#playing with kitsune lore is SO FUN THOUGH

[shichidikai]

mikazuki!!

*cracks knuckles* (i am actually so excited to really get started on this one properly)

i humbly intend to offer a zs(z) historical/fantasy fic with samurai zoro and kitsune sanji! wherein sanji's home is a shrine on a certain mountain, zoro arrives one day (much to sanji's chagrin), sparking a chain of unexpected events that revolve around the shrine, a sword, a corrupt shogun, deaths that occurred a decade earlier, and the very mountain that sanji just wants to protect.

bonus points for traumatized, jaded sanji who distrusts people, zoro who doesn't gaf about politics but does care when his friends and family are in trouble, putting wano characters in a blender and gleefully sprinkling them here and there around the plot, and me being able to do one of my absolute favorite things in the world (finding new ways to beat up vinsmoke judge). also half-human-half-kitsune form sanji and everything that includes (obnoxious eyebrow wiggle here)

the tiny snippets i have that are fairly random and may or may not make it into the final version, but here's a little guy for posterity (and because i like it):

more wip game »

[cat-and-fox-hub]

[Yōkai AU] Fiend & Menace

Made by Cat, aka Researcher Serif/AW

"I know I'm quite the catch but for you to look at me like that, you trying to tell me something, Master~? You don't need to look from so far, you're free see my true self as close and as often as you please~. Just know you aren't escaping me that easily~."

(The Kitsune no Mado, or "Fox Window", is a Japanese hand technique believed to reveal hidden Yōkai through your fingers as with above.

It's comparable to the Celtic hag-stone or adder stone, a stone found in riverbeds with a naturally formed hole which can reveal witches or faeries through it.)

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Sometimes, I really hate colors. I spent so long agonizing his color palette it ain't funny, I swear. At least I think I did better on colors this time. Not by much but decent enough... (lighting's hard)

Either wae, here's @cosmica-galaxy's Fiend and Menace! They're apart of my Yōkai AU, very much based/inspired on @twstedforyou's own original Yōkai Twisted Wonderland AU.

Below is some lore if you wanna know! I recommend reading up this post for further AU lore if you wish.

Do hope you enjoy either wae!

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For those who don't know what Yōkai are, "Yōkai are a class of supernatural entities and spirits in Japanese folklore."

They can range from your classic demon, in this case Oni, to objects gained spirit and sentience such as Kasa-Obake, a friendly and playful one eyed, one legged sentient umbrella.

So now that that's outta the way...

[Yōkai AU Lore]:

꧁ღ⊱ | Oni!Fiend |

Fiend is an Oni, a kind of yōkai, demon, orc, ogre, or troll in Japanese folklore. They're known to be big, terrifying and having great strength. They're also known for their violent and short temperaments with a hunger for humans and alcohol.

In this AU, since people are pretty much wiped out, skibidi's are the suitable replacement. While not as fun as human prey at times, there's something a bit more satisfying playing with them. (The answer is abundance and the fact no one cares about them. He can be as sadistic and cruel as long as he wants with his food, something he couldn't with humans to avoid getting caught with his pants down so to speak.)

Fiend is a young Oni, reflecting his canon self being a Gen 0 mimic born after the fall of humanity, but he's still quite older than a century at least.

Due to his experience and the fact that the Yōkai District is quite traditional, he's a bit different. A tad wiser and more eloquent in his words for one. Not that he chooses to be, preferring to be a bastard most times. He's still the tsundere little shit who gets turned on when you make the battlefield red with the blood of your enemies.

Due to his heritage, he's quite the alcoholic. Because of that, he's also quite a bit more aggressive with skibidis because there's just some types of alcohol exclusive to the human realm that isn't made or sold in his District.

In this AU, Yōkai can shift forms to disguise themselves as the most dominant species in the human realm via shapeshifting or illusions. For some more humanoid Yōkai like Yuuki-Onna, it shows in their true forms. The believability of a Yōkai's disguise vary between Yōkai and those with skills more inclined to disguise like Tanuki and Kitsune are better at it than most. Fiend has an unusual competence in the art for Oni, Yōkai known to be quite dog shit at their disguises, especially for one as young as him.

With his surprising competence in illusions and Menace being too young to create his own disguise, Fiend extends his own over Menace until he can learn for himself. It also means when his transformation goes, so does the tuggle's.

Before the War, Yōkai had the option of either human or mimic guises but considering mimics themselves mimicked humans, it was mostly human disguises. Now though, the option is either Alliance members or mimics who mimicked them. Fiend in particular chose the mimic option because it gave him more freedoms so to speak. Disguising himself as an Alliance member would've burden him with the role of acting like one which, as apart of a military operation, is a heavy one to play.

Fiend spent most of his time in the human realm. When the fall of humanity came, he was mostly wandering and hunting alone and only rarely going back into his District when bored. Despite the solitude of the empty cities, not even he knew why he stayed in the wasteland as a TV mimic as he did. At least, not until he met you.

In this AU, his meeting with you was much like his canon self. He decided you were interesting at first and pretty much stalked you. Though, he was much more… open, so to say, with his less than mortal nature. He didn't necessarily show off he was of an Other nature but he didn't necessarily bother with blending in too much. Humans are pretty much dead and gone and he only kept a thin veneer up for the Alliance to not get up all over his ass after all.

Let's just say it was quite a surprise when he confronted you for the first time and found out you were his beloved Master all along. (He did not let go for the next week, still closely shadowing you for the rest of the month after. Your presence— no, your existence is simply too much— too intoxicating— for him to simply ignore and leave be.)

Bonus! He'd never admit it but sometimes, he'd head over to his District and find baubles for you that he makes seem like they're old belongings he'd never touched and left to dust. He's always terribly smug when you like it and gloats it over the others with a smirk.

꧁ღ⊱ | Oni!Menace |

Menace is also an Oni, a very young one

He's pretty much canon Menace but more of a little shit with a nasty temper when really angry

Though, instead of the whole 'parents dying leaving bby orphaned', its more he was orphaned at birth

Unless a hybrid of sorts, Oni are traditionally born from the death of a horrible human's spirit which is why Oni, at their base nature, are cruel and violent. By using the dead spirit of a horrible human to bring them into existence, they're bound to take bits of the violent and cruel parts that make up said spirit. Luckily for Fiend and you, it's something that could be taught to be managed but anger is always something present that'll have to be managed for the rest of his life.

Despite being essentially a toddler, he still has the absurd strength Oni are known to have. He can easily carry you with no problem which is a bit troubling considering he likes get mischievous. Often with Byte at that...

He's also a a bit of a nipper considering human flesh is apart of the natural diet of Oni. He knows better than to harm, Spirits forbid consider you prey and eat you. Adopted Papa Fiend is hovering over his back with a critical eye after all.

Bonus! Menace, underestimating his own strength and your human constitution, had accidentally thrown you once. Luckily, it was at Fiend. Unluckily, it was at Fiend. Possessive shit extraordinaire. (Yōkai won't let any slight against their Master stand, kid or not. Someone boutta get their little ass cooked.)

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Check out my main blog: @researcher-serif

Here's my NSFW blog if that tickles your fancy: @grandfather-of-sin

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[Read under cut for those that can't see the image text or colored text]

Fiend: "Hmm...?"

Fiend: "Oh..."

Fiend: "I see~"

Fiend: "Ahuhu~"

Fiend: "How flattering~"

[mewguca]

when was the last time you drew saint..

I haven't drawn a proper saint in several months but while doodling them earlier I thought I might as well

Cherry Blossom Saint. based off of a kitsune lols and of course (Saint Spoilers)

karma 10 saint...based on the Nine-Tailed Fox variant specifically

You might ask "but why not ten tails since it is clearly a more religiously significant number in RW lore" BUT!!!! You see. Uh. Dear Reader...You see! I think being stuck just below that number is really fun for echoes thematically...Saint can ascend others, but they cannot ascend themself. And for those who are not aware Kitsune are often associated with Inari, a Shinto deity...they are often depicted as messengers of them and guardians of their shrines. I think that's fitting for someone whose role it is to help guide others to the afterlife...

Uh. Forcefully. But hey!!! It is cool I think

(๑>؂•̀๑)

Hopefully that makes some kinda sense...And obviously the Sakura theming ties back to all that nod nod

I think my inspo for cherry blossom saint was all the fun seasonal saints people made...though unfortunately i cannot remember any specific ones, so I apologize...But also! I remember my friend asked me to draw sapphic HunterSaint once (CherryBush) and iwas like. well if its a Cherry Bush then!!! why not make the bush cherry blossom themed...I think that was my first attempt at drawing anthro too ummmm. It's not very good tho >_>;;;

Apologies for rambling so much, and apologies for my poor memory orz

(Also I must admit I still need to play Saint...so their concepts aren't as fleshed out as some campaigns im more familiar with but im workin on it)

[sincerely-sofie]

How did you decide what species Kip and Twig were going to be? Did you play the game as a Charmander or a Mudkip, or did you decide some other way?

So, fun fact about Twig: she's a reinterpretation of my first ever PMD2 Hero OC, Kitsune! (I pronounced her name as “Kit-soon” as a child, you can burn me at the stake for my idiocy)

Kitsune was, as you might notice, a skitty and not a charmander. Her partner, Deu (pronounced “Day-oo”), however, was a mudkip. I originally thought about keeping them both their initial species, but Kitsune was so vastly different from her first iteration that it felt strange to keep her as a pink kitten, even if it killed me a little to change her. 

To come up with a new species, I decided to take the PMD2 personality quiz and answer as if I was Twig. My result was a brave female charmander. I was tempted to fudge my results a bit and go with a hardy female treecko, but I felt a bit guilty doing so— and besides, I never could understand how to draw a treecko’s tail and make it look nice. When I realized the fun contrasting parallel that could be drawn if Grovyle, local grass lizard, had his partner turn into a fire lizard, I knew I had to stick with the quiz result. 

(Twig’s tail flame was originally rendered to look like a maple leaf in autumn as an additional nod to her connection with Grovyle, though this was later changed in favor of more expressive fire shapes.) 

Kip, meanwhile, is a mudkip because Deu corrupted me into thinking a mudkip partner is the perfect partner in PMD2. His talk sprites made him look like a Muppet sometimes, which I adored, and I feel like their art really captured the enthusiastic-but-anxious partner personality. I love PMD2 mudkip partner so much and I can't see that poor baby being anything else. 

Golly, I rambled for a while there. TL;DR— I played the games as a skitty with a mudkip partner the first time. The partner stayed the same species, but I took the pmd2 personality quiz as if I was Twig and received a charmander assignment as a result.

... Okay, one last bonus piece of prehistoric Twig lore: her name is a reference to a stick Kitsune would beat people up with.

[wintry--mix]

In celebration of the 4th (I think) anniversary of the creation of my oldest oc (that I still use) Kitsune (she/her), I thought it’d be fun to do a bit of a lore-dumping post about her :> Her saga dates back to before I had much social media (including Tumblr), and a lot’s happened to both myself and her in those 4 years, so if you want to hear (or rather, read): brace yourself, this’ll be a long one lmao

So, first of all, a bit of a quick profile for her:

(^ft. the ref I made not too long ago actually for artfight)

Kitsune isn’t an actual kitsune like from Japanese mythology, but rather a weird ink-themed shapeshifting fox monster (bear with me). Being one of these, she’s immortal (or at least immune to death of old age - heck if she knows whether or not she’s fully immortal, she hasn’t had an experience that would’ve absolutely killed her yet), proving this by being 18 (or otherwise a weirdly short older teen) physically but actually 604 years old in-universe (her birthday being today - October 20th!). I rarely ever use her shapeshifting ability outside of giving her a “true” and human form, but she does also have the power to create portals to teleport herself to anywhere she wishes - including other dimensions and universes. As such, I like to imagine her as being a bit of an interdimensional traveler across the many OC universes I’ve made. (Also, fun fact: my voice headcanon for her is basically Spinel from Steven Universe but with a heavy New Yorker accent)

Now, she’s come a long way, considering her origins as a dragon from a mobile game I used to play called Dragonvale, and her modern human design originating from my Gacha Life/Club era (specifically me making a gijinka of the specific dragon she’s based off of). Years have since passed, and while I made (and ultimately scrapped) many personal projects, and many characters for said personal projects, she never did get recycled for those like many other old ocs, only to die with the project. I liked the idea of her existing outside of those universes, doing her own thing with her teleportation powers and occasionally visiting the new worlds I’ve made. I still do, so she still fills this role, but the specific backstory behind it has changed quite a lot.

Most of her old backstories I’ve either forgotten most of or I cringe too hard at to want to share (even to laugh at with others), but the basic gist of her most notable one was something along the lines of her traveling away from her original home universe to go see the world beyond it, leaving it behind to wither away into nothing - and even if/when she did try to return to check on it, there’d be nothing left, and whatever eerie magic system caused that world to turn into a void would nearly trap her there to potentially die as well. I ultimately scrapped this since some parts of it were a little edgier than I would’ve wanted (and calling this premise “edgy” sounds like an exaggeration, but I assure you that some of the old animatics I made about it would prove my point if I were willing to share them), but she does have a newer one that I do like (at least, as of now, lol):

Much like the significantly more well-known Bill Cipher, Kitsune is the last survivor of a world that was destroyed - although in her case, the cause was that its creator simply got bored and ashamed of it and wanted to move on to other creations (with her surviving due to her unique abilities letting her leave before she could’ve died with the rest of it). She has since used her portal powers to do some dimension-hopping across other, newer worlds, meeting and befriending (though, more often than not, bullying) their own residents. Kitsune enjoys her new life, but she can’t help but feel a little bit of resentment towards the creator who destroyed her old home and turned her old friends into their spiritual successors in the new worlds, without any memory of their previous lives…

ANYWAY that sure was a lot of paragraphs worth of rambling, but I hope those who bothered to take interest enjoyed :) Kitsune will (hopefully) stick around for many more years to come, and explore many of the new stories I make - although one in the very early making may give her an actual part to play beyond just a cameo…

[luxiedrawsshit42]

What if I handed y'all another full-body character reference that has next to nothing to do with the current lore I've divulged on my profile. What then. Anyway, here's some info as per what I told my GM (under the cut

Yoshiro "Yoshi" Amari (He/They) - A two-tailed Empty Sky Kitsune (alt. form is a Fox Beastkin) (I'm playing a PF2e campaign for context)   - If asked if he's a kitsune, he'll deny it and say that he's just a fox beastkin. He wants to keep that a secret, partially out of habit, partially for a lil bit of a joke with himself, and partially because people start asking him to do Kitsune Things™️ if they know. A few people know, but they're people that he knows he can trust. - Also a Fey bloodline Sorcerer (Just so he's Extra Silly) - Currently runs Jubilee Pages and Postal with his best friend, Hermes Grotto  - Before that, he was a traveler who tried to keep his status as a kitsune on the down low while also trying to help more than the average person is capable of. This has likely led to a Shenanigan or two - Despite being well-traveled, they still tend to be a little naïve when it comes to things like people's intentions. Some call it naivete, they call it optimism 💜 - Curious, but not so curious that he'll run headfirst into danger. He likes to check out the scene before going to touch things - Has a Fox Marble in the shape of a small round bell that he keeps on a chain under his shirt. Yes, it jingles and occasionally draws attention. Yes, he should really just have kept it as a marble. No, he will not change it back. He likes the bell and thinks it's Fun - Has a tattoo on their ribcage that says "Courtesy of Cottolis." They got it as something of an inside joke, and it's a story that they will tell if ever asked about it (it makes them giggle) - Previously surrounded by people who make a lot of jokes reminiscent of 12-year-old humor, so it takes a minor adjustment period for them to not also lean into those jokes as well  - Loves a good double entendre though, no matter the occasion 💜 - If he's put into a position where someone is trying to make a fool of him and he's able to gain the upper hand, he will take it and lean into it if he can (ie: ordering another Mustard Drink after being served one as a prank) - May or May Not have a child - Has a lot of "old man moments" (ie: "I'm too old for this") despite looking like he's in his early 30s

[nitewrighter]

cant believe it took 8 years and a cringe foxgirl for people to seriously talk about how overwatch has a huge problem with orientalism in its asian representation. (now someone talk about how fucking weird zenyatta's everything is)

I actually talked about Zen's problems a while back, haha.

Well with the Shimada Bros, there was a general understanding that they started out as one character that was split into two. and like, futuristic ninjas have been a common and popular sci-fi trope (I mean endemic to a lot of the already pre-existing but overall embraced orientalism and aesthetics of Sci-fi and cyberpunk) for decades. When the American(tm) characters were basically Captain America and a Cowboy, and the German character was a Knight, the Australians are literally just Mad Max OC's, this, along with Michael Chu's insistence that the Shimada dragons were not magic all formed kind of its own fabric of Sci-Fi anachronism and stereotype and "Technology so advanced it is indistinguishable from magic" that you just ended up kind of rolling with it. Like there was a combination of suspension of disbelief and acknowledgement of stereotypes

That isn't to say these weren't problematic, there's also definitely something to be said about half of the black characters having heavy duty cybernetics--the "black body as machine" and all that. I think Kiriko's the straw that breaks the camel's back just because like... at this point they're literally introducing the "mystic asian" stereotype into the game and there's nothing remarkable about her, looks or personality-wise, that lets people really move past that. Like I said in a previous post, she's literally just the middle slider between Tracer and D.Va. Kiriko says she got her fox spirit from her Grandma, insists that it's the "old" of her "old and new" style of fighting, and her lore is all knotted up with the Shimada bros when it's like

A. Does it really have to be if it's not even answering any real questions? (E.G: WHAT THE FUCK ARE THE DRAGONS)

B. If her mom is clearly the person with the stronger link to the Shimada Clan and that's the precedent for bringing this character into the game, why isn't she the hero?

And of course there's the literal fucking magic of the Kitsune which basically throws Chu's previous assertion that the dragons aren't magic under the bus. Like, I do think there was an inherent element of self-aware Globe-trekking stereotypes to Overwatch that people could accept--just like how one can read pulp and classic fiction and still enjoy it even though it could have wildly sexist and orientalist elements to it because overall it's an adventure story with a colorful cast of characters--and there was always a strong empathetic or charismatic angle to each character both in spite of and because of their stereotypical elements. You can let these characters play into stereotypes inasmuch as you're able to make fun of yourself for like, being an American who eats hamburgers.

But this is the moment where people are looking at blizzard like, "Oh--wait--you're not in on the joke, you actually think this."

[magebunkshelf]

This was originally posted to my Ko-fi page. If you follow me there, you may have read all this already.

The Kitsune quickly became one of my favourite characters. He's friendly and wholesome, he's just chill. I love the idea of hanging out with someone like him. He's also a bit cheeky, almost but not quite flirty in his first audio, while not extending beyond the comfort of the platonic. But there's always more going on under the surface. That's what makes characters interesting to me. That's what I want to create.

I loved the idea of a forest shrine, and the local lore that would surround it. I picture the listener having travelled to this remote rural village in order to come and see it, having trekked up the hill through the trees, to an old wooden building from which you can see woodland for miles around. But of course, someone's there already.

There's something about ancient characters that has always fascinated me. Not exactly immortal, but certainly very long-lived. How would the world, and the people in it, appear to someone who knows they will outlive you? And Aru has definitely lived for a long time. He's also a spirit, one of several in the continuity I'm calling Mitch's World. Spirits are tied loosely to their provinces, kind of natural embodiments of the land.

While he tries to appear friendly in part 1, Aru's nature as a guardian spirit came to the forefront in part 2, when the listener was attacked by bandits. He's lonely. He wants to make friends. He wants to talk with people and take part in the banal day-to-day goings-on of Renaru Village. But he's also the most powerful character in all of my lore. At least, so far.

Sorry for turning you to ash again Jessie!

We pick up in part 3 with the festival mentioned in part 2, with the listener accompanying Aru into the village. We'd had a nice bit of angst and conflict in the last part, so this time I wanted to give the guy a fun evening. There are still moments where he acknowledges he doesn't entirely belong, that he's out of place here; it felt cheap to have all his fears be entirely unfounded. If the villagers were entirely nonchalant and welcoming it would have felt wrong, too perfect. The little moments of remembering he is revered still pop up to detract from things, but Aru is still delighted by the step forward. He doesn't entirely belong, but he's now kindling some hope that things could change. 

We also got some extra lore about the spirits. I don't want to go into too much detail just yet, even though that's kind of what these BTS posts are for, but even though part 3 marks the end of Aru's story arc, we will absolutely see him again! What I will do is recap the snippets of lore we saw today; Aru told us a little about some other nearby spirits; Sylph, Grimbard, and Hirsent, as well as an unnamed phoenix spirit. Though it sounds like Hirsent hasn't been in the picture for a long time. And what was that name Aru mentioned?

While not all spirits will match this naming convention (hi Sylph!), the majority of spirits are named for characters in European folklore. This convention started with the story told in part 1; the kitsune is a feature of Japanese lore, but since I'm in the UK where we have a rural affinity for the red fox, I though it could be neat to mix the inspirations a little. That's when I came across the stories of Reynard the fox and Ysengrim the wolf, which are well worth a look on Wikipedia. Renaru came from Reynard; I wanted to find a name that could be spelled in katakana in respect to the origin of the kitsune, but which was also reasonably short and not just a transliteration. 

Renaru used to be the name of the kitsune, but he now rejects that name. It's instead now the name of the village and the province, synonymous with the shrine and the forest, but not with him. Did his name come first? Did he name himself initially after the forest? It makes me happy he has a new name for himself now. 

These sorts of historic doubt also played a role with the tale told in part 1, and how Aru seemed to contradict parts of it in part 2. Remember that he told the story in the way the villagers have passed it down, rather than recounting his own memories, something he does intentionally, allowing local history to become myth. The question is, what actually happened?

Aru will return. 

I want to give a huge thanks to RenInABox for appearing as our vendor! This audio would not have worked without someone to play against in the food stand scene! 

And also a massive thanks to Kiwi. Not only did they make the incredible art for part 3, including the intricate design of foxglove flowers on the clothes, but also for all the help with planning this character and the additional lore surrounding it! Kiwi's input on Aru's lore has been a massive drive not just for this audio, but also for the future of this character. Thank you so much!

[catcze]

don’t be shy bestie drop the brainrot 👀

my brain can't handle angst for long periods of time but like imagine perhaps a story somewhat vv loosely based on the classic little mermaid tale w/ a sprinkle of ref from cinderella–– still GN reader tho ofc 

(Slight cw for metaphorical use of knives under one’s feet but to b clear its used in a metaphorical sense ok)

So imagine that you’re an Inazuman mythical creature of some sort (maybe a kitsune, tengu or some other creature who can alter their form, so they can technically pass as human) but you’re benevolent in nature and more curious about humanity than anything else, though you’ve had to keep your distance from people due to the Raiden Shogun’s suppression driving most inhumans into the forest (as mentioned in the retracing bolide circlet lore.)

Although you live in the forest, as unchanging as the trees around you, the humans fascinate you. Whatever human trinkets that the forest creatures bring you, or the stories of the people the birds and foxes sing to you, you listen intently and grow ever-more fascinated by humanity. Over time though, it grows old. You want to do more than just sit by and listen–– you want to experience it too! You want to have a good time for once, partake in human culture for just one night. Be delf indulgent, then you can be sated and go back into the forest peacefully. One day, you hear about some sort of festival being held by the humans and taking this opportunity, you decide screw it, let's go.

Like how Sara hides her wings, you disguise yourself  as human and join in the festivities. But Thoma, who is in attendance, realizes he’s not familiar with you after you pass him by. After the scare with the Fatui wanting to take over Inazuma not too long ago, he grows suspicious and thinks that you might be in league with people trying to ruin the festival. 

As he's about to politely escort you out, he notices how wide-eyed and amazed you are by everything and how you genuinely seem to not have any ill intent towards the festival, very reminiscent of himself the first time he had attended one himself, and decides, yk, they don’t seem bad. There wouldn’t be any harm in letting them stay. (and if you do have ill intent, it would be better to keep an eye on you anyway.) So instead, he escorts you around the area, shows you the games people play and the food they eat, and is basically vv amused by how 'wow omg' you are to everything. 

And as the night wears on, he finds that,,, he actually really likes being around you. Escorting you around went from something he did out of obligation for the festival’s success to something that he genuinely enjoyed. Your enthusiasm and genuineness is something he doesn’t experience very much, and being with you, he was able to just... have fun. As the night progressed, his smile grows wider when it’s with you, and he makes several excuses to hold your hand. TL;DR, Thoma starts to fall for you, and hard.

Problem is though... well, you notice the beginnings of Thoma's attraction, and though you also find him attractive and very sweet, you know that things likely won't end well with a relationship between due to how different your worlds are. How much you’d both have to sacrifice to be together. And it leaves a bitter taste in your mouth, knowing that you’ll never have this again.

But just for tonight, just once, you can be a little self indulgent, while you have time together. Just once. So Thoma and you have fun together at the festival, you laugh and dance and play the festival games. Maybe you and Thoma kiss under the fireworks i dunno i dunnooo–– but when Thoma asks for your name, asks to see your again after that night, you doesn’t, like, give him a straight answer about it, but regretfully you can't bring themself to break his heart either.

As the festival ends, so too do Thoma and you prepare to leave. Thoma insists on walking you home since it’s not safe this late, but you tell him that you’ll be fine. That you’ll see him again soon, even though Thoma doesn’t know you’re lying through your teeth. And when Thoma heads back to the Yashiro Commission, you too go back into the forest.

For the next week, Thoma frequents that same area, hoping to see you again. He wanders the roads, asks the locals if they’ve seen someone who matches you description, only for them to say they’ve never met anyone like that. As time goes on, Thoma starts to lose hope of seeing you again. He wonders if he dreamed the whole experience up, if it was just his tired mind playing tricks on him.

It’s definitely possible, he thinks sometimes, when he stands in the place where you two shared your first ––your only–– kiss. Alone, with only his thoughts for company. Sometimes, when he stands there, from the corner of his eye and only for a split second, he swears he sees you gazing longingly at him from the edge of the forest. But when he looks properly he sees nothing–– only a forest creature of some sort, like a fox or a bird, standing where you stood.

That’s usually when he decides it’s best to go home–– after all, imagining a forest creature as the person who’s been occupying his thoughts? He must be really tired. So with a sad, wistful smile, he shuts his eyes as shakes his head, trying to clear the memory of one of the best evenings of his life, trying to forget the person who had both entered and exited his life in such a flourish, and makes his way back to the Yashiro Commission.

It’s only when Thoma’s back is turned that you watch him with eyes just as wistful and longing as his own. Because oh how you itch to run to him, to apologize for keeping him waiting. Your heart aches when you imagine the life you could have with him. Eating festival street food, laughing at the game booths. Sharing another kiss ––the beginning of hundreds–– under the fireworks.

There is something inside you that pains when you have to sit idly by as you watch Thoma and that future grow further with every step. It absolutely fucking hurts when you grit your teeth and turn back into the forest, each step feeling like there are knives under your feet, pricking you and paining you for leading him on, for leading yourself on.

The forest is colder than you remember. Lonelier too. So different from the warmth you’ve felt when you were with him. The ache in your chest hurts so much that you don’t even realize you’re crying, breathing ragged and tears dripping from your eyes.

You want to go back to him so bad but you can’t. Not now. Not even when each step back into your life of solitude feels like it kills you.

How cruel fate is, to have shown you the right person in the wrong lifetime.

[yanderepuck]

Yuki!!

Inari Fox

Nine Tails

Red marking on cheeks in human and fox form

Hangs out around Inari Shrines

Born 658CE

Yuki is not a chaotic trickster kitsune, however instead of having a female human form, it’s male.

He is under 5” tall and mainly wears traditional clothing. If he does wear modern clothing it is mainly oversized sweaters and hoodies.

He is able to hide his tails in order to go out in public, but only for a few hours.

Yuki is one one the few male Inari, and it doesn’t help that he is fairly feminine looking along with the fact that his first few times in human form he had to wear a women’s kimono since there were only female Inari’s around.

Being one of the few male Inari’s, Yuki is never left alone, even with his superiority, no one listens to him. He’s fed up with a lot of things and wants to live alone in the mountains.

He’s not too fond of all tourists at the shrines and how disrespectful many can be, which is when he will play tricks on them, or get another Inari to do so.

With being around for so long, the locals have lore just on him. Most of what they say is true of how he’s nice to you if you are nice to the shrine, him walking around with humans during the day to make sure everything is calm. They don’t have a name for him though, they just call him the Nine Tailed White Fox. They say that if you see someone small with white hair that it is one of the shrine guardians. Yuki has heard all of these stories. Sometimes he will add to them to make them more ridiculous.

He’s not often out during some of the busiest times because of his tails. He can’t possibly keep all nine hidden if for some reason he can’t make them disappear. Sometimes a group of kids who just heard this story will see him and go up to him to ask if he is a kitsune. When that happens he doesn’t say anything but he puts his finger up to his lips and winks at them and disappears. He knows no one will believe children so he sees no harm in it.

He used to often get mistaken for dimidium when they were more common. He is also aware of the transcendents and has no issue confronting them if need be. He remembers when they were common and there were more of them than humans. He doesn’t know what happened to them however. They just disappeared suddenly.

The ones that are still around he lets them in the Shrine if they have nowhere else to go, but the moment they are disrespectful they must leave, same goes with dimidiums.

Fun facts!!

Bby looks like a child

The myth goes that if you touch one of a kitsune's tails you'll get cursed, but please pet him. He won't curse you. He just simply needs help grooming all his tails.

He likes to be in his human form and to play with kids.

He doesn't have to bother hiding his tails when it comes to kids because its not like an adult is going to believe them.

He also helps people who are lost in the woods.

Also, please don't wake him from a nap. He gets cranky.

[kryptsune]

Tell us more about the mythology of Yokaitale, or perhaps even what specific versions of Wonderland inspired Wonderfell (like did you take anything from the 2 American McGee games at all?)

🌼 Wonderfell is a fun one. I take inspiration from way too many adaptations to list here but yes you are correct I am a huge fan of McGee’s interpretation so that does creep in. If you noticed Chesh has a hoop earring. That is definitely inspired by that version. I don’t take too much from the Disney version since... I know this is controversial but I don’t think it’s the best adaptation. It gets the usual Disney family-friendly treatment. Which is fine I still love it but if you know me I like things a little more... mature. 

I was also inspired by games like Alicemare, IB, Yume Nikki. It doesn’t make sense now in the context of the fic but it will. Wonderland has always suspended the real and the surreal and I definitely play with that concept a lot. Things are not always as they seem. 

I always felt like Undertale initially was an Alice in Wonderland variation from falling down a hole into a magic world, to a cast of colorful crazy characters, to having to sacrifice or grow in some way along the journey. It’s why I made Wonderfell because I have always seen Sans as a Cheshire archetype and not just because of the grin. It’s more like his abilities. The Cheshire cat can disappear and re-appear at will. It’s not a direct one to one but his teleportation abilities are very similar. Pap has always embodied the Mad Hatter for me especially with his fascination with puzzles instead of riddles. 

I also really wanted a more fun and colorful take on UF stuff. I am really tired of Boss always being angry or Red always being abusive... or I don’t know that characterization that made me make my own version (Underworld AU) in the first place. Or god... them being just a shit post. I know it’s nice to have those every once in a while but I always felt the missed opportunity to actually make them something other than cardboard cutouts. In my opinion, I feel like a lot of my boys have taken on a life all their own. It’s why I am using them in my original work.

Yokaifell? Well, it kind of stems from some of my favorite anime of all time, Kamisama Hajitemashita being one of them. There is just something really cool about yokai lore because I always make the joke that if you go to Japan anything can and will kill you. There are so many yokai to work off of too so that's where the inspiration comes from.

{READ MORE FOR LENGTH PURPOSES}

Mythology wise my Yokaifell lore post goes into quite a bit but the things that I have not mentioned in that is how the world works outside of the main story. 

As I continue to develop Souly Damned I have been wanted to add more and more of the things that have influenced my storytelling so they kind of cross over in ideas. The realm of yokai in this instance is a separate realm (I do know they are spirits but just bear with me). You can think of it as another dimension separate from our own but still accessible. It is possible for mortal souls to enter the spirit realm but souls are kind of the key here. 

Normally humans just walk through the gates and never end up in the realm because they don’t believe in the realm or its inhabitants. Those that can see have the realm's magic buried within them and the more they worship/believe the more that influence grows. In the majority of my work, I ascribe to the idea that the eyes are the windows into the soul so the more magic you have the more vibrant your eye color. 

Since Yokaifell is set in modern-day most humans have normal eye colors. Basically, magic = key in this lore. Now you may be wondering why my Frisk, little out of her element bean that she is, is able to run through the gate. She starts off as a normal unsuspecting human who is lost in the forest whom Ryou accidentally lures. Usually, he does that on purpose to mess with humans but in this case, he is just playing his koto and relaxing. Since the town that Frisk moves to is more in the mountains the people there are very in tune with the old ways. They even warn her not to go into the forest because of it. She just doesn’t listen since she doesn’t believe in magic or superstition. 

 The yokai in my lore can only be seen by those with magic in their soul unless they drop the veil. Obviously being a foreigner she has 0 idea what Ryou is trying to tell her when she first encounters him. That is until he imparts just a sliver of magic on her soul so that she can actually understand the language. But... uh... whoopsie. Humans with magic are rare and that makes them incredibly yummy to the yokai around the area. This creates a chain event where she ends up in the spirit realm and because of Ryou’s mistake she is able to pass through the gate like one of them would. The oni chasing them ends up smashing the gate they came through and there you are... she is stuck which you can already gather is dangerous. 

Ryou and Kuro are two yokai you don’t really want to mess with because their past history is seeped in blood. They both despise mortals for some unknown reason. One that is revealed further down in the spoiler section. How they went from practically killing mortal and yokai to laxer is also kind of a question mark. Kuro is able to quell his rage by serving the kami (in this case Asgore) while Ryou... uh... ok he doesn’t really handle it all that great. He is just a very salty boy. 

Like my lore for Souly Damned lower level of yokai can not just jump to the mortal realm whenever they want. There is a hierarchy established and fortunately, Ryou and Kuro are pretty high up there so they can interact to some degree. I have that outlined further in the lore post.

 I will say that in order to explain this I have to toss up a spoiler warning for anyone that does not want to see it. {THERE BE  SPOILERS AHEAD}

So... spoiler time but Ryou and his brother Kuro used to be humans at some point. This was centuries ago but they both died when a rival village tried to eradicate their own. Kuro being the proud warrior went off to fight, leaving his little brother to watch over the rest. Unfortunately Ryou never actually sees his brother again and yeah... it’s sad to say but he dies on the battlefield. Ever since he was a child he wanted to be a warrior. He dies fullfilling that dream.

Ryou though being younger tries to fend off the attackers but he is eventually mortally wounded and left for dead. He bleeds out as the snow starts to fall again which is why his design not only incorporates red but also the snowfall aspect, especially his human guise. 

In that time there was more magic and yokai roamed freely. The souls were far stronger and because of both Ryou and Kuro’s deeply held emotion that affects their souls eventually calling out to the Kami... they are then reborn as yokai in the process. Ryou as the mischevious Kitsune and Kuro as a gashadokuro samurai. So it’s established that humans can become yokai but it's rare as the centuries progress. It takes an incredibly strong soul coupled with some kind of deep emotion which could be anything from rage to love. 

[slaughterverse]

ugh FINE i guess i can give you the backstories of the dragon gang 🙄

lonan is the oldest, being a dragon sage. he changes his name every few 1000 years to keep up with the times. his current name is dwarvish. lonan got banished a few thousand years ago by the dragons of genesis for training one of kirke’s children. (since kirke is responsible for the great dragon hut happening in the first place and dragons fucking HATE her)

he was a vagabond masquerading as a human for about a thousand years before he started serving the emissary as a personal guard. he holds the same position in the modern day as the current emissary, lumaria’s guard.

python’s backstory is..... something i can’t really talk about a whole lot. basically they had a pretty average life. with a pretty common name. average magical abilities. but they’re a HUGE ASSHOLE. i like to draw them hanging out with my other dragons for fun but in canon they’d probably never really interact since they’re on opposing sides of a war.

jinlong was taken by hunters and sold to a mage in the middle of the great dragon hunt, but managed to escape said hunters while traveling through the mediterranean. both his parents were killed by said hunters so he decided to hide in human form to avoid getting captured again.

he was adopted by a human family who had no idea he was a dragon until his new human siblings found out. they spent several years hiding it from his parents in fear they’d reject him. (nooo kel, don’t make another trans allegory) but his parents were good folk and accepted him when he came out told them.

his youngest sister died shortly after genesis was formed at the age of 200 (did i mention his family were all DAMN good magicians, wizards live a long time). after being in human form for 200 FUCKING YEARS, lonan was like “holy shit kid do you know how much magic it takes to do that for that fucking long? a stiff wind could kill you right now. go to sleep for like a CENTURY to recover that magical energy” and jinlong had apparently exhausted SO MUCH magical energy that he didn’t recover it all for 2000 years. when dragons sleep to recover their magic they don’t age or change, so despite TECHNICALLY being 2500 years old, jinlong still isn’t an adult. (but he sure likes to ACT like he is, despite being like 13 by dragon standards)

ryuji my beloved. little bit of lore first: one of the most powerful types of human magicians are elemental mages, they’re so powerful, in fact, that dragons don’t trust other humans to deal with them. so they take in the human kids and teach them how to use their elemental magic. azar was one of such mages. ryuji and azar were both trained alongside each other by ryuji’s parents and quickly became besties. unfortunately azar beefed it fighting a big ass monster and ryuji decided to take it upon himself to look after the descendants of azar’s family, which he grew to hate.

about 200 years later azar’s last living blood relative never married and her only child was adopted so he decided that meant he was free of his duty as their guardian. problem, adopted kid was a kitsune. (this is rin) the kid would bother him all the time and he could never get away from her. eventually he grew to like the kid and as she grew older they became friends. rin ended up dating some human guy even though ryuji insisted that was stupid because she’s be upset when she outlived him. rin, being a mischievous teenage fox spirit, did not give a shit what the edgy teenage dragon had to say to her. years went by, rin married her STUPID human boyfriend and had STUPID human kids with him “you will outlive them rin!! you will literally outlive your children! you will live for thousands of years! what is wrong with you?!?” rin, mischievous adult fox spirit, still didn’t care.

rin resigned herself to her immortality and wanted to be like what ryuji used to be, a guardian of her family and all their descendants. ryuji would still come around to hang out with his bestie from time to time, he’d play with her daughter, akane, then when she grew up he helped take care of HER daughter, izumi, and izumi’s daughter takara. but he STOPPED when izumi’s second kid started making it their point to pick on him every single time he came over to visit. after that rin could visit HIM and she could keep the little brat AWAY from him.

and TO THIS DAY akira makes it a point to be the BANE OF HIS EXISTENCE!!! because she inherited [REDACTED] and befriended devan who is literally a [REDACTED]

[welcometomy20s]

February 8, 2021

Welcome to the final part of the Introduction of Nijisanji. Thanks for going through all of them, if you did. It was pain to work with so much and so little. This part would cover everyone who has debuted in the year 2020.

Nijisanji IN 1st Gen

Aadya - The name means beautiful. 21 year old, who likes to play games and sing. Does dancing as a day job, so acts as a gaming nightingale. She has a knack for games in my cursory view, but that might be just the competitiveness.

Vihaan - The name means breaking dawn, kind of. Likes gaming very much, and plays them very loudly and complaining... which to be expected from this crew.

Noor - The name means light. Likes BL, coffee and beer, BL to the point she learned chinese from watching a BL drama. Basically a middle-aged man at heart, including a very nice husky voice. Does talks and games. Sings randomly and looks up to Rion, of all people. Ange mentioned her, Ange likes to mention foreign people.

Nijisanji KR 1st Gen

Min Suha - Knows the culture through their parents and has a nice voice. Sister Claire likes him, and who doesn’t? He’s freaking cool, man!

Shin Yuya - College student in virtual Seoul. Always has a smartphone at hand, does self-searching on a constant basis. Definitely has otaku knowledge, likes singing, drawing and cute things. Doesn’t like horror games, but played a lot on stream.

Plays a lot of different games, including FPS like Apex, and this is where she gets to collaborate with Japanese senpais, which is always fun to see.

Gaon - Originally Moarin’s brother, but Moarin left, so the lore changed. Has a twintail for attention purposes. Only member of Nijisanji KR to work as a job, but quit as the end of 2020. He’s pretty cool. Not nice, but definitely not a mean person either.

Han Chiho - He’s a time-displaced psychic, and so speaks with a high register. High register is usually seen as old, people don’t use it anymore, but it’s usually perfectly understandable... it’s an interesting quirk. Other than that, pretty normal streamer.

2020 Part 1 (Jan-Apr)

Furen E Lustario - During debut, expressed a liking choking oneself... so we know who we are dealing with. Has to add using fingers, as to illustrate her math prowess. But overall a fun person to watch, and has a pretty good variety of streams.

Melissa Kinrenka - Wants to be a songwriter, but still needs help. But she is a great singer, and can write and mix songs. Usually called Meli. Has a deep side, basically.

Ibrahim - Originally an oil prince, but now runs an onsen. Acts like a child at times due to his supposed past, and he is muslim, as the lore and name implies. But overall, fits right in with the child-like male of Nijisanji... kind of.

Nagao Kei - He’s an exorcist, but really does any job. Pretty good at all kinds of fighting. Pretty old in terms of human member at the age 26. Very much like Ibrahim, but much more bishonen, which melts a woman's heart. Oh, he’s good at learning stuff. Like he tries to learn morse code, and completely memorized the KTANE manual. Just to make Fumi, one of his seniors, happy for a while. That’s some big dedication.

Genzuki Tojiro - Works as a secretary for the gods. Has that unmatching haircut. Very good at making songs and does mixing for Nijisanji events.

Kaida Haru - A demon researcher, but too lazy. Quiet and nice voice leading the viewer to see him as a mother figure, but as you guess, he doesn’t like it due to the work. Oh, said a slur on stream but got banned less than Yumeoi, which is quite sus.

Nijisanji ID Gen 3

Azura Cecillia - An alien angel. Has a sword with a really long name, but calls it Chonsuke for short. She’s pretty cute and a little bit ditzy, from what I remember. Got mistaken as a boy, which is such an odd thing, but maybe it’s the deep voice?

Nara Haramaung - A princess of a tribe. Originally released as part of 1st gen, but got delayed here, but the gen mates fit together very well. Sings spontaneously sometimes.

Layla Alstroemeria - Time-traveling history major. Definitely more airheaded of the group and most child-like of the generation. But she’s pretty fun to watch, regardless.

Nijisanji KR Gen 2

So Nagi - Traveling virtual Japan, speaking fluent Japanese with a nice clear voice. Likes Ange Katrina, which she readily repriocates. Seen as the top seed in Nijisanji KR.

Lee Siu - A female kitsune, and yes from the same illustrator as Fubuki. Likes dad jokes and an endurance player and does speak three languages. Roha likes her. Occasionally can hear the apartment announcement, which is always a fun moment.

Chae Ara - She’s an angel, and a great singer. And likes to people-watch. Has a cute voice, and good at hosting. I really liked her in the streams that I watched. There’s something about her personality that speaks to me.

2020 Part 2 (May-August)

Sorahoshi Kirame - Made her name through twitter, and traded fan art with KR members. Has the same illustrator as Kanata. Couldn’t stream due to money purposes for four days, got his PC after a month of hard work. Overall a poor and diligent girl.

Asahina Akane - 1st year high-schooler. Very energetic and follow people well. Likes a Jpop band, and likes to travel as well. Also does a lot of collabs with senpais.

Suo Sango - The youngest member of the theater club, which is the theme of the latest generation. Has a wide range, and likes Sanrio and tomato. Very motherly calm voice.

Like girly anime, you know Pretty Cure and stuff. Likes western pop music as well.

Todo Kohaku - Third-year high schooler. Said she’s a lady, but she’s definitely just a normal girl. Had a good cover of Mela, and overall a decent streamer.

Kitakoji Hisui - Middle-school transfer student. Likes a lot of different things, but Minecraft is what she is most known for... I guess it makes sense.

Nishizono Chigusa - She’s the troublesome one of the theater group. Very frequently makes sexual quips. Also I thought she was a boy when I first saw her. Definitely my favorite of the newest group, and also did a stream with Matsuri as well.

And that actually has a history. You see this is not Chigusa’s first rodeo... as it is apparent, and during her previous life Matsuri and her did a sleepover, and was quite close as well... so this is actually a really nice reunion. I didn’t know that until now.

Nijisanji KR 3rd Gen

Nun Bora - A second-year high schooler, likes drawing and playing the recorder which she has a battle with So Nagi. Quick learner, apparently. Plays APEX and Fall Guys, but is competent in pretty much any game. Definitely top tier APEX player.

Akina Ray - Japanese streamer who streams in virtual Seoul. Does a morning talk show, likes baseball, since she’s from Hiroshima, and Shadowverse. She’s actually an art student and a meat lover. But overall, the most seiso art student of Nijisanji.

Lee Roha - Idol trainee from outer space, a mixed race. A bit of a ditz, with the appropriate thumbnails. Streams in Japanese on YouTube, in Korean on Twitch. Does a lot of League of Legend on twitch, and does evening piano stream. Likes Lee Siu.

Nijisanji ID 4th Gen

Etna Crimson - Half supernatural, likes to make everyone happy. Definitely not Amber from Genshin Impact, because Amber is Kizuna Ai. Okay, bad joke. Yeah, she’s good.

Bonnivier Pranaja - Originally a fisher, but quit after being swindled. Usually appears with KR streams, actually. Maybe likes Hana? Who knows.

Siska Leontyne - Security officer for shady company. Pretty good at games involving killing... make sense considering her profession. Pretty cool and laid-back.

Nijisanji KR 4th Gen

Ryu Hari - Likes to collect nightmares, likes reading and playing the electric guitar.

Shin Kiru - A 25-year old NEET, has an odd way of speaking and strange topics. Likes Rock and horror movies. He seems pretty laid-back as well.

Yang Nari - 19-year old girl from a different world who now lives in the countryside. Pretty good at hosting with her cute voice. Likes sewing, and talks in high status. She has a thing of suffering, and that kind of comes out from lore.

Oh Jiyu - She’s a female vtuber, although she looks and sounds boyish. Third-year college student representative. Speaks Korean and Japanese, and like gacha and also singing... so maybe a boyish Suisei? I’m sure she’s more normal, though.

Nijisanji ID 5th Gen

Nagisa Arcinia - Wannabe fashion designer, speaks a bunch of languages... but that’s normal for ID... yeah, she’s cute and might be a little psychopathic. Typical.

Derem Kado - 16 year old girl going to magical school, always looking for a cat, but a special cat that makes contracts and stuff. High pitched scares and gets lost.

Reza Avanluna - He’s a world chronicler, he visits and chronicles worlds in his dreams. Has a ship going on with Hana, I think? I’m not sure. Please correct this, if untrue.

There you go! All 139 extant members as of February 8th, 2021, which is the third anniversary of Nijisanji... that was a long post... even though it was in three parts. Sorry for filling the days with this... I have been busy with collecting data and so on. But I hope you have a good inkling of the landscape that is Nijisanji.

[viviskull]

1, 6, and 18

Meme | Accepting | Mun Lina

1. Who has been your favorite muse to play?

((While it should be no surprise at all?  Hands down, it’s Vivi.  While I do love the rest of my muses on here to bits?  Vivi’s been around here the longest (3 years and counting), and she’s been the one I’ve been the most passionate about as a muse thus far.  She’s helped me explore my own identity as a person, and I honestly don’t where I’d be without her tbh!))

6. What is your favorite thing about writing your current muse?

((Since we got six muses (seven if you count Shiro, but I’ll exclude her from this since she’s new)?  I’ll list down the most notable I’ve had with my current six so far!))

Vivi - I’d say her courage and no restraint attitude is what I love most about her.  She’s got a lot of sass to her character you just can’t help but grow a fondness for.

Mushi - Her colder intimidating personality that has a soft inner core that people rarely get to see.   While I don’t explore it often as I should?  I like, despite having a cold and harsh front, she has a deep caring soul for those she values the most.

Mystery - While I don’t put him out often?  While he’s just as chaotic as his own owner.. he’s still a lovable kitsune disguised dog that’s just trying to get by; even if he’s made a lot of mistakes along the way!

??? - Like the rest of the fandom?  I generally hated this dude a lot before I picked him up as a muse.  So far, while a bastard, he’s still the funniest muse I’ve played to date and he’s pretty flexible as far as his lore goes.

Lewis - While I’m still getting used to his muse?  He’s fun in terms of character exploration.  He’s got a guarded front, but he still cares a lot about his friends in the end.

Arthur - I’m still getting used to his muse too, but he’s fun in terms of being a more scared anxious character than I’m normally used too.  I usually go for more loud and confident characters, but he’s the rare exception that I COULD NOT leave out from the MSA group though. ))

18. What makes for a great roleplay partner in your opinion?

((When it comes to worldbuilding, storytelling, and having an overall interest in one’s character?  I always try to look for a grand passion someone has when it comes to their writing and such.  It’s not too hard to find, but you can REALLY take someone has a passion for a certain character once you’ve see how much work one will pour into their portray/OC.  That’s type of people I try to surround myself with; people who are just here to have a good time, make a vast story, and aren’t just here for a one sided convo.))

[orihara-infobroker]

Ranty rant rant about stuff because this cat just needs to vent.

So I've mentioned this before a few times though I don't really talk about it all that much. One of my on-and-off hobbies is role-playing. Tabletop, live-action, or narrative writing, I pretty much enjoy them all. For similar reasons to why I love writing stories. I like creating characters and worlds. In writing I do all the heavy lifting but role-playing has the unique experience of collaborative storytelling and that adds an element that can be very fun. Also, sometimes it's just fun to play in someone else's sandbox for a change.

Some time ago, a friend invited me to check out a Harry Potter rp site. The site itself is pretty decently setup and it seemed like it could be interesting. I'm not a huge Potter nerd but I've seen the movies and I'm a sucker for fantasy settings. But this isn't the first time I've dipped my toes in the HP universe so I thought that instead of doing the standard Eurocentric character, I'd try something different.

I admit, I'd been working pretty heavily on Shadow and Light at the time so that was strongly influencing my mood insofar as what I wanted to play with. So I submitted the idea of a Japanese character who had grown up in Japan but recently moved to London (thus why I'd be attending Hogwarts). The character's parents were onmyoji, part of a branch family of the Tsuchimikado clan. This clan is somewhat famous for its relation to Abe no Seimei who is arguably the most famous onmyoji in Japanese folklore. I also requested that the character be a metamorph which is a wizard who can change their features. Basically a kind of shape-shifting. Tonks was a metamorph, for reference. In requesting this, I was asked to explain why my family had a metamorph. So I wrote a piece where the character's mom told him the story of Abe no Seimei's mom being a fox that his Dad saved and that there had been stories told of how Abe no Seimei could change his appearance. (Not into a fox. Just change his appearance.) And how sometimes people in the clan would be born with the same ability.

Note that everything I incorporated into this character's backstory is based off actual Japanese mythology and not Harry Potter universe. Harry Potter universe doesn't actually address anything about how magic is done in the East. (And if Rowling ever comes up with anything it'll probably be hideously racist anyway but I digress.)

All of this is important, I promise.

So I was a Japanese pureblood kid raised to become an onmyoji only to end up at Hogwarts by pure misfortune. I thought this would be fun to play, basically a foreign exchange student completely out of his element, not understanding how Western magic works, struggling with having to learn English on top of magic, etc.

Well.

Apparently my idea set all sorts of fires under the admin staff of this site. They were opposed because:

1. They didn't think I knew what I was talking about when I suggested being onmyoji (wherein I proved that I actually know more about onmyoji and Japanese mythology than them.)

2. They didn't have lore on the East therefore they didn't want me making stuff up because it might not mesh with what they might eventually get around to creating somewhere down the road. Even though they had no current plans to develop the Eastern setting. (Yeah. You read that right. I was told... in a role play game... not to make stuff up... which is ironic given that I didn't actually make anything up, just liberally stole from actual Japanese mythology. Further, my character was going to Hogwarts so all of this was just backstory and flavour.)

3. I CANNOT BE RELATED TO ABE NO SEIMEI HE IS LIKE THE JAPANESE MERLIN!!!!!!! (Oh yes. Please. Make more ignorant racist comments at me. From now on I shall refer to Merlin as the English Abe no Seimei. -_- Abe no Seimei, while unlikely to be as mystical as he was made out to be in the stories, was a real person. Merlin was never real. He was always a fictional creation. Further, I never claimed to be related to Abe no Seimei. I claimed to be a branch family of the Tsuchimikado Clan to whom Abe no Seimei was either a member of or the founder of, depending on varying stories. So. Apparently they don't understand how Japanese clans work? Or branch families? No? OK, great. GREAT.)

4. They claimed that my story about the kitsune wasn't appropriate because kitsune were a type of mythical creature and metamorphs are completely human so I can't be "half-fox". Further, one of them claimed I wanted to be "half-demon". (Which is both a grave misinterpretation of what I wrote *and* a completely incorrect assumption on what kitsune are. They are not any kind of demon. And I didn't want to be any kind of half demon or even half fox. It was a story told from a mother to a child, using a classic myth to convey a possible reason why their family sometimes had metamorphs. That's it. Which, if they had understand that whole BRANCH FAMILY thing, they should have definitely realized. But apparently I wasn't clear enough? Ok. Fine, maybe I was too fucking subtle. Still never asked to be half fucking anything. Asked to be a metamorph. That's it.)

5. Labeled me as a problem because of all of this. Which occurred over the course of two conversations and a handful of days. Yeah. YEAH. I'M A FUCKING PROBLEM BECAUSE I TRIED TO BE FUCKING CREATIVE IN THEIR FUCKING SANDBOX AND HAPPENED TO ACTUALLY KNOW WHAT THE FUCK I WAS TALKING ABOUT WHICH TURNED OUT TO BE SIGNIFICANTLY MORE THAN THEM.

And it's so frustrating because I was looking forward to playing with my friend on this site and I genuinely felt like they were targeting me because I didn't choose a basic bitch character and I had the nerve to ask questions when they tried to contest it. Like, it wasn't a genuine conversation where two sides explained their opinions. It was literally me trying to propose something and being treated like a child when I was repeatedly trying to explain where they were misinterpreting the things I had written because they didn't know Japanese history/mythology.

I've been a gamemaster/storyteller for games before. Over the course of my time role-playing, I've run four Larps, a handful of tabletops and hosted a couple online rps. My Discord server is technically a role play server that I moderate ( currently its mostly just chatting, not a lit of rp but it was designed to be rp lol). I know how these things work. And that just makes this more frustrating because my impulse, as a storyteller, has always been to work together with players to create engaging stories. I've always been willing to accept the potential of new ideas because the whole point of fucking role-playing is getting to exercise your imagination and tell stories together. So from my perspective, I'd be more than happy to work with them on this. I'd be more than happy to share what I know and talk about what could work or not work. But they don't seem to want to engage in that way and it makes me sad, frustrated, disappointed. Especially because I had really been looking forward to playing with my friend and now it seems that this whole thing is doomed to failure.

All because I got creative and asked questions. :/

[bedlamgames]

No Haven 0.912

Main highlight for this one is definitely dilemmas where slavers will have a variety of requests for you to manage. 

Also includes some new assignments, new commissions, assignment generation improvements, crafting additions, and more. 

Download links can be found on the No Haven page. Update notes can be found under the break.

If you don’t have RAGS and you need a copy to run it there’s one on the help page here or the one pinned on the patreon you can find a link to in the attached read me which is more up to date. If RAGS has never worked on your system despite the help page suggestions then it might be worth trying with one of the alternate players. There’s also improvements on there to the RAGS player that can also help with performance.

v0.912:

-New commissions: ---Recapture. Also used for Sea Elf Female slaves.

-Miscellaneous additions: ---Added some race/corruption specific fondles as an alternative to the minimal text. If set to minimum only these won't be shown. Specifically ones for Lago'Mae/Lago'Mae Ears Corruption, Ori'Nek, Lamia, Quintari/Centaurs/Quintari Tail Corruption, Kitsune, Neko/Neko Ears Corruption, Long Sinuous Tail Corruption, Prehensile Tail Corruption, and Marlsune. Includes variations based on obedience, whether the slaver is dominant or slutty, and some have more than one variation. ---Replaced the Arrogance Subjugated commission with an updated version generously provided by the artist. ---Added some extra description to the Sinuous Tail corruption to make clearer that it's the traditionally demonic spaded tail look. ---Added a new heart-tipped tail corruption as I was in the area anyway, and noticed that it was an obvious omission that needed feeling. Comes in two different variations. ---Added some extra highlighted messages to slave mantras when they become fully embedded, improved, reduced, or are lost entirely for better visibility. ---Upgraded the prioritization of back tentacles if multiple tentacle options are available. ---Changed how forced encounters for repeated attempts work on the initial roller. Before it was possible for them to completely lose interest after getting max gold. Now they will be more likely to keep initiating, and be more likely than before if there's a chance to earn more gold. ---Added a new Glossary to explain what effects Forced Encounters available under Glossary, Help, and Options.

-Bug fixes: ---Fix for an issue where the summonee and sibling second-in-command races, along with the siblings in the Birds of the Feather scenario could be overwritten incorrectly. Also changed the mention to needing Corrupter. ---Fix for an issue in dilemmas involving a respect check with more than one slaver involved where the instigating slaver's name would be replaced by one of the others.   ---Fix for Valendil Starlover's lore page applying to all sea elf males when you're playing him. ---Fix for Untamed Lusts not counting down for you.   ---Fix for Demi-Angel/Fallen/Succubus with elven heritage not going the elven pussy description or elven flexibility racial. ---Fix for Savage Orc and Human Northerner racials where racials were incorrectly displayed. ---Fix for opportunities requesting male amazons or wanting amazons not to be human. ---Fix for the stats increasing for assignment types on fails and disasters. ---Fix for the Catastrophics on Price of Freedom for the slaves also affecting the two slavers. ---Fix for the various findable uniques not being counted as having unaltered assets. ---Fix for the missing extra values for slaves found from Meddling Fools and Spectacle of the Sacred. ---Fix for the new mechanic to trigger puppet leader when mental manipulation isn't involved. ---Fix for Cutprice Roses > Armour > Maid generating a bunch of broken and unusable battlemaid outfits. ---Fix for Stats only showing your slaves sometimes. The trait slots were also using the wrong variable and so were displaying one person's trait slots for everyone. ---Fix for which regions assignments have been completed not increasing which had broken the region based aspects. ---Fix for an issue where it was possible that not enough assignments would be generated. ---Fix for the unknown CT Error that could occur during Finish Day. It's possible there's others but I've definitely squished the one I could reliably reproduce. ---Fix for a far too high a bonus to Forced Encounters from Sissy/Bimbo. ---Some text fixes.

v0.911:

---A Rare City of Aversol assignment in the City of Aversol with two pieces of patron provided commissioned art. Comes with the opportunity to learn one of ten potential traits, specially upgraded versions of all those traits, and a new penalty effect in Enflamed Lusts. While currently used on this assignment I'm sure it will also be a fun option to inflict in other places in future. ---Hidden Special assignment follow up to that one needing multiple critical successes with specific traits to find a very powerful reward with two new unique slave(r)s with four new aspects and a special encampment upgrade.

-Crafting changes: ---Added two more qualities. Formerly it was Poorly Made, Average, Designer/Masterwork, Spectacular, Epic, and now it's Poorly Made, Average, Impressive, Designer, Spectacular, Epic, Ultimate. ---Changed up the odds due to this of the likelihood of these being generated. ---Respect checks for seduction are now affected by each quality rather than just for designer and above. Armour works too if it's got a 20+ slutty rating. ---Reduced the assignment bonus from Average with Impressive now contributing what Average used to. ---Increased the assignment bonus for Epic attire.

-Miscellaneous additions: ---It is now possible to gain the puppet leader status from forced encounters without the forcer needing a way to be able to change you mentally though it will need them to be taking the max amount of gold for it to be able to happen. The method used should be familiar to those that have played the Rough Landing games and I hope you enjoy the little callback.   ---Lamia futanari will now always be double cocked. Added some extra description for lamia/lizardman cocks. ---Replaced the last part of Golem descriptions with a new set of nine options as the old ones like spectacles, face prints, and forehead gems really weren't appropriate. Also updated the wisp last part replacement so there's now four different ones rather than just the one. ---The Male Nethemir Cult Vessel has picked up Back Tentacles as a starting corruption. The aspect Aura of Dark prophecy now also replaces Scavenging for Corruption as a favoured assignment type and Follower for Leader along with Faith: Frozen Queen for Magic: Corruptions as favoured traits ---Legion, Golems, and Wrights can no longer be Were. Centaurs and Harpies now can be. ---Updated the you golem physical attributes generator to match the updated one used for other golems. Other golems with Monster will now have a set height rather than being variable.

Bug fixes: ---Fix for Private Passage not listing the needed gold. ---Fix for Truly Divine increasing potential slavers instead of slaves. ---Fix for Sissies having the wrong chastity options. ---Fix for a slaver's reputation being changed correctly by an enslave attempt prior to the bit where it should be changing. ---Fix for Oozes, Wrights, Wisps, Driders, and Golems being able to be enslaved by the talk to option. Some will be enslavable in future but you'll need to discover a way to do it. ---Fix for 150g dilemmas only costing 50g. ---Fix for a big issue with dilemmas where it would forget what it was doing halfway through on several options. ---Fix for the Ensnared Rose fulfilled opportunities being broken.

v0.91:

-Dilemmas: ---Now slavers won't just want to talk to you in the morning about random bits of in-setting lore and will instead have a variety of requests. ---Should happen more often than lore unlocks and should adjust how often they happen based on how many slavers you have in the encampment. ---Wisps don't really have normal desires, and will just do what they like. Legion are also not really into asking permission for anything. Zharr, thugs, bimbos, obedient slavers, and other completely loyal ones are all far too content with their lot to ask for stuff. Mercenaries are just here to get paid and will also not bother you. ---There are twenty three different dilemmas to start off with at various levels of rarities in how often they'll happen. Several of which have variation in outcomes, options, and reasoning. ---Slavers on negative reputations and on certain levels of morale will be far more likely to either ask to leave if disliked or insisting you do something about being lusted after. ---Lots more usage for the respect checking system with some using the initial check only, while others skip straight to needing to force the issue like making use of. ---Can gain new traits, rarer assignments, new slavers, cheap(ish) biomancy, and region buffs among others. ---Due to this I reworked how Trait Transmission worked where a slaver can learn a trait of another slaver. Currently this only affects one of the new dilemmas and one of the Coastal Caves outcomes, but there will be other uses including one in the near future. Previously it was in strict order of checking for and applying Depraved > Slutty > Unscrupulous > Friendly > Sneaky > Seductive > Aggressive > Brutal in turn. Now it's more randomized (though still with a greater chance of picking up Depraved) and now can also potentially learn Connected, Cooperative, Creative, Dancer, Folklorist, Follower, Herbalist, Heroic, Honourable, Perceptive, Persuasive, Singer, Tactful, Tracker, Trainer, Trapper, any of the Faiths including Spiritual, and most of the Crafter traits. ---Can get your second-in-command to deal with it if they're around. Due to this Persuasive (Per), Seductive (Sed), Hypnotic (Hyp), Dominator (Dtr), Malevolence (Mal) are now listed as positive traits and Bimbo (Bim), Sex Addict (Sex) are mixed. Also added a note that them having a decent reputation helps, as it does. ---If you do this second-in-commands on lower morale have a chance to dislike the role more making them easier to remove if you want to do that. They also have a chance to lose some reputation if they handle it really badly.

-New assignments: ---A Forest Goblins vs. Wood Elves themed Uncommon Slaving assignment in the Ever Forest for a new solid source of supplies. Critical success has two versions, one for getting a slave, and one for if you have no slave capacity/are not taking slaves. ---An Adventurers themed assignment Rare Marauding assignment in the Dreadsea Coast. The Critical Success has patron provided commissioned art. Findable from the second month and will apply a penalty to Dreadsea Coast assignments along with a lesser penalty to Great Plains assignments while it is active giving the choice of sending five slavers to deal with it at a high risk or waiting for the assignment to expire. Critical success has three versions, one first time getting a specific semi-unique slave, one for after that with more variation in who you get, and one for if you have no slave capacity/are not taking slaves.

-New commissions: ---Halt Draenei Caravan with two versions for intro and the success. Also used for Draenei female slavers and female slaves. Also used for now for Draenei Farm, but I'm getting something new for that.   ---Forest goblin female slaves. Will also be used for an upcoming assignment in the Deep Mountains. ---Bred to be Broken. Also used for Quintari female slavers and Centaur slaves. ---Gone for a Soldier. Also used for Orc female slavers. ---Lago'Mae in Maid Outfits for both Submissive and non-Submissive options. Will be used for Basic/Advanced Maid Training in a future update.

-New patron provided commissions: ---Human Fancy. Part of a larger commission to be used for an upcoming assignment. Also used as an alternative to tentacle sex as appropriate with the existing beast on goblin one. ---Shadow Outcast. The larger commission just mentioned. Also has an alt for Shadow Outcast futanari. ---Planning out assignments/Winning the Golem Scenario. Has many variations being used, including zoomed versions, for having a Golem Second-in-Command, female Akir slaves, Noble slaves, and blowjob sex scenes. Like the encampment scene you won't see it every time you do planning out assignments though there will be a greater chance if you are playing a Golem.

-Crafting additions: ---New race styles in Asanei, Ori'Nek, Unrefined, and Neko (which has a few extra cute variations). ---Will now correctly account for if the smith/seamstress is Slutty or Reserved. ---More than doubled the number of different messages. Small chance they will now show up on not specifically Slutty/Girly items. ---Several new decoration additions including asymmetric and tassels. ---To better reflect the style of the setting the oversized shoulder pads have been replaced with sensibly sized shoulder pads.

-Assignment generation: ---Extended the recent system where there'd be a reduction in rare assignments in the first month and a slight increase after the first six months. Now it is possible to increase the chance of getting a rare assignment based on it being a solid lead, a quality lead, or best lead for an increasingly large bonus. ---Most assignments will work as they did before with the following exceptions. ---The assignment you can get in the Tavern is a solid lead. ---The assignments from brought scouting upgrades will be either normal, solid, or quality based on the level purchased. ---The assignments from Inquisitor will be quality leads. ---The bonus assignments from the Scouting aspects on Critical Success will be best leads, and on a Success will be quality leads. ---A Critical Success on Scouting assignments along with Grove Creepers will be solid leads. ---The assignments from Decadence like No Other on a Critical Success will be best leads for the City of Aversol ones, and quality for the others. On a Success all assignments generated will be solid so this should hopefully make this assignment a lot more worthwhile than it was before. ---An edge case not likely ever to come up, but it amused me so why not, so on a Failure of Sudden Betrayal if you did try to get rid of a slaver with the A Friend in Every Tavern aspect the assignments generated will be best leads.

-Miscellaneous additions: ---Stats now shows how many free trait slots you, a slaver, or a slave can have. This is how many extra traits can be learned from most sources including corruptions (usually, as there are exceptions that ignore this limit such as training). The number of slots can be increased by levelling up. ---Used zoomed in versions of the Nymph commission for generic sex for elves or those that have been dominated performing oral on lady or futanari slavers. ---Reworded the Decadence like No Other intro a bit along with adding a note in the Special text. ---A few bits of text additions and formatting improvements to respect checking. ---Changed the colour of wood elf speech from maroon like other elves to match the one used also by Centaurs, Horned Ones, and Fae. ---Adjusted Critical Success/Success odd additions a bit if the chance of a Failure/Disaster falls well below negative at time of applying. They'll still improve the chances and add to Crushing it, but by a slightly lower amount in the same way that the odds additions/subtractions are based on the numbers present so the more the assignment requires the less a Success trait is worth. This shouldn't be noticeable unless you're really, really overloading an assignment, and even then it shouldn't be too harsh in terms of effect. ---Added a bunch of new succubus first name variations. ---With the cheerleader precedent Known Shark of the Cards will no longer be earned by having Magic: Illusion and such slavers now have more text on the Critical Success to reflect that.  

Bug fixes: ---Big backend overhaul for how assignments generate specific other assignments along with how the expiry is applied that should fix some obscure issues. ---Fix for a critical bug where cancelling while assigning a slave to a slaver would break the game. ---Multiple fixes for forced encounters including who was doing it wasn't being tracked correctly so the amount being taken wasn't being increased so you could never get to the puppet leader event and that a bunch of text was being skipped over during the possessed variants. Also changed the forced encounter checks while I was there so rather than skipping days 1-10 to each month to having a penalty to the roll on days 1-10 of the first month. ---Fix for the assignment buff from the Critical Success from Complete Profane Ritual only lasting 3 days due to a cap on the variable used instead of 8 as was originally intended. ---Fix for an issue where some of the newest assignments may not have been clearing on a quick restart. ---Fix for golem butts being too small on average. ---Fix for heritage not being cleared on rerolling your start so could pick up incorrect racials if you swapped out of a demi-angel or succubus. ---Fix for some of the newer Diplomacy assignments not working with the Diplomacy rank up assignment generation correctly. ---Fix for Lady of Light being treated when started as a slaver recruiting assignment rather than a slave capturing one. ---Fix for unintended wing growth if you corrupted a winged character before examining them. ---Fix for an issue where a slave would be rated as the wrong value during sexytime. ---Fix for switch showing up twice after trait removal which happens most obviously for you at game start. ---Fix for some repeated text on forced encounters. ---Fix for trying to increase the height of a minimum height character being treated as a reduction attempt. ---Fix for Marauding Spectacle of the Sacred Clumsy/Magic: Corruption being swapped in the description but not in the actual checks. ---Fix for not being able to change a sissy's chastity options if they were already wearing a cage when they made the transition. ---Fix for not being able to get the Succubus Summonee second-in-command given the change to corrupter. ---Fix for the broken night goblin's traits from Coiled Tentacles which were well broken by a recent change in how specific slave rewards are generated. ---Fix for repicking during training showing the slave being trained. ---Some text fixes.