Azusa City, Japan
"Hm... I suppose this is the place, huh...?"
With a jacket slung over his shoulder, Takeda Eiji glanced between his phone and the building in front of him. As far as buildings went, what he saw wasn't exactly something to write home about—a fairly unassuming exterior that looked about in line with every other building to both his left and right—and he had no doubt that the office that he was about to check out for the first time in person would be much of the same. Of course, his current appearance didn't exactly scream 'professional' (especially compared to the businessmen milling about in suits left and right) but his line of work meant that he had less reason to be in something so stuffy to begin with.
The decision to start this company—Icelit—in his early thirties meant that he had that luxury, of course, but that alone wouldn't have been enough of a reason to do something like this. No, this was less about personal freedom and more about being able to not have to sift through line after line of red tape when getting people on the ground. Sure, that also meant having less resources compared to a larger company, but what was the point of idealism in making this company in the first place without the acceptance of the difficulties that would come with it?
...Or so he believed, at least.
The office itself was fairly barebones, which was to be expected—other that the leftover boxes from the movers that had set everything up here, the only thing of note was the table planted squarely in the middle of the room. There had been a small section partitioned off to function as his personal workspace, but with no actual employees present, the whole area felt empty and lifeless. With a sigh, Eiji draped his jacket onto his chair and, after checking that the computer and modem he had purchased seemed to be functional, got down to business.
The first order of business was hiring some Attuned, though; the sooner he could start handling local jobs to stabilize their income, the better.
Youkai
The history between youkai and humans is one that, historically speaking, has been perpetually fueled by conflict. Known by other names across the world (monsters, supernaturals, and so on), youkai are beings that possess capabilities beyond those of humans and, until comparatively recently, often preyed upon them in order to survive. Their forms are varied in nature, ranging from beastlike in nature to nearly identical to humans in appearance, but what ultimately sets them apart more than anything else is their need for ether. Though more than a few youkai can live by simply taking in residual ether from their environment (be it by food or from the land itself), it's naturally high abundance within humans has ultimately led to them being targeted as a matter of survival. Such a way of living was not easily accepted by humans, of course, which led to conflict and turmoil; as the population of humans grew, so too did their ability to fight back. Youkai were never plentiful to begin with, of course, which only served to push them further and further back as the years went by.
In the process of fighting against this enemy that so often hunted them, humans eventually came to understand more about their enemy—and themselves. Initially, it was a simple affair—using the parts of youkai since slain to create weapons to fight back. But as those humans fought with those weapons, they found the presence of their own ether could combine with the magical energy present within those weapons—that they could grow and evolve. This, in context, made sense; a youkai that had hunted a thousand humans was often stronger than one that had killed ten or a hundred. And thus began a bloody arms race—as humans sought youkai to bolster their own strengths, youkai sought to kill and kill to preserve their own strength—and more, at times.
What was not considered for the longest time, however, was the idea of 'coexistence'. Though it was known that many youkai were otherwise harmless (and thus tolerated, if only because they could never lend themselves to weaponry), the idea that a human and a youkai could live for mutual benefit was naught more than a child's folly... And ironically enough, it was a child that created the first Contract within the nation. A youkai could form a contract with a single human and live off their ether alone, and the magical energy supplied by that same youkai could bolster the life of the human they had bound themselves to. Even so, the young pair were cast out from their homes and left to fend for themselves—what became of them remains yet unknown.
But they were only the first within the nation. As more on both sides began to tire of this endless conflict, coexistence seemed more appealing by the day—until eventually, it became the norm.
Or, at least, so the story goes within Japan. For the most part, youkai and humans live in (relative) peace the world over nowadays, with no need to conceal their existences from one another. Whether that is a good thing or a bad thing remains a bit of a contentious topic, though.
The Attuned
The Attuned are humans who have either formed a Contract with a youkai or who have chosen to make use of a weapon forged from the body of one. Though one might assume that the latter is taboo, the fact that such weapons can be created with parts that can be easily regenerated (for example, horns or teeth) makes them far more reasonable to obtain—doubly so given the comparative scarcity of youkai.
With the abundance of humans in the modern era, the necessity of a Contract for a youkai to survive has decreased considerably, to the point where it is much more of a personal choice to form one in the first place. The benefits that they provide (beyond the surface-level transaction of ether and magical energy), however, only truly shine when the two Contractors 'unite as one', so to speak. Though the form can differ from Contract to Contract, a human and a youkai can temporarily 'merge' into a single existence—a 'Resonant', so to speak—whose capabilities often outstrip those of the youkai in question by leaps and bounds. Such a transformation is not so easily performed, however—either complete dominion by one side or equilibrium in heart and mind is required to achieve such a state. Otherwise, the Contract simply lends superhuman capabilities to the human, allowing them limited usage of the abilities of their partner should it be desired.
Weapons, of course, are more flexible in nature; as they are used more and more, they adapt to fit the nature of the wielder and often bestow those same supernatural capabilities unto their wielders (though obviously at reduced potency compared to those who hold a Contract). Without the necessity of finding a youkai to Contract, Attuned that use weapons are far more common, but that by no means makes them any weaker; though it requires intense training and dedication, it is possible to draw enough magical energy from a weapon of a high quality and make to place those Attuned on the same level as the youkai whose parts they are made from without being crippled by a need for ether. That being said, making full use of a weapon requires a sort of pseudo-Contract as well, wherein the ether of the user becomes fundamentally intertwined with that of the weapon. Said Contract can be broken at will, but reacclimating to a new weapon (or even to the same one) afterwards is no small feat.
Grudges
Though youkai were for the longest time seen as the primary cause of concern from humans, the trend towards coexistence between the two groups led to a surge in the presence of Grudges—monsters that seemed to only spread corruption and destruction across the land. Grudges are, at a very basic level, amalgamations of malignant magical energy that seem to arise either spontaneously (by coalescing in areas where that sort of energy may gather) or by infecting others—a fact which makes them far more dangerous to youkai than they are to humans by dint of twisting what magical energy they hold, if not outright consuming them to spread further beyond. Their true origins are yet unknown, and though theories posit the source being anything from 'negative emotions' to 'a natural phenomenon that has yet to be fully explained' and everything in between, their presence poses a constant threat to everyday life.
It is for this reason that the Attuned—and companies that employ them—are mainstays in cities across the world. While normal law enforcement is sufficient for the lives of the everyday folk, the Attuned often work independently from them in order to handle threats of a more supernatural variety.
A Word from the GM
So, with that preliminary setup and worldbuilding settled, here's all the administrative stuff to get out of the way. To summarize the idea succinctly, this is an urban fantasy RP that takes a lot of cues from... Well, a lot of series, to be quite frank. Chief among those influences are Kara no Kyoukai and Kyoukai no Kanata, which should inform some of the intended atmosphere I intend for this RP... But, well, we'll see where this path leads us.
As for rules:
1. A regular posting schedule. I'd like if people actively post (and will more likely than not ATTEMPT to update sections whose players have already moved regardless of schedule—no promises), but I will always make a global update for any group that has been waiting for a week. Of course, real life should always take priority, so it's not like I'll hunt people down over being a bit late, but, well... You know.
2. Combat... Will be common. Mooks and stuff that the players should be able to roll over can be handled at your discretion; bigger problems I'd prefer the usual 'attempted action => result' route. WITH THAT SAID, I am not perfect and, like any human, am prone to making mistakes. If you believe I have misjudged an action or sequence of events, PLEASE speak up; otherwise, there is no way that I'll know that there is something that needs fixing.
(With that said, sometimes I'll declare GM fiat for the sake of story, but I'm usually reasonable about this sort of thing.)
3. Related to the aforementioned GM fiat: I withhold the right to unilaterally reject characters, actions, or whatever else that I believe would lead to an irreparable game state or would otherwise actively harm the experiences of other people. I will usually give a reason in these cases and ideally I will never HAVE to use it (I'm far more fond of working with people to find a solution that everyone can agree with), but let it be known that the hammer will come down if necessary.
Righty-o, here are the forms for those interested in getting a head start. As usual, if there are any questions or concerns, please feel free to ask me or my co-GM @VitaVitaAR (as usual) any questions you may have.
