LuckyBlackCat

Onryo Hunters - A ghost-battling magical girl/boy RP

@Stylobilly Ring of keys would be fine! I like the idea of the separating keys. The other stuff, though... That'd be a bit problematic for this RP. Tsukumogami tend to be born from small household objects, manmade ones at that, and size isn't linked to power. I will say no to remains in their raw form, although something made of leather, bone etc would be ok.

Anyway, thanks everyone for showing interest! We have four people, plus one who messaged me on Discord, so that should be enough to start. If work doesn't kick my ass, I'll have the OOC up tomorrow.

Onryo Hunters - A ghost-battling magical girl/boy RP

@Crimson Flame Yay! Good to have you on board!

Onryo Hunters - A ghost-battling magical girl/boy RP

You’ve always experienced odd things. An inexplicable sense of dread, the feeling of being watched when alone. And misfortunes may have consistently happened around you, or to you, as if you were being targeted. You may brush it off as mere superstition and coincidence, you may look deeper into it, or you may wonder if there’s something wrong with you.

There isn’t. The odd happenings aren’t your fault; rather, by responding to the hidden presence of another entity, you’ve alerted them to your ability to sense them.

Onryo, the spirits of those wronged in life, unable to find peace. The longer they remain bound to Earth, the more their stability wanes and the more their anguish consumes them. Most living people can’t see or sense them, but can still be harmed by the onryo’s grudge. Such a malevolent spirit lashes out at the living by cursing them, or causing disasters. Merely getting back at the one who wronged them in life rarely satisfies them, and these lingering regrets will continue to wreak destruction until put to rest.

This duty falls to you. You have been lucky enough to draw the attention of a more benevolent spirit, a tsukumogami. An object of 100 years old or over may acquire a soul, hence sentience, and gain the ability to bond with a mortal who has such potential. When their abilities combine, the human gains their true power, becoming a hunter.

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Lore:

Hunters

Some people are born with the ability to connect to what’s usually unseen. From early childhood, they can sense the presence of nearby spirits. During adolescence, their potential grows, and they gain the ability to bond with tsukumogami.

Once bonded, they can combine their power to enter the world in between the material and the spectral, a limbo of sorts. It looks like a greyed-out version of our world, with people in the material realm resembling shadows, and onryo appearing in full clarity. There, the human takes on their hunter form, the tsukumogami becoming either their weapon or part of their outfit. This transformation allows them to use various abilities to lay ghosts to rest.

A hunter’s powers are linked to their bonded tsukumogami; for instance, someone bound to a paper lantern will have control over fire or light.

Outside of limbo, they can still see onryo as opposed to simply sensing them, although these spirits will appear blurry and transparent. They can also pick up on the presence of nearby hunters, whether in limbo or in the material world.

Tsukumogami

A particularly old object, of 100 years or over, has a small chance of gaining a soul. To most, they still appear inanimate, but when nobody is watching they seek out potential hunters. They aim to form these bonds as quickly as possible, so newly recruited hunters are often young. Dragging children into a war against dangerous entities may seem cruel, but since these youngsters are often targets, leaving them defenseless against the onryo would be far worse.

The possessed object is fairly tough, even if made of a normally fragile material, and if damaged, will slowly heal over time. However, during recovery, the hunter’s powers will be weakened. If the tsukumogami is destroyed beyond repair, they’ll remain as a spirit until they can find another suitable vessel, and for that time the hunter will be depowered, unable to communicate with their parter’s soul beside their basic ability to sense their nearby presence. The new vessel must be fittingly old and of the same nature; for example, a kasa-obake (umbrella tsukumogami) can only possess another umbrella.

Just as a hunter cannot enter limbo on their own, neither can a tsukumogami, meaning the hunter has to carry them around and pass them off as an ordinary item. Fortunately most are small, but this can still be inconvenient, with the bonded human having to get creative in order to not draw undue attention.

These beings come in various forms. Here is a list of some of the best known in folklore.

Onryo

Those significantly wronged in life, or consumed with regret or despair, have a chance of remaining bound to Earth after death. Being trapped between two worlds, looking in at life from the outside, doesn’t exactly help their tormented state. Twisted into someone unlike who they once were, they take out their grief and anger on the living.

The most common way they do this is to lay curses, causing unexplained physical sickness, sapping someone’s will to live, or drawing out people’s destructive urges. More powerful onryo can cause disasters, such as fires or freak storms. The strongest can briefly manifest in physical form and cause direct harm to their victims, giving rise to many urban legends.

The longer they remain trapped in limbo, the more their grudge grows, increasing their power but eating at their sanity. They can also grow stronger by absorbing the souls of victims who die from their curses, thus preventing the creation of another onryo who could torment them. Exorcising the onryo will free these souls. Some, however, actively seek to create other restless spirits out of desperation for company, or break the wills of victims-turned-ghosts, making them into underlings.

Despite being commonly depicted in pop culture as stringy haired women in white kimonos, males exist, and onryo take on various forms, representing their regrets or the way they died. Someone who burned to death may be surrounded by wispy flames, or smoke. Varieties of onryo include funayurei (the souls of those who died at sea), and goryo (the angered spirits of nobles and martyrs).

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Hey! Cat here, with a magical girl RP. Well, I say that, but you're not gender locked, plus the RP will have horror and shonen elements. You'll be playing fairly new hunters, learning to work together and hone your combat skills, while a supernatural threat grows. I'm looking for around 7-8 people, who can post on a semi regular basis. Let me know if you're interested!

Pokémon Knights

Ironic how his colour scheme (apart from the text) is red, shiny Gyarados and all, instead of... well, blue xD

Also if Calli finds out he writes poetry, she'll be intrigued enough to get past the intimidation, since she's a songwriter herself.

Pokémon Knights

Ohhhh. Just looked it up and I know who he is, the bit about being from Kanto should have been a giveaway.

And Calli would still be impressed/a little intimidated, since he's a skilled warrior with an air of mystery around him.

Pokémon Knights

Calli's interactions with Okido are gonna be fun too, she idolises the knights and is impressed that he tamed a Gyarados.

Pokémon Knights

Well, Chaotic and Echoic have yet to start, but I'm happy to discuss relations.

@EchoicChamber I feel Calliope and Colette are the kinds of people who'd get along well, want them to be friends?

Pokémon Knights

Calliope isn't having the best start to her day...

Pokémon Knights

@FrogRFlowR

"Taaaaaaaria!"

The high-pitched warble roused Calliope from her sleep. Through bleary eyes, she glanced at the dorm window to see the first rays of dawn. "Just a little longer..." she mumbled, rolling over, prompting Seraphine to nuzzle her cheek and chirp again. She groaned - and sat bolt upright as she realised what day it was. "Ah! I hope we're not late!"

She hurriedly dressed and rushed from the dorm, Seraphine in tow. Shivering, she jogged faster, as much to warm herself up as to avoid being late. It had been a year, and she still wasn't quite used to the chill mountain air, especially in the mornings and evenings. Of course, getting to meet the Rallen Knights, and the prospect of becoming one herself, made it all worthwhile.

A chance she didn't want to jeopardise by getting in trouble.

"If we're gonna get there fast enough," she panted, "looks like we'll have to make a dramatic entrance. Unity Mode Activaaaaate!" A brilliant blue glow surrounded Calliope, her entire body feeling lighter as the transformation took effect. Once the light faded, revealing her blue battle outfit and fluffy cloak, she threw her fist in the air. "Alright, you ready Sera? Let's take on our newest opponent: Time! Dragon Dance!"

As Seraphine twirled by her side, Calliope spun and leapt, sky-blue auras forming around both of them. Their pace sped up, surroundings rushing past. When the gate and courtyard came into view, Calliope winced. A good few people were already there. She danced forward at full speed, towards where the others trained. "Ahhhh! Look out!" Unable to stop herself in time, she barreled right into one of the newcomers, a green-haired girl with a Kirlia.

"Ooops! Sorry about that!" De-transforming and staggering to her feet as Seraphine chirped in alarm, Calliope held out a hand to help the girl up. "Are you alright?"

The Fairies Adventure

@Crimson Flame

Even outside, the festival was in full swing. Annoyingly so.

"Is it just me or it each booth gaudier than the last?" Zircon muttered under her breath, glancing over at the lurid-coloured stalls from which enthusiastic merchants advertised their wares. As fairies flitted through air filled with chatter, the crowding didn't help the warmth any, which while not unbearable, was still more that she was used to. And she'd never seen so many sparkles in her life. "I swear I'm still gonna be finding glitter on my clothes a year from now. So much for relaxing."

In that infuriatingly cute way, the corner of Coralie's mouth twitched up. "Y'know, it would be if you'd just let yourself kick back and have fun. I mean, you did enjoy that pine nut cake enough to buy a second slice. And don't think I didn't see you nodding your head to the street music just now."

Zircon folded her arms. "I was hungry is all! And the music was just... irritatingly catchy!" Ok, so the food was pretty decent, even if the baker had been much too cheery. As for the music, even if there was something uplifting about it, that most certainly didn't make it worth dancing to. She'd resisted that inexplicable urge to tap her foot, for crying out loud.

Coralie gave her a knowing look. "Zee, as much as I admire your work ethic, it's ok to... chill, once in a while, so to speak." She chuckled at her own bad pun, while Zircon groaned. "I know you don't have the best memories of leisure and all, but that doesn't make it bad in itself. Speaking of work though, I can't wait to see that sculpture you made!"

Fluttering beside her towards the palace, Zircon sighed. "It says a lot that the prince wanted a statue of himself." She wouldn't be surprised if Prince Sky, along with many other royals and nobles, treated the common folk such as herself and Coralie as out of place here. Despite wearing the fanciest clothes they owned, they'd already received snooty looks from some of the high-born people.

"Well he is the host, and all that detail's sure to be impressive!" Slowing to a hover, Coralie faced Zircon and blushed. "And hey, if it'd make things easier... Once we're there, how about we dance?"

Zircon's air of cool indifference melted away. Well, that had caught her off guard. All she could do was nod and stammer. "S-Sure."

A grin lit up Coralie's face. "Yay! Wanna race to the palace? First one there takes the lead in the dance, you ok with that?"

Although she mentally yelled at herself to keep it together, words failed Zircon again. She nodded once more, the slight warmth in her cheeks indicating they had to be turning berry purple.

"Ok, on your marks! Get set! Go!!" Giggling, Coralie set off towards the palace doors.

Patting her cheeks and covering them with a thin layer of frost, Zircon willed herself to snap to her senses. "Y-You can be a real pain sometimes, you know that?" she called, speeding after Coralie, grumbling as she watched her slip through the doors. The thought of Cori's hands on hers made her stomach flip over and over with nerves. "Alright, you win... Huh?"

Heading inside and landing, she gasped. Nothing could have prepared her for this. No merriment, no music, no dancing, nothing. Just a room full of stone statues. Including, near the entrance, head held high in triumph, hand cupped by her mouth as if about to call to her...

"Cori!" Zircon rushed over and gripped one of Coralie's petrified hands. "No, no, Cori... We were supposed to dance. You were supposed to keep driving me round the twist with that teasing of yours." Tears prickled the corners of her eyes, her frosty facade well and truly shattered. "This was supposed to be fun! Like you said!"

Fists clenched, she darted outside. "Somebody help!" Prince Sky had already leapt into action, creating a luminous signal. Loath as she'd initially been to be in the presence of the arrogant prince, Zircon rose to his side. "What happened?!"