Basic Information

Caretaker of Hogwarts | June 2020 - September 2020
Head of House Ravenclaw | September 2020 - present

Full Name: Iwasaki Makoto (岩崎誠) Alt Names: Mako, Marcus Birthdate: 18 October 1984 Birthplace: Osaka, Japan Blood Status: Pureblood Species: Werewolf Accent: seems Australian/English

Ethnicity: Japanese, Ghanaian Nationality: Japanese Height: 180 cm (5'11") Eye Color: Amber Hair Color: Dark Visible Scars: Left hand (runs up to the elbow) Aesthetic: Dark clothes, dress shirts, slacks

Wand: 25,9 cm maple wood and thunderbird tail feather

Personality

Marcus is known by students to be a stickler for the rules and he is very strict about the children following them. He won't hesitate to dole out punishments. He is very much of the opinion that the rules exist to keep them safe, even if they don't understand that. Something else they may pick up on is his intense unease around children, though it has been slowly getting easier for him considering he has been at Hogwarts for a couple years now.

While at Hogwarts working, he is very professional in his attitude and the way he carries himself around his colleagues. But in general, around other adults Marcus is much more relaxed when compared to how he is when children are around. He can be pretty charming and he can hold a conversation well. He particularly likes to engage in theoretical and intellectual discussions.

Marcus' Intimidation is always in effect.

It is a sentiment that enters people's hearts when they are in your presence. They feel dis-ease when you are present, even if the interaction is casual or even friendly.

The only ones who know Marcus is a werewolf are the Heads of House, Headmaster, Potions professor, and possibly student werewolves that he helps to escort to the shack every month. Please contact me (owl/discord) about this before assuming knowledge.

History

Childhood

Reducio

Makoto Iwasaki was born around 3 PM on 18th October 1984. His birth was a highly-anticipated event, being the first-born son of Kaito Iwasaki. It meant he would be the next heir of the Iwasaki family fortune - a multi-million-dollar, international business focused on financial advising and investment. The pure-blood family used their connections in the wizarding world to profit off of precious metals, jewels and goblin-made items. Though there were rumors of the family participating in the illegal trade of valuable magical items and paintings, nothing could ever be proven to land them in prison.

With the birth of Makoto - the Iwasaki family continued to build on their wealth through his mother's family as well. Efia Nyamekye was a woman of great descent. Her family in Ghana were among the wealthiest in the region, boasting a monopoly of the gold in the country. Their knowledge of magic meant they were not well-known in the Muggle world, but of course their name was on the deeds to several mines and rich lands. Efia met her future husband Kaito when he took a business trip to Ghana and met with her family to offer advice. Her brother was set to take over the company, but she still held significant wealth on her own. It was pretty much love at first sight, but the fact that the Iwasaki clan also boasted a pureblood lineage and significant wealth did not hurt.

Efia followed Kaito back to his home country in Japan. The Iwasaki family welcomed Efia with open arms (mostly because of her pureblood status and because they had already been through one successful interracial marriage in the family). Makoto grew up very loved by his parents, but his father was a busy man. While his father continued to travel non-stop, building on the family's wealth by being the face of the Iwasaki family company, his mother stayed home to raise him. She would take him out in the town and showed him Japanese culture as she learned it herself, but there were always people staring and watching them. Makoto was too young to understand, so he thought it was normal behavior and would stare back. It didn't escape his notice that he and his mother looked very different from most of the people in their country, but it never really bothered him (at least at this age).

Makoto was well-protected from the arguments behind closed doors. Efia was not happy here, where she struggled to make friends and was tired of the looks. It got to a point where she and Makoto did not leave the family manor for a solid year when he was five. During that time, Efia found help in a nanny and a private tutor who taught Makoto things like maths, piano and English. Efia was slightly depressed, but started traveling back to her home country regularly and it slowly improved her feelings. A couple of her friends from Uagadou actually decided to move to Japan for a couple years, not only to keep her company but to experience the difference in culture. It greatly improved her mood, and she started leaving the house again.

Makoto's first incident of magic occurred when he was six years old. He wanted to impress his parents with a song he had learned on the piano that week, so he began playing and realized too late that his tutor wasn't there to be page turner. Without missing a beat, the pages of his piano booklet began to turn as he played, allowing him to play the piece seamlessly. The display of magic overjoyed his parents, who were excited for his future.

Mahoutokoro

Reducio

At the age of seven, Makoto gained acceptance to the prestigious Japanese wizarding school Mahoutokoro. He attended school during the day and would return home after classes. His father had begun to travel less and spend more time with the family, which was nice. Unbeknownst to Makoto, they were actually trying for another baby now that he had started school.

Mahoutokoro was his first experience at a school of any kind, and he initially loved it. The classes were informative and he was finally around other children. Of course, he noticed that no one there looked like him, so he was shy at first. He ate by himself and only spoke to the teachers when spoken to, not wanting to stand out more than necessary. There were no designated play times during school, but eventually he worked up the courage to ask a group of boys to eat with them during lunch. This encounter did not go well. He was immediately rejected, laughed at for thinking he could fit in with them.

Makoto didn't fully understand why he was being called out of his name, nor why he was turned down when the other kids wanted to go play football (soccer) on the island after classes. He suffered in silence for a couple months, trying to understand why he was different and even checking out library books about making friends. When he finally tried some of the techniques (finding common interests, offering to share his own food and being extremely friendly), it was a couple months into the school year. A group of boys finally accepted and agreed to let him play with them, but it was a trick and he came home that evening with a fair amount of bruises. He cried to his mother that night. It seemed she had been worried about something like this happening, but she had been hoping it wouldn't be the case at the wizarding school. His father wanted him to stay at the prestigious school, and he spoke to the Headmaster about taking further precautions. Because of this, Makoto's professors actually made things worse by making announcements to the students about bullying - which had clearly been prompted by him.

Despite this incident, Makoto continued to attend the school. He kept to himself, focusing on learning and trying not to stand out. He got amazing grades, taking after his father in that respect. And he had friends in his nanny and tutor that helped raise him, so he did not want for much. Connection with other children his age, perhaps, but for the most part he was content.

Behind closed doors, Efia decided she did not want another baby if this is what they had to look forward to. There were fights between the couple and growing tension, but Makoto was off in his own world of misery, too preoccupied to notice. Years passed in this manner, and he did notice that his father was once again away a lot on business trips.

Makoto made his first real friend when he was almost ten. Another hafu (a term for a half-Japanese, half-foreign person) arrived at the school. Mel was younger, only seven, but they formed an instant connection. Her father was also Japanese, but her mother was a caucasian Australian. Although they didn't look the same, they were both different from the rest of the school and not fully Japanese. They called her a gaijin. It was not as bad as what they called Makoto, but it was enough for them to bond over.

They quickly became best friends, and Makoto learned a lot from their friendship. Mel's natural charisma actually brought in a couple more fully Japanese children to their friend group, and Makoto was learning what it meant to be truly happy and not just content with life. His happiness spread to his parents, reigniting their love for each other. Efia found a job that she loved in diversifying the Japanese Ministry of Magic.

Makoto and Mel's friendship lasted a long time, and they both met each others families over the years. Mel was wizard-born as well, and even though she had non-magical ancestors, their families got along well. It seemed almost natural that they developed feelings for each other, their crushes being thinly veiled and a cause for a lot of awkward looks and words as they matured.

Summer of 1998

Reducio

Having always felt different because of the way he looked, Makoto regularly asked his mother about visiting her home in Ghana. He hadn't been there since he was a very young toddler and he didn't recall much of it. Ever since starting school, he stayed in Japan and was told to focus on his studies. This summer, though, both of his parents would be busy with work, and there was no reason for Efia to tell him no. She sent him to Ghana to stay with her parents and brother.

Upon arriving in the richly-cultured country, Makoto was happy to learn more about his roots. His grandparents and uncle were happy to host him, throwing a party as soon as he arrived. It was laden with good food and friendly people. Over that month, he learned a lot about his mother's family business in gold and precious metals, but he also learned a lot about the culture. It was here that he realized he actually still felt like he didn't fully belong in Ghana. His habit of bowing to people or needing clarification on mannerisms and language correction made him feel out of place here, too.

Despite not looking it, Makoto realized he was Japanese in his heart. The young teen decided that once he got back home, he and Mel would have a long conversation about it. They could start a club at school and maybe teach others about foreign cultures. The idea was so exciting to him, that he sent her a letter that very day.

On one of his last nights in Ghana, Makoto was invited by his uncle Kojo to a special festival deep in a forest on the other side of the country. He spoke of spirit animals and the celebration of those who can shapeshift. Not animagi. Werewolves. Following his uncle's lead, Makoto went to the midnight festival with plenty of questions but mostly curiosity and excitement. The idea of meeting a werewolf - a forbidden entity and scandalous - was something he desperately wanted to tell Mel about. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for him, considering werewolves weren't exactly glorified back in Japan.

[FOR FURTHER DETAIL, SEE WEREWOLF APPLICATION LINKED IN TRUNK]

Needless to say, the occasion did not go as planned, and Makoto was bitten and infected with lycanthropy.

Shame

Reducio

The incident brought with it a lot of change for Makoto. Japan was not exactly welcoming to werewolves during the 90s, and his parents were devastated by the ordeal. It was nothing compared to how he himself felt. He was a teenager now, and he knew what being a werewolf meant. It was life-altering. He was taken out of school and his parents set him up with private tutors from out of the country. They told Mel that he had decided to continue his education in Africa at Uagadou. They told anyone who asked that he was doing well, but would likely not be back for a while.

He was angry at life for a long time afterwards. Despite having wolfsbane potion made every month, the transformations were still painful and traumatising. Being confined to a literal dungeon (which was built in the basement) every month didn't help his mental health. He was chained up each time, his parents scared of him hurting himself (or more likely them). In human form, he grew agitated. His teenage hormones colliding with the anger of a newly-turned werewolf made for a few terrible years. Especially given he was now confined to the manor at all times, not even allowed to go visit Mel over the summers or any time at all. He suspected his letters to and from her were being intercepted because he received nothing from her. He constantly worried that she thought he was dead or something, even though the official story was that he transferred schools.

His grades from the private tutors dropped. His magical ability suffered even though he was being taught the same curriculum as most wizarding schools. It seemed like his concentration on spell casting was losing focus. His power was not the same. Instead, he channeled his rage into his body. The same dungeon that kept him captive once a month soon doubled as a gym where he trained his body.

It only took a year before Efia left them. Makoto was almost fifteen when she made the decision. The guilt of her brother being the reason behind the attack was overwhelming for her, and she couldn't watch Makoto go through life as miserable as he did. He begged her to take him with her, but his father wouldn't allow it. Not to mention, it seemed she didn't even want him to come.

After Efia left, it seemed like Kaito moved on in just a matter of minutes. Suddenly there was a new woman in his life, a Japanese woman. Makoto lashed out constantly at them, and the announcement of a child quickly overshadowed the rage he had. Suddenly, there was a new nursery and a rushed wedding. Marcus was not invited to the public ceremony, still "in hiding" at the African school. It made him question why his father even wanted to keep him there rather than letting him go with his mother.

His little brother - and now official heir to the Iwasaki fortune, because a werewolf could never be on any official documents - was born in May of 2000. Makoto had been pretty much phased out of the family image.

Adulthood

Reducio

As soon as Makoto became of age and got his certification of education in 2002, he left his father's house forever. His father asked him to stay - but only once. He didn't beg or plead with him. He didn't say he loved him and wanted to reconnect. He asked him to stay, and when Makoto said no, he let him go. The look he gave him pretty much said "then don't come back." It'd be easier for both of them to cut ties here.

The first thing Makoto did was seek out Mel that summer evening and their reunion was bittersweet. He couldn't stay here in Japan, and she was not of age yet. He stuck to the story, that he had been in Uagadou, but he admitted he had feelings for her and that he would be moving to Europe and would wait for her there. They shared a parting kiss before he left, and he knew she wouldn't follow him to Europe. There was nothing for her there.

Makoto's next stop was Ghana, where he confronted his mother about her abandonment of him. It was an awful confrontation. She ended up inviting him to stay with her there, but he couldn't forgive her for abandoning him when he needed her most. He couldn't forgive her for letting his father fall in love with someone else. And he threw the fact of the new child in her face, during a particularly heated point in their argument. Not to mention the trauma of being infected there in Ghana.

Makoto's final destination was to Europe, where he backpacked his way to the UK. He did odd jobs, jobs beneath him because everywhere he went he had to disclose his racial status. He didn't consider lying at first because he had been taught to have honor and be proud of who he was, but he quickly realized being a werewolf in these times sucked. It didn't take long before he stopped telling people about it.

What he found himself doing next was the last thing he expected. By the time he was twenty, he had become an underground MMA fighter in the Muggle world. He adopted the name Marcus, no longer wanting his foreignness to be the first thing people noticed about him. Europe was much more diverse than his home country anyway. He found a flat in Southampton and barely scraped by as he started out, but he was good. Perhaps it was the strength from being a werewolf, or just the past few years he spent training - but he was really good. He started getting paid a lot of money. Money he wanted to use to better himself and get a legitimate position one day. He fully believed that even without the fortune of his families, he could make a name for himself and thrive. He started to invest the money, converting to wizard coin and learning the way of finances. Perhaps another thing he had gotten from his father.

A couple years later, Mel had graduated from Mahoutokoro and established herself as a wandmaker's apprentice. She had always been incredibly curious about wands and their components. All of a sudden, though, she showed up at the door of Marcus' flat. The wandmaker she worked for was now based in Europe for a few years. It was certainly a surprise, because even though they kept in touch, they never really spoke about meeting up again. It seemed like such a distant dream. The rekindled friendship didn't take long to evolve into something more, but it also didn't take long for the blissful couple to fall apart.

He had managed to hide his predicament for months. However, it got to a point where she began to notice his "sketchy" behavior every month. He would grow agitated and snippy with no explanation she could see. He was always able to get his hands on wolfsbane potion at a local apothecary where he had some friends, but he was used to being in his flat alone during the transformation. He was eventually forced to admit the truth to Mel because she was refusing to leave his house one particular full moon night. She was clearly shocked by the admission, but she wanted to stay. She wanted to see it with her own eyes.

Marcus didn't have much of a choice. He locked himself in the bathroom for the actual transformation, but she entered once his pain was over. She saw him in his wolf form, too big for the tiny bathtub he sat in. His instincts screamed to attack her, but the wolfsbane did its job and he refrained. She sat with him through the night, and he eventually fell asleep in his wolf form, only woken to the pain of transforming back.

Perhaps it was too much for her, though, because their relationship died not long after.

Since then, he tries not to think of her. It was an all-consuming love, and he told himself it just overheated. Over the years, he has slowly mended his relationship with his mother and father, being on an owl basis with them now, but he doesn't ever see them. And he's slowly improved his attitude towards himself and his affliction, accepting his curse as things slowly improve for his kind.

Marcus continued with MMA for a few years, but gave it up when he accidentally put a man in a coma. It was crazy - something he was never caught for, because it had been a fight in Italy and the crowds scattered once the devastating blow was dealt. His instinct for self-preservation meant he ran away too - something he is ashamed of - but he visited the man in the hospital later, which is how he knew the man survived. His wealth continued to slowly grow behind the scenes, remaining invested in different banks. He used that wealth to pay for the muggle man's medical bills (which were astronomical). It was an anonymous donation. The man made a full recovery.

After that, he was back to being broke, pretty disheartened when he saw his empty bank account. It would take a lot of motivation to claw his way to any sort of recognition now, especially since he didn't want to do MMA anymore.

The Pack

Reducio

In Marcus' late twenties, he was going through a bit of a career shift. He had given up his "career" in MMA after a nasty incident where he put a man in a coma, and instead he found work in construction. He was willing to do the labor intensive work to stay fit now that he no longer fought regularly, and it paid decently. At first he stayed in the muggle world, but he soon found work in the construction of magical buildings as well. He had independently studied a bit of architecture during his school days and had retained some of that knowledge.

During his time working on a magical construct overseas in the States, he met a man by the name of Elijah. Eli, for short. He was a werewolf - it was something Marcus overheard in a magical bar that he found himself frequenting. The two of them immediately hit it off, and Marcus soon found himself being introduced to other werewolves. More werewolves than he had ever knowingly met before.

There were three of them: Elijah, Marie, and Jonathan. And they had surrounded themselves with people sympathetic towards werewolves - friends, family, activists. It was a pack. The first Marcus had met - and was soon embraced into. It came very naturally - the friendship and feeling of kinship. Eli introduced Marcus to his stepsister Holly, who was quite clearly interested in him. Although it didn't immediately click, Marcus started dating her.

It was a couple months into knowing them that Marcus was introduced to something he had not heard of or even considered before - werewolf fight club. Eli knew of two other packs in the New England area of the states, and they would regularly meet up on a full moon in an abandoned warehouse and fight in their wolf form. Marcus had never been around other werewolves during transformation, nor had he ever fought in that form. It was a very foreign concept for him. Eli convinced him to attend, and although he only wanted to watch, he was roped into it before long. He was a natural, his wolf form taking on the same muscle that he'd been building as a human. And his instincts told him exactly where to strike to win.

Of course these fights were non-lethal and always with wolfsbane, but they involved a cash prize. It took quite a bit of convincing, but Elijah convinced Marcus to keep coming around to them - it was surprisingly hard to say no to the man. Nearly a year passed in this fashion, Marcus going to these fight clubs, dating Holly and following Elijah. He made friends that felt like family - and a year later, they were traveling across a couple of continents together. Their goal was gathering knowledge on werewolves in different countries and the education systems involved. Marcus felt like he was a part of something bigger, doing something major, when he was with this pack.

It was in South America that he realized something was wrong - specifically, that Elijah had them smuggling some dangerous magical items among the countries that they visited. Marcus did not confront him immediately, instead doing some digging into why. He discovered the guy was funding a politician who was advocating for werewolf rights. And the more he dug into it, the deeper the scheme appeared. Marcus armed himself with knowledge, intending to confront Elijah once they were back home and talk about the dangerous people he was messing with. But when they got home to the States, things were good and he thought that maybe it ended with their travels.

It all came to a head during one of those werewolf fight nights, though. A new guy joined in that night, but once in werewolf form, he attacked one of the very few humans in the area as she was leaving for the night. Holly. He didn't bite her, just seriously maimed her. Marcus found himself powerless to help her considering he was in wolf form, and could only watch as others assisted her to the nearest magical hospital. He and the other werewolves tried to hunt down the werewolf that ran, but he had caught them off guard and was incredibly fast.

Over the next week, Marcus was furious and overwhelmed. He blamed Elijah, but also himself. He should have confronted him sooner. He should have confided in Holly. Although he did not feel like they were necessarily soul mates - something had always felt off about their relationship - he still loved her and regretted not telling her to stay away. She was permanently scarred by the attack.

Marcus put aside his fury with Elijah in order to hunt down the man that had hurt her. They did some not great things that month, leading up to the confrontation. They found out that he was a werewolf for hire, used to send a message for one of the rival politicians. They found out where he would be during the next full moon, and set out. The goal was to capture him - catch him off guard in wolf form, injure him and bring him back to face justice. But the fight turned nasty, brutal. And it ended as the sun rose, with Marcus being the only one able to walk away from it. Elijah was permanently paralyzed from a werewolf attack he sustained. The guy died from a nasty fall.

The month following involved a serious dynamic shift. Although Elijah did not blame him, a lot of the others viewed Marcus walking away from it the least harmed as a sign of his failure to protect their leader. Marcus and Holly broke up after a failed proposal for all the wrong reasons. And after a couple months of feeling like an outsider, Marcus left the Americas and returned home to England. He eventually found himself back in construction, then after a few years, accepted a quiet job at the Leaky Cauldron.

Hogwarts

Reducio

Marcus re-entered the wizarding world of jobs and found a spot working at the Leaky Cauldron. It was there that he saw the opening for Caretaker at Hogwarts. He applied because he was in need of boarding, had knowledge of caring for magical buildings and was willing to put up with a bunch of kids for a decent paycheck. He also silently hoped to perhaps learn a thing or two about casting again, having fallen out of touch with his magical abilities. Plus the Potions professor would be able to provide him with a monthly wolfsbane potion taken out of his paycheck, which was convenient.

[affected by the darkness during hag hunt over the summer]

[has since been promoted to Head of Ravenclaw, will fill out details later - motivation was for money publicly, knowledge internally - ]

Trunk

Race: Werewolf
Racial Abilities: Werewolf Form (Rend, Bite, +10% damage) | Heightened Senses (tell familiar people by smell) | Track Hidden People (within 24 hours) | Wolf's Cry | Predatory Abilities (+25% chance to enter hidden, +2 stealth) | Intimidation (uneasiness, -1 acc, +1 crit fail to all around)
Chosen Abilities: Obnoxiously Strong | Martial Artist | Binding Mark

Stats: Stamina: 15 | Evasion: 7 | Strength: 20 | Wisdom: 4 | Arcane Power: 4 | Accuracy: 15

Spells known: N/A

Potions known: N/A

Adult Advancement Log:

• Level I - 2023: +5 stats

Threads

2019-2020 School Year

• June 20 (early evening) - Under the Lake
• June 20 (evening) - Summer Plans
• June 21 (morning) - Take care, Caretaker
• June 21 (afternoon) - A Pillow Fort of Epic Porportions (detention thread with Katrina Walker, Annie Morgan, Miranda Everest, Lailaflora Ruby, Janet Jackson)
• June 22 (evening) - A Tisket, A Tasket

2020 Summer

• July 27 - Itadakimasu
• August 3 - Transformation
• Mid-August - Wait! I Know You...
• Late August - Banishment

2020-2021 School Year

• September 1 (evening) - 2020-2021 First Year Entrance
• September 2 (early morning) - Careful there
• September 2 (noon) - Searching for the wrong answers
• September 5 (late afternoon) - Field Day Finale | Tug of War
• September 12 (late afternoon) - An Unwelcome Welcome Party
• September 16 (late evening) - A New Kind of Caretaker
• September 23 (noon) - Riddlesome
• October 4 (early evening) - On Houses and Hats
• October 7 (noon) - Stealing Books
• October 18 (early evening) - Just Another Day
• October 31 (night) - Missing Pup → Part II → Part III → Murder Thread
• November 6 (noon) - Portraits and Prefects
• November 7 (early morning) - Early Mornings
• November 13 (early evening) - Muggle Things
• January 2 (evening) - Revelations
• February 6 (afternoon) - Quidditch Game: Ravenclaw v Gryffindor [Spectators]
• February 13 (afternoon) - Friendly Banter or Is It Still A Spat?
• February 14 (evening) - Elaine, Leonardo, & Marcus

2021 Summer

• Mid-July - A Chance Encounter
• August 1 (evening) - Annual Barbecue
• August 3 (afternoon) - The Lake Party → I've Got A Feeling
• August 8 (afternoon) - The Lady in the Wood

2021-2022 School Year

• September 5 (before dawn) - Bake the World a Better Place

Binding Mark Tracker

• name - marking thread
• name - marking thread
• name - marking thread

"The Wawa Aba symbol signifies the perseverance, toughness, and hardiness of the wawa seed and plant. In Akan culture, the wawa tree is viewed as a symbol of someone who is strong and resilient, physically, or mentally. To the Akans, the tree serves as a reminder to persevere even in the most difficult of times."