Doji Kaze: Stepping out of the Shadows

[Doji Kaze]

Your questions answered.

[Nanzi]

I am glad to have had another Crane there, I hope I did not step on his toes too often.

I felt having him tied so closely to his wife I just went with the thought that he saw Kaze as a surrogate son more so than servant.

[Seppun Chisei]

We never spoke! But I did read a bit of Kaze, and I really liked him. His view of a better world especially.

Tell us a bit about a favorite scene of yours?

I know you've got plans. Share them with all of us?

[Doji Kaze]

I am glad to have had another Crane there, I hope I did not step on his toes too often.

I felt having him tied so closely to his wife I just went with the thought that he saw Kaze as a surrogate son more so than servant.

I think Nanzi and Kaze had very different ideas about how to bring about a really similar vision for the clan. I think the surrogate son thing made a lot of sense. Kaze was a little too unsure of himself to fully inhabit that role, though. I had Doubt: Courtier, so in the face of more capable speakers (Nanzi and Saruko), he tended to be a lot more deferential.

We never spoke! But I did read a bit of Kaze, and I really liked him. His view of a better world especially.

Tell us a bit about a favorite scene of yours?

I know you've got plans. Share them with all of us?

I think my favorite scenes were the first one with Satone and the last one with Dawei. They create a nice overview of his arc, so you can see a little of what he was before Doji, what she means to him, and then what Dawei means.

As far as plans, I've decided to let go of the Scout school. There were no firm commitments from others, so it seemed like it wasn't a truly viable option, given the large number of equally cool multi-person goals on offer. The actual goal is a 2-pointer that creates a space to help spread the love of words, so that the great era of peace can come just a little sooner.

[Ko]

Are you willing to reveal unto us some of the mysterious Kaze backstory? OOC I was intrigued, but I never got to poke you about it IC, mostly because I was busy/distracted and having a hard time doing more than a couple of threads at a time. And I wasn't sure Ko, in particular would have actually grasped some of it anyway! But in some ways Kaze seemed like a type I have a weak spot for myself, the wildling/grim survivor trying to understand (and longing for) beauty and culture--is that in fact what was going on?

[Seppun Dawei]

No question, just thanks--and I look forward to playing with you again!

[Jiyo Sora]

What was it like being part of the game's OTP?

[Doji Kaze]

All of Kaze's backstory came out between the Satone discussions and Dawei, in fact in a lot greater detail than I had originally written (isn't that always the way?), but I can lay it out here.

Kaze was from the Chinsei tribe, but his mother died in childbirth, and his father blamed him for her death, so he was exposed in the Shinomen like many of the Greek heroes. He was protected and nourished by wild dogs, and stole his bow at a very young age. I put that detail in to play off of the Chinsei proto-gempukku ceremony: rather than making his own bow or having it made for him, he stole it from the tribe, like he stole his life from his father.

He lived completely alone in the deep forest without language, in a world that was only sensory feeling and instinct until Doji arrived on her first wanderings and spoke to him. So in a sense the language of the kami is his first language. That infusion of culture, the ability to express something of his interiority to someone who could respond, changed Kaze's frame of experiences from essentially an animal existence to a divine one, so his understanding and interpretations of the concept of the Empire and of our mission were entirely different to everyone on the journey (except possibly Taochusu, with whom there might have been some similarities as a loner).

I was trying to get into the mythic spirit of the game and wanted to play a feral person who owed everything to the kami, and for whom the concept of tribal society being this inherent good that needed to be preserved against interference from the kami was alien. This was largely in response to the vocal Kolat crew, who I felt from pre-game chat needed a couple different kinds of counterbalance. I also wanted to play a stealthy character, because I never ever do. That was fun. But the poetry as salvation angle was the best part, and I think it is fitting that his goal is spent there.

[Doji Kaze]

What was it like being part of the game's OTP?

What is an OTP?

No question, just thanks--and I look forward to playing with you again!

Thank you as well. I was flagging a little in the mid-game when I realized that Kaze wasn't going to be as effective in combat as I had initially hoped and was unsure where else to go with this character. Birb's sub-mission from Lady Doji really saved my bacon, and Dawei is so endearing that he made it easy. It was great fun.

[Jiyo Sora]

What was it like being part of the game's OTP?

What is an OTP?

One True Pairing- my way of saying the best romantic subplot we had going

[Doji Kaze]

Oh! It was nice. Birb triggered Kaze's Lady Doji Obligation to get me to go hunt down a spouse during the mission, and I thought it best to approach it the way I did. Dawei and Kaze are both damaged people, and as damaged people know, we have a knack for finding each other. I think they're probably a pretty good balance for each other. Dawei's a little more practical, but Kaze is good enough, I think, to pull Dawei from some of his darker urges. So, net good, it seemed like. I was glad people liked the writing.

[Shinjo Miuna]

I loved watching the relationship between Kaze and Dawei. It felt so sweet and natural. Sorry we didn't interact much, but know that I did follow your threads! So what's next for Kaze?

[Doji Kaze]

Well, Birb has just approved the endgame goals! So: Kaze marries Dawei, becoming Seppun Kaze. The he will spend the next few years building an event called the Kaiki (Session), which is an annual festival of literary art so that many people can gather together and explore and celebrate the love of words. The model is the Eisteddfod of Wales, but it's about creation as much as preservation. It seems like love for storytelling (and to a lesser extent poetry, but we can fix that ratio) is something that runs through most of the tribal cultures, so as it grows it can become a way to nurture the Great Era of Peace.

[Jiyo Sora]

Well, Birb has just approved the endgame goals! So: Kaze marries Dawei, becoming Seppun Kaze. The he will spend the next few years building an event called the Kaiki (Session), which is an annual festival of literary art so that many people can gather together and explore and celebrate the love of words. The model is the Eisteddfod of Wales, but it's about creation as much as preservation. It seems like love for storytelling (and to a lesser extent poetry, but we can fix that ratio) is something that runs through most of the tribal cultures, so as it grows it can become a way to nurture the Great Era of Peace.

Imperial Librarians will be keeping notes

[Togashi Saruko]

Kaze was one of the characters I wish I had more scenes with. I greatly enjoyed discovering more about his personality, how Doji had reformed him and given his life a new meaning other than just survive, and piecing together his story.

To me, he was the sweetest cinnamon roll in this game. <3 I know he was a little different than many characters you often play, but I greatly enjoyed your creation and reading about Kaze.

Saruko also never got around to tell a story that she knows Kaze would've really liked! (I even had a perfect one in mind, but just never could find the right time for more storytelling near the end)

Who will be invited to the Dawei/Kaze wedding?
Would the two of them want to adopt children later on to raise to be badass sneaky warriors like them?
Will Kaze return in Dawn 3 perhaps?

[Bayushi Umeno]

The two only had the one thread, but it was a fun one. If all Crane were like Kaze, Umeno would like them a lot more easily. <3

[Doji Kaze]

I'm sorry to have missed the cool story. Saruko was awesome. And Umeno, I really liked that thread as well. She is just so down-to-earth! It was really helpful to be able to put all of this scary stuff on firm ground.


Kaze would invite Doji and Nanzi, and possibly Bayushi Umeno and Saruko to the wedding. He wasn't the most social of people, and likely doesn't have any contacts outside of the Crane clan that weren't met during this mission. Haka was an acquaintance that probably could have built into a friendship if I had pursued it, which I didn't because my playing was patchy at points. That's all from my side. Dawei may have other choices, though I suspect Yamadono is not on the list.

We haven't discussed adoption between us, but I think that's probably the best option. Kaze understands found families better than biological ones anyway, and while Kaze is entirely capable of fathering a child with a surrogate (I was initially going to try for him to marry a woman, but...well, that didn't pan out), I think neither Dawei nor Kaze would be entirely comfortable with what that entailed.

As for playing him again, last week I would have said definitely not. Now I am not as sure, but I'm starting to see that I don't have the stamina for these games that I did when I was in my early twenties. My emotions have been all over the place over the course of this game. But that isn't really a problem with the character, so much as with me. We'll have to see if I can do better with the next game, and whether coming back to Kaze when Dawn 3 comes around will be adding to or taking away from his story.

[Bayushi Umeno]

Umeno'd happily attend. Her gift'd prolly suck though.

[Togashi Saruko]

Saruko would love to attend