Hōsei [宝声]
eggybaconeggytea
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- 2 months, 16 days ago
- Creator
- eggybaconeggytea
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Basic Info
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Name
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Morioka Hōsei
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Kanji
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盛岡 宝声
Profile
Eri Sasaki
period: Mid-Meiji Restoration - Housei is a travelling rakugo performer that makes his living as a blind storyteller.
After being disowned and disfigured by his own family, he lives a live he is proud of, and a life that is wholly his own.
- warabi-mochi
- rakugo
- Warm Sake
- Cheesy Jokes/Puns
- Fireworks
- daikon oroshi
- Storms
- Complete Silence
- Dark Humour
- Being Heckled
- Housei loves puns and silly jokes. He's not that hard to get laughing, once you figure out the sort of humor he enjoys. Part of the repertoire he performs involves crueler, more cynical humor sometimes, but he's less inclined to personally laugh at such jokes himself. He has a very light, breathy laugh, sometimes going so hard that he wheezes.
- As of now, Housei can only perceive shades of light and dark, and even then, only in cases of extreme contrast. He cannot see anything in complete darkness, and long periods of straining to see things give him headaches. For his performances, he prefers to keep his eyes closed (partly due to this reason, and partly to not frighten his audience), only choosing to open them in choice dramatic moments for emphasis.
- Doesn't look the part, but can actually hold his drink quite well. He will often use this deceptive appearance to his advantage, keeping conscious and alert as any drinking partners he has drunkenly spill their exploits for him to pick and use.
Housei is generally polite to most people, a holdover from his youth/young adulthood as a nobleman. He is charismatic, knowing when to play up his voice for the stage or when the situation presents itself. He tends to slip in rather cheesy jokes into conversation sometimes, as a way of testing out material for his performances.
In private, Housei tends to retire somewhat, taking the time to think over the day's events and certain aspects of his life. He doesn't particularly like it when he is completely alone, so he gravitates towards situations and scenarios where he isn't left alone.
Housei is a rather slender man of shorter stature, with long brown hair that reaches the small of his back if left untied. He often ties up the bottom of his hair for that reason, as well as personal preference. He has a large burn scar that runs across the top half of his face, covering most of his forehead, eye area, and reaching his hairline. Due to the damage that caused the scar, Housei is permanently blinded, as well as a section of his hair growing out pale grey from the damage.
For the most part, he dresses in the normal dress of a Japanese man, wearing a haori over a kimono tied with an obi belt. For his performances, he has a few more elaborate pieces he likes to wear, though nothing too grand or extravagant.
- He has a burn-like scar that runs across the top half of his face, please make sure to include it!
- Housei is mostly blind.
- He has a small mole/beauty mark at the left corner of his lip.
- He has a greyish blonde streak in his bangs where his scar meets his hairline!
Housei was born to a relatively affluent family in his area of the country, destined for a comfortable, easy life as long as he followed his family's rather restrictive plans. Growing up, he had no trouble doing so, living a relatively easy childhood with his siblings, though he found himself being drawn to the rather 'low-brow' rakugo theatre performances that had steadily begun to grow popular.
However, his life of comfort and luxury was soon taken from him when he refused a marriage his family had arranged for increasing influence. In the ensuing rage that followed, he had been heavily injured to the point of losing most of his eyesight, a large scar across his face as a visual reminder of his 'insolence'.
Shortly after, he was cast out and disowned, and he now makes his living performing the stories he'd been so fixated on his youth, as well as new ones he would pick up from the people he meets and the stories they share.
Although he's been disowned by his own family, he has managed to make quite a comfortable life for himself, making enough to stay at relatively nice inns/hostels wherever he travels. He makes enough to hire himself a bodyguard (a necessity, for a blind man traveling alone most of the time), as well as someone who can help him with some day-to-day activities that prove harder without his eyesight.
Recently, after a chance encounter, Housei has made the acquaintance (and subsequent companionship) of a 'wandering' samurai named Nagayama Akeshi. Though Housei doesn't quite understand his companion's lifelong mission, he makes for an excellent travelling partner, and subsequent bodyguard.
At every new town or area they visit, Housei performs while Akeshi goes off to complete more odd jobs for the people living there. They generally board together, and are never seen to far apart unless one of the pair is off working.
Housei welcomes this new development in his life, and the lively, firecracker of a man packaged with it. He hopes that in due time, he may find a genuine friendship with Akeshi and perhaps something even further than that.
hired bodyguard; companion
After the mercenary saved Housei from a rather dangerous encounter, the two of them now travel across the country with one another, with Housei formally hiring Akeshi to be his personal bodyguard/guardian.
Despite the professional context of their relationship, Housei finds a genuine friendship with the wandering samurai, enthralled by the stories of his misadventures and hijinks, as well as his bright, passionate personality.
Secretly, Housei has begun to develop deeper feelings for Akeshi, but he doesn't dare act on them, worried about how the dynamics and relationship between the two of them will be affected. As of right now, he is content with where their relationship is.
older brother
One of his only family members willing to keep in touch with Housei. Whenever he hears word about his brother visitng their city, he makes arrangements for the two of them (most often Yasue in-tow) to meet up and chat, most likely in some hidden corner of a tavern or inn.
As the heir-apparent to the family's fortune, Shinpei isn't all that concerned about his parents' potential ire from visiting Housei. As his older brother, Shinpei feels a constant, lingering sorrow at Housei's current situation, and though well-intentioned, will always try to convince Housei to return back to the family estate, despite the near-certain disastrous consequences such a visit would bring.
younger sister
Yasue is Housei's younger sister. She often trails along her older brother when he goes to visit him, as well as sneak into the local performance hall to watch Housei perform. While she has been caught a few times, Housei always lets it go without any further action, allowing his sister to watch his shows whenever she wants.
A rather rebellious teenager, Yasue looks up to Housei's defiance from the family, but feels determined she could do it better than him, or at least, get off a bit lighter than he did. She has her own ambitions vastly different from the life her family has set out for her, and Housei inspires her to one day take the initial step to achieving that freedom.
birth family
The rest of Housei's family pretends to (or tries to pretend) he never existed. Either from pure disappointment and bitterness, or from fear of retribution from the more senior members of the household.
Any attempts from Housei to contact them go largely ignored, and when Housei visits their city for work, they never come to attend any of his performances. When someone points out their matching surnames, Housei will politely wave it off as a charming coincidence.
Though these were the people that blinded him, and subsequently left him out on the streets, he still holds a small amount of love for the youth he'd been given by them, though that happiness is tainted with deep, tragic sorrow.
