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info — where the mountain meets the shore.
 IF AT FIRST YOU DON'T SUCCEED, THEN DIE, DIE AGAIN. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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SYNOPSISKaito Nagano's life has been thrown for a bit of a loop. In the last ten months, he's gone to the deepest pits of Hell and back. He's lived, died, and lived again, hundreds upon thousands of times over. He's had his soul claimed and cursed by the goddess of the Underworld. He's graduated from high shcool. Son of a former biker gangster and older step-brother to a snow demon, Kaito can say with confidence that he's never lived a properly normal life. The world around him is separated between mortals and the mystical by a paper-thin Veil, so the sight of kitsune and kappa and tengu is hardly out of the ordinary. Hell, even he has some supernatural abilities, both as a psychic and a water mage. Somehow, none of that compares to his current living conditions, which can only be described as absolute chaos. Juggling college with fending off the hordes of humans and demons alike hunting him down has all but killed his chances at having a social life. His cursed soul constantly attracts unwanted attention when all he wants is some peace and quiet. The first love of his life just started going out with his old high school nemesis. Every day feels like it's going to spiral out of control quicker than the last. But here he is, still living, still kicking. Despite the whirlwind of events spinning around him at all hours, Kaito has clear goals he wants to achieve. He knows what he wants to do (or at least is very confident that he thinks he does). Get out of college, become a chef, and support his family. Reasonable and realistic aspirations. Yet he can't help but notice the suffering of others being plagued by crime human and so-very-inhuman alike. Their own struggles go unseen by a police force that's too busy to notice or care. He can't just look away, like everyone else does. If you have power, you can't let it go to waste. You can't ignore the pleas of the downtrodden. Life's about to become a lot more chaotic. PERSONALITY'Troubled teenager' is an understatement, but it's also a good start for describing Kaito. He's foul-mouthed, withdrawn, and has a mean right hook. But he's just as soft as he is an ill-tempered ex-delinquent, and he hates seeing people get dragged into the conflicts of other troublemakers around town. Kaito is burdened by a powerful empathy that gives him constant migraines that makes living in a metropolis like Tokyo hellish. His compassion compels him to stay when he would like nothing more than to isolate himself away from all the white noise. Maybe it would be appropriate to compare him to a grouchy, protective guard dog. A Dobermann, maybe? Well, he'd tell you he's more of a cat person anyway. Kaito keeps himself busy with college courses, part-time work as a cook in Shibuya's seediest noodle shop with the punniest name (Welcome to Souper Noodle...), and when he thinks no one's looking, beating the hell out of delinquents and gangsters causing trouble around town. Staying active is good for his health, he says. In truth, one of his bigger fears is to be alone with his thoughts. It hasn't even been a year since he clawed himself through the most traumatic series of events in his life, gaining an intimate understanding of death that he never asked for and negotiating with Izanami herself—and you can bet he doesn't have a therapist to vent to. He doubts there's one in the world who would believe him. Atop all his other problems, Kaito suffers from severe bouts of insomnia and is plagued with nightmares when he finally does sleep. Neither of these things help his temper. Or blood pressure. They've also instilled a strong sense of paranoia in the teen, filling his mind with countless thoughts and possibilities of seeing his loved ones die... again. Long story. Because of the trauma carved into his body and mind, Kaito is quick to distance himself from others, thinking that most would be better off not being at risk of getting drawn into the misfortune that bites at his heels. Despite being an empath, he couldn't be more emotionally constipated. Life isn't always a living hell, though. In the quiet hours between dawn and sunrise, Kaito enjoys roaming Shibuya's quieter neighborhoods. He plays with stray animals. He cooks for his friends and family. He works to save up for a motorcycle. He collects and presses flowers. He smiles. Even a guy as tormented as him can enjoy some normal things. Yeah, he needs a shrink. And maybe some more pockets of sunshine to color his days. But time marches on, and Kaito wants to keep going with it. As long as he's got his little brother and his cat, he's got more than enough motivation to keep trying to make his life—and the lives of those around him—a better place. LORE & WORLDBUILDINGTHE VEILIn another timeline, gods, beastmen, and demons alike have walked alongside humans on Earth for ages. The myriad races have cooperated and quarreled with each other since time immemorial, but some 500 years ago the wars between mankind and myth escalated to the point that the planet was nearly destroyed. Acting as mediators between the much more numerous humans and the union of other races, the gods helped to draft a peace treaty between the two parties. Sitting high above all the other points of interest was one promise: that the gods would create two planes of existence separated by a barrier for each party to reside within. When all the terms were agreed to, the gods set to fulfilling their end of the bargain—and they subsequently vanished from the face of the planet after the fact. These two planes came to be known as the mortal and spirit realms, and the barrier dividing them was named the Veil. It was not an impassable barrier, and so organizations on each side were created in the shared interest of minimalizing crossover so as not to endanger the newly brokered peace. And for several decades, neither side's residents dared cross the Veil. But by the mid-1600s, the first few reports of mingling between realm residents cropped up, and over the centuries communities have been built where the Veil's strength is weak. Dubbed 'mirage cities' by the masses, some have become massive metropolises and economical powerhouses, while others exist as epicenters for strife and conflict to the current day. Over the last few decades, parties have begun to crop up seeking the Veil's dismantlement, arguing that Earth's realms would benefit from a proper reunion of the races. While their voices were initially drowned out by the millions who feared the consequences of undoing the gods' work (and especially those who remembered what life was like before the split), these factions have nonetheless grown both in number and boldness. Building their followings in mirage cities, they've steadily began organizing protests that do not always remain peaceful. At this rate it's only a matter of time until their requests become demands, and innocent lives are pulled into the fray. KAITOAnyway, let's talk about the boy. The union of a gangster's son and a fisherman's daughter led to Kaito's birth. You'd be forgiven for thinking this a perfectly mundane occurrence, because it was—though the parents themselves were anything but. Daisuke Nagano was a rambunctious greaser who balanced leading a band of biker punks with his duties as an onmyoji. Specifically, as the 41st head of the Nagano clan. His wife Chiharu was in fact a literal goddess: Otohime, dragon princess of the Eastern seas disguised as a human maiden. Their story is no less fascinating than their son's, but it'll have to wait for another day. Kaito was born in the couple's home nestled near the sands of Osaka Bay in the middle of a monsoon. Perhaps it was a portent for his stormy life. And perhaps realizing this, his parents endeavored to raise him like any normal human child, far and away from the fantastical that colored their own worlds. Fate had other plans for the family. On his fourth birthday, Kaito died in the middle of a thunderstorm while out at sea with his mother. Struck by lightning. It was over before he even registered the pain. Yet he actually survived. Woke up in a hospital some few days later, with his mother nowhere to be seen. She had vanished, presumably with the wreckage of the boat they'd been sailing on. Strange for a goddess of the ocean—but Kaito had never been told a thing about either of his parents' origins. Stranger still was that Daisuke seemed convinced that his wife had died as he recounted the details. Whatever had truly happened during that storm seemed lost to the waves, but Chiharu's death never sat well with her son. To this day, he believes she's still out there, waiting for him to find her. YUKITOThe years following his mother's death were not the kindest to Kaito. Bullied for being raised by a single parent, the young boy quickly learned that the only way for his voice to be heard was to amplify it with a clenched fist applied directly to the face of whoever wasn't listening. Between getting into constant fights and the emergence of an uncontrollable psychic power filling his head with white noise, Kaito quickly withdrew into himself, finding solace in the unjudging nature of books. And, a few years later, in the presence of his little step-brother, Yukito. His father remarried, and with that came a frail little half-yokai. The pair quickly became inseparable. Yukito's mother was a yuki-onna, and he inherited both her porcelain complexion and snow-white hair. The latter attracted plenty of negative attention from other kids—and so Kaito's angry fists found a new purpose in protecting his brother from their scorn. ...It worked a little too well, because just a few weeks after the marriage, Shibuya had two little Naganos menacing the other kids with their hot tempers. But for the most part, things were good. With his little brother to keep him grounded, Kaito reined his temper in just enough to keep him out of the little gaggles of punks and gangs of delinquents that he'd been careening towards. Couldn't stop him from getting into fights with them, but that's another story for another day. IZANAMITen* months** (CR-dependent!) ago, Kaito Nagano turned eighteen. And with his coming of age he found himself at Hell's doorstep. But not because he had died (again). This time, he'd made the trip himself. The details as to why are a little hazy (to you, not to him; I can't tell you everything in one sitting.), but the journey involved a payment of blood and a leisurely jaunt down Yomotsu Hirasaka that resulted in the single most traumatic event of Kaito's life. ...Well, calling it a single event would be disingenuous. The price he had to pay just to approach Yomi's entrance was his sanity. Every step he took forced the memory of a trapped soul's death upon him. Every experience was felt from the dead's perspective; the pain was carved into his skin and soul alike. By the time he'd finally reached the kami's home, he had to have endured countless 'deaths', enough to drive most completely mad. But not Kaito. No, there was something important enough in Izanami's domain that he would risk his own soul in a bid to obtain it. And that's exactly what he did. Reckless? Yes. Stupid? Absolutely. Yet the goddess was charmed by his audacity, and thus agreed to the deal he posed. Her opinion soured a touch when something got in the way of their transaction. More than a little petty, she laid a curse on Kaito's soul in retaliation—whether he had been the one to trick her or not didn't matter. She had been tricked. So, having exposed his mind to countless horrors and having sold his soul to a goddess, Kaito returned from Yomi. CHAOS...And since then, everything's been topsy-turvy. Putting aside the memories of countless deaths, his soul has been cursed, bewitching the minds of the easily persuaded into attempting to murder the young man and return his soul to Izanami the hard way. In the interest of Not Dying a Terrible Death (Again), Kaito's sought his father's guidance in learning magic. Although he has little skill in onmyodo like Daisuke and other ancestors of the clan, his affinity with water is uncanny. It shouldn't be, considering his lineage... But the topic of Chiharu remains unresolved, and to this day Kaito has yet to learn about her origins. Hell, he's starting to forget her face. Now that he's out of high school, Kaito's started taking classes at a nearby university. He's interested in becoming a chef, so to that end he's also picked up a part-time job at a shady downtown ramen joint that's better known as a watering hole for delinquents and Yakuza than an actual eatery. He has plans to turn Souper Noodle's reputation around, but it's gonna take some work. And maybe a few fights. Balancing school, work, and surviving is a tall order, but he's more than happy to meet the challenge head-on. It helps to distract him from thinking about Izanami. Kaito doesn't trust anyone to share the wild story of his birthday with him. Not his brother, not his closest friends, not even his parents or grandfather. No, he's opted to shoulder all the weight by himself. To keep trudging on with life as if it never happened. Only time will tell if he can keep it all to himself without unraveling. POWERSKaito's abilities fall under two main categories: psychic powers (empathy and psychometry) and hydrokinesis (which has many applications). Looking up any of the aforementioned powers in the Superpower Wiki can give you some general information, so if you'd rather skip the descriptors here then by all means, go for it!
EXTRASHiiiii. Some people get accused of making a bunch of different OCs. I get accused of having too many journals for one. You might remember me from here or we may have met from my other journals,
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efryndiel
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