APP - JIGOKU-CHO

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PLAYER INFORMATION

PLAYER: Nik
ARE YOU AT LEAST 18 YEARS OLD?: Yep!
CONTACT: simplistic#3432, PM, if needed you can also ping simplistic but I would prefer this as a last resort.
CHARACTERS PLAYED: N/A

CHARACTER INFORMATION

NAME: Otegine
CANON: Touken Ranbu
CANON REFERENCE: Fandom wiki; Article going over the history of the Three Great Spears (Otegine's info is the second section) as the current wiki information is in Japanese only.

Otegine is the spiritual manifestation of the original Otegine spear owned by Yuki Hideyasu and passed along to the Matsudaira family. While the spear was physically lost in 1945 during the bombings of Tokyo in World War 2, Otegine has been resummoned to the year 2205 to assist both his new master, a powerful mage (saniwa), and their employer, the Government of Time. The saniwa has the unique ability to summon tsukumogami (artifact spirits), provide them with physical manifestations, and send them back in time to help fight against a malevolent force known as the History Revisionist Army, who aim to warp known history for an unknown benefit.

Otegine will be coming from Kishou Hongi, part of the musical canon. Otegine and three other swords have been sent back by their saniwa to help assist two other teammates in the year 1600, due to a rising situation with Tokugawa Ieyasu (the shogun of the time) and Yuki Hideyasu (his son, as well as Otegine's original owner). A malevolent artifact spirit has warped Hideyasu's thinking, possessing him and leading him to try and take his father's life out of anger, spite and hurt. Though Otegine is given a chance to confront his master during a fight in an early attempt to restrain him, he hesitates and is promptly taken advantage of, losing the fight. He is scolded for this later by teammates, though he promptly resolves to do better and not let his nerves overtake him.

Multiple parties show up while the Touken are present, including Matsudaira Nobuyasu (the eldest son that should have been killed, but was not) as well as a previously unknown twin to Hideyasu, Nagami Sadachika. The presence of multiple people who should not belong, as well as the Touken themselves and the HRA forces, attracts the attention of a third part called "Kebishii", who act as white blood cells to the timeline and will pursue and kill anything that does not belong.

Otegine will be pulled to Jigoku-cho right after the second appearance of a Kebishii, where the group of Touken has split into numerous parties to keep as little attention to them as possible while they try to confront Hideyasu and the spirit that's possessed him.

CANON POINT: After Tsurumaru distracts the Kebishii, while separated from the rest of the group with Sadachika.
CRAU HISTORY: N/A
AGE: 400~ - 600~. He was forged in the late 1500s and lost in the 1940s, but is currently manifested in 2205. He has no memory of any time between his destruction and his resummoning. He appears to be in his mid twenties.
APPEARANCE: Wiki gallery - 192cm tall.
CONTRACT PAYMENT: To return home to his master and continue to protect history, and to have the strength to stay with his master as long as it takes for their mission to succeed. He does not want immortality, but rather to not be lost again to his own misgivings and shortcomings when he has a second chance to finally be useful.

QUESTIONNAIRE:

1) Your Faction leader, not just your boss but the leader, has asked you to carry out a hit. The target is a non-affiliated public leader, well-liked by the people of the city. Do you carry it out? Why or why not?

If possible, he would start with questions. Why is this hit needed? Why is his leader asking him, someone with very little ability to hold stealth, to perform a hit on what's likely to be a death that will cause some great amount of reaction? Is his leader expecting him to come out of this alive?

While Otegine does not require questions to be answered, he is naturally a character of intense personal doubt, and for something so intensely high profile to be assigned to him would raise more questions of "why" than "why not". It would never be for the sake of contradicting whoever he is following at the time, though he may likely put his foot into his mouth in the process of alleviating his own confusion. Still, at his core he is a tool something that is made to be used as an extension of someone else - even now, when he has his own physical abilities to make choices for himself, it is still comfortable to default to authority.

Even if the answers to his questions were not within what he felt comfortable pursuing, he would ask more questions - enough until either a firm boundary was placed, or until he felt he understood why any other option could not be helped. To actually perform the hit would not be an issue. To be treated as nothing but collateral, especially if he had only shown loyalty up until that point, would be about the only thing that would turn him spiteful in his actions. His faction leader is not his master... and ultimately, he cannot return to his master if he breaks himself in a place so far from home. So while he would still perform the hit, there would be an incredibly high chance he would try to find a way to avoid his own death as well. And if he couldn't? Well... that would be on him, then. A more talented spear would probably have been able to do both, and maybe in the end he just wasn't as talented as expected.

2) How do you define "failure"? How do you deal with the consequences of failure, from light to severe?

Otegine has an extremely high set of expectations for himself, almost bordering on ridiculous in how it controls his actions. While he holds the title of a Great Spear along with two other yari, he is the only of his peers to not have received outstanding combat use or any accolades from a high level. He is also the only one to have been lost, and not even to battle - he burned up in a fire that he can't even remember, tucked in a storehouse.

While he does not feel like he was ever unwanted, unloved, or unacknowledged by the family that owned him, he still feels incredibly inadequate in his role as a spear now expected to fight. His build is bulky and unruly, heavy and made for nothing more than a stabbing motion with both hands. It is something he freely admits that he can do... and it is the only thing he will admit that he can do.

Anything else? That's just setting himself and any involved party up for failure.

Rather than testing himself and trying to explore the curiosities of what he might be capable of, rather than what he thinks he can and cannot do based on his history, Otegine often backs himself into a corner out of sheer insistence. He convinces himself out of situations, and tries to downplay his ability or even his competence entirely if he thinks a situation will be even remotely uncomfortable or reliant on him.

If he is pushed enough, or encouraged enough, or even bodily dragged in, he will concede, but the idea of failing before he ever began will always be stuck in the back of his head. Still, he will try. He might be anxious or uncomfortable or questioning himself the entire time, but he will put everything he has into whatever he is being asked, as he wouldn't be able to forgive himself for doing as little as possible.

If he were to completely fail on something, though, no matter the size, it would only be fuel for the fire of his self-worth problems. "It's just like I said, you know! This is why you need to only ask me if it's for something that needs stabbing!" It would be a kneejerk reaction at first, a rare form of him legitimately complaining, but the ultimate person at fault would always be himself.

While most things wouldn't stop him from ever trying things again, if the problem was severe enough, or left enough people legitimately disappointed in him or even angry... those are the times he would find it easier to own up to a mistake brought against him, and to try better for the sake of another party. To find the will to do it on his own, though? That might take some practice.

3) You've worked with your Faction awhile now and you feel like the reward of your contract is within reach. But at the last moment, you are told you have even more service to pay beforehand, an obscure clause in the contract being exploited to keep you under your boss's thumb even longer. Your Faction Leader hasn't spoken on this, and might be able to dispute it. Do you go to your leader? Do you argue the dispute yourself? Do you begrudgingly accept the additional work? Something else?

The first, kneejerk reaction would be to complain. To exist on communication and some level of mutual loyalty is important to Otegine. So while a sudden change wouldn't be a deal-breaker, it would bring its own slew of questions. He doesn't mind being given more work, and would honestly thrive with it given the correct circumstances and an atmosphere that he was genuinely being useful and reliable. But if he had been told from day one that a circumstance was to be one way, such as his contract, only for it to be changed, then he would at least need some clarification... if anything, to avoid falling into the trap of "what did I do wrong?"

Otegine would likely keep this to his leader, to try and reach an understanding of what was misunderstood and if there was anything he had done wrong to lead to this change. If it wasn't, he would want to know why it hadn't been discussed with him earlier. How that question would be answered might strengthen or sour the relationship built with the faction leadership, but he would still not say "no" to the extra work unless an extreme circumstance would be involved in completion (such as himself or his weapon being lost in the aftermath).

4) How important is loyalty to you? What does it take to earn your loyalty? What extents are you willing to go through to maintain loyalty, and respect the loyalty others might have invested in you?

For Otegine, loyalty towards himself is a very simple concept. If someone treats him well, speaks to him well, and recognizes him for exactly what he is, then he has no problems extending loyalty to that person. As a tool, to be cherished and used and appreciated and taken care of is all he needs to feel loved and wanted, and if he can protect the people that would care for him so much, then he would do it without second thought.

To earn someone's loyalty outside of the environment of a tool, though, is more complicated. He understands that humanity comes with their nuances. Now that he has his own feelings, and a body that can move and a voice that can speak for him, loyalty has turned into something like a puzzle. He can't say he always understands whether or not someone is loyal to him, or if they ever will be loyal to him. With his own self-worth already reliant on his ability to "can do" versus an ocean of self-imposed "cannot", he often doesn't believe he has earned any loyalty outright. While he will not resort to beating himself up over this train of though, it means that he will never assume someone has his back outside of someone directly communicating this idea to him, or in the case of a fellow Touken where leaving another behind will result in failure. Even in the example of other Touken, a required trust in one another does not always equal a loyalty to one another, but rather a shared loyalty to their master. While there are a few exceptions, Otegine will never make that call for someone else, and may avoid mentioning it all together unless he's certain of where they stand. He may not even realize what the behavior does to downplay another's feelings towards him, without someone speaking up if it becomes a true problem. He would rather just coast by and have everyone get along, instead of making it a matter of assigning labels to what he believes are very complicated feelings.

If he knows a party is truly loyal to him, however - if they trust him entirely, and rely on him without question, and don't feel the need to hide it - he will do absolutely everything in his power to not disappoint them. He has a deep desire to be praised and needed, and to have someone to provide things that dear to him without feeling he has to earn it is something he will fight tooth and nail over, even to the point of breaking if he must.

POWERS & ABILITIES:

PHYSICAL ENHANCEMENTS: Otegine is a tsukumogami, so in a normal state at full power, he would have enhanced speed, enhanced strength, a large amount of stamina and a stronger resistance to wounds. He is also very, very good at stabbing and has generally excellent aim with a long-ranged pike or spear type weapon. This would be nerfed to just barely outside the realm of a normal person, and his aim would be just outside what would be considered "above average", but it would take far more effort and would be less reliable.
SPIRITUAL AWARENESS: While Otegine's personal skill for observance and reconnaissance is one of his lowest scores in the game setting, he still maintains an ability to sense the presence of malevolent or otherwise very powerful spiritual presences. This would be entirely nerfed unless the presence itself was particularly strong.
SPIRITUAL ARTIFACT CONNECTION: Since Otegine is an artifact spirit, he maintains a direct connection to the form of his spear, if it is present. He wields it with the level of an expert, and would have no issues handling despite its otherwise bulky size. Likewise, do to this connection, everything that happens to the weapon ultimately happens to him. If he takes damage, so does the spear. If the blade of the spear breaks, he would die. As this has been answered in the FAQ for another tsukumogami-type character, ideally he would still retain his spear and the connection, but would not be able to use it with any more force than a normal fighter. If there is a problem with this, given the sheer size of his weapon, please let me know as I'm willing to compromise on this if needed.
SAKURA FUBUKI: This is just a flavor ability and has no actual power. When Touken Danshi feel a positive emotion rather strongly, such as getting pumped up from a fight that went well or eating a really good meal, they have a chance of spawning sakura petals around them like a shower of confetti. I would like to keep this as it is, considering it will mostly be used doxxing personal feelings rather than anything serious.
OH MY GOD HE'S FROM A MUSICAL: A reminder to myself and an apology to all my castmates that he is, in fact, from the musicals, which means his master has trained him how to perform live in front of more modern audiences. He can sing, he can dance, he knows call and response, normal idol stuff. He can unfortunately still sing and dance and I'm sorry in advance that you know this now.

SUITABILITY: As Otegine is not only a spirit that has seen a good share of history in his time but also spends a majority of his time in life-or-death combat, violence is a staple of life, and the things that lead humanity to said violence are not a surprise. While directly dealing with some more indulgent subjects such as sex or drugs will be a new experience, ultimately he is used to pushing through for the sake of an ultimate mission, even if it means doing some things he doesn't think he could do, should do, or generally finding ways to adapt. As he already is not human in the first place, to be present with other spirits and mythical beings wouldn't be anything more than a curiosity at best or a foot-to-his-mouth lesson at worst.

FACTION SUITABILITY:
SHUTEN:

Here is where we would insert a joke about a weapon of the shogun ending up in the yakuza, if I had one.

The more classic setup of Shuten, with force as a priority, honesty as a virtue and dishonor as an ultimate taboo, would not be unfamiliar. He is a naturally honest person, sometimes even to his detriment, and traditionally Japanese concepts are what he lived with for a long part of his existence, being owned by the shogunate. The forcefulness would be a challenge against Otegine stepping into Jigoku already with regrets on his own hesitancies in battle, and the knowledge that he needs to avoid repeating said mistakes. While he would absolutely have the will to meet up with the standards of Shuten, he would struggle most with his own self-esteem, especially since he feels he does not have the experience or flexibility to back up what a yakuza structure might truly need. Additionally, he has no desire to keep clan dominance - he is made to defend and to be used, not to lead, and that lack of personal forcefulness might prove challenging in the realms of Shuten.

SUTOKU:

This is the one I OOCly think would be the most interesting to explore, personally.

Otegine was owned for almost his entire existence by members of the Tokugawa Shogunate or the Matsudaira family that branched off of the shogun proper. While he didn't see much combat, he was often used as a cavalry standard for political processions back and forth from the capital, and lived to even see the country's shogunate system replaced with the reign of an emperor. While the heirarchy of the Alliance might take some getting used to, Otegine has been through his share of changes, and the idea of figures of power leading the people without those branches being dissolved into one another would be at least passingly familiar to the politics he's already familiar with, albeit with a lot more flexibility.

Intelligence is not his strong suit, but to keep some things close to the chest is a staple for almost every Touken - to speak up unnecessarily about things in the wrong place at the wrong time, even for as something as simple as a name, can easily lead to shifts in history, after all. While he would not be smooth in practice, in concept he could easily fall in line and explore some of his own boundaries (or lack thereof) in an environment like this. A lack of indulgences would also not be a problem, persay, as an item's goal isn't to really want much at all, but it might be an interesting conflict if he grew more comfortable with his state of self-worth and being outside of the hands of his master.

ENMA:

This is a comfortable and safe option, if all else fails.

Out of all the factions, Enma is the closest to how home operates for Otegine. Despite a Touken's own personal feelings or how many lives may or may not be lost in the process, the preservation of known history always comes first. If your master needs to die to an unjust execution, they must still die. If your old form was destroyed, you cannot save yourself and rewrite your own history. If a massacre happens, and the enemy army suddenly vanishes, sometimes you become the enemy army. It is sometimes cruel, but always necessary.

While he would not be talented at the more clerical portions required of the faction, if Otegine can be useful to help enforce, it would be a comfortable role he could easily slip back into. He would have his hesitancies at times, for sure, especially given that Enma is not the government protecting Japan, nor are they his master, and the overarching goals of their organization are harder for him to solidify as "correct." But his goal, ultimately, is to be as useful as possible. At the very least, should he fail at everything else, he knows he can step in to be a walking weapon to protect a higher cause.

TAMOMO:

imma be real with you, chief, he is probably gonna die in tamomo

While Tamomo's concept of freedom is not unappealing or out of the realm of understanding for him, Otegine works his best under a level of structure that he can perform follow through for the sake of a worthwhile goal. As a Touken Danshi, he has been summoned to act, to obey, and to be used - they are tools, after all, and tools cannot just walk away and do whatever they wish without consequence. While he would do his best to try and adapt to this clan if assigned, OOCly I will admit that he will absolutely struggle to meet the atmosphere. While he can be kind and hospitable, he can only do it to a point, and definitely not in an atmosphere centered on indulgence. He doesn't even know quite how to indulge for himself, let alone how to help others do the same. The ONLY saving grace he would have in Tamomo is that, since he's from a timeline where their saniwa does infact encourage them to perform in front of crowds, he can bite the bullet for the purpose of entertainment, though still with a lot of hesitancy if anything goes off script or requires too much flexibility or creativity (he is only good at stabbing, after all). While he could possibly learn to adapt to Tamomo with time and patience, it would be very rough and would likely make him miserable.

SAMPLES

TDM
In case that is not enough:
Previous apocalyptic-setting game thread, 31 personal comments
Previous apocalyptic-setting game thread, 21 personal comments