A Year & A Day: Hanayomeningyo
Changeling: the Dreaming
Homebrew Rules
Character Creation Guide Download: Hanayomeningyo.pdf
WARNINGS:
We here at Koyoht Bleu might do some zany things, we might do some dark things. We often explore aspects of the world that are dismally disheartening to say the least. The Hanayomeningyo are perhaps the darkest and most heart-wrenching. As always with such caveats, players beware. These creatures are based on very real circumstances that happened to real people in a very real war. Approach the subject matter with the respect it deserves, and for the sake of the Powers, get approval not only from the storyteller but fellow players. Proceed with caution.
Very respectfully,
– Koyoht Bleu
Quoth the Hanayomeningyo:
“The movies on Saturday? I’m sorry, I am waiting for my husband. He’s coming home that night, and everything has to be perfect.”
Kith Excerpt:
During WWII, some Japanese mothers and sisters, frightened of their soldier, sons, and brothers dying alone, would craft home-made brides for them. These Mascot dolls, or bride dolls, were placed in Imonbukuro – Comfort bags, and sent to the front lines. There is one account of a Soldier requesting two Brides, one for him and one for his plane. Sadly, not every one of these soldiers made it home and their bride-dolls were left husbandless as it were. Yet that raw fear, loss, and regret of war’s horror, coupled with the near tangible love and hope for getting back embed these mascots with the spark of life.
Not unlike their Mannikin cousins among the Inanimae courts, the Bride-Dolls are a Krofted creature, made of wool and silk, wood and paint. Yet they are created to be more radiant and more beautiful than any living creature- a fitting partner for the beloved sons and brothers there on the front lines.
A Hanayomeningyo’s life is one of heart wrenching devotion. From the moment of their awakening, they are devoted to their husbands, regardless of them never even having met that husband, so long gone from the world. Their Chrysalis usually takes years, if not decades, following their creation. One day, they simply wake up, and find themselves excited for the return of their husband. They know his name, his likes, his fears, all of the things a good wife knows. She works and works to create the perfect home for him to return to, and eagerly awaits a day that will never arrive.
Flavor
“I may not be your first date, kiss, or love, but I want to be your last.”
