[hider=Haruka Takashiro][color=salmon][h3][b][u]Basic Information[/u][/b][/h3] [b]Name:[/b][/color] [indent]Haruka Takashiro (高城 遥, [i]Takashiro Haruka[/i])[/indent] [color=salmon][b]Other Names:[/b][/color] [list][*][i]Haru[/i] --- nickname, general [*]Assortment of horrible names --- Shizuka only [*][i]MobiusZero[/i] --- online moniker[/list] [color=salmon][b]Gender:[/b][/color] [indent]Male[/indent] [color=salmon][b]Age:[/b][/color] [indent]23[/indent] [color=salmon][b]Height:[/b][/color] [indent]5' 8"[/indent] [color=salmon][b]Weight:[/b][/color] [indent]148 lbs[/indent] [color=salmon][b]Home District:[/b][/color] [indent]Little Seapond[/indent] [color=salmon][h3][b][u]Appearance[/u][/b][/h3] [b]Hair Color:[/b][/color] [indent]Black[/indent] [color=salmon][b]Eye Color:[/b][/color] [indent]Dark Brown[/indent] [color=salmon][b]Ethnicity:[/b][/color] [indent]Japanese[/indent] [color=salmon][b]Physical Description:[/b][/color] [indent]Just like his younger twin, Haruka also has a small and slim stature common among native Japanese; while he doesn't have the athletic build his sporty agent brother possesses, the Academy's physical training has given him a much healthier hue and beefed him up a little, though he still can't get any tan even if he's under the sun a lot. His jet-black hair is naturally ruffled and unkempt, no matter how much he tries to straighten that mop of mess on his head. He wears a pair of half-rimmed spectacles over his dark brown eyes that often seem glassy and lost, giving him a permanent bored look. He has the same heart-shaped, androgynous face and thin lips like Shizuka, but he does not have any birthmarks.[/indent] [color=salmon][b]Attire:[/b][/color] [indent]Smart-casual - unlike his laid-back twin, Haruka does put in effort to make himself look presentable (depending on the occasion, of course), but he is ignorant to latest trending fashion as much as Shizuka. He's mostly seen wearing combinations of dress shirts, jeans, and covered shoes. At the farm, he simply goes with plain long-sleeved shirts, long pants, waterproof boots, and a hat or cap to shield his eyes from the sunlight.[/indent] [color=salmon][h3][b][u]Personality[/u][/b][/h3] [b]Innate & Outward Personality:[/b][/color] [indent]Haruka is pretty much the stereotypical personification of terms like 'geek', 'nerd', 'bookworm', et cetera - and yes he is indeed one. Not just the glasses and his passion for reading (though they are part of the whole package) - he is almost like a walking encyclopedia, his vast knowledge is an accumulation of the books from all the time he spent in bookshops and libraries; also from articles and entries he gathered through the cyberspace. While he isn't as apt as Shizuka in using them practically, that isn't to say he only knows to recite them word for word like scholars in ancient times; he does know how to apply them in daily life, though in small ways. Correction: he [i]was[/i] once a geek, a nerd - or any other terms you can think of for this kind of character trait. Increasing interactions after joining Academy 61 has given him the opportunity to break the ice; he also has to reach out to even more people while helping out with his aunt's farm (to everyone's surprise, since he seems more like the type who prefers to stay indoors). Eventually he has become much more comfortable facing and talking with strangers and making friends (better than Shizuka), though he still retains his rather polite/formal speech style. He does continue to value quiet times and his peaceful private space to take breaks from the social hubbub. He has also learned to be more reserved about putting his trust in people he barely knew, but he still tries to see the good in them as much as he can. He also has similar hopeful view of the world as Meifeng - but for him it's less about heroism and more about Confucianism - as opposed to his brother's realistic (at times even pessimistic) outlook. Morally Haruka is somewhere between Lawful and Neutral Good - although he tries to adhere to rules and regulations as much as possible, he is still flexible enough to go beyond those restrictions and try other methods to better help the people in need. He may have a normally mellow personality, but that doesn't mean he can't put up a fight if he has to. Trained directly under [i]the[/i] Zhao Lihua, a matriarch among the elemental-manipulating instructors in the Academy, he fully understands that his power is as versatile as the element itself - air and wind - and he spares no effort to truly master his ability. He did, and went on to graduate from the Academy as one of the top students of his cohort. As much as he can he prefers to avoid needless violence, but if he has to resort to force he is capable of standing his own ground without any help from his overprotective brother.[/indent] [color=salmon][b]Hobbies/Interests:[/b][/color] [list][*][i]Reading & Writing[/i] --- Haruka prides himself as an armchair traveler as opposed to Shizuka's passion for backpacking. Unable to make long-lasting friendship with peers of his age due to the family being on constant move, he seeks refuge by losing himself in the worlds of books and cyberspace. While his brother is out sweating himself in sports, the older twin would lurk in local libraries and bookstores, burying himself among the piles of musty old volumes; or he would hang out in internet cafes, lost himself in the sea of information in the virtual world. He also writes some stuff from time to time, be it poems or short stories.[/list] [list][*][i]Music[/i] --- Besides reading, he likes listening to music, specifically acoustic covers and instrumental pieces. He has also picked up various instruments to learn how to play the songs on his own.[/list] [list][*][i]High Places[/i] --- Mostly due to an effect from his ability, he enjoys simply standing or sitting on the rooftops or trees, letting the open breeze to blow into him.[/list] [list][*][i]Video Gaming[/i] --- Usually just between him and Shizuka. The twins would try to find time and have a few hours of game time together - so far, Haruka is better with rhythm games and strategic turn-based types, while his younger twin is unstoppable in real-time action RPGs and FPS.[/list] [color=salmon][b]Skills/Talents:[/b][/color] [list][*][i]Languages[/i] --- Like his twin, Haruka is also fluent in Japanese, English and Chinese. In fact, he learns new languages faster than Shizuka.[/list] [list][*][i]Gardening[/i] --- Largely due to him helping Akemi and Daphne out at the backyard-turned-farm.[/list] [list][*][i]Innate Perfect Pitch[/i] --- He's born with this talent; coupled with his sharp hearing, he's able to play songs based on what he hears alone without the need of a music score.[/list] [color=salmon][b]Goals/Motivations:[/b][/color] [list][*][i]Family[/i] --- Haruka's reason is very different from his twin's; rather than about their current family in America, he's more concerned about their blood family - with Yuu and Asami. He doesn't want to give up on their original family like Shizuka, choosing to rebuild it from scratch.[/list] [list][*][i]Social Life[/i] --- In the previous Verthaven chapter, it's unfortunate that I ended up degrading him to just being a support character to develop Shizuka. But I want to change that - now that he has a power, and with the nightmare of the Devil Disaster still deeply etched into his mind, he's finally able to do something to make a difference and help others in need, to prevent the tragedy from repeating itself again... but of course, he'll soon learn that Metahumans are no gods, just like what Holly (and Shizuka) have said.[/list] [color=salmon][b]History:[/b][/color] [list][*][i]Pre-Verthaven: Two Peas in a Pod[/i] [indent]I suggest that you should read Shizuka's sheet first as it contains more details (which I'm not gonna repeat myself here again).[/indent][/list] [list][*][i]Verthaven: Partly Cloudy[/i] [indent]Verthaven seemed to be a promising place for the twins to finally settle down - Akemi was much nicer than their own mother, and they managed to make some "friends" around their age. Everything was smooth - he was starting to enjoy his new life in America - but that happiness didn't last long. Barely a month passed before the Devil's sludge army rose above the ground and razed the city, then his family was forced to run for their lives. He felt even more useless when he didn't have any powers like his twin, a hindrance to everyone else - until he met Jennifer Caspin, the first person he thought he could truly be friends with. He could see all the warning signs, he could tell that something wrong - something terrible - had happened to the girl, but he was afraid to probe her further, afraid of the answer. He was upset when Shizuka suspected her for being the mole selling them out to the Changelings - he knew that all his brother had done was merely to protect him, but he couldn't help feeling guilty that his own life was saved on her forsaken life. It was even more ironic that his superpower only manifested after her death. However, his brother was right: the only thing he could do to "repay" for being alive was to live on and keep moving forward, together with the memories he had made with those who had passed away in the terrible incident.[/indent][/list] [list][*][i]Baybridge: Endless Waltzstorm[/i] [indent]After the twins and their new family settled down in Baybridge, Haruka was enrolled into Academy 61 to learn how to better control his power while his brother began his two-year basic military training with the newly formed RAVEN. The older twin worked really hard - he had been doing very well in the Academy and eventually graduated with flying colors, while Shizuka went on to do further training in his area of expertise. After which, Haruka decided to take up part-time degree course so that he could still help Akemi with the farm. Everything seemed so peaceful right now, but with his new power, he could feel it as much as Shizuka's "gut feeling" - that something else is stirring in the background... Something [i]bad[/i]. He was living a peaceful life with Akemi, though he was disappointed that the reunion with his twin was cut short due to Shizuka's eventual involvement with the Stronghold Community patrol shift. While his brother was later caught up in one after another Metahuman-related incidents that prevented them from having a proper get-together, Haruka soon found himself walking deeper and deeper into the Overload trap; he then became the final victim and razed Oakdell Harbor with his freak tornado-hurricane before the sniper who shot him with a charging serum was apprehended. Not without a near-death reunion with an old ghost he had never expected to meet... Just when he thought he could finally have a nice catch-up with Shizuka, the twins found themselves in the middle of another Metahuman disaster caused by Eco-Natura. While trying to escape from the growing forest, he met Jennifer again, but they didn't have the time to settle their score with each other when they had to part ways, with Shizuka prioritizing on getting the uncombatable individuals under his protection to safety, and left the ice golem to her and Megan. Their brief, passing encounters went on when Jennifer loaded the injured Lihua up the car, and then Haruka had to fly his former mentor across to the Headquarters to seek medical help when the connecting bridge was bombed. To add on to his growing list of woes, the news of the missing Asami struck the twins. Shizuka quickly left for Asia to sort out both about the Founding Family and their mother's whereabouts on top of dealing with the increasing restlessness of the Asian countries in respond to the Baybridge incidents. As for Haruka, he wondered if he should find a way to get in contact with the few new friends he had made in the city to take a break from all the madness around him... Of course, things would [i]never[/i] go the way he had wished for.[/indent][/list] [color=salmon][h3][b][u]Relationships[/u][/b][/h3] [b]Family:[/b][/color] [indent][hider=][b]Shizuka Takashiro - Twin Brother[/b] [indent]See Shizuka's section in Dynamics.[/indent] [b]Akemi Shinoda - Aunt[/b] [indent]The twins' aunt through their mother's side, who makes them feel more like a mum than their actual mother. Haruka gets along very well with Akemi - not just helping out with her farm, he also help with any repair work needed around the house.[/indent] [b]Daphne "Holly" Hope - Sister Figure[/b] [indent]Holly is like an older sister that Haruka never had until now - occasionally he would tease Shizuka that she is a potential girlfriend material to the younger twin, but Shizuka merely waved that off and bluntly stated that he has never looked at Holly in [i]that[/i] way.[/indent] [b]Yuuichi Takashiro - Father[/b] [indent]Haruka does love his father, but he has also wished he can spend more time with him, and rebuild their relationship from scratch. Right now he can only be kept updated about Dad through Shizuka, something he hopes to change soon.[/indent] [b]Asami Takashiro (nee Shinoda) - Mother[/b] [indent]Haruka's relationship with their mother isn't as strained as his brother's; however, he is also uncertain about how he should feel towards Asami's outright objection at them. He feels that their mother must have a reason for acting this way towards the twins, and he really wants to get to the bottom of it - for any chance to save their broken family.[/indent][/hider][/indent] [color=salmon][b]Dynamics:[/b][/color] [indent][hider=][h3]Shizuka Takashiro[/h3][b]| Inseparable | Brother | [i]"I love him as much as I hate his crude sense of humor."[/i] |[/b] [indent]The [i]younger[/i] twin brother; again, not many people can guess the seniority between them unless they explicitly say so. Haruka has stopped having weird unrequited feelings for Shizuka (which is basically worshiping him), and it's now no different from a normal sibling love. They are still very close though, and he simply ignores the strange looks people give them at their affectionate exchanges.[/indent] [h3]Zhao Lihua[/h3][b]| Good | Instructor & Mentor | [i]"She has changed a lot since I last saw her - she isn't like the bitter woman back in Verthaven. She seems so much happier now, and we are even on good terms with one another."[/i] |[/b] [indent]Haruka was surprised to see Lihua in the Academy, and even more so when he was assigned to train under her. She still had the same strict and no-nonsense attitude, but he knew that she was giving her all to help them to have better control over their powers. They still continue to keep in touch after he has graduated from the Academy.[/indent] [h3]Zhao Meifeng[/h3][b]| Neutral | Lihua's Daughter | [i]"We don't really see each other much anymore - she is busy with her RAVEN work, and for me with school and Akemi's farm - but I guess we are still friends? I don't know."[/i] |[/b] [indent]Haruka still think of Meifeng as a friend of sorts, but they barely have much chance to meet each other since Meifeng is usually out of town. He feels that they are something like distant friends, slightly above the level of mere acquaintances.[/indent] [h3]Cindy Gabrielle Keagan[/h3][b]| Neutral, leaning on Good | Friend? | [i]"Same as Meifeng - I do see her as a friend, but I don't know about her."[/i] |[/b] [indent]Haruka would see Cindy around a bit more, but again they were busy with their own respective life that they don't really sit down and have long conversations with each other; when they do, well, he's usually the listener while Cindy talks.[/indent] [h3]Reed Taylor[/h3][b]| Respected | Quentin's Brother | [i]"I haven't seen him at all since the Devil incident... I heard from Shizu that his brother gave him Luis' power. That is all I know about him."[/i] |[/b] [indent]Haruka barely interacted with him at all - whether during the Verthaven disaster or after they're all relocated to Baybridge - but he can feel that Reed is a pretty nice cop.[/indent] [h3]Quentin Taylor[/h3][b]| Neutral | Reed's Brother | [i]"Same as Mr. Reed - didn't see him ever since Verthaven, so I don't really have much impressions about him."[/i] |[/b] [indent]Similar to Reed's case, but Haruka's opinion about Quentin is a little mixed - from what he's heard from Shizuka, he feels that Quentin is a bit too fixated on violent vengeance for comfort.[/indent] [h3]Rori Aherne[/h3][b]| Good | Kestrel Girl | [i]"I have never expected to meet the kestrel in such a way - who would have imagined that it's actually a teenage girl?"[/i] |[/b] [indent]Haruka met Rori - in their bird form as a kestrel - by accident, largely due to his power attracting them to him and causing them to lost their way. He met them again in the Academy library, and this time they were in their human form. Haruka enjoyed how cheery Rori and Wendy were during their little conversation. During the timeskip, to take his mind off the bad memories of the Overload incident (and Jennifer), Haruka has been hanging out more with Rori. He really enjoys their company and they have been bonding over writing and music instead of drawing (which he's no good with).[/indent] [h3]Wendy Lucker[/h3][b]| Curious | Junior | [i]"She is probably the first multi-elemental manipulator I have ever encountered. It's also great that she loves books as much as I do."[/i] |[/b] [indent]Haruka first met Wendy at the market when the berserk snowstorm incident happened; they met again in the Academy library by chance. He admires how easily open Wendy was towards him when they barely knew each other.[/indent] [h3]Jennifer Caspin[/h3][b]| Conflicted | Friend? | [i]"I am glad see her back with us, alive and well - I guess, but I can't help feeling concerned about her... changes."[/i] |[/b] [indent]While Haruka and Jennifer didn't really bond with each other back at Verthaven - most of the time were spent on keeping themselves alive in the hell that was going around them to even have a proper chat - he felt that she was the first person he could call a friend. Her death hit him as hard as her other close friends, and catalyzed by his anger towards his indifferent twin had awakened his Metahuman power in the form of air manipulation. Their reunion didn't start well with Jennifer being close to killing him when his hurricane went berserk, and even though he told himself that he had forgiven her, he could tell that Jennifer was still hiding things from them, from her friends. He wants to confront her to prevent repeating the same mistake like he did in Verthaven, but he's afraid that she may not want to confide her problems to a stranger like him.[/indent][/hider][/indent] [color=salmon][h3][b][u]Abilities[/u][/b][/h3] [b]Power Class:[/b][/color] [indent]Elemental - Mode: Air[/indent] [color=salmon][b]Powers:[/b][/color] [indent][i]Air Manipulation[/i] Just like any elemental benders, Haruka is able to telekinetically control any gaseous matter (including water vapor), moving the air around him to his will - from as gentle as a light breeze, to as destructive as a tornado. Though using hand gestures allow him to move the air with better precision and control, he is capable of manipulating through sheer concentration alone (of course, it'd just be crude, basic moves). The versatility of his power is only restricted by his own imagination and creativity, hence the list below is not exhaustible, just the more common tricks he employs: [list][*][i]Flying[/i] --- Probably one of the basics he has to master in his power package - I mean, how can an air bender [i]not[/i] know how to fly? He can do this in two ways: either by "riding" on the wind (basically moving in the direction of the air current, similar to how birds fly minus the wing-flapping), or creating a small tornado beneath his feet to carry himself into the air. Currently he can only carry a maximum of two people to fly along with him. [*][i]Wind Blade[/i] --- By packing the gas molecules closer together into very condensed air before swiping his hand outwards quickly, he can throw out an invisible arc with enough force to slice most generic furniture cleanly into half. [*][i]Air Fist[/i] --- He can also encase the closely-packed air around his knuckles to form an invisible orb, where it acts as a protection around his fist while dealing more damage compared to an ordinary punch. [*][i]Cyclone Shield[/i] --- He can generate a high-speed whirlwind around himself that can act as a spinning shield to knock out most things coming towards him (or at least get swept into the air funnel). [*][i]Static Charge[/i] --- If the air around him is moving at a high enough velocity, he's able to cause them to induce static charge on top of its spinning destructive force. [*][i]Weather-Seer[/i] --- No, he is nowhere powerful enough to actually manipulate the weather, but he's able forecast of the weather by feeling the change in air current around him. He can also make use of the same concept to find possible exits when he's trapped underground.[/list][/indent] [color=salmon][b]Limits:[/b][/color] [list][*]Range isn't a major issue to Haruka - after the mall incident, it has gone up to about fifty-over feet from his position if you really want a number of sorts - but his power is definitely much more limited when he's indoors or underground: there's only so much air he can control in these places (which means flying in these areas is impossible). [*]Adding to the point about flying, obviously he can't fly up so high like airplanes - the most at the height of a nine-story building, and that's already pushing his limit. Even lower if he's carrying someone along with him. [*]The larger and heavier the object, the harder for him to keep afloat in the air. Well, duh. [*]Of course, as mentioned previously he's nowhere strong enough to move the clouds with his power, and therefore cannot control the weather. [*]While he's able to multitask a couple of tricks (e.g. flying and using wind blades at the same time), but that tires him out very fast than using just one at each time. [*]The cyclone shield doesn't completely protect him from all attacks - it is possible for stray bullets to pierce through the whirlwind and still hit him.[/list] [color=salmon][b]Weaknesses/Drawbacks:[/b][/color] [list][*]Haruka's power doesn't make him immune to air-related disadvantages such as breathing problems, suffocation, gas poisoning, etc. Also, his ability doesn't contribute any changes to his human physiology (e.g. no hollow bones like birds to reduce his body mass to fly). [*]His ability is not entirely dependent on telekinesis alone - it's also linked to/balanced by his emotions; hence, if he loses control over his feelings, his power may go berserk. [*]Although he has an edge when it comes to execution speed, air is still the weakest among all other elemental-type abilities based on raw power. Using Air Fist as an example, same or similar trick in other elements obviously have a lot more destructive force than air. [*]He can induce static charge but it's ultimately not part of his control, hence he can still be subjected to getting a bad shock as much as anyone else is who is near his charged tornado. If he forgets to disperse the charged air around him, he can be extremely prone to attract lightning strikes towards himself.[/list] [color=salmon][b]Others:[/b][/color] [list][*]Just like his brother, Haruka is also permanent resident of US but still holds Japanese citizenship. He enjoys diplomatic immunity due to their parents' job, but so far the twins have not used this privilege for any purpose. [*]He shares the FZ-09 with Shizuka - and he's also in charge of maintaining it - but he only drives it when he needs to go out of Roseview area. Otherwise he sticks to his hardy bicycle, the [url=http://www.bicycling.com/sites/bicycling.com/files/styles/slideshow-desktop/public/jamis_commuter3-566.jpg]Jamis Commuter 3[/url]. [*]Although he's usually nice and soft-spoken... he'd blast you out of the window with a gust if you ever touch his portable consoles. [s]The PS Vita and 3DS are his life.[/s] [*][hider=Theme Song][youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ft1D1coUmOM[/youtube][/hider][/list][/hider]