Bakemono-Shiki [Anime|School|Beast]

[Idlewyld]

Good to go

[Broken]

Ditto.

[Steir]

I'm good to go. Will figure out secondary characters on an as-needed basis later on.

:3c

[Zaer Darkwail]

Ready to go as well.

[MelodyCake]

I am here! My character sheet should be in today, squeezing it in between some YCH commissions Decided to scrap the concepts I had earlier and go with something completely new, and ended up drawing a new character xD I'm hoping to have the piece finished today, if not, then I will just post the CS with the uncompleted drawing and just edit it again once the picture is finished.

[Leki]

Good to see almost everyone accounted for xD
I'll begin proper construction of the other threads over the next few days, and am expecting to start the roleplay up on Thursday (26th) as it'll mark two weeks since I put this idea out.

Applications will remain open throughout the course of the roleplay, so there's no hurry in getting things done. But admittedly it would be more convenient to start the roleplay on the same note as everyone else. As usual, if you've got any questions or want to discuss something, I'm available for questioning.

[Avalon29]

I've got a quick question for you Leki.  You say that Shiki shouldn't have any knowledge of customs, technology, and such but is it okay for the shiki to have a distorted view of the human world instead of no idea? Just an idea I'm toying with for Haru and thought it could be fun.

[Leki]

Thanks for the question Avalon!
I really appreciate questions like this, since there's a high likelihood that someone is wondering the same thing, or thinking the wrong thing entirely. Plus, it keeps the thread bumped and looking active. xD

It's perfectly reasonable for a Shiki to have some knowledge of the human world, as they've been living in it throughout their entire lives. Their limitation in knowledge however comes from the fact that they wouldn't have been able to actively engage in any of it.

Using a few existing characters as examples;
Timanka; Since she was worshipped as a goddess for awhile, she wouldn't be clueless when it came to a lot of things... but considering how she's from a remote little village, she wouldn't be accustomed to advanced technology. Being worshipped as a god; she might understand worship better than others. But social aspects would be far more elusive for her to understand. For example, why humans have to work.

Tsurugikabe: Would have a pretty good grasp on human interactions; concepts such as family, political loyalties, etc might be something they understand. But considering how it's been almost 500 years since their death, they're attitudes and beliefs would be quite outdated, and the wonders of electricity as a power source would be equatable to witchcraft.

Overall the absence of knowledge was implemented to keep interactions from going stale. Misunderstandings are usually pretty humorous to write, and can serve as a point of difference. There'd probably be a blanket rule of technology being foreign to Shiki's since they don't really need it.

Rensha for example, will have set off more than her fair share of security alarms, but she'll probably think of it as humans having a bizarre taste in music when they're searching for something. "Does the noise get your adrenaline pumping too?"

[Steir]

Tsurugikabe
"How unusual it is for carriages to run without horses! Could it be due to some form of magic? Or do you have some form of spirits manning this carriage of metal?"

"How can people be so small, and why are they inside the box?"

Just a few possible interactions considering Tsurugikabe had not left the spot where he was last haunting, and the spot would have been left untouched.

[pdragon]

(raises hand) present. And I'm good to make a second character if needed.

[Avalon29]

Glad to hear it Leki. Most of Haru's knowledge of the human world comes from 900-1000 year old stories which I figured might be fun to play out. I'm happy to hear that  I can go down that route.

[Zaer Darkwail]

Gaia's case his knowlegde is much more longer in history and also up to date. For a potential primordial entity who has been source for numerous civilization wiped disasters he is well aware of humanity's progress and trends.

[Leki]

@pdragon
Great, that means everyone is accounted for at this stage. :)

@Avalon
Haha, I suppose Tsurugikabe and Haru might have a few similarities to share then... albeit from opposite sides of the story xD

@Zaer
I'm unfortunately going to have to question Gaia's familiarity with mankind.
I will admit that you included the following passage in your application;

"However all these are theories from hints from his words and speech and his in-depth familiarity on human history, customs and ways how they can wage war and battle. He has never confirmed nor denied the accusations or questions him being said entity."

However I interpreted this to mean that he took an active interest in the practical aspect of warfare between different civilizations. If the sentence was meant to indicate that Gaia has a good understanding of all aspects of humanity, this will have to be altered in some way to coincide with;

Another thing to note is that a Shiki should not be familiar with human customs, culture, and technology.

I'll list my reasoning below;
- The longer a character has lived, the less significant each event becomes. While I'll concede that Gaia is technically a god, my understanding of memory is that his mind would focus more on world-changing and overall significant occurrences in the world.
- I find it difficult to believe Gaia; a character with an appreciation towards warfare and destruction would be taking the time to analyze and learn and update themselves with the cultural customs and societal developments of a civilization that he, or someone else will soon wipe out.
- Gaia's application seemed to characterize himself as an arrogant figure who toys around with conflict; someone who essentially see's mankind as source of entertainment which he can wipe out on a whim. This further makes it difficult to believe he took an interest in human customs.
- Finally the fact that he doesn't have a proper name indicates either apathy or a lack of appreciation towards the universal custom of identifying things by naming them.

Overall, I'm okay with him being with him being an expert on warfare in terms of broad history (Civilization A destroyed Civilization B). However I find it quite unlikely that he'd note down the names of crucial figure/places, and educate himself with the minor political conflicts leading up to large scale battles. I don't see a case for him familiarizing himself with human customs at all either.

If a deep understanding of human beings is a core component of Gaia's character, the character will need to be revised drastically, as I'm unable to accept a character who's intellectually educated, socially understanding, and also potentially the strongest character in the roleplay.

[Zaer Darkwail]

Well, with knowlegde I meant mostly meant about technology; as most inventions what has come everyday items were first used in military before send out to generic public use (cell phones, computers, medicine etc). So through observing conflict he had seen birth and creation of many inventions which were then applied amongst 'civilians' and such. So can hold opinion that humans, by very nature, progress and flourish most during times of warfare than during peace. That the constant struggle for life and death brings best (and worst) parts about human nature.

He can example understand the birth and reason why kamikaze pilots became common thing in second world war in Japan; why japanese soldiers were willing to perform suicide attack for regards their country. So his understanding and knowlegde of humanity is seen through lense of conflict, warfare and how people cope and deal with destructive events; he sees how after tsunami other nations quickly come to aid people if they are aware of the event example. Or how humans had become good in predicting disasters through technology.

However he may not understand internet much at all as he haven't used it nor know internet memes or some other non-warfare/conflict related stuff. Example sports go completely over his head even as a concept (gods sake, do not ask him play football! He fucking murders someone with the damn ball!).

If this depth knowlegde is too much I can tone it down and play him more focused on as 'outside' observer of humans who had seen only grand scale battles from a distance. Not even know who was which nor know generals names.

[Leki]

Since there are two components that need to be addressed, I'll structure my response as such;

Technology: While I agree that technology historically has developed through warfare, I think it's insufficient to say that Gaia would understand technology to a familiar extent just through it's historical conceptualization. Especially since many technological inventions develop and evolve away once it becomes mainstream. I'd be okay with Gaia associating a mobile phone to a transceiver and deducing it's used to communicate. But if he'll start explaining the technological aspects of it (that even I don't fully understand... frequency's and stuff~) that'll have to be a no.

Perception and Understanding: I'd be okay with Gaia seeing things through a lens of conflict, but this will have to be kept consistent. For example; the notion of other nations coming to the aid of disaster struck nations, would have to be accompanied by the belief that the other assisting nations are trying to consolidate their political influence in preparation for future conflicts. Using a more relevant example, I'd imagine Gaia would be quite unwilling to share a human with another Shiki as it'd be a precursor to the human being stolen away, challenging them for the role of top-dog, etc. Misunderstanding like the sports thing however are highly appropriate, as the understanding of all Shiki should be a bit warped(inaccurate) in some way.

Overall, I don't think he needs to be completely pushed out to the point he'll be a complete outsider to the events. But Gaia isn't able to read minds, and isn't lurking around at every war council. So his interpretation would have to be.... interpretations xD Historical recognition of major characters in wars and battles is perfectly okay. But anything not directly related would need to be faded out.  Using the conflict in the middle east, Gaia's interpretation is more likely to be "They wanted Oil" rather than "Humanitarian aid." He could know George Bush Jnr was a major figure in the war being initiated, but wouldn't know how many siblings he had. Hell, the real reason behind the war could be something completely unknown, like Bush's sister sleeping with Osama, and Bush disagreeing with their relationship. (No idea what I'm saying at this point).

Essentially, Gaia's understanding would have to consistently be through a lens of conflict. And his knowledge like any historians would be somewhat limited in that he can't know everything. Since he is neither omniscient or omnipresent.

In all honesty though, I'm not really all that bothered by how much Gaia knows. Historical battles won't be a part of this roleplay, and knowing what happened in the past isn't going to give him some unfair advantage. What I am concerned about is the fact that 'good-at-everything' type characters often play themselves up as more important than they actually are, and end up stepping on the toes of other roleplayers. In essence, they become "That annoying character" and it ultimately ends with everyone having a bad time.

Admittedly though I'm just as bias as anyone else. I just think it'd be more fun to have a partner who thinks there are little men stuck in a box (Television), than someone who can explain to me the way in which one works, and the way in which it was historically invented.

[Zaer Darkwail]

I am okay with that sort understanding you suggested for Gaia; I hope I can stay it in characther and keep it consistent :). Also perhaps funny even (give him football and first thing he tries to do is try blow it up or see can it be used as weapon of destruction).

[Leki]

Just got back from the shower, and I realized something that I should have said at the very start...
This roleplay is not historical, and is purely a work of fiction!
That probably sounds like a no-brainer, but due to the existence of demons, there will be a lot of things that differ from reality.

For example you personally might think that the whole Kamikaze thing was a act of desperation, an expression of patriotism, or perhaps the pilots feared their relatives back home would be punished if they came home without doing everything in their power to take down one more enemy?

However... I'm quite likely to warp history in that sense and say that none of those were relevant.
In fact, the only reason Kamikaze planes existed was because the pilots were driven insane by the chittering of fuzzy little gremlins that had taken up residence in their cockpits, and it was easier to end the pain through suicide, rather than endure flying back to base with the squeaky little abominations.  xD

So yeah, Gaia can know stuff... but it'd be his interpretation/understanding, and susceptible to change depending on what I want to do with the plot. Admittedly I won't go out of my way to screw people over. For example I won't be touching Tamamo no Mae's story at all, and leaving it up to Avalon to develop (if necessary).

[Zaer Darkwail]

Ok, and in regards knowlegde; how much Shiki know about other Shiki? Demons or overall 'spirit realm' of things? I just wonder can Gaia example know that human x shiki bonding is not a new thing (but rather very ancient thing which was practiced by priests, priestesses, shamans and some other notable people across history and even shinto shrine maidens who made 'pacts' with good spirits while combating bad ones).

[Leki]

Thanks for your question!
Shiki are able to know about other Shiki, but you should probably consult the person controlling the other Shiki first.
For example, it'd be very inappropriate for me to say Rensha saw Gaia during a certain war, without talking to you about it first.

If you want to establish something as fact, then it's also probably a good idea to run it by me.
As I stated in the first post, communication is key. And it's what the OoC is for. (Or PM's if you want to be more private).

In regards to Shiki and bonding, it'd largely depend.
Since demons aren't a new thing, ancient priests and shamans would have undoubtedly have tried to use them, or even develop some sort of positive relationship. However the Shiki wouldn't have had their power suppressed in most instances (not by a collar at least anyway).

There could have been some cases of success, but most partnership would have either ended in failure... or the death of the human through old age. For example Hitler could have risen to power with the help of a demon, but in the end things didn't work out for him and the demon left Hitler to his fate :(
Likewise, Heroes such as Florence Nightingale could have gained the assistance of a demon to conduct miracle work, and lived peacefully with the demon until her death. It should be noted though, that partnership between demons and humans have nearly always ended badly though.

[Leki]

Announcement
Just a quick post to state that I've rewritten the first post of this thread.
Hopefully the revised version will be more informative, concise, and clear than the 'throw out' post that was originally there xD

I've also added three Shiki to the list of characters; Akehro, Rensha, & Laphren.
Who will serve as roleplay facilitators, and Shiki.
Essentially they're in a position of authority because they're already paired with one of the people in charge of the Programme.
However, they're special characters in the sense that they have been given permission by their human-partner to null their bond at any time, to form a temporary bond with a human-student. Hence serving the role of both teacher and fellow student.

[Murvoen]

Name:Iridel
Age:450 yrs
Height:7'5"
Hair Color:Purple
Eye Color:Yellow
Type: Shiki
Element:Krypta
Personality:Manipulative Brute

SHIKI
Q: What was your character's life like prior to aligning with the Academy? How did they terrorise/infuriate mankind?  What kind of reputation did they have among their own kind?
She preferred to keep mostly to herself, relying on a combination of wit and muscle to get what she wanted when she wanted it. As a result she never cared what others of her kind thought of her. Humans were never worth the effort to physically terrorize, so she toyed with them mentally. A few little voices whispering certain things could easily lead to a bloodbath with minimal effort on her part. Her crowning achievement was a man who killed his family, and his neighbors before being stopped because he thought they were all going to kill him if he didn't take them out first.

Q: Explain why your character decided to align themselves with the Academy.
It was this or end up locked away somewhere for the things she's done. As powerful as she is, she could have still been stopped. The one time she'd let her guard down to focus more intently on the chaos she caused was all it took. A judicious amount of tranquilizers followed by some kind of heavy duty paralytic drug (maybe a little overboard, but who could blame them?) allowed her to be bound and captured. Of course she continued to cause a fair amount of destruction by turning some of the men on each other until a collar was placed around her throat as a last resort. The following discussion gave her two options. One, she could be thrown in a room deep underground with no doors or windows and no visitors until the end of her days. Or two, she could attend the academy and atone for her vicious crimes by using her abilities for something good. When it was put that way the choice was easy. Better to be without magic and semi free than locked away forever. Besides, it could prove more interesting to toy with one human and learn the buttons to push up close than to keep doing it from a safe viewing distance.

[SweetSerenade]

Have to be honest, Akehro makes me happy xD He's interesting to read about and look at. Man, the roleplay is going to be quite interesting!

Also about the 2-3 posts a week that you mentioned, I'm a college student - and if I foresee an issue with meeting this posting regimen I will make sure to tell you?

[JoanieSappho]

I plan on getting a thing in! When I'm not tired. Or possibly when tired, if I can't sleep.

[SweetSerenade]

Also as a heads up, Leki, tomorrow is my 'long day' at school. I leave at about 11am PST to head to school. First class is at 1pm PST till 2:50pm PST. Then my second class is at 5pm PST till 9:20pm PST. I have to take transit home after that, and probably won't be online till after 10pm PST.

[Murvoen]

Leki, if need be I'd be more than happy to make a human character too ^^ Just let me know!