#clan lore.

[usagimen]

    𝐂𝐋𝐀𝐍 𝐊𝐎𝐁𝐀𝐘𝐀𝐒𝐇𝐈: One of the oldest power houses in Kyoto, the illusive women of the Kobayashi bloodline prefer to seek refuge among themselves. In the world of Willow && Flowers, the name invokes that of iron will && power. Girls who align themselves with Okiya Kobayashi are often hailed as famous Geiko who will live a life of abundance, never to know anything more than the servitude that the art requires, they will ask for nothing && desire nothing. For those who are special && can invoke the inherited technique of Miyako Odori, they will prime themselves as candidates for a faction of the estate known as ‘no face women’, beings that are able to take the likelihood of others. In days of yore, the Kobayashi’s pride themselves as problem solvers, the end && beginning, one who would bring harmony when the balance shifts. Assassins by nature, their secrecy is rooted in protecting those they hold dear to their hearts && one another, they emphasize to be one of them is to know the song of sorrow.       The inevitable one must live between deception && truth, that this life they were born into requires all, there is no moderation. Their family crest is that of the towering wisteria tree that has hailed for generations, a sea of lilac that blooms && dissipates, holding in each petal another tragedy marked with heartache while in other cases, death && dishonor. They have lived in three factions, the Era of the Full Moon, The Age of Gold, most recently after Kobayashi Sayuri’s ascension into Godhood - The rule of the Lunar Eclipse. Their ferocity is to move as one, a unit where even the weakest shall show their worth, to love a Kobayashi is to know even in the beyond you shall never be forgotten && remain immortalized in their bountiful gardens.     𝐊𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬: a Matriarchal dominant clan, there are few traits one can tell easily when speaking to such beings. They are petite women with small dainty features, long black hair or auburn easily swept in traditional styles. Gray eyes are common amongst the family; the rare more prized are gold to hazel. It is rumored that many of the women are cursed by yokai blood, leading to their own tragic lives, in candlelight or that of pale moon, one can see such monstrous features. When not garbed in costume or public appearances, they are often seen in colorful yukata that are bold, arrogant, even flashy for the younger generation while the older prefer more subdued looks with luxurious fabrics.    𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡:  The Inumaki Clan, they are particularly fond of the family considering both were known for their lineage of natural born assassins. It is common for the women of the Kobayashi clan to marry into the Inumaki family. Though, on the other hand they have entangled themselves into a generational feud with the Zen’ins. Though arranged marriages are also known to happen in order to smooth political in fighting.   

[usagimen]

here is some kobayashi lore

due to their long standing feud with the zen'in clan, the women of the kobayashi bloodline cannot be near the shadows, it will disarm them or curse their lineage. this is not concrete, many of the sons that are seen are produced from affairs with their rival clan.

boys are considered a rarity; they are not as valued as daughters. by decree, a son cannot become geiko, but they can become an artisan in ceramics, wasai, kimono dressing, hair dressing, all that is important to allow their secretive world to run. becoming a wasai is the highest of honors, like many of the women in the clan, sons are encouraged to wear vibrant colors. the typical haori is intricately woven, lilac && purples are often seen to mimic that of the great wisteria tree.

the kobayashi's are defined as 'flowers waiting to bloom'. their fixture that has managed to live for centuries is their grand wisteria tree. when one enters the estate, they are greeted by a wave of violet. sayuri as a child would hide underneath the petals, most do so to reflect or contemplate, the roots of the true are meant to showcase the life they established throughout centuries.

the wealth of the kobayashi's comes from their cache of kimonos, each woman has their costumes specially stored && guarded. they are presented with a chest uniquely carved for them to store hairpins, jewels, silks, ect. sayuri estimates the amount that has collected cannot be defined. even she has a modest size inventory.

despite all the women representing female yokai, there are only three descendants of hone-onna. Kobayashi Sachiko (ancestor from the Heian Era) Nakamaru Mizuki (Sayuri's biological mother) then, Kobayashi Sayuri. those fated with the bone woman's blood often hide from lanterns or candlelight to shield their features. they are known to harbor a deep tragedy && constantly seek their own fate, each woman is noted to be an outsider of the clan doomed to face their destiny alone. lovers are often marked for death, unable to escape the curse they inflict unknowingly.

[tidedancers-blog]

Cog Frog, Arcane

Cog Frog : Do you have a trouble maker in your Clan?

Haemon is a good case of trouble-maker, considering he often sasses people he shouldn’t and thinks he can take them on despite being this teeny tiny Fae. In a more harmless sense, Armand REALLY likes pranks and people sometimes get mad at him for it -- same goes for Solacis, really, but Armand does it on purpose while Solacis breaks things on accident.

Arcane Sprite : Do you have some sort of nobility in your Clan?

Not quite nobility, but the Elders are the elite members, involved in direct decisions regarding the clan’s fate. They are chosen usually by loyalty to the Matriarch -- for how long they’ve been around, or whether they were from the first group of Tidedancers or not; Akasma takes part of it solely for having been picked by Aqua due to her loyalty -- and while they hold power over the heads of the other clan members, they usually don’t use their power against their fellow Tidedancers.

[tidedancers-blog]

4, 11, and 15!

4. How are disputes within the clan dealt with? Do the dragons hash it out between them? Is there a council or central authority figure that deals with it?

Usually Aqua observes those disputes with stern eyes, so the parties involved know that there might be dire consequences if they take it a step too far – she usually knows it won’t when she takes that route, given her strong foreseeing skills. She does leave the dragons to settle the disputes themselves, as it has been the case before – when Haemon, Caribe and Yuki argued and Akasma interfered herself.

If things get out of hand (serious injuries are inflicted and people that were not involved get hurt, for an example), Aqua interferes as the Matriarch and then calls upon the Elders so things can be settled down. There has been no banishments or executions yet, but the extreme punishment in case of equally extreme violence within the clan are certainly those. The Matriarch herself is not prone to violence, but she knows some of her Elders have firm opinions about treacherous acts and she respects that – there’d be no reason for a council if she did not listen to her Elders and while not a violent dragon, she is known for her cold rationale. 

The clan tends to be peaceful for the most part, however, and there have been few altercations between clan members.

11. How has your clan changed since it started? This can mean when you first joined or in-lore, either way.

A lot has changed. In-lore, many of the initial Tidedancers have joined the Tidelord to honor their deities (even the initial patriarch, Aqua’s mate, Tidebreaker!) and only a select few remained – those who called Elders are those who belong to that group, for the greatest part, though there are exceptions (Akasma, for an example, since she’s proved her value to the clan right after her arrival). 

Out if the lore-y context, I made a huge lair expurge quite a few months back, so a lot of my first dragons went for exaltation or were sold, since I wanted space for newer, shinier genes on my lair – especially since I had plans to make a hatchery, whoops!

15. Do the members of your clan more or less get along with each other? What would cause them to quarrel if so? Why do they if not?

Most of the clan members get along with each other, yes. Haemon is the best known example of a recluse, having gathered some.. animosities against his person, being seen as a dragon of dubious principles, kept around only because Aqua took pity on him – or so the sharp tongues say, since the purposes behind a lot of Aqua’s choices are not always crystal clear to most dragons but are often undisputed since the clan has been quite prosperous so far, even with Haemon’s presence.

There are other dragons known to keep it to themselves, but not out of exclusion – they are loners by nature, often, and don’t care much for socializing. Examples of that are Vitra, Nightfury (with the exception of his mate, Helena), Ambriel and often, Caribe, despite the latter’s affiliation with the Merciless Trio. 

Quarreling would come from insults to one’s value to the clan – which, aha, has been why Haemon has been ostracized. He often values his doings as an alchemist more than that of his fellow clan mates and it angers them with an uncanny frequency. He does bring home some interesting things, however, which is why he has been kept around more as an asset than a fellow clan mate in many of the other dragons’s eyes. 

He honestly doesn’t care. 

[tidedancers-blog]

14! :D

14. When dragons wish to become mates, how does that happen? Is there a ceremony? Do they just mutually agree to it? Is their mate already chosen for them?

Aqua interfers little with how the Tidedancers arrange themselves with mates. The Elders, too, are very indifferent to the process, so there are no protocols to be followed: if you want to be someone’s mate and both of you consent to the relationship, hey, that’s cool! If a particular pair wants a ceremony, the clan will happily oblige, given there are the proper methods to conduct it -- they usually take the birth flight representative(s) of the two dragons concerned and have them conduct a small ceremony where all present clan members must attend. 

(As an example, Onyx and Nigricant have had a ‘platonic’ soulbonding ceremony, where they shared their life breath (life force!) with one another, and made an oath to care for one another until one of them died -- yeah, corny, I know! They did not have their flight representatives back then, however, so they did that themselves -- with Aqua’s loving blessings, since they are one of her oldest companions in the Tidedancing clans.)

There are cases where there is matchmaking -- there are dragons who seek nest mates, in order to have offspring with their genes, or merely because they want to find a nice-looking partner to themselves. That sort of request is usually conducted by Guinevere, the Matchmaker, but sometimes the dragon themselves goes out on a search for their perfect mate. 

Usually, however, there is a mutual agreement and no big fuss about mating rituals. Anything that is not consented by both parties is heavily frowned upon by the Elders, however, and the party that is inflicting distress on the other will be swiftly reprimanded -- usually by Nigricant, the zealous mother figure of the clan who can be VERY scary when disapproving of something, but sometimes Akasma will use her position as the scariest and mightiest dragon of the lair to intimidate any offending parties. That still applies even when the dragon brings another one to the clan for the sole purpose of being their mate; if there is no bond between them and no mutual agreement, such relationship cannot stand and the dragon brought in will be given the choice of staying or going back to their home clan. 

[tidedancers-blog]

Everyone questions how Agana puts up with Haemon, honestly.

[tidedancers-blog]

i think of what  would happen if aqua died/stepped down from her leader position and i try to picture splash trying to mimic her mother and failing and growing more and more frustrated because being her mother’s heiress was all that she ever wanted and now she’s fucking it up. 

she’d need some time to realize she doesn’t have to mimic her mother to be a good leader and that she’d need to find her own ways of leading the clan -- or stepping away from the role of matriarch.

if she stepped away, though, the leadership of the clan would have to be voted by the elders and i’m not sure who exactly would win.

[tidedancers-blog]

Radris and Olenna are the grossest and most lovey-dovey couple of the lair, it’s a fact.

That’s in the words of Akasma and Yuki, of course. Like they can say a thing about “GROSS COUPLES”.