Application - Tabula Rasa

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Character Information

Character Name: Parsee Mizuhashi
Canon: Touhou Project
Canon Point: Post Subterranean Animism
Journal: bridge_princess
Content Warning: Parsee's life contains references to self-destructive behavior, hints of suicidal depression, ritual sacrifice to become a monster and generally violent behavior. Fair warning.

Character Background:
The Touhou Wiki article of Parsee: https://en.touhouwiki.net/wiki/Parsee_Mizuhashi
Wikipedia article on the basis of her myth: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hashihime & https://en.touhouwiki.net/wiki/Hashihime
General Wiki article on Youkai: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yokai

Parsee Mizuhashi is a Hashihime, otherwise known as a Bridge Princess. These are a form of youkai, a spiritual creature and monster, who were worshiped in ancient Japan. According to the myth of the Hashihime of Uji, a figure upon whom Parsee's story is very loosely based in Touhou, the youkai was once a woman of courtly standing whose husband cheated on her and left her for another woman. When he married the second woman, the first wife flew into a rage and prayed to the Kami of Kifune for guidance in seeking revenge. The spirit of that shrine taught her a ritual to perform while submerging her in the waters of the Uji river by the bridge there for 21 days, dressed in white with her face painted red and carrying candles in iron holders in her teeth and a crown on her head. When she completed the ornate ritual, she transformed into a vengeful spirit of jealousy, wrecking doom upon her lover. Depending on interpretation, as the ritual converts the human into a spiritual creature, it is an intentional act of self-destruction, causing the spirit to rise as a demonic spirit of vengeance after death.

The Hashihime were venerated and worshiped by people as guardians of bridges and spirits who oversaw separations and break-ups, just as the rivers that their bridges spanned separated each side. Jilted lovers and spouses would pray for revenge or divorces, bringing offerings such as scissors to their shrines. In less dark senses, the princess was also venerated as the protector of the bridge and prayed to for safe crossings.

Parsee herself, like almost many youkai of Gensokyo (The Touhou Project Canon), lives within “Old Hell.” It is the former location of Hell beneath the region of Gensokyo and the Human Village therein, before the Yamas departed due to overpopulation. The region is largely populated by youkai and oni (Japanese demons) sealed away from the outside world by the Great Hakurei Barrier, a magical barrier established in order to separate the valley of Gensokyo. This separation was seen as necessary, as the outside world had begun to disbelieve the existence of magic and spirits, a thing that was hazardous both to those spirits and to a lesser extent humanity in interacting with them. Ever since 1885, with the erecting of the barrier, the spirits remained apart from the world in a land of illusions and fantasy resembling feudal Japan with the remnants of the underworld. Her home is the bridge that leads across the waters beneath the human village and into Old Hell, causing her to serve as something of a gatekeeper for entering that place. The date of her arrival is unclear, but given how protective Hashihime usually are of their personal bridges it is unlikely she willingly departed her original bridge until the rise of the Meiji, during whose reign the Barrier is erected.

Character Personality:
Parsee is not a pleasant person. This isn't to say that she isn't capable of being cooperative or helpful in the right circumstances. It is simply a plain reality that she is a deeply unpleasant and difficult person who thinks very little of herself and has few positive impressions about others. She is a spirit of pure jealousy. Marisa postulates in the Symposium of Post Mysticism, where discussions of various spiritual creatures are included, that so long as there is an jealousy in the world she has the sustenance to maintain her power and nature. She draws power from others' jealousy and from her own, and is able to manipulate that feeling of envy in others as part of her magic. As such, the defining quality of her as a person is jealousy.

She can become jealous of a person for any reason. If they are prettier than her (and she believes almost everyone is), she will complain about this. If they are more talented than her (and again, she tends to think so), she will loathe them for that. If somehow they seem about as well off as she appears to be, she'll assume that they're showing better forbearance than her in enduring their circumstances. She's almost prideful about the fact that she can always find a reason to think someone's better off even if the mere presence of envy in the world fuels her and strengthens her, meaning that her misfortunes tend to be self-imposed more than anything else and a source of personal power. She has dwelt for so long alone under the bridge leading into a hell vacated by the dead and the Yama Kings, largely forgotten because of her chosen location and lousy disposition, that it has made her a bitter, jaded woman who is distrustful of strangers and strange situations.

In Subterranean Animism, when she encounters either Reimu or Marisa, she tries to warn them away, and when they don't leave but rather look for ways past her in their self-imposed quest she frequently becomes enraged because they are looking down on her (which several of those who travel with them are indeed looking down their noses at her) and tries to use her powers on them. This leads inevitably to her being soundly defeated, which she treats as just another proof of her existence before letting them past. Of the people who approach her, only Suika Ibuki seems to recognize her, meaning that she is known to oni and is little regarded, the oni's attitude setting Parsee off almost immediately. The Underworld, referred to by another Oni named Yuugi Hoshigama, is a place wherein spirits like her are sealed, a “paradise” for the oni away from human problems, but in the solitude spirits of vengeance like Parsee tend to seethe and bridle at being treated as lowly and forgotten (even if for Parsee herself this is part of the source of her own power). She is prone to resentment when someone seems to ignore her and rarely trusts genuine attempts to show kindness to her, assuming some form of agenda in the other's acts.

Parsee may as well be the living embodiment of the saying that the glass is half-empty for some people. In fact, she might go so far as to say not only is it half empty, but it is not her glass and so she's not even going to drink the half that's there. However, where she tends to look with ire upon those who are trying too hard to be nice to her, viewing it as possibly patronizing her. Instead, simple politeness and respect, basic deference, are seen by Marisa to go very well to having an at least neutral interaction with her. She's capable of being useful, of ignoring her baser nature when her survival is at stake or she has something she wants, and when dealing with people who don't rise to her bait, or try to go out of their way to make her life better, she tends to be at least polite and respectful.

On the surface, however, one may encounter one of two Parsees. If she is in a foul mood, which is frequent, the rougher and more obviously envious personality may be present. However, Marisa and others often note that she can be sweet on the surface while she gauges another person to see if they are prey, or if they are more dangerous than her, in which case she will play carefully around them. More often, however, the sweeter and civil side is not seen unless a person is distantly and politely respectful. The result is that Parsee can appear at times to almost be a walking contradiction. On the one she complains bitterly and loathes most people as being better off than her, especially happy couples. On the other, she revels in her nature, and some of her bitterness is an act, because it is from that she derives meaning, existence and power.

She isn't really known for having friends or close contacts within Gensokyo, being recorded as incapable of having normal human friendships by Marisa. However, Marisa may be exaggerating slightly, as Suika Ibuki appears to know her, and it seems likely that the oni and spirits of Old Hell such as Yuugi Hoshigama are at least aware of her presence even if none of them ever mentions calling her friend. Their interactions aren't exactly a picture of positivity, as previously mentioned, but it does mean she's capable of socializing depending on a person's approach. It's not out of the realm of possibility to get close to her, but doing so would require a person who is naturally very patient in bearing with her self-loathing and constant cynicism. Also, despite her natural cynicism, she appears to be a good gauge of character, which would make a certain amount of sense. Having heard the prayers of people for nearly a millenium at her original bridge, she has heard countless jilted lovers air their grievances about why their relationships have fallen apart, and why they beg for her aid in vengeance or severing their relationships. Rather like a shrink of many years, she's “heard it all.” She tends to react poorly towards happy couples, likely assuming that they will end up just like all the others, like her and wanting to put an end to the relationship before the pain gets worse.

If forced by circumstances, Parsee is capable of something akin to normal socialization. She tends to just be going through the motions, but she is for all of her destructive habits a survivor. She thrives off of jealousy, but yearns not to be alone constantly and ignored. Being completely isolated is a sort of death for her, and so she can 'play along' as necessary and put her worse impulses down enough to be able to work with and spend time around others. It is, however, partially a sham unless someone gets closer to her. While her origins were self-destructive in nature, she displays a sense of self-preservation when dealing with Reimu and Marisa, and a desire for sustenance, hinting that even if she does succumb to old bad habits, she is a self-motivated person who can put her basest impulses aside for the sake of survival.

Character Abilities:
-Youkai Physiology: A youkai, being a monster, is generally stronger than average humans, though not to superhuman levels and is usually depicted as having claws like other monsters. However, these abilities are no more potent than an above average human. She's not a youkai known for her physical prowess.
-The “Manipulation of Jealousy.” This takes the form of a green aura and balls of similar energy and sakura blossoms that she releases from her person, frequently with a pinch of ash. These can increase or lesson jealousy to dangerous levels, potentially leading people to self-destructive behavior. Some of her powers are almost illusions in nature, including creating a short-lived temporary clone as a vessel to get her powers to make contact with other as part of the spell.

But in the most basic sense, her power is simple and straightforward. She can raise or lower a person's envy to extreme levels if she wishes. People who are particularly well balanced or not envious by nature fare better against these attacks, and Marisa notes that alcohol frequently helps (as it's self destructive but gets it out of your system).

Items: The clothes on her back.





Other:
I'm going to take a moment to address what I consider to be the two “Elephants in the room” for Parsee as an applicant to Tabula Rasa: Her Suitability for the game, and Trigger Warnings.

1) Regarding her suitability – Parsee is capable of interacting with others in a surly but more or less normal fashion. Despite her self-destructive tendencies, most of the worst of these are in her past and she has a developed sense of survival that is seen in Subterranean Animism when she is faced by the protagonist. She will not push her powers beyond the point where she will be actively hunted, and prefers to lurk at the fringes of society, sustaining herself while glaring at people cynically from the sidelines, but she will participate readily.

In particular, I chose to apply with Parsee because I see the state of Tabula Rasa as that of a game that craves both positive and negative influences. A world in the midst of creating, not everything that influences it will be entirely healthy. And, additionally, because certain approaches can mitigate Parsee's basest nature, she can be gradually toned down and potentially even helped to be a more positive influence upon the world with the help and aide of someone patient and understanding enough to do so. So, I find the notion of at least a few neutral to negative influences intriguing within the setting along with what are likely to be mostly positive ones.

2) Regarding Trigger Warnings: Parsee is a minefield in terms of trigger warnings. Her self-destructive tendencies can brush close to territory that is disturbing to many players (She is conspicuously drawn in game materials wearing incongruous sleeves that cover only her forearms, which can lead to certain obvious interpretations of self-harm, and the ritual of the Hashihime if one looks into it at all, is likely one that involves the person performing it to die to become the spirit.). I will be certain that content warnings are always present where they are appropriate for any material she posts to the game, and I will be treating self-destructive tendencies that edge too close to heavy depression and her ritual sacrifice as “Opt-In” rather than Opt-Out. If I am not certain that a player is ok with that content, it simply won't be making an appearance. Parsee is a fascinating character, but she's also one that has to be handled as a player with kid gloves sometimes. She's not always a character everyone's going to want near theirs, or who they may only want to interact with on certain levels, and I intend to respect that assiduously.

I will also note that I consider her powers (should they begin working normally on others) to be Opt-In Only, even if they are returned within play to full power or augmented somehow. They can have an intense emotional impact on another character, and so I feel it is necessary to get permission to use them, via private message or post to her permissions, ahead of time.

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Imprint

(I'm sticking to one Imprint because I really like the visual concept of the Bridge of Old Hell and it is intrinsically closely tied to Parsee's story, whereas very few other things are.)

Imprint Type: Scenery
Summary: An old, long bridge over a vast river that seems to lead from nowhere into a populated area.
Full Details:
Parsee's Bridge is the bridge that leads from the entry into the underworld down and into “Old Hell,” where the monsters (youkai) and demons (oni) of Gensokyo lurk, far away from the few humans of the human village in Gensokyo above ground. It is a well maintained, clean and ancient bridge, with a riverbank. Parsee's been known to stay on top of the bridge or lurk underneath living there like a troll on the bridge. There is a small shrine set up on one end of the bridge to her as the princess of the shrine, a spirit approached by jilted lovers, those seeking divorces and people desiring revenge, along occasionally with people wanting protection crossing the bridge. A common offering of incense and a pair of scissors is in the shrine.

In this place, the bridge probably links up closely to whatever populated area there is within the newfound world, leading across a river that goes from nowhere to nowhere. It links the populated with the 'outside world,' even though the outside world does not truly exist. Instead, it is simply the imprint of an entry into a place that is being created, or a place where things have come to be forgotten. Parsee is intensely protective of the ancient, sturdy stone structure because it is “her” bridge, and a bridge princess never quite feels right without a bridge of their own. The bridge distantly resembles a similar bridge in the real world city of Uji, where the most well known story of the Hashihime is born. It is unclear if Parsee herself is the Hashihime of Uji.

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Samples

TDM Samples:
TDM #1 Sample with Joker (24+ tags),
TDM #1 Sample with Billy Kaplan (8+ tags)
TDM #1 Sample with Aerith (7+ tags)