Andon Monogatari

[Zypher]

​

Yamagawakoshi is a small town in Edo Era Japan, standing in the shadows of the Akaishi Mountains it is a humble village with a small river down the center and plays host to numerous kami and spirits (though the villagers haven't seen more than glimpses of the elusive creatures). In recent times a local daimyo has made his home just on the outskirts of the main town and it has become a common sight to see samurai brushing shoulders with all various farmers (some of whom are rumored to secretly be ninja) and other commoners.

The biggest draw for outsiders to the village is the fully functioning theatre that all are welcome to participate, and even openly state that spirits and other creatures are welcome to appear. Lately the most popular show have been the Hyaku Monogatari. Most of the villagers go hoping to see a show but a few of the more superstitious worry that one of these nights the ghost stories the actors play at will bring about a real monster and it will bring about the end of the village, or worse, possess the daimyo and cause war and death to come to Yamagawakoshi.

Tonight is another round of the ceremony, promoted to be the best and scariest Hyaku Monogatari yet! People from nearby villages, samurai, even the daimyo himself are supposedly going to be in attendance, little does anyone know that a few spirits have been paying a close eye on the events and tonight might be the night the little village gets more than it bargained for.

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Okay! I'm going to try this game the way Diana and Rory carry out their plots, the game will be chopped up into "chapters" the first of which will start with the preparations for the Hyaku Monogatari that night and general meet-and-greet of the characters. Those that want to make their hometown Yamagawakoshi will know all the other villagers but outsiders are more than welcome. This is Edo period but we won't worry too much about historical accuracy!

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CHARACTER PROFILE

Character Name:

Gender:

Job/Role:

Age:

General Appearance:

Current Goal/Purpose:

General Personality:

General History:

Theme Song: (Optional)

 

[Zypher]

THE PLOT SO FAR

It is the day before the Yamagawakoshi Theatre is to put on their weekly Hyaku Monogatari and the town is abuzz with outsiders, secret yokai and villagers. The word on everyone's lips is that this will be the most extravagant Hyaku Monogatari yet! With many powerful beings and humans rumored to be afoot everyone is going to the shrine to make sure they are good with the Kami should they run across any tonight. The rest of the town has an almost festival-like atmosphere with many little stands opened up and people dressing in their finest kimonos and yukata, talking as if this were a real festival and most even call it Monogatari Matsuri!

CAST LIST

石川晴来 - Zypher

Kokone - Fluffy

Takehiko Wataru - Kitti

Ame-Ko - Ocha

Satoshi - Dawn
​

 

[Zypher]

CHARACTER PROFILE

Character Name: Ishikawa Haruko
石川晴来

Gender: Female

Job/Role: Miko (Shrine-Maiden)

Age: 20

General Appearance: Haruko is a rather short woman, standing just shy of five feet two inches tall. Her hair is rather short and is perfectly straight. She is known for being a beauty (which she fervently denies), with her soft jawline and deep brown eyes. Her skin is soft white but it holds a slight musculature from all of her rigorous spiritual training. Her clothing is considered a bit lavish for one of her station but she can't help but wear beautiful clothing as a celebration of the tailors who she believes are artists of course she frequently wears her shrine maiden outfit as well, moreso when inside the shrine.

Current Goal/Purpose: To witness the Hyaku Monogatari and protect the innocent should a demon appear.

General Personality: Haruko is very serious about her duties as a miko, making sure that she is always living up to the kami's will. She has traveled quite a bit throughout Japan on a pilgrimage to various shrines and has practiced an astounding number of magical wards and protections, which reflect on her personality as being very protective of innocent people. She can come off a bit naive about mundane things though, and is easily impressed by small innovations and other tricks of farmers, samurai and nobility. She can be rather quiet and likes to judge scenarios as they come up and tends to err on the side of caution nine times out of ten. Haruko also has a hard time with her self esteem, though she is rather strong she doubts herself quite frequently, and needs to be sparked into action if she is needed occasionally.

General History: Haruko was raised in a small farming community just on the other side of the mountain from Yamagawakoshi. When she was young she began to see the kami of the trees near her home and her parents realized her talent and took her to the Shrine at Ise, to the brightest and strongest monks in all of Japan. There it was decided that she would become a miko. She began her training at Ise and was taken to various shrines at a young age to learn from as many master monks as she could, spending an extended amount of time in Kyoto at the Kiyomizudera temple. It was there that she learned to create talisman barriers and other tricks the Shinto monks had picked up from the Onmyou sorcerers. She soon returned to her village and was told that she must spend a year at Yamagawakoshi, where she currently resides. She is currently one of the favored mikos at the shrine.

Theme Song:

video

 

[Fluffy]

Character Name:
Kokone (Sound of the heart)

Gender:
Female

Job/Role:
Trickster, Bakeneko, Cat Saviour

Age:
Kokone is over 100 years old. Her humanoid form looks to be in her early thirties. Her full on feline form is completely mature, even considered an "old lady cat".

General Appearance:
Kokone is generally the size of a house cat with an extremely long tail. Her fur is black and her eyes are a bright, light yellow with no visible irises or pupils. Sometimes, her body is transparent, which one could call her 'spirit form'. With that ability handy, she can properly haunt people like a ghost. When she laughs, you can sometimes see a snake-like tongue hanging out. Generally, she looks like a small sized, demonic cat. So that she can walk amongst humans, she takes on the form of her dead owner. Even when in her human disguise, she shows a mischievous smile. Feline ears are kept hidden in the long, black hair of the woman and her tail stays hidden within the robes she wears.

Current Goal/Purpose:
She lives to terrorize people. Sometimes she does it for fun, but the serious aspect of her existence is to keep people from abusing their pet cats. She will haunt abusive pet owners and threaten to kill them if they don't change their ways. If they fail, she really will murder them.

General Personality:
Ruthless, malicious, murderous, villainous and forever hateful. Although she despises humans, she is in a way still attached to them. Going long years without a scratch behind the ear or a treat of fish has made her somber. There's still something oddly charming about her, too. When in the company of men, she can be quite flirty and clingy. Aside from her desire for attention, she just thinks it's fun to trick them into believing she's a weak maiden in need of protection. Such a thing could come in handy in the future...

General History:
Life began as a kitten living under the roof of a lonesome young woman, named Fumiko, and her dog. Kokone was named Nami at the time and was treated with plenty of love. Everything was as it should be. Nami and the dog didn't get along all the time, but at least didn't try to kill each other. Both of them were fed well...

As time passed, things changed. Fumiko was becoming more interested in her husband-to-be, who was also a successful farmer. She didn't feed them quite as often because she was always at his house instead of her own. The starvation showed dramatically on the animals as their weight dropped and their strength decreased. They were forced to feed off of garbage, or food from the kitchen.

Fumiko did not approve, though. She came home one day with her man, finding the kitchen littered with crumbs and packaging. Infuriated by the sight, she screamed at her pets, then proceeded to clean up the mess. She also referred to them as 'worthless animals' around her lover, who as a farmer, did not approve. He later became fed up with her attitude and left her.

Stricken by grief and rage, she took it out on poor Nami. The cat was kicked, stepped on, spat at and verbally abused. Fumiko even commanded the dog to attack Nami and chase her out of the house. She accused the cat of being a demon that brought bad luck, and said she never should have taken her in.

The feline developed a strong hatred for the woman, and the dog. Fumiko was right about Nami being a superstitious creature, but she never meant to harm her. Out of vengeance, she returned to the house, where she slayed the woman and the dog. All that remained of the lady was her skeleton, because Nami, now named Kokone, stole Fumiko's image to make it her own.

Kokone now lives to rescue other felines from the torture and abuse she had to endure. Humans are tested and warned by the terrifying bakeneko. If they fail to fulfill her demands, she kills them and takes their appearances to add them to her collection of shapeshifting forms.

Theme Song:
All Nightmare Long - Metallica

 

[Kitti]

Joining XD

 

[Kitti]

CHARACTER PROFILE

Character Name: Takehiko Wataru

Gender: Male

Job/Role: Samurai

Age: 24

General Appearance:

Current Goal/Purpose: To protect the theatre from the demons he knows it will attract.

General Personality: Friendly overall, with a generally optimistic attitude. Around women, he is a little more shy than other times. He fights to defend what he holds dear and tries to create a compartment in his mind for the regrets that he feels from his line of work.

General History:
Born to a large family of farmers who could barely scrape a living together, Wataru was the youngest of four boys. The constant hard work of the farming, which enlisted the help of the children as soon as they could do anything useful, strengthened all of the sons but did not distract his older brothers from picking on him as the youngest. To combat this, Wataru become the best at fighting among his brothers so that they would leave him alone.

When a passing samurai stopped at the Takehiko household, he was surprised to see that the elder boys fought amongst themselves and left Wataru, at the time eight, alone. Curious, he asked the cause of this and it was revealed to him that through his hard work, Wataru had become very skilled in fighting.

The little boy, who was friendly and respectful to his parents but feared by all the neighboring children caught the interest of the samurai, who asked if he could take the child with him. Wataru became the apprentice to the samurai and was instructed by him.

Finally, after almost decade of instruction, Wataru became a recognized samurai and has since devoted his attention to protecting the innocent people.

Theme Song: Holding Out for a Hero - Frou Frou

 

[unanun]

Interested. Can I play a demon?

Edit: I can play a human too if balance is needed.

 

[Ochalla]

CHARACTER PROFILE

Character Name: Ame-ko

Gender: Female

Job/Role: Owner of the local sake house

Age: 358

General Appearance:
- kitsune form - White fur (byako), 5-tail fox
- human form - A petit woman with small features, big light brown eyes and long flowing dark hair. She appears to be in her mid twenties.
- half form - If frightened good enough while in human form Ame-ko's ears and tails may appear.

Current Goal/Purpose:
To fulfill her the wish of the previous owner of the sake house and see to the betterment of the community and someone to pass the business onto before she goes back to her tasks set forth by Inari. As a myobu or Celestial Kitsune she is more interested in the growth and well being of the mortals here and not to help them down the path of possibly their own destruction.

General Personality: Ame-ko, seems to have a ready laugh and a ready ear. While she can find the humor and absurdity in almost anything, she can be a calm presence when someone is troubled. These are not contradictions in the least since she seems to be over all a joyous person and wants to spread that joy by any means. She does have a fear of dogs, though most people wouldn't notice it, an observant individual will notice how she turns pale at the sound and absolutely NO dogs are allowed at her establishment.

General History:

At one time the previous owner of the sake house, a place where the average workman or guard could go for a meal and have a pretty face serve them, had lost faith. He was old and knew that he had but few years to live. He regretted the things he could not accomplish because of Time the steady thief. However he kept enough of his dignity to not curse his faith but request help, not for himself, but for his community, which was more his family then the family he had, many decades now dead due to plague and war.

But no one knows this, nor the conditions that were brought up when his preyers were answered.

Ame-ko, who like so many of the era have no last name, was a niece or cousin of the old man. No one quite knows, however she seemed to help the old man tend to his business, including hiring a few young widows to help out. Everyone agrees that Ame-ko brought a brightness to the old man weary eyes before his death.

Trying to groom a few of the young widows to take over the business as co-owners, Ame-ko is trying to do less and less at the sake house, though she would admit if asked that she does enjoy these mortals and is perhaps not being as expedient as she could be. Her Lord hasn't seemed to mind yet.

Theme Song:

 

[Zypher]

Depends on the type of demon Una, but if you'd like you can PM me what you had in mind and I'll work with you that way as to not clutter up the OOC here :D

 

[Zypher]

Okay, I'm looking to get this up by later tonight, and I'm just waiting on Kitti to finish her bio. Otherwise everyone looks great!

 

[unanun]

I am having difficulty coming up with something, so if I do not make it in time I apologize.

 

[Kitti]

Why am I the only dood? o_o;

 

[Ochalla]

Because there is only four players. I'm just glad we have at least one, besides at least we have an even mix of human and nonhuman.

 

[Zypher]

Meanwhile, the IC is up and running!

(Besides Kitti, I'm the only dood player)

 

[Fluffy]

If we do need more dudes, I am willing to juggle another character. I've got plenty of characters that can fit this setting. Also, I've posted. *grins* This is going to be so fun~

 

[Zypher]

Now that we've officially started: Are there any scenes that you would like to see/have occur in this RP?


Wish List

 

[Dawn]

I'll join as a dude o_o

 

[Dawn]

Character Name: Satoshi

Gender: Male

Job/Role: Okami (or more specifically a Yama-inu who either protects mountain travelers or attacks, depending on their intentions)

Age: Over 300 years old.

General Appearance: In his wolf form, Satoshi is a majestic gray wolf with fur that flows regardless of wind activity. Some would describe it as waves on a beach or gentle flames licking softly at the air. He's much larger than a normal wolf, his shoulders reaching three feet off the ground. The silver markings on his forehead are proof that he is an okami, a blessed pup of the gods, though his piercing dark gaze would be enough for anyone to realize he is not a simple minded dog but something of a far higher intelligence. The light gray of his fur helps him blend into the frequent mountain mist and at times he can cling to the mist and carry it with him and make himself seem like a ghostly creature whose ends and edges simply disintegrate into nothing...

In human form, he stands at five feet and seven inches with a good sized build. His frame, though perhaps a bit smaller than the average samurai, is sturdy with strong shoulders, hands, and legs. His human clothes consist of a simple kimono and a hakama.

Current Goal/Purpose: To investigate the Deceiving Man.

General Personality: His expressions can be one extreme or the other, depending on how he feels about a person. He mostly comes across as a kind, if only a little shy, person who often keeps to himself and seems to be more comfortable with animals instead. But if he dislikes a person, he can become quite the menacing man, using his supernatural aura to surround himself with an intense and intimidating atmosphere. Very few have seen this darker side to his human form.

General History: As a pup, he was selected from a large litter by the kami to serve and protect the mountain. On that day, he was named Satoshi and given the highest of honors among the wolves - the title and duties of Okami. He was to protect the mountain from those who would defile the sacred land and had done so until he by chance met a strange man with deceiving eyes. Against his will, Satoshi was sent into a deep sleep and soon became one with the land.

But the recent activities of the village at the foot of the mountain had been reaching into his dreams. With each Hyaku Monogatari that passed, he drew further from sleep. Finally, after over two hundred years, he opened his eyes to find himself snug under a thick blanket of tree roots and plants. Squirming and snapping his jaws to free himself, he breathed in fresh air for the first time in what felt like an eternity. He would have been happy to simply go back to his task given to him by the kami, but his curiosity about the deceiving man remained and soon he started to consider venturing into the village and investigate. It was only a matter of time before he was convinced and by then, Hyaku Monogatari had come around again.

Theme Song:

Re:dreamer by SID

 

[Ochalla]

Now we have a dog to scare the fox and cat!

 

[Zypher]

Okay, so since I'll be gone for a few days and won't be able to post I'll let you guys have a bit more time to get all acquainted and brush shoulders while I'm gone but as soon as I get back we'll be moving to the night of the Hyaku Monogatari where all kinds of interesting things will unfold! >:D

I'll put Haruko away from the rest of you so you don't have to worry about interacting with her.