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bigwoof

cutcloud

slumscape

CRAU — Slumscape.

ᴄᴡ: ᴄᴀɴɴɪʙᴀʟɪsᴍ, ᴠɪᴏʟᴇɴᴄᴇ, ᴅᴇᴀᴛʜ.

Hakagemachi was a city. A desolate, broken city, one teetering on an edge. A precipice.

It called souls to it. The youkai who loved that city latched onto spirits from other realms, hoping to draw in those who could help save their beloved city and restore it to its former glory. Rokurou was one such person, chosen by an oni named Akame. They agreed on many things: fighting the strong, drinking booze, living your best life ... but where they disagreed was sharing. Both wanted their own agency, and fought over supremacy for Rokurou's body, which didn't put them on the best terms with one another despite having so many similarities. Too similar. Rokurou already knew beforehand that he wouldn't like himself if he had a clone, and this only solidified it.

The city was filled with curiosities. Moments in time repeating themselves, the past coming to the present, shadows and echoes around every corner. Rokurou didn't question most of them—he killed youkai that crossed his path, worked together with newfound friends to battle natural elements going against them, and watched as the city that called them became more and more unhinged. A static man with dulled emotions, it didn't much bother him when he found the bodies of those newfound friends piling up, and the strategist in him understood that, as more and more time passed, they were losing this battle. The rains turned from water to blood. The goddesses screamed. They made wrong choices. They ate their friends ... not on purpose, but it happened when Mori, the local ramen shop owner, made a very bad decision to purchase questionable meat from some kids. Shit got real weird.

Throughout his journey in Hakagemachi, Rokurou didn't change much. In Berseria and in Hakagemachi, his path of finding himself somewhere between monster and man remained the same. In some ways, Hakagemachi humanized him. He found friends he genuinely cared about, and they're friends he'll keep an eye out for in Hell. However, it also hardened him—they went through battle after battle and they kept failing. In the end, there was only the shrill sound of chaos and bloodrain left to remember. Rokurou has a complex about failing, and though he didn't actually care about the fate of this city he had nothing to do with before being drawn there, so much of that reminded him of his past failures and what happened with the Rangetsu clan.

Akame's presence, when the oni was awake, was tumultuous. He often would be contrary for the sake of it—something Rokurou would do in return—and they weren't exactly friends. Akame would take over when Rokurou was asleep and get into trouble. Despite the oni's penchant for bad behavior, he did care for the city, and his constant urges to help pushed Rokurou into the thick of battle. In the end, though, it hadn't mattered; they weren't able to purify the land, and all he remembers is darkness. Right now, he's fully assuming that he was killed and is dead. Whether or not he is, though ... hmmmm. Maybe time will tell.

One (1) daemon swordsman, at your service. He stands at 180cm, has a thicker/muscular build, and love wearing purple and orange. Under his fringe of bang his right eye is daemonic, swirled red and black, with black blight that marks the whole right half of his face and down the right half of his throat.

Rokurou's ultimate goal is to get stronger. So, his requests would be very simple: to be brought back to life, a ticket back to Midgand, and the means to get stronger. Throw in a really, really, really nice sword. He'll also request a 1:1 battle with the strongest person in Hell before he rolls on home, too.

What does family mean to you and who do you consider a part of your family?

Family is a loaded gun of a topic for Rokurou. Family was why he ruined his human life. Family is what drives him when he's a daemon. Family is what defines so much of what he is and why he's the way he is, be it in the past and now. Frankly, letting go of a lot the baggage he had in regards to his family is a huge step in finding himself and where he finally ends up post-game.

The Rangetsu were a strict clan where killing each other was just another tradition. Rokurou grew up the youngest of six, but it was his eldest brother, Ichirou, whose shadow he stood in the most. Ichirou killed their mother, which was how he inherited the title of "Shigure"—an act Rokurou never felt right with, put him at odds with his brother. Not because he had killed their mother, but because he had done it to test his own strength and not because he actually wanted to become the head of the clan. The newly minted Shigure was also a genius; whatever he he touched, he mastered. Rokurou did not have the blessed touch of genius and had to work hard at everything he did. More and more, his brother became a sore spot for him. He was envious. He was bitter. He wanted so badly to become Shigure's equal, but no matter what he tried, he could never match up.

At the end they were the only two brothers alive and they faced each other under the scarlet moon. Simply put: Shigure thoroughly kicked his ass. Rokurou fell into despair, wanted to kill himself, was thrown into jail for failing to kill his brother, ended up drowning in malevolence, and became a daemon. After becoming a daemon and joining the main party, Rokurou is bent on revenge. He joins Velvet, a little because he thinks she's interesting, but mostly because their interests align. Once again, he focuses on his brother. Everything is about his brother. Killing his brother. He straight up tortures a guard who mentions having seen his brother for information on the elder Rangetsu's whereabouts.

But their relationship is complex. When their old lord insults Shigure, Rokurou kills him. He claims it's because he always wanted to do so, but he's very much of the mind that Shigure is his to hate and insult, and no one else's. The Rangetsu are very insular; he's the only one who can kill his brother. This is a notion bred into them at birth, along with ideals such as "might is right" and "pay your debts". In other voice lines we learn that Rokurou's mother was strict while she was alive, and she never praised him. She was a brutal woman who raised her sons to be brutal as well. That was the way of their clan. It was great. So great.

Despite the Rangetsu having a harsh upbringing and a very orange and blue mentality, Rokurou often speaks positively about his clan and its bloody history. The Rangetsu are fucked up, notoriously so, but he's also quite proud of his heritage. Since the Rangetsu were exorcists and he's now a daemon he can never inherit the title of Shigure, but once upon a time that's what he wanted more than anything. Seriously, don't insult his family. He can do it, but you can't. Rokurou is a man of contrasts and this is just one of 'em!

As for who he considers his family ... as cute as found family tropes are, his family is the Rangetsu clan. That will never change. It's his blood, his roots, and so much of what he knows and believes will always come back to them. Even as he grows as a person and finds his own way to live, blood is blood.

What are your greatest regrets, if you have any? What would you have done differently?

Leading in from the last question where I definitely wrote too much ... Rokurou considers not killing his brother that night to be his greatest regret. He doesn't regret becoming a daemon—actually, he's so much better as a daemon, human!Rokurou was a shit—and he doesn't even regret going to prison or becoming a criminal. Hell, he doesn't even regret the demise of the Rangetsu clan. But that night has haunted him for a long time, and from the point I'm taking from it still haunts him. How easily Shigure swat him down, like a gnat. His brother didn't even break a sweat while Rokurou was practically frothing by the end of it. All of the lies, the tricks, the gambits ... and then not being able to so much as land a scratch on the man. It was a night of utter humiliation for Rokurou, so much so that he drowned in self-hatred and malevolence and became a daemon.

Despite all of that, Rokurou often claims that he wouldn't change anything. He'd still try to kill his brother. If he could go back and change everything he did, he wouldn't. What happened, happened. He can only continue walking forward and fight his brother again... only, he'd like to, you know, win this time? Which is why he comes out of jail three years later totally ready to take his revenge. That said, because becoming a daemon dulled most of his emotions, he's much more chill until actually facing his brother. Over time, he actually comes to understand and respect his brother more ... and from where I've taken him, from before their final battle, he's lost a lot of the childish bitterness and instead respects his brother as an opponent.

What is your favorite diversion? Hobbies, indulgences, vices? Would you put off important things for that diversion, or would you be more strict about how you spend your time and/or money?

Battles and drinking, battles and drinking. Rokurou loves swordsmanship. He trains every single day, and he's always thinking of new ways to challenge and improve himself with a blade. He looooveessss swords so fucking much; he loves considering their construction, their history, their specs, what they're made of, cleaning them, maintaining them, adding accessories ... and he loves fighting with them. Cutting is pretty much the only thing he's good for! Naturally, this is extremely important to him. He will throw away most other important things when he hears about a promising sword or meets someone who would be a thrilling match in battle. His subquests mostly involve sorts and battles. If he could, he would funnel almost all of his money into swords and practicing the blade.

I say almost because he also really loves to drink. When he isn't training or getting into fights, he's drinking. He carries a flask with him and one of his world idles has him just casually drinking straight out of it. There's nothing like a good drink after a good fight—that would be his perfect night, in fact. So, in Rokurou's dream world, let's say about 25% of his money would go to alcohol and 75% would go to battle/swords. As long as he has these things, he's a happy camper.

An enemy of your faction has asked for a meeting, proposing a truce of sorts to deal with a greater threat. On one hand, there is indeed a threat at hand, but on the other, this person double-crossing you is just as likely an outcome. Do you agree to the meeting? Do you trust them?

This sounds exactly likes a Tales plotline!!! How fun.

For Rokurou in particular, yeah, he would work with an enemy if they had a greater threat to work against or some other ends that justified the means. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, right? He's surprisingly good at putting aside differences (when it isn't Shigure) for the sake of getting a job done. Hell, the whole premise of the ToB group is that they're a bunch of criminals banding together to serve their own agendas. Magilou, another member of the group, totally rats them out to their enemies early on in the game when she's captured—something both Rokurou and Velvet expect 100%. And when she comes back she more or less goes "whoops!" and they continue traveling together again. They're not bothered by it because it's not like any of them really trusted any of the others to begin with.

Rokurou, too, is a guy who could have a drink with you and then kill you ten minutes later. Killing is just so normal to him that half the time when he says "it isn't personal" it really isn't—in the Rangetsu clan, killing was normal, so the quick flip comes naturally. So, he can get along with an enemy for the sake of a goal and then switch back into kill-mode after they're finished, no problemo. In fact, he's the one you probably have to watch. He's fond of using loopholes to wiggle around in contracts and agreements, and he'll use any excuse to do what he wants.

And if the meeting goes belly-up right away? He'd be happy about it anyway. He's always looking for a good battle, and if meeting up with an enemy he already wanted to kill comes with that, he'd be satisfied as a clam.... in the ocean.... because they're satisfied there. Really, for him, it's just a win/win situation.

• Enhanced senses/Daemon abilities: As he explains to Velvet, once he turned into a daemon, Rokurou found all of his senses to be sharper than ever. Thanks daemon powers★! As a yaksha, which is the name in Berseria for war daemons, this is meant to send him into a thrall on the battlefield. I’ll estimate that they’re at least twice as sensitive/strong as a human’s normal senses, with touch and smell being among the strongest.

• Endurance/Durability: In a similar vein, Rokurou is much hardier than your average man. Daemons have innate endurance for hard travel and durability in harsh weather and intense temperature. It tends not to bother them. Velvet is able to run around in a snowstorm in skimpy clothing, and Rokurou doesn't seem to mind running around sunny hot beaches in layers upon layers of armor and kimono. They also have higher pain tolerance, heal quicker, and just all around have better specs than your average bear. For Jigoku-cho some of this will be toned down, with a slowed healing rate and less general endurance due to suppression upon entrance to the city.

• Swordsmanship/Dual-wielding: A student of the Rangetsu style, which focuses on two kinds of styles: the longsword and two short swords. Rokurou's studied both, but in his quest to overcome his brother and his mastery with one long sword, Rokurou's gone the other way and focused on mastering the dual blades. Regardless, he's really skilled with both. Also with knives. Really, slicing stuff is his thing. As far as swordsmanship goes, he's pretty top notch but always endeavoring to better himself. For Jigoku-cho I'll have him keep his martial skill, but since his swords aren't coming along for the ride, he's going to be one unhappy swordsman. He's also a sword connoisseur, so some average-priced swords found in normal shops aren't going to be enough for him.

• Artes: There are three kinds of artes: martial (base) artes, hidden artes, and mystic artes. They're essentially fancy attacks that can include special skills or are rooted in a certain element. Martial artes are basic skills and wouldn't require any nerfing. In Rokurou’s case specifically, all of his base artes are non-elemental, so think of your average dude using a sword. On the flip side, all of his hidden artes have an elemental element to them. Mystic artes are the most powerful, and typically a finishing blow kind of attack. For Jigoku-cho both hidden artes and mystic artes would be suppressed upon entering the city.

• Slumscape specific: Oni. In Slumscape, all souls who were gathered by the city had a youkai attached to them. Rokurou was connected to a mask/oni named Akame, a likewise battlehungry but much more cunning spirit. Right now, Akame will be in a deep sleep and unresponsive. Not sure if I plan to ever bring him around in this game so I'll just tuck him into a corner for safekeeping.

A fugitive daemon samurai that's trying to find his identity between being a daemon and a swordsman? You're begging to have this guy around. 😈

Tales of Berseria is one of the edgier Tales titles, where most of the main party is a criminal in some form or another. They burn down houses, they steal, they kill things, they fight the police, they hang out with pirates, they're out for revenge. Rokurou in particular is not the greatest guy! He has a good-natured personality now, but in the past his bad attitude and jealousy basically ruined his (human) life. Even now, while having mellowed out some re: the jealousy and inferiority complex, he loves to fight and he likes to kill! He really doesn't care about committing crimes, enjoys following orders, and as long as he gets to do what he wants it doesn't really matter how moral he is when doing it.

He's also pretty unflappable in general. Killing? Sure. Sex? Why not. Crime? Please. Even if he wasn't a daemon, the Rangetsu clan was notorious for killing those who wandered onto their lands and within their own ranks. He's also very familiar with serving a lord/master, because his clan served under a lord before it met its end (which was... at least 85% his fault).

Rokurou will do just about anything to get stronger. So, whatever his boss here wants? They're going to get.

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Oni-coded? Check ✅. Loves fighting? Check ✅. Heavy drinker? Check ✅. Excited over competition and gambling? Check ✅. Kind of dumb? Check ✅. Horrible fashion sense? Check ✅. Check check, check check check.

Rokurou would feel right at home in the Shuten Clan—at least, he'd really like it there. For a guy who loves battling the strong and getting stronger himself, the general vibe of Shuten is right up his alley. However, other than the above checks, Rokurou also aligns with most of the core values of the Shuten clan. Despite becoming a daemon, he still believes in his family's code of bushido. Protecting those that can't protect themselves, commitment to your allies, and always repaying your debts are among the top. Might makes right is also very much in line with the reasoning of the Rangetsu clan; one of their traditions included killing the current leader to inherit the role of head of the clan.

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Timtams! You know, at first glance I didn't think he'd be the greatest Tamamo, but after thinking about it ... he actually does gel with a lot of the ideals? He might be brawn over brain, but he's actually quite clever. He's very good at laying traps and tends to think a lot about execution (battle, getting his paws on something, etc) despite his general fratboy energy. Clever ... but stupid. He's the dog that chases the squirrel and is clever enough to catch it ... but then has no idea what to do once he has said feral squirrel in his mouth. And, to an extent, he also believes in freedom—he goes after what he wants. His main development in the game is finding his true self somewhere between his identity as a daemon and identity as a swordsman.

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God, Rokurou hilariously does not care about intelligence or knowledge LMAO. Within the party dynamics, he's usually the one asking questions because he just doesn't know anything outside of battle, battle tactics, and what alcohol goes best with which food. I'm slightly ashamed (of him and his .05 braincell) to admit that there's even a skit where he's amazed that the world is round, and every character is appalled that he didn't already know that. He also thinks a "paradox" is actually "pair of dogs" and that the idiom involves two dogs battling each other. He isn't pious or doesn't really go for asceticism. He does really resonate with being an underdog, though, and would appreciate the idea behind the creation of the alliance and what they're doing.

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He'd gel better with the Enma than the Sutoku, though this would still be a bit of a stretch for him. Thankfully they don't actually care about justice so much, and Rokurou could get down with the order part of things. He already served a lord whose orders were absolute, and whose orders he executed without so much as a word. Yes, he did kind of kill that lord later, but he did so through a loophole ... which technically upheld the contract between them. So, he isn't a traitor, and any mischief he would do would be by the book ... because he's clever and good at figuring that kind of thing out. He's a criminal so being part of the "police" would definitely be weird to him, but he'd also just roll with it and have fun fucking other people's shit up by the book.

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