Sat, 18 Apr 2009 23:32:36 GMT

My birthday was last Sunday. It was nice! I got to go on a hike. Everything's starting to flower - it's all really pretty. It was a pretty cold winter, though, so it's nice to see that it didn't have any lasting effects.

Horticulture Club can start meeting again soon!

A challenger appears!

Wed, 12 Nov 2008 01:27:52 GMT

Name: Harumi Munemura 「晴実宗村」
Age: 16
Birthday: April 12th
Grade Average: B+/A-

History: Harumi was born to Daisuke and Asari Munemura on a rainy April morning, and later in life her parents would joke that the rain made her "grow like a flower." Indeed, Harumi would always be a bit taller than the other girls of her age, and also hit puberty and her growth spurt very early on. When she was still a child, though, her parents quickly discovered that the young girl had an absolutely remarkable memory ... not exactly photo-perfect, but it was close. Thanks to the combination of her memory and a precocious ability to comprehend things, Harumi was able to breeze through school and life extremely easily - learning was just natural to her.

Since she was able to do fairly well in school despite putting hardly any effort into her studies, Harumi found herself with a significant amount of free time, and it was in this free time that she soon discovered her passion - nature, plants, and the outdoors. Harumi loved spending time outside, exploring the fields, forests, hills and gullies near her family's rural home. The young girl also discovered a natural love and predeliction for gardening, and would often join her grandmother in tending the family garden, learning the names of all the plants as she did so. There was nothing that made Harumi happier than just tearing through the countryside, scrambling up piles of dirt and climbing trees - and learning everything about each different kind as she did. Naturally, her mother wasn't entirely pleased with her daughter's tomboyish behavior, and was even less pleased with the state of her clothes every time she returned.

When Harumi's family moved to the city after her grandmother died when she was 10, it wasn't easy for her to adjust to the tall, stark urban jungle. But adjust she did, and where she lacked forests and fields she had parks and lawns (a poor substitute, but a substitute all the same). Harumi also started studying natural sciences, and realized that she could actually study the plants she loved for a career. She's studying to be a botanist when she grows up - and there's nothing else that really interests her, so that's what she's determined to be!

Appearance: Harumi is slender and willowy - almost scrawny, even - though she looks skinnier than she actually is because she's five or so centimeters taller than most of the other girls in her class. Her hair ranges from a dark brown to black depending on the light, and it's usually short - chin length or a bit longer - because honestly, it's so much less of a hassle to deal with! Her eyes are also dark brown, and often sparkle with curiosity - if they aren't slightly off-focus when Harumi is in her own world, of course. Harumi is actually a very pretty girl, though if she realizes it, she doesn't really take much pride in her own appearance, nor does she make any special effort to look nicer than she has to. It isn't uncommon for her fingers or knees to have a smudge or two of dirt (or her clothes, for that matter) given that she's often outside and working with plants. She'll often have a bit of a sunburn during spring and summer.

Personality: Harumi can be honestly described as a very sweet and gentle soul, who - though she certainly likes some better than others, of course - honestly finds it hard to dislike anyone she knows, including her classmates. She's friendly, easy-going, and loves learning about people... nearly all of which she remembers. Even though she probably remembers something unkind said or done to her, it's rare that she'll actually hold a grudge. As a consequence of her breezing through school with the barest minimum of effort thanks to her memory, Harumi tends to be very "go-with-the-flow" for the most part, rather than actively taking charge... if she's out with friends, she will never be the one to suggest an activity, for example. Still, even though she can be very passive, she shouldn't be mistaken for being "weak" or easily pushed around - she'll flat-out refuse if she doesn't want to do something.

The exception of course is when it comes to botany, gardening, and the other outdoorsy activities that Harumi loves. She'll take charge when out in nature, suggesting hikes or camping or the like - not that she often gets volunteers to keep her company on these, but she's perfectly fine with going on her own. It gives her time to think, and Harumi is quite content with just the company of her own thoughts most of the time.

While she generally likes most of her classmates, many of them could easily just see her as eccentric and strange. She's been known to, while involved in a conversation, make quick association after association with something someone has said, and by the time the connection-linking in her mind has been finished, she'll pipe up with a statement that - to most parties involved - seems to have little relevance to the topic at hand. Really, though, it makes sense to her! A side effect of her memory, Harumi is also a veritable font of knowledge and trivia on a wide range of subjects, and has a habit of chiming in to a conversation that she's otherwise been quiet in with a related fact or tidbit of information. Still, if some of her peers might discreetly roll their eyes at her "Did you know that..." moments, it doesn't bother her. It isn't that she doesn't *notice* their disdain, but it just doesn't seem to have any effect.

Strengths:

Incredible Memory - Harumi's memory isn't photographic... but it's close. She can remember layouts, texts (all the general content if not completely word-for-word), and any other information near-perfectly. As a result, she's done very well in school in subjects that require significant amounts of rote memorization (like sciences, mathematics, and languages).

Botany - When she grows up, Harumi wants to be a botanist, and has studied plants since she was very young. She's able to identify a wide variety of plants (nearly everything found in Japan, for instance), as well as their properties - and in relevant cases, traditional uses, whether for seasoning or medicine or whatnot.

Outdoorsy - Harumi feels at home in nature, and loves going on hikes and camping trips. She isn't afraid to get a bit dirty or scraped up... hell, she actually prefers it sometimes, which is why she prefers hands-on gardening to things like ikebana. She's fairly decent at climbing trees and in good overall shape, and she has a very good directional sense ... but mainly, she's just comfortable at being outside, and even sleeping there if she has to.

Weaknesses:

Planning Ahead / Critical Thinking - Harumi's memory enabled her to do very well in school very easily - too easily, really. She never really learned how to focus (on anything that wasn't related to her love of nature), how to analyze situations critically, or how to plan ahead.

Space Cadet - Harumi finds her own thoughts absolutely fascinating, and is perfectly happy just spending time alone with her imagination. However, this can sometimes come at the cost of ignoring the real world, and she's been known to walk into objects (or people) while her head's been up in the clouds.

Gentle - Harumi is a very, very gentle person, and hates hurting *anybody*. It's going to be very difficult for her to work up the nerve to kill anybody, let alone someone she knows and is fond of. Definitely a hindrace in the competition.

Family:

Daisuke Munemura (45) - An executive manager at one of the local power utilities, and a very hard worker whose long hours have enabled his wife and daughters to live a very comfortable life... though it means he doesn't spend much time with his family. Harumi loves him dearly, though, and has often attempted to get him to come with her when she goes hiking since he "needs the air." Sadly, he's too busy with work to accompany her more often than not.

Asari Munemura (41) - A very traditional Japanese housewife, she met her husband in university, when he was a teacher's assistant to a class she was taking. She was in the Choral Club all through school and loves to sing, though Harumi never had her aptitude for music. For much of Harumi's early life, Asari attempted to coach her into more "traditional" interests after her daughter kept coming home with dirty, grass-stained skin and clothing... but eventually gave up on that clearly-hopeless task. Still, she's not as encouraging of Harumi's hobbies as her father is.

Sachiko Munemura (13) - Harumi's younger sister, and, to her mother's dismay, she follows in her big sister's footsteps as a more "tomboyish" figure. However, where Harumi's love is nature and plants, Sachiko's passion is sports. Softball, volleyball, track and field... she loves them all, and excels at them all too. Different high schools have already started vying for her attention, eager to get her on the team. Harumi occasionally shows at Sachiko's various games, but both sisters know that Harumi really doesn't pay attention to the match itself - it doesn't interest her all that much. Still, they love each other immensely. Sachiko has much more of her mother's musical ear, but doesn't make use of it.

Overnight Bag: A bandanna or two (very useful, in multiple ways!), standard toiletries, sunblock. Aloe vera and disinfectant for scratches or poisonous plants (never know where you could find one!) A CD player with a mix CD that her sister made for her (only the one, though) and headphones.

Extra-Curricular Activities: The president of the Horticulture Club, of course. They've taken it upon themselves to get permission to plant and take care of a small garden on school grounds. They aren't allowed to grow food yet, but Harumi would really like to plant some cherry tomatoes someday.

She's tried dozens of other after-school clubs, from Calligraphy to Archery and Kendo... but none of them really piqued her interest enough to take root, and she rarely attends more than a meeting or two before quitting.

Classroom Behavior: "It's clear that Harumi has one of the most brilliant minds I've seen in some time. However, until she puts in more than the absolute least amount of effort that she has to in order to do passably, she'll always be far beneath her potential. Still, her work is quite good for someone who pays as little attention to the lecture as she does.

Classroom Clique: Much like her extra-curricular activities, Harumi doesn't really fit into any particular clique. She likes most of her classmates, and has sat down to eat lunch with pretty much all of them at some point or another - whether they'd asked her or no. Still, while *she* might not see herself as necessarily excluded from any clique, some are obviously more receptive to her presence than others.

Relations: (TBD).

Oh god oh god I's a COMM NOOB EVERYBODY RUN FOR THE HILLS. cftfic here, feel free to just call me Funk~.

Let's do some class relations! Feel free to email me at cantfakethefunk (at) gmail!