So new story idea. If this was a game.... it would be a visual novel or something cause I can't think of it being a game. Just gonna hammer out some ideas here.
Setting is a bizarro Japan(world for that matter) where everybody's a anthropomorphic folktale creature of some sort. Cause what better way to emphasize social/racial divides? Or I just like fluffy fox ears. Meant to be some sorta noir-esque story involving drugs, with some unintentional parallels to the opium trade in China cause I don't know.
A myriad of races live in bizarro Japan, mostly well known stuff like kitsune, tanuki, kappa and what have yous. The tengu control most of the government and administration. The royal family are dragons. There would be a bit of history where the oni ravaged the land in a number of territorial wars. Stuff.
Story takes place in the port city of uh... Shiokaze(goddamn names). A growing port city due to the arrival of the mysterious faeries. Their arrival brought trade, commerce, culture and... narcotics. Heralding the start of a drug related crime drama of some sort.
Heroine of this story, the kitsune Tamae(totally not related to that other character in a Type-Moon game developed by Marvelous AQL). A courtesan working in a port city. Her father died when she was young, and her mother became addicted to faerie narcotics and she was sold off to a brothel to cover drug-related debts. Why does her kimono have frills you ask? Fairy fashion. Shut up.
The brothel she works in belongs to a syndicate which controls drug trade and prostitution rings. The working girls are often forcefully turned into addicts, ensuring their obedience and further plunging them into debt. The brothels also double as drug dens, so the girls just get dragged into the mess either way.The story essentially entails her turning into an informant after a chance meeting with a Tengu cop.
The tengu cop works is an agent working bizarro Japan's equivalent of the DEA. Charged with investigating the parties involved with fairy drugs, damage control and decapitating leadership when appropriate. Probably some kinda master spy and arsehole extraordinaire. Tengu Bond?
Tengu cop and Tamae scratch each other's backs. Tengu cop gets more info, Tamae climbs up the ranks of a criminal organization and the benefits for both sides increase until things get dangerous. Mixed in, we get in-syndicate fighting, political interference, bribery, sex, drugs, going cold turkey and theft of carriages, rickshaws and other modes of wheeled transportation. And probably a climactic situation where they gotta kill each other.
Bunch of character ideas include -
Tanuki onee-san. An older sister type character who's Tamae's senior in the brothel. Was a rich educated girl but got sold off when her father's trade business collapsed. Kindly and honest to a fault. One of the few literate girls in the brothel and teaches Tamae how to read. Because of her education, she's one of the few girls not addicted so she can better use her head to help run the place. Voiced by Mamiko Noto.
Neko bitch-san. Top courtesan in the brothel. Sorta rival character to Tamae. Nyan nyan motherfucker.
Oni-yojimbo. A grizzled old veteran of some oni-related war who has lost his horns, and thus his honour. The muscle in the brothel. Probably has drinking problems and/or gambling debts. Beats up rowdy customers and takes names. Becomes indebted to Tamae at some point for some reason.
Usagi-mama. Elderly rabbit woman who's the 'mother' of the brothel. Getting on her years in age while being a hopeless drug addict who's constantly off blowing the brothel's earning on visiting... another brothel. Cause handsome male prostitutes. Leaves much of the work to Tanuki onee-san while she's off cougaring. Gets high off the brothel's goods and falsifies account reports to the syndicate. Which will eventually lead to her downfall.
Usagi-lieutenant. A mid boss of the syndicate with higher ambitions. Doesn't think much of the brothel at first, since its just one of a bunch he has to overlook. Tamae eventually catches his eye and impresses him with her toppling of Usagi-mama. He ends up feeling some kinship with Tamae since toppling is also part of his own ambitions. Together they embark on an adventure of toppling and promotions. And probably gets toppled himself cause rabbits are an important part of a fox's diet. Maybe all the important people are fox-prey youkai.
Kitsune-kunoichi. One of Tengu cop's partners in cri- justice. Another rival character for a different stage of the story? Charmer extraordinaire. Extra fluffy tail grants a +10 to sneak. Until it knocks over porcelain.
Mujina-shinshi. A patron of the brothel in search for more... intellectual pleasures. Totally not in it for the lower half of the body. Well connected and loaded. Pretentious poet.
Jorogumo-chan. Seamstress of the kimonos that the girls wear. Eternally 16. Gropes girls with her eight limbs in the name of taking measurements. Not a lesbian(lie).
Dapper Fairy - The front man of the Faerie side of the drug business. Wears a pretty dapper hat and twirls a pretty dapper cane. Fabulous butterfly wings.
Now to hammer out more designs and never accomplish anything with this. And then draw girls in random outfits.