APPLICATION

[botamochi]

PLAYER
YOUR NAME: Hei
18+?: Y
CONTACT: ( aim ) tsunouji, halloway
CHARACTERS IN GAME: N/A
RESERVATION LINK: boop

CHARACTER: CANON SECTION
NAME: Takumi
AGE: Late teens.
CANON: Fire Emblem: Fates

CANON HISTORY: Wiki link!
CANON PERSONALITY:

When first encountering Takumi, he comes off as an unpleasant fellow. To Corrin, he's extremely hostile, hot-headed, and outright rude in the beginning. If playing Conquest, he comes off even worse. While he tolerates you when you're in Hoshido, your choice in choosing either Nohr or Hoshido weighs heavily on his mind. It shows that Takumi isn't easy to approach, but that isn't completely true. Someone so detestable wouldn't have such loving retainers. As you progress in the game, you learn that there are more sides to Takumi.

As already stated, he comes off as extremely hostile and cautious, but there's a reason for his vitriolic behavior. Nohr has been trying to invade Hoshido and also sparked the war between the two kingdoms by assassinating his father and kidnapping his older brother (Corrin). It's reasonable to be resentful whenever Nohr is brought up. Even if he wants to reach out to Corrin, he's distrustful due to Corrin's Nohrian upbringing. Despite that, he doesn't feel any need to restrain himself from saying harsh words to the enemy. He can be in a good mood then sours in the next second. His method of coping with things he doesn't want to hear people he doesn't want to interact with leaving almost instantly after a couple of words; neither compromises nor discussions will be considered. Ryoma has said that Takumi is an emotional person, even emotionally fragile. However, he's still good at heart--his trust can be earned from the noblest of actions. In Birthright, Zola protects Takumi from getting attacked. He was extremely grateful and touched though it turned out to be a ploy to corner the Hoshidan army.

Takumi has an inferiority complex that surfaces quite often. Being the third child of the Hoshidan royal family makes him feel overshadowed by Ryoma and Hinoka's achievements. He always feels the need to prove himself, to be better, and to get stronger. In a way, it has benefit him in giving him quite the work ethic and incredible drive. If ever undermined, he puts ridiculous amount of effort to show them otherwise. Even his special skill is called Competitive. Though his crippling self-esteem has a somewhat good effect on him, it still leaves little foundation for his state of being. He feels the need to defend himself often if he thinks he's being cornered and barely thinks of highly of himself despite spouting about his skills and strength. In his support with Hinoka, he expresses how he's only a burden to their family and that they should abandon him (he was trying to run away from her). He tries to have control over his emotions, hence leaving when he's angry so that he doesn't ruin the moment, but it always bleeds out into his expressions and mannerisms.

Though being master of the bow calls for composure and control, he shows little of it when it comes to his own emotions. He's also on the impatient side, acting as quickly as his mind thinks. It's not that he isn't aware, it's that it's hard to stifle them. He does his best not to lash out, but it shows in his tone and passive-aggressive words. While leaving may seem rude to others, he does it out of consideration for himself and the other party. I wish I can tell you the number of times he abruptly leaves in a support, but that is quite a number to take into account. It's unfortunate that his awareness doesn't come with easy apologies. Takumi does take time to reflect on his actions and words, but holds a lot of arrogance to keep his low self-esteem from ruining him completely. Getting an apology from him may or may not need you to put your life on the line for him--or you can wait several weeks. Guilt tripping him may work, but he already feels bad about it and it can make it worse. He tries desperately to make up for his shortcomings through pride and strong will, sometimes in over the top excess.

Many try to talk to talk, but Takumi does try to walk the walk. He does what he can to be presentable especially as a mature soldier. He doesn't take kindly to those bringing up his past where he was a childish which is shown in his support with Orochi. It immensely infuriates him because he thinks so highly of other's opinions on him. He wants people to see him as valuable, mature, strong, and the like. He works extremely hard, giving up what he once treasured in order to upkeep this reputation. It's mentioned that he used to have dolls, very similar to Sakura, but he only denies it every time. He even ridicules his younger sister for caring so much about them, writing them off as simply juvenile. Another example is in Hinata's support, he doesn't express how proud he is of Hinata in the way he truly feels. Keeping face is extremely important to Takumi despite how he does relent (lashing out) or indulge (cheering loudly), letting himself come off as rather puerile.

All of these traits do not mean Takumi is only a distrustful and obstinate prick. While he's a little hot-headed, he shows many signs of weakness and kindness. His complex manifests in a form of performance anxiety. Usually, he exudes a lot of confidence and charisma on the battlefield, but always wishes to surpass or be equal to others (especially Ryoma). He finds himself nervous when it comes to royal banquets and, in general, diplomacy. It's shown in Sakura and Takumi's support that they both share this weakness to certain social interactions (they wanted to avoid the banquet), though Takumi is better off than his younger sister when it comes to freely talking to others. He's easy to fluster and tease, which is why he's riled up in almost every support. This isn't a secret, but it's worth mentioning he isn't good with monsters and ghosts--all that scary stuff really does spook him.

When he isn't being a jerk, as Azura would say, he's a kind person to those he trusts. He gives back what you give him. When you talk to him in your castle, he only reassures you that you've been doing your best and he appreciates it. He even goes out of his way to help others as evident in several supports. In Birthright, Takumi is extremely wary that Corrin will betray Hoshido, but teaches them archery anyway. While this is also the same support in Revelations, he's suspicious due to Corrin's Nohrian upbringing in both routes. With his guard down, Takumi is rather casual (rude as hell) and friendly in a unconsciously playful way. He doesn't find any harm in even asking Rinkah for a bite of her meal. Sometimes it's a little too sadistic, such as using Jakob to steady an apple on his head for target practice. It's strange to say, but Takumi is extremely easy to talk to for a noble. Another weird thing is he's extremely good with kids despite his temper, but maybe it's because he knows how one thinks (aka he's a child).

Takumi has many flaws: stubborn, dismissive, hypocritical, volatile, rude, harsh, and the list can go on, but he has positive traits. As we can see, he's a diligent worker and quick learner. He's intelligent, being much of a bookworm despite what everyone thinks. Ryoma has applauded Takumi for his strategies, believing he would make a good advisor once he completely matures. There are small glimpses of how he tries to act like a mature adult, but bursts into excitement. Underneath his weaknesses is a rather simple man that wants to be loved by others.

SKILLS/ABILITIES:

Takumi's base class is an archer and surpasses at this art. Though also a skilled swordsman as well, he's most recognized for his skill with the bow. He has high strength and skill growth while having a rather quick growth rate in general, which makes him ridiculously deadly on the battlefield even at a lower level. Even before promoting to sniper, Takumi has the potential to floor opponents by himself. Unfortunately, due to his class, he lacks affinity to magic.

Takumi has been chosen by Hoshido's divine bow, the Fujin Yumi. Fujin Yumi is one of the strongest bows in the games and showing little drawbacks, even giving him the ability to walk through any kind of terrain with little trouble. I remember playing the Cheve chapter in Conquest and he walked on water to kill me. That is some dedication and power abuse. You know what saved me? I had a sliver more HP than the damage he dealt. How is that even fair? I had a heart attack. Other than that, Fujin Yumi fires out wind arrows.

As part of the royal family, Takumi is a descendant of the Dawn Dragon, giving him the ability to use Dragon Veins. Dragon Veins are capable of changing the terrain such as summoning tornadoes and lightning, drying out rivers, and a lot more destructive stuff. Then there's breaking pots like you're Link from the Legend of Zelda.

CHARACTER: AU SECTION
AU NAME: Takumi Minamoto
AU AGE: 19
PHYSICAL DIFFERENCES: Short black hair and brown eyes. Easy.

AU HISTORY:

• Takumi's family consists of three other siblings and two parents. Most of his childhood is spent in the Akita Prefecture, Japan. Though a little shy as a child, he only had positive life experiences despite crying at the drop of the hat. He would cry over spilled milk or tripping over air, stuff like that. His older siblings looked after him well, but he always followed after his mother and admired his father with great adoration. Either way, guess who cried about moving to Recolle? This kid.
• Their family opens up a sushi place since that was what his mother always wanted. It's quaint, but it needed a couple of months to really take off. Until then, they lived in a subpar apartment in a rural area for half a year before moving to an actual house. Being young at the time, he didn't remember it as much of a struggle, but his parents worked diligently from crack of dawn to nightfall. His siblings kept him company for the most part.
• He was the troublesome child as they were trying to settle into Recolle, preferring to not interact with others and not going to elementary school. Learning a new language is difficult, too. Despite that, other children flocked to him. Life in Recolle wasn't so bad, so he grew up normally with a good amount of friends and became a real nerd. Sports, academia, hobbies--he juggled them all pretty well up though he favored archery. With a membership with the National Field Archery Association, he participated in junior competitions. His life is well balanced, at least until his junior year of high school.
• His father was caught in a car accident, taking severe injuries. He doesn't make it to the hospital in time. This puts a huge dent into Takumi's rather peaceful life, spiraling it down into a complete emotional mess. Lacking motivation and high spirits, he secluded himself and dropped whatever extracurricular activities he had. His grades never slipped, but all he did was study.
• It took a year, but he recovered. With the support of some close friends and the liveliness of the people around him, he bounced back into gear, but chose against returning to school clubs. Like his oldest sibling, he used his free time to help his mother run the restaurant whenever he can instead.
• He planned on not spending a cent of his family's money for university, so he racked up as many scholarships as he can. The free time reserved mostly for friends decreased in place of other part-time jobs.
• Currently, he's in his third year of university and finds time to tutor some high schoolers on the weekend for extra cash. He works at the restaurant on weekdays after his classes. For now, he has no plans on pursuing his dreams of returning to competitive archery.
• The sushi restaurant has been doing well, so they're expanding on their desserts and confections menu since that's what his mother really likes doing (currently, they make a lot of botamochi/ohagi). Rice bowls and noodles may come later.
• His house has a little shrine for his father. It's part of his routine to pay his respects whenever he gets home.
• I just want to add that they have a cream Pomeranian named Momo and a tank of pet shrimp.

PRE-ESTABLISHED STUFF (PERMISSION GRANTED):

• With permission, Makoto Tachibana (splasher) and Takumi are childhood friends when they both moved to Recolle. They've grown apart around middle school.
• Jason (antagonize), Izumi (adoringpast), Penelo (mincingminuet), Shinn (impulsives), and Sorey (openhanded) are classmates he's only a little bit more comfortable to be around. Mostly Sorey and Shinn, though.
• Hinoka (hinokopter) is his older sister.
• He knows Lailah (warmhearted) through Sorey...
• Minako (complementing) is his supervisor at his internship.
• Yam's mom and Takumi's mom are friends, so they know each other. (okitactless)
• Mafuyu (buncho) is a delinquent girl that he knows from working at his internship. She also visits the restaurant... not like she buys anything though.
• He knows Okita gudaguda somehow and they're weeb friends.

AU PERSONALITY:

Takumi is not entirely different, but he lacks some of the core components from his original counterpart. Without the context of war, Takumi ends up being a lot more amicable, harboring less overall hostility towards others. You can even say he's the type to approach people now. He won't be screaming EUROPEAN SCUM and putting people through trials to win his trust anytime soon; instead he'll be doing his best to help a buddy out and get to know them like a normal person. Yes, Takumi can finally be a normal person rather than a Prince of grand kingdom. With a modern upbringing, he becomes more open-minded than his canon counterpart, but he's unfortunately still prone to making quick judgments. With his family barely being middle class, he raises his nose towards those that are born with a silver spoon as a default.

The burden of royalty weighs heavy on all, but especially on Takumi. It is the stem of his insecurities and lacking self-esteem. In canon, he continues to compare himself to his older siblings and their accomplishments. In Recolle, his au siblings' accomplishments are minuscule in comparison to cannon, which makes the gap between them smaller. While he will still be critical on himself, it won't be so intense to the point of constant self-loathing. For once, Takumi will find some peace with himself more often than not. He'll be able to ask for help when he needs it instead of seeing it as accentuating his faults. This gives him a break from his habit from canon where he overcompensates in almost every single thing he does from canon--finally, he can be what some people would call a filthy casual in some activities. Of course, he'll still be compassionate about a select few, maybe even too invested. However, one can't be ambitious about everything if they don't have enough free time to pursue it.

With his predicament in Recolle, he's only focused on taking care of his family. He'll resemble his canon older brother, Ryoma, as a busybody, finding little time to pick at his insecurities and shortcomings. It helps him keep a positive outlook on life and see the good in most people. It affects his temper, finding a bit more patience especially due to the kindness he has received from others when he needed it most. Ultimately, he suffers less from extreme anxiety, but more from plain embarrassment.

Another core aspect of Takumi is that he craves praise, attention, and love. In this AU, it's conveyed differently. Rather than heavily emphasizing skill and acknowledgment, Takumi is looking for actual companionship. His time is mostly spent on working and school, but his leisure ends up being resting at home and playing videogames now. Of course, he has once a month get-togethers with his friends and group projects if you consider that enjoyable, but he's on the lonely side. Feeling distant, even from his closer friends, he jumps at the chance to get some kind of respectable attention--as subtle as possible. He doesn't want to seem desperate.

SAMPLE

TDM!