The BasicsFull Name: Himura Daisuke
Nicknames, if any: Saiki
Gender: male
Age: 25
Birthdate: Feb 13, 1986
Orientation: homosexual
Wand: Carries none.
Parentage: half blood
Canon, Original, or Child of Canon: Original
For Students:House:
Year:For Professors:Position[s] Applying For: Divination Professor, Head of Hufflepuff
Former House: Did not attend Hogwarts, but was sorted into Hufflepuff upon being hired.
At First GlancePlease provide a 2-3 paragraph description of your character's outward appearance.Daisuke is 5'6” tall and weighs in around 130 pounds. Needless to say he's not an intimidating or particularly large man. He has a very thin, light bone structure and looks almost fragile. His face is thin, and despite being half-English he looks smallish for it in the face and body. His lineage sure didn't help his height, but many blame the half-Japanese. His hair is black and cut in a style that looks like a mop when he first wakes up, but after he's been up (and seen to it) falls around his face softly. He might be short, but he has a certain look about him that makes up for some of that. He's still at the right height for most other men to use his shoulder (or the top of his head) as an armrest, but most of the time that doesn't bother him.
His hair is black, his coloring is olive (though a little paler than most of his family), and he has odd gray eyes. His mother's eyes. He is so much smaller than his father, even, but it is because he was sick as a child. The birth, the pregnancy, all were very hard on his mother. He was born sick, jaundiced and premature. Her heart was bad after that. He eventually grew out of the childhood illness, and seems to be fine now, despite being fairly small. His mother never recovered. So much of Saiki's light and bright personality is perfectly tangible in his appearance that it warrants mentioning. Even when he's banking it, acting the part of the typical Japanese male, some of it is still very obvious even without the bright smile and soft gray eyes.
Until NowBirthplace: Kamigyō-ku, Kyoto, Japan
Current Residence: London, England
Parents: Himura Takehiko [father]
Penelope Emery [mother, deceased]
Himura Kaori [step-mother]
Siblings: Himura Reiko [sister]
Himura Mei [half-sister]
Pets: None.
Other Important Figures: n/a
Please provide a 2-3 paragraph description of your character's life until now. The Himura clan is one of the more traditional clans in Japan these days. Clan being a handy word to describe a rather large family that spans several very old homes in the Kyoto area. Akane Himura is the current head of the family and in charge of seeing to the instruction of the children in the clan. She rarely teaches any of the children herself, unless, of course, she were to choose a successor from among them. Long before she made that decision about Saiki, she took him under her wing as her personal student. Her grandson, Saiki, was the product of a marriage that Akane had been supportive of despite the implications. Her son, Takehiko, had married a foreign woman, a British woman named Penelope Emery. The British woman seemed to adapt well enough to living in the family home in Kyoto. She was interested in Japanese culture, and she made an effort to learn and practice a wife's duties. She seemed content.
Two years into the marriage, she conceived. The family was overjoyed, but it soon became apparent that this would not be an easy pregnancy for poor Penelope. Her blood pressure kept jumping high or falling quite low. She would pass out without warning. She required someone to be with her at all times, even in the first month of the process. The doctors saw to her, and warned her to be careful. She was confined to bedrest by the second month of the pregnancy, but the concept drove her insane. Her husband seemed content to let her do a little around the house, like making her own snacks and the like, as long as she rested most of the day. It was a compromise that she wasn't fond of, but she complied. She was in her sixth month, about halfway through, when trouble truly began.
Trouble in her home country of Britain was becoming very obvious. She'd heard the reports of violence against mutants. She was doing herself a very poor service by worrying, but with her family and many friends still in Britain, she could do little else. Finally word came that her father and one of her brothers had been killed by mutant hating extremists. The shock drove her into labor. She called her husband, who came rushing home from the office to take her to the hospital. There she had a long, three day labor that finally resulted in the birth of Daisuke. In the process, Penelope almost died several times, but she wouldn't let the doctors give her a cessarian section. The process left both mother and child sick and weak and unhappy. Daisuke was two and a half months premature. His lungs weren't entirely formed yet. But the doctors managed to save both mother and child, though Penelope's heart was forever weak after the experience.
Daisuke had a host of childhood problems that left him unable to run and play with the other children. Thus his grandmother took him under her wing to teach him personally. He was four when he first joined her for lessons, quite somber and bright eyed. She taught him slowly, but his desire to know was insatiable. This personal contact between grandmother and grandson became even more obvious as Daisuke grew older and outstripped his cousins in all areas of practice. By age twelve, he was bold enough to insist on showing his mother what he had been learning. The arts were secret and to be kept among the blood family, so Penelope had been kept in the dark thus far. The spell that Daisuke cast for her were an illusion spell, and it came so suddenly that it brought on a small heart attack. She died three days later when her heart simply gave out on her.
It was less than a year later when Takehiko took another wife, Kaori, and a year after that they had a healthy daughter together named Mei. Saiki rarely sees his father or step mother or half sister. He has lived overlong with his grandmother. His grandmother, though, was furious for her son to both make a marriage without her blessing and so soon after burying a beloved wife.
At age 15, Saiki had his first kiss. It was with a student two years older than he was, who played basketball for the school. His name was Ichiro. Saiki never thought it was weird that he was attracted to boys and not girls. He eventually grew wary when he realized what it was and that he should be hiding this. He never told anyone, and he understands that despite what he might be feeling, he will eventually need to marry a young woman and make an honorable marriage for his family.
Daisuke, as many young Japanese men wish to do, moved to Tokyo for awhile. He worked as a medium, a spiritual guide, and a fortune teller, and in the end he returned home two years later. But while in Tokyo he had learned about mutants and seen some persecution of them (not to himself: if he is a mutant, his powers manifest in a way his people can explain culturally and write off if they don't' care to believe in it). There had been attacks, and Daisuke was concerned. He eventually threw himself into research on what mutants were, what their causes were, and he identified with them. When he found out that that they were responsible for the death of his maternal grandfather and an uncle that he'd never met, he became consumed with going to London and throwing his lot into the fights there: against mutants or for, whatever. His grandmother finally gave her consent and he left for Britain.
He was 21 when he first applied to work for Hogwarts, though initially he was turned down. He applied again two years later, and was accepted as the Divination professor, to teach a more eastern style.
Underneath It AllPlease provide a 2-3 paragraph description of your character's personality.Saiki is generally a kind and caring person. He is idealistic and naïve at times, but he follows his heart if nothing else. He is fascinated by western magic and history and legends and religion now that he is away from his grandmother, and will sit for hours with various books and the like trying to learn everything he can from the words alone. He's fairly successful, too. He is quite intelligent, but most don't see that because of the cultural differences. He falls back on the quiet, silent, honorable male construct that he was raised to embody, but he's quite a bit different than that if he's comfortable enough to show it. He loves to laugh, but he's terrible at telling jokes. He's quite loyal, and he loves just to talk. Sometimes it takes a hand over his mouth to explain to him that he's being too loud again.
He loves what the British consider to be “Asian food”. It's nothing like the food at home, but it's very interesting and he has been known to binge eat on it until it makes him sick. He things soccer is interesting, but would never try it (far too intense for him) Those who know him realize that this would be the worst idea ever. Some have commented that he's like a puppy. Those are the people who have never seen him in battle. His grey eyes go cold and he's all business. He speaks three languages fluently: Japanese, Latin, and English. The Japanese and English were both required, and the Latin was a choice because he always swore he was going to run away to Rome to live when he was sad or unhappy as a child and thought they all spoke Latin (once this misconception was cleared up, he couldn't just leave the Latin unfinished).
He's selfless and loyal to a fault. He has little in the way of self-preservation instinct, especially when his companions are in danger. He is extremely hard working and dedicated. His magic is very potent, so he is hesitant to cast it in front of anyone he worries about being hurt. He is, after all, only 25 and despite being considered a 'master' of the arts, he is cautious. This fear also comes from a connection in his head that should not be made. His mother had a weak heart after he was born, and he never failed to notice that the first time she witnessed his magical casting, she died three days later when her heart finally gave out on her. Of course, this is completely subconscious: he would laugh if anyone suggested that was his problem.
Some British customs just flabbergast him. For that matter, in theory he was aware of how things work in the west, but in reality he had a textbook knowledge. Saiki was raised as an onmyouji, which feel they have a duty to the common people to keep this world and the spiritual world in line. They are civil servants, and quite respected, so he's had a very hard time keeping his magic under wraps. He's not even sure he's a mutant, or not, and the stigma is something new to him.
Qualities your character admires in others: Courage, strength, humor, friendliness, and the ability to further their own ideals without sacrificing the betterment of everyone else.
Qualities which turn your character off to others: Greediness, self-interest, the inability to empathize with others, and the mistreatment of the weak.
Favorite Food: Asian take-away from London
Favorite Book: Not a single book, but an author: Rumi. He loves his poetry.
Favorite School Subject: Divination.
Favorite Animal: He likes penguins.
Favorite Quidditch Team: Not relevant.
Favorite Quidditch Position: Not relevant.
Least Favorite Food: Pickled ginger.
Least Favorite School Subject: Charms. He is really bad at it.
Least Favorite Animal: He likes all animals, but if he had to choose, probably bugs that eat decaying flesh.
Least Favorite Quidditch Team: Not relevant.
Least Favorite Quidditch Position: Not relevant.
Last But Not LeastPlease provide a 2 paragraph Role Play Sample.Daisuke strolled the little backstreet of London idly chewing on a granola bar. He'd skipped lunch in favor of not having to pay for food in this area, and he was only window shopping anyway. He didn't have the cash to really buy anything, despite how much he was sure his grandmother would love the scarf two storefronts down. No, he was just looking, just trying to find something to do to pass a lonely Friday afternoon. His boots ground against stone and cracked pavement. The air was cold, despite being the warmest part of the day, and he huddled inside his jacket. Gloved hands were tucked into pockets as he lowered his face to avoid a gust of cool air. His fingers and toes were frozen. He could only imagine what true winter would be like. It was so much... wetter here. Not colder perhaps, but the air was thick and moist all the time. He let out a sigh.
He was just spoiled. Not that the weather in Kyoto was much different, sans perhaps being dryer, but he usually wasn't wandering the streets by himself and he suspected that that was the major reason he was feeling so down about it all. He didn't like being alone so much.
A sign caught his eye, just down the way. He gave it a passing read and shrugged lightly, glancing into the window. Dark, hard to see. He considered for several moments before he pushed the shop door open and entered. The room was thick, musty, heavy with the scent of things like sandalwood and dried herbs. He coughed, sneezed (sandalwood always did that to him) and felt the corner of his mouth tease upward before he entered. His nose might be burning from the incense burning lazily from a counter to the right of the store, with smoke curling in tendrils before disappearing near the roof, but Saiki’s eyes lit up as he spied the shelves upon shelves of books. If he was not mistaken, this store was one that’s focus was on the occult. This type of store, despite being obviously European in layout and design, reminded him more of home than any other place in London had thus far.
Grinning ear to ear, he completely ignore the possible presence of anyone else and hurried to the back of the store where the shelves were all lined up. He chose one aisle and strolled down it, looking over hundreds of titles. Some were old, leather bound and the words on the binding barely legible. Others were fairly new. He reached a hand up and almost touched a binding before he hesitated. He didn’t want to damage it, but from what he could make out it sounded like a book about ancient magic of the British Isles. He fought a small war with himself and finally eased the book off of the shelf. He slid to the ground, opening the book in his lap, and poured over page after page.
He was disappointed that it wasn’t English. At least, not the English he knew. Maybe an old dialect. Probably, he noted as he flipped further into the book. The drawings were lovely. The book was obviously copied lovingly by hand. The pages were yellowed, the drawings were fascinating. He didn’t even bother to look for a price tag. Even if it actually was for sale, he couldn’t afford if even if he tapped all of the resources he had. And then he’d have to learn this dialect. English was hard enough for him, and he’d been dong that for the last 15 years, since he started schooling.
He sighed to himself, and put the book back with the utmost care before moving on to another aisle. Why in the world did Western magic have to be so interesting? He noted titles and subjects as he walked. He wondered at any number of things, including how they cast things like kekkai. Spying a book on a low shelf that caught his eye, he knelt and ran two fingers over the binding, to better read the stamped title. Magic of the Orient. He was both excited and curious when he removed that book and flipped it open. Onmyoujitsu was not spoken of outside of the old families who still practiced it. It would be fascinating to see an outsider's perspective, if that's what this book was really about. It seemed to be, and it started with a history of Abe no Seimei, though Saiki assumed much of that was just rumor or legend. As he read, he idly leaned against one of the stacks, just engrossed.
Anything Else We Should Know About Your Character: [list][*] He loves to read western accounts of eastern cultures.
[*] He has always wanted to learn to fly on a broom, but no one he's met has been willing to teach him for fear he fall and break his head open.
[*] He was not trained in the typical way of western magic, so most of the classes at Hogwarts are new to him.
The password you found when reading the rules: -Admin Edit-
Detailed description of your character's abilities or heritage. Onmyoujitsu. This is where this gets tricky. Onmyoujitsu is not necessarily a special ability. Or is it? Daisuke has puzzled this. Generations of his family (nineteen to be exact) have been the spiritual protectors and guardians of Japan from the shadows. The powers are widespread and based in the concepts of Tao sorcerer melded with Shinto and Buddhists beliefs until it encompasses a very wide reaching form of magic. The basics of these powers are as follows.
His elemental control is tied up in all five of the Chinese elements: water, earth, fire, wood, metal. He can manipulate and control, but not generate all five to varying degrees: the easiest to control is water because it wants to move. The hardest is perhaps earth or metal, which are less inclined to moving. This control is mostly secondary and not something he uses directly or often.
It's mostly used in conjuring or dispelling kekkai (barriers), which are either personal shields that he would use in his home, far less flashy, or large and firm barriers he can create that are very physical in nature. He has also learned how to use these barriers as containment fields for particularly dangerous spells. If one is created around himself, ill effects will rebound inward rather than outward and harm those around him.
Sending soul self into another's consciousness is another ability unique to the practice of onmyoujitsu. It is extremely dangerous to both individuals involved, but it is successful when it comes to speaking to coma patients as well as those who have been knocked unconscious and simply need help finding their way back. Any harm that is done to him in that person's mind is as if physically happening to him.
He is a natural medium and can converse openly with spirits. It is the traditional role of the onmyouji to be the spiritual protectors of Japan, and he takes this role seriously. He speaks to the ghosts, trying to aid them to move on or to at least be at peace. It is also possible for ghosts to speak through him, though he does not allow that to happen as often. He can perform exorcisms of a sort, as well.
In theory, he could use his spells to create illusions, but it's not something his grandmother encourage and only something he's ever played with. He's seen other onmyouji create lifelike landscapes or hide their presence and all that. It's fascinating and something he intends to develop at some point.
The empathy he has could either be a side effect of the onmyouji talents, or he could have inherited it from his mother. Either way, it's underdeveloped ability. He can receive and project and also sense residual emotional qualities if they were strong enough (ie entering a room where a murder took place recently, etc). If developed, he is unsure how potent it could be. It is the thing that killed his mother, though: her own empathy was too strong and unchecked.
Limitations: The true limitations of what Saiki can do is centered in his mind. He is impeccably trained as an onmyouji, but his confidence in himself can falter at times. Also, he has never really fought in open combat before with his abilities. His training has been mostly in defensive and practical uses of his magic. He also doesn't have the mentality to kill anyone. It's not in his nature.
All of Saiki's spells are in Japanese, and almost all of his spells require
ofuda and great concentration. Without training in open combat, it's hard to focus and harder not to falter. He has no faith he wouldn't falter.
Why do you believe it is necessary for your character to be so different from their peers? His history is dependent upon this because he was raised intrinsically differently. He represents traditional eastern magic, and because he doesn't really know much western magic, I feel it all balances out.
Himura Daisuke
