APPLICATION 🍁

PLAYER INFORMATION
Name: Jade!
Timezone EST (GMT-5)
Contact: homopathic or killkinds on AIM

Are you over 18?: Yes!
Did you read over the Rules and FAQ?: Yes!!

CHARACTER CANON INFORMATION
Character Name: Akitsu, Masanosuke
Canon: House of Five Leaves (Sarai-ya Goyou)
Age: N/A, twenties
Gender: Male
Canon Point: I'll be taking him from early in the series before his positive development so I can parallel it in the game.
History: Wikipedia has a decent summary! If it isn't enough, I'll be happy to write it elsewhere.
Powers/Abilities:

Masanosuke is a normal human being. Although he is a samurai of notable skill (surprising others), it's difficult for him to express those capabilities with his fear of crowds and his intense social anxiety. Despite being rather stalwart, protective, and serious about his duties, he has a reputation as a coward and tends to be, even with his surprising height, unimposing.

Even still, his style favors disarming his opponents or delivering blunt-force blows rather than doing outright harm or cutting them, showing a respect and compassion for others that could either get him killed or win his life.

Personality:

If Akitsu Masanosuke doesn't open his mouth, doesn't move, doesn't breathe, you might think he was an excellent, respectable samurai. He looks like an ukiyo-e painting: strong posture, dark clothing, tall and lean body, two swords on his hip, hair tied up in a knot -- ready and willing to fight and die for his han.

Of course, those expectations aren't realistic. Speaking to Masa for even a few minutes will clue you in to what he really is: cowardly, shy, too humble, and conflict-avoidant. He speaks in incredibly modest, even self-depreciating Japanese ("sessha", "soregashi", "de gozaru", uses "-Dono" for everyone despite their social standing), often contrasting the rough and rude types around him that favor "ore" and the "-ro" form of commands. Even the slightest compliment can send him into a hot fever of blushing and embarrassment, making him feel ill, queasy, and unsettled. More than two people observing him will cause him to flee instantly, sometimes less depending on the situation. Standing up in front of a crowd is absolutely out of the question. This "unbecoming of a samurai" personality of his not only gets him dismissed frequently from his han and as a yojimbo, but even led to him stepping down as the first born son and heir of his family, giving the honor to his younger brother.

Despite seemingly having "left" his hometown and "abandoned" his family in the eyes of others, the reason he left was actually at great self-sacrifice and an act of love. Realizing that he wasn't the best one for the position and that his younger brother would be a much more fitting heir, he travelled the long distance to Edo to take better-paying jobs and send money home to his family to help sustain the estate. He realized the shame he was bringing by being dismissed by his han and having such a weak personality, choosing to leave in order to protect their name and reputation. He is incredibly family-oriented and dedicated, protective of his siblings and their prestige. Although he is homesick almost always, lonely in the big city where he knows no one, and has no confidence in his abilities, he has the determination and fortitude (and honestly plain luck of making a few tenuous bonds) to only almost cave and return home.

While in Edo, despite being dismissed from multiple jobs that would allow him to do his work as a samurai, he adamantly refuses to take work he deems "below him". When a job broker can no longer offer him positions due to the amount of times he's been fired, he turns his nose up frequently and says they don't fit. Despite being paid for the first job he has with Yaichi, once he realizes he's done something against the law, he goes hungry instead of using the considerable sum he has sitting in his apartment. To say that despite being shy and perceived as weak, he's still incredibly stubborn and fixed in his opinions, would be an understatement. These traits can make him obstinate, self-righteous, judgmental, and a little close-minded. All he can see of himself is his bad traits, really...

But there are many redeeming qualities about Masanosuke, even if they cause others a lot of frustration at times (read: he's a tsundere's kryptonite). He is totally upfront with both his own emotions and the feelings of others. When someone tries to act like they don't care or behave flippantly to others' struggles and everyone remains respectfully silent, because feelings aren't always something someone wants to acknowledge or share, Masa will be the one to point out, "but didn't you go through all that trouble because you were worried about them?" Although he can't speak in front of a crowd, his interpersonal communication skills are incredible, and he has a very good emotional acumen. Somehow he seems to have avoided the emotional repression that accompanies his culture. Because of his deep sympathy and his open compassion, this makes him a bleeding heart, and want to earnestly assist those who are struggling with themselves, their pasts, and their feelings, even going so far as to simply buying gifts for the prostitutes with whom he eventually lives just because he thinks they deserve a small bit of guileless happiness. He becomes deeply bonded and incredibly protective of those he wishes to help.

But what he wants most is to be able to change himself. Yaichi inspires him constantly throughout the series, telling him he just wants to "live carefree in the present" and "not be bothered with worthless things like fights" and social standing. He isn't concerned with what others think of him, and Masa desperately wants to be able to say the same thing: that he is simply comfortable in his own skin. And what Yaichi finds so fascinating about him in return?

His naiveté and his gullibility. He is incredibly easy to manipulate and often fails to ask very simple questions; when he's offered a job, he inquires, "is this perhaps about a woman?" as opposed to, "is this work ethical?" despite knowing Yaichi's reputation as a yakuza. This causes him to make promises without having all of the facts, giving his "samurai word" to a man with less than savory pursuits. Of course, this causes a great deal of emotional turmoil for Masa, who is a very by-the-book man when it comes to morals and what is right and what is wrong. There is black and there is white, and Masanosuke does not even want to step into the greys... but he also would refuse to go back on a promise, especially one that meant protecting someone. See the dilemma?

To come to terms with the fact that he's aiding and abetting a criminal is not an easy thing for him to swallow. He resists officially joining the group of thugs for as long as he possibly can, and despite being in financial poverty with no funds to send to his family (nevermind the fact that he doesn't want to send home dirty ryou paid to him for assisting in a crime), it isn't the money that finally convinces him to become allies with the Sarai-ya Goyou. Rather, it is his loneliness, longing for connection, and the bonds of friendship that he slowly begins to build with each member of the group that finally convince him to stay. He makes multiple excuses for his lingering presence up to that point even amidst all the manipulation (such as "they only kidnap the children of ~dirty~ merchants", despite that being proven untrue), but what becomes the true mark of his dedication to the team is the capture of one member, which inspires him to lie and sneak into the captor's business as a ronin for hire, seeking to free his teammate.

Slowly and by each act of sacrifice of his moral character, he earns his spot as the fifth member of the House of Five Leaves. The compromise is slow-going, but his deeply-entrenched desire for intimacy and relationships with other human beings eventually trumps his discomfort with what is socially seen as 'good' and 'righteous'. Although that spark of justice will never truly fade for him, he is willing to prioritize the ones he loves and the ones he comes to love over his own stubbornness.

CHARACTER AU INFORMATION
Student Name: Akitsu, Masanosuke
Date of Birth: October 3, 20XX
Typical Appearance: Look how cute. Masa's tall and thin and will be seen pretty exclusively in his uniform worn well unless at work, where it'll mostly be jeans and plain t-shirts or button-ups. His wardrobe would be very subdued.
Typical Inventory:

🍁 School supplies.
🍁 Phone with a mere 4 contacts.
🍁 Modest, homemade bento.
🍁 Catnip. I'll get you to love me, damn it.
🍁 Wallet: cards, school ID, family photo(s), memberships to various grocery stores.
🍁 Kendo training uniform (kimono, hakama, etc); bokuto stays in the club room.
🍁 Hairties.

Strengths/Abilities:

🍁 Humility.
🍁 Japanese History.
🍁 Honesty, earnestness, ability to say what others are feeling without reservation.
🍁 Very mature for his age; independent and self-sufficient.
🍁 Kendo.
🍁 Physically fit, very tall.
🍁 Protective and dedicated of those he bonds to.
🍁 Country boy. Unlike some of his city-slicker peers, he'll have a pretty good grasp on how to survive in the forests, what berries not to eat, etc.
🍁 Frugal.
🍁 Requires very little food; housework guru.
🍁 Incredibly good work ethic, puts effort into everything.
🍁 Wants to be useful and have someone to protect/something to fight for.
🍁 Great with children and animals.
🍁 Romantically open-minded. Seriously. "美しい人で御座る" means 'what a beautiful person'.

Weaknesses:

🍁 Alcohol tolerance.
🍁 Talking to women.
🍁 Being in front of a crowd.
🍁 Understanding pop-culture and current events references.
🍁 Longs for closeness but has no idea how to make friends.
🍁 Zero self-confidence, cowardly, will almost always choose 'flight'.
🍁 Often jealous of his peers' abilities and relationships.
🍁 Stubborn.
🍁 Naive, bound to concepts like "honor", gullible, easily to manipulate.
🍁 A bit fumbling and stupid with technology.
🍁 Stressed out and tired 24/7 because his family is relying on him.
🍁 Only slightly above-average grades despite rigorous studying.
🍁 Melancholic.

Personality Translation:

Much of Masa will remain the same! Earnest honesty, hard work ethic and stubbornness, desire to support his family and protect anyone he remotely gets close to. His morally 'straight-as-an-arrow' tendencies as well as distaste for killing are going to give him a very difficult time in the battles. His need to feel validated and gullibility will make him easy prey for potential enemies and their possible manipulations, but because of his social awkwardness, he'll probably get wickedly underestimated in one-on-one battles.

Since he'll be from a countryside town and does nothing but school, kendo, and work, he'll be pretty out of touch with current events and pop culture references. Something of a 'hick' and hailing froma region where archaic speech patterns are still common, he'll sound incredibly out of place in Shiroiwa, still relegating himself to using incredibly formal speech, like the -Dono honorific. As an homage to his canon, he'll have a big interest in Japanese history and samurai culture, but instead of idealizing them, he'll have a very realistic view of what they were (ie; hired thugs instead of romanticized warriors), finding this to actually be more interesting. He won't have much connection to technology or its benefits, a mere four contacts in his phone (family's home line, sister's cell, brother's cell, work) and often having a surplus of technical difficulties when it comes to computer projects at school.

He would want to do well in Kendo Club but due to the participation and the 'being observed' aspect of it, he'll run away in distress frequently, leading plenty of his peers to wonder why he bothers to show up in the first place... but he would practice arduously in private. He desires to belong to the class but tends to be too awkward, too fearful, or just plain too weird.

Although a bodyguard would of course be out of the question, he will bounce from small job to job, like working at the local konbini or running deliveries, getting fired for his various personality defects or sheer exhaustion, as he'll be waking up early every morning, going to school, attending a club, working all evening, and still having to do homework and possibly finding a few hours of cram school he can at any given time.

In order to maintain his scholarships, he'll always try his hardest to keep his grades up, but he isn't studious in nature, requiring much more effort to get the same high-ish marks as his peers. Living alone for years on end (like, six) with only the company of a cat has left him estranged and disconnected, but even more fiercely independent.

AU Backstory:

The Akitsu family is well-known in their port island town, the major farming, fishing, and food supplier of most of the region (befitting the name of "autumn harbor"). They are prominent, prestigious, and hold the most influence over the internal politics of their secluded part of Japan. It was into this respected family into which Masanosuke was the first born, with two younger siblings: Bunnosuke and Sachi.

Although they were once the average family, Masanosuke's father died under mysterious circumstances while he was in middle school. The negative press caused the value of the company to drop considerably and their once comfortable lifestyle began to wither. In need of strong leadership, his uncle took over the family matters until one of the brothers could get through school with a business degree and lead it properly, and his grieving, widowed mother perhaps gave her brother-in-law too much power.

Noting his weak and conflict-avoidant personality, his uncle noted that perhaps Masanosuke was not the best fit for the future of the Akitsu family. Bunnosuke, possessing a much keener wit and bolder personality, was the more palatable heir. Rather than fight for his position as the eldest son, he agreed, displaying the exact passive qualities his family was critiquing in him.

But with the decline of their wealth and still trying to support a fairly large family, their mother needed help. Throughout middle school, Masa had maintained decent grades, and when one of his submitted applications in an academy in Tokyo is accepted, he moves on his own to the bigger city to take jobs in the evenings and earn income to help support the family debt. He moves to approximately the cheapest place he can find -- practically the Redlight District -- and sends as much money home as he possibly can. This continues for his first year.

However, the price of living in the large city takes a huge cut into the funds he'd rather be sending. Despite a successful year of living alone in the city, for his second year, he instead moves to the considerably less expensive Shiroiwa. He attends the academy there for his second and third years, finding it easier to mitigate funds, sending as much money home as he possibly can. He lives in his own apartment off-campus in the cheapest part of town and works as many jobs as he can in the evening, often let go for either his personality or tendencies to be tardy and fall asleep on the job.

Character Summary: The tall, skinny samurai nerd in the back of the class who just wants to disappear but always seems to show up for Kendo Club anyway. His only friend is an obese cat.

SAMPLES

Here!