Cast

[Bayushi Senshuken]

Name: Bayushi Sensuken
Gender: Female
Clan: Scorpion
Age: 18
Height: 1.62
Build: Slender and fit
Occupation: Bike racer, diplomat
Marital Status: Single
Hair colour: Sometimes pink, sometimes dark red or something in between. Currently light bordeaux.
Eye colour: Purple. Mere brown without contact lenses.

Bayushi Sensuken is a courtier of the Scorpion clan, but she's mostly known to some circles as a talented bike racer. She's also known as a rich irresponsible brat to some other circles, but that's nothing for anyone to worry about, becase she's here now to prove all the disbelievers wrong! She comes from one of the less cosmopolitan provinces of the World of Dream which is governed by her own mother. Her family claims ancestry from Bayushi Shoju, one of the greatest Scorpion heroes of all times.

Hooks:

- Racing, driving, piloting even and above everything else speeding!
- Motorbikes!
- Fantasy Flight novice
- Wannabe samisen player
- Drinking, dancing and partying
- Street art and fashion
- Just chatting. Preferably endlessly.
- Anything that is beautifully dangerous!
- Sure court. Why not?

[Soshi Kotori]

Soshi(Kochako)Kotori
Gender: Female
Clan: Scorpion
Age: 19
Height: 5’2
Build: Slim, delicate
Occupation: Soshi Entertainment and News Network Technical Support & Owner of The Bird's Nest (Tech Consultancy)
Marital Status: Single
Hair: Black, long and a little curly.
Eyes: Light brown.
Dress: Slightly modernised traditional clothes, and a veil.

BACKGROUND
Kochako Kotori was never anyone's first choice. Born to the Kochako vassal family of the Soshi, she grew up a quiet and unremarkable presence - polite, bright enough but hardly dazzling. While others seemed destined for brilliance or prestige, Kotori's talents were quieter and less celebrated. She possessed a nimble intellect but lacked the charisma or drive that tends to draw notice in Scorpion circles.

Where she failed to impress in person, however, she excelled behind a screen. Computers made sense to her in a way people never quite did, and it was in the hum of processors and the rhythm of code that she found her purpose.

These days, she works for the Soshi Entertainment News Network as technical support -respectable, if unglamorous, while quietly running a freelance consultancy known as The Bird’s Nest, connecting clients to skilled technical specialists across the net.

Her assignment to the Green Carp wasn’t by choice or acclaim; she was simply the one available when the request trickled further down, the line.

HOOKS
The Scorpion without a Stinger: It can be hard to know if you'll get stung when interacting with a scorpion, but Kotori seems rather approachable. She's polite, a little awkward and for a Scorpion, she seems fairly honorable.
Technical Support: Kotori is skilled with computers, and while she tends to contract out the labour through The Bird's Nest these days, she could be convinced to lend a hand personally if the price is right.
A Nobody: While the other Scorpions have reputations of their own, Kotori doesn't particularly seem to be a figure of any note. It begs the question - who is she?

[Kaiu Ryosei]

Name: Kaiu Ryosei
Gender: Male
Clan: Crab
Age: 23
Height: 6' 1"
Build: athletic
Occupation: Inventor and Engineer
Marital Status: Single
Hair: dark
Eyes: dark

Physical Description:

Ryosei is a sturdily built crab like many of his clansmen. He stands tall and broad shouldered, his body clearly no stranger to hard work. But he lacks the stereotypical warrior aura of many of his compatriots. He certainly seems capable of violence but does not seem inclined to it.

His long dark hair is often tied back and kept out of his eyes. Said eyes are dark and analytical always studying his surroundings and things to see how they work. His expression is usually neutrally placid or uninterested and it usually takes a lot to get him animated.

Background:

Born the first son of a prominent family Ryosei lived most of his life as a model son and student. He was nearly considered a prodigy and showed incredibly promise. Then shortly after his gimmick he did his mandated military service and was stationed on Hida Segunda shortly before the tragedy that befell the planet. He escaped but carried scars with him

Those in the right circles may have heard of his decline into addiction and subsequent removal from his family's company. His status was basically stripped from him but he was not outright removed from the clan.

While his downfall was somewhat public, ending up on the cover or a story inside some crab gossip publications or holofreeds, his recovery was less so. People tend to hear about the controversy but care little for redemption.

A little over a year ago he relocated to the green carp and has operated a mechanics shop called the Steel Claw. He specializes in artificial limbs and fleshcrafts but he can help with nearly anything mechanical, locomotive, robotic, even electrical.

Hooks:

*Were you visiting Hida Segunda five years ago? He was stationed there around that time. Were you involved in the tragedy there? He was one of the few survivors that made it off world.

* Are you into mechanics or engineering? So is he! His family owns one of the largest engineering firms in Crab space but he doesn't tend to talk about that part much.

* People have noted that he seems to be scribbling in an honest to kami paper notebook and muttering to himself in his free time. What could the reticent engineer be working on so intently?

* He's no warrior by occupation but he did serve in the Crab military for a year and a half and has found exercise to be an excellent outlet during his recovery.

[Kaiu Tetsu]

Name: Fundai (Kaiu) Tetsu
Gender: Male
Marital Status: Single
Occupation: Crab Military Technical Officer
Age: 20
Homeword: Kaiu Prime
Height: 5'8"
Complexion: Olive
Build: Lean
Hair: Black
Eyes: Brown
Marital Status: Newly Married




Tetsu was born on Kaiu Prime, and grew up in the Fundai Docks, the site of the massive dockyards that supply the Crab navy. He was the son of a Crab artillery gunner and technical officer. Their home, Fundai Prime, is fueled by the shipbuilding industry, filled with smelters, metalurgists and engineers. Still actively serving in the Crab navy, Tetsu was left in the care of the workmen and found himself “interning” at countless workshops around the planet, beginning a love of engineering. While focusing more on the armor crafting and ship building, Tetsu took to most fields like a Crab to low tide. One of the overseers noticed and recommended him to the Kaiu Engineering Academy, and to Tetsu and his father’s delight, he was accepted.

He's been graduated a few years now, and enlisted as a Technical Officer in the Crab navy. He's had a few ideas for the shipbuilding division but is too low ranked to be taken to seriously. His love life had been floundering, so he has signed up for a miai on Asakaze. He managed to gain a small amount of fame with some of robotics and cosplay at the convention and was matched with Shiba Hoshiko.

The two have wed, though duties have had them separated and neither is rushing to see each other again. However, as he had hoped, the marriage has done wonders for Tetsu’s burgeoning career. Seen as more stable, his repeated requests to be assigned to the Crab Navy Design Bureau were granted where he proved to be more than capable and has been made a group lead. And yet, this isn’t enough for the ambitious young samurai. In his spare time, he has begun a small company advising for civilian craft models, with the hope that this could be spun off as independent development, with the hope of designing a utility ship that could be used cross navies while being easily modified to fit the Clan’s needs. These early attempts are...at the inception stage, to put it politely. However, the desire to reinvigorate Tango Provinces has led to favorable conditions to set up Tetsu’s operations, and the influx of other Clans is an opportunity he can’t pass up. Tetsu has managed to take some leave, currently assigned to Green Carp, and hopes to make the most of his opportunities.


Hooks
-Tetsu is an avid craftsman and spends a ton of time in the shop. He would love to geek out with people over it.
-A fan of rock music, even if he can't play a note
-He'll talk your ear off about his big plans for his company
-Not a bad driver...want to take a ride with him?
-New to paradise and is enjoying it

[Ikoma Nonoko]

Name: Ikoma Nonoko
Gender: Female
Marital Status: Single
Occupation: Game Developer
Height: 5'
Build: Petite
Hair: Dark Brown
Eyes: Brown

Ikoma Nonoko is a small Lion with big aspirations. Her new game Heavenly Torii is not that well known and so she has come to promote it. But who would take seriously this tiny Lion that likes to play games?

Game creator of Hevenly Torii
Heavenly Torii is an rpg adventure game with colorful characters such as Kitsune, dragonfly, merfolk, bakeneko, elves and all sort of humanoid creatures.

The adventurer (PC) is asked to escort a priestess to the nearby temple. A simple mission... but things go awry when the demons attack and take hostage the priestess. The PC has to save the priestess to save the world.

[Agasha Sorato]

Name: Agasha Sorato 阿賀沙 宙斗
Gender: Male
Occupation: Shugenja, pharmacobotanist, finder
Homeworld: Ujimitsu
Age: 26
Marital Status: Single
Height: 5'11"/180 cm
Hair: Black with sun streaks
Eyes: Light brown
Build: Medium-lanky

Agasha Sorato's calling cards identify him as a traveling representative of Atsumaru Group, the vassal family spiritual-medical-agricultural conglomerate that represents a majority of the Agasha family's pharmaceutical research as well as producing a significant proportion of the food consumed on the Phoenix capital world of Ujimitsu. This young shugenja doesn't seem to be a high-powered Family exec; his manner is unassuming, and his hair is streaked with cinnamon highlights from time spent outdoors under the suns of various less-domesticated worlds and perpetually seems a little windswept (even when there isn't any wind). It's more likely that he was sent in answer to this invitation because he was in the right sector at the right time.

He has a slightly restless air, and occasionally when he looks at you with his unusually light golden-brown eyes, he might seem to look right through you. Nevertheless, he generally presents as quite down-to-earth for a Void shugenja, especially to people whose main familiarity with ishiken comes from press coverage of the mysterious, glamorous Master of Void and her acolytes. This lanky, inquisitive man in his mid-twenties with a light baritone voice, slightly travel-rumpled business casual or hiking gear, and a medical kit and sample jars in his bag alongside his holoslates doesn't exactly fit that picture.

Hooks:

• Sorato is interested in the local biome anywhere he goes, both professionally and spiritually. If you're looking for a hiking or diving buddy, or someone to stare at plants and scenery with, he might be your guy.
• While not a full-time healer, Sorato has a good knowledge of medicine and healing; scouting flora and fauna with medicinal potential is part of his brief.
• Sorato has traveled a fair bit, mostly (but not entirely) to less-developed Phoenix worlds.
• Sorato has a complicated relationship with the elemental kami of air and the Fortune of Wind, Kaze-no-Kami. He would quite like to de-complicate it, but no one seems to know how.

[Asako Hikari]

Name: Asako Hikari
Gender: Male
Age: 24
Marital Status: Single, but house husbandable
Occupation: Financier, Senior Executive of Renewal Financial
Height: 5'8
Build: Modest
Hair: Black
Eyes: Brown

Sent to Green Carp for his financial expertise (something of a rarity for Phoenix), Hikari is a son that his father wishes didn't exist. Supposedly born cursed, he was sent off to the Unicorn to be trained in their ways in the hopes that he would wander off to a far corner of space and be a disappointment at a distance...but Hikari took that personally. He moved to excel in his training, becoming a fast friend to those who needed one and a common face in success in financial circles. He has built his reputation on being someone that will work with you and give it 110% every time provided there is mutual respect...but otherwise your investments might be reported incorrectly to various Imperial agencies.

Hooks:

Are you a Unicorn? Hikari was trained with the Ide and he's been around and might have known you in passing from some far off frontier!

Think religion is a scam? Despite the fact that he is a Phoenix, Hikari doesn't really buy into the supposed divinity of the Fortunes and the Rokugani religious system...people are the real miracles, not gods in the Heavens.

Parent(s) hate you? Hikari's relationship with his father would be charitably described as glacial. Want to commiserate?

Need smart investments? Your friendly firechicken is a senior executive of Renewal Financial, a moderately sized investment firm with branches on multiple planets in various Clan spaces. You might have even seen a commercial. Want to leave a nest egg for your future children or get some acclaim by your boss for bringing in more than the expense report says you generated? Feel free to make an appointment.

[Utaku Itsuka]

Name: Utaku Itsuka
Gender: Female
Marital Status: Widow
Age: 30
Height: 5'6"
Build: Lithe
Hair: Shoulder length, layered, dark brown with an underdye
Eyes: Lifeless. (ok, dark brown)
Dress: Practical, but kinda stylish, usually in warm colours. Swimming gear almost always underneath.

What is seen
Seeing Itsuka run along the harbourfront in a red-on-orange training suit, take a purple and crimson-coloured drone for a spin around the bay, or practice oshidama at the beach with other teams at the end of a day, you'd probably picture her as a textbook example of contentment.

That would change the moment she turned around and you looked at her vacant eyes.

She keeps active, whether on her exercise schedule or running the 'Wherever'. She'll greet others politely, even nicely. Her colourful clothes still give out a sheen that suggests happiness.

But she's like an empty shell of a person. Her smiles always seem hollow, her face always blank, her gaze always lost somewhere on the horizon.

Sometimes, one may see a flicker of a soul there - some clients claim to have seen it when she was cutting through the sky or the sea (usually when going way faster than she should). It lasts for a moment, a fleeting moment.... then dies out.


What is known
Locals will know Itsuka mainly as the owner of 'Whatever', a business in Azuma Beach offering water and sky-based transfers within Shiawase Island and excursions anywhere within the island (and possibly farther away, contact for arrangements). Many will also know her as an accomplished boatswoman and pilot, often piloting for clients herself when she can.

Most who've been in Nakahama for 3 years or less will remember Itsuka much as described above, although they may have heard of her loss.

Those who have been here longer will recall her as she used to be: an actually sunny, cheerful version of the current shell - especially in the times she spent along with her spouse, who some will remember as a tough, strong-willed, cheeky but good-natured woman, possibly in her mid or late thirties. Itsuka's change, in 3122, happened rather suddenly, and the woman hasn't been seen in Shiawase Island ever since.

If someone's ever been to the Utaku homeland in the Castle of Winds, there is a chance that they may remember a story about the child of an eminent, proud and wealthy line including high-ranking officers, military pilots and quite a few shugenja navigators who left the planet and a promising career behind to marry a Minor Clanner - some say a Firefly - and set up shop in Crab Space. They may wonder if there's a connection.

Hooks

• Speed freak - One of the only times when Itsuka feels properly alive is when she's crossing the sky or the sea at breakneck speed. Maybe you'd like to tag along?
• Empty shell - She's not one to talk a lot about the good old times. But maybe you can get her to share something? Or maybe you'd like to try to get her to cheer up some?
• Missing persons agency - In the few times when she actually has to, Itsuka describes herself as a widow. But there's never been actual confirmation that her spouse is dead. Maybe you also have someone whose whereabouts you don't know? Maybe you'd like to help?

[Kitsune Soratoshi]

Name: Kitsune Soratoshi
Gender: Male
Clan: Fox
Age: 23
Height: 5'11"
Build: Long and lean
Occupation: Engineer and consultant
Marital Status: Unwed
Hair: Black
Eyes: Blue

"Ah, what a lucky streak Yasuki-sama! It seems the Fortunes favor you tonight, but do not worry, in the end, the Dragon always wins."

Description:
The thin, bespectacled Fox known as Kitsune Soratoshi doesn't give much indication of his clan affiliation, especially to those expecting a more earthy, traditional style of Kitsune. Subtle Fox Clan mons - even the occasional Kaiu mon - can be noticed with some effort, but his generally unremarkable, modern, dark-colored suits suggest the tall young man could be almost anyone. The intense eyes behind his nondescript glasses make clear he's a samurai of some impatience, though their sharp blueness reveals little else.

Background:
Though he rarely stands on ceremony, Soratoshi has little time for those society (or he himself) sees as inferiors. An adept student of the Kaiu who has perhaps spent too much time among the practical - and perhaps even impolite - Crab on Kaiu Prime, there's no doubt that the man presents as "all business" wherever he goes. Though he's far from famous, Soratoshi has a solid reputation among the Kitsune and also among the Crab, although in both cases it's in large part because "that Fox Clan builder" is such a curiosity. Many respect him and his good work, a few even find affection for such a novel person, but there's no denying that Kitsune Soratoshi is his own kind of Fox.

Hooks:
-Fidgeting or scribbling notes: Tidy and composed as the young Fox appears, he has an energetic streak that means he's almost always doing something, even when he seems to be sitting quietly or deep in thought. While he'll maintain his composure when social niceties require, he clearly prefers some noise and movement to pay attention to.
-Loves[\b] to talk shop: whether it's building things to make money, building things that people need, or just building things because you want to work out how best to build them, Soratoshi is your guy. When he's not dreaming about building things, he's almost always either building something or planning how to build something else. And if you want to talk about his thoughts, oh boy[\i], will you have his attention.
-Still a Fox at heart: while much has been done to divorce Soratoshi from nearly all the usual stereotypes of the Fox Clan, uncommon moments reveal there's still an excited kit in there. Plants, animals, virtually anything that justifies being outside, including building things too large to fit indoors - these are the things that draw little smiles and other signs of joy from the otherwise stern, almost dour engineer.

[Otomo Koroshi]

Name: Otomo Koroshi
Gender: Awesome
Age: 22
Marital Status: Single!
Occupation: Researcher/Dance Instructor
Height: 175cm
Build: Dancer
Hair: Black
Eyes: Black

Description: Koroshi is energy made manifest, with an attitude and demeanor that puts him at odds with most conceptions of the Otomo. That is not to say he isn't also obviously an Otomo, a ring with the mon on it almost never leaving his fingers. To describe how he looks is largely useless as he changes outfits, hairstyle, and looks from day to day.


Hooks: Do you like dancing? Do you like fashion? Do you like talking? Then you also like three of Koroshi's favorite things!

Koroshi has recently come into some money he might want to invest! Or squander!

[Yasuki Honoka]

Clan: Crab
Identifies as: Female
Age: 27
Height: 5’8
Build: Average
Hair: Black, kept short.
Eyes: Brown
Occupation: Senior Manager at Yasuki Data Inc.
Homeworld: Green Carp

Physical Description:
Among a group of samurai Yasuki Honoka would not stand out. Well, so long as that group of samurai were corporate's or of the diplomatic bent. No, Yasuki Honoka is a woman of purely average make among a crowd of her peers and has never deemed it necessary to change that about herself. She dresses usually in a more traditional fashion, owing to her fathers impressive lineage and their family's wish to hearken back to that age as much as possible. However, in a rare occurrence she has been known to dress formally more modern to meet with the requirements of a particular gathering.

Biography:
Yasuki Honoka is the first and only child of her father, Yasuki Kenta, whom is a governor himself of another Yasuki province owing to his long running great lineage. Following in her fathers footsteps, much like her father did before her, she has taken control of a corporate position at Yasuki Data Inc. Now managing the requests of both her fathers many allies, and this integral company to the success of the Yasuki family, as her father would say, she is a woman in the prime seat of demand. Despite having the schedule and demand that would fray any lesser samurai Honoka manages to maintain a calm and present demeanor in all of her doings. A quality of which has boosted the reputation and prestige of her family, and chiefly her father among his peers.

Her mother, Yasuki Akari, once a Kaiu has played a far less significant role in her professional life.

Notables:
Yasuki Honoka is always shadowed by her yojimbo, Yasuki Hiroto. Yasuki Hiroto is a young man of 25 whom was likely granted this position in accordance with his family's long respected great service. Every expectation above the table is that the young man will surely serve honorably and dutifully. Under the table? Well, Hiroto and anyone who would have the spare thought believes this position was selected in anticipation of a cushy appointment where the young man would be allowed to relax.