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Character Name: Mashiro Blanc de Windbloom
Character Series: Mai-Otome
Character Age: 16
Background: Character history and canon terminology @ Wikipedia. Mashiro will be taken from after the first episode of Mai-Otome Zwei.
It should be noted that the opening of the 0~S.ifr~ OAV hints Mashiro may in fact be descended from the queen of Windbloom during the War of the Twelve Kings through an alternate line. Then again, that could just be Sunrise screwing with us (again). I've chosen to go with the interpretation that she is, but she's so far removed from the line of descent that she can't activate Harmonium as a Conductor.
Personality: Mashiro has been through a lot in the past year and a half, and she's all the more mature for it. She's become kinder, more compassionate, and an effective leader, and she genuinely wants to make the world a better place for everyone who lives in it. She's willing to make the hard choices and take the heavy burdens so that others don't have to. When she thinks back on the person she used to be, she cringes with shame. The difference between the Mashiro who thought the poor and unemployed just didn't work because they're lazy and the Mashiro who swallowed her pride and got down on her hands and knees to beg protection for those same people is so radical, she may well seem like a different person. But she isn't; she's still Mashiro.
She's still impatient, still complains and sometimes throws tantrums when things don't go her way, though the things she wants now are less selfish, and she's better at censoring herself when she's not in the appropriate time and place. Her arrogant streak is still there, though it manifests differently; she expects the people who rely on her to trust in her good intentions and that her choices are made with their best interests at heart, even if they seem counterproductive. Part of that is because of the strain of statecraft, though--Mashiro gets so fixed on a specific goal, is so determined to do good by others, that she sometimes develops tunnel vision. Her contract with Arika is proof of her commitment; being an Otome's Master means literally putting her own life on the line when Arika fights, but it's something Mashiro is willing to do to protect her people.
On a personal level, Mashiro can come off as irritable or too serious, though she responds well to people who are kind and patient with her. If she can be made to loosen up, she's fun to be around: energetic, enthusiastic, with a childlike enjoyment the small things that's tempered by her new, more adult attitude. She is and always will be proud to the core, but it's a different sort of pride now than it was before. Whereas previously her pride was mostly baseless and close to hubris, now she takes pride in her life in a healthy way: she's proud of her country for having the fortitude to overcome war, of her people for having the compassion to forgive her, of Arika never losing her strength to smile. And deep down, she's proud of herself for trying to become a better person.
In the Japanese version, Mashiro has a rather posh and old-fashioned way of speaking. The best equivalent to this would be the royal we. But because of the usage rules for the royal we, Mashiro probably alternates between this and the regular first-person pronoun depending on the context and her mood. So for instance, she would of course use it when speaking in an official, regnal capacity; it lends her speech a good degree of authority. But because of what a brat Mashiro used to be, she probably used to use it frequently just to emphasize her higher station, while falling back on the first-person pronoun in moments of emotional weakness. Mashiro as she is now has humbled a great deal and is more conscious of how she speaks, so she would use the first-person pronoun more regularly, while occasionally falling back on the royal we when she's flustered, embarrassed, or throwing the occasional tantrum.
Abilities: None she possesses herself. However, as the queen of Windbloom, Mashiro has the right to form contracts with Otome, either as a permanent or interim Master, using her signet ring.
Sample Entry: Here and here @ dear_mun
Character Series: Mai-Otome
Character Age: 16
Background: Character history and canon terminology @ Wikipedia. Mashiro will be taken from after the first episode of Mai-Otome Zwei.
It should be noted that the opening of the 0~S.ifr~ OAV hints Mashiro may in fact be descended from the queen of Windbloom during the War of the Twelve Kings through an alternate line. Then again, that could just be Sunrise screwing with us (again). I've chosen to go with the interpretation that she is, but she's so far removed from the line of descent that she can't activate Harmonium as a Conductor.
Personality: Mashiro has been through a lot in the past year and a half, and she's all the more mature for it. She's become kinder, more compassionate, and an effective leader, and she genuinely wants to make the world a better place for everyone who lives in it. She's willing to make the hard choices and take the heavy burdens so that others don't have to. When she thinks back on the person she used to be, she cringes with shame. The difference between the Mashiro who thought the poor and unemployed just didn't work because they're lazy and the Mashiro who swallowed her pride and got down on her hands and knees to beg protection for those same people is so radical, she may well seem like a different person. But she isn't; she's still Mashiro.
She's still impatient, still complains and sometimes throws tantrums when things don't go her way, though the things she wants now are less selfish, and she's better at censoring herself when she's not in the appropriate time and place. Her arrogant streak is still there, though it manifests differently; she expects the people who rely on her to trust in her good intentions and that her choices are made with their best interests at heart, even if they seem counterproductive. Part of that is because of the strain of statecraft, though--Mashiro gets so fixed on a specific goal, is so determined to do good by others, that she sometimes develops tunnel vision. Her contract with Arika is proof of her commitment; being an Otome's Master means literally putting her own life on the line when Arika fights, but it's something Mashiro is willing to do to protect her people.
On a personal level, Mashiro can come off as irritable or too serious, though she responds well to people who are kind and patient with her. If she can be made to loosen up, she's fun to be around: energetic, enthusiastic, with a childlike enjoyment the small things that's tempered by her new, more adult attitude. She is and always will be proud to the core, but it's a different sort of pride now than it was before. Whereas previously her pride was mostly baseless and close to hubris, now she takes pride in her life in a healthy way: she's proud of her country for having the fortitude to overcome war, of her people for having the compassion to forgive her, of Arika never losing her strength to smile. And deep down, she's proud of herself for trying to become a better person.
In the Japanese version, Mashiro has a rather posh and old-fashioned way of speaking. The best equivalent to this would be the royal we. But because of the usage rules for the royal we, Mashiro probably alternates between this and the regular first-person pronoun depending on the context and her mood. So for instance, she would of course use it when speaking in an official, regnal capacity; it lends her speech a good degree of authority. But because of what a brat Mashiro used to be, she probably used to use it frequently just to emphasize her higher station, while falling back on the first-person pronoun in moments of emotional weakness. Mashiro as she is now has humbled a great deal and is more conscious of how she speaks, so she would use the first-person pronoun more regularly, while occasionally falling back on the royal we when she's flustered, embarrassed, or throwing the occasional tantrum.
Abilities: None she possesses herself. However, as the queen of Windbloom, Mashiro has the right to form contracts with Otome, either as a permanent or interim Master, using her signet ring.
Sample Entry: Here and here @ dear_mun