[OOC] Sapphire Roses

[Genkai]

So this is our OOC for our YYH Kurama x Botan extravaganza.

So we're still trying to figure out the beginning starting points, motives and direction yes?

I do like the idea of bringing back one of Yoko's old enemies. I think maybe the demon should be pretty powerful. Say something like an A Rank? But I also think it shouldn't be easily dealt with, that it should come and go as we move the RP along. Maybe the demon has the ability to control or persuade people, hence the suicides? I do think the stales need to be raised pretty high, you know? I also think Botan being there could be explained by the fact they have little information on the demon who is lurking around the school. Would that be enough to convince Kurama to let her stick around/want to train her a little?

[SoleAccord]

Yes, an old enemy of Yoko's that he believed he killed, or that disappeared after one final fight and he wasn't heard from again--until now. I am flexible, so I can say the former option would take longer for them to figure out, while the latter option would have Yoko come to the conclusion sooner. Yoko does not seem the type to fool easily, so it would come as a huge surprise if the former option is what we roll with. I don't think he'd like being duped very much~

Manipulation of sentient beings ranging from humans to animals is a fine idea to me. Should the ability have some sort of discernible weakness, as in he has to have had contact with them at some point? A power like that needs some details that Yoko would understand if they were enemies in the past, and maybe a new surprise that he wasn't prepared for. I believe Toguro was A-class too, so this guy has to be a considerable threat that even Yoko would advise caution against.

Botan's case is dependent on how soon the suicides appeared. If it was just one suicide case turned into two within the last couple of weeks and Botan suspects a demon might be behind it, I don't think Kurama would refuse her presence, and would instead offer his aid to solve this case. But if he catches wind from Yoko that this might be the work of a Toguro-level threat, he may gently ask her to step away from this one while he asks for help from someone like Hiei to take this one out--unless Yoko's pride demands he finishes off this one for old times sake, which adds a conflict of will between Shuichi and Yoko both.

[Genkai]

If the demon in question can persuade or change reality somewhat, it may be alright to have him dupe (as you say) Kurama for a while while they're in the Human World. If the demon is assumed dead from long ago, it's safe to say that he wouldn't be on Kurama's radar. Or at least an unlikely reason for such odd events happening. So you're thinking the power would need to be maybe transferred to the target? If Yoko thought he killed him, it would be safe to say the demon's power isn't where it used to be so maybe that is why the demon has to make direct contact with his future pawns/victims.

I think we'll need to have the suicides just start when Botan shows us. Since she is one of many reapers who know when people will die and such, I think two odd suicides that weren't predicted at all or make sense, would make Koenma want to know more. I do think there still will be a few more if the demon sees how much it is tormenting or troubling Kurama. I think if we have Botan and Kurama investigate in the beginning, it would make her less inclined to leave it when things get considerably more tough and dangerous.

[SoleAccord]

Yeah, we could use the gathering power trope. He wouldn't be at full strength, but he's at just enough to still be very threatening as he is, so he needs some sort of contact to control beings. It could even be some sort of item in his possession that allows it, like a book or some other item.

Sounds fair. So you want this to start with Botan's explanation? Maybe they're leaving a funeral that Kurama attended out of respect for a classmate?

[Genkai]

I wouldn't want to say he's gathering outside power, as much as he's still recovering his own.

I think it would be good to start with them attending a funeral. We could have some of the students there still in uniform, maybe it's taking place on a Monday night? If I recall, their academy runs pretty long, like 8-5 or something. So if Botan shows up in the school's uniform, it would indicate not only her involvement as a reaper but that she's going to go undercover at his school as well.

[SoleAccord]

That's what I meant. He's gathering his power again.

God, long hours. So that confirms how Botan and Kurama discuss this and how they investigate together. Would this conversation eventually lead up to them discussing her staying with him and his mother for the time being, or would that come later on? I recall a long time ago that we discussed how popular Botan would become--probably positive among the guys, and negative among some of the girls. Maybe she'd need a stronger cover story, and Kurama could help somehow?

[Genkai]

I do think Botan would hint to Kurama that she does need a place to stay at the funeral maybe. She would want to fill him in on what she knows (which wouldn't be a lot at the moment) at some cafe or someplace private? And I do think we wanted Botan and Kurama to have that appearance of a couple, both of their benefits. Botan would be struggling with the class and assignments so having Kurama on her arm would deter some of the girls from being bitches (somewhat deter anyway). And with the girls swarming Kurama, having Bota would make them hopefully back off. Plus Botan would probably be better looking than most girls at the school, so it would be fun to play around with that. Well, there's a lot to play around with...

[SoleAccord]

Well with the service and two students dead, I'm pretty sure the school MIGHT have closed for the day due to how shocking and sudden it is that two students who have shown nothing but excellence are dead. The funeral can take place in the early afternoon, leaving Botan and Kurama to go grab something to eat at a cafe, so I'm down for that idea.

The couple thing works and helps give them the excuse of being together all the time--and yes, he'll tutor poor Botan in their spare time so she can better blend in, but be warned I know jack shit about anything other than storytelling, so we're gonna need to just imply how super smart Kurama is xD but Botan being the hot new girl and Kurama already got her? Damn. She's gonna be the girl that those two basic bitches talk shit about in the Baby Got Back video.

"Oh. My. God. Miku, look at her butt, it's SO big--" lmfao just straight up hating on her grim reaper self.

[Genkai]

That would be cool with me. Are you thinking, that Monday (the one we're starting on) would be a day off for the respect of the family and students? Or are you thinking it'll be the following day, Tue that they have off? I'm sure either way, it could allow Kurama and Botan to do some mild recon come night fall and the clubs done for the day.

And we can muddle through any cute tutoring sessions. I wonder if I could get Botan to wear some cute glasses if they made her look sexier and smarter.

[SoleAccord]

I was thinking that the day they would start on was the one taken off; this gives time for Botan's transfer to be in complete motion, unless she's handled it already, and for them to plan out how their relationship is to appear to others. There is also setting up Botan's living arrangements with him and fully prepping her. If this case is to be a long one, they need to get all this in order before we drop into any eye-popping action.

Botan wanting to spice up her appearance would be a humorous little section to cover; the glasses I don't oppose at all, but I think Botan might get tired of having to clean them and such. Oh, but the sexy biting of one of the tips, I can't forget about that possibility. I say either you roll with it or flip a coin, just make it her Clark Kent joke xD

[Genkai]

If the day we're starting on is the one they have off, the service could be during any time of day then and I may have Botan in street clothes then. I'm just thinking aloud for myself there though. I do think the case with the suicides and the demon in question will be a slow burn but at the same time, we will need smaller more minor cases in the area to probably act as filler since it'll take a while for them to really know what they're up against at the school.

I do think their relationship or pretend one, will probably need to be proposed a few days after she attends classes though, since it might not really dawn on either of them immediately. But I do think them sorting out her living arrangements and why she's investigating the academy, would be a good enough conversation for them.

I think she'd rock some cute lil glasses. Though I think Yusuke might just fuck with her when they cross paths and he pretends not to know who she is when she's got the glasses on. Cue cute running joke haha.

[SoleAccord]

Yeah no sense in having an arc boss be the first foe dealt with. There will obviously need to be some small fry to be put against them. It gives Botan a chance to get some combat experience once Kurama attempts to teach her a few things about it. Maybe she might have a gift with plants, or at the very least be able to learn some sort of Spirit Gun variation. Heck, maybe she can make a Spirit Bat lol.

That makes much more sense. People see them spending a lot of time together, and at first it's just Kurama being a nice guy and trying to help her adjust to the new environment. But gossip is gossip. People began to spread some rumors about how far their relationship really goes. Botan's too fine a girl and Kurama is one of the most attractive men there--if not THE most--so to justify their time spent together, yeah, maybe it becomes a story they sell to help cover their time together.

Haha, that would be very funny. I'd like it if there was someone so unintelligent that they legitimately didn't know it was Botan, but I don't know if there's someone dumb enough to believe that in the show. My first thought was Ogre, but I don't think he's THAT stupid.

[Genkai]

I think a special bat with hollow bits to allow her to channel energy through it for a bigger hit, would be fun. But then again, I also don't think Yusuke was the only detective to utilize the spirit gun so I could see Botan having that in her back pocket too. Maybe she does have an affinity toward plants, I didn't consider that. I know Kurama is geared toward the poisonous side so maybe she could find more healing types? I want her to be an asset in battle, I don't want Kurama having all the fun after all.

It would be funny if the gossip gave them the idea to actually keep up the ruse (but is it just a ruse?!). I think the irony there would be pretty fun to play with. If the outside public wants to think one way and Botan and Kurama aren't bothered by it, I'm sure they'd probably laugh about the idea but then see it might be useful.

I don't think even Kuwabara would be fooled...well I dunno. Orge isn't too dumb...well it depends. But if Kuwabara or Orge didn't get the joke and ended up believing it was someone else, that might be amusing down the line? But then again, we won't now, the others probably won't be involved for a while.

So are we about ready to start? I did some job hunting this morning, did some cleaning and I should be on for the rest of the day.

[SoleAccord]

I also don't believe Yusuke was the first one to wield a Spirit Gun--maybe he took it farther than those before him, but not the sole user--so I'm behind Botan learning it or having already learned it. If the affinity to plants becomes a factor, I am behind her having some ability for healing and/or greater utility like immobilizing people like a bola. Since it's our vision of events after the Dark Tournament, we can tweak things in our favor. Maybe in his spare time Kurama tends to a greenhouse on the school grounds as a volunteer, just something to do, and he gets to talking with Botan about the hobby and they discover her spiritual energy meshes well with that of plant life. Ironic, considering Reaper's ferry the dead, and here she is connecting with life ^^

Hah, that does work out too. Maybe it'll go that way.

Yeah just a funny little scenario I played out in my head, no sweat. If Yusuke or anyone else does show up, it probably won't be for much more than a small cameo, or helping them during a fight.

I think we're ready. Did you want to start with Kurama leaving the service sometime in the early afternoon and coming across Botan? This opening post won't be too big from my perspective, it'll just be a handful of paragraphs... and I need to get into the role ^^' so give me some time on that front.

[Genkai]

I think in the last arc when we meet another past Spirit Detective, she mentions she learned the spirit gun too. And I think when Botan taught Yusuke, she mentions it's sort of what most are taught. I don't think she'll have a very powerful one and without Genkai's teaching, I doubt it will be fatal by any means, but it will be useful to have in a bind that's for sure. And I think she already has some mild healing. I think when Kuwabara had his ass kicked by Rando, she mentions Kuwabara is too far gone for her healing to do anything for him. I do like the idea of Kurama having some greenhouse, maybe at school as you said. Maybe he's president of the club or something. And I do see Botan's reveal of having healing tied with plants, to be a cute one down the line.

I do think we will need them as we progress, or at least to be able to keep tabs on what the others are doing. I'm sure Yusuke is bored as hell back home, so he'd probably love to do more work for Koenma, but we can still assume Yusuke's school isn't too close to Kurama's so bringing him over to help, wouldn't be that, well helpful?

You really should go track down some episodes on youtube or the music, it's great to listen to when writing. I can make the intro if you want. It'll probably sum up why she's around and such. Just to double check:

This will be the second suicide in 2 weeks.

There is a demon who is undercover at the school, someone who Kurama supposedly killed many hundreds of years ago.

Some other weird, unexplained events have been happening around the school.

Kurama is in his last (?) year of high school at the academy.

It's the beginning of spring (?).

The service will be in the early afternoon at a smaller cemetery.

It's Monday and everyone has the day off.

The students attending won't be in uniform.

[SoleAccord]

Won't need to be powerful, just something she can use when the chips are down. It can be a weak one, like the first one Yusuke used to knock that asshole teacher right on his face. Without Genkai there's no chance she'll excel with it. Kurama tending to a greenhouse seems appropriate, so one on school grounds is believable, and we talked about Yoko having a place in another plane that is similar to it. I just don't want to completely reduce Botan to the role of healer. She'll never have more power than Yoko, but she can still help in her own ways. So maybe she can primarily be a healer, with some tools for her to be able to defend herself without Kurama around, just so she's not completely helpless.

I think Yusuke is living it up with Keiko as much as he can, but I think Kuwabara is gonna be the one missing Yukina pretty badly. I think they'd only be called if things get very bad. If Hiei ever shows up, it may either be out of curiosity since he was dying for another fight since the Tournament, or by complete chance.

I'll put Smile Bomb on repeat and rewatch some of his old fights when necessary. It's just hard writing a character so much smarter and smoother than you yourself are sometimes, you know? Um, I can start it, but I always felt like you were better at the introductions. Maybe it's just in my head and I'm okay at it.

The details sound good!

[Genkai]

If Hiei never shows up in the RP, I'd be totally happy lol I just never saw him as a team player. He hardly tolerates Kurama as it is. Not to mention he openly scares the shit out of Botan and Kuwabara. You know, we could make Hiei some possible foe in the future. I think it would be fun to play with, in terms of conflict and shift in dynamic. Plus, I never really bought that he was really helping Team Urameshi to be nice, he was clearly in it for the fights and to appease Koenma since I think Koenma barred him from going back to Demon World or something...

If you need me to start I can.

[SoleAccord]

I think it's Kurama's sentimentality that Hiei doesn't always like, but as a thinker and a fighter Hiei puts him just a little more above Yusuke who is strictly powerful. To Kurama, Hiei making Botan and Kuwabara scared isn't something that can be helped, and he'd see the good in Hiei even if Hiei won't. However, Hiei being a possible foe in the future is an interesting plot point to consider, more as a conflict of interests rather than Hiei being bad. Maybe Kurama and Botan are out to get something he needs, or destroy someone he wants alive for a greater purpose. Maybe someone took Yukina from under his nose--again--and he wants to go after whomever did it alone and kill them, while Kurama and Botan want to take him alive for some purpose. A lot of possibilities. Whatever reason he had to join the tournament, he was still an asset for them, so that's gotta earn some points in Botan's book, right?

I'm actually getting sleepy, so combine that with my lack of visual for a good opening post that doesn't include running into Botan, maybe it would be better if your perspective starts it? Kurama can't completely place the pieces together as of yet. As of now he's finding it strange, but not the sign of a threat from Spirit World at large. I think this is a good start for Botan.

[Genkai]

I don't see my intro having too much in it, since Botan will probably be in the background for most it, just observing. But I'll try to get something up tonight if I can before bed.

[SoleAccord]

Wow so we both just have shitty openers huh? Well, just one of those roleplays where it's hard to get a thick starter I guess xD no problem.