Hidden 10 yrs ago Post by VitaVitaAR
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VitaVitaAR King of Knights

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The room was dimly lit, and it stunk of cigarette smoke. The only light source seemed to be from a single lamp, hanging from the ceiling, and the light of day shining through the blinds behind the desk. This was enough light to see the state of the room.

Papers occupied nearly every flat surface, including the floor around desks and tables. The top of a small TV was covered in them, and an old-fashioned turn-dial phone looked threatened to be overwhelmed by them. However, your attention was drawn to the desk in front of you. For behind that desk sat your possible employer.

She was a woman, who appeared to be in her mid twenties insofar as you could guess, though being in her early or late twenties was not entirely out of the question. Her red hair was tied up in a ponytail, and she wore a white shirt. Her skin was pale, and she leaned back in her seat as she surveyed you. An ash tray sat on her desk, issuing smoke from a recently-discarded cigarette. The ash tray itself was much like the rest of the room: filled with clutter.

The woman's eyes, which matched her hair, regarded you behind thin-framed glasses. She was neither tall nor short. Her appearance certainly was not unattractive, she was rather pretty to be truthful, but her expression was a focused, almost harsh one. She took a deep breath, and the cigarette in her mouth burned down further. She took it from her mouth and blew out smoke, then raised an eyebrow at you.

"You don't have to look so worried, " she began, cracking a smile, "I'm not going to eat you. I guess you're here for the openings?"

Nod.

"Well then, let's see your credentials..."

You offered her a paper, and she took it from you. She looked it over, her expression becoming serious once more. "Hmm... interesting, interesting... you think you'll make a good detective, then?"

Nod.

"Well..." she shrugged, "I was asking for new employees, and now you're here. It's not as if I see any reason to turn you away, your skills look pretty useful."

She took another drag on her cigarette, then blew the smoke out. "So, you're hired."


Unexplainable crimes that defy human ability.

A detective agency that only some people can see.

Deep in Kawa City, there lies what appears to be an empty lot. For some reason, this lot has been left untouched by builders. Some go to survey it, but they always dismiss it for some reason. It's simply ruled to be a place that's impossible to build on, for one reason or another. However, there are some people, some people with... gifts, that are capable of seeing what lies in this supposedly empty lot. Anyone considered supernatural is capable of piercing the veil that hides what lies in this empty lot.

The Fu Sonzai no Gensō detective agency deals strictly in cases beyond the realm of local law enforcement. Those who are able to see it go to it to have cases of an unusual nature solved. Cases that someone with mere human capability could not possibly have perpetrated.

And now, it's hiring.


For starters, there's some information about the setting that's kind of important.

Magi: Capable of magic, invoked by spells and symbols, sometimes in conjunction with one another. Magical prowess is passed through bloodlines, some families having more or less mana then others. Magi will have an affinity, which can range from things like fire to gravity to numbers. Affinities(which are also passed through bloodlines) are not limited to the affinity itself, but also includes things that are conceptually linked to it. For example, a mage with an affinity for fire would also excel at spells involving "consumption", "ignition", and "destruction". Magi can preform spells outside their affinity, though it is more difficult to learn. Affinities cannot be for anything entirely man-made.
Note: The most powerful mage in this setting has an affinity for mana. They will not be appearing in this RP, and mana as an affinity is strictly off-limits.
Onmyouji: Magical practioners utilizing onmyodo as opposed to western methods of magic. They are similar(magic is passed through bloodlines, they have the same affinities), yet their methods are fundamentally different. Effectively they use the same magic, but with different methods. Onmyouji use ofuda to cast spells, which can be applied to objects or even bodies for a variety of effects. Onmyouji are also adept at preforming exorcisms.
Magic Traits: Some magi and onmyouji families possess a special "magic trait", an inherent magical ability connected to their affinity. These are quite uncommon, but they still exist. They require no spellcasting, and usually give some edge in ability. The magic trait "Illusion Break", for example, passively destroys illusions as the mage or onmyouji draws close to them. It also enables them to see through illusions.
Homunculi: Artificial humans created via a union of raw materials and a soul, homunculi are able to be created to a variety of specifications, from creating an ideal assassin to creating someone with the power to boost abilities. They have personalities and thoughts of their own, and an infinite lifespan. Most homunculi will hit a certain age and cease to age beyond that. Homunculi are NOT common, due to difficulties involved in creating them and the inability to simply create souls meaning some kind of sacrifice must be involved.
Vampires: Rather straightforward, vampires are human in appearance, and must drink blood to survive. They are faster and stronger then humans, and capable of regenerating from any damage that does not destroy either the heart or the brain. The sun weakens them and causes them to fall unconscious, but they will recover when out of the sun. Vampires are frozen at the age they were turned, and cannot die of old age.
Yokai: A variety of supernatural creatures dwelling in Japan. These include kitsune, tsukomogami, oni, and many more variants. Their powers and appearances vary greatly. Some yokai have human or very humanoid appearances, (note: Ones played in this RP should be of this kind). Others can shapeshift to take such an appearance(Note: Also acceptable). They are universally possessed of a longer lifespan then most humans(barring things that can cause immortality or lengthen lives).
Familiar: Familiars are beings created by magi from mana. They are existences brought into being by a sustained donation of mana and a reinforcement of existence. Their abilities and appearance are entirely up to the magi who created them, but they must be sustained with mana in order to continue existing. They also require belief in their existence by their creator. Few familiars survive loss of this belief. I do not expect many characters to be familiars, and it must be discussed with me beforehand if you desire to create one.

Now that that's over with, this RP is based heavily upon solving mysteries. And magic. Both will feature extensively in the RP. Player characters are to be employees of the Fu Sonzai no Gensō detective agency. This means that, by default, they must have some kind of supernatural ability. There is a Masquerade in place, so normal people won't know about the supernatural.


Bios:
Name:
Age:
Appearance:
Personality:
Abilities:
Weapons/Equipment:
Brief Backstory:


Name: Ando Toshiko
Age: 24
Appearance: She's a bit of a blatant expy. ^^;
Personality: Toshiko enjoys spending life with people she cares about, and generally makes for fairly pleasant company. However, she will change her behavior depending on the situation. When talking to employees, she is friendly, calm, and kind. When speaking with a perpetrator, for example, she makes a drastic change, approaching cruelty. In addition, it is not difficult to rouse her to anger and she has a remarkable lack of patience for someone who has taken a profession as a detective. When sufficiently angered, she will remove her glasses and and begin taking things extremely seriously. She enjoys cigarettes and seems to have something against organizing her office. Toshiko's ultimate goal is to attain immortality, as well as ensure no-one causes too many problems that interfere with having a pleasant life. Toshiko is terrible with money and spends incredibly frequently, sometimes on magical items and other times on things she simply thinks are interesting.
Abilities: Toshiko has Fire as her Affinity. As such, she is highly skilled in spells relating to fire. She is capable of casting spells by "carving" symbols in the air using a lit cigarette. Notable among her spells is an Instant Ignition spell. While it requires a full magic circle to be "carved" in the air, it will instantly ignite a target. As Toshiko's affinity is fire, she is also skilled with spells involving "consumption", "ignition", and "destruction". In addition, she has learned spells outside of her affinity. These spells are primarily wards and illusions, which she uses to conceal the Fu Sonzai no Gensō building from the eyes of regular humans.
Weapons/Equipment: Toshiko has a great deal of cigarettes with her at almost all times. Not only does she like them, but they aid her casting. She also has a suitcase, though she doesn't actually use it to store any important items... She says it houses something interesting and leaves it at that.
Brief Backstory: Toshiko was born into the Ando family, a family of magi with the goal of accessing the plane of existence the gods dwell on. Early in life, Toshiko was mentored in magic by her grandfather. When she reached her late teens, she was sent to a Mage Circle in London to train. It was here that she chose to abandon her family's goal, firmly believing it to be unattainable. While her family was initially outraged by her decision, they eventually relaxed and came to accept their daughter. This was, in part, because Toshiko's sister had not displayed the same desire to give up. Deciding to pursue the goal of immortality, Toshiko returned to Japan and founded the Fu Sonzai no Gensō detective agency in an effort to ensure pleasant life wasn't disrupted. Also to make money.


Approved Profiles:
Ando Toshiko, head of Fu Sonzai no Genso
Kurosaki Tomoya
Iwajima Jun
Oda Kei
Ando Hanako
Kurosawa Etsuko
Ryuuzaki Kotori
Mearii Gekkou
Nakahara Kaede
Aikawa Yumiko
Hidden 10 yrs ago Post by Minarawr
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Minarawr

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Love this idea ^^ I have a few questions though.

Do the yokai, and other races/classes for that matter, also get to pick an affinity?
May I reserve a spot?
Could I make a familiar that has no master at the moment, but can be contracted again?
(If you have seen Ao no Excorcist, I mean like Kuro)
Hidden 10 yrs ago Post by RolePlayerRoxas
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RolePlayerRoxas The Thirteenth Something Or Other

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Name: Tomoya Kurosaki

Age: 19 physically. Is actually... only 84.

Appearance: Part-time butler, too!

Personality: A polite young man who speaks to others with respect, though he may occasionally sneak a bit of snark into his replies if his conversational partner annoys him in some way. He also gives off the air of a wise and cultured young man, but in actuality he's still relatively young and naive for a vampire, and far from knows all the answers. Also has a bad tendency to try and impress women.

Abilities:
Affinity: Liquid. This... well, allows him to manipulate liquids to a small extent.
Has become rather adept at fulfilling orders from others, no matter how outrageous the task.

Weapons/Equipment:
Always makes sure to carry a flask of tea wherever he goes. And a book, but that's just to show he's totally cultured and well-read.
He also carries a small knife in the off-chance he comes across a particularly dangerous entity. Which hasn't really happened yet, but best to be prepared.

Brief Backstory: As a human, he was an unremarkable loner with no real outstanding qualities to speak of. Mostly because he never interacted enough to bring out his snarkier traits, but anyway. A female vampire took interest in him and decided to turn him - making Tomoya her butler while she was at it. He... got over it after about twenty years, and has managed to settle into his new role quite comfortably. Though due to his whimsical companion, he was pretty much forced to find an extra job elsewhere.
Hidden 10 yrs ago Post by Dblade26
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Name: Iwajima Jun

Age: nine years old.

Appearance: [] definitely the appearance of a reliable supernatural detective!

Personality: Jun can at times be incredibly focused, serious, and mature, which is only natural for someone who has worked hard enough to nearly master certain areas of Onmyoudo at such a young age. On the other hand the fact remains that he's still a child despite his high level of skill and his tendency towards hyperactivity is made worse by an overactive imagination fed by a combination of living in a magical world and ready access to media.

Abilities: Possess a high degree of skill with Onmyoudo, his affinity being the number 9. This allows him to use a variety of spells and techniques with his ofuda so long as they ultimately have something to do with the number nine either conceptually or concretely. He also has a surprising amount of martial arts expertise for someone his age, due to being raised to fight yokai.

Weapons/Equipment: Has his trusty detective's trenchcoat, though the only thing unique about it is that its pockets have ofuda on them that allow them nine times as much storage space. mainly used for carrying ofuda.

Brief Backstory:
Jun was a son of a powerful family of onmyouji who primarily made their living combating rogue yokai and other supernatural creatures. Toshiko knew his family from the time when she was in training and owed them a few favours for reasons she'd rather not mention. Because of his family's work, Jun was strictly trained in onmyoudo and related lore before he even started primary school, even to the extent of being given the Gazu Hyakki Yagyo in place of ordinary picture books. However his entire family died under mysterious circumstances. Under previous instructions his father had given him just in case anything ever happened that left him on his own, Jun sought out the Fu Sonzai no Gensō Detective Agency and has been living and occasionally working there part-time ever since, hoping to become a real detective some day and solve his family's case.
Hidden 10 yrs ago Post by VitaVitaAR
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VitaVitaAR King of Knights

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Minarawr said
Love this idea ^^ I have a few questions though.Do the yokai, and other races/classes for that matter, also get to pick an affinity?May I reserve a spot?Could I make a familiar that has no master at the moment, but can be contracted again?(If you have seen Ao no Excorcist, I mean like Kuro)


Yokai can have affinities, and if they do operate using magic they'll be onmyouji. For example, moon rabbits almost universally have an affinity for Light. Homunculi and vampires can also have an affinity, though not all do. As for Familiars, they need a constant flow of mana, unless they manage to find other way to feed off of mana. But they'll still dwindle and be unstable and ill without a connection to a mage.

RolePlayerRoxas said
Name: Tomoya Kurosaki
Age: 19 physically. Is actually... only 84.
Appearance:
Personality: A polite young man who speaks to others with respect, though he may occasionally sneak a bit of snark into his replies if his conversational partner annoys him in some way. He also gives off the air of a wise and cultured young man, but in actuality he's still relatively young and naive for a vampire, and far from knows all the answers. Also has a bad tendency to try and impress women.
Abilities:Affinity: Liquid. This... well, allows him to manipulate liquids to a small extent.Has become rather adept at fulfilling orders from others, no matter how outrageous the task.
Weapons/Equipment:Always makes sure to carry a flask of tea wherever he goes. And a book, but that's just to show he's totally cultured and well-read.He also carries a small knife in the off-chance he comes across a particularly dangerous entity. Which hasn't really happened yet, but best to be prepared.
Brief Backstory: As a human, he was an unremarkable loner with no real outstanding qualities to speak of. Mostly because he never interacted enough to bring out his snarkier traits, but anyway. A female vampire took interest in him and decided to turn him - making Tomoya her butler while she was at it. He... got over it after about twenty years, and has managed to settle into his new role quite comfortably. Though due to his whimsical companion, he was pretty much forced to find an extra job elsewhere.


Accepted.

Dblade26 said
Name: Iwajima Jun
Age: nine years old.
Appearance:
Personality: Jun can at times be incredibly focused, serious, and mature, which is only natural for someone who has worked hard enough to nearly master certain areas of Onmyoudo at such a young age. On the other hand the fact remains that he's still a child despite his high level of skill and his tendency towards hyperactivity is made worse by an overactive imagination fed by a combination of living in a magical world and ready access to media.
Abilities: Possess a high degree of skill with Onmyoudo, his affinity being the number 9. This allows him to use a variety of spells and techniques with his ofuda so long as they ultimately have something to do with the number nine either conceptually or concretely. He also has a surprising amount of martial arts expertise for someone his age, due to being raised to fight yokai.
Weapons/Equipment: Has his trusty detective's trenchcoat, though the only thing unique about it is that its pockets have ofuda on them that allow them nine times as much storage space. mainly used for carrying ofuda.
Brief Backstory:Jun was a son of a powerful family of onmyouji who primarily made their living combating rogue yokai and other supernatural creatures. Toshiko knew his family from the time when she was in training and owed them a few favours for reasons she'd rather not mention. Because of his family's work, Jun was strictly trained in onmyoudo and related lore before he even started primary school, even to the extent of being given the Gazu Hyakki Yagyo in place of ordinary picture books. However his entire family died under mysterious circumstances. Under previous instructions his father had given him just in case anything ever happened that left him on his own, Jun sought out the Fu Sonzai no Gensō Detective Agency and has been living and occasionally working there part-time ever since, hoping to become a real detective some day and solve his family's case.


Accepted.
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Ontos なんですか。

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I'm interested. How would it go if I was to play a familiar or yokai, though? Like, what would be a good mana source that doesn't need that much recharging?
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Yokai don't need a source of mana, and can basically be anything classed as a yokai in Japanese mythology. As long as it's not too powerful, and has an excuse to be around in human form(unless there's a very good reason for it to be around in non-human form). As for a familiar, the ideal source of mana is a mage(onmyouji have a different method of creating magical servants), who supports them with both mana and reinforces their existence(which I should probably add a bit about in their description since it's kind of important and all). Basically familiars are created by an infusion of mana, and the mage doing the creating "convincing" themselves that the familiar exists. Familiars need this, or else they become unstable, if they manage to survive losing this.

Therefore, a familiar living off of a mana source(such as an artifact with mana, or maybe even managing to scrounge together ambient mana in the area) separate from a mage will still be unstable and often sick.

Um, does that help? ^^;
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Ontos なんですか。

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Are familiars themselves always non-human, or can they be semi-human / human-like / looks completely human?

And define unstable / sick?
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Familiars can look however the creator wants. In many cases this means looking very human, if their creator wants them to pass unnoticed through society.

And, um... well, they would fade in and out. As in, um, they'd become incorporeal and lose whatever they're holding and such, um... as for sick, basically flu-like symptoms with no visible cause. Inability to keep anything they eat down, fever, nausea, lightheadedness, that kind of thing. Not all the time, but it would happen a lot so, um, yeah.
Hidden 10 yrs ago Post by Ontos
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Name: Oda Kei
Age: 6 (looks 16. As a familiar, he's younger than he looks.)
Appearance: An old friend from the only game story that made me cry. (He's 1.71 metres tall.)
Personality: Kei speaks little and is very guarded with his emotions. He finds it difficult to relate with anyone, and is constantly on the lookout for threats. While this makes him a very poor socialiser, he has a tendency to spot threats from miles away. Of course, this makes it difficult for him (and others) to differentiate between his paranoia about other people and actual threats. Kei does become very, very attached to anyone he trusts, to the point that he'll sacrifice himself for them.
Abilities Affinity: Iron. Anything made from more than 50% iron can be melded by Kei into anything that makes physical sense. In addition, he's immune to the slashing and stabbing edge of iron weaponry (and its derivatives. But he's not immune to being beaten over the head by a chunk of iron), and can manipulate small iron objects without touching them. Iron is the only thing he can still hold onto while in an unstable condition. He owns a gun that has an iron stock and trigger, and it fires specially procured iron bullets.

Brief Backstory: There were two people called Oda Kei. The first was an old friend of a Magi, who reputedly died in a plane crash flying from Japan to Korea. The second was a familiar created by this Magi.

A Magi by the name of Akechi Yukinaga, missing his old friend, created a familiar who looked like him, and tried to make this familiar look like his former friend. This worked. To a certain extent. 4 years later, the real Oda Kei arrived on the island of Japan (he suffered from amnesia from the plane crash. His travel documents were lost in the incident. It took quite some time for the authorities to piece together his life.). Completely unaware of the world of magic, the real Kei got quite a shock when he met his friend and the familiar.

The rejection of his master almost killed Kei. He was rescued and fed mana by an unknown saviour, who allowed him to take refuge in his house and convinced Kei that there was a still a reason to live. Kei still barely knows the man who saved his life, even 2 years later. His mysterious benefactors leaves him mana-rich artefacts for him every week. While not the life he had with Yukinaga, Kei still hangs on, believing that he had some other purpose other than replacing a dead friend.

Trivia: The gun he's using is a Ruger MK III Semi Automatic. It's custom-made so that the stock, the trigger and the slide is made of enough iron so that he can hold onto it.
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Ah, I'm sorry, I forgot to mention this, but it's impossible to be born with/engineer an affinity for something that is entirely man-made. You could have an affinity for metal, for example, but not swords.

Some magi have tried to create affinities for man-made objects, some with more reasonable methods and others with... dubious ones, but it's never quite worked out.

Um, sorry, I completely forgot to mention this anywhere. ^^;
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Oh, okay. I'll need to think about a replacement, then. Be holding on....
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It's okay, um, I really should have remembered to mention it, since it's kind of an important rule and all. ^^;
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Well, I changed it. Take a look.
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Okay, um, final question: He uses spells for this, right? Um, as in he casts spells for melding iron, and passive spells for some of the other things. It makes total sense for him to have a limited repertoire of spells(and due to his nature the whole being able to hold iron thing when he's unstable makes sense) given his backstory, I just want to make sure since that's how magic works in-setting.

If he does, um, that's my last question and I don't see anything problematic so yeah.
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Hmm, yup. That's how it works out. If they were classified as discrete spells, it's basically...

Melding Iron: He can meld iron (or any alloy with 50% iron) into any form that makes physical sense.
Iron Manipulation: He can manipulate small pieces of iron around him (2 metres?) without touching them, like a psychic. Which allows him to stop bullets. But who uses iron bullets anyway? Everyone uses lead.
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Okay, yeah, that's fine. Accepted.
Hidden 10 yrs ago Post by Ontos
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Ontos なんですか。

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Yay! We, I mean, I, have an emo!
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As kind of an open question, should I elaborate on spellcasting more in the OP? Um, mostly because there's several different kinds(standard reciting spells, mentalcasting, runes, onmyouji's ofuda) and I kind of noticed there's not much of an indication of that but I don't want to overload the first post with information, and, um, yeah, eh-heh.
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I think the rule/recommendation for that sort of thing is to use hiders.
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