Consignment | Application

[dreamvour]

PLAYER INFO.
✖ Handle: Cassandra
✖ Contact: caffeinic @ plurk
✖ Are You Over 16: Y
✖ Other Characters Played in Consignment: None

CHARACTER INFO.
✖ Character Name: Baku (Yoshinaga Chiyoko)
✖ Genre: Semi-godly protector of the human world

✖ Character Appearance: Picture! Baku appears most of the time (and for game purposes will be stuck in this form) as a seventeen year old girl. She has black hair cropped short, brown eyes, and wears thick-rimmed glasses. She usually wears her school uniform, unless it's a day off; then she's wearing whatever she feels like, which is usually skirts with T-shirts and boots - anything cute and fashionable.
✖ Character Age: As old as the human race. So . . . old.
✖ Pick A Number: 315 and 666

✖ World Setting: Belief in the supernatural is more powerful than humanity can even begin to imagine. While the gods may have created a few entities here and there, it's humanity's belief in the unknown that has brought them to life; ghosts and goblins, demons and spirits - all of these exist, thanks to the power of man's curiosity. It is this belief that the Gods used to both empower and limit themselves - because beings with unlimited power could never be a good thing. Rather, they put their fate in the hands of humanity instead, giving them the power, through that belief, to govern how powerful they are, what they’re able to do, and thus preventing them from ever working outside of their “story”. Every being in the supernatural world has to abide by these rules, and are unable to break them . . . directly. There are, of course, loopholes, and many creatures have found ways to exploit them in order to get around their stories, and in doing so have put humanity in constant danger.

But the gods aren’t stupid, and they caught onto this very, very quickly. While gods only hold power in the territory they were created in, lower gods, deities, and other beings aren’t so limited. And while the Gods love their creations, humanity is, overall, their most beloved creation. So in order to protect them, they created an entire system, based loosely on the human world’s governments, to keep everything in check.

The most important foremost part of this government is a group known as Enforcers. These supernatural creatures are a hand-picked group of some of the oldest to have ever walked the Earth, and ones with a close relationship to the human world. When one becomes an Enforcer, they’re gifted a human form and sent to live amongst humanity, as it was the easiest and quickest way to “keep their ear to the ground”, to use a human phrase, all while living a human “life”.

With them in the human world all the time, they’re able to quickly solve a problem without it getting out of hand. Vengeful ghosts, endangered weres - you name it, Enforcers are tasked with handling it. They make sure that these creatures aren’t stepping out of the bounds of their story, and if so, they handle it. Whether it’s in the human world itself, or in other realms linked to the world of the supernatural and the human world, Enforcers are given one order: use any means necessary.

And while the human world is mostly blind to this - their belief, again, is very powerful, and they have begun to change themselves, as well. Humans who can see through the veil separating them from the supernatural, abilities to travel to other realms - both the Gods and the Enforcers have been forced to scramble to keep up, to make sure that the veil remains.

Because without it, humanity will be destroyed. And if that happens . . . everything goes to hell. Quite literally.

✖ Character History: Baku is a creature with a unique background, in the grand scheme of things.

When the gods were putting the animals together, and before they had gifted humanity their power of belief, there were a few parts left over. A long, elephant-like nose, a mane like a lion, paws like a cat - they decided to put these parts together and created a being without purpose, but with the freedom to seek it out, should it decide to.

But considering it was one of the last to be created, Baku didn't have much left over to choose from. So, it wandered the land in search of a purpose. Along the way, she met many other deities, and each time they suggested something that lead Baku to a dead end. Even creatures from other territories offered it help, but nothing seemed to fit - to feel right. It wasn’t until one day it came across a sleeping child that Baku finally found something. It watched, curious, as the child whimpered in his sleep, in the throes of a horrible nightmare. Baku found itself so upset by how the boy suffered that it took the nightmare and ate it, and was relieved to find that the boy seemed to settle. The next morning, the boy awoke with no memory of the dream, and a few, faint impressions of what Baku did for him.

Grateful, the boy told his parents of what happened, and the next night, the parents prayed to Baku and asked for it to devour their dreams, as well. More than happy to help, Baku answered their prayers and ate their bad dreams. The next day, the parents told the rest of the village of what happened, and Baku’s story truly began.

And it continued to spread, until children and adults alike were praying to Baku, asking it to take away their bad nightmares. Night after night, Baku would travel the lands and enjoy a feast, and humanity would praise its existence. There were paintings, sculptures, variations on its legend told all over - and it spread, from China to Japan to all over Asia. Other creatures were soon created from these beliefs, giving the chimera “family”. And Baku, despite being a creature made from leftovers, felt as though it had chosen the right direction in life. The Gods had created humankind, after all, just as they had created Baku. It only seemed right for it to help humanity out.

But one night, Baku got too hungry. The nightmare had been a little thing, no more than an appetizer, really. So it ate another dream belonging to that person. And another. It continued eating until there was nothing left, and Baku left, full. But the following morning . . . the human awoke with no hopes, no ambitions - an empty shell. Baku found itself horrified that it had caused something so terrible, and used its power to apologize to that person’s village, and beg for their forgiveness. But it was too late.

The legends that followed split - those telling of the creature that ate bad dreams, the helpful chimera that answered your prayers and took away what troubled you while you slept . . . and the newer stories, speaking of an even more demonic creature who would eat any dreams and destroy a person’s future, reducing them to a state worse than death. Baku didn't want to become something the humans hated it for, but it couldn't control its hunger. And despite trying its hardest, every so often, Baku left behind the empty shell of a person.

It was around this time that the Gods invoked the rules that put the entirety of the supernatural world in humanity's hands. And unfortunately, Baku was locked into this story along with its original story, and was forced to deal with its hungry problem. And it struggled with it, for years, until a chance meeting with The Spider Woman.

Asibikaashi, the Spider Woman from Native American belief, had created what is now known as a dreamcatcher, something humans were using to filter out bad dreams - "catching" them to be dispose of by the Spider Woman. And while the supernatural world may be just as large and diverse as the human world, it wasn't unheard of for them to work to assist each other if they needed it, no matter what territory they were from - after all, Baku had access to the realm of dreams, where Morpheus, the Roman God of Dreams, reigned supreme. Hearing of Baku's problem, Asibikaashi made an offer; that instead of her using her power to destroy those bad dreams, she would instead allow Baku to devour them when it needed to. And in return, Baku would owe her a favor that could be called upon at any time. Any favor, without argument.

Both desperate and thankful, Baku quickly agreed, and thanks to the Spider Woman was able to control its hunger and once again assist humanity without worrying about harming them. And the Gods, pleasantly surprised by this turn of events, immediately offered Baku a position as an Enforcer. Baku readily accepted.

That was over 500 years ago. Still an Enforcer, Baku has since refused any and all "promotions" in the system, preferring to live as a human and to help them from there. Preferring to take the form of a young teenager, Baku has since gathered a small group of Enforcers in Japan to live as a “family”, thus giving them more freedom to be themselves, while also keeping to their work. Having "grown up" in Asia, it can't imagine its life going anywhere beyond where it has been - and with the threat of humanity destroying the veil between worlds, its work is cut out for it anyway.

But rather than seeing all of this as a threat, Baku sees it as an opportunity. The human world and supernatural world have been separated for far too long, and the beliefs people hold in their legends has begun to fade. In turn, this meant that the supernatural’s power has begun to fade as well - to the point where there’s a threat of these creatures simply disappearing.

With the blessing of the gods, Baku has taken it upon itself to track these humans down and, rather than trying to block their power, teach them to use it in a way to benefit both worlds. But its a difficult endeavor; not only are there the usual problems one runs into as an Enforcer (vengeful ghosts can be a pain in the ass), there are Enforcers and other beings that just don’t agree with the idea.

✖ Character Personality: Baku’s personality is different depending on if it’s pretending to be human, or being itself. (For ease of explaining its personality from this point on, I’ll be referring to Baku as “she”)

As a human, Baku’s name is Yoshinaga Chiyoko - just your average, seventeen year old on the brink of attending university. Having “grown up abroad”, Chiyoko is introverted and shy, rarely breaking out of the small group of friends she has. But when she does, she’s friendly and polite, if a bit awkward. She isn’t very used to living in one place, after all, so for once being able to settle into a home and make friends is a new thing for her.

That isn’t to say she doesn’t try, though! The friends she does have are outgoing enough that Chiyoko ends up being dragged out to be social anyway, eased into it by her friends who think she just needs to experience a “good time”. And after that, they can find her a boyfriend and - well, you know how teenagers are. And Chiyoko agrees, being a teenager herself.

She’s also responsible, at least according to her friends, because she’s already gone out and found a part time job, and on top of that attends cram school three nights a week. Chiyoko likes to keep busy, after all, and sometimes she’ll even join a sports team at school! . . . but it’s usually short-lived, because it interferes with her part time job.

But when she isn’t playing Chiyoko, Baku’s personality is both similar and different at the same time.

They aren’t wrong when they say Baku is a hard worker; her “part time job” is actually her patrolling around Japan, making sure everything stays in working order. It isn’t uncommon for her to show up for a mission before its even been given out. She likes to know what’s going on and is one of the foremost creatures to go to, should an Enforcer be assigned to Japan.

Preferring to work her way around the rules, Baku will find any alternative to destroying a creature when she runs into one causing a problem. Send them to another realm, give them a second chance, assist them in passing on - while Enforcers are seen as the soldiers of the supernatural world, Baku prefers to view them as something like exorcists, or guardians. Hell, she’s even offered a few of them a place to stay at her house, removing them from the problem and giving them a new life, so to speak. Or a new afterlife, etc.

Before the threat of the veil falling, though, while Baku still adores humanity just as much as the Gods do, she’s grown bored with her existence. While her powers haven’t faded so much as changed thanks to humanity, she’s been alive a very, very long time. She’s seen it all and then some, and yearns for something new.

The veil falling is, sadly, the answer to her boredom.

Otherwise, Baku is a quiet creature, preferring to work by herself instead of other Enforcers. While she does occasionally team up with them, its easier for her to overwork herself in order to keep to her own beliefs of second chances and redemption. And while she isn’t particularly lonely, she does spend a lot of time pretending to be Chiyoko - to the point that sometimes, the act she puts on and her own personality have started to blend into each other. She doesn’t get excited easily, but when she does its hard to remember that she’s as old as the Earth and not the seventeen year old she plays.

And while she’s loyal to the Gods, humanity is really what holds her dedication. It isn’t uncommon for her to return to the supernatural world and tell someone off for a stupid decision, or to directly disobey an order. This is never done at humanity’s expense, though, as their protection is her utmost priority.

But sometimes the Gods are dumb and someone has to tell them.

She’s also loyal to those she’s aligned herself with; the Spider Woman, Morpheus - if they help her out in some way, its guaranteed she’ll pay them back and then some. Baku takes favors very seriously, and will go out of her way to show her appreciation. This carries over into her “human” life as well, as it fits in perfectly with the persona she’s decided to portray.

On the other hand, though . . . if you wrong Baku in some way, she’ll make sure you regret it. When all else fails, Baku is a ruthless fighter, to the point that she’s taken up a weapon that feeds on her own blood, and summons that will act just as ruthlessly as she does, if needed. While she does believe in second chances, she also believes that those who can’t redeem themselves, or those who refuse to change their ways need to removed so they no longer pose a threat.

While it’s rare, Baku has removed a few creatures from existence entirely. And she’ll continue to do so, if she has to.

✖ Character Powers: Baku doesn’t have that many powers overall. Her foremost power is the ability to enter the realm of dreams and eat the nightmares or bad dreams of a human - or a supernatural creature, if they give her permission. But she needs that first before she can do anything.

However, she’s able to use the dream realm to travel wherever she wants. It’s why she’s able to travel all over Japan in one night - there’s always someone dreaming, and always someone asking for a reprieve from their bad dreams.

Aside from that, she’s able to summon two creatures known as Koma-Inu. Very similar to the statues that stand in front of various shrines all over Japan, when things get difficult she’s able to summon them to help her. But she can only call two of them at a time, and they drain her power considerably, if temporarily. They’re last ditch effort in many cases.

Finally, while not really considered a power, but important to note anyway - Baku’s sword is one of the Muramasa swords from legend, that requires the taste of blood to be sheathed. While the blade isn’t bound to her, per say, it specifically needs to the blood of a supernatural creature to be sheathed, or else the demon crafted and sealed inside it will escape and go berserk. Oops.

CHARACTER SAMPLES.
✖ First Person POV: omg it’s a dragon!!

✖ Third Person POV: “You’re joking.”

The human world wasn’t the only one who had taken advantage of the recent boom in smart phones; the supernatural world had their own versions, albeit less high-tech as the human versions. But it meant that orders could be passed along without expending the energy to return back and forth between worlds, and everyone needed as much of their power as they could reserve anyway, what with the recent problems involving the humans and the veil.

“We’re not joking,” The person she was speaking to answered. “You know we don’t joke.”

“You could stand to start. It would do you good.” Perched in a tree behind her school, Baku pulled the phone away and watched as a group of teenagers passed underneath. Classes were getting out - and she had had to make a quick exit from her own class, to answer this call. She waited until they were out of hearing range before bringing the phone back to her ear. “Someone else has got to be more suited than I am. You know I’m limited, boss.”

“We know.” ‘Boss’ replied, and the frown is evident in his voice. “But refusing isn’t an option. We’ve been told as much by this CDC member.”

Baku heaved a sigh and leaned back against the trunk of the tree, head conking against the wood. She understood the ramifications of this particular mission, and knew that they needed someone to go, no matter what. And while, in a way, she was honored they chose her of all their options, she wasn’t very happy about it, either.

“Baku,” She lifted the phone to ear a second time, and waited until the voice on the other end gathered his thoughts. Her boss was like that - a God who put a lot of thought into his words before he spoke, and he didn’t make decisions lightly. No God relating to war did, she found. Especially one involved in knowledge, as well.

“We feel - I feel - that you are the best choice in this matter. We understand what you’ve been doing here,” Baku rolled her eyes, and the sharpness in his tone told her that he knew what she was doing, even if she wasn’t there. “But accepting this mission will be the greatest help overall.”

There was another pause. “You love humanity as much as we do. You’re the best choice.”

“That’s a low blow,” Baku sighed, shutting her eyes. But it was true, and she couldn’t deny it; humanity was the most important thing to her. It was why she had become an Enforcer in the first place, and why she would remain one, no matter how many times they asked her to move up the chain of command.

“I’ll do it.” She said after a few moments. “But you owe me.”

“Of course. You’ll be rewarded--”

“I don’t want a reward,” Baku heaved a sigh. “I don’t want anything like that.”

“We’ll see what we can do, then.” Her ‘boss” corrected, a bit slowly - warily. Baku made a mental note to play on that wariness when she got back, and to request something ridiculously stupid. And human.

“You need to leave as soon as possible. Make sure to gather what you need before you return here.” There was a pause, and Baku could faintly hear a conversation going on in the background - between her boss and another person - the CDC representative? Most likely. Though how they got there was anyone’s guess. “Meet us here, and he take you to where you need to go.”

“Sure, sure . . . “ Baku sat up straight, and straightened out the skirt of her school uniform before standing up on the branch. “I’ll be there.”

Hanging up, she looked to her school. She didn’t know how long she’d be gone, but if anything, this wasn’t going to be a short mission. Far from it, by her guess.

She had some notes to leave behind.

CHARACTER ITEMS.
✖ Pick a Team: Orange!

✖ Mission Freebie: That the veil between the supernatural and human world be repaired.
✖ Personal Item or Weapon: Her Muramasa sword.

✖ Character Inventory:

- Standard school uniform, grey and white
- Dark grey hooded sweatshirt
- Dark brown loafers
- Thick rimmed black glasses (no prescription)