Post by Deleted on Jan 7, 2015 11:48:55 GMT -6
||| CHARACTER NAME |||
Face Claim: Megumi Kato of Saekano: How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend.
#Name;
Ritsuko Hirase
#Age ;
19 years old
#Gender ;
Female
#Sexuality ;
Bisexual
#D.O.B. ;
November 5, 1984
#Occupation ;
Graduate, cafe waitress
#Year and class ;
N/A
#Height ;
5'6" (167 cm)
#Weight ;
135 lb (61 kg)
#Physique ;
She is rather thin, but not unhealthily so. For her age, she is rather tall, which sometimes causes shock to people, but has yet to intimidate anyone. She's not too heavy for this height either, but in fact slightly lighter than she probably should be.
#Hair color and style ;
Her hair is black, and it hangs straight down to the middle of her back. She usually keeps it straight, but for special events she will experiment with other looks, such as curled or pulled up into some sort of bun or ponytail.
#Eye color ; Reddish-brown.
#Other appearance details (optional) ; Due to a recent injury at work, she finds herself limping occasionally or constantly shifting balance and leaning to one side when standing still.
#Clothing styles ;
Outside of her work uniforms, usually a t-shirt and a skirt/shorts. Her shirts are mainly darker colors, some being a flat black. The skirts are usually mid-thigh length, mainly solid colors with trim details. The uniform required at work is a blue blouse with the café insignia and a white skirt of about knee length. Optionally, she wears jewelry to complement these outfits, bangles and bracelets are among these. On top of that, she always wears earrings resembling music notes her mother gave her as a young child. For special events and occasions, she will typically wear a dress of some kind, which range in colors from black to green to blue and more.
#Personality ;
Ritsuko is very humble and polite, some traits that were instilled within her during her upbringing in the Hirase family. She was always content with what she had, and found entertainment simply. She loved to read and learn about new things, and had a large book collection to satisfy that hunger. When she was a child, her mother would read her bed time stories. She grew so fascinated with them that she demanded they be read every night until she was able to read on her own. She read frequently in her free time when she was alone, but it was never only that. She had other things, such as television, exercising, and hanging out with friends to keep herself busy.
She was loved among her friends for her bright and bubbly personality. She was always making jokes and listening to others tell stories and talk about recent events. Her father was always a sociable person. Whenever he would bring Ritsuko to work, she would hear his coworkers laugh and converse with him happily at what seemed to be any moment they could find. She knew about a lot of things, so there was always something to talk about or something to be taught, depending on who was speaking to her. As she matured, she developed an interest in learning, and took to reading anything from the news to old textbooks, soaking up the knowledge that she could. This had led her to build a larger circle of friends each year.
For the year following the death of her mother, her mood had dropped drastically. She was finding herself losing interest in her favorite activities, and hardly left home. She found herself skipping school rather frequently, not being bothered by the sound of her alarm in the morning. She got plenty of sleep, but still appeared as someone who had not slept for days. On the occasional chance her father would try to communicate with her, she would have a very short, subtle reply. She dropped out of contact with all of her friends, despite their pleas to help her heal from this tragedy.
At work she finds enjoyment in the presence of so many people. She loves the customers and hearing about their daily lives, so when she is not busy, she is sitting with them and talking with them about their day. With this, she will tend to jump on tables as soon as she can, hoping to be the waitress for that table. Being a sort of relief and a bit of a vent for her lonesomeness, some of which was left behind following the death of her mother, it was an opportunity she could not let up! She struggled in the beginning, but after many interactions with different types of people from different backgrounds, she found it easier to communicate.
She also portrays an image of responsibility, and it's not easily looked over. Since the loss of her mother and her eventual independence after high school, she quickly became more self-aware and did what needed to be done. Just from being around her, you can tell that she is always trying to be professional and do things for her future. She sometimes has a mischievous side, such as skipping work some days or forgetting to take care of things around the house, as everyone does at least once in their lives. But primarily, she does take good care of her daily tasks and responsibilities, a trait which may inspire some of her friends and peers. She tried to push her friends and her father to do the right thing and take care of their daily chores, although sometimes her efforts had fallen flat.
#History ;
Hirase Ritsuko was born in November of 1984 to her mother, Kumiko, and her father, Masaki. Kumiko was a nurse attendant at the hospital in the next town, who had been working there since long before Ritsuko was born. Masaki had been teacher for just as long, and was soon to be transferring to the local elementary school. The Hirase family was a little-known family, floating around in the sea of a crowd, but that didn't deter them from doing the best they could. Ritsuko was raised well but humbly, and this shaped her well.
At the age of 5, she started school. She had difficulties talking to the other kids in her class until she met Kazuto (Sorry for the reference, couldn't think of any names!), a young boy that lived nearby. The two became very close very quickly, and soon were inseparable. She made a few other friends in class, and they would sometimes tease her about her "boyfriend" Kazuto. This continued up through second grade, when some of her friends were transferring schools.
She went through primary school becoming more and more social every year. She made many friends and had to say goodbye to some, but life turned out to be splendid regardless. School was always fun for her, she was always excited to be there. More than once, her teachers would call home to praise Ritsuko's behavior and work ethic. She would be happy every time she came home from school, always happy that she learned something. Kumiko and Masaki were always proud of this and didn't hesitate to brag about her to their coworkers. This was not meant in a "holier-than-thou" attitude, but they were proud of her and weren't afraid to show it.
Ritsuko started secondary school and this behavior continued. She was always excited to learn new things, and now that being in secondary school introduced new fun things like history and higher levels of science, her demeanor towards school likened. Her grades were over-the-top starting from the day she started, but this would soon change. She made a few friends in her classes, and they were always supporting her and she returned that in kind. She would always remember them and she hoped this would continue all the way through graduation.
At the age of thirteen, her mother Kumiko was diagnosed with breast cancer. At the time, the doctors told her that she would be able to leave as the symptoms showed signs of early remission. This was good news but the diagnosis devastated both her and Masaki. The idea that Kumiko would leave them sooner than expected tore them up. However, they didn't hesitate to spend as much time with Kumiko as possible. Ritsuko stopped hanging out with her friends so much, but gave the excuse that she was busy helping her parents with home improvement projects. This life continued for a few weeks and it started to look better. Kumiko didn't look or feel sick in any way that either Ritsuko or Masaki had noticed, so they acted as if the diagnosis didn't happen.
Two months after the original diagnosis, Kumiko's condition worsened. She was quickly rushed to the hospital and was soon admitted. Ritsuko and Masaki were torn, giving up a lot of their daily schedules to spend time with her. Ritsuko spent every minute that she had outside of school with her in her room, and her father had left work early each day to spend time with her. The time he spent out of work led to his promotion being revoked immediately. On top of this, Ritsuko's relationship with him faded and they hardly ever spoke to each other.
Finally, after six months post-diagnosis of failed medical treatment and clinical depression, Kumiko passed away. This destroyed Ritsuko and Masaki, who only got worse between each other. Ritsuko was the first to buckle under the pain, and stopped attending school as often. When she did, however, she did rather poorly and was always distracted. Her friends insisted she see support or take some help from one of them, but she declined all offers. She felt as if being alone was the best way to get through this.
Masaki had only showed up at work to work his minimal hours, not caring to do anything more. After the revoking of his promotion, he felt no obligation to put in more work than necessary to stay. When he was at home, he was usually drinking. He picked up the habit while Kumiko was still in the hospital, but it had since become a tougher addiction. He was glad that Ritsuko wouldn't speak or interact with him in fear of acting out towards her. Waking up hungover every day led him to be snappy and even rude with his coworkers, who also offered assistance. They were declined as well, quickly shoved away in favor of another beer.
With time, as the saying goes, those wounds slowly started to heal. It was when she noticed something very small, something very subtle that would have gone unnoticed otherwise. In her window, she had noticed that a pair of birds began to appear again. Her mother had always fed these birds, giving them feed in a small bowl in the birdbath outside that window. After her passing, the birds stopped showing up, probably due to the lack of food. The curtains on this window were normally closed at this time, keeping the house dark. However, one day Ritsuko was walking past and tripped over something that had fallen from somewhere unknown. In instinct, she grabbed the curtain on this window, ripping it away from the bar and allowing light in. In her haste to get up, she grabbed the sill of the window, looking out of it as she stood. She saw the same two birds, pecking away at the dirty water that was in the bath.
It was then that she found it in herself to believe that her mother's spirit had been there, drawing the birds back to their home. It was slow at first, but she gradually was able to fill the gap that was left there. Every night, she spoke silently, hoping her mother would be hearing it from wherever her soul may be. In the morning, she would go out to see if the birds were at the window, and lo-and-behold, they were. She picked up more feed, and continued on what her mother had started, which helped her morale greatly.
Masaki was envious of his daughter's improvement and made a vow to Kumiko that he would do the same for her own sake. He weened himself slowly from alcohol and began doing more hours at work. He realized that he missed the promotion and the benefits it came with. After two weeks of very hard work and extensive request, he was moving his things back into his old office and was fully reinstated.
DurIng Ritsuko's first year, she picked up volleyball as a hobby. She decided that she had to branch out from what could be considered a boring life. It was apparent after the first practice that she was out of shape. She practiced hard outside of school and got into the routine before the second practice. During the season, the team saw varying success, but ultimately ended up in the championship. Unfortunately, they did not end up placing, but instead vowed to practice ardently for the next season. Ritsuko was quickly determined one of the smarter girls in class and went to finish a successful year one.
The following year, Ritsuko found herself in the gym for volleyball tryouts along with many of the old members but quite a few new ones. All of the previous members made the cut including one new girl, and practice was to begin the next week. They all shared an air of excitement, remembering the promise they made each other the year before. They practiced hard, trying to include the new member as much as possible. This year, they made it to the championships with a nearly undefeated record, and the spotlight was on them. The commentators praised their team for ending up at the championship again. After the week span of championships, they found themselves receiving the first place trophy! Many of the members cried, including the new girl. None of them imagined they'd make it here, but it happened and it was because of their effort. The whole bus ride back to the school was great, the hooting and hollering could be heard for miles. Plans were made for several parties and celebrations, and the coach even hosted one for all the girls.
After the championships, Ritsuko returned to her normal studying habits and floated her way back up to the top. Some other students had gravitated academically and surpassed her, but catching up was not an issue. The rest of her year passed by in a blink, as many senior years of high school pass. Soon, they were ready to graduate. Many tears were shed in the week leading to and at the actual graduation itself, as many good friends were ready to split. Some of the team members were going to college or to work overseas in America, while some were relocating to other parts of Japan. Ritsuko had yet to determine quite where she wanted to go, as she had been distracted with sports and schooling. She decided to pick up a job at the local cafe, where she would learn to love it.
After her recovery from the spell of depression, Ritsuko decided that she would become more independent. She offered to help her father find help for his own sadness, but in the meantime she thought it would be best to find herself some work in order to help support them both. She applied at many places, a lot of them turning her down due to the reputation her father had given her as of late. One of the cafes in town offered her a chance though, which originally began as seasonal work. It was the beginning of the summer, and a lot of tourists who came to visit caused a spike in activity. This called for the need for extra help, so that extra help was sought out through advertisement.
Working at the cafe led to forming many bonds. When she started, she was overly shy, not used to the work scene. She was embarrassed to have to wear a uniform, even though it flattered her appearance. It took a while for her to become friendly with her coworkers, and she usually kept to herself and the customers that she happened to be servicing. There were a few terms tossed around by the employees who had been there longer than her, which would prove difficult to catch on. Eventually, however, she slowly nudged her way into the family that was the staff. She became more friendly as she discovered that some of the girls and boys that worked there were recent graduates as well, and fitting into her age group came at an ease. She soon was one of the more requested waitresses, and she sometimes found herself well-tipped for even the simplest of orders. The regular patrons of the establishment knew her by name, and she occasionally sat and talked to them about their daily lives, trying to learn about what she could from the world.
Cut to modern day, and Ritsuko is still working at the cafe. She was still in contact with her friends from school, and would hang out with those that were still in town. Sometimes, her father would visit her at work during a lunch break or afterwards, which was a pleasant surprise to her day. She wore a locket with an old picture of her mother that her father had gotten specially made for her, reminding her of the person who helped her become who she was. The sudden onset of this trend surprised some people, but soon faded into the background as a normal detail.The Roleplayer's Corner
#Nickname ;
Reenee
#Username ;
Ritsuko
#Age ;
19
#Gender (optional);
Female.
#Other Characters (if any);
None.
#Seen the anime/played the visual novel? ;
Yes, I've actually recently finished Clannad, After Story, and the Motion Picture.
#How did you find us? ;
I'm new to the idea of roleplaying, but this show looked like it would have something very interesting to do, and I found it on Google.
#Sample RP ;Ritsuko blinked back a glossy layer that had covered her eyes. Today was a rather slow day at the cafe, which was unusual. "It's awfully early for the town to call it quits and leave. This is usually the lunch rush," she thought to herself in a slightly irritated voice. She sat at the counter, chipping away at a bowl of curry rice that she ordered for her own lunch. A few people had come in, but only the frequent patrons. She turned to her friend, Iruka, and sighed aloud. "You think we'll get any more customers in today? It's not some kind of special holiday or anything, is it?" she plied, hoping for a response. It wouldn't be surprising if Iruka turned to stone from the boredom.
While it wasn't a holiday, it was the anniversary of her mother's death. It had been a year, but the looming sense of guilt haunted Ritsuko. She couldn't help but feel as if her younger self could have done something to help, even though countless times people have told her that it wasn't her fault. She fingered the locket around her neck, trying to remember the warm times she spent with her mother. A smile played across her face, remembering all sorts of wonderful things that brought her heart home. The smell of her mother's cooking, the sound of her voice when she sang, the smell of the perfume she wore on special occasions. She remembered when her mother looked her best, not wanting to see the other end of the spectrum. A sigh of brief nostalgia escaped her mouth.
"Not that I can think of. There aren't any events going on in town that I'm aware of, unless you can think of any?" The sound of her friend's voice awoke Ritsuko from her little daydream with a bit of a shock. It took a moment to recollect her thoughts and jump back into this conversation. Ritsuko replied quietly with a mischevious voice, "Well, if we don't get anyone soon, I'm probably going to head home." There was a snicker from the door to the kitchen, where both Ritsuko and Iruka found the manager standing. "It is a slow day, but you've got another hour left. Think you can manage?" the manager said loudly, hoping the noise would awaken his two employees from their stir. They both groaned, thinking about the lack of business they were to anticipate.
Ritsuko was leaning across the counter, her eyes closed and her tongue clicking to the rhythmic ticking of the clock on the wall behind her. Iruka walked past her, positioning herself in front of the window to look down the street. "Really? Nobody?" Iruka groaned, walking back to the counter and leaning in next to her friend. "I guess today just isn't the day, huh?" Ritsuko replied, rocking sideways and knocking their shoulders together softly. "Hey, are you waiting for that boy from yesterday?" Iruka teased, giggling as Ritsuko's face turned red with embarrassment. "H-hey! That's not true!" Ritsuko stuttered as she spoke, her face, neck and chest flushing to be the same color. "Oh really? Then what DID he say to you, huh?" Iruka mumbled, poking fun at her friend's embarassment.
It was just after the lunch rush in the cafe. Most of the traffic was gone, leaving just a few stragglers behind. Some were finished with their meals and having conversations, while others were doing some form of work. Ritsuko stood behind the counter, counting money from the register carefully. When she looked up, she noticed this boy that looked to be around her age staring at her. They made eye contact briefly before looking down at the table, blushing and biting his lip. She would look back up, eyeing the other customers and looking back at the clock on the wall behind her. She turned back around and noticed that once again, the boy was staring. Did she know him? She recognized the face, but couldn't put a name to it. It was scratching at the back of her mind, but she couldn't figure it out. She decided that she was going to investigate and talk to him.
She walked across the room, standing at the end of his table and looking down at him. "Hi, may I sit down?" Ritsuko whispered politely, putting on a big smile and the kindest demeanor she could manage. "S-sure! Go ahead, I don't mind!" He said, looking flustered as he rushed to make room on the other side of the table by sliding his dishes towards him. She sat down, fixing her outfit and looking back up, smiling again. "I noticed you looking at me. Do I know you?" Ritsuko said gently, allowing her hands to rest on her lap. "We went to school together, you were at my graduation. I'm Aikawa Azaki, nice to meet you," he spoke somewhat quickly, bowing his head quickly and nearly slamming his head on the table. "I remember you now! I'm glad to meet someone I went to school with, Aikawa-san. I'm Hirase Ritsuko!" she exclaimed, extending her right hand in a welcoming gesture. He looked up, noticing her hand in front of him and rushing to make the handshake.
They talked for a while, introducing themselves and getting to know each other. Azaki was on the school soccer team, but wasn't very popular. Unlike the rest of the team, he kept to himself and a small group of friends. Ritsuko and Azaki shared a class in their senior year, which lit a light bulb in her mind! He graduated close to the top of the class, and had been going to school to be an accountant. He was back home, visiting with his parents during his break. When he mentioned that, Ritsuko made a mental note to go visit her father today after work. His dad worked as an electrician with the local trade firm. His mother was a stay-at-home mother, taking care of a younger son and daughter. They were both in kindergarten, and were in Kyou Fujibayashi's class. He had been coming in recently to the cafe, but she didn't recognize that. It must have been after she had left for the day.
Ritsuko told Azaki about herself, and as she did so, he felt entranced. While he couldn't help but sympathize with her as she told the story of her mother, he still felt this weird feeling gripping his heart. In such a short time he felt a connection forming that would hopefully grow into something else. He thought she was beautiful, taking in all the details of her face. The color of her eyes, the sound of her voice, and the perfection that was her hair had struck him as amazing, and at some points he felt himself in a daze. As he learned about her, he felt as though he wanted to learn more.
After she finished her story, she looked up at the clock on the wall. "I'm terribly sorry, but I'm late! I need to go home and take care of some things! I apologize! Thank you for your time, Aikawa-san, and I hope to see you again sometime, so come back!" She said hurriedly, standing up and bowing at the side of the table before rushing to the back to check out. As she left, she felt herself blushing. It was strange to her that she found herself connecting with a stranger, yet she didn't feel bad or weird about it. She sped out the door and began her journey home, but not without thinking of her new friend.
Suddenly, she awoke from her daydream to see that she had been in a trance for almost 10 minutes. She stood up straight, looking around to see if she had missed anything. However, the restaurant was still empty and the kitchen sounded quiet. She turned around, walking back into the kitchen and noticed that Iruka had left. She went and found the manager, and he laughed before either of them said anything. "Iruka already left, Ritsuko. I'm closing down early, so you can leave too. I didn't want to bother you out there, you looked like you were thinking of something big. Is there anything you would like to tell me?" He questioned, grinning mischievously and turning to walk back into his office. "N-n-no! Nothing like that, not at all sir! I'll be going now!" She stammered, turning around and storming out of the kitchen. She blushed wildly as she heard her boss laugh at her, walking from around the counter and towards the door.
