Entry tags:
Fade Rift App
Any headcanon for filling in the major blanks or interpretations of the more ambiguous stories will be written In bolded pink
Name: Green Rivers
Age:31 33 as of reapp
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GreenRivers, GreenRivers#4204 @Discord, ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
verdantrivers, or just pm this journal
Other Characters: n/a
Interests: All the zany shenanigans that come from playing a character as bizarre as the Medicine Seller. Will he make friends? Enemies? Will he be an enigmatic creep for the rest of his life? Outside of CR, I’m interested in the DA lore and would enjoy throwing a character who is an off-kilter exorcist into a setting rich with demons and other spooks.
Name: Unknown. Simply goes by 'The Medicine Seller'.
Canon/OC: Mononoke
Canon Point: Post series
Journal: meds4sale
Age: Unknown but heavily implied to be old as balls. I put him at approximately 900 - 1000.
Canon World
Ayakashi reside in a host and humans reside in the physical plane. A Mononoke comes into being when an Ayakashi is the host and fed by the fates of men.
Wiki Link 01
Wiki Link 02
The world of Mononoke is set on Earth, in Japan, during the early Edo period (which lasted from the 1600s to the mid 1800s), and filtered through a lens of surreal symbolism with a heaping helping of supernatural phenomena plucked right out of Sekien Toriyama’s catalogues of monsters and with a dash of anachronisms for flavour (I see you there Klimt style mural on a 17th century Japanese trade ship, don't think I don't).
In the series, Ayakashi latch onto powerful human emotions, creating the grotesque and terrifying beings known as Mononoke. The Medicine Seller is a person who travels from place to place, exorcising these creatures after learning their Form, Truth, and Regret.
Mononoke is generally more character oriented, and the mechanics of its lore get little explanation. The nature of the Ayakashi and (by proxy) the Mononoke, are varied. They can be ghosts, demons, ideas, objects, or even a living person - rather like the Shinto concept of Kami (which they actually get compared to in series).
It’s frequently depicted in bright pastels, sharply contrasting its much darker themes. It makes numerous references to Shinto, Taoism, and Buddhism, both visually and in story. Gods, spirits, demons, and the concepts of karma and reincarnation, are all treated as a matter of fact in the narrative. The Medicine Seller himself is a mish-mash of Buddhist and Taoist imagery, with nods to Mikkyo Buddhism and the three sacred treasures of Japan.
History
The bulk of the stories take place in Edo period (1600s - 1800s) Japan, however, the last arc jumps forward in time to what seems to be the late 1920s - early 1930s (early Showa era).
↠Pre series: The Medicine Seller has been puttering around Japan, slaying Mononoke for an undetermined amount of time. For the sake of RP purposes, I’m going to say since around the mid Heian period just to put something resembling a number on it.
↠The Bake Neko Arc - Note: This is the last arc of Ayakashi: Samurai Horror Tales where the Medicine Seller made his debut.
The Medicine Seller visits the Sakai household the day of the youngest daughter’s wedding to sell the sorts of things new brides need. The festivities are halted when the bride and guests are brutally killed. The culprit is the vengeful spirit of Tamaki, a girl the head of the household kidnapped in his youth and kept caged, subjecting her to all manner of abuses. Her spirit merged with that of a cat - her sole comfort during the ordeal - and set loose to get some good, old fashioned revenge. The demon is vanquished, the Sakai family is in ruins and neither the Medicine Seller nor the two survivors are particularly sorry for their lot.
↠The Zashiki Warashi Arc - On a cold, rainy, windy night, the Medicine Seller stops at an inn to sell his wares. A young, pregnant girl is pursued by an assassin who is subsequently killed and hung from the ceiling. Turns out the room the young lady was staying in was a mass grave for all the forced abortions the proprietor put her employees through back in the inn’s days as a brothel, and all those ghosts want to be born into the real world.
↠The Umi Bozu Arc - The Medicine Seller gets on a boat that winds up off course in Ayakashi territory. A monk must confront his guilt over incestuous feelings towards his sister who was sacrificed when they were both young.
↠The Nopera-Bo Arc - The Medicine Seller goes to jail for selling someone fake viagra and encounters Ochou who is set to hang for murdering her abusive husband and shitty inlaws. But not all is as it seems, including who Ochou actually killed.
↠The Nue Arc - The Medicine Seller heads to a mansion in Kyoto and plays parlour games with a bunch of ghosts stuck in a Groundhog Day type loop, continuously reliving their deaths because a piece of wood wanted to feel special.
↠The Bake Neko Arc 2: Electric Boogaloo: It’s the early 1930s and The Medicine Seller hops on a train with some very familiar faces. They wind up trapped in a car together, terrorized by the ghost of a news reporter who allegedly committed suicide. Each must come clean about their role, however indirect, in her death to escape this prison.
Personality
The enigmatic Medicine Seller is not a particularly nice person. He’s certainly polite and observes all the niceties befitting his social superiors (which is literally everyone, yay feudalism), but there is little warmth in his interactions and he can come across as insincere or even mocking. His outward personality is soft spoken, cold, and quite formal. He keeps his composure, even in the midsts of pure chaos. When confronted with his deepest fear of a world with no Form, Truth, or Regret, and thus, an absence of purpose, he faces it calmly and accepts his end. Very little surprises him, though it's not entirely impossible to ruffle him either - usually acts of callousness or cruelty will do the trick. The thin veneer of observing etiquette and the strict social hierarchy breaks down instantly when shit hits the fan, and while he's still technically polite, the Medicine Seller is much more brusque and assertive.
He is singularly focused on his duty to sever the Mononoke from this world and while he makes an effort to protect those on the receiving end of their wrath (often by giving them ample opportunity to come clean with the information he needs), he’s stated that he has no obligation to save the people involved. Indeed, he rarely shows remorse when people die, but on the other hand they’ve been, almost without exception, irredeemable assholes. And hey, it’s not like he didn’t try.
He’s not completely devoid of compassion, however - he is shown to sympathize with regards to the suffering that made the Mononoke what they are. It is important to note that for the sword to be drawn, it requires that the Medicine Seller first empathize with the Mononoke on at least some level by understanding their motives. Tamaki and Ochou's plights struck a particular chord with him.
He does have a moral compass, even if the needle may point a bit on the grey side. He believes in a person’s right to make their own choices, tempered with a measure of personal responsibility and that no one has the right to control another. He shows affection towards people who are assertive and compassionate and abhors abusers and people who force their will on others - his distaste for some of the other murderers in the series makes that much evident.
Despite his aloof demeanor, the Medicine Seller does have of a sense of humour - though it is rather dry and sarcastic. He takes delight in teasing those who are easily riled (such as Odajima and the detective), or sharing gossip. Sometimes this playfulness serves a purpose, either as a form of gathering information, or in one instance, to draw out a Mononoke. Other times it is merely for the Medicine Seller’s own amusement.
He also seems to have a particular affinity for cats.
Strengths & Weaknesses
Strengths
The Magical:
↠ Spiritually powerful. The Medicine Seller’s style of exorcism seems to be derived from Mikkyo Buddhism’s Sammitsu (a portmanteau of San Himitsu, or Three Secrets). There are also more than a few nods to Taoism and Shinto methods.
Even without the sword of exorcism (and, by proxy, the power of his other self), the Medicine Seller is still capable of creating powerful barriers and holding off Mononoke (though not indefinitely and, if they’re particularly strong, not coming out of it unscathed). His specific abilities shown in the series are such:
↠ Creating powerful barriers with his ofuda (paper charms where the writing changes form and colour depending on the proximity of the Mononoke) and protecting people they’re attached to from possession. He is also able to ward off spirits without the aid of the ofuda, but it was shown to be physically detrimental (lacerations appeared all over his hand and started bleeding heavily) and he grew fatigued very quickly.
↠ Being able to manipulate objects without touching them. The general rule of thumb here is that these objects seem to have to be linked to him somehow such as the ofuda, mirror, scales, his medicine pack, or sword. When he’s moving other objects such as doors or the handle of the Utsurobune, he’s attached his ofuda to them beforehand.
↠The Umibozu arc implies that the Medicine Seller can sense or outright see Ayakashi that others cannot.
↠ The Mirror. The little hand mirror the Medicine Seller wears around his neck can grow to the height of a man and acts as a shield from magical attacks. He also uses it to reveal Ochou’s Form.
↠ The Noppera Bo arc can be read as an elaborate illusion that the Medicine Seller created to draw out Ochou’s truth, form and regret. This is pretty ambiguous because it’s hard to say if he was exerting some kind illusion or if it was the Noppera Bo (implied to be his Other Self) doing it or a combined effort on both their parts or if it was mostly symbolism filtered through Ochou’s warped perception or a mix of all of the above. My own interpretation is that he did craft some manner of illusion, though it was fueled by Ochou’s own desire to escape her terrible situation.
↠ The Sword of Exorcism / The Other Self. When the Medicine Seller acquires a Mononoke’s Truth, Form, and Regret, he is able to unsheathe the sword of exorcism. The Medicine Seller seems to transform into (or be replaced by) another individual that wields the blade.
Nothing is known about the Other Self beyond the fact he is linked to the unsheathing of the blade. Whether the Other Self is the sword, a form or facet of the Medicine Seller, or a separate being entirely is never explained. What is evident is that the Other Self can absolutely decimate Mononoke, having superhuman strength and speed, and seemingly able to defy gravity. This is likely the reason why such specific conditions need to be met before the sword can be released.
The blade, when unsheathed, appears to be made of pure energy rather than metal. It extends, distorts, and bends as necessary, sometimes even acting on its own. Kayo asks in one episode if the sword is alive though the Medicine Seller's only response to this is a vague "I wonder". So so helpful.
For the sake of RP, I generally headcanon the Other Self as a facet of the Medicine Seller (rather than an entirely separate entity), akin to the concept of Nigi-Mitama/Ara-Mitama with kami. That aspect is held in check via the sword and the Mononokes’ Form, Truth, and Regret acts as a key. Once vanquished, the Medicine Seller immediately returns to his normal state.
↠Long life. The Medicine Seller is not human. By the end of the series, he’s been around for at least two - three hundred years, and probably quite a bit longer.
The Mundane:
↠ The bulk of his abilities is shown in his spiritual power, but he’s no slouch physically either. He’s got a quick enough reaction time to stop a body guard charging him, strength enough to force a man to re-sheathe his sword mid draw, kick a grown man over, and he generally moves pretty nimbly. None of his physical acts seem supernaturally powered, however. His strength is above average, but generally what you'd expect of a physically fit man, and his dexterity comes from simple experience. A blade will cut him, and barring his long life span, he’s otherwise vulnerable to physical threats.
↠ Despite the fact that being a medicine seller is more or less a ruse so he can get to where he wants to go without seeming to be a threat, he still seems to know how to do his job. He carries a variety of exotic imports, is shown mixing the ingredients for what was essentially a magical flash grenade, is adept at mixing incense, and offers to mix up a tonic for the newspaper man in the last arc.
↠ Sharp senses. In the first Bakeneko arc, he is shown to have excellent hearing, being able to track the Mononoke’s path by the sound of the scales tipping from a room away. In the Nue arc, he is shown to have a formidable sense of smell, having concocted a strange incense of agar for the competition with only subtle differences between each blend.
↠ Intelligent. The Medicine Seller retains a wealth of knowledge with regards to medicine, supernatural beings (Ayakashi and Mononoke in particular) and many years of experience. He's also good at analyzing a situation and he knows when to ask those rather pointed questions and when to shut up and let people's bickering give him the information he needs.
↠ Pretty. Let's be real, if it weren't for his good looks, he'd probably get the boot more often than not because his personality sure leaves a lot to be desired.
Weaknesses:
↠ Physically vulnerable. If you stab him in the kidney he’s probably going to bleed out unless he gets it looked at. He needs to eat and sleep as well.
↠ Socially inept. He may observe the general social niceties, but this comes across as largely out of necessity. Between his strange mannerisms, his lack of interest in discussing anything but medicine or spirits, and odd habit of punctuating his sentences with long pauses, he really can come off as kind of a creep.
↠ Single minded. Related a bit to his social ineptitude. The Medicine Seller’s goals are centered around Mononoke. It’s difficult to say what motivates his pursuit (or even if it’s one he chose), but he has fixated on eradicating them to the detriment of anything else. What even are friends and a social life?
↠ Finite power. He can’t hold off Mononoke indefinitely, and he grows fatigued like anyone else.
Suggested Nerfs
↠ The OG Nerfs most of which already align with what are, most likely, his canon limitations. Most of his abilities are defensive in nature and don't generally exceed that of well-trained, powerful mages. The only really ostentatious display of offensive power comes with unsheathing the sword, which requires an incredibly specific set of circumstances and even then is meant exclusively for someone possessed by a malignant spirit.
Arrival Inventory
↠ Clothes: Gaudy and bright and incorporating some very feminine elements including a brocade obi and an inordinate amount of jewelry (such as a necklace of what appears to be magatama made from red jade and in the last arc he’s got a pair of earrings and a fancy new ring). He wears brightly coloured blue robes would look out of place on any humble medicine seller, though he states that the reason he dresses the way he does is that people expect a peddler of exotic remedies to look… well, exotic. As for the geta? Well...
↠ Mirror: A circular hand mirror the Medicine Seller wears around his neck like a pendant. It can reveal the true reflection of things and can grow quite large and act as a shield or a means of reflecting hostile elements back. Also great for checking to make sure your make-up is on point.
↠ Ofuda: Paper charms that serve two major purposes - the writing on them appears and changes in form and colour depending on the proximity of a spirit (and turn gold when the sword is released). They also serve as a powerful ward against spirits, able to repel or ensnare them. The Medicine Seller can wield a great number of them - he also attaches them to objects to be able to move them without touching them.
↠ Medicine Pack: A lovely though otherwise seemingly typical pack for a medicine seller. It’s definitely bigger on the inside, given that it houses an inordinate amount of paraphernalia that couldn’t fit otherwise.
It contains:
↠ Misc Meds and Paraphernalia: Kept in the bottom drawer. There are many varieties including medicine imported from China and India (including a small store of opium and Indian hemp), what amounts to essentially herbal viagra, gunpowder, oleander, ingredients for incense, kizami (a type of tobacco) and a kiseru, paper lanterns, various mixing bowls and other tools, and a bunch of statues, incense holders, 'marital aids', little charms, and whatever other miscellaneous crap the Medicine Seller might have taken a fancy to. Including what appears to be an octopus. I hope it’s a just statue and not some hapless creature the Medicine Seller decided to pluck out of the ocean.
[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]
Update: Almost all his original stock has been sold or expired, and replaced by Thedosian medicine. While he uses traditional remedies from Thedas, he's also adapted some ingredients with similar properties to traditional Kampo and his particular style of mysticism.
↠ Scales: A legion of tiny, bird shaped scales kept in the middle drawer. They measure distance, not weight and when a Mononoke is close, they drop bells from their trays and lean in the direction of the Mononoke. They seem to be somewhat sentient, as they are controlled with only small gestures, and the Medicine Seller even remarks they’ve taken a liking to Kayo. When confused, they fall over, much to the Medicine Seller’s chagrin.
↠ Porn: Top two drawers contain kōshokubon ('lewdness books') that depict every conceivable combination of genders and cephalopods. Enjoy. The Medicine Seller certainly does (though he may be embarrassed if you discover his stash).
Update: He's added some copies of the Randy Dowager's Best Picks to his "collection" as well as started a journal detailing his studies of both Thedosian medicine and spirits.
↠ Personal Effects: Likely what the large, middle compartment is for. This could contain food supplies, blankets, spare clothes, and possibly a pair of masks.
↠ Sword of Exorcism: Kept in an elaborate jeweled box and housed in the top compartment, resembling a mix of a tsurugi and a Taoist peach wood sword. It has the head of what is either a shiisa/koma-inu or a hakutaku on the end of the handle. Both creatures are noted for being able to detect and ward off evil. Much more decorative and bejeweled than your average Taoist sword of exorcism, this one is also unique in that it can't be unsheathed until the Medicine Seller has found the Form, Truth, and Regret of the Mononoke. It may also be sentient.
'Human'ization
It’s difficult to say for certain what the Medicine Seller is other than Not Human, considering most humans don’t have big pointy ears, little fangs, and centuries long life-spans. If he ever was, he hasn’t been for a very long time. I prefer to maintain the ambiguity of what the Medicine Seller actually is, but if it absolutely has to come up, I'm going to go with the reigning fan theory that he's a fox spirit of sorts.
His physical form is pretty much indistinguishable from an elf appearance wise (aside from the fangs) so I don't think any drastic changes would need to be made.
Fit
Well, the fact that his literal purpose in life is to slay demons may prove at least a bit useful.
Besides that, the Medicine Seller possesses a unique perspective on supernatural beings, as well as a wealth of knowledge and several lifetimes of experience that could come in handy. The Medicine Seller would take particular interest in the demons/abominations of Thedas and ayakashi/mononoke of his world and the similarities between the two.
He would also be interested in the Blight, Darkspawn, Archdemons and all the trappings thereof and their links to the Fade and spirits. He’d be a bit baffled about Thedosian attitudes toward magic, but would otherwise lack much interest in the politics surrounding it and the mage/templar conflict unless personal involvement would further his own goals.
OG Samples From A Million Years Ago
TDM TL
TDM Network Chat
RIFTER APPLICATION
PLAYER
Name: Green Rivers
Age:
Contact:
verdantrivers, or just pm this journalOther Characters: n/a
Interests: All the zany shenanigans that come from playing a character as bizarre as the Medicine Seller. Will he make friends? Enemies? Will he be an enigmatic creep for the rest of his life? Outside of CR, I’m interested in the DA lore and would enjoy throwing a character who is an off-kilter exorcist into a setting rich with demons and other spooks.
The Medicine Seller
Name: Unknown. Simply goes by 'The Medicine Seller'.
Canon/OC: Mononoke
Canon Point: Post series
Journal: meds4sale
Age: Unknown but heavily implied to be old as balls. I put him at approximately 900 - 1000.
Canon World
Wiki Link 01
Wiki Link 02
The world of Mononoke is set on Earth, in Japan, during the early Edo period (which lasted from the 1600s to the mid 1800s), and filtered through a lens of surreal symbolism with a heaping helping of supernatural phenomena plucked right out of Sekien Toriyama’s catalogues of monsters and with a dash of anachronisms for flavour (I see you there Klimt style mural on a 17th century Japanese trade ship, don't think I don't).
In the series, Ayakashi latch onto powerful human emotions, creating the grotesque and terrifying beings known as Mononoke. The Medicine Seller is a person who travels from place to place, exorcising these creatures after learning their Form, Truth, and Regret.
Mononoke is generally more character oriented, and the mechanics of its lore get little explanation. The nature of the Ayakashi and (by proxy) the Mononoke, are varied. They can be ghosts, demons, ideas, objects, or even a living person - rather like the Shinto concept of Kami (which they actually get compared to in series).
It’s frequently depicted in bright pastels, sharply contrasting its much darker themes. It makes numerous references to Shinto, Taoism, and Buddhism, both visually and in story. Gods, spirits, demons, and the concepts of karma and reincarnation, are all treated as a matter of fact in the narrative. The Medicine Seller himself is a mish-mash of Buddhist and Taoist imagery, with nods to Mikkyo Buddhism and the three sacred treasures of Japan.
History
The bulk of the stories take place in Edo period (1600s - 1800s) Japan, however, the last arc jumps forward in time to what seems to be the late 1920s - early 1930s (early Showa era).
↠Pre series: The Medicine Seller has been puttering around Japan, slaying Mononoke for an undetermined amount of time. For the sake of RP purposes, I’m going to say since around the mid Heian period just to put something resembling a number on it.
↠The Bake Neko Arc - Note: This is the last arc of Ayakashi: Samurai Horror Tales where the Medicine Seller made his debut.
The Medicine Seller visits the Sakai household the day of the youngest daughter’s wedding to sell the sorts of things new brides need. The festivities are halted when the bride and guests are brutally killed. The culprit is the vengeful spirit of Tamaki, a girl the head of the household kidnapped in his youth and kept caged, subjecting her to all manner of abuses. Her spirit merged with that of a cat - her sole comfort during the ordeal - and set loose to get some good, old fashioned revenge. The demon is vanquished, the Sakai family is in ruins and neither the Medicine Seller nor the two survivors are particularly sorry for their lot.
↠The Zashiki Warashi Arc - On a cold, rainy, windy night, the Medicine Seller stops at an inn to sell his wares. A young, pregnant girl is pursued by an assassin who is subsequently killed and hung from the ceiling. Turns out the room the young lady was staying in was a mass grave for all the forced abortions the proprietor put her employees through back in the inn’s days as a brothel, and all those ghosts want to be born into the real world.
↠The Umi Bozu Arc - The Medicine Seller gets on a boat that winds up off course in Ayakashi territory. A monk must confront his guilt over incestuous feelings towards his sister who was sacrificed when they were both young.
↠The Nopera-Bo Arc - The Medicine Seller goes to jail for selling someone fake viagra and encounters Ochou who is set to hang for murdering her abusive husband and shitty inlaws. But not all is as it seems, including who Ochou actually killed.
↠The Nue Arc - The Medicine Seller heads to a mansion in Kyoto and plays parlour games with a bunch of ghosts stuck in a Groundhog Day type loop, continuously reliving their deaths because a piece of wood wanted to feel special.
↠The Bake Neko Arc 2: Electric Boogaloo: It’s the early 1930s and The Medicine Seller hops on a train with some very familiar faces. They wind up trapped in a car together, terrorized by the ghost of a news reporter who allegedly committed suicide. Each must come clean about their role, however indirect, in her death to escape this prison.
Personality
The enigmatic Medicine Seller is not a particularly nice person. He’s certainly polite and observes all the niceties befitting his social superiors (which is literally everyone, yay feudalism), but there is little warmth in his interactions and he can come across as insincere or even mocking. His outward personality is soft spoken, cold, and quite formal. He keeps his composure, even in the midsts of pure chaos. When confronted with his deepest fear of a world with no Form, Truth, or Regret, and thus, an absence of purpose, he faces it calmly and accepts his end. Very little surprises him, though it's not entirely impossible to ruffle him either - usually acts of callousness or cruelty will do the trick. The thin veneer of observing etiquette and the strict social hierarchy breaks down instantly when shit hits the fan, and while he's still technically polite, the Medicine Seller is much more brusque and assertive.
He is singularly focused on his duty to sever the Mononoke from this world and while he makes an effort to protect those on the receiving end of their wrath (often by giving them ample opportunity to come clean with the information he needs), he’s stated that he has no obligation to save the people involved. Indeed, he rarely shows remorse when people die, but on the other hand they’ve been, almost without exception, irredeemable assholes. And hey, it’s not like he didn’t try.
He’s not completely devoid of compassion, however - he is shown to sympathize with regards to the suffering that made the Mononoke what they are. It is important to note that for the sword to be drawn, it requires that the Medicine Seller first empathize with the Mononoke on at least some level by understanding their motives. Tamaki and Ochou's plights struck a particular chord with him.
He does have a moral compass, even if the needle may point a bit on the grey side. He believes in a person’s right to make their own choices, tempered with a measure of personal responsibility and that no one has the right to control another. He shows affection towards people who are assertive and compassionate and abhors abusers and people who force their will on others - his distaste for some of the other murderers in the series makes that much evident.
Despite his aloof demeanor, the Medicine Seller does have of a sense of humour - though it is rather dry and sarcastic. He takes delight in teasing those who are easily riled (such as Odajima and the detective), or sharing gossip. Sometimes this playfulness serves a purpose, either as a form of gathering information, or in one instance, to draw out a Mononoke. Other times it is merely for the Medicine Seller’s own amusement.
He also seems to have a particular affinity for cats.
Strengths & Weaknesses
Strengths
The Magical:
↠ Spiritually powerful. The Medicine Seller’s style of exorcism seems to be derived from Mikkyo Buddhism’s Sammitsu (a portmanteau of San Himitsu, or Three Secrets). There are also more than a few nods to Taoism and Shinto methods.
Even without the sword of exorcism (and, by proxy, the power of his other self), the Medicine Seller is still capable of creating powerful barriers and holding off Mononoke (though not indefinitely and, if they’re particularly strong, not coming out of it unscathed). His specific abilities shown in the series are such:
↠ Being able to manipulate objects without touching them. The general rule of thumb here is that these objects seem to have to be linked to him somehow such as the ofuda, mirror, scales, his medicine pack, or sword. When he’s moving other objects such as doors or the handle of the Utsurobune, he’s attached his ofuda to them beforehand.
↠The Umibozu arc implies that the Medicine Seller can sense or outright see Ayakashi that others cannot.
↠ The Mirror. The little hand mirror the Medicine Seller wears around his neck can grow to the height of a man and acts as a shield from magical attacks. He also uses it to reveal Ochou’s Form.
↠ The Noppera Bo arc can be read as an elaborate illusion that the Medicine Seller created to draw out Ochou’s truth, form and regret. This is pretty ambiguous because it’s hard to say if he was exerting some kind illusion or if it was the Noppera Bo (implied to be his Other Self) doing it or a combined effort on both their parts or if it was mostly symbolism filtered through Ochou’s warped perception or a mix of all of the above. My own interpretation is that he did craft some manner of illusion, though it was fueled by Ochou’s own desire to escape her terrible situation.
↠ The Sword of Exorcism / The Other Self. When the Medicine Seller acquires a Mononoke’s Truth, Form, and Regret, he is able to unsheathe the sword of exorcism. The Medicine Seller seems to transform into (or be replaced by) another individual that wields the blade.
Nothing is known about the Other Self beyond the fact he is linked to the unsheathing of the blade. Whether the Other Self is the sword, a form or facet of the Medicine Seller, or a separate being entirely is never explained. What is evident is that the Other Self can absolutely decimate Mononoke, having superhuman strength and speed, and seemingly able to defy gravity. This is likely the reason why such specific conditions need to be met before the sword can be released.
The blade, when unsheathed, appears to be made of pure energy rather than metal. It extends, distorts, and bends as necessary, sometimes even acting on its own. Kayo asks in one episode if the sword is alive though the Medicine Seller's only response to this is a vague "I wonder". So so helpful.
For the sake of RP, I generally headcanon the Other Self as a facet of the Medicine Seller (rather than an entirely separate entity), akin to the concept of Nigi-Mitama/Ara-Mitama with kami. That aspect is held in check via the sword and the Mononokes’ Form, Truth, and Regret acts as a key. Once vanquished, the Medicine Seller immediately returns to his normal state.
↠Long life. The Medicine Seller is not human. By the end of the series, he’s been around for at least two - three hundred years, and probably quite a bit longer.
The Mundane:
↠ The bulk of his abilities is shown in his spiritual power, but he’s no slouch physically either. He’s got a quick enough reaction time to stop a body guard charging him, strength enough to force a man to re-sheathe his sword mid draw, kick a grown man over, and he generally moves pretty nimbly. None of his physical acts seem supernaturally powered, however. His strength is above average, but generally what you'd expect of a physically fit man, and his dexterity comes from simple experience. A blade will cut him, and barring his long life span, he’s otherwise vulnerable to physical threats.
↠ Despite the fact that being a medicine seller is more or less a ruse so he can get to where he wants to go without seeming to be a threat, he still seems to know how to do his job. He carries a variety of exotic imports, is shown mixing the ingredients for what was essentially a magical flash grenade, is adept at mixing incense, and offers to mix up a tonic for the newspaper man in the last arc.
↠ Sharp senses. In the first Bakeneko arc, he is shown to have excellent hearing, being able to track the Mononoke’s path by the sound of the scales tipping from a room away. In the Nue arc, he is shown to have a formidable sense of smell, having concocted a strange incense of agar for the competition with only subtle differences between each blend.
↠ Intelligent. The Medicine Seller retains a wealth of knowledge with regards to medicine, supernatural beings (Ayakashi and Mononoke in particular) and many years of experience. He's also good at analyzing a situation and he knows when to ask those rather pointed questions and when to shut up and let people's bickering give him the information he needs.
↠ Pretty. Let's be real, if it weren't for his good looks, he'd probably get the boot more often than not because his personality sure leaves a lot to be desired.
Weaknesses:
↠ Physically vulnerable. If you stab him in the kidney he’s probably going to bleed out unless he gets it looked at. He needs to eat and sleep as well.
↠ Socially inept. He may observe the general social niceties, but this comes across as largely out of necessity. Between his strange mannerisms, his lack of interest in discussing anything but medicine or spirits, and odd habit of punctuating his sentences with long pauses, he really can come off as kind of a creep.
↠ Single minded. Related a bit to his social ineptitude. The Medicine Seller’s goals are centered around Mononoke. It’s difficult to say what motivates his pursuit (or even if it’s one he chose), but he has fixated on eradicating them to the detriment of anything else. What even are friends and a social life?
↠ Finite power. He can’t hold off Mononoke indefinitely, and he grows fatigued like anyone else.
Suggested Nerfs
↠ The OG Nerfs most of which already align with what are, most likely, his canon limitations. Most of his abilities are defensive in nature and don't generally exceed that of well-trained, powerful mages. The only really ostentatious display of offensive power comes with unsheathing the sword, which requires an incredibly specific set of circumstances and even then is meant exclusively for someone possessed by a malignant spirit.
Arrival Inventory
↠ Clothes: Gaudy and bright and incorporating some very feminine elements including a brocade obi and an inordinate amount of jewelry (such as a necklace of what appears to be magatama made from red jade and in the last arc he’s got a pair of earrings and a fancy new ring). He wears brightly coloured blue robes would look out of place on any humble medicine seller, though he states that the reason he dresses the way he does is that people expect a peddler of exotic remedies to look… well, exotic. As for the geta? Well...
↠ Mirror: A circular hand mirror the Medicine Seller wears around his neck like a pendant. It can reveal the true reflection of things and can grow quite large and act as a shield or a means of reflecting hostile elements back. Also great for checking to make sure your make-up is on point.
↠ Ofuda: Paper charms that serve two major purposes - the writing on them appears and changes in form and colour depending on the proximity of a spirit (and turn gold when the sword is released). They also serve as a powerful ward against spirits, able to repel or ensnare them. The Medicine Seller can wield a great number of them - he also attaches them to objects to be able to move them without touching them.
↠ Medicine Pack: A lovely though otherwise seemingly typical pack for a medicine seller. It’s definitely bigger on the inside, given that it houses an inordinate amount of paraphernalia that couldn’t fit otherwise.
It contains:
![[1]](http://i.imgur.com/kJAfFhT.jpg){kind=link}
![[2]](http://i.imgur.com/N4yQzWN.jpg){kind=link}
![[3]](http://i.imgur.com/UeoIIny.png){kind=link}
![[4]](http://i.imgur.com/QTEdvwK.jpg){kind=link}
![[5]](http://i.imgur.com/8NthxCp.jpg){kind=link}
![[6]](http://i.imgur.com/gNP4EJg.jpg){kind=link}
Update: Almost all his original stock has been sold or expired, and replaced by Thedosian medicine. While he uses traditional remedies from Thedas, he's also adapted some ingredients with similar properties to traditional Kampo and his particular style of mysticism.
↠ Scales: A legion of tiny, bird shaped scales kept in the middle drawer. They measure distance, not weight and when a Mononoke is close, they drop bells from their trays and lean in the direction of the Mononoke. They seem to be somewhat sentient, as they are controlled with only small gestures, and the Medicine Seller even remarks they’ve taken a liking to Kayo. When confused, they fall over, much to the Medicine Seller’s chagrin.
↠ Porn: Top two drawers contain kōshokubon ('lewdness books') that depict every conceivable combination of genders and cephalopods. Enjoy. The Medicine Seller certainly does (though he may be embarrassed if you discover his stash).
Update: He's added some copies of the Randy Dowager's Best Picks to his "collection" as well as started a journal detailing his studies of both Thedosian medicine and spirits.
↠ Personal Effects: Likely what the large, middle compartment is for. This could contain food supplies, blankets, spare clothes, and possibly a pair of masks.
↠ Sword of Exorcism: Kept in an elaborate jeweled box and housed in the top compartment, resembling a mix of a tsurugi and a Taoist peach wood sword. It has the head of what is either a shiisa/koma-inu or a hakutaku on the end of the handle. Both creatures are noted for being able to detect and ward off evil. Much more decorative and bejeweled than your average Taoist sword of exorcism, this one is also unique in that it can't be unsheathed until the Medicine Seller has found the Form, Truth, and Regret of the Mononoke. It may also be sentient.
'Human'ization
It’s difficult to say for certain what the Medicine Seller is other than Not Human, considering most humans don’t have big pointy ears, little fangs, and centuries long life-spans. If he ever was, he hasn’t been for a very long time. I prefer to maintain the ambiguity of what the Medicine Seller actually is, but if it absolutely has to come up, I'm going to go with the reigning fan theory that he's a fox spirit of sorts.
His physical form is pretty much indistinguishable from an elf appearance wise (aside from the fangs) so I don't think any drastic changes would need to be made.
Fit
Well, the fact that his literal purpose in life is to slay demons may prove at least a bit useful.
Besides that, the Medicine Seller possesses a unique perspective on supernatural beings, as well as a wealth of knowledge and several lifetimes of experience that could come in handy. The Medicine Seller would take particular interest in the demons/abominations of Thedas and ayakashi/mononoke of his world and the similarities between the two.
He would also be interested in the Blight, Darkspawn, Archdemons and all the trappings thereof and their links to the Fade and spirits. He’d be a bit baffled about Thedosian attitudes toward magic, but would otherwise lack much interest in the politics surrounding it and the mage/templar conflict unless personal involvement would further his own goals.
SAMPLES
OG Samples From A Million Years Ago
TDM TL
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