Ren campaign
real name: Rennoshin Noya
fake name: Rend Kukamei
age: 19
appearance: short messy brown hair, short, average weight but more on the thin side, a few freckles on his cheeks, amber eyes, one slightly darker than the other one
One of the youngest sons of the clan leaders of Viper, Ren grew with a strict and stern father, one that wished to defeat the Spider clan and take over the territory, a position that Ren was sympathetic with but did not wish to partake in, and with an enviroment where he had little to no supervision. As bored children often do, he wandered out and eventually found his way into the woods surrounding the clan. There, he unknowlingly shaped a relationships with yokai, particularly one that Ren grew to call his best friend, one with cat eyes that could see in the dark, that was silent and that moved through shadows (who, also, had a strange fixation with fire), a Gotokoneko that Ren named Kuro.
His newfound connection with spirits wasn't without its problems. One day, Ren wandered farther than he usually did after having a particularly upsetting argument with his father (if one could call his father scolding him harshly an argument). There, he found an old man calling himself The Shaman, which greatly confused Ren, given his uncle was the clan's Shaman. The man was nice, however, and so Ren started visitting him often. It was the only person who seemed to pause to listen to him, and the teenager, around the age of fifteen at the time, was starved for attention.
Things took a strange turn when Ren commented he didn't wish to go back home and The Shaman offered him to fix his situation. He claimed he could change his circumstances, if Ren were to remain on that small cave turned into a house for three days and three nights. Slightly apprehensive, the teen agreed, and the old man left, saying he'd be back once the time transpired.
Ren waited for about two days and a half when he started getting anxious, and bored. With a huff, he returned to his clan. To his horror, he found people dead, with blood and black liquid spilling form their eyes and mouths. He ran to his house, and almost lost any sense of direction when he stumbled upon his mother and sister Kazue in the same manner. He didn't stay to explore anymore, barely able to stand, as he heard comnotion outside. He found a mechanical creature attacking people selectively, and quickly realized he'd have to bolt.
He made his way to the Rabbit clan, where he stayed for a month and made aquantices with a girl named Hana Moriyama. On her advice, he shortened his full name and adopted the surname of the Damselfly clan, where he planned to stay for a while. He found refouge on a temple, where he was taken in by Izumo Kazuja as a student.
Rumors came to him that his brother Kaito was alive and staying at the Boar clan, but he lacked reassurance that the rumor was truthful.
Now he seeks answers on what happened to his clan, if it is to do with the Shadowlands that border the Boar clan, or with the Spider clan Viper held as enemies.
mother: Hiromu //somewhat distant to him, his mother tended to scold him for his mannerisms and habits more than anything, usually placing more of her attention and affection on Haruo since he was born, the twins, or praising her elders
father: Osamu //always had a cold relationship with him, his father was stern and vengeful, something that Ren never liked, and his father in turn thought he was too soft, and weak
1 brother: Izanagi (14 years older) //a lot of pressure always fell on Izanagi, but he seemed to be taking it well enough. his father was very proud of him, as his eldest. Ren rarely ever got to interact much with him, but when he did, it was almost entirely like speaking to his father, albeit less harsh.
2 sister: Hotaru (13 years older) //a very strong willed woman, Hotaru was stern and bright. she was very close to Izanagi and seemed much too busy to pay a lot of attention to Ren in particular, but she was always kind and gave him good advice.
3 brother: Kaito (8 years older) //a charismatic and strong willed personality, Kaito did not understand Ren, albeit he was concerned enough to try on occassion, but he was mostly preocuppied on other things. his relationship with his younger brother was mostly awkward, attempted connections that tended to hurt and distance them rather than bring them closer. Kaito had a lot easier time getting along with his other siblings. he was a very natural protector, and fit into most circumstances without issue. on one occasion, when Kazue got hurt because of trying to follow Ren into the forest, everyone scolded him (given he wasn't supposed to be in the woods so late in the first place, or at all), but Kaito said nothing, until everyone left and, in an attempt to cheer up his younger brother joked; "well, at least now I know you're actually very good at something, since you go out there so much and never come back so bloodied." it was the first time anyone had acknowledged he had a talent for anything.
4 brother: Satoshi (7 years older) //possibly the most distant sibling. Satoshi was very emotionally disconnected, but he was good at following the social cues and rules, and his father never really scolded him for anything, showing satisfaction and pride.
5 sister: Kazue (4 years older) //closest family member, Kazue was one of the few who'd occasionaly pay attention to him, as she felt distant from Satoshi due to the age difference, and Mamoru and Nobu were a lot closer, Ren used to get her flowers from when he'd sneak to the woods. she was much better on her studies and was constantely busy, but she rarely ever scolded him for not doing the same. one time, she tried to search for him in the wild when it got dark, worried about him, and ended up getting hurt by an akuma, nearly dying. she was angry at Ren for a while, and he told her he'd "bring her so many flowers she'd have to forgive him." he did, in a big collection, and they got back on good terms. as Kazue grew older, she had less and less time for him, although she still treated him kindly.
6 brother: Mamoru (3 years older) //although not a prodigy by any means, Mamoru was well liked, and tended to be on the rough side with Ren, often skirting on bullying. his intentions were never cruel, of course, but he did not understand his younger brother, nor his softness.
7 brother: Nobu (3 years older) //Nobu was a quiet yet talented kid. he was very serious, rarely ever losing his cool over anything, but he was brilliant. Ren grew up hearing a lot of "why aren't you more like Nobu?" (although this might also be said of Izanagi, or other older siblings who hadn't struggled with the things Ren struggled with) Nobu himself was never mean about this, but the sentiments and age difference made it harder for them to connect. Plus, Nobu mostly kept with Mamoru.
8 - Rend -
9 brother: Haruo (6 months younger) //a deep contrast from Ren, Haruo was a bright, charismatic child. he was born very quickly after him, stealing all the attention away. he seemed to have a knack for everything Ren had struggled with as he grew up, and often picked up on things quicker than him, making him feel insecure.
10, 11 twin sisters: Aiko, Eiko (2 years younger) //sweet children. Ren always liked them, although they weren't particularly close. the sisters mostly kept to themselves and their mother, sometimes playing with Haruo, they were extroverted and found Ren to be a bit strange, yet they were never rude about it.
personality: hates eye contact, never seems to be able to sit still, always fiddeling with his fingers, which is why he likes cooking, cat's purring and having something fuzzy to hold always calms him down, very shy and awkward, easily overwhelmed by emotions yet has an ability to push them down until he looks g l a c i a l
baggage: he's trying to figure out what happened to his clan and somewhat attempting to make up for it because he blames himself for it, but at the same time a part of him is just veeeeery angry and just wants some form of revenge, kind of springs from how his father was always stern and wanted to subdue the spider clan, so he's conflicted in some ways in that regard
i mean people have barely payed attention to him and then the one time someone did he got a whole clan killed so he's honestly just a bit "haha i suck" in that very relatable way, but there's also a deep seeded frustration of wanting to prove he is actually worth a glance
chaotic good because i think it was one of those things he was different in, in comparison to his clan? he didn't like the idea of going to war with the spider clan and he just liked the freedom of the forest and stuff
plus the way he was tricked made him a bit cynical on how the world works, and he's a bit distrustful but at the same time, he grew up in a very sheltered environment so he's not very good at even knowing what to be suspicious of (hence why he's a bit naive)
and he's probably very lonely, so he knows he should be cautious but he really wants to be able to trust someone
and i'd say he slowly becomes aware his kind of shy, awkward way of acting made people not pay too much attention to him, and he starts to try and use that to his advantage, because he's a bit paranoid and doesn't want to get freaking murdered if people find out who he is and where he comes from
and he's probably super scared of fighting things and he'd just like, be fake confident and then break down like "holy shit that was terrifying"
Shy / anarchy / humble happy family that tragically died / not good enough]