#hanoyu

I'd like to present my Poppy Playtime AU

YoukaiAU

This AU is based on Japanese mythology. Here, Playtime Co. is a massive magical Temple— a gateway between the human world and the spirit world. The toys are yokai. The god Amaterasu is Elliot Ludwig, and the other employees are monks, priests of the temple, and so on.

Below, the history of the AU will be presented↓

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LORE:

Amaterasu (Elliot) once had a daughter named Poppy, created from a fragment of his core and a poppy flower, born from a union with a mortal woman. She served him as a prophet. However, at a young age, Poppy died from a severe illness. Unable to bear the loss, Elliot decided to perform a complex resurrection ritual. He found a cursed child (Oliver/Oriba), half-dead in the mountains, and began the rite. As a result, both Poppy and the “Prototype” received new bodies as demigods.

Elliot later chose not to use this ritual again. But Harley Sawyer and Leith Pierre (japanese names still tentative) wanted to continue using it, for which they were temporarily banished from the temple.

Meanwhile, Oriba-san (Prototype/Oliver) , after receiving his new body, began slowly adapting — and secretly killing, stealing power from the cores of the deceased. Lying half-dead in the mountains, he had believed Amaterasu came to save him and rid him of his innate curse (draining life force from others for his own benefit). Instead, he was used as a “battery” for Poppy’s rebirth, leaving him furious and wishing for the emperor’s death.

One day, he gathered enough strength to “kill” Amaterasu—by absorbing his core. With newfound power, the Prototype escaped to adapt to his abilities and avoid the monks, who could have done anything to him in his vulnerable state.

Following the god’s death, Leith Pierre became the temple’s emperor and, together with Sawyer, initiated the “Era of Red Rebirth” (an analog of the "Bigger Bodies Initiative). During this era, many objects, animals, and humans were turned into artificial yokai—easier to control than natural ones. These yokai were used as the temple’s labor force, lived in poor conditions, and their resentment toward the priests grew.

Poppy, during this time, was the temple’s “princess”—untouched and possessing minor influence, but all decisions were made by Leith. She remained a silent observer of the era.

The Prototype was eventually captured and imprisoned in a special zone, powerless without outside help. Still, he found assistance in the form of Preston (Japanese name pending), whom he would later transform into something resembling a maneki-neko.

Years later, during the temple’s Night Parade (Hyakki Yagyo) , all participating yokai gained true forms and unleashed a massacre. This event was named “The Akai taiyō-sama Hour of Joy” in honor of the Prototype, who became the temple’s new emperor afterward.

Following these events, he sank the temple deep into the earth (it had previously floated in the heavens). He tried to absorb Poppy but couldn’t, so instead drained power from her core and imprisoned her, returning every three years (at minimum) to recharge from her accumulated core energy.

Main Character: An exorcist from an ancient Clan that once served Amaterasu personally. Before the main story, he worked as a wandering monk, exorcising evil spirits and performing various rituals. Besides magical abilities, he possesses physical combat skills and weapon proficiency.

He sees a dream of the Night Parade — very vaguely. Later that same day, he receives a letter from the temple, begging him to “save the Sun”

His arsenal against yokai includes paper talismans, amulets, protective charms, a ritual knife, rice, and more. He most frequently uses magical talismans inscribed with incantations.

And a little about one of the act bosses:

Nemuri-neko (Catnap)

Somewhere deep in the temple gardens, a kitten was born with a suspiciously long tail. For nearly a year, he wouldn’t let anyone near him — except for the Prototype, who immediately caught the kitten’s interest because he sensed a certain “warmth” from him. Before the god’s death, the kitten and the Prototype (who named him “Nemuri”) spent a lot of time together. Even afterward, Oriba-san tried to visit the cat as often as he could.

The Prototype became interested in the kitten because, if it reached a certain age or weight, it could become a bakeneko without needing the Red Rebirth ritual—and he had been thinking about yokai powers as a way to take over the temple. Because of this, the Prototype fiercely protected the kitten from other monks, who might have cut off Nemuri’s tail or killed him. He also genuinely grew attached to the cat, since Nemuri was the first to show him affection — something no one had done before. But one day, some monks found the cat, cut off his tail, and killed him. The Prototype, discovering the body, decided to perform the resurrection ritual on his own—and succeeded. As a result, Nemuri was reborn as a bakeneko with unique traits. After the rebirth and his adjustment to a human-like form, the Prototype sent Nemuri to the Monarchs of the Blessed Smile — the Smiling Critters, in our terms.

The Monarchs of the Blessed Smile are a group of seven yokai (eight, if you count the imposter Catnap) who were worshipped as lesser guardian deities of the temple. Their leader is Dogday (japanese name still pending), an inugami. Their purpose is to maintain faith among the common people and balance the powers of higher deities and monks. After the Akai taiyō-sama Hour of Joy, the only surviving monarch was Dogday — and even he was reduced to half of his former self. The others were either killed by Catnap or other yokai, or sacrificed to the Prototype.

Unlike a regular bakeneko, Nemuri-neko cannot create fireballs. Instead, he can use red smoke to create illusions, induce deep sleep, or simply poison and kill an ordinary human. The same red smoke — used as an additional component in resurrection rituals — allows him to transform between a human-like form and his true form. He can also extend his tail up to five meters in both forms, and his jaws are extremely powerful, allowing him to easily eat small prey or bite through objects.