Fanfic / Nihonverse Pocketville

Onmyou-Pocketville (formerly known as Nihonverse/Yamatoverse, also known as Onmyou 『陰陽』 or The Pocketville Onmyou Chronicles) is a High Fantasy Dark Fic web series created by Corgipon and is based on the show Puppy in My Pocket: Adventures in Pocketville.

Like its namesake, it is an Alternate Universe where it takes place in a Jidaigeki-inspired Pocket Kingdom, known as the Eastern Queendom of Onmyou, and its characters reimagined as Youkai. This queendom is one quarter of the continent East Magiterre, with the other three based on other East Asian countries prior to the 20th century.

Pocketville Twilight (now renamed “Fallen Dusk”), a crossover web novel between this series and the cancelled Britsune Garden series that is the first known novel of this series, started in August 2019. Another novel, Lunar Oracle, has started publication in early 2022.

List of arcs

Standalone

• Lunar Oracle
• Pocketville Twilight

This series provides examples of:

• Adaptation Expansion: This is expected for a series quite like this. Extra, fanmade lore created by the author is added to this series, including more landmarks and characters.
• Adaptation Name Change: Many items and places are changed.
  • The Pocket Kingdom is also known as Onmyou (means "yin yang" in Japanese), but the canon name has been retained to show that this is an Alternate Universe of Adventures in Pocketville.
    • Sane goes for Pocketville, which is also known as Onmyou Kyou (roughly means "Capital of the Yin-Yang", as referring to the capital city of Onmyou).
  • The Pocketpedia is called the Shinnui Tome, or the Geshiki no Sho in Japanese.
  • The Friendship Ceremony is known as the Shinnui Ceremony, though it’s also much different from its canon counterpart.
  • The Bear Inn is renamed to Hibachi Suzuki.
  • The Puppy Resort is called the Yuzu Onsen in this series and has changed to resemble a large Japanese public bathhouse, similar to the one from Spirited Away.
  • Pocketville Castle is known as Omori Palace.
  • The Great Peak is called Mt. Shiraboshi.
• Adaptational Nice Guy: Eva in this series is portrayed as a reformed character.
• Alien Blood: All creatures bleed of different colors depending on the color of their mana.
• Allergic to Evil: Miasma, the antagonistic force of the series, is very much tangible, and can even make creatures fall ill.
• Alternate Universe: Unlike many other alternate universes of the show, this series is perhaps one of the most unique. Both the characters and setting have been altered to the author's preference and to make it more appealing to older audiences.
• Anachronic Order: Twilight is released first, but the future arcs, which will take place before Twilight, will get released once the novel is finished.
• Animal Religion: Shin-Onmyou, which is based on Shinbutsu-Shugo (Syncretism of Shinto and Buddhism).
• Anthropomorphic Zig-Zag: Since the characters are shapeshifters, they can take on an anthropomorphic form at will.
• Badass Adorable: Every single Onmyoujin is ridiculously adorable, even the Royal Guards who are not afraid to put up a fight.
• Big Fancy Castle: Omori Palace, as an East Asian-style example. It even includes several towers that span off the hill the palace is situated on.
• Bilingual Bonus: This is expected for a series themed after East Asian countries.
  • "Otherworlder" refers to an outsider that comes from a separate dimension. However, the words for humans and anthros are, respectively, "ningen" and "gijinka" (see Bilingual Bonus).
  • A "whelp" is the umbrella term for a child of any species.
• Cherry Blossoms: The cherry blossom has a huge symbolic meaning to Onmyou, representing their Royal Family and being the national tree of the queendom. Hence why there are the Sakura Throne (analogous to Japan's Chrysanthemum Throne) and the Sakura Crown.
• Darker and Edgier: Essentially Puppy in My Pocket meets Fatal Frame (which Word of God considers a big inspiration) because of its supernatural antagonists, the concept of miasma corrupting beings, common themes of horror, trauma, and occasional violence, and a cataclysm that the focal Ceremony is meant to quell.
• Demonic Possession: Unless one is pure of heart or a very skilled and powerful mage, someone can get possessed if they are in the presence of an evil Youkai. Eva is a major example, as she got possessed by an Onryō prior to what would nearly match the events of the show. Many reasons for getting possessed could be from the result of a Deal with the Devil or by revenge.
• Dragons Up the Yin Yang: The Yin-Yang is a huuuuuge motif in this series, as it's a part of the Onmyou coat of arms, and even the eponymous nation has its Japanese name. Makoto, an azure dragon, is a fairly important character as they are one of the four Wise Sages.
• Expanded Universe: This series has much more lore than the canon material it’s based on.
• Fantasy Counterpart Culture:
  • The Eastern Queendom is analogous to pre-Meiji period Japan.
  • The Northern Queendom is based on ancient China.
  • The Western Queendom is based on Joseon Korea.
  • The Southern Queendom is based on Nguyen-dynastic Vietnam.
• Fantasy Counterpart Religion: Shin-Onmyou is similar to Shinbutsu-Shugo, the combination of Shinto and Buddhism.
• Fix Fic: According to the author, that is. Some canon elements have been changed to go along the theme and events of Nihonverse.
  • The Friendship Ceremony has been changed and renamed to the Shinnui Ceremony, a Fatal Frame-inspired ritual that is still similar to its canon counterpart, but with all attendees having to wear masks (to prevent the Chosen One from having any further “ties” to Onmyou) and staying silent for the Ceremony Master. There is a different song associated with the Shinnui Ceremony, known as the Shinnui no Uta, which is sung by the Shousha (masked kagura musicians similar to the Organs and Handmaidens from Fatal Frame III and IV).
  • The Pocketpedia is renamed to the Royal Tome and takes on the appearance of a large crimson-and-gold book. Its pages are said to be blank when opened manually, but the images of Onmyoujin only show up when activated by the Shinnui Heart.
  • Due to the author not being too keen on Kate being a blonde with blue eyes (pretty much looking like a younger Barbie), Kate in this series is said to have dark brown, almost black hair with brown eyes, and wears glasses. She has also been confirmed to be Japanese-American in this series.
• Hold Your Hippogriffs: The Onmyoujin have their own versions of certain phrases.
• Horse of a Different Color: The Antlered Guild, which is a group of hoofed animals appointed by the royal family who are in charge of taking smaller Onmyoujin around the city on their backs as a form of public transportation, are made up of deer, elk, caribou, antelopes, etc. Only one horse member is included, who is a Palomino pony by the name of Lila, but even she is too small to carry anyone on her back and is simply the "omega" of the group.
• Human Like Animal Aging: The Onmyoujin are said to have the same lifespan and age in a similar manner to humans.
• Humans Are Cthulhu: In this AU, many Onmyoujin are downright afraid of ever encountering a human, even if it's just Kate. Gijinka are another story (since they're used to seeing anthropomorphic animals more), but a select few are suspicious of gijinka Otherworlders.
• Humans by Any Other Name: Called ningen, which actually means "human" in Japanese.
• Improbably Female Cast: Unlike the show it’s based on, Nihonverse's characters include more than 75 percent of female characters. Given how important females are in the queendom, as it is after all a Matriarchy, this is to be expected.
• Lady Land: Onmyou is a predominantly matriarchal society as it's believed that females have more spiritual energy than males. That doesn't mean the males are treated less fair, however.
• Magical Land: Onmyou is a land full of yokai and has a monarchy of its own, plus each and every Onmyoujin is full of mana, the substance where magic comes from. The architecture and society of it is reminiscent of the Edo period and earlier.
• Matriarchy: Onmyou is a matriarchal society, including the Omori dynasty, as the female is usually the head of a family and the monarch is almost always female.
• No Focus on Humans: Justified, as the Onmyou is only home to magical or mythological non-humanoid creatures (with anthropomorphic forms as an exception). Kate is only mentioned throughout the series. Word of God stated that it's because she isn't good at drawing human characters.
• Original Character: More than half the characters are created by the author.
• Pardon My Klingon:
  • Most notably, "porai" the most vulgar swear in Onmyougo, and "sunai", a more mild equivalent,
• Royals Who Actually Do Something: The Nekoyuri family are always willing to do some good in their kingdom. Ava even fought off some yōkai once.
• Sapient Steed: All of the kirin.
• Shapeshifting: All Onmyoujin are capable of shapeshifting, though a select few are too inept to know how to (such as Zull and Gort), and younger ones are still learning it, of course.
• Shout-Out:
  • This series is inspired by the Fatal Frame series, among other series of the Japanese horror genre, as it has seriously dark and sometimes unsettling themes and is also inspired by old Japanese culture, albeit being less grusome.
    • Sakuya, an antagonist of Twilight, is named after the main antagonist of Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse.
    • Not to mention that what would be the events of Adventures in Pocketville takes place in The '80s. The Fatal Frame series also takes place in that decade.
• The series is also inspired by Ōkami because of the Japanese theme and Youkai characters.
• Shrines and Temples: Since this is a Japanese-themed AU, there are several shrines across Onmyou dedicated to original kami.
• Trauma Conga Line:
  • Happens to Ava and Eva’s immediate family. First, their father drowns during a boating trip to Midorikishima when they were kittens, then their mother gradually falls ill with a miasmic illness and eventually becomes bedridden, and finally Eva gets “snatched” by a vengeful spirit.
• Voluntary Shapeshifter: The Onmyoujin can all take on an anthropomorphic form whenever they want.
• Wutai: The Pocket Kingdom in its entirety has transformed into a feudal Japanese fantasy land with some Chinese and Korean inspiration in its western region, and it's the focal point of this series. Not to mention all of its inhabitants are Youkai and other mythological creatures.
• Youkai: Just like much of Corgipon's works, this series features yōkai as characters.
  • The Onymoujin are actually yōkai themselves, rather than simply being Talking Animals who are suspiciously humanoid.

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