The big one: Character discussions!

[Asrana]

Various Reiko Stuff to be quoted later.

"Rei, Hotaru, Kotono, same class" - Honestly, I'm mildly against this. Nothing wrong with Kot-chan, but in her presence, Rei and I generally stop our own interaction to put up a seamless united front of caution. Putting us all in the same class would almost make being in the same class with Rei moot, only I'd have less of my back against the wall.

"The fun of Reiko's aodelescent life and the stories Hotaru will try to wring from her" - It could be! Though I wonder just how much she'll share with Hotaru.

"Reiko Taking powers" - Sailor Reiko? This needs to be omakeified, SOON. >_> Or maybe they have a different post for the Queen Mother of Saturn or something. <_<

That's all for now! Mom's cool! *nodnods*

[Anastasia]

"Rei, Hotaru, Kotono, same class" - Honestly, I'm mildly against this. Nothing wrong with Kot-chan, but in her presence, Rei and I generally stop our own interaction to put up a seamless united front of caution. Putting us all in the same class would almost make being in the same class with Rei moot, only I'd have less of my back against the wall.

*Nods*

How about being in the same class with just Rei, or with just Kotono?

"The fun of Reiko's aodelescent life and the stories Hotaru will try to wring from her" - It could be! Though I wonder just how much she'll share with Hotaru.

*Snickers*

How much do you think? How much do you really think, huh, Hot-chan?

"Reiko Taking powers" - Sailor Reiko? This needs to be omakeified, SOON. >_> Or maybe they have a different post for the Queen Mother of Saturn or something. <_<

Sure. This works perfectly with an omake idea I have. Need to just flush it out a wee bit.

[Asrana]

How about being in the same class with just Rei, or with just Kotono?

Just Rei would be great. Just Kochan could become a nightmare, realistically speaking.

Hell, if I went with just Rei, we could make 'we're sisters!' jokes or something!

How much do you think? How much do you really think, huh, Hot-chan?

Honestly? Nothing, at least not until I'm dating, or maybe until she knows she can give up on boys getting me in bed 'because mom did it'. (I'm looking at you, Mako-chan!)

[Anastasia]

Character Entry #20.

Masataka Takayanagi; Uncle Taka.

Source Material(s): Mako-chan's character sheet and general RPing back and forth with Makoto.

General:  Uncle Taka is pretty basic - a martial arts sensei in his rough middle age. Not very refined, very 'manly' and only so-so with feelings. He takes cues from stereotypes - alternating between a stern father figure and a wise teacher.

Taka cares greatly about Makoto, but doesn't show it directly - only when she returned and when she's in her utmost need. Draping his jacket over Mako-chan's shoulders was the epitome of that. Understated yet caring; supportive in his way.

Notes: RPing Taka and Nior in the same scene was oddly hard. I tended to play Taka down somewhat, moreso since Fuuko tended to have an opposite vibrancy to her.

[Bean Bandit]

Hmm...I think Makoto 'gets' Taka at the most basic level. He and Fuuko are everything to her, especially at first, before Makoto connected emotionally with Hotaru, they were her anchors, the ones that kept her able to function in the real world, without just withdrawing.

Taka is the rock. The one Makoto goes to when she feels herself faltering, and needs someone to be there for her. She doesn't know it consciously, but that's what she's looking for in a boyfriend, too. It's why Balder didn't pass muster, but she fell for Mamoru.

(Fuuko, along with numerous bad habits, and a blossoming sexual precociousness, gives her someone to boost her spirits, and make her appreciate 'fun' instead of feeling sorry for herself. >_>;)

She understands that he can't be as emotional as might be preferable sometimes, but given the opportunity, he will show he cares in subtle ways...or simple, but direct ones, if she desperately needs it. So, though they might not be tied as firmly...as, Say, Usagi and her father, Makoto loves Taka just as fiercely.

[Ebiris]

Having never met uncle Taka and only hearing stories from Makoto of all her harsh training, Usagi's mental image of the man is somewhat reminiscent of Pai Mei from Kill Bill - ie a sadistic beard stroking martial arts master who takes perverse glee in beating the crap out of innocent Mako-chan.

Just thought I'd throw that out.

[Anastasia]

Hmm...I think Makoto 'gets' Taka at the most basic level. He and Fuuko are everything to her, especially at first, before Makoto connected emotionally with Hotaru, they were her anchors, the ones that kept her able to function in the real world, without just withdrawing.

How does that play now with more friends and outreaches, Mako-chan? Also, Usagi scaaaares me.

---

Character entry # 21

Souichi Tomoe

Source Material(s): SM canon, SM game 1.

General: Ah, old Professor Tomoe - erk, not. That sums up a lot of my mental policy regarding him in Redux. As you probably know, he was a considerable plot player in SM game 1's second half. This lead to him having a very large roll and being active. For SM game 2, I wanted to work with the other half; what if he was achingly normal instead?

At heart, Souichi Tomoe is a normal man. He has always wanted nothing more than to have a peaceful, content family and career. This is how he is when he 'lives the dream'; normal, casual, unfocused. Without any motivation otherwise, he's a very typical if laid back Tokyoian. This related to how he deals with shocks to his status norm. He just rolled with Hotaru being who she is in the end, unlike his wife.

Notes: I wouldn't be surprised if Tomoe 1 and Tomoe 2 daydream about having the other's life during mental free time. Reiko and Souichi really do love each other, as well as understanding that careers are a priority for them as well. As a bit of a nod to his 'other' side, he tends to utterly cut loose when he gets drunk.

[Anastasia]

Character Entry # 22

Chikako Mizuno

Source Material(s): A very small snatch from SM canon, but mostly Ami-chan's sheet and a bit from Hotaru.

General: Aaah, another parent! Chikako isn't too different from the rest - she's been mainly born by interacting with the other PCs and occasionally the other NPCs. She reflects certain aspects of Ami whilst being independant and mature.

Chikako tends to be very 'in the moment' for RPing, much more of a natural flow than anything planned. She has just a hair of Ami's sarcasm and barbs at time, as well asher twitchy disdain for Arty's less mannered behaviors. However, she's also much more of a working woman, albiet less distant than Reiko is to Hotaru.

Notes: Chikako and Reiko knowing each other was a nice idea. It allowed some easy connecting RP in the later midgame. Is also not bisexual. Sorry, Hot-chan. She really loves her work and Ami - she's lucky the two of them have a good, unstated understanding about it. While she doesn't quite fall into the money throwing trap/mindset Reiko does with Hotaru at times, she can sure spend when she feels like it.

[Bean Bandit]

How does that play now with more friends and outreaches, Mako-chan? Also, Usagi scaaaares me.

Essentially the same way, really. The only time things really started to change was when Makoto began crawling out from under the shadow of her parent's deaths, and waking up to how much they care about her, and vice Versa.

The painful hole left by being an orphan, but still remembering your mother and father is still there, only now she's realizing that even if she can't have the love she wants, life can be pretty nice all around anyway.

Edit: Usagi's mental image of Taka might be fun to play with, since Makoto's only intent with describing training is to illustrate how tough and cool Uncle Taka is. >_>;

[Ebiris]

Souichi Tomoe Stuff

I dare to ask what we're all thinking - Does Mr Tomoe like to relax by playing dating sims, and if so will he ever catch that darn Yuki?!

[Anastasia]

Character Entry #23

Queen Serenity.

Source Material(s): SM canon, SM game one, various religious studies, fairy tales, ect. She's a composite of a lot of ruminations on the concept of the Silver Millenium.

General:

It's hard to reckon on where I should start. Queen Serenity was both developed independantly and yet molded  precisely to the game's circumstances. Mmm. Let's start with a simple comparison.

Queen Serenity=~Prince Dei=~Usagi.

Simple enough, right? While the circumstances of each is different, they possess marked similarities. To borrow a phrase from the Dark Tower, each can be called a coming of the White. They give themselves to try to improve the world they live in and defeat it's darknesses. With me so far? Good.

Each tends to be charismatic, larger than life and very humanly flawed. Queen Serenity lead a fairy tale kingdom in near perfect bliss, Prince Dei attempted to unite the fractured, darkened world of Gaia and Usagi nominally leads the Sailor Senshi and planned to inspire the people of Gaia. (Usagi's case is stickier since she's a PC and not in a position to have nearly as much leeway as an NPC. The rough context is the same, however.) Each is a figure a normal person would speak of in reverence and awe, should they know of their tales. Finally, each possesses flaws - Queen Serenity gave her life to stop Metallia and is willing to lead children into battle. Prince Dei had the taint of Metallia living within his soul and succumbed to it. Usagi? I glance at her schoolwork, her grades and so on and nod. Sure, it's not on the same relative scale, but she's also a kid, and her life reflects as such.

Anyway. That said, let's look at the woman in question. We've established a basic, vague stereotype. She's the near heavenly ruler of the Moon Kingdom, a mythical paradise. I had this to work with in the context of the story and plot I wanted to tell. So how do I make her work and how do I make her interesting? Before anything else, I pondered if she was just going to pop up briefly in each Crystal segment's uncloaking or if she'd play more of a direct roll. As I considered the themes of the game and the Gaian situation, she fit perfectly in as a long time, slow burn buildup to aid Usagi.

Let me say that this decision was backed up by how Usagi developed. She complimented Queen Serenity's build flawlessly and made the chosen path for her all the better. But I digress.

But I'm getting ahead of myself again, too. Bleh. Let's back up a few steps. Way back, back in the days of yore! Eb and Merc remember Queen Serenity 1 - more of a defeated, broken spirit than a noble ruler.  I wanted something different for her from the get go. I'd taken a dystopian view of the Lunar Queen, so it was time to take a utopic mold of her. This lead into the above thought patterns as the game's plot progressed in my mind.

Okay, so back on track down. I had that modicum of how I wanted to use her and I had the Gaian plot in place. Let's look at Dei and Jadeite. This is a mirror of much of Gaia itself. Even those that sincerely wish to do good are often swallowed by the lingering hatred of Metallia. So I needed a figure to counter that. Would a conquering Queen work? Not in this context, no. It doesn't fit any of the preestablished molds without more tweaking, and that was the last thing I needed. The only other highly viable option was a very forgiving Queen. A merciful figure, if you will. To be honest, something of a messianic figure. Let me clarify, I really didn't want to turn Queen Serenity into a religious wankoff in RP form. I freely admit that some religious impulses and tendencies did manifest in her, but I tried to make a pont of avoiding anything overt. We all have our feelings on those matters, and I didn't want to poison the pool by overplaying that too strongly.

So this was all the need to make her appear more human, moreso as the Sailor Senshi got to know her. It was at about this point that I realised something - I was thinking of her in the terms of the girls getting to know her, not as just a cameoing 'rawr go get 'em' spirit. I suppose that settled that, didn't it? So I had to develop her as a person, not just an icon. This was going to be very slow going. I had to build up her good side first to get the proper impact for her characterisation, so I sketched up a mini trait sheet for her. Thoughts and ideas, like her speech patterns, regrets over the past, missing bodily things like eating and touching, and so on. This helped quite a bit - it gave her an added depth of humanity with in her. After all, it's hard to view someone as a total saint if they have a large sweet tooth! Even if it didn't have a strong chance to come up until the post game.

That's really what I was aiming for - a human, yet a very good and pure figure, magnified by the fact that she's had countless lifetimes to stir in the Crystal and await Tokyo. I'm pleased that I can say that I feel this worked very well. While she did have a few missteps early on(Mercifully the worst by far was in an omake), I feel Serenity has been rock solid. The PCs tend to react to her very well and seem quite fond of her. Both as a Queen and beginning to see her as a real person, too.

There's a lot more I could blather on about, but I'd rather cut it there. By all means comment for elaboration or more comments.

Notes: This was mentioned once in omake, but her husband's name was Roland. This is admittedly a nod to the Dark Tower series, as well as a subtle bit of comedy if you've read said series. I'm of the opinion that he died sometime in the Silver Millenium, but I prefer to leave this plot point unresolved. She geniunly cares about each of the Sailor Senshi to an extreme - it's why she acted the way she did when she had to choose between Usagi and Makoto's placed. She really didn't want to hurt either one. She has much of Usagi's magical skillset - borrowing from one another seems quite logical from a design perspective.

[Ebiris]

Oooh, where to start? I suppose with Usagi's feelings on the NPC, since that's what I've been doing for most everyone else.

Usagi loves Serenity. Seems simple enough, but it's a complex relationship due to them interacting on so many levels. There's the idea that Serenity saw in her a potential that no one else did, and gave her the chance to realise it, something Usagi is immensely grateful for - there's no doubt that becoming Sailor Moon was the most important event in her life, and despite all the trauma and dangers, Usagi could never go back to the blissfully ignorant carefree girl she was before. Serenity gave her the chance to grow in a way no one else ever could - Ikkuko might point to the moral sketchiness of choosing a 13 year old girl to fight your battles for you, but Usagi has no qualms at all over the choice.

Then Usagi spent a month and a half (the short timescale of this game really boggles the mind at times) with Queen Serenity effectively living in her head. From sharing their dreams to the sure knowledge that Serenity was there, no matter what, I honestly don't know if anyone could ever match that level of closeness to Usagi. Serenity is Usagi's most treasured friend and confidante, and as happy as she is for the woman to be alive again, it's hard not to miss the closeness they shared in that period.

To be honest, the Queen/Senshi relationship is quite effectively eclipsed by the above. Usagi's only as deferential to Serenity as her regal demeanour naturally draws forth. Considering Serenity to be effectively family, Usagi doesn't have much time to stand on ceremony with her, and considers it her place to protect Serenity not just from physical threats, but also more subtle threats - Serenity already gave her life to one Kingdom, and that spurred Usagi's vehement opposition to her becoming ruler of Gaia - she wants Serenity (and her daughter, dammit!) to have a peaceful life without everything hanging on her shoulders. And it's partly a simple selfish desire to not be parted from the woman.

In summary, Serenity represents everything Usagi aspires to - it's her dearest wish to live up to Serenity's example and the faith shown in her. It's a bit sad in a way that becoming Sailor Moon and knowing Serenity pushed Usagi away from her previous dreams of emulating her mother's role in life, but she doesn't love Ikkuko any less, she just wants to realise the potential she now knows she has, and Serenity represents the pinnacle of that.

Usagi's strong ideas about government by and of the people notwithstanding.

I was thinking of her in the terms of the girls getting to know her, not as just a cameoing 'rawr go get 'em' spirit.

Thank you for the mental image of cheerleader Serenity. That's just adorable.

While she did have a few missteps early on(Mercifully the worst by far was in an omake)

I'm curious, can you refresh my memory on this?

[Bean Bandit]

Hmm...

My thoughts on Serenity aren't as detailed as Usagi's unfortunately, no doubt a byproduct of her not being tied as closely through many stages.

Makoto's a bit different from Usagi, but also similar in many ways-But they began to diverge as the Senshi adventures began. To use an illustration that no one will understand, personality wise, Usagi would be Shirou, And Makoto would be Saber.

As her fighting instincts were encouraged, Makoto's own bent on being a hero(ine) was nurtured-and she's all about strength and sacrifice, as it turns out. She's old fashioned. A knight in a short skirt with a bigass sword, or a Samurai-ko.  

Serenity fits into her worldview nicely. A Maternal Queen that she can lean on, but willing to put her life on the line to defend...For an orphan, any emotional relationship she can forge is precious, and this one's no exception. Makoto can treat her normally, but ultimately, when she's made up her mind, Makoto defers to what the Queen wants, confident that Serenity would never betray her principles.

[Ebiris]

Something I forgot to mention, in the What If thread for the last game (which sadly died without being finished) you mentioned the possibility of keeping Queen Serenity around as an NPC, but we all agreed it caused too many problems to be worth it.

It's an interesting to compare the two under that context. There was the concern that Serenity would drive a wedge between Usagi and Ikkuko (What's that, Mom? Can't handle that I'm a magical girl? That's alright, I've got Moon Mom here and she's okay with it!), but with Usagi not being any sort of reincarnated Princess, her existing family relationships are unthreatened despite her immense closeness to Serenity. Plus Ikkuko herself took the Sailor Moon bit a fair deal better here than she did in the last game (let's just hope we never have to find out if a lesbian daughter would freak her out as much as last time).

The worry that Usagi would be overshadowed by Serenity from the last game is also dodged here, although not entirely - Usagi has no pretensions of becoming Queen of anything, far less rebuilding the Moon Kingdom, so there's no need to worry about Serenity stepping on her toes. But she does eclipse Usagi as a leader/figurehead - not so much with the ex youma to whom she's just a nice lady, but definitely among the senshi. Much as I hate to admit it, Usagi has pretty much failed in being a leader to the other girls, so having Serenity to rally behind keeps us together better than we would without her.

The last point was about Serenity being too big a source of free info if she'd stuck around in the last game - she'd most certainly have dispelled all the mystery of the Space Criminal arc, to say nothing of Zirae. How much that matters here depends on where our future adventures take us - most of her knowledge regarding Jadeite/Gaia was very ancient history, and certainly less detailed than what Jun was able to show us. Time will tell about this point, I suppose.

[Asrana]

Dad stuff

Yeah. Dad's...pretty much been a non-figure, honestly said. While he was supposed to be the 'involved' parent, it eventually came down to a 'smile and nod' relationship most of the time. Taking me out for dinner when I learned to teleport was the final epic moment of 'He's taking this WAY too well...'

Overall though, Dad's nice, and a little nuts hwen he gets drunk, too. Though Hotaru's never seen him directly in such a state. Still. Beer chicken? What the hell?

Chikako stuff

Chikako...I don't know why, maybe it's simply the involvement with Reiko, but she's my second favorite of the parental figures. She seemed relaxed enough to joke with us at least a little, and I'm almost tempted to ask after soemthing random and canon where Hotaru and she run across each other somewhere, just for the hell of it.

Serenity stuff

Serenity...Hotaru has a bit more of a relationship like Makoto's with her. Serenity is the authoritative reason (in Hotaru's mind) for Hotaru to keep going. While her friends provide incentive, Serenity creates the necessary demand on Hotaru to be Saturn. Assigning Hotaru the task of 'whatever is necessary' had its influences too. It made her feel closer to Serenity, more like friends in some ways than simple superiors, and at the same time made her much more aware of her own dark aspects, and to think about them. What COULD be necessary? What was the worst thing she might have to do for Serenity?

For that reason, Hotaru would like to spend an awful lot more time with Serenity than she gets to. She's a queen, a level of experience in control, manipulation, and management that Hotaru just wants to keep on talking to, and also a friend that'll sit down and talk to her. An adult friend at that, and who Hotaru wants to get to know for friendly reasons as much as knowing the mind of the person that's entrusted her with--in Hotaru's perception--carte blanche.