Wherever the Fire Flies (Utaku Itsuka Q&A)

[Utaku Itsuka]

Hi y'all!

Been even spottier than usual this game - and still hoping to get some threads to their end despite the snail's pace.
RL's been a mess lately, and even more so during parts of the game (sadly including the end of D11 and D12).

That said, I had *a lot* of fun with Itsuka, and I'm glad I decided to jump in despite knowing my time would be limited.
As usual, but more so this game, I wish I'd had more time to thread with and develop relationships with others more. But I greatly enjoyed what presence I managed to have, and had a lot of fun, even keeping mostly out of the main plot.

I think many, possibly most, things about Itsuka are more or less on the face or appeared during conversations. But if anyone's curious about something, shoot!

[Hatoful GM]

Always a pleasure to have you! And thank you for contributing an event, too!

For what you did get involved in, did you have a favorite part? Is there anything that you missed getting involved in that you'd like to have?

[Tamori Kanna]

So glad you could spend some time with us to be magical samurai! Always a pleasure!

And thank you for joining the beach-side picnic and hanging out with us there.

What was the full story of Itsuka, and how did she end up on a Crab world?

[Yasuki Taraka]

Could you expand on Itsuka's deal and her past with Taraka? I feel like Rl no Oni kept us from really getting to drill down into that.

[Yoritomo Ochiba]

Thank you for being a powerful and might beach oshidama partner even as real-life-no-oni was set on taking you down (it will not succeed).

I also second the questions on what was going on with Itsuka! Perhaps it's for the best Ochiba never set her sights on trying to fix the slightly more complex issues there (like someone being dead!)

[Utaku Itsuka]

Always a pleasure to have you! And thank you for contributing an event, too!

For what you did get involved in, did you have a favorite part? Is there anything that you missed getting involved in that you'd like to have?

Always a pleasure to be around, and while I think Boogie and you know how much I appreciate your GMing, it's always good to restate that!

This time I didn't interact with NPCs too much (which I know you both do a great job with!), the setting, vibes and events already make for a fun ride

So! Favourite part... from the ones Itsuka did participate in, I think first of all events, and how they were interesting and varied both mechanically and thematically! They also provided many tids and bits that fit well with the setting of Nakahama and Shiawase Island, which I sometimes tried to grab onto and bring to other scenes and parts of the game. Boogie probably knows she's always been a great influence im the few times I tried to write events, and so was that game with you and Ochiba at the helm (another system, but still!)

That and, secondly, the setting of the island itself. I think others has said as much on Discord, but the island had a very distinct flavour and felt very alive, which was very fun to see and play along with!

Things I'd like to have been more involved in... I guess the main plot, and a fite. Or maybe minor side plots. But my limited activity and the very spotty and sometimes unpredictable times I could be around made it hard to jump in. And for side plots, I know there's a limit to how much GMs can do - more so now that many (most?) of are long past our 20s and can't spend so much time playing magical samurai XD

Again, thanks for the game!

[Utaku Itsuka]

Thank you for being a powerful and might beach oshidama partner even as real-life-no-oni was set on taking you down (it will not succeed).

I also second the questions on what was going on with Itsuka! Perhaps it's for the best Ochiba never set her sights on trying to fix the slightly more complex issues there (like someone being dead!)

Thank you for offering to pair up as well! Wish we'd had more time with Itsuka and Ochiba together - they're an odd mix of 'different in many things but oddly similar in others', it woulda been fun to develop that a bit more XD

So glad you could spend some time with us to be magical samurai! Always a pleasure!

And thank you for joining the beach-side picnic and hanging out with us there.

What was the full story of Itsuka, and how did she end up on a Crab world?

And thank you for roping Itsuka in there! We didn't interact that much this game, but Kanna seemed fun!

Similar questions from you both here (also in part of Taraka's), so going for a joint, summarised answer for now. But feel free to ask about any other specifics!

Itsuka (like many of my characters, I guess!) was shaped in large part based on her disadvantages. In this game, the main one was Lost Love, which served as an 'anchoring point' for the other two and a number of other things.

She came to the Green Carp and settled in Nakahama some 10 years before game start (she's 31 at game start!) - shortly after marrying an older Firefly she'd met during work some years before and immediately fell head over heels for. Said Firefly was considerably older than then-young Itsuka, and the match was deemed in many ways unsuitable by her family - an important and carefully curated lineage tied to the Unicorn military.

Against her closest family's wishes, she pulled some strings with more distant relatives and friends to make the marriage possible. The same manoeuvering gained her leave and some resources from the family to settle far away from them, where she would be left alone - and they wouldn't have to deal closely with what many in the family saw as a failure in their otherwise great lineage.

So she left her own career in the military for Crab Space, with a relatively unimportant duty as a low-ranking "clan representative" and enough resources from the family to kickstart a life there. This ties to another disadvantage: not 'black sheep', as it's mostly her immediate family that see her as a failure... but her ancestors also do. Which... given how much Kirara is important for her, she takes in stride. (Until... viewtopic.php?p=15464#p15464)

Imagine you get a "happy ever after". Itsuka and Kirara build a home in Nakahama, establish a business, get attached to the island (at least Itsuka does), and their life together is as perfect as life allows. Kirara is away a lot, as she keeps working in asteroid mining and prospecting, as the Firefly will do, but they love the time they are together.

So... you could say one of the main themes for Itsuka is "what if you get your 'happy ever after', and then lose it?"

Some 3 years before the game, Kirara suddenly doesn't come back from a job. Official news take forever to come, and whey they do it's just a "missing in action" notice without much of an explanation, no body ever found, nothing. That's still the state Itsuka is in at game start, pretty much. She tries to find the same joy doing things she loved, but it's hard - and the flame inside her only reignites with thrills: sports, danger, but mainly speed (and yes, there's another disadvantage that ties into that!)

Speaking of 'the flame inside her' - it may or may not have been obvious in writing, but I've often included references to 'fire', 'warmness', 'warm colours' and the like when writing her, with a general idea of 'embers waiting to be reignited'. That also ties in with something CC-related (Elemental Blessing - Fire, the good old 'why not since I've raised a Ring without family/school bonuses to 4?).

I guess that leaves one small bit of Taraka's question still unanswered!

Could you expand on Itsuka's deal and her past with Taraka? I feel like Rl no Oni kept us from really getting to drill down into that.

We really haven't been able to discuss and develop that past relationship much during the game, but my thinking was - Itsuka had been around in Nakahama for 10 years, which means since Taraka was 15 (and she was 21). She's also always liked drones, and she was a business owner herself, so I figured it made sense she'd have been a long-time presence in Taraka's family business, and she'd probably know Taraka since that time. Given the age difference, I imagine her seeing Taraka a bit like a younger sister and getting attached to her.

It would have been fun to develop that story a bit more! Alas, RL no Oni was really way harder to beat than Ugulu no Oni this time around.

[Suzume Hitomi]

I always enjoy the well thought out feel of your characters, and this was no exception. I'm glad bon has offered a bit of closure for the speed-chasing Utaku. The business idea there is also great fun, and I'm glad some folks took advantage of the tour opportunities.

Thanks for the LARP silliness as well! Having a bit of stuff spin off of that event was an unexpected bonus. Now...how did Itsuka get into that in the first place?

[Boogiepop]

Ahhhhh!!! I'm ecstatic that you've been able to join us and play! I know we lightly touched on potential sequels, then you were busy with RL no Oni. Still, really happy that you've been able to join my game as a player in any capacity, but you've also had a cute gentry, contributed with an event, and added to the setting/community, nevertheless! Your RP is really great!

Were there any considerations for Itsuka to return to Unicorn space, or did she feel more or less anchored by her and her wife's joint business here? If the latter, how does she feel about staying here? How does she feel about potentially subplanting BIG fruit jelly with her new ramen dish? The locals have been putting it up for so long, so you might have some allies in the secret Shiawase Island ramen rebellion!