application.

[twofold]

♚ OOC
ɴᴀᴍᴇ: Jes
ᴀɢᴇ: 18+
ᴄᴏɴᴛᴀᴄᴛ: propast
ᴄʜᴀʀᴀᴄᴛᴇʀ ɪɴ-ɢᴀᴍᴇ: n/a

♛ IC
ɴᴀᴍᴇ: Nishiki
ᴄᴀɴᴏɴ: Donten Ni Warau
ᴄᴀɴᴏɴ ᴘᴏɪɴᴛ: Gaiden: Chapter 1
ᴀɢᴇ: 17
ɢᴇɴᴅᴇʀ: Female
sᴘᴇᴄɪᴇs: Human
ᴀᴘᴘᴇᴀʀᴀɴᴄᴇ: ɪᴍᴀɢᴇs: ᴏɴᴇ | ᴛᴡᴏ | ᴛʜʀᴇᴇ

Nishiki is a young woman, fair and of middling height, with a neat figure. Her clothing style has traditionally been economical, either in the athletic garb of her clan or whatever is offered to her; however, recently, she's begun to grow a taste for pastel kimonos with flowered patterns. Her hair, now past her shoulders, carries a natural curl to it, curling delicately of its own volition. The most notable thing is how two-toned Nishiki is. On her left side, she's dark - black hair, black eyes. On her right side, she's light - white hair, bright mauve eyes. This is a result of her not completing the two-part ritual of becoming a true member of the Fuuma clan.

ʜɪsᴛᴏʀʏ/ʙᴀᴄᴋɢʀᴏᴜɴᴅ:

First, a bit of background information is necessary. Donten ni Warau is set in the Meiji era of Japan - specifically, the events of the manga began in 1879, shortly after the government forbade people from carrying swords. Samurai and ninjas were steadily becoming obsolete due to the government's growing dependence on the military. The Fuuma clan were once a highly regarded family of ninjas. However, they were tragically wiped out following their fall from the public eye; all are now (reportedly) deceased, save for a few. Nishiki is one such.

The most talented Fuuma clan members are expected to go through a ritual in order to be considered a true Fuuma ninja. This ritual involves two acts: first, the individual must murder someone they love dearly; secondly, they must be locked in a box for several days and nights. This ritual has the side effect of turning a Fuuma's hair and eyes albinic.

Not a lot of Nishiki's past is revealed. She is called "half-baked" by other Fuumas and herself, referencing her half-dark, half-light appearance and the fact that she never completed her ritual. This is not elaborated on in canon but the most probable explanation is that Nishiki succeeded in slaying someone close to her but escaped from the box prematurely. Her only canon remark on the matter is to say she was afraid and ran away, but the fact that her hair is half white implies she completed the first half of the ritual. Following this, she is completely severed from the Fuuma clan. Nishiki runs away, inadvertently saving herself from dying with the rest of her massacred family members. What she does between running away and first encountering the protagonist of Donten ni Warau, Soramaru Kumou, goes unexplained.

When we first see her in canon, she has gotten herself a position as a low level warden in the Gokumonjo prison. Nishiki's goal was to avenge her clan by killing the person responsible for their demise. However, words from Soramaru convince her to abandon that goal and finally embrace the possibility of a new life outside the Fuuma. She eventually follows Soramaru back to the Kumou shrine, having become enraptured with him due to his kindness, and takes a job there as a shrine attendant.

ᴘᴇʀsᴏɴᴀʟɪᴛʏ:

Born a Fuuma, Nishiki carried a heavy mantle of responsibility from a young age. She was expected to follow orders, kill without mercy or regard, serve the clan unto death, and never ever complain. In many ways, Nishiki embodies these values. She's quiet, composed and sure. Nothing Nishiki does is without purpose. Economical in her actions and gestures, she's deft and doesn't waste a single moment of energy. Prefering to lead rather than follow, she takes orders without hesitation. When she takes matters into her own hands, it's often at the service of somewhat else - first, the Fuuma clan; later, Soramaru Kumou and his family. Nishiki has only ever acted entirely in her own interests once. However, it is that single action that defines her to this very day.

Having run away from her Fuuma initiation ritual, she holds the mantle of "half-baked" quite closely. Seeing herself as neither Fuuma nor anything else, Nishiki struggles for a place to belong. She wants a family and a place where she's needed. She wants to know her skills are useful to those she holds dear. And, with those she respects, sometimes she simply wants to bend the knee - a holdover from her strict obeisant upbringing. Being useful is important. As a minor side effect, she can't stand being idle and will never be complacent when she could be proactive. Towards the end of Donten ni Warau, Soramaru Kumou offers her a job as an attendant at his family's shrine. Having a task and someone to serve makes her unconditionally happy.

In many situations, she's brusque, to the point, and a little morbid. When Soramaru expresses concern over an escaped criminal, Nishiki's immediate response is to offer to kill the criminal. If there is a duty to be done - no matter how grisly the act - she won't hesitate to step up. In a more relaxed venue, Nishiki is still a bit awkward. Unused to flagrant displays of kindness or affection, she becomes bashful and uncertain in such situations. In the gaiden, she is shown blushing both when Soramaru gives her a flower for her hair and when Botan lavishes her with attention. Despite that, she's still quiet and reserved, speaking only when spoken to or when there's vital information to impart. Nishiki feels no great need to interject overly or act out - as long as the people she cares about are safe, she is happy sitting back and observing them.

To strangers, she can seem cold and aloof. While not an entirely accurate description, it's not completely inaccurate either. Nishiki is not one to waste time on needless pleasantries; she'd far rather leave that to those better at it. To put it succinctly, she's best at tasks where she doesn't have to open her mouth. Despite that, Nishiki is an impressively hard worker, refusing to give her tasks anything less than 150%. If asked, she will work from sun up to the next sun up.

In a way, she needs validation from others to continue on, even if that validation is from something that exists only in her mind. When she decides to avenge the Fuuma clan by slaying the man who massacred them, she does so in dedication to their memory - she's not in contact with any surviving Fuuma but she feels driven to do it nonetheless. This is an example of her acting out of desire for validation and meaning from an incorporeal, intangible entity. In this case, it's her own memory of what was. There are times when she plainly lacks self-assurance, seeing her personal value in only what she can do for others. When Soramaru stops assigning her chores, she wonders if she has upset him and how she can rectify the situation.

Having spent so much of her life being told she was a tool, Nishiki is uncertain how to proceed otherwise. Growing accustomed to the idea of freedom is a harrowing one. If it makes her seem a bit lost, acting her age for the first time in her life, well. That's certainly understandable.

ᴍᴀɢɪᴄ ᴡᴇᴀᴘᴏɴ: A single kunai made from soft iron. Forty centimetres long, it differs from regular kunai because all edges are sharpened, not just the tip. It boasts the traditional ring on the pommel, large enough for tying a rope through if necessary - however, the weapon itself does not come with a rope. Its special ability grants the wielder invisibility for a brief time; the user is still very much solid and a punch aimed at them before the weapon activated would still land, and hurt - however, they can no longer be seen. The mana drain from activating invisibility is directly proportional to how much the weapon's owner moves during that time—the more active they are, the quicker the invisibility will wear off. If the owner stayed standing completely still for the duration, at the kunai's current level, invisibility would wear off in approximately three minutes. Running at full speed, that duration gets lowered to approximately 30 seconds.

ᴄᴀʀʀɪᴇʀ: Randomize this, please!

sᴀᴍᴘʟᴇ: From the TDM | Previous game