Glossary of Terms
On this page, you'll find any terms that are either unique to Paradox Live, or are used in a particular way in Paradox Live and its surrounding media! These may include worldbuilding concepts, places, people who otherwise do not have profiles, or simply specific terms that are used a lot in an ideosynchratic way. Click below to choose a section!
World ・ People and Entities ・ Places
The first Paradox Live was a round robin competition with ten billion yen and the right to challenge Buraikan up for grabs to the winners. Four up-and-coming hiphop units -- BAE, The Cat's Whiskers, cozmez, and Akan Yatsura -- were selected and invited to participate. There was initially some uncertainty about whether or not Buraikan were officially involved with the competition and whether they would actually appear to challenge the winners.
The second Paradox Live, Road to Legend, was orchestrated directly by Buraikan following the previous. It is implied to have had qualifying rounds, leading to eight teams participating: the four from the first Paradox Live, and newcomers VISTY, AMPRULE, 1Nm8, and GokuLuck. Unlike the previous competition, it was a double-elimination bracket tournament, with the winner of a four-way comeback round between the initial round of losers advancing to the finals. On the line in Road to Legend was control of CLUB Paradox as a venue.
A type of reactive metal that has unique properties when activated by human DNA. When activated, Phantometal enables the user to create phantoms, which are illusions linked to their memory and emotional state. The primary use for this as seen in-series is for stage effects during Phantom Lives, but use cases such as aiding communication with the hearing impaired have also been proposed.
Users kiss their phantometal accessories in order to initiate their illusions. There are at least two documented cases of phantometal users kissing another person's metal in order to dive into their mind; this is risky and potentially fatal.
Phantometal use incurs an adverse physiological and psychological reaction in its users, known as a Trap Reaction; continuous overuse leads to a condition known as Metal Erosion.
Its effects are directly tied to human memory, with many characters who have undergone experimentation or trials involving phantometal have had their memories (and capacity for memory) altered in some way, often (but not exclusively) deleterious.
On delay after using phantometal to create an illusion, the user will experience symptoms like a combination hangover and PTSD flashback, known as a trap reaction. During these episodes, the sufferer relives their most traumatic memory (or memories). This event seems to be fairly unchanging, with characters being able to pinpoint discrete incidents whose memories are relived during the trap reaction. As such, the characters will reference their traumatic incidents as a singular thing, as a shorthand for "the memory or memories I re-live during my trap reaction".
Prolonged use of phantometal illusions shortens the time before the onset of a trap reaction in addition to accelerating the risk of metal erosion.
Select individuals are able to create phantometal illusions either without trauma, or without experiencing trap reactions. All such cases are treated as out of the ordinary.
A condition caused by use of phantometal. Early symptoms are memory loss and physical symptoms akin to those of anemia. Once progressed into acute metal erosion, the skin begins to discolor and seems to metallicize. Upon spreading to the heart, acute metal erosion is nigh-inevitably fatal, but the effects can potentially be reversed by a third party who is willing to dive into a sufferer's mind via kissing their phantometal. A certain degree of emotional resilience and willpower is implied to grant a person greater resilience against metal erosion.
Alter Trigger were the instigators of a large amount of human experimentation in the name of phantometal research, conducted both through voluntary clinical trials and through illicit human experimentation on orphaned children. They have numerous research facilities around the city in which the story takes place, all presently abandoned.
It is implied that Alter Trigger have had ties in the entertainment industry for many years up to the present, scouting up-and-coming talent to proliferate the use of phantometal in the music scene.
They mysteriously vanished along with their base of operations, CLUB Paradox, ten years ago, only to mysteriously be slated to reappear with the announcement of the first Paradox Live.
Saimon Naoakira's late wife. Contributed music compositions to XXXX and believed very strongly in the power of music to connect people with one another. Passed away from acute metal erosion following her participating in clinical trials for phantometal.
Her personality is noted to have been similar to that of Anne.
The late leader of the Suiseki yakuza clan. Spoke in a heavy kansai-ben, which Iori now imitates. Was killed, along with the rest of the Suiseki bar those now comprising Akan Yatsura, in the raid on the Suiseki.
A now-defunct two-man hip hop group consisting of Saimon Naoakira and Kanbayashi Yohei, with Saimon Tsubaki contributing composition. Disbanded following Tsubaki's death, with both former members now serving as half of The Cat's Whiskers. Presumably had a very similar musical style to that of The Cat's Whiskers in the present day. They were internationally renowned enough to be invited to perform at a large festival in America, but as this coincided with Tsubaki's falling ill and passing, they declined and disbanded.
The bar owned by Saimon Naoakira; it is implied to have belonged to Tsubaki before her passing. Currently serves as the home base for The Cat's Whiskers, and Shiki and Ryu live in the apartment above it; see the floor plans page.
The hostess cabaret club owned and managed by what remains of the Suiseki. Iori is the owner and manages the books; Zen and Satsuki are officially employees, where Reo and Hokusai appear to only help with cleanup rather than actually working at CANDY. Anne works here as a hostess.