Toyosatomimi no Miko

Miko's primary ability is supernaturally good hearing. Regular good hearing is certainly a part of it, but there's a magical element as well - by listening to somebody's voice, Miko can ascertain their innermost desires, and from them infer an image of the person's past, present and future.

This ability is all very vaguely defined in canon, so how effective if is I will leave up to you on a case-by-case basis. So, go ahead and answer any or all of the following questions and we can move on from there.

<b>Can Miko read your character's desires?</b> (Either for IC or OOC reasons is fine, but if it's the former, please specify. Remeber that this ability steps not from reading the mind directly, but from reading the voice.) <b>What are the innermost desires that motivate your character?</b> (Unless the previous answer was no.) <b>Can Miko read the past, present and/or future of a character?</b> (Not exactly precognition, but very close - if she truly knows a person's desires, then she can infer from that what sort of person they are, what sort of past they had, and what sort of destiny awaits them.) <b>What sort of past did your character come from?</b> (Details can be left out, only the broad strokes matter. For this and the next one, only answer if the previous answer was yes.) <b>What sort of future does your character have waiting or them?</b> (Either in the game or in canon, or both.)

This is only for plotting/having fun with, of course, so if this is too weird or makes you uncomfortable for any reason, feel free to opt out and it will never come up, no questions asked.

PLAYER
Name: Prof
Age: 27
Personal Journal: prof
E-mail: kobuscrispi[at]gmail.com
AIM/MSN/etc: ZebulonCrispi (AIM)

CHARACTER
Name: Miko Toyosatomimi (traditional spelling Toosatomimi no Miko, it's a nobility thing)
Canon: Touhou Project
Age: A little over 1000 / early twenties
Timeline: After the events of Hopeless Masquerade

Personality:
Miko is an extremely talented person, and has always been aware of this. She's been a giver of unsolicited advice since she was a child, her confidence that her advice would be sound never wavering. In short, she's got quite an ego. Pride is Miko's sin, unflinchingly comparing herself to Jesus Christ at one point.

And that pride does not come without purpose. Miko is ambitious. She looks at the world, decides for herself how it could be improved, and sets about getting herself into the place to affect that change. She's a politician, seeking power over people and using it to (in her eyes, at least) make the world a better place.

This idea of improving the world of humanity is mainly focused around one idea: Death. Miko fears death, and is greatly disturbed by the idea that all humans must eventually die. This is what led to her pursuit of Taoism, along with the near-destruction of her body by way of alchemy, all in search of a way to become immortal. Even when attempting to become immortal via death and resurrection, so great was her fear that she convinced one of her friends to go through with it before her, just to make sure that it would work. When it comes to escaping death, she's quite self-serving.

While Miko is certainly unflinching and unapologetic in her pursuit of her goals, she's also very flexible. When she first arrived in Gensokyo, her plan was to become the leader of the humans there, but after learning more about Gensokyo's society, she came to accept that the humans didn't need a leader, and so she discarded the plan at once. So long as she believes she's doing what is best, Miko will persistently chase after her goals, but if she comes to believe that they are misguided, she can easily discard them and search for new goals. She doesn't let past failures drag her down, instead focusing on the future.

In conversation, Miko is more casual than her noble birth and legendary status would suggest. She jokes freely with anyone she talks with, is very friendly towards most humans (although she tends to be suspicious of non-humans). While she is ostensibly a hermit, she still gets drawn into secular affairs, because she was a political ruler in her mortal life, and old habits die hard. Despite being a Taoist saint, her view of religion is always as a tool - she spread Buddhism in Japan because she believed it would make the people easier to govern, and practiced Taoism herself because she believed it would lead her to immortality.

Background:
Wiki link

Abilities:
Of all her various abilities, the one Miko is mostly known for her incredible hearing - she can listen to and understand ten conversations at once, and provide accurate responses to each. Beyond her hearing, though, she's also a shikaisen, a sort of hermit blessed with supernatural abilities achieved through spiritual enlightenment. Chief among these abilities is immortality - while she's not incapable of being killed, Miko's body does not age. Beyond that, her natural incredible hearing is enhanced beyond mortal reckoning, allowing her to infer from someone's voice all of their desires, from which she can see the true nature of a person, revealing (in various levels of clarity) their past, present, and future.

In addition, like most people of note in Genskoyo, Miko is a capable magical fighter. She flies and performs a variety of attacks, most of them taking the form of golden beams of light or strikes with the Seven Star Sword, an can also cause multiple huge swords to appear briefly for attacks.

First Person:
Here.

Third Person:
It was something she had been meaning to do ever since she heard that people couldn't die in the city.

The theory was simple. Most of the worldly desires of mankind were derived from the fear of death. People eat so they won't starve, they reproduce because they want a legacy, they amass wealth to distance themselves from the dangers of the world. Thus, in a world without death, would their desires not be of a more noble nature?

The hope lasted about until Miko disabled her earmuffs, letting the voices and their underlying desires flood in. She had been dubious of Kanako's claims that the humans of the modern world has made no advances in spirituality, but here was the proof. It was as if nobody was even aware that they had been freed from the cause of their troubles - all of the same desires filled their hearts.

Miko sighed softly, and tuned the voices out once more. It was disappointing, but not too devastatingly so. After all, if the people were so misguided, then surely they would also be in need of a strong leader...

Additional First Person Sample:

Good evening, one and all! There is something I would very much like to discuss.

When I walk around this city, what I see and hear is suffering. People are succumbing to their base desires. Everywhere, I see men and women lacking in direction, turning against one another when fear or greed drives them to do so.

Do you not think that the city deserves better? What they need is an ideal to strive for. A beacon to lead the people by example. Only when united in cause will we be able to live in harmony, and unlock the secrets of this place. In short, what we need is a leader.

So far as I am aware, no others are both willing and qualified to take up this burden, so I would be happy to accept it myself. If any of you feel you would do better, I encourage you to come forward at once.


Additional Alternate Third Person Sample:

Miko's fingers rapped idly on the table with impatience. All in all, it had been quite a messy affair.

When trying to guide the development of a community, conflict was inevitable. And sure, sometimes the easiest way to try and cut off a serious problem before it grows out of control is a quick display of force. And... well, sure, sometimes when you try and reprimand someone, you lose.

She allowed herself a small sip of her tea. Was she going to come, or not? It wouldn't be too surprising, she supposed, if she didn't. Anyone would be suspicious of such a light-hearted invitation from someone they had just defeated in combat, after all. Perhaps the only reason she had thought to extend it was that living in Gensokyo had twisted her sense of logic. She chuckled inwardly at the thought; like this city, it was a strange country populated by people full of strange ideas.

Ah! There she was. Miko waved her wary rival on over, at the same time signaling to the nearest waiter that he would soon be needed. She looked about as dubious as Miko had expected, but the fact that she came at all was an encouraging first sign.

"Come, sit, have a drink. I haven't yet found a tea here that I'm not fond of." Combat, in the end, is the same game as politics and religion. Humiliating or defeating your opponent isn't how one claims victory - so long as your own goals are met, any number of defeats are acceptable. This loss could still be turned into a win, if the aftermath could bring them closer together, allowing them to finally talk and exchange ideas as equals. If a proper dialogue could begin, and she could be made to see things as Miko did, then maybe further battle wouldn't be necessary at all.

"I hope there aren't any hard feelings about the other day. Your skills in battle are truly a sight to behold." She paused to take another ship, letting the flattery sink in for a moment before continuing. "As for why I invited you here, I'd like us to be able to talk to one another without such ugliness. After all, I believe that we both stand to gain much from working together..."