The Day of Thunder

[Shiba Kumori]

Welp! Great times!

Heroism, romance, friendship, old babysitters…

Lots of fun stuff!

If anyone has any questions, fire away.

[Otomo Akutou]

What inspired this character?

You've always got such good ones (I'm envious, truly)!

[Shiba Kumori]

Inspirations?

Well… she’s heavily influenced by my first character in the game. Jiyo was an Honor 10 self-sacrificing lady who prioritized Duty over Love a whole bunch. I figured that would create an interesting maternal figure and chatted with Birb over the years about the girls.

Each of Shiba’s kids were to have personalities that resembled one of each of the elements. Kumori was the youngest and based off of Water. She grew up idolizing Sora and not getting along with her mother’s rigidity…

Things kinda just grew from there. I pulled in some Japanese folk hero stuff here and there and tried to make a character who was just straight up wrong in the thing she wanted (wanted to be a Thunder and not listen to the rules put in front of her). People here provided great conversations that moved her away from her impetuous side and more towards her family’s heritage.

[Nanzi Ai]

Good times, always an impactful character.

[Shiba Kumori]

Good times, always an impactful character.

Thank you!

I thoroughly enjoyed Ai. Loved how she and Kumori were alike and how they were different. It was a lovely banter back and forth and Ai was a big part of Kumori’s story. Thank you for being so fun to play with as always!

[Jiyo Sora]

DAMNFOOL KID!

Yeah, Kumori's one of the characters who basically made the game for Sora...


FORM QUESTIONS INBOUND!


1. Biggest curveball Kumori threw you?
2. Biggest curveball the game threw you?
3. Favorite moment?
4. Biggest missed opportunity?
5. Any secrets Kumori has that never came up?


Less-formy-

Was there much of a plan with Kumori, or were you just rolling with the punches?

[Nanzi Ai]

Thank you!

I thoroughly enjoyed Ai. Loved how she and Kumori were alike and how they were different. It was a lovely banter back and forth and Ai was a big part of Kumori’s story. Thank you for being so fun to play with as always!

I always enjoy having connections to characters, it makes the game more fun for me, so thanks for playing along.

[Shiba Kumori]

DAMNFOOL KID!

Yeah, Kumori's one of the characters who basically made the game for Sora...


FORM QUESTIONS INBOUND!


1. Biggest curveball Kumori threw you?
2. Biggest curveball the game threw you?
3. Favorite moment?
4. Biggest missed opportunity?
5. Any secrets Kumori has that never came up?


Less-formy-

Was there much of a plan with Kumori, or were you just rolling with the punches?

1. Kumori was so ridiculously successful on all her rolls that my expected downfall never coming was a bit of a curveball. She passed pretty much every roll in the game which gave her some confidence as we went through stuff.

2. Chuchu was nice to invite me to the Transcendent meeting which was lovely. Chouri’s rescue was also a nice curveball. Thought she was a baddie through and through so it was a cool thing to be part of a neat little redemption arc with some other PCs.

3. Had quite a few. Bantering with Ai. Being a dream hero with Nao. Romancing the stone Scorpion. Showing her vulnerability with Sora. Finding the imperial camp through my twin sister. Whole bunch of great stuff with other people too. I’m always grateful for the people who will play with me in these things.

4. Nothing really that’s in my control. I would love to meet and play more with everyone but that doesn’t always work out.

5. She’s pretty straightforward and open… So nothing comes to mind immediately!

I rarely come in with anything that resembles a plan. Had broad strokes of how things could have gone at different points, but I tend to be a seat-of-my-pants type player and was so here too.

[Nozomi]

So, I definitely enjoyed Kumori a lot. At first, Nozomi was not sure how to handle her, but she could absolutely identify with one thing that the girl felt. Twice in Nozomi's life, she was sidelined (As I OOC always knew she would be. It was intentional that she would never enter Jigoku, and I gave her flaws that made it impossible. And being a monk, she would never be a Thunder.). She recognized the yearning desire to do 'something,' 'anything' in the face of the situation that they were faced with. It was a frustration she experienced almost every day of her life.

Especially as Shinsei became more distant, struggled more and more and there was something wrong she couldn't quite put her finger on.

Honestly? She was a great addition. The one of Shiba's kids bold enough to just defy orders and make sure she was there in the thick of the final battle, one way or another. What would you say was your favorite moment?

[Ryoshun Yukara]

How did she feel about Yukara showing up to sing Norikage a lullaby?

Also, I enjoyed her journey a lot - did she feel more at peace with her place in the world by the end?

[Shiba Kumori]

Honestly? She was a great addition. The one of Shiba's kids bold enough to just defy orders and make sure she was there in the thick of the final battle, one way or another. What would you say was your favorite moment?

That’s super kind of you to say. There’s not a small part of me that hopes other people enjoy the things I bring to the game as well and so hearing it helps me immensely.

There are a number of things that compete for my best moment…. I listed some of them above. I also enjoy being able to write out flashbacks for my characters now and then and this game with the dream world stuff let me do that a couple of times. I enjoy the creative writing… it’s often quite soothing for me.

How did she feel about Yukara showing up to sing Norikage a lullaby?

Also, I enjoyed her journey a lot - did she feel more at peace with her place in the world by the end?

The lullaby thing was just a bit awkward. She wasn’t angry or anything… Norikage seemed to have created an awkward situation for himself… and Kumori was fine letting it be for a night.

Yeah, she’s a lot more at peace with herself, her role, her mom, and her reasons for being here. Strong end for a strong young woman.

[Bayushi Norikage]

Norikage tells me Kumori has a nice butt.

When we were discussing our characters before the game I hadn't assumed this outcome was on the table. It was very go with the flow, which makes sense for Kumori's water personality, but also finding a way is a bit part of it. So it made me curious what her thoughts were.

Also, what was your favorite conflict she had? What difficulty was it that really made her perspective change and push her forward as a princess rather than a travelling hero?

[Shiba Kumori]

Yeah... I think it kind of just followed the course of our RP to be honest. The early arguing/apologizing opening up to each other just led to growing feelings over time. If Kumori had any ideas about love/romance/marriage at the beginning it was to join another clan and become a Thunder. I was happy that wasn't the path that she ended up going... and she got to find a more fulfilling form of a relationship (considering her mother tied herself up in knots needlessly over romance stuff too). Norikage got points for a number of things... Similarity to Sora was probably a big one tbh. She already loved someone with similar scars (in a non-romantic way mind you)... and so it made it easier to open up to Norikage with his.

I think the main conflict she brushed up against was her desire to do the most possible good... but not knowing how to be able to do that. She's got the Shiba self-sacrifice gene in her and so she was willing to do anything to help other people. Navigating high-status is not my particular favorite thing to do and so being a wandering ronin was a nice way to come into the game given OOC considerations. I don't really like being in that position and I don't think most other players liked it either. But ultimately her discussions with Kaijarisuiyo, Ai, Nao, and Sora led her to be more willing to use the name she had to help protect people that she saw as being in danger... both the PCs and the villagers whom she had been staying with. Her dreams and the way YJ tempted her also pushed her towards more responsibility as the way for her to accomplish her goals of protecting as many people as possible.

[Kaijarisuigyo]

Who will inherit the throne?

IIRC, in canon, the Shiba don't do primogeniture, instead asking the magical sword for its insight. Which is pretty reasonable if you ask me. Just missing the part about a quest and maybe a lake to make a great story.

Not sure what would be the equivalent of that in Dawn.

[Shiba Kumori]

That’s a GM call I suppose. The eldest, Shiba Tokiwa, has spent the most time with Shiba growing up and has a personality most similar to his. She’s been the heir apparent for a while and is probably the next emperor unless something changes here in the next day or so.

I’m not too sure what is in store for Kumori yet. I think a minor goal will be heading towards a marriage… but still trying to ruminate on a major goal for now. Probably when D8 stuff winds down I’ll try and jiggle my brain a bit and figure out what I want to do.

[Yumi]

And that's enough of that.

I've tolerated a lot of passive aggressive antics on this forum, but the open hostility is beyond the pale.

Enough.

- Canary

[Ryoshun Nao]

I'm going to miss all of the cousins.

Kumori is definitely the cool one.

[Shiba Kumori]

You are more than welcome to come hang out any time you'd like!

I'll have to make sure to take a trip up to see Nao again in the future!

[Shiba Kumori]

Hello everybody who may read this.

I’ve been rather reluctant to participate in any of the post-game discussion for a number of reasons, but largely due to the desire to avoid creating additional stress for the GMs and casting a pall on what I felt was a wonderful game. Seeing that I am a focus of some of the lingering resentment regarding how things unfolded, I find it somewhat necessary to try and explain my experience to the best of my ability so we can greater understand one another. It is my sincere hope that we can create better ways of communicating with one another and more fully enjoy this shared experience.

I’ll preface this with a general apology. There have been instances in the past with players whom I’ve had disagreements with where I have spoken in dismissive or confrontational ways about subjects which I have felt strongly about… I don’t believe I’ve batted anywhere close to 1.000 in those conversations, and I do understand the arguments of the people who I have disagreed with, even if I continue to disagree with their assertions. I don’t believe them to be ‘gross,’ ill-intentioned, or overtly negative people. I apologize for the instances in which I have brought negativity to the table, and express my full-hearted intention to act in a way that does bring positivity and fun to the table in this game and any that I’ll participate in the future.

As far as comments about my behavior in this game… I respectfully disagree with the underlying premise of me being a toxic player and/or the interpretation of certain things that transpired over the course of the game. I do not agree with the characterization of being sexist or making sexist remarks IC or OOC. The instance brought up in my Q&A was meant as a barbed comment attempting to disparage Norikage for his womanizing ability. Exploiting others in a sexual (or any other) way is something Kumori is intrinsically opposed to (I think throughout the game she showed her desire to help protect people even at the cost of her own safety). It was not meant as a legitimate attempt to encourage Norikage to engage in a type of behavior that she would not have approved of. This is particularly true since she had started to develop romantic interest in Norikage after traveling with him for a few weeks on the road to Blue Lotus Village and was very confused about the whole drugging fireworks situation and the effect it was having on people. I hope the context here is somewhat helpful to people who may have been concerned.

I would also respectfully disagree about the interpretation of one of my previous characters and the nature of her duty to the Emperor. I never intended to make a comment about the usefulness of women as creators of babies… or would ever suggest that to be the primary virtue of womanhood. OOC I don’t believe that to be the case in the least. Seeing that she was 10.0 Honor… I was attempting to portray an individual who prioritized Duty consistently over her own needs (to a fault… She’s meant to be an imperfect and faulted character). She attempts to shun love in favor of fulfilling her Duty; whether that be from her children, or her friends, or Shiba himself. She is a scarred person who is trying her best to fill roles that she sees as necessary for the protection of the people she has committed to serve. Bearing the emperor’s children was one of those roles, but she also has done other things (like establish a legal code in the Empire and establish the Imperial Legions) in which she takes some measure of joy in by fulfilling her duties. She was not meant at any point to be defined merely by her ability to give birth. With Kumori, I was trying to express how this flawed person was, in fact, loved by the people around her despite her attempts to separate herself from them emotionally. I apologize for any ambiguity that may have created a belief that I feel differently than I do.

As far as the OOC criticisms go… I would also respectfully disagree with the sentiment that I try to weaponize GMs against other people. I don’t agree with the underlying premise that Canary is a potential weapon to be deployed against people who dislike me. I try to see him in his personhood as much as possible, as I do with the members of this community who dislike me. I was unaware of any comments about my characters that were highlighted in the announcement about sexist remarks until it came up in the announcement. I did not direct anyone to them… I did not ask for any type of punishment… I tend to be rather conflict averse in these situations because I am aware that there will be players who either ignore my characters’ existence or will speak poorly about them in whatever context that presents itself due to the aforementioned disagreements which have engendered resentment towards me. There were times in the past (and the present) where I was hurt by these feelings of lingering resentment and the attempts to ostracize me or push me out of the community. But even so, I don’t feel that asking for players to be reprimanded for not wanting to play with me is in anyway helpful. I don’t engage in that type of behavior and it was not the case that I asked for anything to happen as a result of the comments that were made.

I am grateful for Canary’s willingness to include me into the Dawn-universe in very meaningful ways (at times). I do have a good rapport with Canary both IC and OOC. I tend to be one of the more active players in the game and actively pursue plot points. Canary is aware that there are players who are unwilling to engage with my characters and will often provide means for me to engage with something separate from those players. We also share similar posting schedules. That often leads to me being engrossed in some important aspect of how the game develops. This unfortunately is sometimes interpreted as undue favoritism (I would say that some favoritism-intentional or not- is unavoidable in this medium and happens in each and every game). I can see how it would be interpreted as such, but I feel that Canary tries really hard to create venues for involvement for different parts of the community despite the interpersonal issues that exist.

I think it is sometimes unfortunate, however, that my successes are often linked with a decrease in enjoyment of others. I know I thoroughly enjoy watching others contribute to the setting. I try hard to include anyone who will play with me in anything that I discover. In this game, I was so happy to be able to go with Nao into Chouri’s mind. It was fun to share parts of a backstory with Ai. I was very happy to bring Akutou into the meeting with the Nezumi Transcendents. I enjoyed talking with Sora and Norikage about my findings and were very grateful for their additions. I do try to actively include people into anything that I am able to create in the setting. I also enjoy the contributions of the people who dislike me just as much as anybody else. I have never tried to diminish anyone else’s contributions and believe that most of the best things of the setting have been provided by other players. However, I don’t believe that feeling of respect for our mutual enjoyment is shared at the moment. There tends to be an uptick in criticisms levied at the GMs whenever I am able to engage meaningfully with the plot or share in the same benefits that other people were partaking of. I realize that my past behavior is in part responsible for this unfortunate perception that persists, and there are people who feel quite justified in their dislike for me. I hope that my apologies for my behavior can be a step towards more positive interactions between me and those players who dislike me. I don’t wish to disparage them or make any comments about their character or antagonize anyone in any way. That’s why I try to avoid throwing out names or anything like that… If you dislike me, know that there is a standing apology for any negative communication I’ve participated in. I will probably continue to disagree with people about certain types of communications that get directed towards GMs in these games, but I hope that these disagreements won’t contribute to this kind of zero-sum approach to enjoyment in these shared experiences.

To everyone in the community, it is my sincere desire that some of this tension can dissipate in the near future… I do hope that we can continue to play together and enjoy this setting together in the future. I can’t speak on any of the other issues that exist of which I am not privy… There are a lot of things swirling around always. For my part, I apologize again for anything that has contributed to bad blood and will try and do my best to remain positive and helpful to the community in any way that I can. The stuff above is just my perspective… I don’t claim it to be capital ‘T’ truth. I really do enjoy the positive interactions that happen in this community and hope that more and more of them can prevail in the future. I will try and do my part to make sure that happens.