PERSONA
Name: Tomoe "Tanaka" Murakumo
Age: 26; October 31st, X762
Gender: Male
Sexuality: Heterosexual
Ethnicity, Father: Joyan
Ethnicity, Mother: Joyan
Class: Warrior
Profession: Informant [Speed, Endurance]
Race: Human
Rank: D-rank
Guild: Midnight Cult
Mode: Normal
Tattoo: Tongue, black
Face: Mugen - Samurai Champloo
PHYSIQUE
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 180 lbs
Hair: Black, unkempt
Eyes: Black
Overall: Standing at 6'2", 180 lbs, Tomoe is a man of discipline when it comes to his appearance and posture. That is to say, he secretly puts effort into making his appearance look effortless and rugged. While one would not see him as a "piss-stained peasant" necessarily, he could easily be seen as working class at best from the clothing and overall fashion sense he adorns himself with. A notable point of interest is his hair, which is often found wild and unkempt, allowing the wind to alter it in any way it feels like doing so on a given day.
Simply put, his fashion is very minimalist. He carries his valuables in a sewn leather adventurer's bag slung over his back. Among his regular attire, he wears a custom-fit open red happi coat of Joyan design, and a stitched grey shirt underneath - no doubt torn and fixed many times from battle. Hakama pants refitted into black shorts designed for ease of mobility and flexibility are his preferred type of legwear, and for footwear keeps it leisurely with Joyan geta sandals.
His overall preference for clothing is that of comfort. Being someone who doesn't get invited to many parties or formal events, he simply has no need to wear anything tight enough that it could "crush my balls with the wrong movement."
Extra: He has a gigantic, jagged scar running from the top of his left shoulder diagonally down to his right hip.
PERSONALITY
Personality: Tomoe is a man of mystery, even to the likes of himself. His earliest memory is of a cliffside, bloodshed, and the inevitable chill of death. Falling into a vast abyss, his body going limp, he was ready to accept death's embrace. People with notable silhouettes but no faces filtered in and out of his mind one by one as water filled his lungs, crushing him under the weight of an aquatic nightmare.
Afterwards, he woke up, given a new chance at life. Such a thing rarely happens, and while the rather rugged Joyan barely remembers a thing, he'd rather not trouble others with his problems. Whether it's muscle memory or instinct, Tomoe retains a semblance of what he assumes is his old self - a rough, antisocial thug who's as eager to fight as he is to drink. There's built-up anger within Tomoe for unknown reasons, that he feels like letting out whenever he can - typically in the form of a tavern brawl, but just as often with guild mages. Looking at this behavior from a neutral stance, however, he hates this side of himself. In his spare time, Tomoe teaches himself anger management breathing techniques to calm his nerves and temper the rage within.
Occasionally, Tomoe will get a pit in his stomach; as if he was originally supposed to be a part of something important, but lost his way. Ultimately, until he's able to remember that importance, Tomoe merely sees himself as an expendable resource for whoever he serves at any given moment. His life is that of a brigand, and as a result is worthless in the grand scheme of the world. He resents the 'him' who brought himself to the current point in his life where his only talent is violence and intimidation. Such a man isn't worth living, and Tomoe seeks to distance himself from such a past.
Due to his burning self-hatred and uneducated vernacular, one could often find him reading books and studying various cultures in his spare time in a desperate bid to become someone better than who he was before he lost his memory. Despite this, he still can't help himself to nights of partying. When drunk or drinking, it feels scarily as if bits of his older self take over temporarily.
Likes:
- Studying: Tomoe studies history and various cultures and their differences in an effort to learn more than how to fight a person. Believing that nobody can live just by fighting foe after foe, he seeks to broaden his horizons and gain new understanding of others by reading about the various people around the world. He has a particular interest in his own Joyan heritage.
- Meditation: Furthering his anger management courses, Tomoe can often be found meditating - often with tea and trance-like music to put him into the proper state of mind. As a scholar it helps him to focus on his studies, and as a swordsman it tempers his blade more than blind anger would ever be capable of.
- Her: Whether he wants to admit it or not, the idol of the Midnight Cult, 'She', is enchanting to Tomoe. His first memory after waking from his death was of Her love and of his affection in exchange. It's a love that transcends the mere concept of how one human could love another. Rather, it's as if She is all that has ever mattered to Tomoe, and that he would do anything to keep Her safe and happy.
Dislikes:
- Rune Knights: Tomoe can't quite describe it, but there's a dislike for the Rune Knights within his conscious mind. At first it was a simple thought or two, but eventually he knew that it was a true dislike of the Rune Knights' system and hierarchy. While Tomoe can't say that he knows the exact reasons for his disapproval of them, he's accepted that some feelings simply transcend memory.
- Himself: Being the thug that he is, Tomoe can't stand the person he's forced to look at in the mirror or that his past self allowed him to become. He adamantly disagrees with the idea of a selfish murderer, and rejects his former identity.
Motivations:
- To become more connected with Her: Tomoe doesn't desire much anymore in the way of personal gain. The only thing he wishes for with all his heart is to submit to Her and become Her loyal servant and guardian. One day, perhaps, to even become close enough to Her to receive Her glorious blessing.
Fears:
- Dying: He's already died once, and doesn't want to experience the pain or the horror ever again. The ruthless stabbing and crushing feelings still echo within his body in his nightmares, and torment him with many restless nights. When the time comes for him to die again, he wants it to be on his own terms, and dreads ever having to feel the brutality of murder ever again.
- Priests: Tomoe has a primal fear of priests that he can't quite nail down. He dreads thinking about what kind of events could've happened in his forgotten past that would lead him to fear priests on such a deep level. Among currently conscious reasons, Tomoe fears the wisdom of priests and how they could use their extensive knowledge of countering dark magic to battle the Midnight Cult.
MAGIC
Magic Name: -
Magic Element: -
Magic Description: -
HISTORY
History: - The Past:
Tomoe was born and raised by working-class parents in Joya. Under the Murakumo family name, he was set to take over their family business as farmers one day. Many days he'd work the fields and tend to the animals, sweating and bleeding for the good of his family as any good Joyan son would. He'd learn the ways of his culture, living off the land and swinging bamboo sticks around in an effort to mimic any passing samurai he'd run into.
That was all well and good, until one day when a group of samurai stood imposingly at their door early on a cool Spring morning. They explained that the local lord was upping the taxation of his citizens, and that farmers in their region would be required to pay triple the regular taxes in either money or resources. Being only successful enough to keep their heads above water in the economy, their parents had no clue what to do about the money. They panicked, begging to their neighbors for anything they could spare, but to no avail. The young Joyan boy watching it all happen at the time didn't have an iota of comprehension of how dire their situation was.
"If we can just live as we always have, we should be fine. Right?"
The day of the month when taxes would be delivered arrived, and the samurai made the rounds before eventually closing in on the Murakumo household. The obvious outcome was followed: there was nowhere near the amount of resources to comply with the lord's demands.
Rumors had spread recently that the lord's old guards had been fired in return for some cheaper but more unruly folk - borderline thugs, merely bestowed the proper armor and weaponry befitting a lord's militia.
After a quick exchange in the barn, Tomoe's mother and father found themselves lacking hands.
"If a farmer can't make ends meet, whadda they need 'eir hands for?"
Men that were never seen before, and who Tomoe had never seen again, ended the lives then and there of the two most loved people in the boy's short life. After banter between the lord's men and laughter shared all around, the parents then found themselves lacking heads. The last seconds of their lives without heads were spent alternating between seeing the livestock they had bred desperately to make ends meet slaughtered, and their own son looking on in terror.
Once Tomoe had seen the light in their eyes go out, he fled to their basement in adrenaline-filled fear. There he stayed for seven days, barricaded, living off of the cockroaches and rats to survive, too afraid to wander into the light.
When he couldn't stand living among filth anymore, he overcame his anxiety on the seventh night to find... ashes. The charred remains of his parents and livestock, crops razed, house burned black.
Aimlessly and emptily collecting what he could scavenge, he fled his ruined life with nothing but memories, the will to survive, and a nameless sword he knew nothing about.
He traveled the countryside of Joya, introducing himself as a "war orphan" and stealing from folks kind enough to trust him, to survive and get by.
"You can trust me. My parents were honorable and powerful samurai!"
Spending many years among various groups of people in the economic hierarchy, he picked up tidbits about swordsmanship here and there. Mostly though, he focused on the subtle art of thievery to work his way up as he wandered.
Eventually maturing enough to gain a body strong enough to swing a blade competently, he began selling himself for any purposes the common man would need him for - yes, any purposes. Though in the case of the more... "greasy" acts, it was more like pretending to go along with it, before murdering the would-be offender in cold blood and making off with their money before the authorities could find the body.
"Heheh. His junk was hanging right out when he died. What an idiot."
Discovering how easy it was to kill the defenseless and unsuspecting, he took to bigger targets to practice on, and came to a startling conclusion: people were idiots. And so he became more of an assassin for hire against low-priority targets. Guy who cheated on his wife, abusive boyfriend, the guy who got a promotion they didn't deserve, and so on. They all had one thing in common, though: jealousy. For the envious want what they don't have, and are willing to put a price on the misery and suffering of those that are the targets of their envy. This concept had intrigued Tomoe, who had not particularly felt jealousy before.
One day he became too confident, however - assassinating a politician was too big of a spotlight for someone still learning the art of murder like Tomoe. A chase ensued, and the politician's guards caught up to the failed assassin and gutted him with their spears, leaving him to bleed out looking up at the rain in the tranquil Joyan forest.
As his vision faded, he found a woman standing over him. A pitiful look on her features, she knelt down and sunk her teeth into the dying Tomoe.
In what felt like an instant, Tomoe was reinvigorated; and then in dire pain, altering between several times in the following minutes. At the end of it all, he felt as if he was birthed into a new life at the ripe age of 24 years.
"Holy shit..."
From the rush of adrenaline, Tomoe could only absorb some of the information at the time that the woman began to speak to him. Bits about being reborn as a Vampire, obligations to the clan, and the responsibilities that will come with his new power. The most notable thing though, was her insistence that he at once head to Fiore if he wanted to experience something interesting to perhaps awaken something hidden inside.
And like that she vanished, and left the young man to travel and deal with his new identity. No longer human, but close enough to blend in easily enough. While he felt anger towards the nobility of Joya and wanted vengeance, he felt it could wait while he obeyed the instructions of his savior.
"It was the least I could do, for a beauty like her."
And so he wandered towards Fiore, training his swordsmanship along the way, and meeting a Lich at one point; that was pretty cool. Doing various odd jobs as he went for money, he eventually found himself in Magnolia after a year of travel.
Rumors circulated of a gorgeous guild master within Fiore's famously chaotic family known as Fairy Tail, and just had to see her - and the guild - with his own two eyes.
- The Present:
Tomoe went on adventure after adventure with allies from the Fairy Tail guild, and after failing to protect civilians during a demon invasion in Astera, wallowed in misery and cursed his weakness. During the process of regaining his fighting spirit, he encountered a strange man on the cliffs of Astera and engaged in a fight with him. Failing once more, Tomoe succumbed to his wounds and was killed: hurled off the cliff's edge and into the briny depths below. His last thoughts were of the friends he failed, and the stories he'd never tell.
Afterwards, he awoke. Simply, as if from a long slumber, he opened his eyes from within a dimly lit hut. His body ached all over and was left with unsightly scars, but he was alive. There was barely a single thought in his head other than his own name and vague details about Joya and working as a swordsman for hire.
It was then that he noticed a cloaked, older man in the corner of the room staring at him. There was only a lantern next to the man's table to illuminate his face, and as pale and scarred as he was, Tomoe felt no fear or malice from him. Instead, as naturally as anything, the Joyan approached groggily with many questions on his mind. The man quickly caught Tomoe up to speed, telling the rogue that his life was now in the hands of the Midnight Cult and Her, and that the wandering swordsman would finally pledge his blade to a cause. Additionally, he also explained that in order to properly revive Tomoe without issue, he had to 'extract the older evil within you', as he put it. The Joyan didn't understand the meaning behind his words, and naturally began to argue the point that he shouldn't belong to anyone.
Before Tomoe could object to any of it, he felt pain like burning coals course through his throat - a curse of some sort placed upon him, preventing him from disobeying unless he'd rather meet a quick end to his second life. After the pain subsided, Tomoe felt more accepting of his situation. It was as if a wave of relief washed over him, knowing that She had a plan for the reborn Joyan.
Tomoe, of course, immediately had questions as to who She was and how he had already come to know of Her existence - and all at once as if reading his mind, he was filled with all the answers he had ever needed. She was always there, watching over him through his life. All She needed in return for her limitless compassion and kindness was a servant; a sword to fight against the tyrannical light guilds and government.
With a new purpose in life and forgetting his old life, not even bothering to reconnect the dots behind his death, Tomoe became a proud member of the Midnight Cult. He would become a blade for a cause greater than himself, for the first time in his miserable life, and all at once redeem his past failings.
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