Ryoshu

Araya is the daughter of Ryōshū, who was raised inside the House of Spiders, being the one moment of peace in her mother's life.

Commissioned by the Thumb, Araya was a project aiming to develop a set of humans created through the cloning and replication of Yoshihide, creating younger versions of the woman able to wield the Arayashiki Relic like she was. While it's left unknown if any other clones were produced, Araya remained the sole survivor after the establishment was destroyed by Rien, sent on the procession of a Prescript which involved the deaths of all but Araya. Leaving behind just the girl, Yoshihide discovered the child when she was meant to assassinate somebody there. Immediately, Araya recognized her as her "mommy", remembering photos of the young woman she had been shown. Left without any alternative options, and feeling a connection to the girl, Yoshihide hid her in her backpack, taking her back to the House of Spiders to raise. While she planned for the girl to be a secret, Valencina, who was walked past while the woman returned to her room instantly noticed her. Wasting no time, she reminded Yoshihide that the Nursefathers will be ambivalent towards Araya until they have any reason not to, at which point they will feel no remorse killing her. Understanding this, Yoshihide remained steadfast on the idea of raising the girl. In the web of the spiders, she could only live so much of a normal life, something Yoshihide capitalized on by letting the girl travel to school and learn as much as she could of the outside world. A particular piece of ordinary life she became so fond of was her ordinary randoseru, becoming a treasured item to her.

The Pinky is a Finger shrouded in mystery, and many elements of how the Finger operates are still unknown. Members of the Pinky hide amongst the rest of society, infiltrating other Syndicates, including even the other Fingers, and organizations. Their status as a member of the Pinky is kept secret, even to other members of the Pinky unless they have been ordered to gather.[18][19]

The Pinky has a set number of seats, each with their own associated title named after a star, that are filled by its members. When a seat becomes vacant, a new seat holder will take their name and title.[20]

The Pinky and the Ring were engaged in a war against each other in the Outskirts during the events of Library of Ruina.[21]

The Ring is a Finger focused on self-expression and the creation of artwork. The Ring focuses on visual mediums, namely paintings and sculptures. Ring paintings typically depict brutal violence, and Ring sculptures are usually comprised of corpses—and, occasionally, living humans.[14] The Ring manages art galleries across the Backstreets of the City. These galleries occasionally hold art auctions, hosted for high-ranking people, including Wing executives.[15]

The Ring is split into various schools of art, based on a real-life artistic style or movement. The schools of art are competitive, each viewing their own style as the correct method for creating art.[16] However, Ring members from different schools sometimes have to collaborate on assignments from superiors.[17] Civilians under Ring protection are also expected to complete assignments and show proper artistic aptitude, or risk removal of the Ring's protection, and execution if they repeatedly fail.

Recently, an unknown amount of the Pointillist faction of the Ring have split off, and created their own group.

The Middle is a Finger that follows a close familial structure. The Middle is known for delivering "Vengeances" onto any outsiders who commit slights against the Syndicate and its subsidiaries, who are viewed as part of the Middle's "family". Punishments are conducted in accordance to the Book of Vengeance, a multi-title tome that all Middle members carry with them, providing specific instructions on how to commit Vengeances for every possible infraction, no matter how esoteric the sin may seem.[11]

The Middle never forgets, and escaping them is only temporary. Whether it's a minor infraction, or running away from the organization,[12] the Middle will chase down anybody who commits a slight against them until the proper punishment is delivered.

The southern branch of the Middle is currently recovering from a brutal attack, which all branches of the Middle remember and mourn.

The Index is a Finger that follows seemingly-random orders called Prescripts. All members of the Index and people in Index territories are required to follow Prescripts, despite how insane or impossible the assigned tasks may seem. The completion of all Prescripts somehow benefit the Index, and Prescripts seemingly have the power to predict fate.[7] Any who question the intentions and methods of the Prescripts are swiftly silenced.[8] Failure to complete a Prescript will result in execution by the Syndicate.

Prescripts are created by giant underground machines, powered and controlled by the vibrations of the City.[9] The machine transcribes gibberish messages into thread based on the vibrations, which are then translated into proper words by the machine, and woven into proper Prescripts by a Weaver.[9] Completed Prescripts are sent out to Messengers, and delivered to Index members in various ways.[10]

The Thumb is a Finger that imposes a strict, absolute hierarchy over its territories. Thumb members expect anybody they encounter to follow their hierarchy, whether they are associated or not, and impose a varying level of violent punishment on those who defy it. Punishments for infractions differ depending on the rule broken: acts like talking to somebody above your rank can result in body parts being removed;[3] continual infractions result in entire groups being purged, leaving no members alive.[4] Purges can occur for members of the Syndicate and its subsidiaries, but can also be brought onto any group who frequently disrespects the Thumbs's pecking order.[5]

The Thumb’s absolute hierarchical worldview is not reserved for members of the Syndicate and its subsidiaries.[5] All people who interact with the Thumb are expected to follow their rules. This imposing of hierarchy is why the Thumb is ranked as the most intimidating Finger to encounter by Fixers, as any Fixer who accidentally engages with a rank they should not be talking to will be purged.[6]

Together, the Five Fingers control the Backstreets and prevent the Wings and Associations from interfering with those parts of the Districts, and even the Head cannot easily oppose their control over the Backstreets.[2] In order to keep this level of control, the Fingers periodically meet together in a conference known as the “Finger Bow-Bell” to discuss how best to maintain their hold over the Backstreets.[2]

Most of the time, however, the Five Fingers are rivals to each other, and fight over territory and other disputes. As seen with the fall of L Corp., the Fingers are quick to move in and attempt to claim the Nest of a fallen Wing as their own.

Each Finger has a distinct culture, with a harsh set of rules they expect to be followed by any who work with them. Like smaller Syndicates, the Fingers offer protection to residents of the Backstreets at a cost, with the tasks expected of the person seeking protection varying from Finger to Finger. Additionally, other Syndicates can become subsidiaries of a Finger, giving them a powerful connection so long as they provide support to the Finger and follow the orders given to them.

A Singularity is a unique, fantastical technology that a Wing possesses and exploits for power and profit. The details of a Wing's Singularity are a closely guarded secret, but its products (such as L Corp.'s Enkephalin or H Corp.'s Boluses) and side effects (such as T Corp.'s color desaturation) tend to be widespread throughout the District and play a major role in defining its culture.

While Singularities' true abilities are usually incredibly powerful, a Wing must convert them into a marketable product in order to make a profit. Singularities are the primary source of income for the Wings to sustain themselves in the harsh environment of the City, meaning creating new products from the same Singularity is incredibly important. For example, T Corp. makes use of its Singularity for various products, such as the TT2 Protocol (which allows for the control of time in a determined area), and the TT4 Protocol (which instead allows for the synchronization of different individuals' time).

In addition, Wings must be careful during the development process of new Singularities, to prevent information leaks and intellectual theft before a patent is received.[64] It is also common for Wings to make use of multiple Singularities, both by purchasing them from fallen Wings,[65] or through partnering with other existing Wings.

If a Wing collapses, the patents on its Singularity expire and any individual or group who discovers how to utilize the technology may do so. In addition, the technology's status as a Singularity is lost. A number of technologies of the City were previously considered Singularities in the past, such as augmentation tattoos.[66] Singularities, while technological marvels, are not all they're made out to be. In one way or another, every Singularity fundamentally requires human suffering in order to function, and no Wing can claim to have their hands clean of the blood of its citizens.

Syndicates are a type of organization in the City, and can be seen as the unregulated counterpart to Fixer Offices, being comparable to gangs with various goals and methods of operating. In general, the term Syndicate is used to refer to organized groups that aren't tied to the responsibilities and restrictions that come with being a Fixer.

Some Syndicates focus on extorting money from people for protection, while others abduct people, kill for fun and pleasure, or do anything in between. Syndicates mostly operate in the Backstreets, but are not restricted to them. They can be small groups that only exist in one corner of the Backstreets, or large enough to exist in every District in the City.

Syndicates can be hired to do contract jobs, although there is higher risk compared to contracting an Office or Association, as they are not bound to the same regulations Fixers are.[56] Sometimes, Wings will hire Syndicate members for criminal projects that cannot be handled officially.

Syndicates tend to have a culture unique to their group, and a way of living that distinguishes them from other Syndicates. Many Syndicates have a culture focused around replicating family dynamics and consider each other family, with some even referring to each other with familial terms.[57] This can result in Syndicates with a strict focus on respect for those who are higher ranked, or in Syndicates whose members care deeply for each other and protect one another at any cost.

Syndicates are graded through the City's hazard system, measuring their danger level and notability. Syndicates can grow under these aspects and gain power in many ways, with one of them being the practice of raiding and wiping out Fixers' Offices. The larger and more experienced an Office is, the greater the notoriety that is achieved by defeating it.[58]

Above all Syndicates are the Five Fingers, or "the hand of the Backstreets", five Star of the City-level Syndicates, whose power rivals that of the Wings.

In the City, a common path in life for those without better options is that of the Fixer. A Fixer is a sort of handyman, who can be hired for everything from menial tasks to active combat. Fixers are subject to a grading system based on the missions they complete. A Fixer starts at Grade 9 and can be promoted to a higher grade, all the way up to 1; in the case of a Fixer being caught breaking work regulations, they can lose their status and be demoted to a lower grade.

A majority of Fixers congregate in Fixer Offices, small to mid-sized businesses led by and composed of Fixers. Offices process requests dedicated to whomever in their ranks may be best suited. Offices can work independently, or they can be associated with particular Associations of Fixers, which are larger professional organizations with City-wide influence, with particular interests aimed at the Fixers working beneath them.

There are thirteen Associations in the City, each of which manages certain types of requests common to Fixer work, such as the Zwei Association focusing on protection missions, or the Devyat' Association focusing on delivery across the City. Associations control and distribute Fixer tasks, and can take jobs from anywhere within the City, as they have individual branches set up in various Districts. Branches are divided into four groups corresponding to the cardinal directions of the City, and employees are further divided by grade into sections ranging from 1 to 6, with lower number sections corresponding to higher Fixer grades.

Every Association has its own rules, specialties, uniform, and agreements with other factions. The Associations are governed by the Hana Association, which oversees everything related to the Fixer system, including Fixer grades.

In the case of a Grade 1 Fixer demonstrating great renown in any particular field of work, they may be considered beyond the grading system, and receive the title of Color from Hana Association.

Everyday life in the City is defined by a constant struggle to stay afloat. While the people of the Outskirts dream of living in the City, which they see as a safe place from the monsters that plague it, the people of the Backstreets strive to gain the wealth and power to gain access to a Nest, partially due to the influence of the Wings publicizing Nest dwellers' lives as the height of prosperity and comfort,[20] and the people of the Nest struggle daily to keep their place inside it, while being constantly exploited by the Wings.[39]

Regardless of their station, the people of the City are never free, and in order to survive, they typically tie themselves to various forms of organizations, seeking security and belonging in something larger than them.[40] In doing so, they're willing to exploit others beneath them and make use of all the City can offer them, without caring about anyone else's well-being, and often taking pleasure in their suffering.[35]

The people of the Backstreets must typically tie themselves to one of the Five Fingers or their subsidiaries to receive the necessary protection to carry on with their lives, while the people of the Nests depend on the Wings to shelter them. Because of this, Nest dwellers are colloquially known as "feathers". While the high level of security the Nest provides makes it the most ideal place to reside, its daily routine, which is often accompanied by overtime work[35] and the constant fear of losing one's job and place in the Nest,[41] can be stifling and oppressive to many of its citizens, with some recalling becoming listless as if they "lost focus, spacing out and staring into empty places".[42]

The necessity for a connection to a group also means that the people of the City try not to form strong connections between individuals, as personal bonds can become a hindrance in one's abilities in the case of a loved one's death, which proves to be especially dangerous for those involved in Fixer work.

The Backstreets are the areas of a District that lay outside the Wing's domain. The Backstreets are typically slums crowded with buildings, characterized by twisted and irregular roads, although there can be great differences between Districts.

Wings have differing degrees of presence, influence, and benevolence with regards to their Backstreets, although their relationship is ultimately exploitative. Citizens of the Backstreets are motivated to move up the ladder and into the Nests, while citizens of the Nests are motivated to maintain their statuses and preserve a more comfortable life under their Wing's protection. While not as secure as the Nest, residential areas are the safest parts of the Backstreets.[25]

Given how strongly Backstreets denizens wish for a life in the Nest, Wings tend to uphold strict divides between the sectors, including security checkpoints and physical divisions. Security of borders between Nests and Backstreets vary from plasma walls to mere chain fences, but the Wings' power is such that no one in the Backstreets dares to cross over into a Nest without express permission.[7]

As the Backstreets are not under the control and protection of the Wings, and even the Head's power struggles to reach within them,[26] various factions operate freely in their place. The Backstreets are home to the headquarters of both Fixers, a type of mercenary for hire, who typically operate their Offices in the Backstreets, and organizations and gangs called Syndicates. Among Syndicates, the most important are the Five Fingers, the five largest Syndicates of the City which most other Syndicates answer to, and whose power is said to rival that of the Wings.[27]

The Night in the Backstreets is another defining component of Backstreets life, as an 80 minute phenomena taking place from 3:14 to 4:34 AM. During this time period, nearly everything is allowed, as no one is held responsible for their deeds done during this time period.

The Wings of the World are a group of the twenty-six largest, most powerful conglomerates in the City. Each Wing acts as the governing body of a Nest of the City's District, and is commonly referred to with a letter from A to Z, corresponding to the number of the District in their control. Wings generally oversee all facets of living in the Nest of their District, while leaving the residents of the Backstreets to fend for themselves.

A Nest is the urban center of a District, which is under the direct management of its Wing. The citizens and employees of a Wing are commonly referred to as "feathers"; the status of a feather is widely considered one of the best and most secure paths in life,[17] which the people of the Backstreets are often willing to go to great lengths to obtain. To gain access to a Nest, a corresponding Nest migration permit is required,[18] while to be granted temporary passage one must be in possession of a visa unique to the specific Nest.[19] Visas are implied to be relatively common, with corporate employees being provided with work visas that allow them as easy passage; Nest migration permits, on the other hand, are highly sought after, and implied to be expensive enough that even Grade 1 Fixers would struggle to obtain them. During the Smoke War, migration permits were offered as rewards to Fixers participating for K Corp. and I Corp., although by the end of the war the veterans were refused entry to the Nests.[20]

Each Wing has its own cultural style and social structure which are reflected in how it governs its Nest, and the policies that regulate the way of life in the District's Backstreets. The laws of a Wing are called Taboos, and are enforced by specialized Fixers called Taboo hunters that police both the Nest and the Backstreets. While all Wings have Taboos, the enforcement and punishment for breaking them varies.[21]

The Wings are directly ruled over by the Head, which bestows the status on a corporation.

The Head is the leader of the Wings and the central governing body of the City. It is in direct control of A Corp., B Corp., and C Corp., the three Districts at the very center of the City. The Head's identity is completely unknown, although it appears the term refers to a group of people rather than a singular entity;[7] any detail regarding it is a closely guarded secret.

The Head, through A Corp., retains control of the entire City. It is responsible for authorizing Wings, managing patents, and the minting of Ahn, the currency used in the City.[8]

Despite this, it does not typically interfere directly with the affairs of the various Wings in their own Districts; rather, the Head's greatest involvement in the life of the City consists in establishing and enforcing the rules that relate to the overall ethics of the City.

The Head's will shapes the image of the City, as it wields the ability to decide when a part of it no longer fits in the vision, and to chase it outside its confines. Some speculate the Head's decisions in these matters aren't aimed at maintaining order, but rather that the Head wishes to preserve its ideal image of the City, and that for this reason they allow the various Stars of the City to keep existing.[9] This is corroborated by the agents of the Head themselves referring to their work as cultivating the ecology of the City.[10]

To preserve this vision, the Head retains the unique power to assign the highest risk level in the scale of hazards of the City, that of Impuritas Civitatis, or Impurity of the City. The risk level of Impurity signifies a hazard that violates the ethics of the City,[11] and that must be either destroyed or physically expelled from the confines of the City expeditiously.

At a certain point in history, sapient beings that weren't humans were driven out of the City and into the Outskirts, and their existence within the confines of the City was deemed a Taboo. This marked the beginning of the City's "age of humanity"

The City is divided into twenty-six Districts, quite diverse in culture and aesthetics, each of which is governed by a Wing, a corporation that has ascended to claim complete control of said area. All Wings respond to the Head, the supreme governing power of the City. The arrangement of the Districts seems to be static, as there has been no mentioned case of a District expanding into a fallen Wing's territory.

Each District is split into a Nest, a territory directly governed and protected by its Wing, and the Backstreets, expansive spaces of wilderness or slums, largely neglected by the Wings, where the Syndicates of the City run free.

Districts tend to have similarities to their neighbors, and are typically grouped into four sections: the northern, eastern, southern, and western quarters.[4][5] These quarters may be distinguished by commonalities including culture and temperature, such as the same Fixer Associations differing in garb and fighting style across different quarters, or the northern quarter having colder weather.

District 26, while confirmed to exist in current times,[6] is not visible from the map.

The City is a massive urban complex the size of a small country,[1] and has a population of around 7 billion.[2] The City is bordered to the south by the Great Lake, and to the other directions by the Outskirts. Underneath it lie the Ruins.

idioms made up of no more than 4 characters each. However, rather than using the actual meanings of the characters to form compound words or idiomatic phrases, she is forming abbreviations using their literal pronunciation sounds. This is a list of all of the ones Ryōshū uses across the game.

As many of Ryōshū's acronyms are left vague within the text, not all of them can be translated with certainty. Here, "confirmed" refers to SANGRIA that are explicitly translated in-game; "highly likely" to easy solutions anyone could agree upon but go untranslated in-game; "presumption" to reasonable but untranslated solutions that have room for alternative interpretations; and "conjecture" to the best (but shaky) guesses for extremely difficult, low-context SANGRIA.

She speaks primarily in SANGRIA when words get too long or sentences drag on.

Ryoshu primarily speaks in abbreviations, such as speaking the letters aloud.

Ryōshū has been raised by the House of Spiders, an organization made up of high-ranking members of each of the Five Fingers, and her five Nursefathers: the Sottocapo of the Thumb Valencina, the Proxy of the Index Rien, the Great Brother of the Middle Matthias, the Maestro of the Ring Callisto, and the Dihui Star of the Pinky, Shiomi Yoru. Ryōshū's entire life was controlled and shaped by the House, with the Prescripts choosing for her the name Yoshihide, and with the Nursefathers and other members of the Fingers training her in swordplay since her infancy, for the scope of creating a swordsman who could wield the Relic Arayashiki, Ryōshū's ōdachi. Arayashiki had a peculiar power: whenever it was used, it would erase a part of the wielder's memory, and if wielded perfectly, it was able to completely remove anything from existence.

Ryōshū spent her youth working as an assassin at the service of the House, killing at the request of her five Nursefathers, while continuing her training to become a perfect wielder for her sword.

During a mission at a laboratory of the Thumb, Ryōshū found a young child, who had been biologically engineered with the DNA of Ryōshū's Pinky Nursefather and Ryōshū's biological mother, the Dihui Star. The child introduced herself as Araya and began calling Ryōshū her mother and asking to be taken home with her, and Ryōshū decided to do so, raising Araya as her own. In time, as whenever she would use her sword she would lose memories of Araya, Ryōshū couldn't bear to live at the behest of the House of Spiders anymore, and she decided to free herself and Araya from their control. Before making her escape, Ryōshū instructed Araya to hide in a Time Vault, a small safe that made use of the T Corp. Singularity to make it so the flow of time inside was much slower than on the outside.

Ryōshū has an individualistic, free-spirited, and somewhat sadistic personality. She maintains a hostile attitude with most everyone that she speaks to, feeling no obligation to uphold common courtesies like politeness or attentiveness. Even among the Sinners, she is strikingly unfriendly and forthright.

She is one of the least talkative members of the LCB, and does not maintain particularly respectful relationships with her coworkers. She labels herself as someone who dislikes butting in, and tends to scoff at the others for overthinking matters or sentimentality. Often, she sees the others as ignorant for not understanding "true artwork", which, for Ryōshū, typically involves gruesome murder.

When she does speak, she almost always includes a form of SANGRIA ("succinct abbreviation naturally germinates rather immaculate art"), an abbreviation of a sentence or phrase. She considers this to be most efficient, describing not using abbreviations as a waste of time, and growing irked whenever others misunderstand what she's saying. While she doesn't seem to care whether others "accept" her, Ryōshū's frustrations over her abbreviations going mistranslated or untranslated demonstrate that she dislikes being misinterpreted. Most often, Ryōshū speaks up in order to chime in about art or family.

Ryōshū's definition of art is not defined in any specific terms, but primarily takes the form of purposeful and creative violence, which she finds beautiful. Similarly, she has a distaste for crude, senseless violence, and holds a notable disdain for the Ring, despite their position as fellow bloodshed-based artists. Ryōshū also consistently works in the name of her own entertainment, committing actions that could be considered impulsive, or even to the detriment of the LCB, should she find it interesting. On the other hand, she grows frustrated and unhappy when bored. While willing to back down if given the order, Ryōshū loathes being told what to do.

Ryōshū is a woman of average height and build, with straight black hair in a bob cut style and sharp red eyes, which at times can be seen glowing. She wears the dark gray and red LCB coat around her shoulders, secured by a small belt that goes over her right arm. Attached to the coat itself is her ID card. She wears black trousers, and her shirt uniform untucked; she foregoes the tie. She is occasionally depicted with a black glove on her left hand.

Along with this, she typically carries around a sheathed ōdachi on her back, with the words 無我夢中 阿鼻叫喚 支離滅裂 (mugamuchū abikyōkan shirimetsuretsu, "Wading through a dream, the self nowhere to be found. Like the Naraka of Avīci and Raurava. Severed and torn until even the form is undone.") across it. The ōdachi's hilt is golden, and decorated with a butterfly pattern. The end of the sheath is wrapped in a red ribbon. The blade is consistently sheathed, as pointed out during the story.[4] In Mirror Worlds, she typically wields a separate weapon, while noticeably still carrying her ōdachi behind her.