Post by Lori on Apr 26, 2016 17:24:01 GMT -5
BASICS
Name
Mai Shizune Yamashita
Pronounced
My She-zoo-nay Yah-ma-she-ta
Nicknames
Jackie will sometimes call her Mai Tai and Lia will occasionally refer to Mai as one of her 'boos'. Mostly though, in their friend group Mai is basically Momma.
Age/Birthday
Mai will turn 18 on June 27, shortly after graduating high school
Job
Full-time Student
SCHOOL
Class
Senior at Metric Academy
Major
Culinary Arts with a minor in Science
Grades
Mai's parents, particularly her dad, expect nothing less than the best possible grades for her. She is allowed one B+ per class every semester and if she gets a B or lower she will have to ask for extra credit assignments to bump up her grade.
Friends
Her two best friends are Jackie Krantz and Lia Smithsonson. Mai has known Lia since third grade and, even though her parents don't approve, Mai couldn't ask for a better if not more interesting friend. And one of the reasons she was so ok with transferring to Metric was because she knew that Jackie would be there. He will probably keep her in check when Lia can't, although both of them have a lot of work to do with Mai!
Enemies
Mostly professors who give her anything less than an A. Aside from them, the jerks who think they can make fun of her friends.
Orientation
Straight, probably? Though Mai definitely leans more towards books.
APPEARANCE
Body
5'7 height, though somehow she passes more for a high school senior than Lia does. She has a typical female body, although she isn't comfortable having a slightly bigger chest. Mai has nice curves but will almost never flaunt them (even if she did, she wouldn't know how). Her only piercing is her ears, which she's had forever. One of Mai's most defining features are her long legs, which her friends swear she should show off more.
Eye Color
Brown
Hair
Long, black and wavy. Mai doesn't do anything to it other than condition it after a shower. Typically parted towards the left. She almost never does anything to it aside from put it in a headband. Sometimes her hair takes too much time and effort and Mai should be putting that time and effort into her schoolwork.
Style
Sometimes Mai will dress boyish but most times she just keeps herself covered. She doesn't like to show off parts of her body. She doesn't necessarily have a style other than what's comfortable to her, though she is completely uncomfortable wearing any wool. Sometimes she'll let Lia do her nails but other than that the only 'girlie' thing she'll wear are a pair of earrings. She won't wear any makeup unless Lia finds an excuse to do it for her.
Ethnicity
Asian African American
Play by
Sydney Park
5'7 height, though somehow she passes more for a high school senior than Lia does. She has a typical female body, although she isn't comfortable having a slightly bigger chest. Mai has nice curves but will almost never flaunt them (even if she did, she wouldn't know how). Her only piercing is her ears, which she's had forever. One of Mai's most defining features are her long legs, which her friends swear she should show off more.
Eye Color
Brown
Hair
Long, black and wavy. Mai doesn't do anything to it other than condition it after a shower. Typically parted towards the left. She almost never does anything to it aside from put it in a headband. Sometimes her hair takes too much time and effort and Mai should be putting that time and effort into her schoolwork.
Style
Sometimes Mai will dress boyish but most times she just keeps herself covered. She doesn't like to show off parts of her body. She doesn't necessarily have a style other than what's comfortable to her, though she is completely uncomfortable wearing any wool. Sometimes she'll let Lia do her nails but other than that the only 'girlie' thing she'll wear are a pair of earrings. She won't wear any makeup unless Lia finds an excuse to do it for her.
Ethnicity
Asian African American
Play by
Sydney Park
PERSONALITY
Positives
Studious; Well-spoken; Rational; Stoic; Maternal; Hard-working; Courteous; Patient
Negatives
Predictable; Natty; Brittle; Stoic; Pressured; Gullible; Restrained; Passive
Likes
Her friends; Having a schedule; Cooking; Praise [particularly from her parents]; Soup; Working alone; Baking; Shopping; Tea; Cooking shows (ie: Chopped, Iron Chef, Hell's Kitchen)
Dislikes
Chemistry; Bad grades; Coconuts; Procrastinating; Homophobes; Getting in trouble; Bugs; Olive Garden (bad experience); Her friends hurting themselves; Yoga
HISTORY
Family
Tomoki Yamashita, Professor/Karate Instructor - A very strict and somewhat traditional man, Tomoki isn't exactly an expert on nurturing or sharing his feelings. With Mai as his only daughter he expects a lot out of her and has tried numerous things throughout her life to prepare her for life and keep her well-rounded. Upon realizing the only thing she really caught onto was academics Tomoki pushed as hard as possible with the topic. He does not believe she will get very far with cooking and that there aren't many opportunities in the world outside of fast food or restaurants, which he refuses to see his daughter stoop down to. He is the one who suggested that Mai minor in Science when she started in Metric so she would have something that employers would actually be interested in and would take her seriously. He does not like Lia at all and thinks she's turning into a horrible influence for Mai. He has less of a problem with Jackie; if he's going to Metric which is an extremely prestigious school then he can't be too bad. Tomoki's heritage is primarily Japanese but has a mix of Chinese as well.
Sakuya Yamashita, Interior Designer - Born of a Korean mother and African American father, Sakuya didn't grow up with the same restrictions or pressure that her husband had. It was much more laid back for her and her parents actually encouraged her creativity. Sakuya tries to do the same with Mai although it may be too little too late. Fortunately there's some hope with cooking, which Sakuya taught Mai how to do since elementary school. It started with just helping around the kitchen with simple things which turned into helping cook which lead to preparing a meal once a week (as well as Mai baking for everyone's birthdays). Sakuya is pretty much the opposite of Tomoki, acting more as a friend to Mai than a parent. She doesn't dislike Lia as much as her husband, secretly hoping that Mai will be the one to rub off on her. She has more faith in Mai to choose good friends. She will also sometimes answer to Ya Ya.
History
If it ever seems like Mai has no personality, social skills or fun, that's thanks to her parents. Believe it or not, she has gotten better since being around Jackie and Lia. Still, it hasn't been easy to get to that point. And sometimes it's harder to stay that way.
It's not Mai's fault of course; the odds were kind of stacked against her when she was born. Originally her parents wanted to name her Mei; but a miscommunication led to the nurse putting Mai on her birth certificate instead. Her parents never got around to legally changing it and Mai just kind of stuck. Still, it led her father to believe that from that point everything would go wrong. She was his only child and he wanted her to succeed and be the best citizen she could be. How could she do that when something as simple as her name was wrong from the start? So Tomoki did everything in his power to get Mai on the right track. He started with putting her in a gymnastics class when she was three. Mai didn't quite catch on. So he switched her to the cheerleading class down the hall. That went even worse. Tomoki was so sure that Mai could be doing better and that there must be something wrong with the teachers. So when she was five, Tomoki tried to instruct her himself in karate. That's when he found out for himself how hard athletics in general were for Mai. She was not physically strong in any aspect nor was she fast or agile. As a matter of fact, she broke three different bones between the ages of five and ten. Upon finally realizing Mai wasn't going to be well rounded in athletics as well as academics, Tomoki pushed her schooling to no end. As far as he was concerned, if she couldn't maintain good grades then there was no hope for her to be a decent enough member of society. He sat down with her and watched her do her homework; he made sure there were no distractions; he went so far as to hire one of the best tutors he could find when she stumbled on a pop quiz. At one point Tomoki almost threatened that he'd take something away from Mai if she didn't make solid A's (or score at least a 90%). Mai quickly realized that if she didn't maintain the grades her father pushed so hard for, she'd have nothing.
While Mai did have her faults like any other student, it was difficult to admit to them with the immense amount of pressure Tomoki put on her. Thankfully she had Sakuya to balance him out. She tried a more encouraging route with Mai and actually nurtured her daughter whenever she did something creative. It was Sakuya that actually got Mai into cooking. One day in fourth grade Mai was studying for a test from the minute she got home. Tomoki was away for some conference so it was just Mai and Sakuya. Seeing how hard Mai was working and how tired it was making her, Sakuya suggested she take a break and asked for help in the kitchen. Her idea of a fun dinner was tacos and showed Mai how to put them together. After dinner they worked together to bake a batch of brownies for when Tomoki would come home. Mai couldn't quite pinpoint how she fell in love with cooking. Maybe she just felt natural in the kitchen or maybe it was the main bonding time she had with her mother. All she knew was she wanted to make food. So when Tomoki returned home, Mai helped prepare dinner for him. He complimented the food and Sakuya said Mai did a lot of the work; that she had a talent for cooking. Most parents would be thrilled to hear that, but Tomoki just questioned why she wasted time making dinner. It was Sakuya's job to cook and Mai's job to study. Fortunately, after a bit of bickering, Sakuya got her husband to compromise; Mai would help out in the kitchen once a week for dinner, on a night where she didn't have a lot of homework or a test to study for. And once a month during the summer she would help her mother bake something.
Things continued to be rocky and stressful and cooking didn't help change that all too much. One thing that actually started to help was Lia Smithsonson. Mai and her met in third grade, in the same class; at one point during the year they were assigned project partners. Mai was most concerned about the assignment and not talking or goofing off or having fun like Lia was. Somehow that led to Lia deciding she had to help Mai. Mai didn't really understand at first. She wondered if there was something wrong with her but Lia basically said she had to learn how to have more fun. They did get into some trouble together and, although they would often get off the hook with Mai being such a good student in school, Tomoki never endorsed the friendship. He believed from the get go that Lia was a bad influence and that if Mai was going to interact with anyone it should be someone worthy. His attitude didn't scare Lia off, fortunately, and eventually Mai grew to like the idea of having such a good friend even though they were so different.
The biggest problem Mai ever remembered her and Lia facing was in middle school. Lia started dating a guy in seventh grade who Mai didn't like one bit. Long story short, Lia basically ditched Mai for the guy. For a while Mai was on her own and buried herself in her studies, finally believing that her father was right about friendships all along. That is, until she met Jackson Krantz. He was a new kid in school and sat with Mai at lunch, though probably because there was never any place else to sit. Mai doesn't even remember anymore how they got to talking and being friends. All she knows is that Jackie was a nice guy who never once judged her for being a nerd or stick in the mud or whatever. He naturally wanted to be around her and Mai was ecstatic to have a friend again. What she didn't know was that Jackie had become good friends with Lia as well. Jackie was actually the one who had gotten them back together. He invited both of them over to his house and at first it started badly. Mai didn't feel comfortable being in the same room as the girl who ditched her for some guy. But then she noticed something about Lia; she had been scratching her forehead a lot. That was how the friends found out about Lia's trich. The girls ended up coming back together and Jackie felt comfortable enough around the both of them to come out. The three of them have pretty much been inseparable ever since. They were always there for each other. Helped each other out. And, in Lia's case, tried to hook each other up with hot dates.
Despite their close friendship there was one thing that would separate the three slightly - high school. Jackie was accepted into Metric for music and, even though it wasn't too far from Salem High, it meant that the three of them wouldn't have any classes together and that they might not see each other every day. Things got even messier when, in sophomore year, Jackie started dating some girl named Robyn. Lia and Mai didn't like her one bit and found out she was cheating on Jackie the whole time. While Mai was reluctant to speak up for fear of losing a friend again, Lia didn't hold back with how much either of them hated Robby. Fortunately Jackie not only came around but came out to everyone. It was more or less the last they'd hear of Robby. Unfortunately, even though that drama ended there was still another factor that could have completely hurt the group's friendship.
Tomoki knew about Metric and how prestigious it was; as far as he was considered, if Jackie was good enough to go there then he was good enough to be friends with Mai. That also meant there were other people there good enough to be friends with her. On top of that, Metric was renowned for so many amazing programs and had a high job placement rate post-college. He sent in an application to transfer schools in his daughter's name which led to not only a few interviews at the school but also to Jackie showing her around campus. It was alright, Mai supposed, though she didn't like the idea of leaving Lia alone at Salem High. Mai did feel comfortable knowing that Jackie would be there, but what ended up winning her over were the kitchens. She loved the atmosphere and the space, not to mention how into the work the teachers were. Mai originally though she would be going there for college, but her parents had other ideas. Metric liked Mai enough that they allowed her to transfer for her junior year. The thing was though, Tomoki declared Mai a science major.
Mai was never that into science. Some science topics she was alright with and others she hated completely. She wanted to go to Metric so she could learn cooking. Sakuya loved the idea and thought Mai had so much potential. Tomoki, on the other hand, believed that all Mai would amount to in the cooking program was working in a restaurant or in fast food. There were not that many women in a science field and he whole-heartedly believed that employers would think more of a Bachelor's Degree in Science than some culinary degree. It took a lot of back and forth and quite a bit of struggling with her dad, but Mai ultimately was able to change her major to culinary arts should she minor in science. And, upon graduating Metric college later on, if she wouldn't find a job in her desired field in under two years she would have to find something in the science field. For Mai, all it really meant was a step in the right direction and a place where she would actually be happy with what she was doing instead of just another mindless student focused constantly on her grades.
It did still leave the trouble with Lia, who would now be at Salem High by herself. The distance the first semester did cause a rift between the group and Lia did hold quite a bit of a grudge against her friends. Even though Mai wouldn't have a lot of time for friends or hanging out between all of her classes and extra curricular's, she found a way to join Jackie and Lia after classes on Metric's campus. The three of them vowed they wouldn't let anything come between them and that they would all be attending Metric College together come freshman year. As far as Mai's considered, she could be the best student, the worst student, have no free time or all the free time; but as long as she had her two best friends around that was all that mattered. With Jackie and Lia around, Mai knows that despite the countless pressure from her parents, she'll be ok.
~Her parents originally intended for her name to be Mei but the nurse misunderstood and put Mai on the birth certificate. It was never changed so it just stuck.
~She takes a basic music class so she can have at least one class with Jackie.
~One of Mai's favorite things to do is decorate cakes and cupcakes, especially for her friends' birthdays. She comes up with different designs every year. Whosever birthday it isn't gets to lick the bowl!
~At Metric she's basically just known as Jackie's friend. Any social status she had of being friends with Lia at Salem High was lost when she transferred.
~Her parents have tried to teach her Korean and Japanese, but neither language stuck with her.
~Mai would always get into some situation with Lia and Jackie; sometimes she's essentially the conscience (though she's sure Lia needs it way more).
~She has her driver's license but is only allowed to take one of her parents' cars to and from school once in a while. Any other time or location she has to get a ride with someone.
~She plans to remain at Metric for college, though living close enough there isn't a need for her to dorm.
~Mai wears reading glasses.
Tomoki Yamashita, Professor/Karate Instructor - A very strict and somewhat traditional man, Tomoki isn't exactly an expert on nurturing or sharing his feelings. With Mai as his only daughter he expects a lot out of her and has tried numerous things throughout her life to prepare her for life and keep her well-rounded. Upon realizing the only thing she really caught onto was academics Tomoki pushed as hard as possible with the topic. He does not believe she will get very far with cooking and that there aren't many opportunities in the world outside of fast food or restaurants, which he refuses to see his daughter stoop down to. He is the one who suggested that Mai minor in Science when she started in Metric so she would have something that employers would actually be interested in and would take her seriously. He does not like Lia at all and thinks she's turning into a horrible influence for Mai. He has less of a problem with Jackie; if he's going to Metric which is an extremely prestigious school then he can't be too bad. Tomoki's heritage is primarily Japanese but has a mix of Chinese as well.
Sakuya Yamashita, Interior Designer - Born of a Korean mother and African American father, Sakuya didn't grow up with the same restrictions or pressure that her husband had. It was much more laid back for her and her parents actually encouraged her creativity. Sakuya tries to do the same with Mai although it may be too little too late. Fortunately there's some hope with cooking, which Sakuya taught Mai how to do since elementary school. It started with just helping around the kitchen with simple things which turned into helping cook which lead to preparing a meal once a week (as well as Mai baking for everyone's birthdays). Sakuya is pretty much the opposite of Tomoki, acting more as a friend to Mai than a parent. She doesn't dislike Lia as much as her husband, secretly hoping that Mai will be the one to rub off on her. She has more faith in Mai to choose good friends. She will also sometimes answer to Ya Ya.
History
If it ever seems like Mai has no personality, social skills or fun, that's thanks to her parents. Believe it or not, she has gotten better since being around Jackie and Lia. Still, it hasn't been easy to get to that point. And sometimes it's harder to stay that way.
It's not Mai's fault of course; the odds were kind of stacked against her when she was born. Originally her parents wanted to name her Mei; but a miscommunication led to the nurse putting Mai on her birth certificate instead. Her parents never got around to legally changing it and Mai just kind of stuck. Still, it led her father to believe that from that point everything would go wrong. She was his only child and he wanted her to succeed and be the best citizen she could be. How could she do that when something as simple as her name was wrong from the start? So Tomoki did everything in his power to get Mai on the right track. He started with putting her in a gymnastics class when she was three. Mai didn't quite catch on. So he switched her to the cheerleading class down the hall. That went even worse. Tomoki was so sure that Mai could be doing better and that there must be something wrong with the teachers. So when she was five, Tomoki tried to instruct her himself in karate. That's when he found out for himself how hard athletics in general were for Mai. She was not physically strong in any aspect nor was she fast or agile. As a matter of fact, she broke three different bones between the ages of five and ten. Upon finally realizing Mai wasn't going to be well rounded in athletics as well as academics, Tomoki pushed her schooling to no end. As far as he was concerned, if she couldn't maintain good grades then there was no hope for her to be a decent enough member of society. He sat down with her and watched her do her homework; he made sure there were no distractions; he went so far as to hire one of the best tutors he could find when she stumbled on a pop quiz. At one point Tomoki almost threatened that he'd take something away from Mai if she didn't make solid A's (or score at least a 90%). Mai quickly realized that if she didn't maintain the grades her father pushed so hard for, she'd have nothing.
While Mai did have her faults like any other student, it was difficult to admit to them with the immense amount of pressure Tomoki put on her. Thankfully she had Sakuya to balance him out. She tried a more encouraging route with Mai and actually nurtured her daughter whenever she did something creative. It was Sakuya that actually got Mai into cooking. One day in fourth grade Mai was studying for a test from the minute she got home. Tomoki was away for some conference so it was just Mai and Sakuya. Seeing how hard Mai was working and how tired it was making her, Sakuya suggested she take a break and asked for help in the kitchen. Her idea of a fun dinner was tacos and showed Mai how to put them together. After dinner they worked together to bake a batch of brownies for when Tomoki would come home. Mai couldn't quite pinpoint how she fell in love with cooking. Maybe she just felt natural in the kitchen or maybe it was the main bonding time she had with her mother. All she knew was she wanted to make food. So when Tomoki returned home, Mai helped prepare dinner for him. He complimented the food and Sakuya said Mai did a lot of the work; that she had a talent for cooking. Most parents would be thrilled to hear that, but Tomoki just questioned why she wasted time making dinner. It was Sakuya's job to cook and Mai's job to study. Fortunately, after a bit of bickering, Sakuya got her husband to compromise; Mai would help out in the kitchen once a week for dinner, on a night where she didn't have a lot of homework or a test to study for. And once a month during the summer she would help her mother bake something.
Things continued to be rocky and stressful and cooking didn't help change that all too much. One thing that actually started to help was Lia Smithsonson. Mai and her met in third grade, in the same class; at one point during the year they were assigned project partners. Mai was most concerned about the assignment and not talking or goofing off or having fun like Lia was. Somehow that led to Lia deciding she had to help Mai. Mai didn't really understand at first. She wondered if there was something wrong with her but Lia basically said she had to learn how to have more fun. They did get into some trouble together and, although they would often get off the hook with Mai being such a good student in school, Tomoki never endorsed the friendship. He believed from the get go that Lia was a bad influence and that if Mai was going to interact with anyone it should be someone worthy. His attitude didn't scare Lia off, fortunately, and eventually Mai grew to like the idea of having such a good friend even though they were so different.
The biggest problem Mai ever remembered her and Lia facing was in middle school. Lia started dating a guy in seventh grade who Mai didn't like one bit. Long story short, Lia basically ditched Mai for the guy. For a while Mai was on her own and buried herself in her studies, finally believing that her father was right about friendships all along. That is, until she met Jackson Krantz. He was a new kid in school and sat with Mai at lunch, though probably because there was never any place else to sit. Mai doesn't even remember anymore how they got to talking and being friends. All she knows is that Jackie was a nice guy who never once judged her for being a nerd or stick in the mud or whatever. He naturally wanted to be around her and Mai was ecstatic to have a friend again. What she didn't know was that Jackie had become good friends with Lia as well. Jackie was actually the one who had gotten them back together. He invited both of them over to his house and at first it started badly. Mai didn't feel comfortable being in the same room as the girl who ditched her for some guy. But then she noticed something about Lia; she had been scratching her forehead a lot. That was how the friends found out about Lia's trich. The girls ended up coming back together and Jackie felt comfortable enough around the both of them to come out. The three of them have pretty much been inseparable ever since. They were always there for each other. Helped each other out. And, in Lia's case, tried to hook each other up with hot dates.
Despite their close friendship there was one thing that would separate the three slightly - high school. Jackie was accepted into Metric for music and, even though it wasn't too far from Salem High, it meant that the three of them wouldn't have any classes together and that they might not see each other every day. Things got even messier when, in sophomore year, Jackie started dating some girl named Robyn. Lia and Mai didn't like her one bit and found out she was cheating on Jackie the whole time. While Mai was reluctant to speak up for fear of losing a friend again, Lia didn't hold back with how much either of them hated Robby. Fortunately Jackie not only came around but came out to everyone. It was more or less the last they'd hear of Robby. Unfortunately, even though that drama ended there was still another factor that could have completely hurt the group's friendship.
Tomoki knew about Metric and how prestigious it was; as far as he was considered, if Jackie was good enough to go there then he was good enough to be friends with Mai. That also meant there were other people there good enough to be friends with her. On top of that, Metric was renowned for so many amazing programs and had a high job placement rate post-college. He sent in an application to transfer schools in his daughter's name which led to not only a few interviews at the school but also to Jackie showing her around campus. It was alright, Mai supposed, though she didn't like the idea of leaving Lia alone at Salem High. Mai did feel comfortable knowing that Jackie would be there, but what ended up winning her over were the kitchens. She loved the atmosphere and the space, not to mention how into the work the teachers were. Mai originally though she would be going there for college, but her parents had other ideas. Metric liked Mai enough that they allowed her to transfer for her junior year. The thing was though, Tomoki declared Mai a science major.
Mai was never that into science. Some science topics she was alright with and others she hated completely. She wanted to go to Metric so she could learn cooking. Sakuya loved the idea and thought Mai had so much potential. Tomoki, on the other hand, believed that all Mai would amount to in the cooking program was working in a restaurant or in fast food. There were not that many women in a science field and he whole-heartedly believed that employers would think more of a Bachelor's Degree in Science than some culinary degree. It took a lot of back and forth and quite a bit of struggling with her dad, but Mai ultimately was able to change her major to culinary arts should she minor in science. And, upon graduating Metric college later on, if she wouldn't find a job in her desired field in under two years she would have to find something in the science field. For Mai, all it really meant was a step in the right direction and a place where she would actually be happy with what she was doing instead of just another mindless student focused constantly on her grades.
It did still leave the trouble with Lia, who would now be at Salem High by herself. The distance the first semester did cause a rift between the group and Lia did hold quite a bit of a grudge against her friends. Even though Mai wouldn't have a lot of time for friends or hanging out between all of her classes and extra curricular's, she found a way to join Jackie and Lia after classes on Metric's campus. The three of them vowed they wouldn't let anything come between them and that they would all be attending Metric College together come freshman year. As far as Mai's considered, she could be the best student, the worst student, have no free time or all the free time; but as long as she had her two best friends around that was all that mattered. With Jackie and Lia around, Mai knows that despite the countless pressure from her parents, she'll be ok.
OOC
~Her parents originally intended for her name to be Mei but the nurse misunderstood and put Mai on the birth certificate. It was never changed so it just stuck.
~She takes a basic music class so she can have at least one class with Jackie.
~One of Mai's favorite things to do is decorate cakes and cupcakes, especially for her friends' birthdays. She comes up with different designs every year. Whosever birthday it isn't gets to lick the bowl!
~At Metric she's basically just known as Jackie's friend. Any social status she had of being friends with Lia at Salem High was lost when she transferred.
~Her parents have tried to teach her Korean and Japanese, but neither language stuck with her.
~Mai would always get into some situation with Lia and Jackie; sometimes she's essentially the conscience (though she's sure Lia needs it way more).
~She has her driver's license but is only allowed to take one of her parents' cars to and from school once in a while. Any other time or location she has to get a ride with someone.
~She plans to remain at Metric for college, though living close enough there isn't a need for her to dorm.
~Mai wears reading glasses.