Closed Tending the Shrine

[CorvidCavalier]

✿ Welcome! ✿​

Corvid here, with a new request thread for a group RP! Do you enjoy Japanese culture and Shinto faith/mythos? Do you like anime-esque roleplays with more depth than stereotypical anime tropes and chat style language? You're in the right place!

A Make-Shift Family​

I'm seeking a party of 4-6 for a Shinto Temple based roleplay following a cast of Miko/Shrine Maidens, Priests, and potentially mythic characters such as Kitsune, Nekomata, Oni, and other Japanese spirits.

I would like to see culturally respectful, researched characters with balanced traits and abilities. Creativity and fun is a must! I like the incorporation of silly tropes and gimmicks of anime as long as the character is not purely defined by that trait and it is used with the intention of satire.

​

Plot Premise​

Genre wise, I like the idea of running this as a Slice of Life/Comedy/Adventure. Day to day life at the shrine, solving spirit and oni trouble in the nearby village, romance, and shenanigans between temple denizens. FxF, MxM, MxF are all welcome!

I would be winning to write the start post and "DM" the adventures that ensue to move plot along.

*Time period is late Edo. The shrine is named Ushigata for the mountain and its spirits it is dedicated to.

​

Requirements​

Literate Writing - Adequate grammar, spell check, and vocabulary is a must.
Well Developed Characters - Personalities with balanced good/bad traits, viable backstories. Absolutely no amnesia, tragic backstories tm need to be well thought out if used.
No Length Requirement, Just Good Content - Its not about length, its about content. Realistic dialogue, descriptive language and gesture are all pluses. A paragraph is preferred, more is great as long as its not dribble, but one-liners are never appropriate.

How to Join​

Easy peasy! Copy and paste the Bio format below into the reply box, fill it out and post! Characters must have an anime-esque "face claim" in their appearance section. I'll like and welcome you to the party. If changes need to be made before you join, I will notate them then! We'll begin the plot once we have 4-6 characters with bios.

Name:
Age:
Gender:
Sex:
Pronouns:

Sexuality:
Marital Status:

Race:
Ethnicity:
Nationality:

Zodiac:
Religion:

Education:
Social Status:

Personality:

Bio:

Eye Colour:
Hair Colour:
Height:
Physique:
Distinguishing Features:

Appearance:

Our Cast
​

Head Kannushi: Watanabe Yori - @CorvidCavalier
Head Miko: Haruko Chouka - NPC
Miko: Soga Tomomi - @CorvidCavalier
Miko Trainees: Fujimoto Miwa - @OrcDuckyPaladin
Kannushi:
Kannushi Trainees: Eiji Ito - @Msjamjam , Akai Kurou - NPC
Kami: Daichi - NPC
Yokai: Kobayashi Ayumu - @microhexa , Ryuji - @microhexa
Oni: Kumiko -NPC
Spirits: Mizukagami - @Luathis

✿Let's Have Some Fun!✿​

 

[CorvidCavalier]

Light Bump for Visual & content Update!

 

[microhexa]

Hey there. I started working on my character sheet right away after reading this. Hope it's acceptable. ^^
This guy might be exceptionally skilled at various shenanigans.

Name: Kobayashi Ayumu (the name he later acquired)
Age: 33 (looks more like 20-ish due to slowed aging)
Gender: Male
Sex: Male
Pronouns: He/him

Sexuality: Bisexual
Marital Status: Single

Race: Nekomata
Ethnicity: Yamato
Nationality: Japanese

Zodiac: Leo
Religion: None - only believes in folklore because he knows it to be real. However, he does have a mild interest in Shinto after having seen some of the daily life at the shrine.

Education: Trained assassin, literate
Social Status:
A legend/'noble' among cats
An outcast among humans
Viewed as 'tainted' among other yokai (=outcast)

Personality:
Intuitive, independent and faithful but reserved and shy. Can be rather lazy at times. Since taking up residence in the shrine, he has displayed an attitude that would make anyone laugh and shake their head in disbelief if they were told of his past.

Bio:
As a cat, Ayumu was born and raised alongside feral cats that inhabited a city district. Due to his unusually high level of intelligence for a cat, he rose to become the notorious leader of his particular group, his 'family'. Together, they wrested control of the unruly feline world in that city. Even while he was still considered a 'young adult' among cats, not a single feline inhabitant had not heard of him. He was revered as not only a king among cats but a divine being, despite being nothing more than a cat. When he later became a nekomata, it was said that one of the kami struck him with lightning for his arrogance, causing his tail to split in two.

Even in his new, humanoid form, he was still known as the 'Lord of Cats' in the area. Respect for him grew as he surpassed the typical lifespan of a cat, having reached the age of 20 years. These rumors of his existence reached the ears of some assassins who tracked him down and proposed to show him a "life of excitement", one where he could make a difference among humans, not just among cats. Having grown bored of life being so ridiculously easy for him, he accepted and soon found himself in a world that was nothing like the one he had come to know. There were more rules than he had expected. For example, it was not socially acceptable for him to lick his injuries. He couldn't just hiss and attack those who upset him - instead, he had to purse his lips and refrain from acting on instinct. In the beginning, he even had to wear these suffocating clothes, but later switched to a more comfortable outfit that made him feel more in tune with his feral origins. All this time, he proudly displayed the cat ears perched on top of his head, becoming known as 'the Wild Cat' for his tendency to perform assassinations with his own claws, retreating swiftly through the dark of night with eyes that glowed in the darkness.

After a failed assassination attempt left him critically wounded, he stumbled onto the street where he slumped onto the ground, expecting to die. However, one of the shrine residents passed by, and he saw an opportunity. He shifted into his cat form and, looking like a cat that had gotten into a particularly vicious battle with another cat, he brought himself out into plain view, parts of his fur soaked in his own blood. His only thought was to survive, even if he had to make himself look utterly pitiful.

His plan worked, and he was brought back to the shrine and nursed back to health, as distrustful he was of these unfamiliar people. He decided to at the very least let them live, even after having witnessed him in such a pitiful state. Over time, he came to realize how... oddly pleasant the life of a house cat was. In the past, he had sneered at house cats for their disgustingly submissive lifestyle. Being petted on the head and scratched beneath the chin made him purr like he hadn't thought he could. It was a rusty purr from disuse, but it had an undeniably positive effect on whoever managed to bring it forth. Even when he was fit to leave, he ended up staying out of a newfound love for the shrine, becoming somewhat of a 'shrine cat', with a tendency to stalk any visitors. He found great admiration for daily life at the shrine, and while he couldn't be very forward about this, he had a strange desire to fit in, to find a place there even if it was in a tree, silently watching over the shrine.

Eye Colour: Hazel brown
Hair Colour: White with a touch of pale caramel - more prominent in cat form
Height: 5'5 / 165 cm
Physique: Reasonably toned, supernaturally flexible - plenty of yokai are still physically stronger than him, but he makes up for it in agility.
Distinguishing Features:
Dark cat ears and twin tails - his eyes work like a cat's eyes in the dark
Various 'slash' scars on his body, usually hidden by clothing

Appearance:

Spoiler: In his assassin attire (face-claim here too)

Spoiler: Cat form (imagine it with a little grey wool scarf tied around his neck)

 

[CorvidCavalier]

@microhexa He's adorable, I love it! Pronouns just means if a character is meant to be referred to as he/him she/her etc. It's for the case of Non-binary characters. Since yours a male, unless he prefers to be called something different, just put He/Him in that section. Your images are not working, as in they don't load. It may be a problem with the code. You'll want to make sure it's coded like so:

[SPOILER][IMG]link pasted here[/IMG][/SPOILER]

If it still won't work, just leave them as links. :)

Other than those little tweaks, you're good to go! Welcome aboard!

 

[SovereignSuz]

Name: Fujimoto Miwa
Age: 18
Gender: Female
Sex: Female
Pronouns: She/Her

Sexuality: Demisexual/Lesbian
Marital Status: Single

Race: Human
Ethnicity: Ryukyuan (Islander)
Nationality: Japanese

Zodiac: Cancer (June 27)
Religion: Shinto

Education: Fluent reading/writing, 8 years of Shinto shrine maiden education.
Social Status: Miko Shrine Maiden Trainee (mostly experienced, but technically a trainee.)

Personality:
On a surface level, Miwa is an emotionally struggling kuudere. Miwa's slowly getting better at acknowledging her sovereignty and is wholly devout to the gods. In that moment, she struggles with bravery and can be pessimistic; easily comparable to prey getting ready to be pounced on. After enough struggle, she can brace herself to overcome anything in her path, awakening willpower she doesn't often see in herself. She has trouble verbally describing her emotions but instead will write or sing them out through abstract metaphors and poetry. She has trouble accepting compliments or affection from other people due to her experiences with Ito-sama's abuse, often dismissing them and doubting her ability to be worthy of trust or friendship, but accepting of shallow compassion or one-time gestures; all other reoccurring kindness bewilders her. Insecure about her height and skin tone, often made fun of by Ito-sama which ingrained self-hatred since she doesn't fit Japanese beauty standards.

Bio:
Miwa came to Oshigata Shrine when she was about 18. In her earlier years, around the age of 12, she began training under the guidance of her teacher, Ito Wakana in the Ryu Kyu islands in a small fishing village with a single Shinto shrine. Appointed by the village chieftain, her family was ecstatic that their daughter could be an active part of the Shinto faith. Her teacher, Ito-sama, was the head shrine maiden with only one or two other maidens being trained in the art of Miko.
Ito-sama was obsessed with giving Miwa strict training to have her speak to the heavenly goddess Amaterasu, convinced her trainees divining would be deserving of holy blessing. Ito-sama ignored the other trainees, and the trainees misinterpreted the relationship between Ito-sama and Miwa to be a teacher's favorite as their training is neglected. The trainees hated Miwa in their jealousy, ignoring and chastising Miwa for trying to open up to them about her struggles.
The efforts of awakening Miwa's potential in contracting Amaterasu were fruitless and draining on young Miwa's mental and physical health. Her family wouldn't listen to her complaints despite being their only child, so Miwa had no one to turn to but her anxiety and poetry, often hidden in scraps of paper and broken brushes from her father, who was a painter. Miwa hid these few meaningful sources of escape in her bed where her parents never looked.
Her parents were wholly evangelized by Ito-sama's "divine prophecy" that Miwa's breakthrough with Amaterasu would provide not only Ito-sama, but her parent's lives happiness on their trip to heaven. This belief convinced Miwa that Ito-sama had permission to hurt her by her parent's will.
Ito-sama's greed drove her mad, and her continued frustrations from the lack of results were taken out on Miwa. Ito-sama snapped, cursing Miwa to never be able to be possessed by Amaterasu or be able to become one with the gods as a real shaman. *
Ito-sama then banished her from the shrine on their island due to her incompetence in making her prophecy come true. Miwa's parents shunned their daughter, leaving her abandoned, thinking that her selfish daughter didn't want her parents to go to heaven.
She fled and boarded a cargo ship to another island as a stowaway, dismayed by the fact her family believed in her abusive teacher more than their own daughter. She used her quietness to disguise herself as a man's daughter she looked similar to in order to get around the ship. Miwa had the feeling things were working better for her than they should have been, like the gods were watching over her and keeping her safe.
Within her grief and emotional turmoil, she had a sort of awakening. In her sleep, a form of meditation had triggered her to hear Hachiman, the god of war and divine protector of Japan and its people, telling her to head towards Oshigata Shrine. Miwa's unwavering faith in the gods drove her to continue her journey and find what she sought, braving the travels and stopping through cities, begging for food and being gifted such by kind strangers.
Upon her arrival she threw herself to the ground and groveled to the head shrine maiden, begging her to join and telling the tale of her divine journey.
Being accepted into Oshigata Shrine had provided significant progress in her growth as a shrine maiden, *being proficient in fortune-telling and divining as her mental health improved as she began to make meaningful relationships and work past her traumas with the other shrine maidens and the gods' guidance.
Miwa's continued support through Hachiman's wish for her to gain her sovereignty and protect herself was reinforced in her meditations, being able to speak the word of Hachiman to those who require protection and safety.

*SIDE NOTE:

"Becoming one with the Gods as a real shaman," is in reference to the ritual of becoming a true Miko/Shrine maiden, where the trainee is possessed by a God and has intercourse with a priest to birth a child of the aforementioned God. In this case, Ito-sama was referencing Amaterasu. Miwa has not ever performed this ritual, so she is still technically a trainee.

Eye Colour: Dark brown
Hair Colour: Dark brown
Height: 5'10/178 cm
Physique: Thin, lengthy.
Distinguishing Features: Small scratch scar across her left cheek.
Appearance: Honey-skinned, long flowing dark brown hair, harsh scratch marks on her arms and legs when not covered by traditional uniform.

Hobbies:
-She tends a secret vegetable garden outside of the shrine in homage to Hachiman, who was originally an agricultural deity.
-She writes poetry and sings songs to express her struggles constructively.

Skills/Weaknesses:
-Proficient in Miko fortune-telling and divining, as well as gardening, reading, and writing.
-Weak in exorcising due to her pessimism, as well as standing up for herself when struggles arise.

Face claim: Like this, but slightly darker skin, basically.

 

[microhexa]

@CorvidCavalier Glad you like it! ^^ As for the images, the last two showed up normally for me this morning - the first wasn't loading for some reason. I tried putting the links back in, and removed the first spoiler (around the entire character sheet) in case that might somehow be the issue. Does it work now?

Hobbies:
-Tends a secret vegetable garden

@OrcDuckyPaladin Couldn't help myself... I highly doubt that garden will be secret for long, at least not to Ayumu ^^''. Can't keep anything hidden from a cat yokai forever :p. Of course, he has more sense than to blindly dig it up. Although he might get curious and sniff around a little, quietly weaving between the plants (in cat form).

There's a chance that he'll approach Miwa at some point (depends on what he thinks of Corvid's character), asking about what happens to murderers when they die. Because he has become fearful of what might happen to him, considering all the lives he has taken in the past. While he repents what he has done, he doubts that it will be enough. I could imagine that this would play a major role in motivating him to protect lives and help others whenever possible, even being happy to help with nurturing life in Miwa's secret garden... having already butted into there. Hehe.


Overall, I absolutely love the idea of them having a yokai hanging around at the shrine - a supposedly monstrous being (at least in this case) that took a liking to the place and its residents. They might not even be aware of that this cat is a yokai. Although... there is the thing about his twin tails, so unless he has a way to make them appear as one (illusion), they'd have noticed right from the beginning that this isn't an ordinary cat. It could be quite... interesting if they eventually discovered that their furry companion was more than he seemed to be.

I can just imagine this scene in my head where he carelessly uses his 'human' form when nobody is around, and then someone walks in and he turns around and says, "Meow," with a mischievous smirk. And then he realizes the gravity of the situation.

Spoiler: GIF

 

[microhexa]

By the way, are we permitted to discuss things a bit here...? Or would you prefer it if we did it elsewhere, @CorvidCavalier?

 

[CorvidCavalier]

@microhexa The bottom two work and I love the aesthetic! He's a cutie. But the first is still being weird, it's not a huge issue though. Your character is 100% approved.

Also, your ideas with @OrcDuckyPaladin are super adorable. As far as the tail goes, it is my understanding that nekomata (and most yokai?) can utilize illusion magic to disguise themselves to the human eye. So it should be non issue until he wishes to reveal himself!

@OrcDuckyPaladin, I really like Miwa! I think the way you handle her trauma and her intended recovery is very realistic and thought out. I like her relationship with Hachiman helping her to find herself again and her homage with the garden is very thoughtful.

You both reminded me that I never specified a time period! Luckily both of your bios are time period ambiguous, so it's a non issue. I'm going to add it to the main post but I'll also say it here. We're going to shoot for late Edo period, 1700s~1800s. That gives us plenty of pre-westernization Japan with touches of western influence.

 

[CorvidCavalier]

@microhexa Plot things, of course! It puts it all in one spot for us to think about. Non plot related discussion is preferred for PM.

 

[microhexa]

I was already thinking of Edo period when I first saw this. But I wasn't sure so I aimed to be as time period ambiguous as possible. ^^

 

[microhexa]

I can already imagine Ayumu using his little paws to dig holes for plants/seeds, or simply hovering around in human form. If the other shrine residents don't yet know that he's a yokai, some of them might even confide to him about various matters (like Miwa's singing/writing), thinking that he's just a cat and probably doesn't even know what they're saying. When he's actually listening quite intently. Might cause some embarrassment or something when it's revealed that he's a yokai. ;3 But that's just an idea.

 

[microhexa]

As for Ayumu's regular outfit... I'll just give him his assassin attire, I suppose. Makes most sense plot-wise, when I really think about it. He won't have changed clothes since becoming critically injured and shifting into a cat. He'll end up wearing some other clothing later, though, considering that his usual outfit will be torn in various places.

 

[CorvidCavalier]

@microhexa Sounds good to me! I think that's cute and yeah, the clothes thing makes sense. We can ultimately give him like a spare monk's outfit or yukata.

 

[CorvidCavalier]

Name: "Tomo" Soga Tomomi
Age: 25
Gender: Female
Sex: Female
Pronouns: She/Her

Sexuality: Lesbian
Marital Status: Single

Race: Human
Ethnicity: Yamato (Main-lander)
Nationality: Japanese

Zodiac: Taurus
Religion: Shinto

Education: Literate, taught by her older brother. Trained as a medium and diviner, a formally sanctified Miko.
Social Status: Miko, fourth generation

Personality: Stubborn, Bossy, Doting; Tomo is the big sister of the Shrine, the eldest of the current Miko, second to the Head Miko, Chouko, who has given much of resposibility to her successor in her old age. Tomo is strict but attentive mentor, who allows little room for foolishness but cares very deeply for her shrine family. She specializes as a medium, working very closely with the mountain's kami, Daichi.

Bio: The Soga has a tradition of sending each generation's first daughter to serve at the Ushigata Shrine, as homage their home and its spiritual care. While Tomo knew from a very young age, this was to be her fate, when she was taken from her home at ten, she didn't want to leave. She was petrified. Her first years were hard as she acclimated but her new family was very kind and understanding, very soon once she herself opened to the idea, it became home. She dedicated herself fastidiously to her training with a seriousness that had always been innate to her. She was 16 when she was santified by the ritual, a more "modern" approach since Ushigata had long abolished the archaic ritual between shrine maiden and kannushi. She has since worked hard to be a mentor and helper to the newer girls, guiding them to fulfill their aspirations with strength and maturity.

Eye Colour: Magenta
Hair Colour: Brunette
Height: 5'6
Physique: Healthy, she has dancer's muscles from her practice.
Distinguishing Features: Mole under right eye.

Appearance:

Spoiler

 

[microhexa]

Hehe. Looks like Ayumu might be the shortest of the bunch. I'd consider making him taller... but he's a nekomata. A cat yokai. His body is meant to be small-ish and flexible, like that of a cat. So I think it's quite fitting that he's kinda short for a guy.

 

[CorvidCavalier]

I mean by Japanese height averages Tomorrow is on the tall side. Miwa is just giganticslly tall but I kind of like that. There are always outliers in those statistics. 5'5 sounds about right for a kitty boy and adds that adorable factor.

 

[microhexa]

Been trying to wrap my head around his maturation, and my conclusion is that... I'm not going to think too hard about it. Haha. :p He would have been an adult for like almost all his life, not having had much childhood due to his origins as an actual cat. But that would have felt natural for him, since he would have originally matured like any cat, later becoming a yokai and therefore becoming capable of more complex thought processes like those of a human.

So he was kinda "reborn", to put it simply.

 

[CorvidCavalier]

Name: Watanabe Yori
Age: 32
Gender: Non-binary
Sex: Male
Pronouns: They/Them

Sexuality: Ace
Marital Status: Single

Race: Human
Ethnicity: Yamato (Mid-lander)
Nationality: Japanese

Zodiac: Aries
Religion: Shinto

Education: Taught to read, write, and serve as a kannushi by his father, whom he inherited care of the temple from.
Social Status: Kannushi, Head of the Ushigata Shrine

Personality: Intense, Warm, Social; Yori is the doting caretaker of the shrine and it's inhabitants. He has a deep love if his faith and embraces the myth is of his home with seriousness. He believes all beings deserve respect and acknowledgement, even those others have marked as unpure or evil. He is willing to give anyone a chance. However, he is fiercely protective of his family and home, sometimes his anger taking him much too far in what begins as an attempt to help. Yori enjoys painting and kyudo in his spare time.

Bio: Yori grew up at the Shrine, learning as a kannushi trainee from a very early age. He gained a very personal relationship with the kami, spirits, and yokai of Ushigata mountain. They were some of his first friends, until a kid near his age, Tomo, came to the temple to learn as a Miko. There were five years between them but it made no difference, the two became close friends and when they weren't invested in their studies, they spent their time exploring the mountain. Today, not much has changed. His father passed two years ago, he still mourns and keeps a small ancestor shrine to him, he loved him dearly but he is at peace and takes up his mantle in full.

Eye Colour: Orange
Hair Colour: Black
Height: 5'11

Physique: Fit, toned arms and chest. He actively trains in kyudo.
Distinguishing Features: Soft but clever eyes, mole near mouth, glasses

Appearance:

Spoiler: "Face Claim"

Spoiler: "Pic That Inspired Him"

 

[microhexa]

Quick question. I've noticed that we're gathering quite a spectrum of sexual orientations (with a non-binary character now included), and I'm wondering whether this will be accepted as "normal" in this fictional society, or if we're going to stick to something more historically accurate... where such people aren't viewed so kindly by everyone, if they choose to express it. Like, would people generally be tolerant of non-binary people preferring to be referred to as they/them, or would that seem ridiculous to some people? And would same-sex couples be socially acceptable, or would they generally be shunned for it?

 

[CorvidCavalier]

That's an awesome question! Fortunately, the Japanese until Westernization were very progressive. They also have roots in queer gender nonconformity: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/10/arts/design/when-japan-had-a-third-gender.amp.html and gay relationships were acceptable Gay Samurai: The History of Homosexuality in Japan Overall, these are acceptable concepts in this era. Westernization is the only reason things are the way they are in present day Japan. Many early civilizations were accepting of LGBTQ+ if you look into it. :)