VitaVitaAR

Shadow Contract: An Urban Fantasy Action RP

@BOOM: Okay boy where to start here...

To begin with, I'll point out I'm not a particularly big fan of using RL images for anime-based RPs. It comes off as jarring and incongruous at best. To top it off, the image is pretty much unrelated to the description you give later on which makes it all the more confusing.

As for the rest...

It's sort of a mess? It doesn't really fall in line with how contracts are formed even unintentionally. When I mentioned unintentional contracts, I meant things like "my friend died but now their ghost follows me all the time because I wished they wouldn't go" or something like that, where you did make the contract but didn't realize it was a contract or something like that.

Just suddenly getting god powers from someone you had zero contact with before this point... not exactly. The backstory's also fairly incoherently and poorly-explained.

Additionally, with Ebisu being an actual member of the Seven Gods of Fortune, you've honestly failed to connect anything there to the actual mythological figure. I'm not asking for super adherence in how your abilities work but it should at least be recognizable to some degree.

Your contract, given the abilities given, is not at all A-rank. It's lacking in application and potency, and from an OOC perspective borders heavily on mind control which I'm not inclined to accept. It also doesn't really fall in line with her backstory either, how are people expected to consent to giving away lifespan over the internet when they don't even know that's a possibility?

Declined.

Shadow Contract: An Urban Fantasy Action RP

@BOOM: Please don't post non-accepted bios in the characters tab.

I didn't even have the opportunity to review your sheet, it doesn't belong there.

Final Fantasy: Lightseekers

So it wasn't a clash with the leader of the enemy forces. Indeed, while she might have survived the airship crash, the explosives around her would likely at least give her a few moments of pause.

Instead, they'd be cutting their way out.

Robin wasn't entirely certain how to feel, but at the same time---

A hero helped people. A hero did what they could to ensure their allies escaped alive. And right now, the best course of action was to cut a path through the enemy as they rallied around their commander.

So, Robin would do everything she could to make that outcome become the truth.

"I won't let you down---!"

She was already moving.

A bullet shot past her, nearly striking her in the head. She could feel it whipping by, but she didn't stop.

She met the solider who fired and drove the tip of her sword through her through, twisting in the very same motion to shove his body to the side as quickly as possible and keep moving.

Her heart hammered.

She'd seen people die who shouldn't have died.

A hero would have to make sure that didn't happen any more.

"Damn it, I'll-"

She cut him off with a thrust of her blade. Swiftness. Efficiency. The speed and finesse to end her enemies before their allies could target her.

Bullets cleaved the space she once occupied. One pinged off of her sword as she flicked its blade through the air, deflecting it.

She'd move faster, then.

She didn't want to have to sacrifice a single movement that could stall their goal. That meant not even deflecting bullets could be permitted, because when she moved to deflect it took just that much more time for her to be ready to attack once again.

Robin caught her next target as he drew his sword, dodging beneath a hasty swing and burying her blade to the hilt in his armpit, in a gap between the plating.

Just as swiftly, it left him with a spurt of red, and she was moving once more.

Shadow Contract: An Urban Fantasy Action RP Interest Check

@RoadkilBanana: I'd have to see your bio and stuff first, but there's nothing stopping you from applying.

Shadow Contract: An Urban Fantasy Action RP Interest Check

@PKMNB0Y@Rin@Raineh Daze@Wayward@Rune_Alchemist@King Cosmos: Alrighty, let me move this over to an OOC!

And here we go!

Shadow Contract: An Urban Fantasy Action RP

Characters:

Shadow Contract: An Urban Fantasy Action RP

The world has never ceased to change.

Once, the human population was small. But now, humanity exists in every corner of the world, building vast cities to house their numbers.

In such places, incredible things are accomplished and created.

In such places, darkness festers in low places. People feel pain and anger. Resent and hatred. These bubbling feelings boil over and spill into lonely and isolated places, sinking into a mire of spiritual corruption.

Kegare. The black-red ichor of death and trauma that lingers in sites of devastating accidents and traumatic deaths, of deep wounds that can't easily heal. These spiritual corruption lingers and feeds on the negative emotions of human beings, forming physical bodies with which to sew further pain.

Grudges.

Grudges are these physical beings, these manifestations of spiritual corruption fueled by the negative emotions of humanity. The hatred of an overbearing boss. Jealousy towards the praise earned by a top-rank student. These feelings for the nourishment of Grudges, who in turn sew further pain by attacking humanity. Weak Grudges may simply cause illness or influence others to become hostile or depressed. But once they become strong enough, they are able to attack and kill human beings and feed on them directly.

Grudges have always been the price of humanity's existence. But in this world of mass population and enormous cities, that price has increased dramatically.

For all the amazing things that can be accomplished in the modern world, that can't prevent the manifestation of Grudges.

And yet---

Spirits. Demons. Youkai. Gods.

These beings have existed alongside humanity. Sometimes worshipped and respected, other times reviled and hated. But their nature as beings outside of human existence allows them a unique capacity to destroy Grudges.

And by forging contracts with these beings, humans can gain this capacity as well.

Once, those who formed these Shadow Contracts with the Unseen were a special class of warrior or mystic. In Japan, there were a number of families who formed contracts spanning their entire bloodline for this sole purpose. But in this modern day, more Contract Holders are needed than ever.

It is for this reason that the families permitted the creation of the Shadow Contract Academies, technical schools for the expansion of contract holder numbers and their education. While they still hold a stuff grip on the progression of this side of the unseen world, they have permitted new blood to enter it all the same.

These Contract Holders must face the world of night and destroy the Grudges that would devour human lives.

But, perhaps---

This world isn't so simple.

And Grudges may not be the only enemy.

---

The Tokyo Shadow Academy is one of the two primary schools focused on the education and development of Contract Holders. Operating in secrecy, hidden from most of the mundane world, these schools are responsible for the next generation of defense against Grudges. Primarily they focus on education about the context and nature of Shadow Contracts, as well as live-fire training exercises where students are sent to destroy Grudges with the supervision of school faculty.

It's the only way to truly prepare for the future, after all.

Students are sent from both the Founding Families of Shadow Contractor Techniques as well as discovered by routinely maintaining observation of the rest of society for anyone who may have formed a contract through other means, or unintentionally formed one. It is not only for the purpose of protecting society as a Contractor, but also for their own sake due to the dangers of holding a contract and the abilities it grants without understanding it.

Its elder sibling, the Kyoto Shadow Academy, operates in much the same manner.

---

Shadow Contracts: Contracts held between a human being and a supernatural entity, being a spirit, youkai, demon, or god. These contracts grant the contractor an ability of some form, which can manifest in a variety of ways. Some Contract Abilities may be broad and flexible, while others may seem like they are narrow and function in a rigid and structured way. All of these abilities surpass the material world and allow for the permanent destruction of manifested Grudges. The use of Contract Abilities requires a steady supply of spiritual energy. The more spiritual energy a human being possesses, the more freely they can use a Contract Ability. Spiritual Energy levels are determined by a variety of factors, one of them being bloodline. It goes without saying that the founding families possess high levels of spiritual energy. Contracts can be made on an individual basis, but in the case of the founders their entire bloodlines are under contract to powerful supernatural entities. A contract is a two-way street, the human side gains an ability but in exchange they must provide some form of payment in the form of the Contract's Cost. Cost can be anything from a one-time payment to something that must be done every time a contractor uses their abilities. It can be performing an action such as singing or prayer, offering an item or even a piece of oneself, or even pledging years of one's life. Typically, the stronger a contract ability the steeper the Cost, and one-time payments will inevitably be a harsher Cost then those that are paid daily or on ability use. Techniques utilizing Contract Abilities are known as Shadow Techniques, the most developed of which are held by the founding families due to their long history.

Grudges: Masses of spiritual corruption known as kegare that have festered in places rich in negative emotions. By feeding on this negative energy, Grudges are capable of developing a physical form. Weak Grudges can merely influence emotions or cause illness, but once they have become more powerful they can directly affect the physical world and cause harm or even kill human beings. Most Grudges are monstrous in appearance and beast-like in intelligence, but some particularly powerful Grudges can develop human-like intellect and even take on more human-like forms. Grudges are difficult to permanently harm with conventional weaponry, but attacks made using spiritual power are capable of destroying them. Grudges posses their own spiritual energy, and thus operate under similar rules to contracted humans in that regard. If exhausted of spiritual energy, a Grudge will be unable to continue using their abilities. Grudges are ranked from E to S, with E-rank Grudges being low level threats any contractor can deal with an S-rank Grudges being a high grade threat that only the most capable of Contractors may face.

---

Hey, this RP is mostly just born from a desire for some urban fantasy action! Players are going to be students, primarily first and second years(ranging from 15-17). The RP intro will depend a bit on if we have any new blood just learning about the hidden side of the world now, so a mix of newcomers and people who were born into this would be nice.

I'm aiming for no more than 8 players, and I'm expecting at least one post a week.

Also, @PKMNB0Y will be my co-gm!

---

• Name:
• Age: (15-17)
• Gender:
• Appearance:
• Personality:
• Backstory:
• Skills:
• Spiritual Energy Grade: (From E to S, E being low and S being a special rank for high level Spiritual Energy. Naturally I'm expecting most characters to fall between these two ranks, and I'm not likely to accept an S-rank without a good reason.)
  • Contracted Being: (As this takes place in Japan, largely Japanese mythology and folklore entities are to be expected. You may also use human ghosts and others being as contracts!)
  • Contract Rank: (A vague grading of contract ability power from E to S. This rank is determined by contracted being, contract ability, and the use and capability of the contractor in use of that ability. Contracts abilities can rank up based on increased performance. Most should fall into the C-B category, though a very well-justified A-rank may be permitted. S-rank contracts are not acceptable.)
  • Contract Abilities: (What does your contract let you do? It can be a broad ability with multiple applications or a narrow one with specific uses, or anything in-between. It should have some thematic connection to the contracted being)
  • Cost: (What does your character pay to uphold their side of the contract? It can be something they pay at regular intervals, something they pay on ability use, or something they paid once when they contracted. Typically, higher rank contracts have higher costs, and single payments are always higher then payments on ability use or on regular intervals.)

Shadow Contract: An Urban Fantasy Action RP Interest Check

The world has never ceased to change.

Once, the human population was small. But now, humanity exists in every corner of the world, building vast cities to house their numbers.

In such places, incredible things are accomplished and created.

In such places, darkness festers in low places. People feel pain and anger. Resent and hatred. These bubbling feelings boil over and spill into lonely and isolated places, sinking into a mire of spiritual corruption.

Kegare. The black-red ichor of death and trauma that lingers in sites of devastating accidents and traumatic deaths, of deep wounds that can't easily heal. These spiritual corruption lingers and feeds on the negative emotions of human beings, forming physical bodies with which to sew further pain.

Grudges.

Grudges are these physical beings, these manifestations of spiritual corruption fueled by the negative emotions of humanity. The hatred of an overbearing boss. Jealousy towards the praise earned by a top-rank student. These feelings for the nourishment of Grudges, who in turn sew further pain by attacking humanity. Weak Grudges may simply cause illness or influence others to become hostile or depressed. But once they become strong enough, they are able to attack and kill human beings and feed on them directly.

Grudges have always been the price of humanity's existence. But in this world of mass population and enormous cities, that price has increased dramatically.

For all the amazing things that can be accomplished in the modern world, that can't prevent the manifestation of Grudges.

And yet---

Spirits. Demons. Youkai. Gods.

These beings have existed alongside humanity. Sometimes worshipped and respected, other times reviled and hated. But their nature as beings outside of human existence allows them a unique capacity to destroy Grudges.

And by forging contracts with these beings, humans can gain this capacity as well.

Once, those who formed these Shadow Contracts with the Unseen were a special class of warrior or mystic. In Japan, there were a number of families who formed contracts spanning their entire bloodline for this sole purpose. But in this modern day, more Contract Holders are needed than ever.

It is for this reason that the families permitted the creation of the Shadow Contract Academies, technical schools for the expansion of contract holder numbers and their education. While they still hold a stuff grip on the progression of this side of the unseen world, they have permitted new blood to enter it all the same.

These Contract Holders must face the world of night and destroy the Grudges that would devour human lives.

But, perhaps---

This world isn't so simple.

And Grudges may not be the only enemy.

---

The Tokyo Shadow Academy is one of the two primary schools focused on the education and development of Contract Holders. Operating in secrecy, hidden from most of the mundane world, these schools are responsible for the next generation of defense against Grudges. Primarily they focus on education about the context and nature of Shadow Contracts, as well as live-fire training exercises where students are sent to destroy Grudges with the supervision of school faculty.

It's the only way to truly prepare for the future, after all.

Students are sent from both the Founding Families of Shadow Contractor Techniques as well as discovered by routinely maintaining observation of the rest of society for anyone who may have formed a contract through other means, or unintentionally formed one. It is not only for the purpose of protecting society as a Contractor, but also for their own sake due to the dangers of holding a contract and the abilities it grants without understanding it.

Its elder sibling, the Kyoto Shadow Academy, operates in much the same manner.

---

Shadow Contracts: Contracts held between a human being and a supernatural entity, being a spirit, youkai, demon, or god. These contracts grant the contractor an ability of some form, which can manifest in a variety of ways. Some Contract Abilities may be broad and flexible, while others may seem like they are narrow and function in a rigid and structured way. All of these abilities surpass the material world and allow for the permanent destruction of manifested Grudges. The use of Contract Abilities requires a steady supply of spiritual energy. The more spiritual energy a human being possesses, the more freely they can use a Contract Ability. Spiritual Energy levels are determined by a variety of factors, one of them being bloodline. It goes without saying that the founding families possess high levels of spiritual energy. Contracts can be made on an individual basis, but in the case of the founders their entire bloodlines are under contract to powerful supernatural entities. A contract is a two-way street, the human side gains an ability but in exchange they must provide some form of payment in the form of the Contract's Cost. Cost can be anything from a one-time payment to something that must be done every time a contractor uses their abilities. It can be performing an action such as singing or prayer, offering an item or even a piece of oneself, or even pledging years of one's life. Typically, the stronger a contract ability the steeper the Cost, and one-time payments will inevitably be a harsher Cost then those that are paid daily or on ability use. Techniques utilizing Contract Abilities are known as Shadow Techniques, the most developed of which are held by the founding families due to their long history.

Grudges: Masses of spiritual corruption known as kegare that have festered in places rich in negative emotions. By feeding on this negative energy, Grudges are capable of developing a physical form. Weak Grudges can merely influence emotions or cause illness, but once they have become more powerful they can directly affect the physical world and cause harm or even kill human beings. Most Grudges are monstrous in appearance and beast-like in intelligence, but some particularly powerful Grudges can develop human-like intellect and even take on more human-like forms. Grudges are difficult to permanently harm with conventional weaponry, but attacks made using spiritual power are capable of destroying them. Grudges posses their own spiritual energy, and thus operate under similar rules to contracted humans in that regard. If exhausted of spiritual energy, a Grudge will be unable to continue using their abilities. Grudges are ranked from E to S, with E-rank Grudges being low level threats any contractor can deal with an S-rank Grudges being a high grade threat that only the most capable of Contractors may face.

---

Hey, this RP is mostly just born from a desire for some urban fantasy action! Players are going to be students, primarily first and second years(ranging from 15-17). The RP intro will depend a bit on if we have any new blood just learning about the hidden side of the world now, so a mix of newcomers and people who were born into this would be nice.

I'm aiming for no more than 8 players, and I'm expecting at least one post a week.

Also, @PKMNB0Y will be my co-gm!

---

• Name:
• Age: (15-17)
• Gender:
• Appearance:
• Personality:
• Backstory:
• Skills:
• Spiritual Energy Grade: (From E to S, E being low and S being a special rank for high level Spiritual Energy. Naturally I'm expecting most characters to fall between these two ranks, and I'm not likely to accept an S-rank without a good reason.)
  • Contracted Being: (As this takes place in Japan, largely Japanese mythology and folklore entities are to be expected. You may also use human ghosts and others being as contracts!)
  • Contract Rank: (A vague grading of contract ability power from E to S. Most should fall into the C-A category. I'm not likely to accept an S-rank contract without a very good reason.)
  • Contract Abilities: (What does your contract let you do? It can be a broad ability with multiple applications or a narrow one with specific uses, or anything in-between. It should have some thematic connection to the contracted being)
  • Cost: (What does your character pay to uphold their side of the contract? It can be something they pay at regular intervals, something they pay on ability use, or something they paid once when they contracted. Typically, higher rank contracts have higher costs, and single payments are always higher then payments on ability use or on regular intervals.)

From Realms Beyond — An Isekai Crossover RP (Now Accepting)

It had been difficult, though she'd been ready to spring into action to try and prevent the goddess from taking a relatively friendly duel into a lethal one, to prevent herself from feeling a little jealous.

She knew that, by Kochiya's nature, and the nature of her goddesses, it ultimately made sense for her to be able to summon them to her side even here. Provided she had the requisite faith, at least.

That being said, it didn't stop the clutching, gnawing feeling lingering in the core of her heart.

Youmu still had no way of reaching her mistress, Saigyouji Yuyuko. And of course, entering the netherworld wasn't possible for those goddeses. So even if she had been able to ask, it only would have amounted to something if Yuyuko left the netherworld first.

... Surely, she must be looking for her. That meant, at the very least, it's likely she would learn she was mostly alright and would return home as soon as she possibly could.

It wasn't as if Youmu lacked concern for this world's people, but Yuyuko-sama and her duty were always foremost in the half-phantom's mind. Naturally, that meant ensuring a route back home as soon as she possibly could.

"Yuyuko-sama..."

Regardless of her mistress's oddities, the Princess of the Netherworld was nobility. She would have been far more capable in the coming scenario then Youmu herself felt she would be.

While she was versed in proper etiquette, she wasn't exactly known for having political savvy. And swinging one's sword wasn't the kind of problem-solving that such situations might require.

More than that, though, she wanted to see her mistress again. To know she was doing well at the very least, if she couldn't be there for the sake of her defense.

"While I know about etiquette, I don't know very much about politics," she said, after a moment, mind still wandering quietly, "So I'm not sure if I'd know what to say to the ruler of this country."

Reborn in a Fantasy World, This Time I Shall...!

Ruined Inn

---

At least he has the sense to understand that we shouldn't stay here, though I'm not sure how to respond when hear him mention I remind him of his sister.

No matter how I look, I'm a man, right? There's no way I should be reminding anyone of anyone's sister, right?

... The fact that it already feels strange to refer to myself in such a way mentally definitely doesn't give me very hopeful vibes, but I can't dwell on that right now.

"If there's water, then we definitely need to find an easy way to transport it," I comment. "I imagine they probably would have had something in storage to make it easier to carry around rather then lugging around big heavy barrels, so we can probably use that. Given what kind of world this seems to be, I'm guessing waterskins or something like that.

It looks like the dragon-man found a journal, or something like that. I don't need to look at it too closely to get the jist. Something terrible happened here, that killed a lot of people and then used the dead as soldiers. If there's anything good about this knowledge, it's that it seems like it confirms that my guess about it not being any sort of virus is correct. It sounds more like it was some sort of attack, which is bad but at least it's not some sort of weird zombie apocalypse fantasy world.

If I have to die an be reborn in another world, being reborn in something out of an off-kilter survival horror game would definitely make my already-bad situation even worse.

...

It's not that I don't feel bad for the people who lived here. The sight of the fallen lady knight is plenty grim, and the innkeeper's son must have suffered horribly. But I never met them. There's a distance between us that won't be closed, now that they're gone.

"... This place must have really been bustling, before all that happened," I find myself commenting, before sighing, "... You're right, let's gather some bags and get moving. The faster we get out of this city, the faster we'll be out of immediate danger. Then we can get our bearings.

... A bell...?

There's no mistaking it. I can hear it loud and clear. It's a bell, kind of like what you'd expect to hear from a western church or something similar.

Out the window, I can see the undead suddenly turning, walking down the street, in the direction of the sound. Did someone ring it, or was it set to do that on its own? Why did the undead respond to it like that?

These are all uneasy questions, aren't they? But in the here and now, it means we can leave without getting immediately attacked.

I inhale deeply.

"Alright. I don't know how to fight, so I shouldn't go first. I think the hammer girl-" I pause for a moment.

I don't know anyone's names.

"We... we should probably introduce ourselves, shouldn't we? I'm-"

Erk.

On one hand, my real name will let everyone know that I was-I am a man.

On the other, it'll let them know I'm a man, which will make my situation a thousand times more awkward then it already is.

I'd prefer to put that revelation off a little, as much as it pains me a bit.

"... C-call me Sephily, for now..."

... Hopefully no-one else here has read The Elf Mage Doesn't Approve.

@PKMNB0Y@Aku the Samurai@SilverPaw@RolePlayerRoxas

---

Witch's Household

---

"An... animatronic?" the elderly tortoise asked, "Oh, my... Is that like an automata?"

He chuckled warmly.

"I'm afraid I'm nothing so grand as that. These old bones are all natural."

He bowed his head once more as the goblin departed inside.

"... You're talking plenty of nonsense," Ilsa said, after a few moments of incredulous staring, "But the more I hear, the more it sounds like you aren't drunk or under the influence of anything else. And since you really don't seem to know anything, maybe you are from somewhere far away."

She let out a heavy sigh.

"I suppose I can't blame you for disturbing the shrine, then, but now I have to explain to you..." she complained aloud, her shoulders sagging.

"Well, Ilsa, it is your job, you're the Witch of the Forest after all~"

The silky-smooth, playful, sultry female voice seemed to come out of no-where. But, in fact, it had escaped the beak of the raven perched upon Ilsa's shoulder.

The Substitute Witch stared blankly at her for a moment.

"Now you talk, and it's just to give me trouble?" she nearly growled with a glare at the midnight-colored bird, "Aren't familiars supposed to make a witch's life easier?"

The raven simply snickered, before hopping off of Ilsa's shoulder. A flurry of black feathers surrounded it, through which the sight of its body expanding and shifting could just barely be glimpsed.

When it concluded, it had been replaced with a pale-skinned, black-haired woman with dark makeup, wearing equally dark clothing, with a rather low cut. Compared to Ilsa, she was considerably taller, and with a much more mature figure.

The only thing that marked her true nature was the feathers protruding from her wavy hair on either side of her head.

"Forgive dear Ilsa, she's been quite surly recently," the raven woman said, smiling pleasantly.

Ilsa's glare only intensified.

"And you're certainly not helping. Hmph."

Crossing her arms over her chest, the Witch inhaled deeply before continuing.

"Since you don't know anything, I'll at least tell you where you are. This is the Great Sea of Green, the Forest of Lorkay. The largest forest in these lands, and the one blessed with the most natural richness."

Despite the fact she almost certainly was not responsible for the forest, it sounded like she was proud of it all the same.

When she spoke again, her voice had taken on a darker tone.

"And that shrine was once a place of worship, for the divine spirit that dwelled in these lands. That time passed long ago, though, and now it's just a ruin. Those who approach it are likely to be hunted down and devoured by that creature without my intervention, which is why it's strictly off-limits."

Her voice was more quiet as she continued.

"Unfortunately, just staying away from the shrine isn't always enough these days... In any case,as long as you stay here, you'll be safe. Just don't leave without me, and don't follow any fairies, or else you'll get to learn first hand about the Spiraling Path and the Garden of False Reflections."

@Rune_Alchemist@Pyromania99@Rin