Yeah, it's a Masquerade, for the most part. They're all just hiding around everywhere. I figured the kappa would be in the lakes and rivers, with some tengu and oni in the mountains. Possibly some other creatures, hiding within cities as well. As for the Dragon King, he's still in the ocean, specifically the Pacific Ocean.
"RPM! Get in Gear!"Maybe they can move between different plains of existence. As for why, most of them generally try to avoid people, so they tend to move away when people get too close. The older ones do anyway, but some of the young, rebellious ones don't mind, or even enjoy human contact, and so only stay in the safe plane a while before getting bored and deciding to return. Of course, moving between planes isn't an exact science, and so they tend to arrive in random places, or clump around spiritual focal points, as in this case. Now all you want is to figure out how to get a sufficiently large focal point in Southern California, or maybe it's occurring all over the world, but the narrator is a Californian himself.
That would be a good plot, too. :)
My idea does also border a bit on Crossover Cosmology; basically, West Coast states like California tend to have yokai and other magical creatures from across the Pacific, while the East Coast states like New York and Boston have mostly European magical creatures, the East Coast being where European settlers started coming into America. Just an idea. :)
"RPM! Get in Gear!"It might be easier for them to hide in places that aren't aware of their traditional rap sheet. For instance, a kitsune running around in California, even if mostly undisguised, would probably just be shrugged off as a furry.
I've returned from the depths to continue politely irritating the good people of Tv Tropes.(◕‿◕✿)Definitely a blend of Narnia Ranger and Takwin's posts. I'm guessing The Masquerade would mostly hold in the central/Southern states with the prevalence of Christianity/Catholicism, while the "migrating with their believers" crowd would congregate around the East/West coasts.
edited 24th Apr '11 3:41:19 PM by Sharysa

I've been toying with the idea of a story with a Fantasy Kitchen Sink, set in the west coast of America. Most of the creatures draw from European/Asian folklore, not really native to America. I've mostly tried justifying this by saying that magical creatures can migrate as well as humans, but does anyone have any other suggestions on how to fit them in an American setting (specifically Southern Californian)?
"RPM! Get in Gear!"