Lore

A young kitten wandered the streets alone, searching for his mother. No matter where he looked, he couldn't find her. Hungry and exhausted, he eventually came across a small market stall filled with the sweet scent of desserts.The stall belonged to an elderly woman named Kiko. The local children affectionately called her "Grandma Mochi" because of her famous homemade mochi, which was her day to night job. She always worked long hours at the stall, but loved her workAs the kitten approached, Kiko noticed him through the glass display of her stall. She had always loved cats but had never owned one herself. Leaning forward for a better look, she accidentally startled the kitten, causing him to back away nervously.Wanting to gain his trust, she stepped outside carrying two pieces of mochi: one matcha and one strawberry flavored. Though hesitant at first, the kitten eventually accepted her kindness.Months passed.Then years."Roki", now named and an adult cat, lived with Grandma Mochi in her aging home. Around his neck hung a golden bell collar she had lovingly gifted him. Every evening, without fail, he waited patiently at the front gate for her return. Kiko spent her days working alone at her stall, often staying out until nightfall, and Roki always greeted her the moment she came home.One evening, while waiting, he noticed a family passing by. A young girl dressed entirely in black walked alongside her parents, who wore similar clothing. Roki didn't know who they were, but something about the girl reminded him of his previous owner. Looking down at the golden bell around his neck, he felt a quiet sense of comfort.Then, one day, Grandma Mochi didn't come home.Roki waited through the afternoon sun. He waited through the rain. He waited through the night. Days passed, yet she never returned.Unable to bear the uncertainty any longer, Roki left the house and traveled down the familiar streets in search of her.Eventually, he arrived at a small graveyard. There, standing before a freshly placed gravestone, he froze.Right in front of the large stone of the grave, there sat a statue of a cat. The statue that looked exactly like him.In that instant, Roki understood.Grandma Mochi, Kiko, had passed away. That was who that girl was he saw before...her grandaughter. He hadn't even realized until then.The statue had been placed there as a final expression of her love for him.Overwhelmed by grief, Roki collapsed against the stone. The woman who had rescued him, fed him, and given him a home hadn't simply disappeared.. she had died, likely after years of working herself to exhaustion at the stall she cherished.As tears fell, small blue gemstones began floating around him. A soft teal glow surrounded his body, growing brighter and brighter until it became impossible to look at.A brilliant flash of light erupted.When Roki opened his eyes again, everything had changed.Standing where a cat once sat was a young kemonomimi with cat ears and a tail. His hands were human, his body transformed, while the blue gemstones continued to orbit around him like tiny stars.Roki had lived a long and happy thirteen years under Grandma Mochi's care.And according to the legends of the bakeneko, powerful emotions could awaken a cat's hidden spirit. In Japanese folklore, cats are believed to be deeply sensitive to human emotions, grief, and the supernatural. When sorrow becomes overwhelming enough, it can trigger a transformation.The grief of losing the person he loved most had awakened something within him.And on that day, before Grandma Mochi's grave, Roki became a bakeneko.

Powers

Becoming a Bakeneko granted Roki many powerful abilities, all of which are drawn from his spirit gems, the same gems that surrounded him during his transformation.The night-themed design of his outfit is a direct reflection of the emotions that consumed him during that time. Night was when he waited for Grandma Mochi the most, endlessly watching and hoping for her return. It was also when his worry, grief, and loneliness felt the strongest.Because of that, his appearance carries the night with him. It is not just an aesthetic choice, but a tribute to the person he waited for; a symbol of his love, his loss, and the memories that shaped what he became.In folklore, Bakenekos are known for their shapeshifting abilities, often able to shift between cat and human forms. For Roki, his transformation was influenced by more than just yokai power.Because he experienced such intense human emotions: love, grief, loneliness, and longing, all part of his spirit began to take on a more human form. His kemonomimi appearance represents that in-between state: no longer just a cat, but not fully human either.He became something shaped by both his yokai nature and the emotions that made him feel human.

Powers/Other

More PowersRoki’s powers are heavily tied to the night, dreams, stars, and yokai spirit energy. Rather than his abilities feeling like normal magic, they appear more like fragments of the night sky being brought to life through his spirit gems.Dreamscaping/ControlDreamscaping allows Roki to enter, shape, and influence dreams. He can create dreamlike spaces that reflect memories, emotions, or hidden fears. These dream worlds often look peaceful at first, filled with clouds, stars, and soft moonlight, but they can shift depending on Roki’s emotions. He can control certain parts of a person’s dreams, especially if their emotions are strong. He may guide someone through a dream, calm a nightmare, or trap someone in a dreamlike illusion if he feels threatened. His control is strongest at night, when the boundary between sleep, spirits, and reality feels thinner.Star FormationRoki can create stars from his spirit energy. These stars can float around him, light dark areas, protect him, or act as extensions of his power. They are not real stars from space, but spiritual lights formed from the energy inside his gems.Space-Like AbilitiesHis magic can take on a cosmic appearance, making his surroundings feel weightless, quiet, and distant, almost like standing under an endless night sky. When his power grows stronger, the space around him may shimmer with constellations, floating lights, and deep blue energy.Floating and HoveringRoki can float or hover using the energy from his spirit gems. This gives him an almost ghostlike presence, making him seem lighter than a normal human or cat. It also reflects his yokai nature, as if he is not fully bound to the physical world anymore.Shapeshifting
Roki can go between cat, full-human, or a mix of both at any point.

Mochicats

Mochicats are small, mochi-themed spirit cats created by Roki. Inspired by the folklore of the Bakeneko, they are not fully physical beings, but powerful illusions infused with emotion and fragments of supernatural energy. As illusion-born spirits, Mochicats possess strange supernatural abilities. They can willingly float through the air, phase through walls, vanish and reappear without warning, squeeze through impossibly small spaces, make themselves have a physical form, and occasionally duplicate themselves for short periods of time. Despite these abilities, they are harmless creatures and often use their powers more for playfulness than anything malicious.After losing his owner, Roki was revived as a Bakeneko. The loneliness that followed became unbearable, so he used his newfound powers to create companions for himself. The result was the Mochicats: living illusions so realistic and full of personality that even Roki sometimes forgets they were born from his own powers.Because Roki is still inexperienced with his abilities, the Mochicats are imperfect creations. Many of them are a little clueless, overly curious, and constantly wandering off before eventually finding their way home again. They are mischievous by nature, capable of eating enough food for ten people, and constantly pestering Roki or getting themselves in trouble.Their soft mochi-like appearance comes from Roki’s memories of his owner, an elderly woman who sold handmade desserts at a small street stall. Mochi became a symbol of comfort, warmth, and home to him. By shaping his creations after those memories, Roki unknowingly filled the Mochicats with the same comfort he desperately missed himself.Roki started calling his community and chat his “Mochicats” because they act just like them: chaotic, noisy, and always bothering him in some way. But the name also intentionally reflects his story: someone who was once lonely eventually finding real people to connect with.

There are 16 Mochicat varients in total!

(From columns, up to down:)
Vanilla, Strawberry, Matcha, Chocolate, Taro, Banana, Orange, Cookies n' Cream, Coffee, Smores, Mint Chocolate, Banana Split, Blueberry, Lychee, Neopolitan, Birthday Cake