Hotaru

Full Name:	Ito, Hotaru
Written As:	糸 蛍
Position:	Artisan Crafter
Mediums:	Blacksmithing, Jewelry
Demeanor:	Eye of the Storm

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Sphere:	Mage
Tradition:	Euthanatos
Subfaction:	Chakravanti
Sect:	Lhaksmists
Chantry	London Hydraulic Power Co-Operative

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Height:	5'6"
Weight:	135 lbs.
Hair:	Black (Dyed Blonde)
Eyes:	Brown
Apparent Age:	Early 20's

Steps along the path of Dharma

"Why do you grieve so uselessly? Every uncertainty is the result of a certainty. There is nothing in this world really to be lamented." - Murasaki Shikibu, The Tale of Genji

Hotaru Ito is a second generation Japanese American whom actually spent a good portion of her life in Japan. She does not talk about her parents, but when she was twelve her Uncle, Wataru Ito, brought her back to the U.S. where she was born and raised her himself from then on. She learned his trade in blacksmithing and has been helping him as his apprentice since that time, but only recently lost him to a violent death that may have had to do with her family's ties to the underworld. Owing to not wishing to be any part of said ties, she has come to London for a new start, following her friend and roommate Zoey Kodama, to set up her smithy and jewelry shop 'Zero Edge Under'.

Roleplay Hooks

Blacksmithing	Hotaru is a talented and well-trained blacksmith in the older Japanese traditions. Though the art is usually dominated by men, she is one of the many women whom have taken up the hammer in modernity to keep alive her specialties of tamahagane blade smithing and mokume-gane jewelry craft.
Traditional brushwork	Brushwork is also a skill set that Hotaru pursues, though to a lesser extent than her metalwork. She practices shodo (Japanese calligraphy), Gansai (Japanese watercolor painting) and sumi-e (a Japanese drawing technique that uses brushed ink or water colors) with some proficiency.
Martial Arts	Hotaru studies the martial arts, but they are more a form of exercise for her. Her Uncle thought she should know how to use the blades she forged, and she had enough of an interest to excel but has never taken the Kendo Dan exams so holds no actual official ranks.
Echoes	On the more supernatural side, strange phenomena often follow Hotaru. Fireflies will show up out of season, or appear to at least, and you may see shimmers like sparks in her shadow and on nearby surfaces. This is not the end of it, however. There will be times that the reflection of a pale person of Japanese descent is reflected in nearby glass surfaces even if she is not positioned to see it herself. They might even be clad in traditional yoroi armor with arrows stuck into them, bear other obvious wounds, or simply be sporting a bloodstained Taira clan banner. At other times you might catch fleeting reflections of women in Heian era kimono, who could be bleeding from their throats. The effects can be anywhere between beautiful to simply haunting, but where Hotaru goes it is often that either fireflies or the bloody dead of the Genpei War will follow.

Soundtrack

Infinity Nikki OST	Find My Way
Akino Arai	VOICES (Acoustic version)
Aimer	I beg you（「Fate/stay night Heaven's Feel」Ⅱ.lost butterfly Theme Song）
Chevy	If I Can Stop One Heart From Breaking
Zhou Shen	Rubia

Contacts

Zoey	My roomie, and my best friend in the world.
Maria	A fellow Californian, and someone whom I can share metallurgy with.
Rhys	Nobility certainly lives differently: Sorry for the rough first meeting though.
Avril	Museum studies! Now you're talking my language.

Gallery