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Post by Headphone Actor on Feb 26, 2020 19:39:49 GMT -5
"Huh..."
A still figure stood in the middle of the raging storm, his dark eyes fixed on a single flake of glowing white.
It wasn't his snow, Kuraokami knew this much. His snow was cold and harsh, a brutal drain of heat and life that most of Japan dreaded. A reminder from the gods that sometimes, death didn't come from the violent screams of a hurricane or earthquake. It was too early for snow, yet, anyway. The soft hiss of rain belonged to him, turning the ground into a sticky, treacherous mess, uprooting trees and causing the earth itself to cave inward.
No, this wasn't his snow.
"Hey, you two." The god's voice, although soft, carried easily through the storm. Most of the racket consisted of the screaming of his companions, who, when they slowed down, showed eerie similarities to Kuraokami.
They were triplets -- a package deal, one never too far away from the other two. Kuraokami of the rain and snow, Raiden of thunder and lightning, and Futen, the sole woman in the trio, of violent winds.
Their brother's call reached their ears, and the roaring and screeching subsided as they made their way to his side.
"It's a spirit. I'm going to name it, and I need you two to settle down while I do it."
"Well why do you get to name it?"
"Yeah, you named the last one!"
"You named the last one, Raiden, and I saw it first, so I'm gonna name it!"
Back and forth, the three siblings bickered, until the oldest made his point. A massive wolf by Raiden's side, the color of ink, curled his lips into a snarl in his master's defense, while the buffalo that Kuraokami was astride stamped a hoof in response. The cool, ice colored eyes of a snow leopard watched both, almost a statue carved from ice.
"Besides, we can go around and look for one for you two after this, then we all get one." Kuraokami was rather sure he was the only sensible one, in this situation. They weren't held down by anything anymore, after all. Their father had no say in what they were doing -- they couldn't even find him -- and their mother clearly encouraged their mission.
Alongside that, they were still young, for gods. It was in their best interest to build up their teams with strong, steady, reliable Regalia.
Kuraokami peered closer at the glowing white ball of fluff.
"Now...who do we have here...?"
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Post by Headphone Actor on Feb 26, 2020 19:40:27 GMT -5
[ Danhu I finally got around to doing it!!!]
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Danhu
It's about to get real
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Post by Danhu on Feb 27, 2020 3:28:14 GMT -5
(SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECH )
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Danhu
It's about to get real
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Post by Danhu on Feb 27, 2020 20:58:07 GMT -5
When the young god looked beyond the physical object at their feet, he'd see that on the ground lay a woman, curled up in a fetal position. With her arms wrapped around her neck and face, and her legs pulled inward towards her chest, the human seemed to be defending herself from an unseen foe. And maybe she had been abused by someone or something at one time. At least she hadn't had an easy life - the rest of her appearance told that much of the story. Her long, scraggly hair was graying from the roots down, creating an unnatural gradient of white to gray to a black wash at the tips, then there was her skin, dark and weathered, her frame hollow. And from that empty, hungry frame came an undeniable wish.
I want to live... I want to live...
It repeated over and over, like a mantra. Who's to say how long she'd been here like this.
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Post by Headphone Actor on Feb 28, 2020 6:23:30 GMT -5
Kuraokami looked almost impassively towards the crouching woman, his face cold and remote. Humans died all the time, it was honestly their special talent. They died in ways that he could hardly comprehend -- how did they let that happen -- and they did that often.
But that wish.
"I just want to live."
That resonated with the demon god of snow, and he raised his left hand, fingers formed into the halberd position.
Human lives meant nothing to the detached dragon, that was true.
But that will to live, that defiance towards her fate. That made her stand out to the rest of the pitiful dead.
"You, with nowhere to go and nowhere to return, I grant you a place to belong." His siblings and their Regalia watched from the sidelines, their sharp gazes trained on the lost spirit as their brother named her. Seeing past her initial form, they had lost interest just a bit. Futen went for warriors, burly thugs that spat in life's face and told it who was boss. Raiden went for the adults who were cut off in their prime, who hadn't had a chance to reach their full potential, and whose souls were full of anger at their fate. But sometimes, Kuraokami found, that the same spark was found in the souls of the elderly and beaten down, as well. "My name is Kuraokami. Bearing a posthumous name, you shall remain here. With this name, I make thee my servant. With this name and it's alternate, I use my life to make thee a Regalia." The god of rain nudged his heels into the buffalo's sides, urging her towards the spirit, closer, as he began drawing a character into the air.
It wasn't time for snow, but perhaps an unexpected name for an unexpected scenario. Kuraokami hadn't expected to be naming a new Regalia today.
"Though art Shimo! As Regalia, Shūang!" Finishing the symbol, the character for "frost" hung in the air, before Kuraokami dropped his left hand and expectantly held out his right, waiting for the arrival of his new...what, exactly? Weapon? Beast? Armor?
"COME, SHŪANGKI!"
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Danhu
It's about to get real
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Post by Danhu on Feb 28, 2020 20:47:38 GMT -5
I want to live...
so that I can decide when I die. Shuangki rushed to his hand in a streak of white, fitting for her name, even the weapon's handle was cold and gently bit at the god's skin as it took the shape of a traditional naginata. The design was simple, the weapon elegant and strong. It's head was heavy yet balanced perfectly with a smooth, ebony wood handle and a ring of metal on the other end. It'll make a good weapon. Hua Lian Liu.
She was born of a people who came from across the sea, coming to a Japan still wild and untamed - the playground of Izanami, Izanagi and their children. She had only barely begun to know her homeland when her family left on their boats and came to this place. As a youth, she grew to be both beautiful and charming. But the wild does not favor a beautiful young lady - it favors the strong and resilient. Her beauty faded as the grass as she worked - gathered fruits and berries, dug for roots and bugs, cleaned fish, mended clothes, made tools and weapons - whatever was needed to survive. Eventually she was mated to a man with a temper.
Used and abused all her life, Lian Liu fought for every breath of a life she didn't own. The girl thought that at least, one day, she'd make a choice of her own. She would be the one to decide how she left this world. It was that thought that made everything else bearable. So, when that man grabbed hold of her wrist and she saw the intent in his eyes - the woman fought back. But what is a woman's will against the overwhelming strength of a man? He beat her with his fists, and she clawed with her nails. Blow after blow, he tried to beat that will out of her, but even when her soul fled her body to this place, she still wanted to live.
In a way, she had made a choice.
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Post by Headphone Actor on Mar 1, 2020 20:32:10 GMT -5
While the gesture would mean nothing to his newest servant, the god's grip tightened on the handle of the steady naginata as he lived through her memories.
Hua Lian Liu.
It was always somewhat difficult for the calamity god to take in the lives of those he named. Their struggles, their memories. He was still new to it, and even though he was somewhat desensitized, there were some stories that hit a little harder than others.
A marriage filled with aggression and hate. Death caused by someone you should have implicitly trusted.
As he mulled over his thoughts, Kuraokami spun the naginata, examining the weight and feel of the weapon. He'd never had a melee weapon before, simply relying on his siblings to dole out the up close and personal damage while he sapped strength from afar with Boukako.
Perhaps it was time for him to learn a new skill, and the frigid god gave a thoughtful hum.
Meanwhile, in the shimmering world only known to the named dead, a clan studied their newest member.
A small boy with cheerful eyes was the first to speak, and even though he was quiet -- obedient and paying heed to the stern look of a sturdy, elderly woman -- he waved and whispered out a small, "Hi there."
In fact, the world was rather stark and unpopulated, apart from the two. Did Kuraokami have no other Regalia? Or were the bow and the buffalo all he felt he needed?
"It's good to meet you, please make yourself comfortable." Despite her austere appearance, the old woman's words and voice were motherly, soft even. "I'm Umekako, and this is Boukako." Once he was referred to, the little boy waved again and peeped out another, "Nice to meet you."
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Danhu
It's about to get real
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Post by Danhu on Mar 28, 2020 19:26:00 GMT -5
Shimokako stared at her surroundings, the new people and the powerful grip on her body. As she did, Kuraokami would feel the woman resigning herself to this new situation. After a minute, she responded the regalia's greetings.
"You good? [Hello?]" The first words out of her mouth were foreign and strange. On the one hand, the words resembled old Japanese, but then on the other hand she jumbled them and had a strong accent to boot. It was something Umekako should be able to decipher. "What place? [Where are we?] You is a U-mei-ka-kou Bo-u-ka-kou? [You're Umekako and Boukako?]" When trying out their names on her tongue, she spoke each syllable in a careful, deliberate manner. The lady frowned, because she knew she hadn't gotten it right.
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Danhu
It's about to get real
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Post by Danhu on Apr 12, 2020 12:13:53 GMT -5
[*gently bumps*]
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