Tales of Xernia [Pokemon Gijinka Game] [Recruitment Thread]

[Vergil Tanner]

Vergil:

Does that work?

Yeah, that works for now!

[indarkestknight]

Alright, so while I've got my charsheet maybe... 85% done, I still need to figure out what FC's to use, and I could definitely use some help with that if anyone would like to offer suggestions.

In all three cases, feel free to offer suggestions if you've seen any Zoroark gijinka/Pikachu gijinka/spider gijinka or jorogumo that you really liked!

I'm fairly happy with my Zoroark FC, Grelle Sutcliffe from Black Butler.



The Jorogumo's FC is one that's nice but I'm not especially attached to.



For the Detective Pikachu, I'm debating between John Constantine or

Spoilers for Moriarty the Patriot

Irene Adler/James Bonde

.



Finally, for anyone wanting to check on the current state of my charsheet, I've left it below, with the caveat that it will probably be especially confusing until I decide on a Pikachu FC, as until I do, the names of the Pikachu persona and the Ditto who mentored my Zoroark are gonna be up in the air.

WIP Zoroark

BELLTRAP

The Jorogumo

Name: Nemo
Age: 28
Species [Type]: Zoroark [Dark]
Gender: Genderfluid
Orientation: Pansexual, Female Preference

Residence: Nemo lives in a Midtown brownstone "inherited" from [Detective Ditto].

Occupation: Delinquent Town's Premier Information Broker [as Jorogumo], Detective [as Graychild]

Appearance: In their true form, Nemo cuts a lithe, lean, androgynous figure, standing at 5'9". Their most noticeable features are a thick mane of luxurious crimson hair, black, pointed, furred ears, and the sharp teeth of a predator. As Nemo rarely appears as themself in front of others, their wardrobe is somewhat limited, but having lived in the impoverished Delinquent Town in their youth, they have a taste for finer attire, typically favoring tailored, high-end clothing, predominantly red and black.

The Jorogumo persona is most frequently seen in the nude, as she conducts business in her bath house, and requires her clients to do likewise. Standing 5'9", she presents a statuesque figure, soft curves, porcelain skin, almond-shaped lavender eyes. For all her loveliness, however, it is hard to ignore the four chitinous limbs that extend from the small of her back, striped golden and the same amethyst as her eyes. When she must garb herself, she is most frequently seen donning silken kimonos, though she will occasionally mix it up and wear a cheongsam instead.

[Appearance of Detective Pikachu Graychild to be added once FC is decided on]

Personality: Nemo fills every moment of every day with something to work on, something to think about, because if they leave even a moment empty, their mind inevitably turns to the lurking fear that they are inadequate as a successor to their mentor, that they are not and never will be enough because they have failed to solve the cold case of what happened to their disappeared mentor.

They do take pride in their work, though, and are the consummate professional in both their personae as information broker and detective.

For all that [Detective Ditto] taught them, they never showed Nemo how to form meaningful connections with anyone but themselves. While their work is satisfying, almost all of their relationships, platonic and sexual, are hollow. Since they were taken in by the detective, not one person has ever met Nemo before meeting one of Nemo's personas first, and the number of people who know the person behind the masks Nemo wears are vanishingly few. Until Nemo learns to form meaningful positive connections, they will never escape the feeling of aching lack of emotional fulfillment that follows them like a childhood sweetheart. In fact, they spend so much time over the past ten years in their personae, they barely know who they are anymore with all the illusions stripped away. Though they would never acknowledge it, a part of them fears there isn't anyone actually there beneath all the illusions.

Nemo is mostly work, little play, but when they do play, they have a bad habit of using their illusory mastery to play bed tricks on people in committed relationships, most often taking the form of a spouse or partner who has been away and showing up a day before they're supposed to return. They take a wicked pleasure in choosing those who have secret desires unfulfilled by their current partners and finally scratching those itches for their partners.

Knowing more and picking up more than anyone else in the room is the safety blanket that Nemo wraps themselves in to protect themselves from the fear of intellectual inadequacy, and when in their personae, their presentation is typically far more assured and confident than they actually are.  Depending on the nature of the person they interact with, how much Nemo picks up about others can be off-putting or comforting.

Nemo has a memory like a steel trap, and while capable of forgiveness, they do not forget.

Nemo is not a morning person. Nemo is grouchy and abrasive in the morning hours, and is even worse if they haven't had their first cup of coffee yet.

Nemo dislikes violence, avoiding it when possible, though they will resort to it if they believe a case necessitates it.

While donning the Jorogumo persona, Nemo gives the impression of a spider resting at the center of a web – laid back, languid, but keenly (sometimes unnervingly) aware. Self-assured, the Jorogumo carries herself with dignity, and will treat others with dignity so long as they treat her with the same. She can be friendly, flirtatious, or coolly professional, depending on what she judges the client will respond most positively to. Rudeness is not met with rudeness, but her attitude may grow colder and her prices may rise accordingly. She is prone to touching strangers in a lingering way with her Ariados legs or her hand as a way of testing their reaction and gauging them upon meeting them for the first time. She does not openly behave differently when interacting with Mistypes or Normies, but what she charges for the information, in terms of currency or favors, is on a sliding scale depending on the client's ability to pay... and Normies are typically more affluent.

Detective Graychild is reserved, and always seems like he has something on his mind. He views the world with suspicious eyes – though in this regard, he is equally suspicious of both Normies and Mistypes, and treats Mistypes the same as he'd treat Normies, even willing to employ and work for them. While the Jorogumo might, at times, be suspected of enjoying herself, Detective Graychild only really seems to be enjoying himself when making progress on a challenging case.

Both the Jorogumo and Detective Graychild give their clients what they pay for: the truth, even if it isn't the truth the client wants them to find when they walk in. The Jorogumo, however, is more likely to... selectively frame the truth in a way she believes will benefit Delinquent Town and the Mistypes.

Inherent Abilities:
• Darkvision
• Psychic Immunity
• Umbrakinesis

Special Abilities:¹
Illusionist: Zoroarks are capable of weaving illusions that ensnare the senses of multiple people, the illusions containing both audiovisual and tactile components. They can cloak the terrain in illusions and make convincing illusions of attacks. These illusions are extremely realistic, enough to fool even cameras and make one believe they're being physically affected, though the illusion does not have any direct physical effect.

However, the illusions are not without limitations. Zoroarks cannot create distinct illusions for different individuals – that is to say, if a Zoroark were to create the illusion of an object in their hand, they could not have one person perceive an orange cube and another person perceive a red ball – the Zoroark would have to choose one object that everyone subject to the illusion would see the same way.

While under the influence of alcohol or other psychotropics or any effect that would inflict the confused status ailment, their ability to weave illusions is affected. The exact effects are inconsistent, but Nemo is much more likely to get details wrong, or for the whole thing to turn out fuzzy around the edges, or missing a third dimension, or for it to simply very obviously be an illusion. As such, Nemo makes a point of abstaining from such substances.
Master of Disguise: Training under [Detective Ditto], Nemo honed their ability to cloak themselves in illusion to a degree beyond that of most Zoroark. As a result, Nemo is particularly talented at disguising themself, either as one of their personae, or as other individuals.

Egg Move: Detect

Strengths: cunning, deductive, flexible, investigative, memorious, observant, quick-thinking, sly, tricky

Weaknesses: bad work/life balance, caffeine addicted, dangerously curious, distrustful, emotionally unfulfilled, inferiority superiority complex, insecure, not a morning person, obsessive, sore loser, subject to mistype prejudice if found out

Likes [Non-Sexual: coffee, games, privacy, puzzles, stories, strays, winning battles of wits
Dislikes [Non-Sexual]: alcohol, cold cases, losing battles of wits, prejudice against mistypes, psychotropics, unsolved mysteries, unsolved puzzles, violence

Ons: bed tricks (and by extension dubcon)
Offs: anal to oral, anal to vaginal, bondage (receiving), fisting, guro, pegging (receiving), scat, snuff, vore, watersports
Player On/Offs

Backstory:

The Mistype that would eventually rename themself Nemo started life in Delinquent Town raised by a single mother. When a fire swept through Delinquent Town, their mother too badly burned to continue conventional work to support them, turning to the using illusions to give clients exactly what they asked for as part of the world's oldest profession.

As soon as they were old enough, the Zorua turned into just another Mistype stereotype, stealing to survive and support their mother, doing better at it than most due to their illusions. They weren't good enough to escape the notice of a certain Detective, however... but the Detective saw a potential in the Zorua, first recruiting them to acts as one of their Irregulars, their eyes and ears on the street, then, eventually, revealing to the Zorua that they were, in fact, not a Pikachu, but a Ditto, and offering to train the Zorua in detective work and to use their illusions to become a master of disguise.

Over the years, the Zorua eventually shed its old name and identity, taking on the name Nemo as they evolved into Zoroark, and assuming the public persona of a Pikachu, Graychild, distant relative to the Detective's Pikachu persona. But despite how much the Ditto taught them, becoming a surrogate parent figure, especially after Nemo's mother finally passed away, the dynamic duo was not without rocky patches, and it only worsened over time. Finally, Nemo stopped accompanying their mentor on the cases they took on, desiring independence, to build a life of their own.

And, on their first solo case since they'd taken on Nemo all those years ago, the Ditto Detective disappeared.

Haunted first by guilt, then by their inability to track down the Detective's fate, Nemo ended up taking over their mentor's detective agency, while also building a new identity as an information broker only known as the Jorogumo in Delinquent Town. The case has been cold for nearly a decade, now, and despite rationally knowing that they should let go and accept it will probably never be solved, they still continue to use their dual occupations to hunt for leads that may have been missed.

¹ 2/3 Illusionist is awfully powerful, would be okay having just 2 even though they was trained by their mentor.

[Kissa]

Alright, so while I've got my charsheet maybe... 85% done, I still need to figure out what FC's to use, and I could definitely use some help with that if anyone would like to offer suggestions.

In all three cases, feel free to offer suggestions if you've seen any Zoroark gijinka/Pikachu gijinka/spider gijinka or jorogumo that you really liked!

I sent you something I found with a quick search. I hope you don't mind that I sent you the links in PM : )

Addition* Do we get a thread for past scenes?

[Vergil Tanner]

Possibly, if there's enough interest in it!

[Amarlo]

So I looked through you O/Os just for the hell of it, and one mistype kept jumping out at me as possibly perfect for you aside from umbreon. I don’t know why but I kept thinking Chandelure. Feel free to tell me I’m wrong of course , but it’s just what kept coming to me.

Going back to this post, I'm starting to see what you mean Sukada. I've honestly slowly fallen in love with Chandelure. I love the colors! They're practically all of my favorites! I'm seriously considering a second character because of it.

[Sukada]

Going back to this post, I'm starting to see what you mean Sukada. I've honestly slowly fallen in love with Chandelure. I love the colors! They're practically all of my favorites! I'm seriously considering a second character because of it.

I’m glad you like it and that I could help! I don’t know why but your profile really stuck out to me as her!

[Amarlo]

I’m glad you like it and that I could help! I don’t know why but your profile really stuck out to me as her!

I think I should be flattered. 

[Amarlo]

Sorry for the double post, but I finished editing this image I think I might be using for Chandelure if the gms will let me claim her too. ^^

[Vergil Tanner]

I see no reason why not!

[RainyHigh]

Is Aegislash still available? I found some favorable drawings/art on the web I'd like to use. But don't want to create a CS if someone already called dibs via PM or what else. :)

[Vergil Tanner]

Aegislash is currently available, yeah!

[RainyHigh]

Sweet! I'll start brainstorming then.

[Vergil Tanner]

Still looking for characters, guys! <3 Get your sheets in when you can! <3

[Kissa]

Is there going to be a big opening scene for chars? Or do people make scenes as they see best?

[Vergil Tanner]

At the moment, we're reckoning the game will be more of a sandbox setting, with a plot happening but not compulsory. So there might be an "Event" of sorts, but people don't HAVE to take part if they don't want to.

[Pink Professional]

Are there any more big players you can tell us about? More about the Queen, or the Generals? Maybe some important nobles? More world building is always interesting.

[Vergil Tanner]

The queen, we've already kinda covered by saying what the public opinion of her is. As far as the generals, the Commander of The Earth is a Pyroar, and is from one of the Duke Houses. She's got a reputation for being a hard woman, and very skilled, though surprisingly not much is known about her personal life. The Noble in charge of the three Generals is the late King's brother, and he's very outspoken about his dislike for the Mistypes, though considering one killed his brother, perhaps that's to be expected. Beyond that, we're kind of leaving it...not vague, per say, there are key players around, but we want to leave space for people to fill in the world with their own ideas and characters and backstories.

[Chaosfox]

Sorry for the delay on my sheets. Things are a bit crazy at the moment. 

[Crensler]

Sorry for the double post, but I finished editing this image I think I might be using for Chandelure if the gms will let me claim her too. ^^

Very pretty :3

[Amarlo]

Very pretty :3

Thank you. ^^ I can't take full credit but I did do some editing too make her fit the part further.

[Pink Professional]

The queen, we've already kinda covered by saying what the public opinion of her is. As far as the generals, the Commander of The Earth is a Pyroar, and is from one of the Duke Houses. She's got a reputation for being a hard woman, and very skilled, though surprisingly not much is known about her personal life. The Noble in charge of the three Generals is the late King's brother, and he's very outspoken about his dislike for the Mistypes, though considering one killed his brother, perhaps that's to be expected. Beyond that, we're kind of leaving it...not vague, per say, there are key players around, but we want to leave space for people to fill in the world with their own ideas and characters and backstories.

I suppose I was just fishing for more hype. Trying to maybe throw some hooks out for people to nibble.

[Vergil Tanner]

I suppose I was just fishing for more hype. Trying to maybe throw some hooks out for people to nibble.

Yes, well, this is a sandbox game with plot happening in the background, not a solely plot-driven story focused game. There are key players, and certainly things going on, but not all of it will be public knowledge. We're giving you the "This is what everybody knows," and certain characters might know more given their relative positions in society. The king was assassinated ten years ago, which led to increased tensions with the Mistypes and certain legal crack-downs, and the announcement and coronation of the Heir is coming up soon. The Queen is preaching tolerance, whilst the late king's brother is much more hardline and is very vocal about his distrust and dislike of Mistypes. Noble circles are abuzz with rumours, because the king's son hasn't appeared in public very much since his father's death, so nobody really knows much about him, or even if he's going to be announced as the heir because of the way they determine the heir; that is, the ceremony where - it's rumoured - Xernias himself chooses the next King. There's intense poverty in Delinquent Town, and despite certain peoples' best efforts, a lot of unrest and discontent bubbling away beneath the surface that threatens to spill over.

This is a sandbox game, so a lot of the hooks will end up being expanded on by the players. We can't exactly spoil the story for you, can we? xD

Maybe your fishing would be more successful if you told us specifically what you're looking for?

[Pink Professional]

Let's go with...religious structure and Mid-Town.

As far as I know, we have exactly one god mentioned in the form of Xerneas. Is his worship the only worship that happens in the kingdom? Is it a state religion? How popular is said religion? Are its practitioners important figures? Does it have any key beliefs or views; especially when it comes to Mistypes? Are there any other religions, especially ones used by Mistypes? Do these potential religions clash at all? Is the 'clash' Ideological, or does it get violent?

I assume the religion is rather important if their god literally comes down from the sky to select a king every generation or so, so I reckon there are lots of ways someone could try and set something up around that idea.

Also, what else can you tell us about Midtown? It is the commercial district of the capital city, and it is connected to Harbour Road; does it see frequent Sea travel? Is it the sort that an outsider or water-type could tie their character too, or purely commercial? Are there any big trading guilds that might oppose the efforts of - say - a self-proclaimed mayor and his attempts at expansion, or a Seamstress' attempts to improve infrastructure?

[Vergil Tanner]

As far as I know, we have exactly one god mentioned in the form of Xerneas. Is his worship the only worship that happens in the kingdom? Is it a state religion? How popular is said religion?

I think "Religion" is too strong a word. You're thinking of it in terms of an organised system, like Catholocism, when that isn't the case. It's much more informal than that. Across this world, the countries tend to venerate the Poke-God that originated their country above the others, but that doesn't mean that they deny the others' very existence or power. For example, Xernia was founded by Xerneas, so the populace tends to - as a majority - venerate Xerneas as their most important deity, but they still recognise Celebi and Arceus and even Yveltal as existing and being powerful in their own right. In terms of Xernia, the worship is kinda loose and informal, centering around the individual and small groups rather than having a strict clergy that directs all worship. The worshippers tend to follow the same basic premise - respect for nature, life over death, etc etc - but it's not an organised Thing. Which Gods people tend to prefer is up to individual preference, though the most popular ones behind Xerneas tend to be Arceus and Zygarde, and strictly speaking less powerful but more nature-aligned deities like Celebi (not necessarily in that order).

There are no specific "Mistype Gods," because Mistypes are only - for lack of a better term - a racial group rather than a unified community, so opinions within that group tend to be very diverse. There might be the occasional person who quietly reveres Yveltal or Giratina or Darkrai, but they understandably keep that pretty bloody quiet if they do! In a way, because Xerneas is a nature deity, some of those that follow his principles and ideals would argue that to confine him to a set of rigid doctrines and a strict hierarchy would be antithetical to the inherent uncontrollability of nature itself.
So to answer that question, the reverence of Xerneas is very important and almost all of the population reveres him in SOME way, but there is no organised, structured organisation that holds the final say on that particular faith or collection of beliefs, though there are undoubtedly minor local groups who have kind of come together and worship as a group. But that's about as far as its gone. And no, it is not an official state religion in that those who don't worship are punished, though the Royal Family do tend to be - or at least portray themselves as - deeply spiritual and devoted to Xerneas.
Also, Xerneas himself doesn't come down to choose the next King, it's a bit more spiritual and indirect than that.

Do these potential religions clash at all? Is the 'clash' Ideological, or does it get violent?

Because of the loose nature and general religious tolerance, no. They do not tend (in Xernia, anyway) to result in violence past a drunken brawl or two here or there.

I assume the religion is rather important if their god literally comes down from the sky to select a king every generation or so, so I reckon there are lots of ways someone could try and set something up around that idea.

The worship is important, but the lack of a centralised church kind of hamstrings any attempt at directed violence. Also, their God doesn't literally come down from the sky to select the next king, it's much more ritualistic, spiritual and indirect than that. There may well be countries out in the world that take religion waaaaaaaaaay more seriously to the point of theocracy, but it isn't Xernia!

Also, what else can you tell us about Midtown? It is the commercial district of the capital city,

Yes and no. Midtown is the center of the city full stop, so most of the businesses and shops tend to sit there in their own little quarter, but Midtown is also the residential hub, where most people who aren't Mistypes, poverty-stricken working class (and it has to get VERY bad for them to end up in DT) or Nobles end up settling.

and it is connected to Harbour Road;

Yes. It connects directly to the Harbour.

does it see frequent Sea travel?

No. Xernia is in a big fuck off raised valley surrounded by mountains; they're nowhere near the sea. They are connected to the crossroads of the main river of the Kingdom, however, which is itself connected to most of the other major cities. There are a couple of lakes nearby, too. The main river does EVENTUALLY get to the sea, but you'd have to follow it for a while before you got there.

Is it the sort that an outsider or water-type could tie their character too, or purely commercial?

Water types probably live near the harbour or along the river, certainly, though the chances of an outsider coming in through the harbour from the sea is nearly impossible because Xernia isn't near the sea.

Are there any big trading guilds that might oppose the efforts of - say - a self-proclaimed mayor and his attempts at expansion, or a Seamstress' attempts to improve infrastructure?

There are some big guilds and associations, yeah, but most of the reputable ones stay out of DT. The main city kinda gave up on Delinquent Town years ago, so most businesses don't want to set up in DT unless they ABSOLUTELY can't avoid it. There are undoubtedly some small businesses and shady operations that don't like extra oversight, of course, and there are certainly some businesses that likely want to see DT fall into ruin, so they might oppose attempts to improve their lot, but most BIIIIIG trade unions are more concerned with profit, and there's not much profit to be had right now in DT for a number of different reasons besides hiring them at exploitatively low wages. That being said, if somebody could think of a way that a business might try to exploit those in DT, that would definitely make an interesting plot-hook for a character to either work for or against.

[Amarlo]

I appreciatepink professional's attempts to find more depth to the setting. I too love urban lore. I actually have a few questions about the aristocracy. But I'm having a hard time braining at the moment. Especially on my phone.


It would be interesting to see a Church exist to add flavor. Something that has deep roots off everything LGBTQ+ for whatever reason. It could be a fun way to make the kingdom feel more inclusive in comparison to the rest of the world.

How does the world generally treat women?