Bakeneko
| Katsumi Oshiro (Scenesys ID: 9109) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| Quote | |||
| Profile | |||
| Full Name: | Katsumi Oshiro | ||
| Gender: | Female | ||
| Species: | Metahuman | ||
| Theme: | Original (OC) | ||
| Occupation: | Superheroine / Pro Wrestler | ||
| Citizenship: | Japan | ||
| Residence: | Osaka | ||
| Education: | Some University | ||
| Status: | Shelved | ||
| Groups: | |||
| Other Information | |||
| Apparent Age: | 22 | Actual Age: | 22 |
| Date of Birth | 7 August 2005 | Actor: | |
| Height: | 165 cm (5'5") | Weight: | 56 kg (124 lb) |
| Hair Color: | Blue Black | Eye Color: | Magenta |
| Theme Song: | https://akuparagames.bandcamp.com/track/citrik-xs-night-remix | ||
Profile
Katsumi Oshiro is a somewhat popular, if arguably villainous, Japanese professional wrestler. Aside from an impressive in-ring skill and talent, she's known for the contrast of her girlish demeanor and irreverent attitude. Mix in a dash of rule-bending and sass, and she's effectively earned the nickname "Punk Princess." But outside of shows, she's known to be playful and personable towards fans.
Bakeneko, on the other hand, is a rather unknown entity. A vivacious new heroine with supernatural physical prowess and easy charisma.
Current Player Approved: Not Applicable
Sheet
Description
Description:
Katsumi isn't turning any heads with her height alone, standing at an unremarkable 5'5". Her overall build is slender, starting with a pair of narrow shoulders. Her figure is feminine, but not exaggeratedly so, with a modest bust and subtle flow from waist to hips. Her frame, however, is lithe with gentle definition along her limbs and a toned midsection; not at all bulging or rippling, but sleekly trim.
History
History
Long ago, there stood a remote fishing village on the coast of the Ibaraki Prefecture of Japan. Isolated by surrounding dark and dangerous wilderness, the people who lived there were simple, but content, safe under the wise and just guidance of the samurai. Then, at the dawn of the Edo period, the samurai were called upon to leave the village. With a heavy heart, the samurai obeyed the decree and left.
Without the protection of the samurai and still cut off from the world, the people grew fearful. Visitors stopped appearing. It was as though Japan had completely forgotten them. Some ventured out to deliver taxation, never to return. Soon, they came to believe they were surrounded by monsters.
Paranoia became cruelty. Anyone behaving oddly was immediately assumed to be a shapeshifted yokai and put to death. It spread into a paranoia-driven monster hunt. All turtles were assumed to be infantile kappa. All feline pets were rounded up and slaughtered. Any birds of prey found were killed. Neither animal nor human would be spared in this unhinged purge. As the village fell into chaos, the elders mourned the complete destruction of their once beloved village. Some felt the need to flee and take their chances in the wilderness. Others felt their hearts fill with anger and despair.
Some elders stole away into the wilderness to cry out to the gods for deliverance. The voice that answered back was one of rage. Makai-no-Yomorinushi, Lord Protector of the Night and god of yokai, knew of the village and its atrocities. He instructed the elder to build a shrine to him in secret, and once done, a ritual to perform; a selfless act of force against a human in service to a beast, and an offering of the chosen's blood upon the shrine. Only then would they be given the deliverance they sought.
The elders created the shrine to exact specifications, from the monstrous visage of Yomorinushi to the feline statue at its base, hidden away in the woods where the villagers dared not tread. All that remained was the ritual itself. Yet as they returned to the village, they found the daimyo's full military might sweeping through. One of the elders had reached civilization beyond the wilderness.
The villagers resisted like monsters, themselves. In the end, there were no survivors. Out of respect to the samurai who once protected and governed the village, its name and history were stricken from the records, not to live on in memory. But the dark shrine to Makai-no-Yomorinushi, Lord Protector of the Night, god of monsters, remained in the forest just beyond its borders.
Waiting...
Skip ahead about four centuries.
The Oshiros were a proud, prestigious family. They had means, they had wealth, they had influence. The one thing they didn't have was a child. Due to medical complications, that was a situation that would never be remedied. So they went out and adopted a mischievous, bright-eyed girl who was an early teen. She just happened to be a little rough around the edges.
They gave her everything she could ever need. They doted on her with gifts, with allowance, with praise. She soaked it all in and enjoyed their encouragement of her exploration into the field of art and music. She had the heart of a performer, and the burgeoning skill of a musician. But there were two things they couldn't quell in her, be it through strong verbal reprimand, sanctions, or bribe. She had a proclivity towards violence and rough play, and adored the garish affair of professional wrestling.
As they attempted more and more to curb her fascination with the violent sport and her uncouth behavior, she began to rebel. They were at their wits' end by the time they shipped her off to college, but they'd done it. They had survived their daughter. And they were sure that, in college, she would grow to be a respectable, productive woman of value. They did their job.
Katsumi was happy to go to college. She loved the arts program, and got to shadow professional DJs and soundboard operators. She focused musically on the guitar and vocals. But that's when she discovered a locally-based federation. As a publicity stunt, they held tryouts for the general public. Without a second thought, she tossed up her hand. Despite being thoroughly trounced, she demonstrated a strong aptitude and base knowledge, and was offered training.
When the training began, her grades slipped. Katsumi went from a top tier student to frequently beaten, tired, and distracted. On the flip side, she was getting stronger and making a name for herself as a cocky young upstart eager to prove herself. Training as a wrestler rapidly emerged as her top priority, until she was just skimping by on barely passable grades.
This continued right up until her junior year, where she suddenly dropped out. She'd been offered a double position in the Neon League Federation, a considerably larger and more lucrative promotion, as a dancer and wrestler. Katsumi had never tried dancing professionally before, but she was certain enthusiasm and rhythm would make up for it. It didn't. Following one profoundly uninspired performance, she was dropped to only being a wrestler. The frustration and embarrassment kept her from wanting to re-enroll, however, and decided to make wrestling her sole focus.
When the time came to notify her parents of her life choice, she was terrified. She broke the news to them when she visited her home in Osaka. They officially disowned her.
Utterly heartbroken and alone, she threw herself completely into her growing profession. She was living her dream, despite their hatred of her choice, and she refused to not enjoy it. Her training, dedication, and determination, along with a noteworthy ring presence, paid off. Her attitude and girlish demeanor earned her the "Punk Princess" monicker.
Katsumi continued to train and wrestle for the Neon League Federation, living the life she mostly wanted for herself. She had fans. She had rising fame in the industry. She had the cameras, the action, the sport itself; she was living the dream. But life wasn't done throwing curveballs.
Following her 22nd birthday, Katsumi was billed to appear for an international special in the States. For her promo, the crew went looking for something dramatic for a backdrop. And what they found, isolated at the end of a winding barely-dirt-path, was an abandoned and semi-destroyed village.
During Katsumi's promo, a bug flew in her mouth. What followed was a string of expletives and ranting about country villages in the middle of nowhere. She clearly needed a minute. As she wandered the woods to refocus, the sound of distressed meowing caught her attention. A stray cat was being kicked and harassed by a couple interns. Without hesitation, she leapt into the fray and trounced them.
Afterwards, Katsumi picked up the cat to check on it, only for it to claw her hand. She dropped it in recoil before setting her clawed hand on a nearby structure. She soon noticed the intricacy of the stonework - a shrine to a god she didn't recognize. As she gazed into the eyes of the deity, she felt a heavy thump in her chest. And then everything went black.
Unwittingly, Katsumi had completed the ritual set in motion centuries ago. She was given the power of Makai-no-Yomorinushi, Lord Protector of the Night, god of monsters; the Yokai Soul. She would be his champion. His divine vengeance against humanity.
Well, presumably, anyway.
Katsumi was fine when she woke up later and insisted they continue with their schedule. That evening, as Katsumi boarded a plane bound for the United States, moonlight touched the bloodied shrine in the lost woods. The feline statue at its base began to soften into flesh and fur. Herukage, Yomorinushi's contingency plan, had finally awakened.
Personality
Personality:
Most know her for her performances in the world of professional wrestling. What some might not realize is that the real Katsumi isn't very different from what they see in the ring. She's a lifelong agitator and punk who loves taking jabs at people. If there's a button to be pushed, she's likely to find it and keep needling at it while having tremendous fun in the process. However for Katsumi, it's all in good fun. There's rarely any real venom behind the antics.
What people don't see from her ring performance is the impact her puckish behavior has on her personal life. It's left her isolated, having a difficult time connecting with people, or finding anyone who can really put up with her. She's tried modifying her behavior to be less jabby, but remaining on guard that much tends to stress her out to the point where she slips, apologizes, and winds up feeling bad regardless. The end result is a desperately lonely Katsumi who genuinely regrets upsetting people, but can't seem to help herself.
Another facet of her in-ring behavior that carries over to her actual self is the showmanship. Katsumi has the heart of a performer and she feeds off of an audience. It doesn't really matter what she's doing - she's a crowd pleaser. Granted, during her in-ring appearances, she's vastly more used to getting boos than cheers. But it makes no difference. When she has eyes and attention, the energy is palpable.
That said, now that she's begun a new facet of her life as a superheroine, she's getting considerably better reception from audiences. It's elating, and slowly pushing her to try to be more the hero people want to see.
Of course, all of this plays into her sense of competition and self-worth. Despite the trashtalk and tough-girl shade she'll toss, Katsumi does not have a particularly high opinion of herself; and she projects that onto everyone around her. Due to her birth parents abandoning her, her adoptive parents disowning her, and her constant struggle to forge and maintain relationships, Katsumi has come to the conclusion that there's something inherently wrong with her, and leaves her fairly sensitive to certain kinds of remark.
This has also lead to a certain need to constantly prove herself. Whether it's in fights, to people who might be friends, in petty competition, it doesn't really matter. Subconsciously, Katsumi needs others to see her as a person with value. Fortunately her foray into the world of superheroics has started to help, but she still sees herself as damaged, or less than ideal. So she continues to meet challenges head-on.
It's worth noting that, despite what it's cost her, professional wrestling is her life's passion and nothing is likely to ever replace that. She idolized it as a child, grew up fantasizing about it, and chased her dream into adulthood. The fact that life has given her this incredible curveball doesn't alter anything - it only opens more windows, and lets her experience what it's like to be the face, rather than heel or tweener. Or rather, villain or anti-hero.
However, even before Katsumi gained powers, there were some redeeming qualities that fans didn't miss. In the ring, the Punk Princess is a rascally opportunist who may not go into a match intending to cheat, but won't think twice about bending the rules and testing a referee's patience. Outside of the ring, she's much more personable and eager to interact with fans. When it comes to younger fans, she goes out of her way to attempt to be a positive role model to younger viewers, including self-censorship on her otherwise abrasive language and avoiding tobacco or alcohol. This certainly has carried over to her work as Bakeneko when engaging the public.
Abilities
Boss Monster:
While the Yokai Soul is active, Katsumi's endurance and durability are also strengthened to superhuman levels, though the inconsistent nature of the power warrants some deeper explanation.
When under the effects of the Yokai Soul, Katsumi's physical durability and stamina is extremely potent, as if wearing Kevlar armor, or made of bulletproof glass, and she bounces back from things that manage to hurt her notably quickly. As such, she's capable of shrugging off the sting of small arms fire, but a larger caliber can be more impacting and to compounding effect.
The trick is that, though the level of durability, resilience, and recovery is profound, it's temporary. The advanced healing afforded her by the supernatural power is only half as effective as normal (as it's only active at night). Any injury she carries with her into the night will not magically go away, and will continue to handicap her. But her ability to tough it out and fight through it will be greatly improved, in line with her supernatural durability. The flip is also true, however: any injuries aggravated through the night may not seem like much in the moment, but she'll definitely be feeling it in the morning.
Yokai Soul:
The Yokai Soul begins to awaken as the sun sets and is in full swing through the night, only to ebb back at dawn. The only time the Yokai Soul is active during the day is during an eclipse or if someone has created a magical facsimile to the night. Simple darkness (such as hiding away in a closet) won't do.
Skills
Get Hype:
Katsumi has always had a strong personality. Despite her abrasive manner, the girl has an effortless, even accidental charisma. She's a perplexing combination of dominant and girlish, cute and confident. She does what she wants, has fun doing it, and invites others to join along. And though it plays well with an audience, that aforementioned abrasive manner tends to keep it from helping her make easy friends.
Practical Pro Wrestling:
Though unexpected, the devotion and diligence she put into her training as a professional wrestler serves her well beyond electrifying audiences in the ring. A combination of keen physical awareness, nimble acrobatics and reversals, mixed martial arts, shoot fighting, and a mastery of grappling and wrestling techniques all results in an unorthodox but effectively dynamic fighting style - if entertaining to see.
Professional Athlete:
Even without the Yokai Spirit's help, Katsumi's training and experience has made her a physically impressive specimen. She boasts a remarkable strength for a girl her size, has strong endurance and cardio, surprisingly tough for taking consistent beatings, and possesses excellent agility as an aerialist. She's a professional athlete and it shows.
Surprise Songbird:
Resources
Herukage:
When the Yokai Soul was transferred from the shrine to an unsuspecting Katsumi, it awoke an ancient guardian bound to its power. Herukage, a spirit in animal form, has spent four centuries sealed in stone, but he knows his purpose - to ensure the Yokai Soul is used as the gift was intended. He did not anticipate having such a frustrating holder of said power.
Being what he is, Herukage has a couple useful abilities. The chiefest among them is the ability to speak Earthen languages (provided they were in circulation during the Edo period, ~1603), and the sentience for complex thought to go with it. His only other ability is that, being a spirit in physical form, he's essentially immortal. He can be killed with the ease one might have of destroying any other pedestrian feline, but with the rise of the next moon, he manifests in physical form in Katsumi's vicinity again. It's possible that magic could interfere with this process.
His function to Katsumi is largely that of frustrated advisor, though he's capable of performing tasks that a pair of paws might facilitate.
It's Still Real To Me!:
Though she has a long way to go until she can be considered a household name, she may be able to leverage her fame for favors or perks. Or it might blow up in her face, due to generally falling under the 'villain' category, and others who may more vocally decry wrestling as fake. So it's an advantage sometimes.
Weaknesses
And the Beat Goes On:
If you thought villains had a habit of monologuing and taunting...
Katsumi has the heart of a showman, and it doesn't look like that's going away any time soon. If she's facing off with anyone (or even when the mood takes her) she has a tendency to engage them in wordplay, taunts, or what might best be described as cutting a promo. While this may have the benefit of distracting an enemy or even intimidating them, discretion is often the better part of valor.
While she isn't suicidally stupid about it, Katsumi will often forego tactical advantage in favor of a direct and verbal engagement. And if there happens to be a microphone nearby, forget about it.
Broken Mirror:
Despite having a fan following and her successful career in the ring, Katsumi has had some considerable and heartbreaking negative feedback. From being abandoned as a child and her adoptive parents disowning her, to her struggle to make and keep any actual friends, Katsumi is convinced there's something very wrong with her on a fundamental level.
It's not entirely undeserving. Though her smacktalk ability is good for an audience, she's aware that she eventually rubs people the wrong way. And try as she might to control it, the moment she allows herself to relax, she's back to teasing and verbal prods. The very act of trying to suppress her natural urge is stressful, and she knows eventually she'll slip and drive the person away. She doesn't fault them for it. She takes those lashes, herself.
She's put up a strong loner front to cover herself, but she is sensitive about the idea of being simply unlovable.
Darkstalker:
The Yokai Soul is a powerful blessing bestowed upon the champion of the beasts, demons, and spirits who are shunned by mankind, who skulk in the darkness and lurk in the night. The daylight is for humanity. The night is for monsters.
As such, the Yokai Soul lies dormant during the day. Katsumi is effectively her regular, unpowered self. But as the sun begins to set, the Yokai Soul stirs and its powers begin to manifest. It's fully active through the night, and begins to wane again as the sun rises.
In other words, Katsumi's power is completely dependent upon the sun and moon cycle. In most circumstances, it lies dormant for 12-14 hours out of the day. The only exceptions are during an eclipse, or in the presence of a sufficiently powerful magical facsimile of the night. Simply surrounding herself in darkness isn't enough to awaken the Yokai Soul; hiding in a closet won't cut it.
Draw Heat:
The flip side of Katsumi's natural and effervescent charisma is the incurable need to pick and taunt at others. Even though she rarely means the casual insults she flings, it makes it exceptionally hard for her to create and maintain interpersonal connections. She rarely realizes it as it happens, and is often taken by surprise and upset when she discovers she's genuinely insulted someone. And yet, the jabs and teases never really end. Trolling and sass is her native tongue.
On the upside, Katsumi can often drop an insult with surgical precision. It's one of the things she's most known for in her wrestling career, and can potentially throw an attacker off-balance. On the same token, however, she could make herself the prime target in a group, or make lasting personal enemies.
Let's Settle This:
True to her nature as a professional wrestler, it doesn't take much to goad Katsumi into action. Be it through a direct challenge, threat, or taunt, Katsumi is typically quick to answer the call. While it could be for the sake of doing the right thing, it could just as easily be to prove herself.
Sometimes it's better to walk away. Katsumi doesn't roll like that.
Might and Magic:
Logs
To Refresh Character's Log List Click Here. Then hit the resulting button to dump the old cached list.
| Title | Date | Scene Summary |
|---|---|---|
| Wrestling with insecurities | August 10th, 2020 | Katsumi and Rave have a talk after their wrestling match. |
| An Opportunity Arises | July 5th, 2020 | Hey folks Katsumi is legal now |
| A Proper Start | July 1st, 2020 | Katsumi and Buffy meet and get Italian |
| A Good Show | June 26th, 2020 | Grant is looking to impress a client. Katsumi is looking to strengthen self-control. Somewhere in the middle, fun ensues. |
| Just Phoning It In. | June 12th, 2020 | Two grumpy people on a phone call |
| Post Practice Tea | June 11th, 2020 | Time to catch up over a hot beverage |
| I Thought a Saw a Puddycat in There | May 28th, 2020 | Willow and Katsumi catch up |
| A New Challenge(r) | May 21st, 2020 | Katsumi needed to blow off some steam. Rave innocently volunteers herself. The result is a colorful collision! And perhaps oddly medicinal for the struggling Punk Princess. |
| Blood of the Ancients: Final Rendezvouz | May 21st, 2020 | Scoobies attempt to stop another recruitment of vamp converts. |
| Welcome to the Blue Lady! | April 23rd, 2020 | Buffy invites a Katsumi to a show at the Blue Lady. |
| Checking Up On The Tabloid Fodder | April 11th, 2020 | Murphy Checks up on Nick. Buffy swings by to introduce Katsumi |
| Noise Solution | April 7th, 2020 | Katsumi just wanted to share something nice with Buffy. But it seems nothing ever goes right. |
| Magical Mystery | April 6th, 2020 | Giles attempts to figure out the source of Katsumi's mysterious powers. |
| Let's have a drink | April 4th, 2020 | Buffy brings Katsumi to meet Cordelia. |
| How to let off steam..The right way! | March 31st, 2020 | Buffy invites Katsumi to the magic box to work out and learns more about her. |
| Battle of the Bronze | March 30th, 2020 | Trouble is brewing at the Bronze again! But this time, no vampires are involved. And things end nicely? |
| Stealth Training! | February 22nd, 2020 | Katsumi attempts to get some nice, quiet training under cover of dark. She doesn't expect an interruption by Mon-El! |
| Motel Schmotel | February 10th, 2020 | Dean comes to North Harlem. Trouble follow him, and demons happen to show up. So do Katsumi and Michelle, too. |
| A Contrast of Styles | January 31st, 2020 | An assassin, a hero, and a wrestler meet in Central Park. Here's a Question. |
| Pizza... Run! | January 25th, 2020 | Shannon goes on a pizza run, and gets more than she bargains for. |
| Training Deals | January 16th, 2020 | Mary Marvel begins retraining Katsumi in controlling her new powers. |
| Trying to Fix What's Broken | January 10th, 2020 | Mary Batson tries to give Katsumi some hope. And forms to fill out. |
| Kats and Marvels | January 7th, 2020 | Mary and Katsumi go to a karaoke club. Music and mayhem. |
| Vampires. Even if you live with one, they suck | January 3rd, 2020 | Fred gets bit by vampires. Katsumi saves her, but gets bit a couple times herself. |
| Titling Later! | January 1st, 2020 | Summary needed |
| Log 10612 | January 1st, 2020 | Summary needed |
| And In This Corner... | January 1st, 2020 | Mary Marvel reaches out to Katsumi as she tries to deal with her reversal of fortune. |
| Round One! | December 31st, 2019 | Desperate to work out frustrations, Katsumi sneaks out to find trouble. Under the name 'Bakeneko', she decides to do a little street fighting. Chun-Li seemed to have the same idea. The clash is brief, but explosive. |
| Four Corners of the World! | December 9th, 2019 | At long last, the event that brought Katsumi to America takes place! And something both mysterious and troubling occurs. |
| Who cooks the cookies, anyway | November 27th, 2019 | Summary needed |
| Kings Plaza Wrestling Ring | November 25th, 2019 | Steve briefly attends a wresting event including Katsumi at Queens Centers Mall. |
| Mad Skillz | November 12th, 2019 | Who doesn't enjoy gaming before a movie? But Katsumi meets a superhero who's buddies with a fan, some talk about life priorities come up, and things get weird! But only if you make it weird. |
| ROXY VS. PART-TIME EMPLOYMENT: PART ONE | November 5th, 2019 | Halo Burger is challenged by its worst employee yet! Continuity errors abound! Kitora eats the entire kitchen, Katsumi celebrities around, and Hogarth orders up some historical comfort food. Really though, Halo Burger is both bad for you and sort of offensive to a major religion. It's a miracle (ugh) that they're still in business. |
| Marvel Mall! | October 29th, 2019 | =Summary needed |
| Sara is a Skullgirl | October 28th, 2019 | The Four Corners of the World event is doing a bit of PR when Sara Pezzini makes an appearance. She brings candy, and Katsumi brings questions about the Witchblade. Additionally, that jet-lag is really hitting the Punk Princess hard. |
| One. Two. Three (heroes), ding ding ding | October 25th, 2019 | Winifred gets lynched by FoH devotees, Witchblade and Sara rescue Fred. Katsumi gets caught up...and Sara leaves the NYPD to field all questions. |
| The Duel | October 23rd, 2019 | Summary needed |
| Cops and Wrestlers | October 22nd, 2019 | Team Japan has arrived in America, and Katsumi scopes out the venue for the upcoming special event. Unfortunately, jetlag seems to be destroying Katsumi's stamina. Sara Pezzini notices something amiss and investigates, along with a brief appearance by one Remy LeBeau. But is jetlag really the cause...? |
Cutscenes
To Refresh Character's Log List Click Here. Then hit the resulting button to dump the old cached list.
| Title | Date | Scene Summary |
|---|---|---|
| No logs submitted yet. | ||