Shadow Samurai (OOC/Sign-Ups) CLOSED

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Wonderful to see some new interest! To answer your questions, all player characters are normal humans and we are staying fairly realistic. We are using heavy historical and cultural influence, though this is not actually taking place in the Japan we know. Think of it as an alternate Earth, the country we are in being basically this planet's Japan.
Yea, I pulled a few of them off myself. heavily influenced by Japan, but with a few tweaks for your own purposes. Don't know how interesting straight-up humans would be to play though. Always had at least something to separate my character from the average Jane.
 
Separate your character with personality, fighting style, and history. It's easy enough, man.
 
Hmm, ok. Thank you for answering my questions. I'll look into thinking up a character over the next few days.
 
I would have to ask Vader how many people we are accepting, though I believe it is only three. I forgot to talk to them about putting that into the title or first post. I apologise if this causes issues for anyone.
 
Alright, I will accept all of you, but we aren't allowing anymore people. (This is a post for other people if they see)
 
((Psst! I know I'm taking a lot of creative liberties here, so don't hesitate to tell me off if there's something ridiculous from a historical standpoint.))

Name: Suda Yurie

Age: 19

Appearance:
yurie-jpg.39120
Weapon(s): Tessen (iron fans - these ones in particular are unique not only for their large size, but also for the sharp, poison-tipped spokes that can be used for stabbing), Wakizashi (short swords).

Personality: She can smile and be charming if she sees a purpose for it, but her true nature is very private and quiet. She's not a vicious or sadistic person, but will do almost anything to protect her Daimyo. Yurie is usually very calm, exuding a demure, graceful air, and does not rise to bait very easily, whether it be about her gender or her albinism. However, she does not tolerate people who harm children and when she gets that angry can go a bit overboard.

History: Yurie was born into the Suda clan, a small samurai clan in a fairly isolated area known for focusing on more stealth-related skills than other samurai. While albinism was not officially frowned upon, her skin and eye color were impossible to hide and highly unusual, which made her undesirable as a wife and bullied by both the other men and other women in her clan. To compensate for this, she threw herself into perfecting the skills taught by her family. Her father decided to approve of this direction and allowed her to be taught as customarily only one of the men would. She became one of the best in the family, able to use a naginata and katana very well, and bow and arrow passably, though her albinism made it difficult for her to put her teachings in stealth into actual use. Yurie, however, was not satisfied with that. Deciding to focus on an art relatively unexplored by her family, and wanting to assert herself as a woman despite the defects that prevented her from doing her duty as one, she taught herself Tessenjutsu, adding her own particular flare to it so that it when she fought, her movements resembled an elegant style of dance. Even now, though she still remembers how to use the weapons mentioned above, she sticks to her iron fans, the only other weapon she carries for reserve and rarely uses. The Suda clan was allied to the Soragawa clan, and in a very unusual display of forward-thinking, her father allowed her to accompany some of her brothers into battle, where she proved herself and made her family proud. The Soragawa's lord saw past the labels usually assigned to her and measured her with an unbiased eye, seeing her strength clearly. When he realized that there was really little future in store for her, he offered her a place as part of his guard, which gained him her eternal loyalty.

Extra: She has poor eye-sight (being an albino) so relies a lot more on her sense of smell, touch, and hearing than most. She also keeps her hair short instead of growing it out long, because it's a constant self-reminder of her abnormality. She was born during a storm, which made her father jokingly give her the nickname Susanoo-no-ko.
 
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Vader and I talked it over, and we agreed on a few things regarding Yurie. The major issue is her being a shinobi, as in being one, she cannot be a samurai. One must train from a young age in order to become a samurai. Perhaps a better idea, if you want to keep is for her leaning towards such arts, is for her to come from a part of the country where the samurai have more stealth-oriented skills incorporated into their training.

The other issue is a more logic-based one. If she is an albino, her ability to go unnoticed is largely negated, as if she were to visit a place more than once, she would be instantly recognized. Perhaps choosing another talent would be a good idea, or giving her a less overt unique physical trait.
 
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Name: Shiba Ryuunosuke

Age: 29

Appearance:
MJV-ART.ORG_-_125187-2354x1869-electrixocket-vagabond-miyamoto%252Bmusashi-solo-highres-brown%252Bhair.jpg
Weapon(s): Ryuunosuke is a rather adept at taiho jutsu, so his equipment is a bit unorthodox than most other samurai.
-Katana
-Wakizashi
-Jutte
-Jusari-Fundo
-Metsubushi

Personality: Ryuunosuke is a very approachable person who enjoys the company of others and having conversations with others. Thus, most people find him to be a simply kind person, although some nobles and other high ranking officials may find his familiarity with the commoners to be distasteful. Still, his high affinity with the commoners gives him a special position. Whenever there is some sort of civic unrest, he is always the face of the Daimyo and represents his will since the lord sees him as a skilled negotiator while the people see him as one of the few people who truly care about the plight of the commoner. However, when he is pressed with his back against the wall, his friendly disposition vanishes as he enters fight or flight mode... and he has never fled from a battle before.

History: Ryuunosuke was born to a lower level samurai family. Thus, naturally, his family had to intermingle with the chonin quite often in fact, the Shiba bloodline wasn't that prestigious either as the family had introduced several commoners into itself. Still, the Shiba family did what they did. When there was a lot of conflict, the Shibas didn't have to worry about money as they were called to the banner of the Daimyo and be paid well for their skills. However, when at peace, the Shibas did whatever they could to live. One of the most common ways was to serve as a private investigative company/personal security agency who were hired by merchants. Still, the Shibas having to often interact with the commoners wasn't a curse. When business was slow, the commoners would often give them gifts of some of their harvest so that they would never be hungry. In return, the Shibas had ensured for generations that their neighborhood would always be peaceful and not fall under the influence of hooligans or criminal organizations.

Ryuunosuke became a prominent member of the Shiba family when smugglers had introduced a potent strain of opium in the region. He took it upon himself to stop the issue and went off on a quest to find these smugglers. It was a long year until Ryuunosuke found the smugglers. Outnumbered, 5 swords to 1, Ryuunosuke had somehow managed to disarm and incapacitate all 5 smugglers so that they could be arrested and face the full brunt of the law. It was after this stint that the Daimyo heard of Ryuunosuke and was appointed as a Doshin. It had been 7 years since then, and now he had recently been promoted to yoriki after several well known events such as the recent riot incited by a few instigators. Ryuunosuke had managed to convince most of the commoners to lay down their weapons and return home so that the instigators could easily be arrested. This peaceful manner of dealing with the riot helped avoid a majority of the potential damage that could have been committed.

Extra:
 
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Alright! Will edit! But tmrw. Friend's b-day today.
 
Heyitsjiwon- I can certainly appreciate the details you have put into Ryuunosuke, like including the ranks he went through. The only thing I have to say is that his familiarity with the common folk would most likely not be looked down, as Soragawa-dono so far does not sound like an elitist Daimyo, and knowing one's people is a good way to keep them happy. It may certainly be looked down upon by other Daimyo and the Shogun, though.

Alright, so there are two things- this one is just me nit-picking, but please write Ryuunosuke's surname first.


Firejay- Alright, thank you. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask.
 
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((Oh! Also! She died in her original setting, which is why I forgot about the albino=not so great shinobi thing haha.))
 
I completely agree. I didn't presume the Daimyo himself to be pretentious, so I intentionally left it vague by saying some nobles/officials since Soragawa doesn't seem like an elitist as you say.
 
Ah, I must have misinterpreted it. Well then, it all looks good to me, but we have to wait for Vader's final say.

Firejay- She died? Interesting.


This may be subject to change, depending on Vader's input, but I have finished the map! It lacks cities and landmarks, but if any are presented during the RP, I will add them in. Also, most of the prefecture names do have meanings, so if anyone is interested, I can list off the translations.
20fq7oo.jpg
 
Please do list the meanings, if it isn't too much work. Especially Yakuz itself, because Japanese doesn't allow "z" as an ending without a vowel, so I'm curious.

Yes, she died, because the premise of the story was actually set in the "afterlife." One of those things. She was two years younger, though, and died after a successful assassination (cause she didn't have to blend in until someone started chasing her, see?) but then I forgot about that when converting her here. I'll be editing it soon. I hope we can start the IC soon!
 
That would be correct. *Smiles* I said most of the names had meanings. Yakuz and Akuo are words that Vader had chosen before I became Co-GM, though the word Akuo is similar to the word Hakuho, which is the name of a period of Japanese history, and means Phoenix. The rest of the names are as follows:

Seikki- Winter/Snow Valley
Hamatsu- Cedar
Tsugureru- To Overcome/Persevere
Kaze-Tousho- Windy Isles. Uninhabited, desolate islands of stone.
Tetsu-Tousho- Iron Isles
Orochi- The best translation I can come up with for this one is "Summit God", but the meaning is not really known. It is in reference to Yamata no Orochi, the great serpent. (Because the prefecture ended up long and waved, and I am a mythology nerd)
Hoseki- Jewel
Sofu- Grandfather. I came up with the idea that this area is where the first shogun came from, thus being the grandfather of the current age.
Kuzo- Child
Okamimori- Wolf Forest
Shinzo- Heart. I took the liberty of making this prefecture the location of the Shogunate.
Kogane no Urabe- Golden Coast
Tsuyoiha- Strong Blade
Senotakaishima- Tall Island
Kumoshima- Spider Island
Senmei-Tochi- Vibrant/Radiant Land
Hidoyama- Harsh Mountain
Tsuno- Horn
Yoihara- Good Fields
Toujou (which is currently misspelled, I will be fixing it when I can.)- Entrance. I decided this is where many major ports are.
Ryuu-Tousho- Dragon Isles. The Kiyomizu Clan rules these islands.
 
I don't know why I put Yakuz, I just did. I think I originally meant Yaku but ended up hitting a Z.
 
Or maybe Akuo's short for Akuou and means evil king! (Just a random thought possibility) :) I've been studying Japanese for four and a half years, so I'm hoping I'm sufficiently proficient at this point. I will be completely changing Yurie's history, so sorry if it takes a while, but I will be focusing on it from here on out, so I'll have it out at the very least in a few hours. :) Happy New Year's everybody!
 
Finished editing! Is it okay?

Ooh. @Heyitsjiwon . Your charrie's pretty interesting, very idealistic and proud (is what it seems to me, correct me if I'm wrong). I looked it up! and his weapons basically include what the samurai police used to carry (also, I think you might mean Kusari-fundo). It never says where he learned to use them! I'm curious. He sounds cool, though. :D
 
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Firejay- A country named "Evil King", ne? That would certainly be interesting, considering we are playing heroes. *chuckles* Japanese is my native language, though I admit my kanji and hiragana are lousy. I left the country when I was ten. As for Yurie, I approve of the changes, though I found another slight logic issue. Due to her age, she may know how to use various weapons, but would be proficient in only a few.


Vader- Yaku can have many meanings, the first one that comes to mind for me in regards to this is "Duty/ Service". What do you think of the map, by the way? Let me know if anything needs to be changed. Also, would you be adverse to the idea of me writing up descriptions of at least some of the prefectures? While I was working on the map I came up with basic ideas on all of them.
 
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