Editing BlissStage/ChildrenOfChildren

"'''Right now,''' this very moment, 22 years ago, humanity was struck by an alien attack from the edges of our understanding.

'''It was the first blow of a terrible war.'''  7 years later, armed with technology they couldn't comprehend and could ''barely'' operate, our parents, then no older than we are now, ''struck back.''

'''Thier sacrifice secured our future.'''  They shot the moon, literally, and pushed the invaders back long enough to raise us.  Now, the Treasure Island Resistance is a strong community.  Now, we, the children of those children, have the chance to ''end the war,'' once and for all.

'''This is how.'''"
 -- Archer Lin, Pilot 00: commencement speech on Bliss Day, September 8th, 2030

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A play-by-post game of BlissStage run by Elliott Belser: feel free to observe at [http://forums.rpg.net RPG.net].  Note that you will have to log-in in order to see the PbP subforums.

Set in the ruins of TreasureIslandJobCorps, San Francisco, it is the continuation of the story in [BlissStage/FinalAct FinalAct], featuring as Pilots and Anchors the children of ''Innocent Sweetheart'' Sara Smith, ''Eager Young Soldier'' Josh Preston, ''Carefree Hedonist'' Keenan Caine, and ''Seasoned Veteran'' Anna Lin, 15 years after thier successful attempt to destroy the alien base on the dark side of the moon.

As for the dreamrealm, while it somewhat resembles the real world, it's heavily shaped by emotional residue. Alcatraz is a blasted, bloodstained wasteland: the Castro is muggy and lush with deep colors and strange tempting fruit: So-Ma is buzzing with electric energy: and so on. TIJCC is warm, inviting, romantic, hauntingly beautiful - due to the recent victories: The rest of the island is desolate, grim and dark.

Distances and travel have more to do with emotional links, as well - a place that seems connected thematically with another place will be easy and quick to reach.  Think Exalted: The Fair Folk shaping combat, specifically Waypoints.

Across the dreamrealm, no matter where you go, the moon is now permanently a crescent, convex side facing down, and it's a rare night when shooting stars are not present - Anna, Josh and Sara blew up the alien base on the dark side of the moon with such force and conviction that the dreamrealm itself was re-shaped to reflect thier victory.

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So far, the players and thier Pilots are:

Authority Figure: Sara Smith has (somehow) survived the Bliss, unlike her contemporaries, and raises the others as her own, with the possible exception of Archer Lin, with whom she has a... different kind of relationship.  ''"What can I say?  I looked into his eyes and saw the same loneliness I feel on the coldest nights..."''  Has a biblical quote pinned to her wall:
:''"The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the iniquities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who, in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of the darkness. For he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children."''
::She also agrees with the coda I left off.  Anyone here seen Pulp Fiction?  Hands? -- ElliottBelser
Played by ElliottBelser, natch.

Pilot 00: ChessyPig is playing ''Seasoned Veteran'' Archer Lin, now 17, the most senior pilot.  Deadly serious, no sense of humour, brutally and brilliantly efficient.  Anchored by Sophie "Hope" Tendo, Keenan's kid by his anchor and the only other survivor of the "inbetween generation." Sleeping with Sara: ''"She may be the den mother 'n all, but she's got needs too."''  Thinks that Casey is headed for a world of hurt / immoral. 
:''Having seen Keenan crash and burn when he was 5 or 6?'' -- ElliottBelser, making a suggestion
For this reason, tried to warn her to cut her sleeping around out by telling Karen, for whom he has fatherly insticts, his concerns.  ''That'' didn't work too well, as Karen won't speak to him anymore.  Neither will Casey.

Pilot 01: ''Rising Hero'' Jon Derek Smith, 15, played by [[Hattori]].  Sara's child by her Anchor, Nathan (who was black; ElliottBelser and [[Hattori]] had some amusing conversations about this when it became apparent that Hattori didn't realize this.  
:''"Er, yeah, drew him looking like a young Barack Obama with a 'Oh shit I am terribly in love with a fellow pilot' look on his face."'' --ElliottBelser
:''"''Unacceptable.'' I demand dreadlocks and shades!"'' -- OP: [[Hattori]]
Understands the theoretical underpinnings of the ANIMa on a very, VERY deep level, and has determined with his usual unshakable idealism that his best chance for having an effective ANIMa (and therefore surviving) is determined ethical PolyAmory.  Very much in love with his Anchor Yuki - who is also sleeping with someone else: he'd call her on it if he wasn't messing around with fellow pilot Casey, and he's got in in his head that his jealousy is hypocritical.
:''I love how every Rising Hero in every game I've run is never played as an unabiguious knight in shining armor.  Hero complexes [[FTW]].'' --ElliottBelser

Pilot 02: ''Carefree'' (ha) ''Hedonist'' Casey Lin, 16, Keenan's child by Anna, played by [[Phaint.]].  In addition to being a pilot, she considers herself the ''(leans in, puts a hand on your thigh, and whispers in your ear)'' "Morale officer."  She'll sleep with anyone she finds attractive and who she thinks needs a good lay / a more powerful ANIMa.  She is, however, only ''emotionally'' close to her Anchor and adoptive daughter Karen, 9, who has of late taken to throwing tantrums in the vein of "What will happen if you Bliss, Mom?  Or die!  You could die!"

Pilot 03: ''Innocent Sweetheart'' Ariana Joshua Smith, 13, Sara's child by her husband Josh Preston.  Played by MrSitouh.  Got ahold of all the anime that the Job Corps trainees left behind during the Five Years Of Darkness -- specifically TengenToppaGurrenLagaan, SailorMoon, GundamWing, KareKano and every MagicalGirl show, ever -- this combined with that well known childhood game "Pilots, Anchors, and Monsters" (with or without the Good Parts) left her with an overly rosy view of Piloting.  She begged her mom to let her pilot until renewed alien activity forced Sara to aquciese.  Sara doesn't regret it, exactly, as she's a good pilot, but hearing her call the names of her manifestations - and they have names like '''"WAND OF THE FIRST HEROES!"''' - always gives her a twinge of sadness...  Anchored by childhood playmate, best friend, confidant and [[Nakama]] / spiritual sister Jessica.
:ElliottBelser: A brief game of PA&M: 
::"I hit you with a sword, like swish slice!" 
::"Nuh uh! I'm made of sooper strong alien armor and stuff." 
::"Damn! (kisses Karen on the cheek) HA! Now it's a lightsaber!" 
::"No fair! Kissing another girl doesn't count!"
::"MOM! Does kissing another girl count?!"
::"Did you both like it?"
::"Yeah!"
::"It counts."
:Also: "Arieeee.... could you be the monsteeer? You get to pilot in real life, sooo..."  Extra bonus points if three points of Trauma later, your description of the monster makes them cry.

:''MrSitouh: You are evil. I love it.''

Pilot 04: Noah Caine Porter, an ''Eager Young Soldier'' played by JoeyMcGuffin.  Child of Laura Porter and Keenan Caine: Laura left the resistance in the absence of an organized alien threat to re-found Anna's Chinese street gang, the Flinthearts (who were the only ones with guns in all of Chinatown, hence "Flint" and my propensity to draw them with tattoos of the ideograms for Fire and Metal).  Noah was a pretty bad mother****er in that gang, but an alien attack reduced his gang members to less than ashes - not even the bones were left.  He sought out the resistance his mother told him children's stories about and has never regretted it.  Anchored to Celine. 
:''Suggestion?  She's a [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/FailureKnight Failure Knight].  She had previous Anchor training and who's last pilot died on her... but she agreed to make the effort anyway.'' - Elliott Belser

Pilot 05: None yet.  I'm planning on having a rescue of a stranded ANIMa (well, her resistance called it an [ToothyWiki:BlissStage/AeMPC AeMPC], '''A'''nti '''e'''xo-'''M'''orph '''P'''sychic '''C'''onstruct, but potayto potahto...) pilot who's resistance was killed by a sneak attack while she was out, Gabriel Winters.  I'd try to have her New Face bonus make her roughly the equivalent of a ''Devoted Lover,'' and if anyone wouldn't terribly mind having thier character kind of drool at her and look stupid due to a bad case of lust following the rescue, please, say so.  Yes, I'll let an observer play her.

This is NOT the main wikipage of the game; that's [http://wiki.rpg.net/index.php/ChildrenOfChildren at the RPG.net wiki.]  Just an overview.

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Taking suggestions for imagery at /COCOpeningThemeItsNotMyTime.
Taking suggestions for the closing theme.
Taking suggestions for /COCImageSongs.

Summary:
Editing revision 9, which is the newest. This change is a minor edit.
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