[center][sup][h1][color=black] S H O U J O [sup]4[/sup] : H A T S U K O I R E U N I O N[/color] [color=pink]S H O U J O [sup]4[/sup] : H A T S U K O I R E U N I O N[/color][/h1][/sup][/center][hr] [i]In a small corner of the world, there was an island. On that small island, there was a town. In that town, there were several small children, who, through luck or misfortune, happened to know one another for a time. It wasn't as though it was for a particularly [i]long[/i] time, either. Six years felt like an eternity for us back then, but if you look at that on the scale of a human lifespan, even all that time we spent together would seem insignificant by comparison. That's probably how most things go when you're growing up. All those memories, washed away by the tides of time, like sandcastles on the beach. Our world was still so small, then. We didn't yet understand the vastness of the sea and the sky, or even of the city in which we lived, or of the distance between two people, and the walls we build between us to keep ourselves from getting hurt. Six years together. Four years apart. If we spent all that time making memories, how long would it take, I wonder, to forget them all? It's probably different from person to person. If someone kept on making new memories -- kept finding things [i]worth[/i] remembering -- then it probably wouldn't take long, even if one person happened to be missing. But try though I might, I can't grow up like that. There are some things I'll probably never forget. And because I can't forget them, it makes me want to gather them up and hold them close to me. It makes me want to cling to these precious moments tightly, so that they'll never slip through my fingers again. I want to go back. I want to change. I want to move forward. I want to stay the same. Today, once again, I lower my voice, whispering a greedy love song I could never sing, in the hopes that it will fill this small corner of the world, and reach you at last.[/i] [hr][center][img]https://i.postimg.cc/hGxrmDph/rsz-harbor-1.png[/img][/center][hr] Welcome one and all to Hatsukoi Reunion! This RP is the story of a group of kids who knew each other to some degree or another in the past, gone their separate ways after one of their number moved away, and reuniting by coincidence in high school with her unexpected return. Sometimes cute, sometimes poignant, sometimes silly, these are the stories of their various "first loves," as they give their all and grow together day by day. The RP is set in Kumoriyama City, located on a small fictional island of the same name off the southern coastline of Japan. This name, which translates to "Cloudy Mountain," is derived from the crescent-shaped isle's two most prominent features: the tall gray peak at its center, and the mist that often forms around the many lakes and rivers dotting and running down from its greener slopes. Originally, the city, built at the foot of Mt. Aogumo in the sheltered harbor created by the island's curving coastline, was quite small. The island's rocky, steep terrain was ill-suited for farmland, and there was little else of value to be found inland from its shores. As such, the city was largely built up as a port for fishermen over a hundred years ago. Over time, however, it has expanded as new people have been drawn to the island by its cheap living costs compared to the mainland, and as businesses have moved in to take advantage of the existing infrastructure. The end result is a hodgepodge of old houses, shrines, and family-run shopping arcades in the outer districts of town, slowly being pushed outward from the center by a new influx of more modern highrise buildings and apartment complexes that have come to take their place. The "new city," as it is often called, is overcrowded not by circumstance but by design. Buildings are crammed together or neatly stacked one on top of the other along even, parallel streets, making it easy to navigate despite just how much city is packed into such a small area of town. But even in the "old city," space is still a bit cramped, as the mountain with its hilly slopes and the multiple small river valleys running outward from it tend to constrict development on the city's outskirts. As such, the further you get from its organized center, the stranger Kumoriyama becomes, with many narrow, winding streets, footpaths, and alleys snaking, intertwining, and splitting off once more, intersecting with old parks, bridging across rivers, circling around or sloping sharply up large hills and bluffs, and eventually reaching either the thickly forested mountain trails or the many old wharfs, warehouses, and harbors running up and down the coastline. There are two other, much smaller suburbs of Kumoriyama, referred to as Kitaguchi and Minamikawa respectively, at each extremity of the island, with a long, roughly straight train line connecting all three, with one stop in Minamikawa, three in Kumoriyama, and two in Kitaguchi. Kitaguchi is located in a smaller harbor on the north side of the island, situated along the mouth of one of the rivers coming down from the springs of Mt. Aogumo, and is a rather upscale area with many large homes, shopping districts, and even some resorts. It's popular with tourists and more well-to-do families due to the beautiful white beaches and clearer skies there, while still only being a 20-30 minute train ride away from the city center to its south. Minamikawa, conversely, is significantly smaller than either of the other two cities, and is a very sparse, rural community built up from an old mining town on the southern slopes of the mountain. As one of the only places on the island with roughly flat, arable land, it's turned into a microcosm of the Japanese countryside, dotted with farms, ranches, and rice paddies. It is also a nationally-recognized cultural heritage site, housing several old Shinto shrines and a long tradition of local festivals and legends that go back to when the island was first settled. Many of these shrines are built onto the side of Mt. Aogumo itself, as the mountain is much less steep on that side. This also makes Minamikawa a popular stop for anyone planning on hiking up the mountain, be they tourists or island natives. And, indeed, the mountaintop is a very popular destination, as its slope tapers off into a giant lake basin at its summit, with a great deal of greenery around it. On clear days, this vantage point provides a majestic panorama of the entire island, while on cloudy days, one feels much higher up than they actually are, as they can look down upon the tops of the low-hanging clouds of fog and mist that give the island and the mountain their names.[hr][center][img]https://i.postimg.cc/Zq920v9N/rsz-school-and-garden.png[/img][/center][hr] Kumoriyama Private High School, located atop one of the steep bluffs overlooking the city center, is directly up the mountainside from the city's southernmost station, and only about 20 minutes train or bus ride out from the city center. Despite being surrounded by the Old City, the school itself is rather new, having only been founded about thirty years ago when the city's development reached its peak. It's generally a rather highly-regarded school, with good teachers and connections to some decent colleges on the mainland. A few of its students have even gone on to Tokyo University, giving it something of a prestigious reputation. Although it is a bit more expensive than the few other high schools on the island, it does offer some financial aid options for particularly high-performing students, and is significantly better staffed and equipped than its counterparts, with a reasonably well-liked faculty and facilities in place for a wide variety of clubs. However, its student body is comparatively small, both due to its price and somewhat high standards. As with other Japanese schools, the school year is split into three terms. The first goes from April to late July, the second from early September until mid-December, and the third from early January to late March. Currently, the first term is just about to begin.[hr][center][img]https://i.postimg.cc/HxNQnjyr/rsz-harbor-2.png[/img][/center][hr] The following section will consist of a gallery of images for miscellaneous locations to potentially serve as an inspiration for various scenes in the RP. It will be subdivided by location. New locations, as well as miniaturized character summaries to serve as a quick reference for major NPCs may also be added in the future as needed. [hider=Kumoriyama - New City][list][*][url=https://i.postimg.cc/B6mcz43Z/Skyline-1.jpg]City View:[/url] The city center, as viewed from a small park on one side of the bay. Warehouses and skyscrapers mingle to form the heart of the new city. [*][url=https://i.postimg.cc/L8jkpzSb/Residential-2.jpg]Residential District:[/url] A little further out from the city's heart, one can find plenty of apartment complexes nestled between narrow streets and alleys. [*][url=https://i.postimg.cc/FFfD6kY2/Streets-1.jpg]Shopping Centers:[/url] Often taking up several blocks, a mix of new chains and old family-run local shops can be found grouped together in large malls and traditional shopping arcades. [*][url=https://i.postimg.cc/3JTmZkmj/Streets-2.jpg]Housing Districts:[/url] The further one gets from the city center, the more one finds oneself in insular communities of isolated houses built along a network of footpaths, interspersed occasionally by the occasional family restaurant or convenience store. [*][url=https://i.postimg.cc/T2qpfC5m/Coastline-Highway.jpg]Coastal Highway:[/url] This road leads from outside the town directly through the docks and into the city's center. Given the narrow, winding streets of the city, however, few people on the island commute by car, meaning it's often remarkably unused.[/list][/hider] [hider=Kumoriyama - Old City][list][*][url=https://i.postimg.cc/Dy1VtMWk/Residential-1.jpg]Traditional Housing:[/url] Sandwiched between the New City center and the more recent developments on its outermost edges are a wide variety of old, traditional Japanese-style homes built among the foothills of Mt. Aogumo. While most are rather small and often in a lamentable state of poor repair, hidden among the trees are some fully fledged mansions that have stood upon this spot for over a hundred years. [*][url=https://i.postimg.cc/5yq3mLtG/Residential-2.jpg]Residences:[/url] The further out one goes, the more likely one is to find an eclectic mix of new and old buildings and less cramped conditions as people continue to move out of the confines of the city, seeking more open space. [*][url=https://i.postimg.cc/K8dMR4Gg/Stairs-to-Harbor.jpg]Old Harbor District:[/url] Formerly a hub for fishermen, the eastern side of the harbor has lost much of its old function, and now contains many of the larger houses in the old city, as well as a few inns and restaurants. A warm, homey neighborhood. [*][url=https://i.postimg.cc/tT97xxL7/Convenience-Store-Edge-of-Town.jpg]Edge of Town:[/url] The furthermost edges of the old city have very few buildings besides a few new developments and the occasional bar or convenience store. By and large, they serve as convergence points for the other main highways leading inland. [*][url=https://i.postimg.cc/66m59g58/Outskirts-Highway.jpg]Outskirts:[/url] New developments ringed in by high hills and winding highways. One such road leads to the school.[/list][/hider] [hider=Kumoriyama Private High School][list][*][url=https://i.postimg.cc/CLb1mJSd/School-and-Garden.jpg]School:[/url] Includes a large garden. Classes are usually held in the wing on the left, while the wing on the right contains faculty offices and clubrooms. [*][url=https://i.postimg.cc/qR9JG6F8/Cafeteria.jpg]Cafeteria:[/url] Surprisingly large, and located on the first floor of the school building. Serves both western and Japanese-style foods. Generally ends up feeling rather empty during the warm season, however, as many students prefer to eat outside. [*][url=https://i.postimg.cc/zDj2KYRf/Clubroom.jpg]Clubroom:[/url] A sample clubroom for a small-scale general club or circle. More specialized or popular clubs likely would have larger rooms, and sporting clubs are of course located elsewhere. [*][url=https://i.postimg.cc/QNTxdSBS/Hallway-and-Classrooms.jpg]Classrooms:[/url] Generally situated three on either side of a main hallway for each floor. The average class has 10-20 students, and are divided by year and by grade, with the highest performing students in Class A and so forth. First year classes are generally on floor 2, second years on floor 3, and third years on floor 4. [*][url=https://i.postimg.cc/YCpp8Hdy/Library.jpg]Library:[/url] Located in the faculty/club building, the library is home to the book club.[/list][/hider] [hider=Kitaguchi][list][*][url=https://i.postimg.cc/7Zfms2zR/Downtown.jpg]City Center:[/url] Surrounding Kitaguchi's central station are several blocks of new highrises, housing expansive department stores, corporate offices, and hotels to accommodate tourists on the island. [*][url=https://i.postimg.cc/jSw-4Qr00/Downtown-2.jpg]Downtown:[/url] Compared to Kumoriyama City itself, the street layouts in Kitaguchi are a great deal more orderly and less winding, as it is built on more open and level ground. The high spires of the city center quickly give way to a colorful panoply of commercial and entertainment districts all around. [*][url=https://i.postimg.cc/Tw9VYdmm/Neighborhoods.webp]Old Kitaguchi:[/url] Like Kumoriyama City, Kitaguchi also has a few older districts that the rest of the suburb has grown up around. These quiet neighborhoods, often along the riverside, offer a glimpse of older life in an otherwise new city. [*][url=https://i.postimg.cc/vBcnMrYR/The-Cafe.png]Cafe Arcadia:[/url] A small hole-in-the-wall cafe located on the southern edge of the commercial district in a newly-renovated storefront behind a large shopping mall. This old-fashioned two-story building has a business on the first floor and a small studio apartment in the loft above it. Its founder and owner, an enterprising island native by the name of Osanai Suzune, lives elsewhere, and as such, has allowed her niece Suzuka to use the apartment in exchange for helping around the store on weekends. [*][url=https://i.postimg.cc/gJYMKBHV/Riverside-Developments.jpg]Riverside Developments:[/url] Extending along the river and rail line southward from Kitaguchi, many of the suburb's residential areas line the riverside as the city's urban sprawl continues to expand towards that of its parent. For now, however, this is a rare mostly open space on the island's northern extremity, with green grass and clear skies unobstructed by either buildings or trees. [*][url=https://i.postimg.cc/wx1r4nd2/Coastline.jpg]Northern Coastline:[/url] The site of several large manor houses, apartments, and rental beach property, the northern coast provides a gorgeous view of the entire harbor, and is perhaps the single most desirable real estate on the island. On clear evenings, you can see all the way to Minamikawa in the southeast, watching the sunset sink behind it into the sea.[/list][/hider] [hider=Minamikawa][list][*][url=https://i.postimg.cc/sfNStTkc/Overlook-1.jpg]Village Overlook:[/url] Otherwise comprised largely of scattered farms and the occasional house or store, Minamikawa's "city center" hardly compares to that of Kumoriyama. [*][url=https://i.postimg.cc/52wCQb67/Overlook-2-Shrine-Festival.jpg]Festival Grounds:[/url] Outside of the rest of the town and with a clear view up the hillside, the festival grounds are busiest during the summer and new years festivals. [*][url=https://i.postimg.cc/t4tsCkM8/Stairs-to-Hilltop.jpg]Path to Overlook:[/url] A seldom-used walking trail that runs behind the festival grounds leading up to the site of an old shrine long-since destroyed by fire. The courtyard is still lit up at night, and is now an open hill with an excellent view of the festival grounds and of the coastline beyond. This was always an excellent place to watch fireworks during the summer celebrations. [*][url=https://i.postimg.cc/BvSCBMPG/Crossing.jpg]Railroad Lines:[/url] As the Kumoriyama Line runs directly through Minamikawa, there are many crossings throughout the small town up to the station. [*][url=https://i.postimg.cc/tg4hxJ8q/Old-Station.jpg]Minamikawa Station:[/url] An old wooden station building on the side of a hill, leading down to the train platforms below. A frequent stopping point for trips up the mountain, as it's very close to the start of a well-traveled path along one of its milder slopes. The platform is open to the wind and gets fiercely cold in the wintertime, though, so it's best not to be caught waiting for a train. [*][url=https://i.postimg.cc/FKPW820Z/Mountain-Road.jpg]Mountain Roads:[/url] The further one goes up Mt. Aogumo, the narrower and less-used the streets become, until they at last settle into a comfortable winding road leading up through the verdant forest.[/list][/hider] [hider=Mt. Aogumo][list][*][url=https://i.postimg.cc/DyVC9Q4t/Valley-Bridges-2.jpg]Old Bridge:[/url] Spanning one of the deep valleys cut by a river running off from the lake at the mountain's summit, this nameless old bridge links the road with the very top of the mountain. Seldom used and rusty, but still sturdy. [*][url=https://i.postimg.cc/NjBdMg4D/Mountaintop-Lake.png]Mountain Lake:[/url] Nestled in a basin just beneath Kumoriyama's summit, the vast blue lake there branches into several smaller rivers that run down the mountainside and outward toward the sea. Renowned for its beauty, this spot remains untouched, providing an overlook over most of the island, when not shrouded in mist.[/list][/hider] [hr] FINAL NOTE: Applications will be extremely limited for the moment, as we've already filled out a mostly complete cast through the interest check. Those interested in joining should feel free to post here in the OOC, but do note that spots may not be available. Right now, we've got one more prospective female character already in the works, so the main spot we'd have an opening for is one last male role. [hider=Bio Format][code][color=gray][CENTER][sup][h1][center][img]CHARACTER IMAGE HERE IF NEEDED, WIDE FITS BETTER THAN TALL[/img][/center][b][center][color=black] C H A R A C T E R N A M E[/color] [color=CHARACTER HEXCODE HERE]C H A R A C T E R N A M E[/color][/center] [/b][/h1][/sup] [color=silver][sup][b]"CHARACTER QUOTE HERE"[/b][/sup][/color][/CENTER] [hr] [table][row][/row][row][cell][center][img]CHARACTER IMAGE HERE, NO WIDER THAN 450 PIXELS RECOMMENDED[/img] [color=2E2C2C][sup]_______________________________________________[/sup][/color][/center][indent][sup][h3][b][color=CHARACTER HEXCODE HERE]Identity[/color][/b][/h3][/sup] [sup][COLOR=SILVER] [b]Full Name[/b][COLOR=#807B84] - CHARACTER NAME HERE[/COLOR] [b]Nicknames[/b][COLOR=#807B84] - ANY, IF APPLICABLE. ERASE IF NOT NEEDED.[/COLOR] [B]Age[/B][COLOR=#807B84] - 15-17, DEPENDING ON YEAR.[/COLOR] [B]Gender[/B][COLOR=#807B84] - GENDER HERE[/COLOR] [b]Year[/b][COLOR=#807B84] - FIRST, SECOND, OR THIRD, DEPENDING ON AGE.[/COLOR] [/color][/SUP][/indent] [indent][sup][h3][b][color=CHARACTER HEXCODE HERE]Personality[/color][/b][/h3][/sup] [sup][COLOR=SILVER][b]PERSONALITY TRAIT 1[/b] [COLOR=#807B84]SUMMARY OF PERSONALITY TRAIT 1 HERE.[/COLOR][/COLOR] [COLOR=SILVER][b]PERSONALITY TRAIT 2[/b] [COLOR=#807B84]SUMMARY OF PERSONALITY TRAIT 2 HERE.[/color][/color] [COLOR=SILVER][b]PERSONALITY TRAIT 3[/b] [COLOR=#807B84]SUMMARY OF PERSONALITY TRAIT 3 HERE.[/color][/color] [COLOR=SILVER][b]PERSONALITY TRAIT 4[/b] [COLOR=#807B84]SUMMARY OF PERSONALITY TRAIT 4 HERE. [/COLOR][/COLOR][/SUP][/indent] [indent][sup][h3][b][color=CHARACTER HEXCODE HERE]Character Relationships[/color][/b][/h3][/sup] [sup][COLOR=SILVER][b]CHARACTER 1 NAME HERE[/b] [COLOR=#807B84]SUMMARY OF YOUR CHARACTER'S THOUGHTS ON AND ACQUAINTANCE WITH THE OTHER CHARACTER HERE.[/color][/color] [COLOR=SILVER][b]CHARACTER 2 NAME HERE[/b] [COLOR=#807B84]SUMMARY OF YOUR CHARACTER'S THOUGHTS ON AND ACQUAINTANCE WITH THE OTHER CHARACTER HERE.[/color][/color] [COLOR=SILVER][b]CHARACTER 3 NAME HERE[/b] [COLOR=#807B84]SUMMARY OF YOUR CHARACTER'S THOUGHTS ON AND ACQUAINTANCE WITH THE OTHER CHARACTER HERE. [/COLOR][/COLOR][/SUP][/indent] [indent][sup][h3][b][color=CHARACTER HEXCODE HERE]Other Information[/color][/b][/h3][/sup] [SUP][COLOR=#807B84]ANY OTHER IMPORTANT INFO WORTH NOTING HERE. [/COLOR][/SUP][/indent] [/cell][cell][sup][h3][b][color=CHARACTER HEXCODE HERE]Physical Description[/color][/b][/h3][/sup] [color=lightgray][indent]CHARACTER APPEARANCE HERE [/indent][/color] [sup][h3][b][color=CHARACTER HEXCODE HERE]Personal Story[/color][/b][/h3][/sup] [color=lightgray][indent]CHARACTER BACKGROUND HERE [/indent][/color] [/cell][/row][/table][/color][/code][/hider]