Post by hubertbartels on Feb 18, 2023 14:20:03 GMT -5
February 18, 2023
Erin Regan O’Hara
Background
Erin was born in Red Oak, Iowa to Tom O’Hara and Jenny O’Hara in 2002. Her parents are a wealthy farming family that has been in Red Oak since the Civil War. Tom is a life long Republican and proudly supports Trump in his conspiracies and lies. Erin has an older brother, Brad, who shows every sign of following his father’s footsteps. Jenny, Erin’s mom, is no less a Trump supporter, turning out at every rally and contributing a generous amount to his coffers.
The farm had been struggling with high costs and low crop prices until Tom O’Hara began selling corn for ethanol production. While dismissing the dangers of climate change, Tom has seeing higher profits from raising corn for the alternative fuels program.
Erin rejected the conservationism of her family. She tried to make her parents and Brad aware of the real nature of Fox News, the Tea Party and Rush Limbaugh. Upon being scolded for her weak, liberal ideas, she turned to the world of Japanese anime. Her interest in martial arts was sparked when she discovered a Japanese katana in the basement, a katana found on a dead Japanese colonel and brought back from Okinawa by her great uncle Sam in World War II.
Wanting to learn more, Erin joined the high school martial arts club. She quickly discovered she had a talent for kendo and by her senior year, was competing against other high school clubs in tournaments. It was at the State Finals in Des Moines that she was discovered by Ichiro Kubota. Kubota-sensei was a professor at Severan College and noticed that the young girl had a knack for empowering her attacks. He quickly offered Erin a scholarship to study at Severan College. Her parents, happy to have their troublesome daughter educated at no expense, gave their approval.
Once in Ohio, Erin settled down to classes and training at Kubota-sensei’s dojo. Her awakening to the magical world was eased by her interest in anime and manga.
Personality
Erin still has much of her background in her personality – she is a practical, no-nonsense farm girl, seeking to see the best way forward. Her flaw is that she can be somewhat stubborn – once she has made up her mind, she will not deviate from her decision.
Appearance
Erin is a tall, slender woman with pale, freckled skin. She has muddy green eyes and short red hair. On a typical day, she’ll be wearing jeans or overalls with study boots and a T-shirt. To keep from burning her skin, she will often wear a hat to protect her from the sun. Her trusty bokken will hang from her back, wrapped in a soft covering. When she is heading to the dojo, she will change to the traditional hakama and a gi-jacket. At her job at the Golden Rule Bar & Grill, she will use whatever uniform is required but leave her clothes and weapon in a locker in the employee’s room.
Daily Life
A normal day begins at dawn – Erin is an early riser, much to the dismay of her room mate. If the weather permits, she leaves Baylor Hall dorm and tries to get an early morning jog done before breakfast. After eating, she grabs her books and goes to class. Erin is enrolled at Severan College in the Liberal Arts program and currently is finishing up her junior year. She is still undecided as how to proceed after graduating. After classes, she will often go to Kubota-sensei’s dojo and practice her kenjutsu – either with other students or with Kubota-sensei. Kubuta-sensei is trying to get her to unlock more of her magical skills as attacks but it is slow going. Finishing up at the dojo, she returns to the dorm to shower and eat dinner. Erin goes to her work at the Golden Rule Bar & Grill four nights out of the week, coming back late at night to collapse and sleep. The other three nights, she is free to study, relax and attend events in Severan.
Associates
Erin’s friends include Stephanie Shaw, her room mate at Baylor Hall, Kubota-sensei at the dojo and the other students of martial arts, her fellow servers and bartenders at the Golden Rule Bar & Grill, and a few students from her classes. Her daily schedule leaves little time to make friends in Severan itself.
Personal Tastes
Erin’s interests are scattered all over her dorm room – volumes of manga and DVDs of anime shows litter her half of the room. Her weapons – her shinai, bokken, and katana are displayed on a stand. A worn copy of The Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi lies next to her bed – with scrawled rude comments from Kubota-sensei. Her desk is covered in books and papers associated with her classes. In her closet are a selection of jeans, overalls, dojo uniforms and one fancy dress should she ever feel the need to dress up. When she goes out into the countryside, she drives an old rusty Ford pickup with O’Hara Farms on the doors.
Design Notes
Erin O’Hara is partially based on Motoko Aoyama from Love Hina and Setsuna Sakurazaki from Negima – the samurai girl. I wanted to get away from the long black haired Japanese girl design so I made her as Irish as possible. Plans are to have her slowly unlock more magical skills as powers – but all of them will be melee ranged.