[OOC] Rurouni Kenshin - Stand of the Shinsengumi

[vancexentan]

The Bakumatsu started with the arrival of Commodore Matthew C. Perry's black ships to Japan on July 8, 1853. Perry's objective was to incite Japan, through force if necessary, to open its borders to trade with the United States of America. In reaction to the arrival of those black ships which would end a 220 years isolationist policy, the country was divided. The pro-imperialist Ishin Shishi (nationalist patriots) fought to return political power to the Emperor of Japan, while the shogunate forces, including the elite Shinsengumi (newly selected corps) swordsmen, fought for the Tokugawa shogunate to keep its position. The country is currently embroiled with the Boshin Wars which is taring apart the men, and women of the country of Japan. Tokugawa Yoshinobu, the current head of the Tokugawa Shogunate has to prepare itself as citizens rush towards the aid of the Imperial Court assisting Prince Komatsu, and others in their attempts to overthrow the current government. With Kyoto burning in near constant warfare as assassins, and samurai rise up. Corruption in, and outside the court due to purges, and reckless officials forced the creation of a new group. The Shinsengumi, a police force made up of highly skilled samurai, and former Ronin.

With the details of the Satcho Alliance ironed out it is clear was is inevitable with the enemy being assisted by the British the task before the Shinsengumi is to stabilize the nation as much as possible...less their Empire burn, and their Emperor overthrown. Will the Meiji succeed, or will the proud Samurai reign supreme.

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Characters:

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Rules:

1. All Standard roleplay rules are in effect.
2. I am allowed to decline something, or reject it for any reason.
3. Certain styles such as Kenshin's own are not allowed for sake of continuity and balance.
4. No character is to be on the tier of Kenshin's master everyone must be a skilled samurai of some sort renown, or skill but not utterly above everyone else until the rp develops further.
5. Foreigners are not allowed unless discussed.
6. Ninja may be considered but the Shinsengumi are traditionally samurai.
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Character Sheet:
Name:
Nicknames:
Age:
Gender:
Rank: (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinsengumi)
Specializations:

Appearance: (Written, or picture)

Personality:

Biography:

Fighting Style:

Preferred Weapon(s):

[Renny]

Nagatoki Sogo

"I've killed scarier than you."
-
_{VA | Johnny Yong Bosch}

Name: Nagatoki Sogo
Nicknames: Bright-Eye Manslayer
Age: 22
Gender: Male
Rank: Troop Captain of the 6th Squad
Specializations: Single-Sword Combat

Personality: Nagatoki Sogo is an arrogant, rebellious, strong-willed young adult who leads with boundless energy and sterilized enthusiasm. He seeks to gain ever more power, ever-ambitious and looking to move up in the world. This knack for machinations has made Nagatoki rather contemplative and observant, strategic even. Which fuels his seemingly dynamic flow of energy. Only when tapping into his inner hitokiri does his energy fold taunt and sharp, becoming a palpable manifestation of his countless victims. Otherwise, one could just as easily find Nagatoki smiling amongst his enemies as he would his comrades.

Biography: Nagatoki grew up in a fairly peaceful family, ignorant for the most part of his father's dark history. Tomonaga Sogo, father of the eventual Bright-Eye Manslayer, renowned as The Death Hawk of Edo worked tirelessly to cultivated his reputation and swordsmanship. To become famous or infamous during a period of unrest. Unintentionally he found himself under the watchful eye of political powers, people who wanted others dead. The pay was enough to wash away his desires for fame which begun his eventual downfall. Somewhere along his career as a hitokiri he found his mate Sue Sogo and begun a family.

The eldest of which would later become Nagatoki Sogo the Bright-Eye Manslayer. His journey as hitokiri started with his father's innocent ambitions of ensuring his son's growth and ended the day he exacted revenge on his father and brother's killer. The night seemed destined for bloodshed. Tomonaga had sent Nagatoki and his younger brother Tanuki off to collect their mother Sue from her journey that night. Only they had no expected to encounter swordsmen on the path. Nagatoki, a swordsman in his own right drew his weapon but trembled against the thought of slaying someone.

Tomonaga appeared in the knick of time, quickly dispatching the two warriors. He sent them on to find their mother with reassuring words. But Nagatoki had ominous feeling, so they returned back to the small estate before retrieving Sue Sogo; they found a formidable swordsmen standing over their slouched and dead father. Enraged, Tanuki charged the thoughtless hitokiri and paid the price. Finally tipped over the edge, Nagatoki charged too but the swordsman swatted him aside and sly as a fox apologized for slaying Tanuki recklessly. Then he mentioned the eyes of a manslayer having been inherited before giving Nagotoki his name. Sanesuke Mori or The Phantom of Osaka.

When Sue Sogo returned, Nagatoki rested with Tanuki's head in his lap and his father's corpse close by. Reassured by his mother's appearance that his father and brother would be buried and honored, he stood up and stumbled away to began his journey of revenge. Starting at the age of thirteen, it took years of odd jobs, dark coincidences, and training by a lonesome, odd fisherman for Nagatoki to feel ready. At the age of seventeen he begun his twisted career as hitokiri, quickly earning his name "Bright-Eyes Manslayer" during a skirmish between two rival factions. During a typical assassination, he encountered The Phantom of Osaka.

The two battled under a crescent moon. Nagatoki had the advantage but sensed a lack of intention behind The Phantom's sickled blade. In the end Nagatoki felled The Phantom but felt unsatisfied. Seeing the elder man on his last leg, Nagatoki believed he felt regret on Sanesuke's sword. So he asked for the truth of his Tomonaga's assassination. Turns out The Phantom and The Death Hawk had been friends working for the same boss during their later eyes. Tomonaga was assigned to a new mission, one that could have jeopardized his family. He refused and because of his reputation, The Phantom and two others were sent to end him. When Tomonaga found out, he urged Sanesuke to let him check on his boys. Out of respect, The Phantom had allowed Tomonaga to save his sons under the pretense that his life was forfeited in exchange.

In his final moments The Phantom expressed his deep regret for slaying Tanuki, explaining that his reflexes betrayed his intentions and ever-since he's been awaiting for his "manslayer". Nagatoki, steeped in his own darkness returned home dead on the inside. Now twenty-and-a-half, he returned home a mirror image of his former-self. A formerly dressed swordsman stopped him on the way inside, seemingly defending his new home. It was Sue Sogo who recognized her son before conflict broke out but the swordsman who saw the manslayer inside.

Sue broke down the years as she bandaged his wounds that night. She had remarried an officer of the Shinsengumi two years prior. A single spar later and a conversation about regaining his humanity left Nagatoki contemplative about his next steps. It was the self-serving powers above him that caused his family such pain, that caused him such darkness. It took him only that instance to realize that his family was dead. His mother had found another life and it was time he had too. After joining the Shinsengumi off a whim and recommendation, Nagatoki found that he wanted more power, both politically and physically. Two years chipped away at his cold disposition, forging a combination of his former and current selves.

Fighting Style: Nagatoki's specific style of fighting combines Tomonaga's hawk-inspired combat with his mentor's sickle-style art, which somehow curves the slashes of his blow. The fisherman coined it as an illusion projected by orthodox arc of the swordsmen continuous and meticulous swings. This combined with Tomonaga's Hunting God Hawk Style appliesa reflex-induced sequence of strikes, thrusts, and slashes usually aimed for legs, arms, and head. First and foremost, he disregards the quick-kill method, opting to immobilizing before killing. When tapping into his hitokiri, his methods lean towards beheading.

Preferred Weapon(s): Katana

[Reflection]

Atsuyoshi Amara (WIP)

Name: Atsuyoshi Amara
Nicknames: The Smiling Demon of Osaka Castle
Age: 16
Gender: Male
Rank: Assassin
Specializations:

Personality:

Biography:

Fighting Style:

Preferred Weapon(s):

[vancexentan]

Alright I mostly made my character decide to make him a pseudo foreigner but I can easily change that if you guys want. He uses twin swords, which he got his nickname from.

[Renny]

@vancexentan I don't have an issue with him at all.

[AtomicNut]

Kenshin was a cool series. So we take it we make characters for the Samurai 4lyfe faction?

Can we get Juppongatana kind of weird?

[Renny]

@vancexentan My character is ultimately done but I'm iffy on if his history fits in with the story. Let me know what you think.

[vancexentan]

@AtomicNut We're supposed to be Shinsengumi you may be as you choose to be but you're still a police officer essentially. Mass murdering psychos are less likely to be officially sponsored by the Shogunate, or officials.

@RennyThe only real question I have is how his father reached manslayer status. Was there any conflict that would warrant that type of title that happened in the boshin wars.

[AtomicNut]

@AtomicNut We're supposed to be Shinsengumi you may be as you choose to be but you're still a police officer essentially. Mass murdering psychos are less likely to be officially sponsored by the Shogunate, or officials.

@RennyThe only real question I have is how his father reached manslayer status. Was there any conflict that would warrant that type of title that happened in the boshin wars.

@vancexentan

I meant in terms of gizmos and themes, not psychotic personalities.

[vancexentan]

@AtomicNutI'd prefer to be standard in most regards remember we're starting 10 years from the start of Kenshin technology is still rather poor in Japan.

[Renny]

@vancexentan I was under the impression that being a hitokiri was a occupation. If hired by an official and tasked with eliminating their enemies and continuously successful at said job, then it was eventually a given that one's name would spread. Features or skills of said swordsman would leave impression, tales would be spun, and of course others hitokiris would recognize one's ability to complete the job. Manslayers (hitokiris) are rare but I can't honestly think of any prominent conflicts to speak about that could give Tomonaga the title. Just thought it would be a cool backstory for Nagatoki.

If you know any, I'd appreciate the help.

[vancexentan]

It appears to be a title unless I'm misunderstanding it

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Hitokiri_o…

It was a title given to a select group for their ability, or reputation for murdering others.

Edit: However I'm willing to let it slide since more people in kenshin's period seem to have it including Saito.

[Renny]

@vancexentan I see where the confusion came from on my part. I looked here kenshin.fandom.com/wiki/Hitokiri lol.

Anyway, thank you for letting it slide. He's done by the way.

[vancexentan]

@RennyAlright I'll accept the character.

[AtomicNut]

Cause it's a shounen I felt compelled to try

Name:Kaji Akeno
Nicknames:Hare-Onna, Kaji's family Onna-Bugeisha
Age:16
Gender:Female
Rank:Investigator(rookie)
Specializations: Single-Blade Combat(she is a novice, but talented), Psychological Warfare, Medicine

Appearance:

Personality: Akeno is a whimsical free spirited woman with a keen inquisitive mind and inborn wisdom. She usually delights herself in the simple pleasures of life and is rather pragmatic and down to earth, if one would forgive her stubborn reluctance to fall in a predetermined role. She defends her stance in the Shinsengumi as one of an honour-bound oath, despite her more than obvious cynicism and rather rebellious views on anything that is not showing loyalty to comrades in arms.

Biography:

Akeno was born as the second child of a rather humble samurai, who through his sheer skill alone, rose to the rank of Tameshigiri, or sword tester at Edo. A precocious child, Akeno indulged in following her elders and seniors whenever she could, rather than playing with fellow children her age. Worringly, she had a rather curious fascination about her father's job, and a lack of aversion towards blood and flesh. To her, living beings were one of nature's most wondrous and fascinating masterworks, and she began to collect small creatures and remains, chiefly bones. For this reason, other kids mocked her as Hare-Onna.

While she paid no heed to the infantile and superstitious drivel, she was coaxed and forced to stop such unbecoming behaviour as she blossomed, and instead was force-fed lessons of courtly decorum, domestic chores and management. While she performed decently enough, it was clear as a day that the lifestyle of a Samurai wife as the Tokugawa Shogunate understood it was sapping Akeno out of the will to live, and turning her into a monotone, witless drone.

The deaths of both her own mother, trampled by a carriage, and her own eldest brother, dying to the infection of a wound sustained during a drunk brawl, shattered her family and household. Akeno had to grit her teeth and try to rein her depressed father, who began to neglect his training and health, and started to drink heavily. Akeno even took medical courses and lessons to avoid his decline at all costs. His ravages were so deep and self-destructive, that his sword arm was utterly destroyed and he shamed himself, committing seppuku not long afterward. Lacking a trusted friend to do the finishing blow, it rested on Akeno's hands to send him off.

As she sent her father away with what little honour she could get, Akeno contemplated, puzzled her options, as the last member of a lower samurai household brought to ruin. Why would that old fool ask for her to take a blade? As she examined the sword, something gnawed at her mind. Furious, she executed several testing strikes on one of the bamboo dummies his father used to practice with.

The truth was laid bare in her eyes. He had suspected it as well as she did. She had inherited her own father's sword hand, unlike that bumbling oaf of her brother. It made her both laugh and cry at the same time. What use was discovering this now?

A letter came. Comrades in arms of her father had tried to reach him. They wanted him to join the Shinsengumi. He could no longer do it, nor would his son. As she grabbed the brush to write a reply... her eyes gravitated towards the sword once more. She would join their ranks instead of her late father.

Fighting Style: Akeno uses the Water Nymph's Dance style of swordsmanship, a rather obscure and near-extinct school whose moves were designed for female warriors rather than male samurai. It is a style that exploits the higher flexibility, and lower centre of balance of a woman's body to hit the opponent with fluid, fast and precise movements and at the same time, perform an effective defense by evasion. However, this style lacks raw destructive power and it's a style designed to defend and destroy an opponent's will to fight rather than finish them off. It lacks killing edge, and Akeno must make ends meet by specifically targetting weak points.

Preferred Weapon(s): Katana, Naginata, and Bow.

[vancexentan]

@AtomicNutShe should already be a Shinsengumi at this point unless she's just joining into the squad commanded by Fujimaru. Onna-Bugeisha would be a title, or a nickname. A rank should be investigator, or assassin since she has no experience in the Shinsengumi at this point then she'd be on the lower ends and not a corporal.

[AtomicNut]

@AtomicNutShe should already be a Shinsengumi at this point unless she's just joining into the squad commanded by Fujimaru. Onna-Bugeisha would be a title, or a nickname. A rank should be investigator, or assassin since she has no experience in the Shinsengumi at this point then she'd be on the lower ends and not a corporal.

@vancexentan

Both options are tempting for different reasons. Expecting a grizzled Sword Tester only to find a purdy gal is bound to be funny... what to do...

[Raging Fenrir]

Haruka Orihara

Haruka Orihara

Nicknames: Otome-ken (Sword Maiden)

Age: 23

Gender: Female

Rank: Corporal

Specializations: Power Strikes, Judo

Personality: Haruka strictly adheres to laws and the code of the samurai. She believes evildoers must be punished and will not overlook even minor offenses. Despite her strict discipline, she is rather soft-spoken, often preferring to be the listener than the speaker. She is confident, but does not boast about her abilities. She seeks justice and honor, but has little interest in glory. If one can get past her stern demeanor, though, they will find a kind heart that truly cares for people.

Biography: Haruka was the daughter of a Samurai and grew up with 5 older brothers. As a child it was clear that she had little interest in becoming a "proper lady." She romped about her father's estate with her brothers and even cried less than them. She would pretend she was a boy to attend the martial arts lessons that were provided for her brothers under the alias "Haku." As she grew older, it became apparent to the teacher that she wasn't a boy, but he simply laughed it off and allowed her to continue her lessons since she was not showing any signs of falling behind.

As Haruka reached adulthood, her father tried marrying her off to suitors, hoping she would settle down into a peaceful life. He regretted being so lenient with her during childhood, though, as she seemed to give off a frightening aura. Whether or not this was intentional, she would not say, but she observed decorum to the letter so none could complain. Her father then presented her a challenge. He would allow her to continue practicing her swordsmanship to her heart's content, but if he could find a suitor who could defeat her in combat, she must marry that man. She still remains unmarried.

When the Boshin War broke out, Haruka's father remained a staunch shogunate supporter. He spoke out vocally against the Imperials, calling them Western Dogs. This made him an early target for the imperial forces. The Orihara estate was besieged by superior far superior forces wielding Western rifles. They fought bravely, but stood little chance. As Haruka prepared to face her fate in battle, a handmaiden, acting on her father's instructions, served her some drugged tea. Haruka passed out and was whisked away to safety. She was spared from the massacre since the Imperial forces decided it was better to spare the women and children.

Haruka would not forgive the Imperials or her handmaiden for denying her an honorable death. She rejected the idea of living out her days as a commoner, and fell in with the Shinsengumi. She had never felt more at home. Here, she could carry out justice and fight the evil that had destroyed her family.

Fighting Style: Haruka's swordsmanship appears simplistic to the untrained eye. It consists primarily of basic strikes and stances. However, rather than striving for elegance, her master taught her brutal efficiency. You needn't rely on tricks if you strike more swiftly and powerfully than your enemy. Haruka focuses on crushing enemies with relentless powerful strikes. However, she was also taught Judo for those times where she is separated from her blade. Her unarmed fighting style is the mirror image of her swordsmanship. Biding time, waiting for the enemy to move, and using their own strength against them. Before her estate was raided, her Master gave her a final lesson: combine these two styles to create the true essence of Orihara swordsmanship. She trains diligently hoping to achieve this pinnacle of technique, but knows she still has a long way to go.

Preferred Weapon(s): Katana

[vancexentan]

Alright I think that the character is fair however how would her having the rank of troop captain effect this roleplay? That would mean she would have her own squad.

[AtomicNut]

Alright I think that the character is fair however how would her having the rank of troop captain effect this roleplay? That would mean she would have her own squad.

@vancexentan

Haruka-Onee-san~

On a side note, I finally decided to go with Akeno being a fresh recruit, so that people can question where is her father. Sheet has been modified.