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Kizuna
Kizuna 絆
Table of Contents Kizuna Side Effects Using Kizuna
The core mechanic of Jikan involves creating emotional and physical bonds with others. These bonds are absolutely necessary, due to the magic connecting player characters to Nippon. This magic, and the bonds it creates, are called Kizuna.
When two player characters form a close bond, the Kizuna connecting them grows stronger. These bonds can be between close friends, lovers, family members, or even strangers for purely physical bonds. Strengthening these bonds does not necessarily require physical touch. Having a heart-to-heart conversation or giving gifts are also valid means of building kizuna.
However, Kizuna is very experimental magic, and comes with a number of side effects. The severity and frequency of these side effects is completely optional, and you are free to have no side effects at all! But typically speaking, it is magic based on emotion, and will fluctuate based on the emotional state of the character involved.
Essentially: the closer your character grows to another person, the stronger the side effects will become when they are together.
While many events will center around Kizuna and how it influences the characters and the world around them, these effects are always available for players to use in threads. As more Kizuna is produced over time, more effects will become available for players.
For additional features of Kizuna mechanics, please see the FAQ for more information!
Mental Side Effects
Mental changes are common at all levels, but tend to be more difficult to notice. However, unlike physical effects, which may require spells or medication to forcibly reverse, even a person suffering from severe mental effects can be talked down into rational thought again. For this reason, they're sometimes considered to be the safest, for all that they can be the most upsetting to experience.
Mild
+ Giddiness and overt playfulness. Short bursts of euphoria.
- Lowered inhibitions.
Moderate
+ Extended periods of euphoria. Fits of laughter. Eager to make new friends and bonds.
- This is the "all your friends are going to assume you're high" level. Greatly lowered inhibitions. More suggestible to trying things they might otherwise not do.
Severe
+ A desire to please above all else. Prioritizing the happiness and good feelings of others.
- Disregard for one's own health and safety. Unhealthy levels of attachment and possessiveness. A desire to claim or leave a mark on others.
Physical Side Effects
Physical changes in response to high levels of kizuna are the most common at the mild and moderate levels, but extremely rare in the severe levels. These changes are the ones most effected by changes in emotional state. Someone might find that they always sparkle when they're happy, while another might turn into her boyfriend the moment he proposes to her. While most of them wear off on their own, they can also be forcibly removed with certain spells or medication.
Mild
+ Hair and eye color may change sporadically. Sparkling in sunlight, summoning tiny rain clouds and snowstorms, visibly glowing in the dark, etc. Feel free to get creative with these, so long as they are mild and visual or aural only.
- Tend to occur in conjunction with particular feelings, making one's emotions easy to read.
Moderate
+ Partial transformations, such as growing yokai or animal features like wings, tails, horns, and ears. These changes are usually subtle, and are not limited to a single particular yokai or animal.
- Transformations are not painful, but may become permanent, even if the bond that manifested them is broken.
Severe
+ Complete transformations into yokai or animals, or even transforming into someone they've bonded with.
- While never permanent, the transformation process itself is painful and new abilities become hard to control.
Sexual Side Effects
Sexual side effects are common at all levels, and may manifest between bonds that are still new or merely physical in nature. However, some people never experience them at all! Very mysterious. Always be sure to check in with you CR before springing any of these effects on them.
Mild
+ Spontaneous sex dreams or daydreams about the people they've bonded with. Increased willingness to be sexual or flirtatious.
- May become easily distracted when talking to those they've bonded with. Sex increases the severity of all side effects.
Moderate
+ Mild to moderate levels of arousal when near someone they've bonded with. Sex dreams may be shared when both sides of a bond are asleep.
- No one wants to deal with an awkward boner in public. Bonds do not have to be sexual or romantic to invoke sex dreams.
Severe
+ Going into a heat-like state when near someone they've bonded with, allowing for multiple orgasms and a lower refractory period. An active desire to create more bonds for the purpose of sex. Shared dreams allow for complete lucidity, whether sexual or otherwise.
- Characters in heat may give off pheromones to affect those around them. Characters who are otherwise not prone to sleeping around may find it hard to hold back.
Heat Mechanics
In addition to the aforementioned sexual side effects, some may experience a heightened heat-like state more reminiscent of a traditional mating season. This is also present in the native Yokai population. While typically only occurring once per year, the unpredictable nature of Kizuna means they may occur more often.
Obviously, this is meant to be an A/B/O trope analogue. Please always check in with fellow players before manifesting a heat during a thread. Characters are not limited to a single category, and may switch between all three even during the same heat. As with all Kizuna effects, this mechanic is optional.
Daikoh (大攻)
Causes Yokai to develop unusually dominant and possessive tendencies. While some may search for a single partner to keep to themself, others may try to gather as many partners as possible. Even passive and friendly Yokai may become inclined towards violence or unusual roughness, including marking their partners. Some may experience an inexplicable desire for passionate romance, while others may feel a desire to breed
Daishoku (大食)
Causes Yokai to give off a magic aura that may trigger a heat in those around them. These Yokai are insatiable, seeking endless pleasure from anything and everything they can find, be it food, entertainment, or sex. It's not uncommon for them to have one thing in particular they become fixated on, though others may simply desire everything. They may even find it hard to sleep without some kind of stimulation to calm them down.
Daijuu (大受)
Causes Yokai to develop unusually submissive and needy tendencies. They crave physical affection to such a powerful degree that going without it may even become painful. It's not uncommon for these Yokai to only feel comfortable when wrapped up in a nest of blankets to simulate being wrapped in the arms of a lover. They may feel a strong desire to be cared for by another, or even impregnated by a mate, regardless of gender.
Supernatural Side Effects
Supernatural side effects are among the most rare, and will only occur between two characters whose bond includes feelings of love, romantic or familial. If the feelings of love are one sided, only the side that feels love will be affected. While mild side effects may occur between very dear friends, it is uncommon. As of right now, none of these side effects can become permanent. Considering the nature of these abilities, always check in with you CR before springing these effect on them!
Mild
+ / - Mild empathic abilities, allowing them to feel the same emotions as those they'd bonded with, even when they are not around. Only occurs in short bursts and cannot be otherwise controlled.
Moderate
+ / - Mild precognitive abilities, enabling them to "sense" when someone they've bonded with is hurt or in danger, even if it hasn't happened yet. Only occurs in short bursts and cannot be otherwise controlled.
Severe
+ / - Mild mind-reading abilities, enabling them to hear the thoughts of someone they've bonded with. Only occurs in short bursts and cannot be otherwise controlled.
Passive Kizuna Magic
Throughout events, certain types of Kizuna magic have been seen in use by player characters. The most common of these is Passive Kizuna Magic, which occurs without any real effort to wield Kizuna. All characters are welcome to utilize these effects in game.
Bonding
The mechanic everyone uses in game, this causes Kizuna bonds to form quickly between two people who use Kizuna. Characters will experience this with fellow Refugees, certain NRL scientists, and some Yokai NPCs.
Wish Granting
If a character makes a wish while praying at a shrine, there's a 50% chance that wish will come true, no matter how absurd. These wishes are often not permanent, and whatever they received may disappear after a few minutes.
Foresight
When receiving a fortune at a shrine or a fortune teller, there's a 50% chance the fortune will be unusually personalized or accurate.
Enhanced Kizuna Magic
Characters can learn to apply Kizuna magic for specific scenarios. These forms of Kizuna must be unlocked through events of through Bonus AC as outlined below. New forms of utilizing Kizuna magic will be unlocked as the game progresses.
Activating Kizuna
Users must pick a trigger phrase to use Kizuna. This phrase must be something they hold close to their heart, be it the name of someone they love, a prized possession, a beloved pet, etc. While skilled users need only think of the word, most will need to say it aloud to use Kizuna.
Soul Bonding
This allows users to create and release Kizuna bonds at will.
Creating: Placing a hand on the chest of the one they wish to bond with and saying the trigger phrase will create a bond. Bonds created in this manner will produce little to no side effects.
Removing: Placing their hand over their own chest and visualizing that bond as a physical object will allow them to pull it out from their chest as a ball of light. One released, this light will return to the one they were bonded with, and will painlessly remove the bond between them.
🔑 Soul Diving
This allows users to enter the souls of people they've bonded with. To unlock this magic, you must redeem one 5-star Heavenly Assignment on the Bonus AC page.
By pressing a hand to the chest of someone they've bonded with and uttering their trigger phrase, they will be able to enter the world of that person's soul. These worlds may appear as memories, vivid dreamscapes, or abstract nightmares. This magic can only be performed with consent. Damaging or altering the inside of a soul may have a positive or negative affect on the person in question. This damage can be repaired by specialist healers in the West.
🔑 Soul Artifacts
This allows users to summon a physical representation of the soul. To unlock this magic, you must have participated in June 2022's event.
By calling the name of someone they are bonded with and then pressing their hand to that person's chest, they will be able to summon a Soul Artifact. These artifacts can take the form of weapons or ordinary items, and often possess one special effect. Although the appearance and color scheme of the item will remain consistent, the form it takes and the power it possesses may vary based on the bond between the person in question and the one drawing it out from them.
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