As written in the Academy OOC on RPoL 'cause I am THAT lazy:

I spent my quiet time with husband watching Twilight Zone episodes and had an awesome steak dinner and apple cider in cheesy looking skull goblets. Before that we went and walked around downtown where it was windy, which was rather unfortunate given that I had a witch hat on and hubby had an ostentatious stovepipe hat. Though a black dude witch-cackled at me at some point, and I even inadvertently ended up trick-or-treating (cause we had to get stuff at the grocery store and they had a candy bowl there. I mean, why not?) So it was pretty thematic! :P

For my standards it was pretty fun though. (I'm such a loner.) Sometime during the night I even got some inspiration for a new game idea I'm slowly building up. It's not Exalted and it's pretty niche, so I don't expect to get people here interested in it... though, I do have a desire to run a new Ex game should one of my other active ones die off.

We've gained an hour and I have to get used to it getting dark around 4:30 pm. o.O

Below is the draft of an intro I've written out for Rose Revolution Redux, my Utena-inspired RPG. I'm gradually starting to write out information for the game; the next pieces that need detailing are the two settings that the game is played in.

Reality is the dreary metropolis where characters live their unfulfilling 'real' lives.

Paradise is the fantasy world where characters take on their ideal personas, a setting strongly inspired by that of Revolutionary Girl Utena.

I formerly thought of using Avalle as the name for Paradise, but I already used it in the Academy and didn't want anyone to think it's connected to anything. It's also a name I originally took from one of my favorite books: Tigana, by Guy Gavriel Kay. I suppose I found it fitting because Tigana is a country that people have been magicked to forget the name and existence of, and Avalle (I believe) is its capitol.

However, I like the generic 'Reality' and 'Paradise' better, somehow.

This rose is our destiny,
leading us to now meet once again.
- Masami Okui "Toki ni ai wa..."

Rose Revolution Redux is a game largely inspired by (though not directly following) Revolutionary Girl Utena, along with traces of .hack//SIGN, The Matrix and even (vaguely) Fight Club. One does not have to be familiar with any of these sources to play the game, though those familiar with Utena will have an easier time identifying some of the defining themes of the game.

This is not a freeform game. We will be using the Open Versatile Anime RPG by Wise Turtle Publishing, an open-ended and lightweight ruleset for creating characters and resolving conflicts. If you do not have or cannot obtain the rules, I am willing to guide you through the character creation process personally.

Obtain the OVA RPG (hardcopy or PDF) rules here: http://www.wiseturtle.com/products.html

R3 casts players in the role of a character with a double existence. She is a citizen of a modern age metropolis who finds her life in Reality (for whatever personal reasons) difficult or unfulfilling. Like many of us in such a situation, he seeks solace in hobbies and imagination, ultimately leading him to the City's latest craze: Paradise, a Victorian fantasy world that only those with the Rose Crest Ring can access. The Rose Crest marks the character as a 'Duelist', her idealized form in Paradise, with which she can duel to achieve the power of Revolution.

Revolution is what all Duelists strive for, an incredible, mythic yet vaguely explained power with which she can shape Paradise into her own personal Utopia. It is rumored that Revolution can even grant wishes that affect the fabric of Reality, as well. This alone is a gift that many of Reality's tragic, unfortunate or power-hungry denizens throw themselves passionately into the Duels to achieve.

Few people understand exactly what Paradise truly is. Is it a MMORPG, a shared hallucination, a paranormal phenomenon? Access into Paradise is equally perplexing, as it is not an ordinary game accessible with computer and Internet, paid for with mundane money. Nor is it immediately clear how one earns the right to enter Paradise in the first place, but among the underground community of Duelists and Duelist-seekers in the City, these truths are certain:

The Rose Crest is never bought or sold, never found or stolen. It is only granted willingly by a representative of Paradise, and that representative always finds you.