🗡Papercuts [CS]

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Let me know if you want to be added! I will not add you without express permission.

5/17 - Relocated here!

_{eeegh i'll have a sexy blurb sooner or later}

"Papercuts"

Forbidden knowledge speaks of rituals in which one can fulfill their heart's desire at a proportional cost. These were traditional demon/spirit/god-bindings and were paid in blood, body, and soul. Less forbidden, somewhat less deadly, and far more common are their Papercut 'cousins' - beings formed by magic who seem to spontaneously come into existence under the right conditions.

Papercuts are in the general category of guardian (or curse) entities created/summoned by the burning of 'paper spells' - which is, for these purposes, a broad definition including burning paper money, ritual spells drawn/written on paper or parchment with ink or blood, and so on. They are fully tactile (with exceptions) and once they fulfill their summoner's desire, are free to roam as they wish. A Papercut is mortal and can be killed, but does not naturally age (they will look the same as when they're initially summoned their entire lives). For a Papercut, a natural passing of old age is simply when they no longer desire to live - at such a time they will quietly dissipate; returning to be one with the heart of all things. They cannot reproduce and do not need to eat, but usually enjoy the same things humans do. NSFW - they are modeled after the living humanoid form and so can have whatever you wish down there.

While formed by magic that humans cannot touch at all, a summoner's personality, intent, aesthetics, etc., can influence the Papercut's appearance - particularly their paper tails! Sometimes the paper tail resembles the burnt paper spell used in their creation, other times it's far more abstract and influenced by the summoner. Highly imaginative, or very young summoners tend to create the most unique Papercuts.

Noodle form is optional, but can be canon for your Papercut if you'd like! Their magic and physical strength is greatly limited in this form and an average Paper-noodle would probably lose to an average house cat in a fight. In this form, their tail blades are blunt and more toy than proper weapon. Horns, scaley bits, and other kemonomimi features don't have to match exactly/can be exaggerated on noodle form. There is no trait sheet for Paper-noodles as they're mostly for fun, so feel free to design yours however! It can't have any features not on the main/humanoid form, though.

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Contracts

As Papercuts are within the bound entity category, when summoned, they have a drive to fulfill their summoner's desire. Sometimes, the summoner has no particular desire nor intent to summon when burning the paper spell and these Papercuts tend to feel rather like amnesiacs. While rare, it can happen! Accidental summons are most often Eastern Papercuts created as by-products of some hapless person just performing their filial duty. They are still loosely bonded to the summoner however, and may 'haunt' them, much to both parties' confusion. Papercuts loosely follow the basic rules of summoned beings -

• They are tied/bonded to the summoner. A contract of equivalent exchange is sealed upon the Papercut's 'birth', and they must fulfill the purpose they are summoned for. If blood is used to write the spell, the strength of the bond and need to fulfill the summoner's purpose is always tied to amount of blood invested.
• A Papercut is (at minimum) loosely tied to its summoner even if it's by accident; however people who accidentally summon Papercuts often have no associated goal so the bond and required purpose of these are weak/vague and have little influence.
• The contract manifests as a magical tattoo (marking or writing) somewhere on the Papercut's body. Once it has been fulfilled, the contract mark will fade. When a Papercut is summoned via blood ritual, their contract markings may appear as wounds or scars that don't heal until the summoner's (often bloody) desire is fulfilled. If left unfulfilled for too long, it will lead to the Papercut's death.

There are two general categories of Papercut - Eastern and Western. For the most part, they tend to be summoned only within their respective geographical regions. The classification generally has to do with appearance, but often also correlates with purpose. (Note: other than horn shape and smoke type, there are no region associated traits. This is mostly relevant to lore; a Papercut 'born' in the East can have Western style horns/smoke - they are not region locked.)

Accidental summoning is actually a quite common 'birth' for Eastern Papercuts due to cultural traditions involving burning paper offerings. As they're not intentionally summoned, they tend to be curious, perhaps naive, but very interested in humans. They're usually seen as benevolent local deities/spirits. Their horns form elegant spires that are always branched at least once (but rarely more than thrice), never dense or bull/ram-like, and tend to be slender rather than stout. Wispy smoke rises almost lazily from their horns, comparable to an incense burner. (Do they smell good? If you want yours to, go ahead!)

Western Papercuts often have more sinister origins and are almost always summoned with intent, often as as curses or supernatural protectors via blood rituals. They tend to have deep associations with alchemy and cults in places where either practice is common; hence, where Eastern Papercuts are often respected or feared as regional deities and spirits, Western Papercuts tend to be regarded with occult suspicion or fear. Their horns are a tad random, but are always impressive and stout; spiked or curled/curved and never branched and thin. Their horn smoke tends to billow rather than rise and is textured similarly to torch/bonfire smoke; dense and heavy.

Memorial Class

'Paper spell' is a rather vague term. While it commonly refers to charms/talismans; summoning and ritual papers, etc., any text written in permanent liquid can be considered a "paper spell" if its emotional/intangible value is enough that a major change in its status (creation; destruction; recreation) would provoke significant emotional response. It doesn't matter if that value is assigned by one person or many, though the rarest (strongest, most dangerous & often unstable) Papercuts are often created when many people feel strong emotions in response the destruction of a single iconic text. These Papercuts are fundamentally different from regular ones and are treated as a separate 'class' of summoned entity called Memorials. 

Another example of Memorial summoning is as a byproduct of war, for example when outbreak/conscription decrees & written announcements are drawn up/distributed and later destroyed. However, a Papercut (even Memorial class) can only come into being when a paper spell is burnt with specific intent. That specific intent, however, may not always be to summon an entity. This means random accidents ie., library fires cannot create Papercuts, but intentional arson may.

Paper Tail

One of a Papercut's two identifying features is their long, flexible tail, roughly textured like parchment. It is prehensile, and assisted by the Papercut's innate magic. Generally speaking, they do not exceed the length of the body, are < 2 ft wide, and no thicker than their tail blade. These may or may not resemble the paper spell they originated from and are covered in ink; sometimes writing (any language ok), sometimes drawings/diagrams, or sometimes abstract designs reflecting a concept or ideal. Non-meaningful scribbles are a-OK as well - basically, if you can imagine it in 2D, it can exist on a Papercut's tail. Ink coverage has no relation to the original paper spell, but completely blank tails are very odd and practically mythical. Aside from the original inking, Papercuts often enjoy 'customizing' and decorate/stain/paint on/etc their tails any way you'd like! Cutouts and trimming are OK as well, but in moderation - consider it like piercings.

Papercut tails are impervious to normal wear and tear - rips/tears, burning, moth eaten, water damage & etc through normal means will not affect them. Like the tail blade, the parchment is near impossible to damage unintentionally; only magic stronger than their own poses a threat. Various degrees of damage are possible as a default condition, though quite rare (see trait list).

Tail Blade

At the end of a Papercut's tail is a nearly unbreakable (through normal means) blade that can take any form of edged weapon, though blade shape usually correlates to summoning purpose (ie., curses/spells with harmful intent might have assassin/rogue blades, a guardian summon might have a paladin's broadsword and an offering to the kitchen god might produce a Papercut with a short fruit knife). These blades are incredibly dense, but don't feel as heavy as their mundane equivalents to the Papercut themself as their innate magic assists in its use. It still takes energy and physical/magical strength to wield, however, so very long, thin tails will never have a long or heavy blade, for example - it just isn't practical. Papercuts still must obey the laws of physics - if you attach a heavy extra object to their tail, they'll be put off-balance while adjusting to it just like any other creature.

The blade is always solid with a smooth and usually reflective surface (though not always metallic - pearly/oilslick or monotone gradient sheen matching the base color of their tail is also common!). Full designs/patterning on the blade itself is unusual, but possible. Certain blade types are rare or restricted traits, for example paired/butterfly swords, folding knives, sickles, chakrams and whip/jointed swords (see trait list).

Horns & Smoke

All Papercuts have hollow horns that emit smoke from the tips, but are shaped differently on Eastern and Western Papercuts (see above). To clarify, this just means a common Papercut with stout/Western horns cannot have the pale, wispy smoke of an Eastern, and likewise you'll not find an Eastern Papercut with huge, billowing smokestacks. The horns have similar texture to and usually aesthetically match the tail blade. The smoke can be any shade of color, even multiple, so long as it isn't forming distinct scenes or constantly changing colors. More options can be occasionally seen on rare Papercuts!

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Special Conception

A Papercut called through the most powerful/desperate of intent will appear with traits visualized by its summoner's preconceived mental image (for example; an avenging angel, a god of death, a protector to never leave one's side even in death). These unique papercuts incredibly rare and powerful - if regular and Memorial Papercuts are the 'fruit' fallen from the progenitor's 'tree', it wouldn't be a stretch to label these as the 'branches'. With special conception, there are basically no restrictions on what can be done, as long as the Papercut species traits are still present (approved on a case by case basis). The price of special conception is always the summoner's soul.

_{will be making this more tl;dr tomorrow}

A regular MYO slot comes with any/all common traits (blue) allowed, and a maximum of 4 rare (orange) traits that can be allotted across all 3 sections. Rare slots allow for unlimited rare traits. Memorial slots/traits are currently a WIP.

Common/Unrestricted 

Rare/Restricted to 4 per MYO slot

Memorial Class (visual ref TBA)

Section 1: Upper Body

• Teeth: 
  • Humanoid dental structure - shark teeth, small fangs, combination of both
  • Tusks/saber fangs
• Eyes:
  • Any pupil shape
  • Any single iris/pupil/sclera color (heterochromia OK)
  • Technicolor/rainbow iris and/or sclera, no pupil
  • Scales present around eyes
• Ears:
  • Any kemonomimi style
  • Pointy/elongated humanoid ears with scales, fur, or feathers
  • Whatever you like. Multiple ears, go nuts
• Horns & Smoke:
  • Eastern horns + wispy/'incense' smoke or Western horns + heavy/'hazy' smoke (mix and match)
  • No more than five distinct points with 1-2 main 'smoke spouts per horn'
  • Full rack of antlers
  • Any color(s) smoke*, as long as it isn't changing color or forming scenes
  • 'Dead'/weak or barely present smoke
  • Opal-like veins of the smoke visible within the horns
  • Smoke veins and dead smoke together counts as a single rare trait
• Hands:
  • Normal human hands, with or without claws
  • Draconic with scales and powerful claws, can be slightly oversized. Scales cannot pass the elbow, except for small ornamental scales here or there if desired 
  • Drastically oversized claws, furry/monstrous paw hands

• Legs/feet:
  • Normal human
  • Hooved (goat/deer/kirin style with split toe), can have a fetlock made of smoke/trailing ink, regular fur/feathering, or none at all
  • Paws (big cat or canine style)
  • Inkwell legs; old-fashioned pen nibs from the knee down, with smoke/ink leaking from the junction. Papercuts with this trait float rather than walk, and optionally leave shadowy trails of ink/smoke in their wake
  • Draconic with scales and tough claws; digitigrade and generally impossible to wear shoes over. Style (toe count, scale layout, 'scale armor' etc) is up to you. Scales cannot pass the knee, except for aesthetic flourish

• Paper tail:
  • Standard tail: roughly as long as the Papercut is tall and width no more than the Papercut's shoulder depth
  • Minor damage allowed (heavy, silhouette-breaking damage)
  • Ribbon tail: extra long (1.5-2x+ height on average), narrow (less than half the width of the body) and flexible (cannot be paired with 'heavy'/2h swords ie broadswords due to physical limitations). These tend to be slightly more fragile than usual
  • Stout tail: much shorter than usual (generally 1/2 to 3/4 of the Papercut's height), thicker and defensive (width and depth). They are not very mobile, but excel in defense and can easily support large/heavy weapons
  • Double tails: can be combined with stout or ribbon styles, but cannot be mixed (i.e. stout + ribbon, ribbon + normal). Blade must be the same base weapon, but can be decorated/customized differently. The paper tails themselves do not have to match. Y-shaped split tails or 2 separate tails are both OK
  • Folded/origami tail: anything that isn't normal flat paper. Regular tails can twist and crease, but they cannot sharply fold over themselves - that would be a folded tail. Can be combined with any other style, including double
• Tail blade**: 
  • Regular/traditional sword-style weapons; 1 distinct blade only (ask if unsure)
  • Blade/hilt can be styled/decorated however you like with the exception of growing crystals, fluid magic/elements, or live/organic elements such as vines that are not clearly fake/decoration
  • Non-standard swords (whip/folding swords), single weapons with more than 1 blade (knuckle/claw blades), 2-3 blades designed to be used in pairs+ (multiple kunai, butterfly swords), non-sword category edged weapons (axe blades, chakrams, etc)
  • Bladed objects that aren't intended to be used as weapons such as scissors; toy/fake swords (will still have potential to be dangerous even if not sharp as all Papercut blades contain/channel magic) 
  • Blades made of non-standard material such as magical fire/ice/darkness/etc, transparent/translucent glass/crystal

**Exact copies of canon weapons i.e. buster sword (FF7), falchion/ragnell (FE), master sword (LoZ) are not allowed

Section 4: Special Traits

• Wings:
  • Magic wings formed of billowing smoke (not solid or made of flesh and blood). Must roughly match horn smoke, but scenes/illusions in the smoke and constant color shifting/magic or glowy elements and such are OK. Can be shaped however you like
  • Paper wings*: scarf or kite/streamer style
    • scarf - Quick preview
    • streamer - Quick preview

*Must be textured like parchment; cannot be made of cloth/knit/etc, but non-paper materials can be used to accessorize. General paper tail design rules apply. They are not extra tails and cannot have blades attached! Tied/decorated ends are OK, but keep in mind what real paper can and cannot do. These are easily damaged as, unlike their tails, these wings have no more magic in them than the rest of the Papercut's body.

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SPECIAL CONCEPTION

• in theory, literally anything is possible as long as it still reads as a Papercut. Want an anthro papercut? Special conception. Want multiple or realistic wings? Multiple horns? Horns all over the body? Thorns?? Extra eyes, mouths, or limbs? Anything not listed?? Probably! Go crazy, dude, but you gotta run it by me first.

Q. Are MYO slots available?

A. Yes! In fact, they're available right now! See 'News' section.

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Q. MYO slot pricing?

A. The base price for an MYO slot is $20 (paypal only). These come with any/all common (blue) traits, and a maximum of 4 rare (orange) traits that can be allotted wherever you like. Rare slots are $25 and allow any number of rare traits to be used for your MYO. (NOTE: subject to change; I'm... not so keen on the capitalism aspect of CS, so ideally I'd  like to find a system where purchasing with $$ is just AN option rather than being THE usual method. TBA)

Memorial class MYO slots/traits are currently unavailable as I figure out a distribution system. Special conception Papercuts are only available as customs or official sales; MYOs for them may be requested/offered in trades with me personally.

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Q. Is there any way other than sales to get a Papercut or MYO slot?

A. There will be ways to get free official Papercuts/MYO slots! 8) I'd love to host a DTE (draw to enter) in particular and I have a whole roster of annoying party games that I love hosting over discord and TH (LOL). If anyone is interested or would like to know more, please let me know! I'm very fond of musical trivia, especially in weird eurobeat/video game/anime genres. MYO slots and possibly premades will be available as prizes! Most of these will require you to be in the discord server. 

At my discretion, I may also offer MYO slots/customs of any rarity in trade. Feel free to inquire/offer, but please read my wishlist & don't offer pages of random designs to 'try your luck' :<

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Q. Do MYO slots expire? Can I trade them?

A. Expiration - never! As long as you have proof of purchase & ownership (a screenshot of your paypal receipt or in the case of trades/prizes, the conversation where I conferred it), your slot will always be valid. Trading or reselling is allowed regardless of how it was obtained, but a slot's maximum resale value is $25 (rare).

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Q. Will it be possible to upgrade an existing slot at a later time?

A. Yes, for common --> rare (+$5) only! Feel free to PM me about it any time.

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Q. Can I co-own a Papercut? How is ownership logged?

A. Co-ownership is up to you! If disputes happen, the resolution is also up to you. There is no formal masterlist or ownership tracker, but I do keep a record of MYO submissions.

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Q. Is there a discord/TH world/dA group?

A. If enough people are interested, I'll make a TH world! Both the discord server and dA group are currently WIP, but feel free to pop into the discord - https://discord.gg/ZUj72dV :D I'm especially looking for someone to help out with the dA group; please feel free to message me if interested!

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Q. Do I have to follow the lore?

A. It's optional! Only the visual traits guidelines are required to be followed. (Note: Papercuts are roughly 1/3 of a much larger world comprised of 2 other CS and a 'progenitor' series - the lore's a bit spotty and it's very much a WIP at the moment, but it will be expanding pretty soon.)

Q. If I want to discontinue my Papercut, can I/how do I?

A. MYOs can be freely removed from the CS; please DM me in that case! Papercut traits will need to be removed- namely the paper tail & attached blade, and smoke. Horns (not smoke) can be kept. Note: they can still have a (non paper) tail, wield a sword, utilize motifs/design from the paper tail, etc- it just can't be the entire package.

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Q. I'm interested in helping out!

A. This CS is officially open and I really need some assistants, LOL... TYSM for your interest TvT/ Feel free to post comments, ideas/suggestions, memes or relevant whatevers. I know we're just starting out, but if it gets bigger i will definitely be looking for helpers. Please join the discord if interested in applying.