of ten he assume he is amazing at everything, and he completely lacks the humbleness to keep this fact to himself.
He's also extremely charming, and it's been shown that he can woo both males and females - both romantically and platonically. He has a great deal of self confidence. His self confidence when combined with his drive to make people happy, his ability to read people and his sincerity, makes him very adept at inspiring people to follow him. He's great at rallying up people and motivating them, he is good at pushing people and inspiring them to want to get a goal done, he allows others around him to play to their strength, and with a snap of his finger or a well placed smile, he can get others around him to move mountains. In other words he's a born leader and he gets people around him to WANT him to be their leader. So while he himself might not have the best skills for a job, he can put together and manage the best team for getting that job finished.
And no psychology about Tamaki would be complete without talking about the ladies. Now, Tamaki may be all NOOOO about romantic relationships, but that doesn’t really effect flirting. This can all be traced back to his childhood (and seriously, at this point, what CANNOT be traced back that far?). He had a super awesome teacher who taught him how to flirt, telling him it was the duty of any gentleman to make women happy. This teach also told him that being intelligent and hardworking were also necessary to properly please a lady, which explains how Tamaki was second in his class at Ouran. So, the Host Club in a way is like playing at romance. He can woo and flirt and kiss and sometimes more (really, what the hell is “forbidden date play”), but it isn’t really a relationship and at the end of the day he can still be friends with all the girls and all the boys, and still maintain his family with his Host Club. This isn’t to say he doesn’t have genuine feelings for these girls, because he does. He may tell all of them they are beautiful and lovely and sweet and all those things - but it’s not a line. He genuinely thinks they are all wonderful and amazing. And while Tamaki enjoys flirting with just about anyone or anything, he can become flustered when the tables are reversed and someone tries flirting with him.
AND NOW A GENERAL DISCLAIMER: IGNORE ALL DEPRESSING OR DRAMATIC PSYCHOLOGICAL THINGS YOU HAVE READ. It’s what Tamaki does everyday. He doesn’t know how to really properly be emo because he thinks life is too awesome and fun to really be genuinely emo (for the expected and proper reasons) over anything. HE IS PUPPY AND A FIVE YEAR OLD. He can pout and be sad about things, but then he recovers amazingly well and is ready to move on to happier things.
COMPUTER APTITUDE: Average to above average for someone his age. Nothing that would involve knowing how to hack, I'm sure.
WEAKNESSES (OPTIONAL): Tamaki would say he has no weakness, and that is a weakness right there. He's very lacking in modesty and he really does think he's amazing in almost every way. Get him around a mirror and he turns into Narcissus. It will be hard to pull him away.
He's also a sucker for any sad story, particularly those involving anything at all even close to a family unit. He's easily moved and trusting and open, to the point where it is VERY easy to take advantage of him - and even then he'll probably thank you and say it was fun.
He's prone to overreacting at times and he seems to come up with ridiculous names for plans.
Also he has an overactive imagination which manifests itself as his Inner Mind Theater. He can get caught up in these fantasies quite often.
AU HISTORY: Tamaki's story begins a few years before he was born when Suou Yuzuru, a wealthy Japanese businessman was forced to take over his family's company. His mother insisted that he enter into an arranged marriage to further the families power, and Yuzuru agreed. The marriage was loveless but served its purpose.
A couple years passed, until one day while traveling in France, Yuzuru met a young French aristocrat named Anne-Sophie Grantaine. He fell in love and the two began an affair. He told his mother that he planned to divorce his wife and marry his mistress. His mother refused to allow this to happen. He informed his mother that Anne-Sophie was also pregnant. His mother was furious. Yuzuru divorced his wife and brought Anne-Sophie to Japan. Unfortunately, she had always been frail, and the conditions in Japan proved poor for her health. So she returned to France and gave birth to Tamaki
Yuzuru's mother - Tamaki's grandmother - refused to acknowledge Tamaki as part of her family.. Tamaki was raised by his mother and her parents. Over time his mother's illness progressed. Fearful for her health, Tamaki didn't have much time to go out and play with other kids his age. Despite this, he did his best to be happy and find fun in his life while caring for his mother. He had a happy childhood.
By the time Tamaki was fourteen Yuzuru had failed to ever remarry or have another child. The Suou matriarch realized that Tamaki might be her family's only chance for an heir. Around the same time, the Grantaine family was plunged into a financial crisis, at risk of losing all their money and assets. Tamaki's grandmother took this opportunity to present Anne-Sophie with a deal - hand Tamaki over to her to become the next Suou heir and she would make sure the Grantaines had enough money to live more than comfortably. Anne-Sophie was hesitant, but Tamaki insisted, both of them knowing they needed the money due to Anne-Sophie's poor health. Without that financial support, they wouldn't be able to afford her care and she would most likely die. Tamaki told his mother not to worry and that he would go to Japan. Tamaki's grandmother had one other condition: Tamaki and his mother could never contact each other again.
Tamaki said goodbye to his mother and family and left France. Upon arriving in Japan, Tamaki was moved into the Suou second mansion and found a staff that was handpicked for him. He received a gift from his father, a dog named Antoinette. Antoinette was related to a dog his mother received at the same time in France. Despite bringing him there, his grandmother still refused to acknowledge him and wouldn't let him live in the main house.
Shortly after arriving in Japan, Tamaki entered Ouran, starting his last year of middle school in class 3A. There he met his Ootori Kyouya. His first question of course was whether or not Kyouya had a kotatsu. This is very important because they are Tamaki's favourite thing and an important symbol of family unity apparently. Tamaki was shocked to learn Kyouya did not have one. This was a very sad revelation, but Kyouya said he would totally get one - which cemented Kyouya's place as Tamaki's BFFL.
Almost as sad as not having a kotatsu, Tamaki quickly discovered that his dad was a big fat liar about everything, and all the stories he'd been told were false. Kyoto really wasn't Japan's Wonderland, and doesn't hold ever national attraction ever. But he did get Kyouya to show him around. They started to spend every weekend and school holiday together. Then Kyouya wanted to go to Hokkaido. Tamaki was all like "we should study, we can have fun later" (forgetting of course that it was his idea the weekend before). During that study weekend, Tamaki stopped by Kyouya's house to see if he had gotten that kotatsu yet. Eventually Kyouya flipped a table and pinned Tamaki. Kyouya couldn't understand how Tamaki could give up so easily when he has the future Kyouya would give anything for. Tamaki pointed out that Kyouya was the only one giving up. Tamaki told Kyouya he should be true to his ambitions. He then asked about the kotatsu and got hit on the head. He saw Kyouya's real demon face. That winter they chilled at the kotatsu and started hatching a plan for a host club that would open when they entered high school.
Tamaki would be President and King, and Kyouya would be vice-president. Tamaki laid out the people he wanted to be hosts in his club. His targets were: high school students Haninozuka Mitsukuni (aka Honey) and Morinozuka Takashi (aka Mori) and the Hitachiin twins, Hikaru and Kaoru, who were in middle school.
He began his recruiting drive with Honey, who was at the time the President of the Judo Club and a National Champion, and Honey's cousin Mori, President of the Kendo Club, and himself a national champion. Despite Honey's strength, he was always attracted to cute things and sweet foods, and he himself was very small and cute. Honey's family insisted that he needed to present a tough exterior to gain the respect needed to become the leader of his family. Honey was unhappy, but focused on becoming manly and tough, setting aside cute things. Mori as always stood by Honey. One day Tamaki asked Honey to join the host club. Tamaki told him they would have lots of cute things and cakes. Honey tried to resist. Finally Tamaki suggested that true strength comes from doing the things we enjoy even if other people don't like them, and it's better to be true to yourself. If Honey liked cute things he should embrace them, and Tamaki's club would present the perfect opportunity for that. After thinking this over, Honey agreed and started to embrace his cute nature. Honey and Mori both joined the Host Club.
Tamaki next approached the Hitachiin twins. They were isolated, keeping everyone outside of them at arm's length. They wanted others to be able to tell them apart, yet they didn't want that as well. Tamaki saw potential in the two and attempted to recruit them for the Host Club. The Hitachiins were hesitant, and finally agreed to consider joining the club if Tamaki could win the "Which one is Hikaru?" game. Over the next month Tamaki became a constant presence in the Hitachiins' lives, using different methods (including tickling for some reason) to win the game. Finally, the twins called a stop to the game. Tamaki didn't give up that easily, and he appeared again, this time winning the 'Which One Is Hikaru?' game. His reason was gut instinct, which they rejected. Tamaki told them that yes, they wanted to be told apart, but they also didn't want to be told apart. When the twins countered that this was crazy and contradictory, Tamaki told them that it just meant that they had character and they should stop isolating themselves and come join his club. He made them take a map to the third music room (the area he had spotted and claimed for his club in the high school) and predicted that in the beginning of next school year they would be opening those doors. His prediction came true, they opened the doors and the Host Club was seemingly complete.
The next year came, Tamaki and Kyouya started high school, the other four moved up a year, and the Host Club was a big success. Each host had their own niche. Tamaki was the prince type, Kyouya the cool type, the Hitachiins were the devil type, Honey was the loli-shota type, and Mori was the wild type. Tamaki embraced the Host Club and viewed it as his family. He also began catching up on the childhood he never really had, the club members his first real friends.
Another year passed, and the club was even more popular. At the beginning of Tamaki's second year of high school a first year commoner scholarship student, Fujioka Haruhi, was lost and stumbled into the Host Club. When Tamaki found out who Haruhi was, he was impressed, thinking this person was a commoner hero. Haruhi proceeded to try to back away from the hosts and in the process broke an 8 million yen vase. It was decided that Haruhi had to work off the debt. Haruhi started the process as the club dog, running errands and doing chores. Tamaki was fascinated by Haruhi's commoner background and saw promise in Haruhi, despite the student's general sloppy appearance. Once Haruhi's glasses were removed, it turned out that their errand boy was very attractive. Tamaki ordered a makeover and decided Haruhi could pay off the debt by being a host! Haruhi turned out to be a natural host and became very popular with the customers of the club. Haruhi was now the natural type host. The school at large thought Haruhi was a boy, but one by one all the hosts figured out Haruhi was really a girl. Of course Tamaki was the last to figure it out. He's an idiot.
After Haruhi joined the club, learning about commoners and embracing their culture became Tamaki's new pet hobby. At first Tamaki seemed open to the idea of being romantically interested in Haruhi, insisting that they were the leads in a romantic comedy. For a short time he flip flopped between wanting her to be revealed as a girl and keeping her gender secret. The flip flopping came to an end after Kyouya helpfully pointed out that if Haruhi's gender was revealed, Tamaki would barely get to see her since she would no longer be a host. Tamaki and the others continuously schemed to find ways to hide Haruhi's gender from the rest of the school so she could stay with them.
As time passed, Tamaki's opinion of the roles of hosts became more concrete. He seemed to have forgotten about any romantic inclinations he had towards Haruhi, instead assigning her as his daughter. (The rest of the family roles: Tamaki is Father, Kyouya is Mother, the Twins are the sons, and Honey and Mori are the neighbors). Tamaki's feelings for Haruhi started to grow, too, although he was generally unaware of his romantic feelings towards her. However all of the other hosts (excluding Haruhi) were very aware.
Soon the time came to start planning for the Ouran Cultural Festival. Tamaki's grandmother had Eclair Tonnere flown in at the same time. The Tonneres were a French family that had started to systematically take over many Japanese companies. Tamaki's grandmother saw a marriage between the Suous and the Tonneres as a strong business move, and told Tamaki that if he married Eclair and left Ouran to live in France she would let him see his mother again. Eclair had fallen in love with the idea of Tamaki after getting to know Anne-Sophie in France, while she was working in Eclair's household. She convinced Tamaki that leaving was not only good for his mother and his grandmother, but was also in the best interests of the other hosts, since they were all sacrificing things to make Tamaki happy. Tamaki agreed to the engagement, and announced the host club would be disbanded. Tamaki left for France with Eclair without saying goodbye. The hosts went after Tamaki to try to bring him back, Haruhi finally convincing him that the hosts were all happier with Tamaki and the Host Club in their lives. Eclair let Tamaki go back to Ouran with Haruhi, and the hosts enjoyed the closing of the Ouran Festival together.
Tamaki's grandmother wasn't too happy with this news, and as plans had all ready been made for Tamaki to attend a school in France, she went forward with having him transferred to Reims Academy. Somehow Kyouya had been enrolled to attend there that semester and Haruhi had won a scholarship, and although Tamaki has no idea how, all signs point to Kyouya. (He's the Shadow King for a reason).
SAMPLES
INTRANET/1ST PERSON SAMPLE: Attention everyone! This week is a very exciting week. You might be wondering what's happening if you don't know all ready. Simply put, this Friday I will be celebrating my very first birthday here at Reims.
Now, I know this is an intimidating prospect. After all, what do you give someone who has almost everything? Fear not though, pauper or rich man, I'm sure you'll all be able to find the perfect gift. After all, the best gift is the one from the heart. A homemade gift from the princesses will make me richer than all the wealth in the world. Plus, I'm fortunate enough to have such talented classmates. All your skills and worldly experiences will make the day really fun.
Of course, certain people who consider me like a father might even want to take me out to distract me while other people who are like mothers plan a surprise party. I have a list of distracting activities in my top drawer, which certain commoners might be able to find while I'm meeting with my study group between six and eight on Tuesday night. There might also be a cute dress in that drawer too, if anyone needed something like that for distracting people.
LOG/3RD PERSON SAMPLE: Tamaki finished unpacking his commoners snack prize collection, having barely crammed it into the shelf space allotted in his new rooms. He looked to Kuma-chan sitting on the bed, staring back at him.
"Ah, this cramped style is really good. It's almost like being a commoner."
He appraised the wall space on his side of the room then, trying to figure out how to place the various portraits, photos, and posters he had brought along with him as well. He was disappointed to discover there wasn't nearly enough room for the large portraits he had commissioned of the other hosts long ago. He stared at them as they lie on top of each other in his closet, Hikaru and Kaoru's faces marked with doodles, stared up at him.
"I'll talk to the superintendent about hanging them in the hallways. After all, what better way to enrich students than through art appreciation."
He nodded to himself, satisfied with this answer. He would decorate his walls later. Right now he was exhausted, and he hadn't even met his roommate yet. He flopped down on his bed, Kuma-chan bouncing with Tamaki's added weight.
"Antoinette, it's been a long -"
He stopped short, remembering his dog wasn't here. His dog was living with one of his old servants now. She loved dogs, and her family loved animals, and she said she'd write and send pictures and...
Tamaki couldn't take it and dissolved into sobs, clinging to Kuma-chan. Kuma-chan only stared back at Tamaki, unblinking and unmoved.
"Kuma-chan," Tamaki wailed at his stuffed bear. "Don't you have any heart, any soul? To be seperated after all these - "
Tamaki stopped, sniffing as he stared at his bear.
"Oh, of course. I see. You're trying to be strong and stoic. I - I didn't know. I'm sorry. Please forgive me."
Tamaki clung to his bear, and he was certain Kuma-chan appreciated the gesture. After all, they were both very far away from home again. They had been strong together before, this wouldn't be any different. A new school and new friends wasn't anything to be upset about, not really. It was just a new chance to broaden their horizons. Plus he was sure he'd see them all again soon enough.
HAVE YOU READ THE FAQ? Yes - the rabid wombat.