Kawaii Rebirth

Game Master BastianQuinn

Opening the Discussion thread...

Neo Jimazan, seat of Erohin, garden of youkai
a grand cosmic order - avenge and ancient wrong - authoritarian, class struggle - privilege, tradition - gender, love

Neo Jimazan is a replica of the kingdom of the heavens carved from a mountain of strange lavender marble with gold veining. It is the seat of power for the spirits from beyond the Veil. Since the Cataclysm, these eerily familiar God figures have dominated the earth, breaking down human social structures and uniting humanity under them as cherished, wayward children. They call themselves the Erohim, and they have reshaped culture in twelve short years. They didn’t like how we characterized them. How we insisted, once, that they would conform to either masculine or feminine ideals which were, admittedly, more fluid than we ourselves cared to admit. Not so now. These days it seems the individual has been completely sublimated into the collective.

Any rights you have are assigned, along with your role and your attendant youkai, without any consideration given to those traits engendered in you. You’re expected to ‘grow into’ your role. These changes have brought about paradise. Discrimination is uprooted. Engineered scarcity is a thing of the past. They provide for us everything our heart desires, but there’s no suppressing human nature. Your role, your uniform, and how you’re expected to act don’t reflect who you are, how you think, or how you wish to be seen. You are terminally ill-suited to the role Gods have asked you to take, and your life-long youkai attendant knows this. Your daily life is plagued by dysphoria, and you can only feel like yourself when you’re in your hideout, among like-minded individuals. In what ways do you all transgress against privilege and tradition?

Recently, there have been… incidents. Youma, horrible monstrosities of Darkness have attacked Jimizan from within. Libraries, shrines, and gardens have also sunk into Darkness, corrupting those who visit them, and bringing about the strife that we thought to leave behind us. The Erohin are unable to protect us from these attacks. A conspirator was captured. A man, of all things, with a heavy, fire-belching weapon of tubes and hoses. You were drawn to the scene to see this man’s clothes, intrigued by his stubborn rejection of the wisdom of the Erohin. While you were there, you each found an oddly shaped, jade trinket, like a claw with a hole drilled through the base.

After some experimentation, you each find that these trinkets allow you access to a place outside of this world where the youkai cannot find you. As you spend more and more time escaping to this peaceful place, you find each other, talk, and become friends. One of you finds that these trinkets also allow you to Transcend.

Each of you chooses one or two (you may overlap)
Royal Heir - Loyal Knight - Hopeful Suitor - Secret Lover - Demanding Mentor - Forgotten Child - Lowly Servant - Enemy Turned Friend - Fledgling Mystic

In what ways do you all transgress against privilege and/or tradition?
How does it feel to Transcend?
What aspect of Transcendence is shared by everyone?
What aspect is personalized?
What are we striving for? What calamity do we fight to prevent? What great change are we destined to bring?
Choose an Obligation

Honestly, I'd like to see what others have to say on these topics. I have a lot of different concepts (effectively one for each playbook). I admittedly have a favorite, but I don't want to take it from anyone, and honestly... they all work.

So gaining more information on how the game will play out from what the others want will help me to fulfill my role as the filler

I will note that my favorite concept(s) directly tie in with the Cheshire Cat that Tenshi made last season. :3

For the most recent, I lean towards 'Forgotten Child'/'Royal Heir' for my favoritist concept. :)

That combination has... implications. Are they intended?

I'm unsure of what implications you mean. :)

If you're suggesting that a certain wonderland themed youkai would abscond with a newborn child, I assure you that that is assuredly not what is happening here. To say that a twelve-year-old would be a good character to play in this sort of setting would be preposterous. And even if that were untrue, the fact that Time was owed a debt of ten years most assuredly would not have any impact upon my character concept or how such a person could be lost.

;)

I'd be cool with it, but I think it's only fair to give Infernal a say as well.

It's been a convenient decade-or-so since the Cataclysm. Even Gods can't conquer a world in a day.

Well, if Izzy doesn't like it, or it steps on their concept, it's a good thing it already totally wasn't happening. :) Like I said, I'm ready to fill in. :)

I thought I knew what was going on, but now with talk of asking me about it, I'm finding myself thrown for a loop.
Could I be brought back up to speed, please? Privately if you think that better suits.
I doubt I'll have an issue, but still - I really need to get my headspace organised, and I think I'm missing certain insinuations.

Shortform for one possibility:

Juno-Moon-Baby, desired by the Shinigami.
Juno makes a deal in this timeline (I think?)
Moonbaby vanishes... along with Cheshire Cat.
Juno was 4 for a decade. -10 years.
Moonbaby would be on the young side, maybe, if so, +10 years.
Time is satisfied.
Cheshire Cat returns with Moonbaby now MoonJuvenile and acts as their Youkai (whether a decade ago, and the moonjuvenile was already a juvenile, thus hiding in plain sight - or - moonjuvenile did grow up here, because the +10 years isn't necessary depending on the age of the other PCs and the dynamic thereof.)
Transformation Trinkets Get.

Now, if actively playing the child of another character from season 1 is problematic, or the child is intended to be a major NPC, or the child is already being used by another player, then there are inherent issues there.

But I also have a ton of ideas, and even just using moonbaby was just a whim to tie it into the previous season. :)

Yeah. No idea why I'd have an issue with this.

Question, actually. Would all of those who Season 1 characters could potentially find themselves linked to end up as Erohim? We have all these godlike figures, but it appears that some of them were more mortal as well. Less gods than ordinary folks with means.

:P Tenshi would find it cute that all those people called themselves Gods... so demeaning and limiting. :P

As a side-note, the homestuck-based verbage I was using was apparently wrong! There's more canonical meanings out now that he released the TRUE ZODIAC test on his page. As it turns out, Heart is inherently a very selfish powerset (as it deals with who you are). Blood is the interpersonal equivalent of Heart.

Paresh and Sakura would have merged with their Erohin because they died. Any of the other mortals you may elect to have survived or died, and if they survived and as long as they weren't someone else's PC you may play them. They would be ten(ish) years older, but probably aren't a part of Jimazan court.

The conspirator who was captured is the cook, Shuji. You can count on the Brotherhood still existing in some form, but I'll need to see how some other things pan out before I give more details on them.

The version of Airi that would be present as an Erohin would not have any memories of the Cataclysm. (Chell would be in a similar situation, but to a lesser extent.)

gonna start throwing stuff out there, see what sticks

I like sbodds way of transgressing, embellishments. though I'm having trouble thinking of good ways to transgress against privilage

I like transendance being thrilling and terrifing, and a little like a rollercoaster on coke. it lets us all have different reactions to it (put 4 people on a coaster, and the'll have 4 pretty different experiences) and, like I said earlier, some cliches are cliche for a reason

gonna leave the details until I have a better idea of hat transcending is, sorry, I know I'm not really picking this up very quickly.

with obligation, I could feel any of the options, so, I'm gonna leave it to the others

and, I'd go for some combination of: Loyal knight, Secret lover, enemy turned friend, fledgling mystic, given the choice, I'll see where others are.

this looks like it's gonna be really fun!

transgressing against privilege could come in the form of charity. In this culture, the have-nots deserve not to have, per the Gods.

Personally, I like Transcendence not necessarily feeling fun.

(assuming Power Rangers was a good touchstone) Transcendence == Morphin' Time.

In the previous season, Transcendence consisted of a stylized ring of light passing over the character, changing their appearance and clothes. All senshi were female except Paresh, and no one ever asked him how he made a male trinket. Transcendence conspicuously had no mechanical effect in that game engine. In this game, you cannot perform magic, nor stand a chance against magic without transcending, and you may only do four things until you revert to mundane form for the rest of the episode.

In this season, Transcendence will be a manifestation of those innate traits your Erohin-given role obscure, so they can be of whatever gender expression you wish to explore.

Three Erohin are missing from court: Life (Ninsar), Death (Legbah), and Magic (Baphomet).

never watched power rangers, but I get transcendance (magical equivalent of jumping in the phone booth)

also, was last season's just danny phantom style change? Am I picturing that right? might be giving away a bit about my age here

Yes, just like Danny Phantom.

FYI: Erohin is Elohim x Heroine. Pronounced like the latter with the H dropped.

...ohhhh, I see a certain playbook I'm interested in...
Muhahaha.

Book me down for Loyal Knight/Fledgeling Mystic for now. For what I'm plotting, I think the latter is definitely what I'm most likely to stick to.

As for how it feels to Transcend, I'd like to go with...exposing. Not freeing, specifically, but exposing. A sort of feeling of nakedness or bareness, with all your concealing layers stripped away.
I feel like that's fitting, all things considered.

well, I guess I'll go with secret Lover/Enemy turned friends... and I haven't seen the playbooks...

also, don't hate Zero's suggestion, RE: transendance

Okay, what title does a loyal fledgling mystic knight hold at court, what are their responsibilities, and most importantly, what makes your character the worst at being one?

Do you have any ideas about your Erohin/Youma? We might have a Nekomata, and it's possible Hotaru's character works under 'Juno'.

Same for Elsine, what title might a Darkness convert and secret participant in the unholy act of 'love' hold at court, and in what ways are you utterly failing at your job?

You might be two people, or you might get spoiler scenes with the agents of Darkness.

Consider who you might serve (what is their domain of influence) and what creature they sent to watch you.

Hmm. Have to think about that.
As I understood, these selections described your character concept/archetype, of which playbooks expand upon. They say things about your character.
Funny thing about stuff like that, though: we're in a society that cares nothing for it and is constantly at odds with it.
In which instance, the fitting thing is to give them any duties but the ones that would suit those selections, no?

I would say at least, transgression via charity is something I'd like to have openings for. That seems fitting too.

Taking a step back, these options are a brainstorming tool. Talk to me about how your character does not fit into this world. How are they expected to fulfill their obligation, in contrast to your teammates?

Your playbook describes how you fit in with the team.

I think you understand that in this game, the two are at odds because the taboo is identity. In most cases they would run parallel.

The mundane world is what wears you down. Your obligation stresses you out. We need to pin down who you were before you broke out, and what you need to face between missions.

Definetly like the feel of Lowly Servant/Hopeful Suitor. If we're in some kind of Royal Court, perhaps I'll be some kind of aid to someone I love. However, due to the system in place, those feelings can't be said.

Need to consider what my Transcendence will be. Should it be representative of the character or can it just be anything?

The Erohim have many, many people to attend their every need. And many have pets, mounts, or holy creatures for which they require attendants as well.
Through a certain turn of events, the mystic knight has found themselves attending the stables of Iskandar...
Which would be all well and good, but there isn't a single creature there that doesn't seem to have an irrational hatred for them. And an uncooperative Erohin beast is a nightmare you would not wish on your worst enemy, let alone that of a conqueror.

Youkai, I'm less certain about... possibly a Spartae, though I'm definitely looking for more interesting ideas.

okay have some ideas, probably a 'love redeems' type deal, or maybe I'll have those two be seperate, just to mix things up. but can I get a clarification on "You might be two people?"

also, I'm trying to think of a position a defector from darkness would hold besides "that outsider we tolerate because kicking them out is throwing them to the wolves"

I'm assuming the "You might be two people" thing refers to the Harmony playbook.
Guess what's going on there?
The playbook are here if you'd like to take a look, by the way. Might be getting ahead of things, but it's good to know where to find them.

@Pixels: What is the courtly title that gets a mortal closest to an Erohin? And what domain did your character fall in love with? (Think God of ____)

@Infernal: I almost forgot Iskandar!

Old-school chivalry, a knight and their squire... a tender in Conquest's yokai garden? Are they called mystic knights? Is that their title in court?

@Elsine: There is a gestalt or fusion playbook. Choosing secret lover puts me in mind of that playbook, and you mentioned you haven't looked at them. In your mundane form they would be two people in a strong relationship. Transcending fuses them into one competent person.

Being good now, but only because you fell in love is a fun position to be in plot-wise. Folks will wonder why they recovered and they can't tell the truth.

If they recovered from the Darkness, where did the Erohin put them? Do they have a title in court? Why does it chafe their instincts to be here now?

@Infernal I just saw [this] in a MTG spoiler. Does this look like a direction you might take? It takes knight a little literally, but it captures the lavender cathedral appeal I wanted. Plus good non-binary references are hard to find.

The weekend is my busy time, so I could not get my summary in before the write-up.

I'm getting a serious Utena vibe from the write-up, with a touch of Madoka from that introduced darkness via the Youkai— or that sinister student council. So if that gets flipped, and we're the sinister student council, trained to lead those who cannot attain the enlightenment of Neo Jimzan, but are close enough to stand in its light, that raises the question of what we're standing against... What influence, what seeks to undermine it?

Just a thought. If you're too full, I'm game for sitting on the sidelines and watching things unfold. Pulling Ao— or his descendant– into that might be fun. Then again, these cold meds might be messing with my interpretation of things.

I think I actually like the idea of Student Council a little more than Royal Court, but at the same time, I think that if I just look at Royal Court as the less-anime equivalent of Student Council, I can carry a lot of themes there, over. I dig it. :)

I'm not gonna be set in stone on chargen until I have an idea of what I'm going to wind up playing, cause I've got so many directions to go for a magical girl. :)

They are petty Gods...

What are the Erohin like in person? Are they 16-year-olds like the senshi of season one? Re-education camp counselors? Aloof perfect ageless immortals?

I said mystic knight thus far simply as that was the initial moniker they got described by. I, at least currently, did not intend the knight part of my role so literally - a statement of their nature, above all else. Fledgeling Mystic was to be more descriptive of their actual capability to act.
Though, that may be assuming a particular playbook I had in mind. These things may end up more flexible depending on which one I actually take.

As for Titles, generally people in such roles are simple Stablehands. But Iskandar places an atypical importance on the creatures he keeps, and similarly so for their upkeep. As such, he tends to refer to those that them as the Pounding Feet, for the almighty terror of a sound these creatures bring when called to bear.
Not that most will ever hear that sound of course...but nonetheless. They are responsible for the advance of Conquest, and that is no role to take lightly.

Assuming this is alright with everyone, anyway. I like the idea that even acting in similar capacities, the weight of a role depends on their Erohin's view of it, and that distinguishments that come as a result. Particularly that certain roles on the behalf of certain Erohin are considered separate roles altogether from their more general versions, that easily identify you as one of theirs.

okay, I'm thinking along the lines of: someone from somewhere the darkness won, broken and made into it's servant.

used as a shock troop in one of the first youma incursions, injured and left for dead when the incursion was pushed back.

Found by a medic, patched up and hidden away. it happened some time in between , we both discovered feelings we hadn't ever really had explained to us.

eventually, we realized keeping a fugitive from the darkness in a basement, on the food allowance of 1 person, wasn't sustainable. she took him before the Elohim, and he lied his ass off until they believed him, and assigned him a job Honestly, thinking probably food service, or library assistant, I would say sales clerk, but I think this is a socialist society... just something suficiently trivial and "bottom of the ladder"

they still meet, hidden from view by the night. his flat is almost unlived-in, hers messier than it should be. hopefully no one pays too much attention to that.

I'm feeling Demanding Mentor/Secret Lover.

The kind of person that is precise and exacting in everything they do, because they have to be. Even more so now that they are in Neo Jimzan and under the scrutiny of their Yokai attendant. Even this love that they've found was attracted to the because of how meticulous they are with their behavior in their assigned role.

Finding the hideaway was a breath of fresh air, a chance to shed the accumulating weight of the role, and Transcending... It was like all the weight they shed was fuel for their fire, like it gave them a better grip on the truth of a world that seemed so fragile in that state.

Ah, Iskandar. The Sportsball Captain. Yes, I could see why having properly maintained equipment and horses and hounds would be absolutely vital to the morale of your team... and the crushing of your opponent's.

:3

I do kind of like the contrast between the Erohin being extremely fickle and facitious in the face of the threat the Darkness poses. Like the day to day tone is one of sportsball and mock debate, and then suddenly a mortal explodes into leeches and while the mortals panic about their impending deaths, Grace is fussing over a new stain on their fringed jacket.

@Memori: What life's work do they look back on now as vapid and meaningless? What title earns them a position of respect among even the Erohin? What privileges are they granted above the other characters?

Who or what do they fall in love with? Are they Elsine's medic?

What life's work do they look back on now as vapid and meaningless? What title earns them a position of respect among even the Erohin? What privileges are they granted above the other characters?

Who or what do they fall in love with? Are they Elsine's medic?

The Life's work that they likely look back on was their goal for themselves before they ended up in Neo Jimzan. While they were casually meticulous, their exacting nature is likely what got them elevated into their current position. Math is too "pure" for their pursuits, but like clockwork, their precision was impeccable, so something detail-oriented, perhaps something in planning. Military is too "structured", and while medical is too easy(?), I can see them having been an emergency (medical)response technician, or supply tech.

Their Title? "(The) Adamant". They despise it, despite the prestige that they gain from it. It originally was "The Implacable", but an absent-minded correction while in the middle of working got it to stick.

Hmm... They could probably serve as Elsine's medic, as they're on the mend, and not requiring surgery. I'm picturing the Love as a mutual attraction, with that quiet intensity that speaks of wariness that if either become a liability, there may a knife in their back from the other the moment they let their guard down. In the realm of these petty beings any weakness might be exploited. A tie with Elsine might be possible with negotiation, or it might be their advisor, perhaps a Bakeneko or Fox Spirit.

I was kinda going for the harmony, liked the concept. no offense memori, just was going for a "Blake and Rose" or "Talion and Celebrimbor" sort of thing, two deeply broken people who together make one almost whole person.

Something interesting: If a love relationship is between PCs, You might have fallen in love in the Mundane world, in uniform, under youkai scrutiny. Meeting again at the hideout? Laying in a circle on the ground and talking about feelings you were never allowed to say out loud? Then Transcendence? That's going to be intense. A lot of "I don't even know you"s for that love to persist through. Plus none of you has any expectations to project onto what it means to be in love. It's just intense, and makes you do stupid stuff. It's the most important thing in the world, but it makes you vulnerable, more so even than transcendance, because now you have your identity, which you ostensibly own, but they also have an identity, and now that reflects on you, but you had no control over it. Their identity is not a part of you, but does it inform your identity? Is who you love part of who you are?

I think ageless-but-teen-looking would make most sense for the Erohin because that's the form the senshi took when they transformed in season one, but what age are each of you playing in the mundane world? Older than 18 or so, and you remember life before the Cataclysm (present day Japan). It sounds like maybe Me'mori might want to play the jaded 20-something who has had to re-learn the new kawaii overlords' culture. However, maybe Jimazan is where the Erohin have taken all the children of the world to make sure they are raised correctly.

Summary/suggestions: <title> of <Erohin>, <misfit quality>, attended to by <youkai>
Infernal: Pounding Feet of Conquest, foe of animals, attended to by a Sewn Soldier.
Elsine: Mended Heart(?) of Promise(?), lives a life of lies, attended to by ???
Me'Mori: The Adamant of Law, huge hypocrite re: love, attended to by ???

You don't have to pin it all down now. I'm just stalling and keeping the hype train moving while giving the other players some time to post. More conversation means we stand a better chance of sparking new ideas, and gaining a collective understanding of this setting.

Interesting.
I was actually looking at the Save Scummer Time Traveller myself, which is where my role picks led to. Fledgeling Mystic for the whole "still working this out" factor, and Loyal Knight because you are bending time itself to save people. I think I have a reasonable interpretation of how they correspond, there. If someone else would fit better, I can look to something else, but since I got the idea I've kind of been wanting to make it happen.
Just a heads up, since we're bringing up playbooks.

Edit: Hell if a name like that doesn't sound awesome, OOC. Pounding Feet of Conquest? Hell yes!
Too bad it's a miserable job.

Scratches out Time Traveler and Harmony concepts, continues watching for more choices.

Still plenty of ideas and a new favorite, this one a reprisal of Tenshi/Sora in the enigma role... Though I'd have to poke around with the DM for the idea. :)

Out of curiosity, what were you thinking of for those playbooks?

Summary/suggestions: <title> of <Erohin>, <misfit quality>, attended to by <youkai>

Me'Mori: The Adamant of Law, huge hypocrite re: love, attended to by ??

BAHAHAHAHA! I love it!

Time Traveler: Moon Baby, spirited away by Chell and Chessa.

Harmony: Chimeric Heroine that fuses with their Yokai... Probably a spider or still Chessa. :)

sorry, I know I'm being dense at this point, but as I think I'm the only non-returning player (besides Sbodd)

I like the title, but why that Elohim? is there a list? not that I particularly disagree, just curious.

as for Yokai, again, is there a list, or am I googling... sorry, you guys just all seem to be on a better page than me.

also, if I choose the Harmony (which looks awesome) should I also do up the medic's title and all that?

sorry, really.

Not really a list. Look through deities and important figures in history (I mean, Iskandar is just Alexander the Great) and pick one you like. Choose a domain to go with them - going by the rules of last season, a domain was a theme which your magic operated in, and can probably be assumed here to be the lens of which an Erohin's power is focused through.

Same for Yokai. Dig through mythological creatures, and pick one, preferably suited to your Erohin from what I gather.

In total...
Yeah, probably want to do some googling.

In Pathfindery terms:

Your boss is [God] of [Domain]. And you are attended by [Magical Beast]. (Magical beast is a very catch-all term as a sylph works, but isn't really a magical beast)

No, it's okay. I'm sorry that you're feeling lost.

You mentioned food service, and my mind went to Bounty, then I thought it might be cool to sneak in Juno here, since she was a focal point of the season 1 plot, so I changed it slightly to Promise, like promising, the promised land, or a promise ring. They are an Erohin of delivering on commitments. It can be literally anything.

For Yokai it can be any mythological creature, not strictly Japanese or asian. We have had a Tengu (in the form of a raven) named Ayatori, a nekomata, a Dvorovoi (named Zeek, the reincarnation of Anastasia's dog as a slavic yard spirit), there was reference to a tanuki in Paresh's second yokai-based trinket, a Bakezori (a sandal spirit) who died almost immediately after being summoned. It can really be anything, but if you're not sure, wait and see what others pick, and that might help inform your choice.

You can go back and detail princess zelda your SO once we're picking playbooks.

Those of you who need to get a lot done in one post, check out the playbooks, linked in the game description up at the top. Pay special attention to the yellow text near the top, any details highlighted in colors other than green, and read through any notes (cells are dog-eared with a black triangle in the corner if they have notes attached.) These notes describe that feature in more detail. Right now, we're detailing how the characters fit into the world before they transformed for the first time. Monday we'll have a pow-wow about the core rules of the game engine, then dive into picking playbooks.

I'm torn, because I don't disagree that loyalty/promise is a good one for the enemy turned friend, but at the same time, I'm kinda drawn to jung/Cambell's "stranger", and a deity that goes with that. looking through mythology for a good examle, I'll get back to you.

and, do yokai symbolize something about your character/what do they symbolize (because I'm pretty sure the answer to the first one is "duh")

also, Erohin is really tripping me up, sorry.

It tripped me up a bunch too..

The Youkai are likely more associated with the Erohin you serve and the tasks you perform during the obligation (AKA keeping up appearances) phase. They're not your friend as a magical girl, but they might be on friendly terms with your character's mundane front.

So, question: the Erohim are explicitly not the Darkness, right? As the mundane world, they may become tainted by it, but they're not (initially) our overarching enemy.

Finding this more challenging than I expected, but right now I'm thinking about a demanding mentor/?.

Basically, in service to the Erohim I'd want, but assigned to exactly the worst possible job under him. The mentee has the exact job I'd want, but is utterly unsuited to it. Not sure yet if it's a Cyrano de Bergerac, or if the mentoring is on something else (how to integrate into the city, as opposed to how to do your job).

Gotta flesh it out more, but that's what I've got for a starting point.